CATEGORIES
MOUSE IN THE HOUSE
Mice may have begun infesting European homes at least 2,500 years earlier than previously known.
INSIDE THE ROCK'S SURPRISING HISTORY
Before it was an infamous prison, Fort Alcatraz played a key role defending the West Coast
CLOSING IN ON A PHARAOH'S TOMB
Archaeologists excavating in the Egyptian royal necropolis of Deir el-Bahari, on the west bank of the Nile, believe they have found the long-sought location of the tomb of the early 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose II (r. ca. 1492–1479 b.c.).
A Sylk Road Renaissance
Excavations in Tajikistan have unveiled a city of merchant princes that flourished from the fifth to the eighth century A.D.
LETTER FROM NORMANDY: THE LEGACY OF THE LONGEST DAY
More than 75 years after D-Day, the Allied invasion’s impact on the French landscape is still not fully understood
Idol of the Painted Temple
On Peru’s central coast, an ornately carved totem was venerated across centuries of upheaval and conquest
THE EMPEROR OF STONES
In the language of the Vikings, Old Norse, rök means “monolith,” and no other runestone stands out from its peers in more ways than Sweden’s Rök.
HAGIA SOPHIA'S HIDDEN HISTORY
Unprecedented fieldwork in Istanbul has revealed new evidence of the cathedral at the heart of the Byzantine Empire
THE POWER OF SECRET SOCIETIES
Clandestine groups throughout history have used shadowy rituals to control the world around them
A Path To Freedom
At a Union Army camp in Kentucky, enslaved men, women, and children struggled for their lives and fought to be free
Weapons of the Ancient World
How people of the past developed arms to master the challenges of their time
THE KING'S CANAL
Rock reliefs in Iraqi Kurdistan show how Assyrian farmers toiled under the royal gaze
VILLAGES IN THE SKY
High in the Rockies, archaeologists have discovered evidence of mountain life 4,000 years ago
SPLENDOR AT THE EDGE OF THE SAHARA
Excavations of a bustling medieval city tell the tale of a powerful Berber dynasty
MEGASITES OF UKRAINE
Massive 6,000-year-old settlements are revolutionizing how archaeologists understand ancient cities
Farm to Emperor's Table
Excavations reveal the inner workings of an ancient Roman imperial estate
Life In The City Of The Gods
Inside the neighborhoods of Teotihuacan, Mesoamerica’s first great metropolis
Magical Beasts Of Babylon
How the Ishtar Gate safeguarded the Mesopotamian world
Artists Of The Dark Zone
Deciphering Cherokee ritual imagery deep in the caves of the American South
Searching For The Witches' Tower
Archaeologists hunt for evidence of a 17th-century English family accused of witchcraft
Fire In The Fens
A short-lived settlement provides an unparalleled view of bronze age life in eastern england.
Digging Up Digital Music
Archaeologists think of stone tools in terms of “technologies”—the particular ways that they were made and used—that help us understand the cultures that produced them. Today we have our own technologies, but they come and go at a vastly different pace. Their life spans are measured not in thousands of years, but in months and even days. To modern digital technology, 65 years is an eon.
Hidden From View
One of Cappadocia’s underground cities may yet yield clues about its history.
The Blackener's Cave
Viking Age outlaws, taboo, and ritual in Iceland’s lava fields.
After The Battle
The defeat of a Scottish army at the 1650 Battle of Dunbar was just the beginning of an epic ordeal for the survivors.
Conquistador Contagion
Conquistador Contagion
Rites of the Scythians
Spectacular new discoveries from the Caucasus set the stage for a dramatic hilltop ritual.
Timelines
Tracking when humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans crossed paths—and what became of their offspring.
Franklin's Last Voyage
After 170 years and countless searches, archaeologists have discovered a famed wreck in the frigid Arctic.
Vietnam's First City
At the site of Co Loa, researchers are examining the foundations of power in Southeast Asia.