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…

According to our conventional view of history, humans have only walked the Earth in our present form for some 200,000 years. Much of the mechanical ingenuity we know of in modern times began to develop only a couple hundred years ago, during the Industrial Revolution. However, evidence today alludes to advanced civilizations existing as long…

A museum on Grand Bahama is showcasing treasured artifacts retrieved from a 17th-century Spanish shipwreck in a first-ever, debut display. The singular, spectacular haul includes coins, porcelain, and jewelry which were once destined to wind up in the hands of knights or aristocrats. Built around the salvaged remains of the sunken Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas,…

The United States returned 30 stolen artifacts to Cambodia on Monday after more than five years of investigation into “an organized looting network” that reportedly sold the pieces to international buyers. Ricky J. Patel, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s investigative unit, said the artifacts were stolen from Cambodian temples and…

The United States returned 30 stolen artifacts to Cambodia on Monday after more than five years of investigation into “an organized looting network” that reportedly sold the pieces to international buyers. Ricky J. Patel, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s investigative unit, said the artifacts were stolen from Cambodian temples and…

A London museum agreed Sunday to return a collection of Benin Bronzes looted in the late 19th century from what is now Nigeria as cultural institutions throughout Britain come under pressure to repatriate artifacts acquired during the colonial era. The Horniman Museum and Gardens in southeast London said that it would transfer a collection of…

CANTON, Mass.—Artifacts once owned by Paul Revere’s family are up for auction. The items were found in the attic of a home in Canton, Massachusetts, believed to have been owned by the family of the legendary Revolutionary War figure, The Boston Globe reports. They include tools such as wrought iron calipers, letters, and other personal…

BAGHDAD—Ancient artifacts looted and smuggled out of Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003 were put on display in Baghdad on Tuesday. Among the artifacts returned by the United States was a 3,500-year-old clay tablet bearing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the ancient Sumerian tale believed to be one of the world’s first pieces…

BAGHDAD—The United States is returning more than 17,000 ancient artifacts looted and smuggled out of Iraq after the U.S. invasion in 2003, including a 3,500-year-old clay tablet bearing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Iraq said on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of antiquities disappeared from Iraq after the 2003 invasion that toppled leader Saddam Hussein….

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dredged up what is believed to be pre-Civil War artifacts from the Savannah River. The items “inadvertently discovered” during regular dredging operations include three cannons, an anchor, and other materials, the Corps of Engineers said in a statement. Archaeologists have not arrived at a definitive conclusion on the origin…