A century and a half ago, Athens was a humble, forgotten city of about 8,000 people. Today, one out of every three Greeks packs into this city of over 3 million. The city is infamous for its sprawl, noise, and pollution. For a long time, my advice was to see the big sights, then get…

By Marla Jo Fisher From The Orange County Register Giza—Yes, it’s true. You can finally get into the massive and fabled billion-dollar Grand Egyptian Museum—if you’re lucky enough to score soft opening tickets. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you how to try. It’s been 20 years since construction began on the Grand Egyptian Museum, planned…

LUMBARDA, Croatia—Archaeologist Mate Parica was examining satellite images of Croatia’s coastline when he spotted something unusual. “I thought: maybe it is natural, maybe not,” said Parica, a professor at the University of Zadar. The image showed a large, shallow area on the seabed jutting out from the eastern shore of the island of Korcula. Parica…

Archeologists in Spain have discovered a 5,000-year-old crystal dagger dating all the way back to prehistoric civilizations. Not only is the relic quite rare, but researchers believe its users hoped to access “magical powers” through wielding it, among other uses. In the megalithic tomb of Montelirio tholos, located in southwestern Spain, researchers discovered a treasure…