Before sea ice formed along Alaska’s Arctic coastline this winter, marine archaeologists discovered the wrecks of two 19th-century ships that likely met their demise during a famous whaling disaster. In September 1871, 33 whaling ships became stuck in pack ice off the coast of Wainwright, Alaska. The captains waited in vain for a change in winds, which […]
Pearl Harbor science Although 75 years have passed since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, many details of the event remain shrouded in mystery and debate. Even so, historical researchers and scientists have been able to shed light on at least some of the many lingering questions. Here are nine stories of secrets and science […]
A team of explorers have found the wreck of a United States Navy submarine that sank more than 60 years ago in deep water near the Hawaiian island of Oahu. USS Stickleback, a Balao-class submarine with the hull number SS-415, sank on May 28, 1958, after an accidental collision with another U.S. Navy ship, the […]
A sheltered body of water in Scotland’s Orkney Islands, Scapa Flow is calm on its surface. But underwater, the seabed is full of historic shipwrecks and war graves where hundreds of sailors were killed. Using sonar and underwater robots, marine archaeologists have just completed a mission to map 10 of those wrecks in detail, including […]
The wreck of a Royal Navy submarine that mysteriously disappeared with 44 people on board during World War II has been discovered off the Mediterranean island of Malta. The discovery of HMS Urge suggests it sank in 1942 after hitting an explosive marine mine placed by an enemy German warship. The wreck was found beneath […]
The wreck of one of the most famous German warships of World War I has been located on the seafloor near the Falkland Islands, where it sank in a battle with British warships more than 100 years ago. The battlecruiser Scharnhorst sank on Dec. 8, 1914, with more than 800 crewmembers on board, including German Adm. Maximilian […]
A significant deposit has been found in a remote Australian mountain range near some of the oldest rock art on the planet One of the world’s biggest uranium producers has found a significant deposit in a remote tropical Australian mountain range near sandstone galleries holding some of the oldest and most spectacular rock art on […]
A British academic has gathered evidence suggesting garden was created at Nineveh, 300 miles from Babylon The whereabouts of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – the fabled Hanging Garden of Babylon – has been one of the great mysteries from antiquity. The inability of archaeologists to find traces of it among […]
Biggest Viking show in 30 years aims at new appraisal revealing Nordic seafarers as traders – and, latterly, museum visitors “There’s no reason why, when you’re hacking someone to death, that you can’t hack them to death stylishly,” suggested Gareth Williams, perfectly reasonably, as he announced details of the first big Viking show at the […]
Creators hope £420,000 facsimile will give visitors a better understanding of tomb as they will be able to stay for longer An exact replica of the tomb of Tutankhamun is set to be installed near the 3,000-year-old original, in what one of the world’s leading Egyptologists has called a revolutionary development in Egyptian archaeological conservation. […]
