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Digitizing gravestones from the colonial era preserves them for future study and makes them more accessible, but it also raises questions about how to study this period of American history.
cemeteries

Burial Hill's Historic Gravestones Are Coming to Your Screen

Digitizing markers at the Massachusetts cemetery makes them more accessible.
Anya Gruber May 8, 2023
The ruins of Songo Mnara.
Songo Mnara Island, Tanzania

Songo Mnara

Mosques carved from coral and dozens of well-preserved stone structures fill this 500-year-old Swahili trading center.
Athens, Greece

Archaeological Site Inside Monastiraki Metro Station

View the ancient remains of buildings and the ancient "River of Hades" before hopping on a train.
On the platform.
Lovelock, Nevada

Lovelock Cave

How a bat poo mine became a major Native American archaeological site—and connections to legendary red-haired giants.
Medieval buildings at Songa Mnara, one of many coastal Swahili ports and settlements that connected East Africa to Arabia, Persia, China, and Southeast Asia.
science

Ancient DNA Restores the Origin Story of the Swahili People

New research complicates both modern and colonial-era ideas about the medieval East African civilization.
Chapurukha Kusimba and David Reich April 24, 2023
The fossil tree
Tiroran, Scotland

The Fossil Tree and Burg

On a corner of the Ardmeanach peninsula on the Isle of Mull, a 50 million-year-old fossil tree hides in the coastal cliffs.
Port Eynon, Wales

Port Eynon Salt House

The seaside ruins of an ancient salt production facility.
One of the 2.000 mummified ram heads found in the Temple of Ramses II, in the historical city of Abydos, Egypt.
cemeteries

Wonder Is Everywhere: 2,000 Ram Skulls, a Cold War Mystery, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.
April White April 14, 2023
For perhaps thousands of years, local Cappadocians retreated underground when enemies approached. Their subterranean city, illustrated here, was rediscovered by accident.
caves

The Mysterious Underground City Found in a Man’s Basement

How a renovation project in Turkey led to the discovery of a lifetime—a lost city that once housed 20,000 people.
Frank Jacobs April 7, 2023
Kakadu, Australia

Ubirr Rock Art

Kakadu National Park is known for its stunning beauty and its rock art, which represents the longest historical records of any continuous civilization on Earth.
Northern Territory, Australia

Rainbow Valley

This sacred site lives up to its name with its majestic, color-splashed sandstone formations.
The trove of spices was found in the stern of the ship by Brendan Foley and a team of archaeologists.
science

How Did a Medieval Spice Cabinet Survive 500 Years Underwater?

Exotic saffron, black pepper, ginger, cloves, and more offer a look into how Scandinavian royalty lived.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing March 28, 2023
Zempoala, Mexico

Zona Arqueológica Cempoala

Palace, temple, and pyramid ruins mark the ancient Mesoamerican capital of Totonacapan.
Iridescent green figeater beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) have long been used as adornments in cultures around the world.
archaeology

Were These Beetles Once as Valuable as Gemstones?

Archaeologists believe jewelry made from the bugs was a coveted status symbol 2,000 years ago.
Shoshi Parks March 23, 2023
Together these artifacts formed a spiritual bundle to protect a home from bad spirits and negative energy.
archaeology

Beneath an Old Fireplace, Evidence of the Spirituality of the Enslaved

The finds are also enriching understanding of the formative years of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing March 21, 2023
The limestone cave of Paviland, in southern Wales, where an ancient, ochre-stained skeleton was discovered in 1823.
caves

Who Was the Red Lady of Paviland?

The 33,000-year-old skeleton was taken from Wales two centuries ago—is it time for the bones to go home?
Ffion Reynolds and Jacqui Mulville March 20, 2023
Bogotá, Colombia

Casa del Marqués de San Jorge

This archaeological museum in an 18th-century mansion showcases the country’s finest examples of pre-Columbian ceramics.
The Saint-Bélec slab in full.
objects of intrigue

Europe’s Oldest Map Shows Tiny Bronze Age Kingdom

Discovered in 1900, the Saint-Bélec slab languished unrecognized in a castle basement for over a century.
Frank Jacobs March 17, 2023