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A mosaic of servants or enslaved people making preparations for a Roman feast.

You probably eat these foods every day, so why did the ancient Romans think they were disgusting poison?

Two men dressed in Tudor clothes stand next to one another against a green curtain backdrop. Between them are several items, including a globe, a hymnbook and a lute

Tudors in turmoil: deciphering Hans Holbein’s masterwork The Ambassadors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

General History

Quiz of the weekIn which year did Victoria become queen?

Ancient tips for health and happiness. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Reshaping narratives, repatriation and Richard III : 25 lessons we've learnt from history in the last 25 years. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Flower power: how plants transformed the lives of 17th-century women. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Churchill and Winston the Platypus

Second World War

Winston and the platypus: how a bizarre WW2 diplomacy mission to influence Churchill ended in death and tragedy

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Hand-coloured engraving of someone being tortured on the wheel.

Stretched, crushed and impaled10 shocking torture methods from medieval history

Rosemary Kennedy (right), the eldest Kennedy daughter. Pictured here with her mother Rose (centre) and sister Kathleen

The lost Kennedy: the tragic life of JFK’s sister Rosemary

When was the worst time to be alive? You'll be surprised at what our expert has to say. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A character from Atomfall in front of the Windscale nuclear facility.

Britain’s worst nuclear disaster: the Windscale fire of 1957

On this day in history

What happened on this day in the past? We round up the landmark events, births, deaths and more...

20 June

19 June

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17 June

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Illustration of Neolithic druids performing a ceremony at the Stonehenge stone circle.

General prehistory

A Bronze Age Brexit: why did these Britons mysteriously cut themselves off from Europe?

Nikola Tesla on the left and Elon Musk on the right

Would Nikola Tesla have approved of Elon Musk? A historian’s verdict might surprise you

A representation of the ancient Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu, in front of a carving. (Photo by Getty/Alamy)

General ancient history

Behold his nightmarish nether regions: this ancient Mesopotamian demon was secretly a divine hero

An eye looking through a dark keyhole.

Are your neighbours spying on you? In the 17th century they had the power to destroy your life

Captured Boer fighters from General Cronjé’s command sit on the dusty ground near Modder River, awaiting tent assignments in a British prison camp during the Second Boer War (1899–1902).

She exposed the horrors of Britain’s secret concentration camps – so why was she demonised?

A replica of a Roman mosaic of the Baths of Ocriculum. It shows Triton and Nereid speaking. (Photo by Getty Images)

“She returned smelling of smoke and sex:” why powerful Roman women were branded nymphomaniacs

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Fatherhood: a short history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Renaissance: not such a golden age?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Archimedes: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Third Reich's first genocide. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

English folklore: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

What happened in Shakespeare's "lost years"?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History's Greatest Cities: Marrakech. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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William Shakespeare. (Photo by Getty/Bridgeman)

Shakespeare’s 'lost years': what do we know about this secretive chapter of the bard's life?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

In his mother’s womb, he was fated to avenge his father – how was pregnancy understood in the Viking age?

A women with a shocked face next to a calendar with the date of Friday the 13th

Q&AWhy is Friday 13th unlucky?

A statue of a man holding a baby in one hand and a bunch of grapes over his head with the other

General History

“A succession of identity crises spanning thousands of years”: seven things you didn’t know about the history of fatherhood

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How much do you know about the Vikings? Test your knowledge with our quiz. This mid-19th century painting shows Viking ships on the River Thames. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

QuizHow much do you know about the Vikings?

Flagellants or Brothers of the Cross in Netherlands scourging themselves as they walk through streets

QuizHow much do you know about medieval history?

General History

Quiz of the weekIn which year did Victoria become queen?

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Portrait of King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Prince Edward. (Photo by Getty Images)

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Golden funerary mask of Tutankhamun, inlaid with lapis lazuli, obsidian and turquoise. (Photo By DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

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