A large circular ceramic oil lamp that is the only known surviving Roman chandelier has been restored and put on display in the Archaeological Museum at Elda on the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Spain. The chandelier is more than a foot and a half in diameter and originally blazed with 32 points of light fueled […]
The 17th century fluyt discovered in the Gulf of Finland last summer has been identified as the Swan, built in 1636. It was a carved timber transom, preserved in the cold and shipworm-free waters of the Eastern Baltic that solved the mystery. This is the first time a 17th century has been identified from markings […]
A group of 51 painted glazed bricks from the little-known Mannaean civilization that were looted from ancient site of Qalaichi in northwestern Iran will go on display for the first time in Bukan City, five miles from where they were plundered four decades ago. The bricks were manufactured in the 8th or 7th century B.C. […]
Archaeologists have discovered a unique Copper Age burial containing 140 pieces of amber jewelry on the shores of Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia, northwestern Russia. The grave dates to around 3400 B.C., and no other burials from this period have been found in Karelia or its neighboring regions in northwestern Russia containing anything […]
The grave of an Iron Age warrior buried with his sword by his side on spurs on his heels has been unearthed in Buttle on the Swedish island of Gotland. Preliminary osteological analysis indicates the deceased was male, and stratigraphy suggests he lived between the 4th and 6th century. Warrior graves with weapons from this […]
A painting of Cupid hidden behind a layer of grey has reemerged on the wall behind The Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window by Johannes Vermeer. After more than three centuries of grey overpaint and four years of meticulous restoration, the Girl, now backed up by Cupid, will be the centerpiece of a […]
Two Bronze Age hoards have been discovered in western Poland in the past six months. The first was discovered on January 12th by a man and his son taking a walk in their hometown of Bogdaniec. They spotted a bronze bracelet poking out of the soil on a slope and notified regional authorities. The subsequent […]
The Rijksmuseum has acquired an 18th century glass goblet engraved with the portrait of one of the Netherlands most important writers, Betje Wolff. It is a matched set with a goblet bearing the portrait of Aagje Denken, her partner in writing and in life, which has been in the collection of the Rijksmuseum since 1951. […]