Archaeology: Facts, Trivia, Quizzes, Brain Teasers & More

One of the sets of human remains examined in the new study of smoke-mummification in southeastern Asia.

We’ve been preserving human bodies since the Stone Age.

Beneath a parking lot, archeologists uncovered the ruins of a chapel in which Henry VIII prayed.

Sometimes deliberately, often unintentionally, countless artifacts have been buried—and then rediscovered—under parking lots.

The bronze sculpture has lorded over Venice for centuries, but its origins have remained a mystery. Science may have finally figured it out.

The Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae in Scotland’s Orkney Islands.

Archaeologists have studied some of the world’s most important historic sites with the help of climate change—but those changes also threaten their survival.

A few of the incredible prehistoric stone alignments at Carnac in France.

From the mysterious human-made structures at Bolivia’s Tiwanaku Archaeological Site to the prehistoric megaliths at Carnac in France, these rock formations inspire awe and curiosity.

Overhead view of Pit 157 from Bergheim Saulager, showing a late Middle Neolithic violence-related bone collection analyzed in the study.

According to a new archaeological study of human bones showing evidence of violent “overkill,” war was hell even in the late Stone Age.

It's like hitting the lottery, but with trowels.

From big stone spheres to an actual mummy, amazing archaeological finds have been unearthed by people just minding their own business.

‘Bruce’ menaces the ‘Orca II’ on the set of ‘Jaws.’

The replica boat ‘Orca II’ was the unsung star of 1975's ‘Jaws.’ But what happened after filming ended was worse than any shark attack.

Fabbriche di Careggine, a sunken town in Italy, emerges from under Lago di Vagli reservoir.

Forget Atlantis (which probably doesn’t exist)—we’re taking a trip to 10 real cities that ended up underwater.

A Manila galleon may have influenced ‘The Goonies.’

‘The Goonies’ turns 40 this year—and to make the film, director Steven Spielberg may have drawn inspiration from a real-life shipwreck that occurred off Oregon’s coast. It’s known as the Beeswax Wreck.

A sunken ship near Florida holds clues to the early history of cats in the U.S.

The ceramic pot was left in a garden for years. It was a genuine work of art hiding in plain sight.

Titanic: The Digital Resurrection | Official Trailer | National Geographic

A digital double promises fresh insight into the tragedy of the ‘Titanic.’

Here‘s a scenic view of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch glacier in Switzerland.

These underrated World Heritage Sites offer history, beauty, and adventure away from the crowds.

Parts of Harriet Tubman’s and Ben Ross‘s lives are shown in a new virtual museum.

Peer into Harriet Tubman‘s father’s home via the Maryland Department of Transportation‘s new virtual museum.

The Jhelum River Bridge, part of the ancient Grand Trunk Road passing through Punjab, Pakistan.

Some of the world’s oldest roadways are only memories now—but many have been preserved as historic monuments or improved to handle today’s traffic.

A fragment of the organic glass found inside the skull of the deceased individual in Herculaneum.

The Herculaneum resident, killed by the volcanic eruption in 79 CE, presents the only known vitrified brain on Earth. Now, researchers have a theory for how it happened.

Ancestral Puebloan ruins in Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.

Chaco Canyon was once the vibrant religious center of a Native American culture whose collapse long remained a mystery—until pack rat middens revealed an important clue.

A wooden tablet covered in still-undeciphered Rongorongo script.

Without a Rosetta Stone for these centuries-old writing systems, the meaning of the texts may never be known.

Fossilized human footprints in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park are between 21,000 and 23,000 years old and pre-date the Clovis people in North America.

Archaeologists used to think that the Clovis people were the first inhabitants of the Americas some 13,500 years ago. The evidence from these ancient sites says otherwise.

From this moment on, multiple entities have argued over ownership of the ‘Titanic’

The complicated legal case involving salvage rights to the RMS ‘Titanic’ continues, 40 years after the famous shipwreck was rediscovered.

Its value as the key that unlocked the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs is world-famous—but the turbulent history surrounding the Rosetta Stone’s discovery and translation is more obscure.

Artifacts at the ‘Titanic’ wreck may never see the light of day.

A blend of bureaucracy and saltwater is conspiring to keep any of the ship’s remaining secrets from being brought to the surface.

The 5500-year-old trepanned skull of a woman now displayed in a Swiss museum.

The practice of drilling or scraping a hole into the skull’s cranial vault has been performed for thousands of years.

ARCHAEOLOGY

The World’s Oldest Mummies Have Been Found in an Unexpected Part of the World

11 Things Found Buried Under Parking Lots

Venice’s Famed Winged Lion Statue May Not Be From Venice—Or Even a Lion

15 Archaeological Sites Revealed By Climate Change

7 Amazing Rock Formations That Could Rival Stonehenge

Smashed Skulls and Severed Limbs Suggest Stone Age Armies Brutalized Their Victims

10 Amazing Archaeological Finds Discovered by Ordinary People (and One Badger)

The Bizarre Tale of the ‘Orca II,’ the Stunt Boat from ‘Jaws’

10 Real-Life Sunken Cities

The Real-Life Shipwreck That May Have Inspired ‘The Goonies’

Remains of What Could Be America’s First Domestic Cats Came From a 16th-Century Shipwreck

A Shattered Flower Pot With a Secret Nets $60,000 at Auction

‘Violently Torn Apart’: 3D ‘Titanic’ Model Reveals New Details of the Ship’s End

The 10 Most Underrated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe

New Virtual Museum Lets You Explore Harriet Tubman’s Teenage Home

8 Incredible Ancient Roads

A Vesuvius Victim’s Brain Turned into Glass, and Scientists Think They Know How

How Pack Rats Solved a Chaco Canyon Mystery

8 Ancient Writing Systems That Haven’t Been Deciphered Yet

8 Ancient Archaeological Sites That Pre-Date the Clovis People

Who Owns the ‘Titanic’?

15 Solid Facts About the Rosetta Stone

‘Titanic’ Salvage Missions Placed on Indefinite Hold Thanks to Legal Issues

A Brief History of Trepanation, One of the World’s Oldest Surgeries