https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/cool-finds/RSS feed for Cool FindsenThu, 24 Jul 2025 19:44:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-feared-the-worlds-smallest-snake-had-gone-extinct-they-just-found-it-again-180987044/When fully grown, the Barbados threadsnake is only three to four inches long—shorter than many earthwormsThu, 24 Jul 2025 19:44:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-mysterious-medieval-knight-buried-beneath-an-ice-cream-parlor-in-poland-180987021/The well-preserved skeleton was buried under a rare limestone tombstone, which suggests the individual may have been an important member of Gdańsk society during the Middle AgesThu, 24 Jul 2025 19:34:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-archer-shot-this-bronze-age-human-in-the-back-4000-years-later-the-arrow-is-still-embedded-in-the-victims-rib-bone-180987036/The attack took place during a period of conflict between groups living in the Pyrenees mountains in modern-day SpainWed, 23 Jul 2025 19:10:35 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dinosaurs-gathered-to-perform-mating-dances-with-kicks-and-spins-at-this-site-in-colorado-and-you-can-go-see-it-for-yourself-180986995/Paleontologists have discovered what appears to be one of the largest dinosaur courtship arenas in the world, just 15 miles west of DenverThu, 17 Jul 2025 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/does-this-ancient-rock-carving-depict-one-of-egypts-earliest-rulers-180986980/New research suggests the engraving, which shows an elite individual sitting in a boat, may be up to 5,100 years oldTue, 15 Jul 2025 18:26:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-treasure-filled-tomb-belonging-to-the-first-known-ruler-of-a-maya-city-in-belize-180986972/Te K'ab Chaak was a wealthy warrior king who rose to power in 331 C.E. His burial is the first royal tomb found in the ancient city of CaracolFri, 11 Jul 2025 20:16:31 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stolen-historic-documents-surface-in-attic-ten-years-after-an-employee-used-them-as-collateral-to-borrow-money-180986965/The thief likely took the trove when he worked for the Dutch National Archives in 2015. Recently, someone found them in storage and contacted art detective Arthur BrandFri, 11 Jul 2025 14:06:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nothing-short-of-magical-scientists-discover-a-dinosaur-bone-nearly-800-feet-beneath-a-parking-lot-at-a-denver-museum-180986967/The partial vertebra appeared inside a 2.5-inch-diameter column of rock that researchers drilled, earning the title of the oldest and deepest dinosaur fossil found in DenverThu, 10 Jul 2025 19:44:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-traces-of-an-iron-age-settlement-and-roman-villa-in-england-180986943/The excavation, which followed the discovery of two Roman swords in 2023, is providing historians with fresh insights into Britain’s ancient historyWed, 09 Jul 2025 14:56:44 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-roman-army-camp-in-the-netherlands-15-miles-beyond-the-empires-northern-border-180986910/Researchers think the camp was built during the second century C.E. Stretching across 22 acres, it was identified using a computer model developed by an archaeology studentMon, 07 Jul 2025 15:49:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/four-bewildering-bronze-lions-heads-with-slightly-different-facial-expressions-found-in-ancient-roman-grave-in-israel-180986922/Similar examples of ancient lion artifacts appear to have been used as door knockers. But the newly discovered discs may have served a different purposeThu, 03 Jul 2025 17:47:45 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fishermen-in-the-brazilian-amazon-discover-enormous-funerary-urns-beneath-a-toppled-tree-180986926/The ceramic vessels contained the bones of pre-Columbian Indigenous people, as well as fish, frog and turtle remainsThu, 03 Jul 2025 16:53:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-dugout-canoe-made-from-a-12-foot-long-log-was-found-bobbing-in-a-north-carolina-river-180986898/The newly discovered vessel is one of 79 known dugout canoes that have been unearthed throughout the stateWed, 02 Jul 2025 18:32:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-dna-reveals-that-men-moved-in-with-their-brides-families-in-this-neolithic-settlement-180986915/A new study suggests that a 9,000-year-old society in Catalhoyuk, a proto-city in southern Anatolia, may have established a "female-centered" social structureWed, 02 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-sinkhole-opened-up-on-a-street-in-england-revealing-the-remains-of-a-massive-medieval-hospital-180986890/Centuries ago, the site was home to St. Leonard's Hospital, a