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A 19th century engraving of an imagined library hall with tall Egyptian style columns, scholars reading scrolls at a table and a man on a ladder reaching shelves of rolled scrolls
Did Julius Caesar Burn Down the Library of Alexandria in 48 BC?
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Ancient writers agree books burned when Caesar fought in Alexandria in 48 BC. They disagree on what burned and how much, and the Museum's scholars were still at work decades later.
NEWS
Fayum mummy portrait of a young woman in a red garment
The Tondo of the Two Brothers Leaves Egypt for the First Time, as Rome Gathers the Faces of Fayum
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Nearly 50 painted mummy portraits from Roman Egypt go on show at Rome's Ara Pacis museum this week, led by a double portrait from Cairo that has never left Egypt before.
NEWS
The Altar Stone at Stonehenge, a long flat slab of pale gray sandstone lying in the grass beneath fallen sarsen stones
Where Did Stonehenge's Altar Stone Come From? A New Study Says the Search Is Not Over
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A newly published study tests the six tonne Altar Stone against the leading Scottish source and finds that many outcrops there do not match, leaving its true home still to be found.
NEWS
The snow streaked summit of Llullaillaco volcano rising above a pale high desert plain in Salta province, Argentina
Hair and Nail Tests on Eight Frozen Inca Mummies Trace the Coca and Alcohol Children Consumed Before the Capacocha Sacrifice
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A newly published study in Antiquity found coca compounds in every hair sample from Inca children buried on Andean volcanoes, alcohol markers in four individuals and a trace of a vine alkaloid in the nails of the girl known as the Ampato Maiden.

Premium Articles

Page of medieval Old Norse handwriting on vellum with a large decorated initial, leaf 1r of the Codex Regius, where Völuspá begins
Several Norse God Poems Survive in Only One Book. Part of It Is Gone.
Oxyrhynchus: Half a Million Papyrus Fragments and What AI Can Really Read
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For more than a century, scholars have been reading the rubbish of one Egyptian town, scrap by scrap. A new wave of excitement says artificial intelligence could finally clear the backlog. The real

Human Origins

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Forensic facial reconstruction of a Cro-Magnon man. Source: Cicero Moraes/CC BY-SA 4.0
The Enigmatic Origins of Cro Magnon: Europe's First Humans (Video)
Human Origins, Folklore
Human Origins According to Ancient Greek Mythology
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Every culture has an explanation about how we got here. The ancient Greeks were no different. The dramatic story of the origins of humanity in Greek mythology involves love, pain, and a hefty dose of

History

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Relief of Thracian Warriors from 6th-5th century BC, Reign of Darius I. Source: Kmrakmra/CC BY-SA 3.0
The Mysterious Thracians: Unveiling Their Unique Culture and Legacy 
History, Ancient Traditions
The Therapeutae and the Secrets of Ancient Monastic Life
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The Therapeutae are an ancient Jewish ascetic community, shrouded in mystery and truly obscure. Much of what we know about them comes from the writings of Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish

Artifacts

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Aerial view of Thulamela location
Forgotten African Kingdom of Thulamela Reveals Gold and Royal Burials
Ancient Technology, Artifacts
Medieval Distillation Vessel Found at Gnandstein Castle Points to Alchemy
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Archaeologists working at the historic Gnandstein Castle in Saxony, Germany, have uncovered a rare and unusual distillation vessel during recent construction-related investigations. This remarkable

Recent Shorts

Myths & Legends

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: Interior of Lovelock Cave located next to the former lakebed of Lake Lahontan in Nevada. Source: BLM Nevada / CC BY-SA 2.0
Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?
Myths & Legends, Africa
Roman Historian’s Cleopatra’s Pearl Story: Is It Fact or Fiction?
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“Cleopatra’s Pearl” is a story told by the Roman author Pliny the Elder in his famous long-read book Natural History. According to this tale, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra VII, drank a

Ancient Places

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Ollantaytambo aerial view, sacred valley in the Andes, Peru
Ollantaytambo: The Inca Fortress That Defied Conquistadors
Africa
Underwater Military Ship and Burials Found at Thonis-Heracleion, Egypt
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The island-city of Thonis-Heracleion and its famous Temple of Amun was located in Egypt’s Abu Qir Bay, just north of Alexandria, Egypt. Greeks later settled in Thonis-Heracleion during the late

Unexplained Phenomena

Weird Facts of History

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Traditional mince pies.
Did Oliver Cromwell Really Ban Mince Pies in England?
Artifacts, News, History & Archaeology
10 Weird Archaeological Facts That Will Blow Your Mind
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Archaeology isn’t just about dusty ruins and ancient pottery—it’s full of bizarre discoveries that challenge what we think we know about the past. From mysterious artifacts to unusual burial practices