Archaeology

8-Year-Old Girl Discovers Pre-Viking Sword in a Lake

"It's not every day that one steps on a sword in the lake!"

By Ashley Hoffman October 5, 2018

A Record-Breaking Heatwave Is Revealing the Long-Lost History of the British Isles

Ancient sites are being revealed thanks to a curious agricultural phenomenon

By Billy Perrigo July 17, 2018

Ancient Civilization Buried in Amazon Has Been Found

Satellite images revealed pre-Colombian settlements dating to 1250‒1500 A.D.

By Laignee Barron March 28, 2018

Animals Dropped Dead Inside Roman 'Gate to Hell.' Scientists Just Figured Out Why

The ancient cave was used for ritual sacrifices

By Rachel Tepper Paley / Bloomberg February 22, 2018

Massive Dinosaur Fossil Discovered in Egypt

The 80 million-year-old fossil is the most complete ever found on mainland Africa

By Eli Meixler January 30, 2018

The Greatest Library Before Alexandria

The bronze-age city of Mari was second only to Babylon, and the library of tablets it held offers rich insight into all aspects of an intricate political world

By Carly Silver/ History Today July 19, 2017

The British Shipwreck That Still Haunts Hong Kong

Urban land reclamation led to the discovery of a colonial relic on the floor of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor, resurrecting a past that some would prefer to forget

By Ryan Kilpatrick / Hong Kong June 1, 2017

Google Doodle Celebrates Discovery of Ancient Celestial Computer

The Antikythera Mechanism was used to track the stars and predict eclipses

By Kevin Lui May 17, 2017

Ancient Statue Believed to be of Pharaoh Ramses II Discovered in Cairo Slum

The eight-meter statue was submerged in groundwater

By Kate Samuelson March 10, 2017

New Dead Sea Scrolls Cave Discovered

But the cave did not contain an actual scroll

By Justin Worland February 9, 2017

Nazi Time Capsule From 1930s Discovered in Poland

It contains perfectly preserved newspapers, photographs, coins and more

By Suyin Haynes September 20, 2016

Scientists Solve Mystery of 5,300-Year-Old Ice Man's Clothes

Studies of mitochondrial DNA reveal what 25 years of speculation couldn't

By Jeffrey Kluger August 18, 2016

Humans First Used Tools to Eat Meat 250,000 Years Ago. Here’s What the Discovery Means

A dig in the desert reveals crude technology dating back a quarter of a million years

By Jeffrey Kluger August 8, 2016

300-Year-Old-Cheese Discovered in Shipwreck Near Sweden

“I certainly don’t recommend tasting it," says the team leader

By Casey Quackenbush July 28, 2016

A Massive, Ancient Platform Discovered in Petra Has Been 'Hidden in Plain Sight'

Archaeologists just published the discovery they made in Jordan

By Julia Zorthian June 9, 2016

King Tut Dagger Made With Iron From Meteorite

It “strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin"

By Nash Jenkins June 2, 2016

Britian's Oldest Writing Discovered on Tablets in London

The earliest example of writing found in the city is an IOU from one freed slave to another

By Simon Lewis June 1, 2016

The Long History Behind the Reburial of 'Kennewick Man'

The 9,000-year-old bones were unearthed 20 years ago

May 20, 2016

4,800-Year-Old Fossil of Mother Embracing Baby Found

The fossils are believed to be the earliest evidence of human activity on the island

By Mark Rivett-Carnac April 27, 2016

Indonesian 'Hobbits' Died Out Longer Ago Than Originally Thought, Study Finds

New findings raise questions about their disappearance

By Daniel White March 30, 2016

Vasco da Gama's Lost Ship Discovered

It's the earliest ship from Europe's Age of Discovery ever uncovered

By Alex Johnson / NBC News March 18, 2016

Flawless 404-Carat Diamond Discovered in Angola Mine

It is the 27th biggest ever discovered

By Ali Gostanian / NBC News February 16, 2016

Extinct Mammoth's Remains Discovered in Oregon

It could be "tens of thousands of years old"