sprawling monastic facility that provided care to sick individuals and supplied meals for prisoners at nearby York CastleFri, 27 Jun 2025 15:47:43 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-vibrant-colorful-mosaic-discovered-at-ancient-roman-settlement-in-france-180986887/Perched on a hill overlooking the town of Alès, the site, which was salvaged before construction on modern houses began, also boasts advanced architectureThu, 26 Jun 2025 18:28:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-say-theyve-pieced-together-the-ancient-fragments-of-theworlds-most-difficult-jigsaw-puzzle-180986855/More than 1,800 years ago, the thousands of pieces formed colorful frescoes that covered the walls of a luxurious villa in Londinium, the precursor to modern-day LondonWed, 25 Jun 2025 13:58:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-rare-6000-year-old-limestone-fertility-figurine-could-be-polands-archaeological-find-of-the-century-180986859/Dating back to the Neolithic era, the so-called Venus of Kolobrzeg is the first artifact of its kind unearthed in the European countryMon, 23 Jun 2025 18:13:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-gold-coins-may-solve-the-mystery-of-the-worlds-richest-shipwreck-confirming-its-identity-as-a-legendary-18th-century-galleon-180986856/Minted in Peru in 1707, the money bolsters the evidence that the wreck is the Spanish ship "San José," which sank off the Colombian coast in 1708 with treasure worth billions on boardMon, 23 Jun 2025 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tattered-pages-discovered-in-storage-reveal-an-enslaved-mans-daring-bid-for-freedom-and-his-second-life-at-sea-180986838/Historians are investigating the haunting handwritten manuscript, which chronicles Thomas White's escape from slavery in Maryland and adventures around the world nearly 200 years agoWed, 18 Jun 2025 18:56:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-stumble-onto-sprawling-ancient-roman-villa-during-construction-road-in-france-180986800/Located near Auxerre, the grand estate once possessed an exorbitant level of wealth, with thermal baths and heated floorsFri, 13 Jun 2025 19:44:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-stunning-sculpture-was-sitting-on-a-familys-piano-it-turned-out-to-be-an-original-rodin-180986786/Titled "The Despair," the rare artwork just sold at auction for $1 million. For many years, its owners had assumed it was merely a copyFri, 13 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-long-lost-landscape-painted-by-a-teenage-jmw-turner-was-found-hiding-in-plain-sight-180986782/Showcasing the Romantic artist's early innovations with oil paint, "The Rising Squall" could fetch up to $400,000. Before it was reattributed, it sold for just $506 at auction last yearThu, 12 Jun 2025 20:43:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-sarcophagus-unearthed-in-israel-portrays-an-epic-drinking-contest-between-the-god-dionysus-and-the-mythical-hero-hercules-180986785/Archaeologists say the marble coffin is the first of its kind found in the region. The story it depicts is more often seen in mosaicsThu, 12 Jun 2025 16:09:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1000-year-old-gold-bracelet-fragment-found-british-isle-dates-when-vikings-ruled-land-180986761/Archaeologists believe the piece was made by a skilled goldsmith and was potentially used as currencyMon, 09 Jun 2025 20:17:18 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-17th-century-dutch-painting-was-rescued-from-a-dusty-barn-attic-in-connecticut-it-just-sold-for-more-than-7-million-180986733/Painted in 1666, "View of Olinda, Brazil, With Ruins of the Jesuit Church" is a masterpiece by Frans Post, one of the first European-trained artists to depict the landscapes of Dutch BrazilFri, 06 Jun 2025 16:34:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-more-than-100-structures-linked-to-a-mysterious-pre-hispanic-civilization-in-the-remote-peruvian-andes-180986740/Based in high-altitude urban centers, the Chachapoya resisted conquest by the Inca Empire for centuriesWed, 04 Jun 2025 18:37:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-discover-a-possible-dwarf-planet-far-beyond-neptune-where-there-should-have-only-been-empty-space-180986703/As it orbits the sun once every 25,000 years, the celestial body 2017 OF201 travels beyond the Kuiper Belt into a region thought to be largely devoid of objectsThu, 29 May 2025 16:32:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/egyptian-archaeologists-unearth-three-ancient-tombs-belonging-to-three-senior-statesmen-who-helped-keep-the-new-kingdom-running-180986692/The burials were found at Dra Abu el-Naga, a necropolis for nobles and officials on the West Bank of the Nile RiverTue, 27 May 2025 18:48:36 +0000