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

The massive megafauna of the Ice Age / Getty / VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SPL

In this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd thaws out a few myths about the ice age, from the idea that Earth was once frozen solid to what actually caused the mammoths’ extinction.

The Lewis Chessmen: a few pieces from a collection of 93 found at Uig on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

They're the most famous chess pieces in history—but much of their story is still unknown

This pair of men's black leather Blucher ankle boots from the 1840s was found under floor of an old military prison at Weedon, Northants, in 1939.

The folk magic tradition of concealing shoes to trap witches probably started in the Middle Ages.

The Great Sphinx of Giza and the Pyramid of Khafre.

The ancient Egyptian monument, thought to depict the likeness of the pharaoh Khafre, confounds scholars to this day.

There’s much more to this iconic statue than a couple of absent appendages.

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed Herculaneum—but may have preserved a lost library of Epicurus's writings.

Historians were struck by the tantalizing possibility that this library might contain missing works of some of history’s greatest writers—works thought to have been lost forever.

Ötzi the Iceman may have gone bald in middle age—but hey, at least he had tattoos.

What really happened to Virginia Dare and the rest of the Lost Colony of Roanoke? In the late 1930s, an enterprising con man claimed to know.

The deck of the Ironton beneath Lake Huron.

After lying at the bottom of Lake Huron for more than a century, the wreck of the ‘Ironton’ has been discovered, confirming its tragic fate.

Today's vintners are creating new wine notes with ancient techniques.

The use of amphorae is a callback to the past, anchoring modern wine drinkers to history.

There’s no better way to wrap up 2022 than by sharing a whopping 100 things we learned this year, from interesting AI developments to unintentional art heists—and, of course, the results of the 2022 Kids’ Mullet Championships.

It’s been a century since Howard Carter discovered the tomb of an obscure Egyptian pharaoh named Tutankhamen, kicking off a period of Egyptomania and a fascination with the pharaoh that endures to this day.

'Tutankhamun & The Golden Age Of The Pharaohs' Exhibition - Press View

Tut's tomb was stuffed to the brim with thousands of objects meant to make his afterlife eternally posh.

‘Äpplet’ had a more successful naval career than its short-lived sibling, the ‘Vasa.’ Studying its wreck could help explain why.

Many on Howard Carter’s (pictured) team fell victim to King Tut’s curse—though Carter himself was spared.

When King Tut's tomb was discovered in 1922, some believed the Egyptian pharaoh unleashed a powerful curse upon all who dared to disturb his eternal slumber.

King Tut’s modern discovery was not without controversy.

King Tut’s excavation, legacy, and life remain far from settled.

Following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, two scholars battled each other to decipher the mysterious Egyptian writing system.

Colonizers did not let the dead rest in peace.

In centuries past, mummies were put to a variety of inventive uses: art, commerce, science, entertainment, and possibly even paper making.

Stonehenge was once in the hands of private owners.

Cecil Chubb attended an auction in 1915 and decided Stonehenge would make for a fantastic new family possession.

A piece found in the grave goods of Hatshepsut displayed at National Museum of Antiquities in The Netherlands.

Hatshepsut seized the reins of power and never let go.

We know a lot about Ancient Egypt, but some things (like hieroglyphs) aren't as clear as you might have thought.

Find out the real deal behind mummies, the truth behind the Sphinx’s nose, and how King Tut probably met his end.

Golden funerary mask of King Tut at the Egyptian Museum.

From Steve Martin's 'Saturday Night Live' song to 'The Mummy' movies, King Tut has had an eventful afterlife.

The S.S. 'Arctic' sinking was both a tragedy and a scandal.

These mysterious undersea sites might contain millions (or billions) in lost treasure.

A statue of Pocahontas stands near the Jamestown settlement site.

Over several decades beginning in 1607, Jamestown nearly collapsed multiple times as colonists succumbed to disease and famine.

ARCHAEOLOGY

Misconceptions About the Ice Age

12 Fascinating Facts About the Lewis Chessmen

Lost Soles: When Concealed Shoes Kept Witches Away

15 Things You Might Not Know About the Great Sphinx of Giza

16 Fascinating Facts About ‘Venus de Milo’

The Lost Library of Herculaneum: Unravelling the Scrolls That Mount Vesuvius Almost Destroyed

The Iceman Baldeth: New Genome Analysis Shows Ötzi Had Surprising Ancestry—and Male-Pattern Baldness

The Dare Stones: The Elaborate Hoax That “Solved” the Mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

Newly-Discovered Lake Huron Shipwreck Paints Grim Picture of Vessel’s Final Moments

Amphorae Amore: Modern Winemakers Are Bringing Back an Ancient Tradition

100 Things We Learned in 2022

8 Fascinating Facts About Howard Carter

15 Pharaonic Objects Buried in Tut's Tomb

The Wreck of the ‘Äpplet’—Sister Ship of Sweden’s Infamous ‘Vasa’—Has Been Found After More Than Three Centuries

9 Victims of King Tut's Curse (And One Who Should Have Been)

9 Controversies Surrounding King Tut

The Rivals Who Cracked the Code of Ancient Egypt’s Hieroglyphs

9 Strange Uses for Ancient Egyptian Mummies

Cecil Chubb: The Man Who Bought Stonehenge

The Rise of Hatshepsut, Egypt’s First Great Female Pharaoh

6 Misconceptions About Ancient Egypt

10 Ways King Tut Influenced Pop Culture

6 Valuable Wrecks Still Waiting to Be Found

11 Amazing Facts About Jamestown, the First Permanent English Colony in North America