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The murder mystery behind the last great pharaoh Ramesses III

  The murder mystery behind the last great pharaoh Ramesses III 7 Minutes Read 1511 Words EN The royal harem conspiracy was a real-life Game of Thrones —pitting two sons of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III against one another in a bid for power. Ramesses III was ancient Egypt's last great pharaoh. But mystery swirled for centuries around whether he had been really assassinated in a plot devised by one of his own wives. The discovery of mummy only yielded more mysteries—until modern technology stepped in to solve the ancient cold case. Photograph by Brugsch Pasha, The Royal Mummies, University of Chicago By Erin Blakemore Published August 2, 2024 Conspiring wives. Screaming mummies. Centuries of speculation. Questions about the so-called royal harem conspiracy—a plot to kill ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III around 1155 B.C.—have persisted for over 3,000 years. TKTK The succession-driven plot sounds like a real-life Game of Thrones , but the mystery of how archaeologists unraveled ...
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The story of how the first American went to space

  The story of how the first American went to space 4 Minutes Read 739 Words EN As NASA fought to catch up to the Soviet Union in the space race, they selected a Navy veteran as the first astronaut. But what happened once Alan Shepard stepped into the space capsule? Alan Shepard emerges from the Freedom 7 space capsule after it was lifted out of the Atlantic Ocean and placed aboard the U.S.S. Lake Champlain aircraft carrier. GETTY IMAGES By Patricia Daniels Published May 4, 2026 When a Redstone rocket lifted the spacecraft Freedom 7 into the sky on May 5, 1961, there was more resting on pilot Alan Shepard’s shoulders than just 6 g’s of acceleration. The outcome of his mission could decide the future of the American space program. The United States and its rival, the Soviet Union, were in a race to conquer outer space and the U.S. was losing. In 1957, the U.S.S.R. had shocked the world by launching the satellite Sputnik 1 into orbit. From that moment, the U.S. was scrambling to catc...
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The mummy, the Iliad, and a mysterious death ritual

  The mummy, the Iliad, and a mysterious death ritual 5 Minutes Read 1112 Words EN Archaeologists in Egypt unearthed a sealed packet of the epic poem resting atop a Roman-era mummy, suggesting they may have been used as a magical ward for the afterlife. Papyri were plentiful in the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus, but researchers aren’t sure why Homer's famous poem, written on papyrus, was placed on a mummy in the Upper Necropolis area, shown above. By Taylor Mitchell Brown Published May 15, 2026 In 1798, Baron Vivant Denon, an artist accompanying Napoleon Bonaparte on his military expedition through Egypt, sketched a large sand-blown column amid remnants of an ancient city. With his drawing, he had inadvertently documented the first modern evidence of Oxyrhynchus, an important ancient Egyptian port. Later excavations would unearth tombs, mummies, curious golden tongues, and the largest cache of papyri ever discovered. But last month, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiq...
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How ancient builders made the Great Pyramid of Giza nearly earthquake-proof

  How ancient builders made the Great Pyramid of Giza nearly earthquake-proof 5 Minutes Read 1089 Words EN A new study measuring vibration frequencies throughout the Great Pyramid revealed how it has been able to withstand severe seismic shocks. Seismologists analyzed vibrations in the various chambers of the Great Pyramid of Giza to discover how the 4,600-year-old structure remains stable in the wake of disasters. Jonathan Rashad By Taylor Mitchell Brown Published May 21, 2026 Around 2500 B.C., Egypt’s great pharaoh Khufu began a massive construction project. His goal was to erect a large pyramid on the Giza Plateau, which would later serve as his tomb, alongside a series of smaller pyramids for his wives. For 26 years, thousands of laborers hauled and stacked over 2.3 million limestone and granite blocks to create the 481-foot-tall monument. For millennia, the architectural marvel would endure the ravages of time.  Now, scientists have found that Khufu’s Great Pyramid was we...
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Inside the thrilling chariot races of ancient Rome’s Circus Maximus

  Inside the thrilling chariot races of ancient Rome’s Circus Maximus 13 Minutes Read 2530 Words EN Cheering crowds, fast horses, dramatic accidents, and even a little sorcery made up a typical day of chariot racing in Rome as thousands flocked to watch their favorite spectator sport. NO HOLDING BACKA chariot race in Rome’s Circus Maximus, depicted in a relief from the second century. Archaeological Museum of Colfiorito. SCALA, FLORENCE By María Engracia Muñoz-Santos Published May 26, 2026 According to Livy, Rome’s Circus Maximus—the hippodrome nestled between the Palatine and Aventine Hills—was the site of the mythical rape of the Sabine women, a tragic event in Rome’s founding legend. The newly established, predominantly male state was facing a demographic crisis. After having his requests of intermarriage rejected, Romulus, Rome’s mythical founder, invited the Sabine people to the Consualia, a festival for the harvest god. Romulus distracted his audience with a dramatic chariot ...
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