Norman-Era Defensive Tower Unearthed in English Town

Wallis Simpson (1896-1986) is often remembered as the wife of King Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor. British monarch for less than a year in 1936, Edward preferred to abdicate the throne to be free to marry Wallis, an American woman who was considered unfit for the role of queen consort due to her previous two divorces. Before meeting Edward, Wallis spent a year in China, a period of time around...

Footwear of unusual size has been discovered at the Roman fort of Magna near Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, England. The honker of a leather sole is 32 cm (12.6 inches) long, which converts to a US men’s size 13, UK 12.5 or EU 47. It may be the largest one in the Vindolanda Trust’s collection … Read the full post →"Huge shoe found at Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall"

BARU ISLAND, COLOMBIA—In 1708, the Spanish galleon San José departed Portobello, Panama, for Cartagena, Colombia, […] The post New Evidence Points to World's Richest Shipwreck appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, Colombia, San Jose, shipwreck, Spanish galleons, Tierra Firme Armada

CHEGA SOFLA, IRAN—Science News Today reports that archaeologists excavating a Copper Age cemetery in western […] The post Young Woman with Cone-Shaped Skull Suffered Fatal Blow 6,000 Years Ago appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, artificial cranial deformation, Chega Sofla, Iran, skull binding

CAESAREA, ISRAEL—Israeli archaeologists working at a site outside of Caesarea uncovered an exquisitely carved marble […] The post Ornate Roman Sarcophagus Found in Caesarea appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, caesarea, Dionysus, Hercules, Israel, sarcophagus

Henry Clay (1777-1852) was an American lawyer and statesman, one of the defining political figures of his age. Over the course of his several decades on the stage of national politics, Clay helped lead the United States into the War of 1812 (1812-1815), diffused several sectional crises over slavery, introduced an economic plan known as the 'American System', and founded the Whig Party in opposition...

The brutal murder of the entire Romanov family was the culmination of deep discontent across the Russian Empire with the persistently autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917). Following the disaster of the First World War (1914-18) and the tsar's abdication in 1917, Bolshevik revolutionaries took power. The new Soviet Russia was immediately split by a raging civil war, and as royalist...

A Royal Skeleton in the Chapel JamesHoare Thu, 06/12/2025 - 07:00

A new type of coin that synthesizes Christian and Pagan iconography has been discovered by a metal detectorist near Norwich. Dating to between 640 to 660 A.D., the shilling (also known as thrymsa) is the oldest known Anglo-Saxon East Anglian coin. The obverse features a man wearing a diadem, a rough copy of how Roman … Read the full post →"New Anglo-Saxon shilling type found in Norwich" Ancient, Medieval

WRANGELL, ALASKA—Anchorage Daily News reports that an underwater archaeological team identified and mapped a shipwreck […] The post Bell Retrieved from Alaska's Second Deadliest Shipwreck appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, Alaska, bell, Coronation Island, shipwreck, Star of Bengal, Wrangell

GORDION, TURKEY—The site of Gordion, the capital of the Phrygian kingdom that flourished in west-central […] The post Tomb of Famous Royal Dynasty Discovered in Turkey appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, Gordias, Gordion, Midas, Phrygia, Tomb, Turkey

The Dred Scott Decision (Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857) was the infamous ruling of the United States Supreme Court that, according to the US Constitution, Black people were not and could not be considered citizens of the United States of America and, further, that "no slave or descendant of a slave had any 'rights which the white man was bound to respect'" (Delbanco, 331...

‘Miracles and Wonder’ by Elaine Pagels review JamesHoare Wed, 06/11/2025 - 07:00

Three Roman mosaics, including one featuring a pair of dolphins, have been unearthed in Thalheim near Wels, Austria. Mosaic floors from the Roman period are extremely rare in Upper Austria and these are in excellent condition. The building complex is atop a hill overlooking what was the Roman city of Ovilava. The structure is huge; … Read the full post →"Roman dolphin mosaic found in Austria"

MAARAT AL-NUMAN, SYRIA—Construction workers clearing rubble from destroyed houses in Maarat al-Numan revealed the entrance […] The post Hidden Byzantine Tombs Found Beneath Houses in Syria appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, Byzantine, Idlib, Maarat al-Numan, Syria, Tomb

TISZAFÜRED-MAJOROSHALOM, HUNGARY—According to an announcement released by Hungary’s Eötvös Loránd University, new research in the […] The post Archaeologists Identify Major Period of Bronze Age Transformation in Central Europe appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, Bronze Age, Carpathian Basin, Central Europe, Hungary, millet, Tiszafüred-Majoroshalom

AUXERRE, FRANCE—During excavation of a gravel pit on the shores of the Yonne River in […] The post Enormous Roman Villa Unearthed in France appeared first on Archaeology Magazine. News, Autessioduro, Auxerre, France, Gaul, Roman villa

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (1850-1864) was part of the Compromise of 1850, drafted to diffuse tensions between Southern 'slave states' and Northern 'free states.' The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 already allowed slaveholders to reclaim their fugitive slaves from Northern states, but, since many Northerners were not inclined to help them in this, the 1793 law had little real power. Although one...