By Nolan Feeney January 27, 2016

Real History at the 'Downton Abbey' Set Goes Back to Ancient Egypt

At the real Highclere Castle, there's no shortage of history

By J.I. Baker / LIFE Books January 25, 2016

Treasure Trove Found in Swiss Molehill

Excavation started in July but the find was only announced Friday

By TIME Staff November 20, 2015

King Tut's Tomb May Hold Nefertiti's Remains as Well

Authorities say that it could be the most important discovery of the century

By Nash Jenkins October 2, 2015

Fossilized Critter's Face Finally Located

"It looks completely surreal. It is like something from another world."

By Katy Osborn June 25, 2015

New Species of Ancient Human Found in Africa

These ancient humans had small teeth

By Tessa Berenson May 28, 2015

Oldest Known Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya

The tools are about 3.3 million years old

By Alexandra Sifferlin May 20, 2015

Oldest Known Ancestor of Modern Birds Is Discovered

The discovery indicates that modern birds originated roughly six million years before previously thought

By Noah Rayman May 5, 2015

How to Feed 9 Billion People

These are today's best ideas

By The Aspen Institute May 1, 2015

Oldest Neanderthal DNA Discovered in Skeleton in Italy

The molecules are from 130,000 to 170,000 years ago

By Alex Rogers April 11, 2015

Human Ancestor ‘Little Foot’ Lived 3.7 Million Years Ago

The findings shed light on the connections between early human ancestors

By Noah Rayman April 4, 2015

'Romeo and Juliet' Dinosaurs Found Buried Together

The couple was unearthed after 75 million years

By Sarah Begley April 3, 2015

Scientists Discover Salamanders the Size of Cars

The creature lived some 220 million years ago

By Sarah Begley March 24, 2015

World's Largest Asteroid Crater Unearthed in Australia

Evidence of 250-mile wide impact zone found deep underground

By Jack Linshi March 23, 2015

Oldest Known Fossil in Human Lineage Found in Ethiopia

The remains are estimated to be some 2.8 million years old

By Alexandra Sifferlin March 4, 2015

Scientists Unlock Secrets of Ancient Scrolls Near Pompeii

The breakthrough could help find more long-lost texts in a ruined library

By Rachel Janik January 20, 2015

Researchers Find Neanderthal-era Bone Tool in France

A multipurpose bone tool dating back to before the Stone Age was discovered in France

By Rishi Iyengar January 15, 2015

DNA Test Questions Richard III's Claim to the Throne

DNA samples suggest he was a blue-eyed blond

By Dan Kedmey December 2, 2014

Greek Archaeologists May Have Found Alexander the Great's Mother

Many believe Alexander himself is buried in Egypt

By Tessa Berenson November 13, 2014

The Biggest, Baddest Dinosaur Ever Has Been Discovered

Most of North Africa is no more than a sun-scorched desert today, but 95 million years ago the landscape was crisscrossed by rivers, dotted with marshes and populated with all sorts of reptilian monsters. The...

By Michael D. Lemonick September 11, 2014

Stonehenge Was Actually Part of a Huge Ancient Complex, Researchers Discover

Burial mounds, sun-aligned pits and ancient delights galore

By Sam Frizell September 10, 2014

New Dino Species Weighed More Than a Jumbo Jet

Bones found in Argentina's Patagonia region

By Noah Rayman September 4, 2014

The Lost Hobbits of the Eastern Arctic

Scientists never understood what became of the Paleo-Eskimos who once peopled the north. Now they know—and there's new reason to miss them

By Michael D. Lemonick August 28, 2014

What Bronze Age Wine Snobs Drank

There were some fine vintages 3,000 years ago, and a new study reveals how ancient mixologists made them finer still

By Michael D. Lemonick August 27, 2014

Archaeology

Scientist Hopes to Conserve What Could Be World's Oldest Art

A 3,000-Year-Old Mummy Speaks. Really.

What We Can Learn From Ancient Graffiti

Fresco of Narcissus Discovered Among the Ruins of Pompeii