News

Woodcut of a man swimming in a river, while another man stands on the bank

The most common accidental way to die in Tudor England reveals surprising truths about daily life

American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer arrives at Orly Airport in Paris to lecture at the Faculté des Sciences. Once a leading figure in the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer’s postwar career was marked by international engagement and growing controversy. (Photo by Getty Images)

Second World War

How Nazi secrets triggered the ultimate moral dilemma – and led to Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb

This illustration from the Codex Manesse (c.1300) shows Konrad von Altstetten, a Swiss ministerial, reclining with his beloved after a hunt. The lavish manuscript, compiled in Heidelberg, preserves the courtly poetry and romantic ideals of the German medieval nobility. (Photo by Getty Images)

Wandering womanisers? These charismatic bards took the medieval world (and its women) by storm

This floor mosaic from a Roman villa in Carthage depicts a boy hunting leopards

Could today’s kids survive in ancient Rome? Here’s the harsh reality of life as a Roman child

This scene depicts Clovis I, founder of the Merovingian dynasty, executing a soldier who defied him over the famed Vase of Soissons around AD 480. The story, preserved by Gregory of Tours, became a legendary example of royal authority and vengeance in early medieval France.

This dynasty of medieval kings had a secret weapon – and you probably have it too

This striking wall painting, known as The Blue Ladies, comes from the Minoan palace at Knossos on Crete. Dating to around 1600 BC, the fresco reflects the sophistication of Minoan art and offers rare insight into fashion and ceremonial life in the Bronze Age Aegean.

Three thousand years ago, the ancient Greeks turned an even older civilisation into a monster

This illustration from the Arnamagnæan Collection in Denmark depicts Eric the Red, the Norse explorer who founded the first Norse settlement in Greenland around AD 985.

A thousand years ago, the Vikings had a shock encounter with Native Americans that ended in disaster

Michelle Akers-Stahl, who scored twice in the final, celebrates with teammates Julie Foudy and Carin Jennings after the United States won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup on 30 November 1991, defeating Norway 2–1. The tournament marked a turning point in the global recognition of the women’s game.

How a forgotten law helped women’s football conquer the world – but only by accident

In a televised address on 15 August 1973, President Richard Nixon proclaimed his innocence in the Watergate affair and urged Americans to reject efforts to exploit the scandal. This photograph was taken after the broadcast, as cameras were barred during the speech.

Watergate is the ultimate American conspiracy – but what if we’ve been misunderstanding it all along?

In this early 20th-century illustration, Roman Emperor Nero watches the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64 from the Tower of Maecenas, said to be singing of Troy’s destruction. Though likely apocryphal, such stories helped shape Nero’s enduring reputation for cruelty and excess.

One of ancient Rome’s most notorious emperors murdered his own mother, and there's a dark reason why

Captain Robert S. Johnson, a former cabinet-maker from Oklahoma, stands beside his aircraft during the Second World War. With 25 confirmed kills, he was the US Air Force’s leading fighter ace in the European theatre and the recipient of numerous decorations.

Second World War

On one of WW2’s deadliest air routes, pilots’ biggest fear was surviving a crash – here’s why

This 19th-century chromolithograph depicts flagellants in Tournai in 1349, publicly scourging themselves in response to the Black Death. Known as the Brothers of the Cross, such groups believed self-punishment could help cleanse society of divine wrath.

It felt like the end of the world, but this medieval ‘apocalypse’ left a legacy no one saw coming

Lucius Marcius Septimus, a Roman officer active during the Second Punic War in 3rd-century BC Hispania.

Could you have survived as a Roman soldier? Here's the surprising truth about life in the ancient army

The Bayeux Tapestry shows Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex — and future king — with a hawk, riding to Bosham for hunting and sea fishing. This scene offers a rare glimpse into elite pastimes on the eve of the Norman Conquest

After 1066, a medieval millionaire buried his fortune underground – why did he never reclaim it?

This 7th-century BC relief from the palaces of Nineveh shows Assyrian king Ashurbanipal hunting lions — a dramatic symbol of strength and kingship in ancient Mesopotamia.

General ancient history

On ancient battlefields, the world's oldest civilisations turned beloved pets into weapons of war

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Normans sailing across the channel

The Bayeux Tapestry: a political football for 900 years

A visitor looks at the Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is finally coming home to Britain – and you can see it next year

A female agent serving in Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War.

Second World War

Step inside the covert WW2 spy network that trained women to kill with their bare hands

Cold War-era President John F Kennedy leaves St Stephen Martyr Catholic Church in Washington DC — just hours before Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to withdraw missiles from Cuba, defusing the Cold War’s most dangerous standoff.

The CIA’s most unlikely Cold War weapon? A secret smuggling operation that terrified Soviet censors

A portrait of James Bond author Ian Fleming

Second World War

Think James Bond's pure fantasy? His creator's real WW2 missions were more outrageous than you'd believe

Archaeologist Buzz Busby alongside two Roman swords.

A hidden Roman villa? A pair of "remarkable" swords might have just unlocked its ancient secrets

This mosaic from the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily depicts women exercising — a rare glimpse of female leisure in the Roman Empire. (Photo by Getty Images)

Are you healthier than a Roman? These ancient secrets for longevity are still shockingly relevant

Newgrange, a prehistoric monument in the Boyne Valley of eastern Ireland

General ancient history

Were ancient Ireland’s ‘incestuous elites’ just a myth? A tomb older than Stonehenge has new answers

This 9th-century illustration shows Alcuin of York presenting his pupil Rabanus Maurus to Saint Martin. An influential scholar and teacher, Alcuin played a key role in the intellectual revival of Charlemagne’s court.

The first mafia? How an early medieval kingdom perfected the art of deadly diplomacy

This painted portrait depicts Ranavalona I, who ruled the Merina Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861. Her reign was marked by violent efforts to resist European influence and preserve Malagasy sovereignty.

Meet the blood-soaked African queen who killed her own people in the face of colonialism

This 12th–14th century mosaic from the Pala d’Oro in St Mark’s Basilica, Venice, depicts Noah releasing animals from the ark — a moment of renewal after the biblical flood. (Photo by Getty Images)

General ancient history

Long before the Bible, an ancient Mesopotamian civilisation predicted one of its most famous stories

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?

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

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?

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