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Bridgend, Wales

St. John's House

This 500-year-old Tudor home is a treasure trove of history and mystery.
The Catalan Atlas, featuring a depiction of Mansa Musa.
museums

5 Objects That Illuminate the Medieval Exchange Between Africa and Europe

A new exhibit explores the impact trade had on both cultures through artwork and artifacts.
Jonathan Carey January 16, 2019
Stone Head of Salaspils.
Riga, Latvia

Stone Head of Salaspils

This enigmatic artifact remained buried in a churchyard for years.
The museum building.
Mexico City, Mexico

Museo Anahuacalli

The Mexican painter Diego Rivera created this unusual museum to display his collection of pre-Hispanic artifacts.
Disk of death on display at the museum.
Mexico City, Mexico

Disk of Death

This strange sculpture of a menacing skull surrounded by sun rays was discovered at the foot of the Pyramid of the Sun.
Speyer, Germany

Speyer Wine Bottle

Aged nearly 1,700 years, the world's oldest bottle of wine is probably still drinkable.
"Giants and big heads."
Madrid, Spain

Museum of Popular Art and Traditions

Strange masks and obscure costumes are housed in this old Madrid corrala.
Prognosticating devices, perhaps?
neolithic

The Many Possible Uses For Scotland's Knobbly Orbs

We asked for your thoughts on the function of these mysterious relics, and boy did you deliver.
Christina Ayele Djossa May 25, 2018
The "Chalice".
New York, New York

Antioch Chalice

Once thought to be the fabled Holy Grail, it is now known to be an oil lamp.
Have you ever received something from one of your heroes?
celebrity

Did Your Childhood Hero Ever Write You Back?

We want to see the treasured letters or artifacts you've received from your idols!
Eric Grundhauser April 3, 2018
Gondolas and Piazzetta di San Marco, Venice, c. 1900.
lost wonders

The Quest to Find the Lost Column of Venice

Led by a pipe-smoking Venetian diver, an eclectic team is searching for a legendary monument.
Sarah Laskow and Vittoria Traverso March 7, 2018
art

A 19th-Century Chinese Hat Stand Spent 50 Years in Disguise as a Welsh Lamp

Chinese-porcelain expert Ivy Chan tells the story of a fancy incognito furnishing.
Ashawnta Jackson December 5, 2017
One side of the seal shows two nude lovers embracing.
Norwich, England

Balthild Seal Matrix

This unusual 7th-century Frankish seal offers more questions than answers about its past.
A visitor to the Louvre is tempted by Canaletto's 18th-century painting "The Rialto Bridge in Venice."
wunderkammers

Why Can't People Stop Touching Museum Exhibits?

After years of watching, one researcher thinks she's got the answer.
Cara Giaimo November 10, 2017
English skipper Annie Gilbert found a basketball that had been out to sea for quite a while.
sports

Found: A Barnacle-Covered Basketball Lost at Sea

Spalding, did you see Wilson out there?
Vittoria Traverso November 3, 2017
The oldest museum in Louisiana.
New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana’s Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall

The state's oldest continuously operating museum houses more than 5,000 Civil War artifacts.