Athens Is Reviving a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Aqueduct to Deliver Water to the City Amid Prolonged Droughts
With the capital’s reservoirs approaching historic lows, officials are turning to ancient engineering to conserve potable water
See Greece in All Its Gorgeous Glory
These 15 images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest remind us of the grandeur of Greece
Step Into a Painstakingly Recreated 3D Model of the Parthenon, Now Restored to Its Ancient Glory
A researcher simulated the Athenian temple’s lighting conditions at different times of the day, discovering that its interior was actually “quite dark and dim”
Was Talos, the Bronze Automaton Who Guarded the Island of Crete in Greek Myth, an Early Example of Artificial Intelligence?
The mythical sentry was depicted as thinking like a human and showing some human-like tendencies
How Well Did the Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism Actually Work?
Historians think the 2,000-year-old device was used to predict the positions of celestial bodies. A new digital simulation suggests that its gears may have frequently malfunctioned
See the Face of a Royal Woman Who Lived in Greece 3,500 Years Ago
Created by digital artist Juanjo Ortega G., the digital reconstruction depicts a woman who died in her mid-30s during the late Bronze Age
Who Drank Wine in Ancient Troy? New Research Suggests Just About Everyone
Chemical analyses revealed wine residue on both expensive goblets and common cups unearthed among the legendary city’s ruins
This Ancient Pyramid Found in the Judean Desert May Have Been a Ptolemaic Tax Collector’s Station
The official structure, stuffed with significant coins and Greek papyri, was likely later transformed into someone’s grave
Ancient Greek and Roman Statues Were Not Only Beautiful, but Also Smelled Nice, Too
New research suggests that sculptures were perfumed with sweet-smelling fragrances such as rose and beeswax
Archaeologists Discover Mosaics of Two Fighting Cupids and a Mysterious Inscription at an Ancient Greek City Hall
New research is shedding light on the bouleuterion building that once stood in the ancient city of Teos, located in present-day Turkey
The Met Returns Stolen Seventh-Century B.C.E. Bronze Griffin Head to Greece
At a ceremony this week, Greece’s culture minister officially accepted the artifact, which was likely stolen from a museum in Olympia in the 1930s
Five Unusual Ways People Used Lead—and Suffered For It
Cultures throughout history have put lead to use for wacky and often deeply poisonous purposes
Oldest Known Evidence of Lead Pollution Found in Ancient Greece
New research has uncovered the earliest traces of lead contamination caused by human activities, linking the development of ancient metal smelting practices to long-term environmental change
A Five-Pound Hunk of the World’s Oldest Known Synthesized Pigment Was Found in Nero’s Palace
The discovery might illuminate the link between the blue pigment’s ancient Egyptian roots and its rediscovery by Renaissance artists centuries later
Researchers Have Deciphered a Nearly 2,000-Year-Old True Crime Papyrus
The Greek document details a court case in ancient Palestine involving tax fraud and provides insight into trial preparations in the Roman Empire
A Man Found a Mysterious Statue in a Trash Bag on the Street. It Turned Out to Be a 2,000-Year-Old Greek Artifact
After discovering the ancient artwork in a suburb of Thessaloniki, Greece, the man surrendered it to the police. Authorities are analyzing the statue and investigating why it was abandoned
See the Stunning Ancient Roman Statue of Athena That’s Going on View for the First Time in Nearly 260 Years
After spending centuries on a British aristocrat’s estate in North Yorkshire, the marble masterpiece will be unveiled in Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery later this week
You Can Buy a 2,500-Year-Old Corinthian Helmet Worn by a Warrior in Ancient Greece
Experts think the well-preserved bronze artifact was made between 500 and 450 B.C.E. It will be sold at auction on January 25
How Archaeologists Discovered Europe’s Oldest-Known Book, Revealing Never-Before-Seen Insights Into Ancient Religion and Philosophy
Charred by the flames of a funeral pyre, the Derveni Papyrus has proved to be a fascinating—and confounding—artifact
Seventy-Seven Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2024, From a Mysterious ‘Anomaly’ Near the Great Pyramid of Giza to a Missing Portrait of Henry VIII
The year’s most exciting discoveries included musket balls fired in the early days of the American Revolution, a lost composition by Mozart and a medieval chess piece
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