Roman Empire

From the real reason behind the Games' collapse to a breakdown of who was eligible to compete, here's what you need to know about the ancient Olympics.

Nine Things You Didn't Know About the Ancient Olympic Games

With an intensive athletes’ boot camp and the threat of execution for unwelcome spectators, the Greek sporting event was a serious affair

 A Kazakh tourist etched the letters "ALI" into a wall at Pompeii's House of Ceii.

Tourist Carves His Name Into Ancient House in Pompeii

The man damaged a wall in the House of Ceii, a dwelling celebrated for its beautiful frescoes

The rare bust of Caligula is only five inches tall.

Curator Uncovers Lost Roman-Era Bust of the Emperor Caligula

The small bronze statue, which was unearthed at Herculaneum, had been missing for two centuries

Workers inside one of nine trenches excavated during the recent dig season this January.

A Buried Ancient Egyptian Port Reveals the Hidden Connections Between Distant Civilizations

At the site of Berenike, in the desert sands along the Red Sea, archaeologists are uncovering wondrous new finds that challenge old ideas about the makings of the modern world

Archaeologists continue to excavate Herculaneum, a seaside resort town devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

An Ancient Beach Buried by Mount Vesuvius' Eruption Is Now Open to the Public

In the seaside resort town of Herculaneum, the beach is the final resting place of more than 330 residents who tried to flee

The wine, made of crushed white grapes 2,000 years ago, turned red-brown with age.

Oldest Wine Ever Found in Liquid Form Unearthed in 2,000-Year-Old Tomb

Researchers have concluded that the fluid preserved inside an ancient funerary urn is a white sherry-like wine

Pottery fragments found onsite are lined in purple pigment, suggesting they were once containers for dye.

In This Ancient Workshop, Greeks Crushed Snail Glands to Make the Purple Dye Worn by Royalty

Archaeologists discovered remnants of the small factory on an island in Greece

The 10-foot-deep well is located in Ostia Antica.

Trove of Rare Artifacts Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Roman Well

Dozens of items, including burnt bones and ceramics, provide new insights into ritual activity in the city of Ostia

Archaeologists found amphorae, bronze jugs, bronze lamps and construction materials inside the room.

See the Stunning Shrine With Rare Blue-Painted Walls Unearthed at Pompeii

The 86-square-foot space is adorned with artworks depicting female figures and agricultural imagery

The graves were found in central France during an excavation of a site containing mostly fifth- and sixth-century development.

These 28 Horses Were Buried in an Ancient Mass Grave. How Did They Die?

Archaeologists are puzzled by the 2,000-year-old burial site uncovered in central France

American authorities rounded up all 600 of the artifacts in a single year.

Trove of 600 Looted Italian Artifacts Worth $65 Million Comes Home

The collection includes artifacts spanning the ninth century B.C.E. to the second century C.E.

Pasquino is the most famous of Rome's six talking statues.

Rome's Talking Statues Have Served as Sites of Dissent for Centuries

Beginning in the Renaissance, locals affixed verses protesting various societal ills to six sculptures scattered across the Italian city

This charcoal sketch of gladiators was drawn from memory, not imagination, researchers say.

The Children of Pompeii Saw Gladiators Fight to the Death—and They Drew Graffiti About It

Researchers recently discovered bloodshed-themed stick-figure sketches in a cluster of houses in the doomed ancient city

Archaeologists have been studying the pet cemetery since it was first discovered in 2011.

Letters Written by Ancient Roman Commanders Have Been Found in a Pet Cemetery in Egypt

Discovered among the graves of hundreds of cats, dogs and monkeys, the correspondence was likely written by centurions in the first century

The ancient pool was lined with mosaics made with tesserae, or shaped tiles, of different materials.

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Swimming Pool in Albania

Found in an upper-class villa, the indoor pool was accompanied by decorative mosaics and frescoes dating back nearly two millennia

This artistic reconstruction shows how the two women and the horse may have originally been placed.

These Ancient Skeletons Are Not Entwined Lovers, But a Daughter Embracing Her Mother

New research found that the two women, who were buried in Austria atop a horse, were first-degree relatives who died some 1,800 years ago

The helmet could date to as far back as the sixth century B.C.E.

Why Did the Ancient Illyrians Place Helmets in Their Burial Mounds?

A 2,500-year-old helmet found in Croatia may have been a funerary offering. It offers insights into the rituals of a lesser-known culture that once occupied the Balkan Peninsula

Archaeologists discovered 300 sealed pottery jugs in the wreckage.

Roman-Era Ship Was Carrying Jugs Full of Fish Sauce When It Sank 1,700 Years Ago

Discovered in the summer of 2019, the Ses Fontanelles wreck likely ran aground sometime during the fourth century

The glass bottles buried in the graves were unearthed in good condition.

In This Ancient Cemetery, Romans Left Fine Glass Vessels, Platforms for Feasting and Phallic Pendants

Archaeologists in Narbonne, France, have been studying the necropolis since 2017

The newly discovered bronze disc depicts Alexander the Great with wavy hair and ram horns.

Metal Detectorists Unearth Tiny Bronze Portrait of Alexander the Great in Denmark

Researchers think the 1,800-year-old artifact could be linked to a Roman emperor who was "obsessed" with the Macedonian conqueror

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