Stones, Bones, and Wrecks

Divers have said that the RMS ‘Rhone’ is haunted.

Whether real wrecks or ghostly sightings, these ships bear stories of unexplained deaths, flying orbs, and screams from the depths of the sea.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Illinois.

Hundreds—even thousands—of years ago, Native American peoples built complex and mysterious earthworks. Here are 11 you can visit for a glimpse into prehistory.

The footage is from a new ‘Endurance’ documentary hitting Disney+ later this year.

The knight’s tombstone rediscovered at Jamestown.

Scientists examined microscopic fossils in the tombstone and suggest the jet-black slab with an English knight’s insignia could have come only from one place.

A Los Angeles high school turned out to be a hotbed for fossils.

Millions of fossils, from shells to the largest known shark species, were unearthed beneath San Pedro High School.

Notre-Dame has been the site of a mystery.

The 2019 fire at the cathedral brought a mystery to the surface: a lead coffin containing an unknown skeleton.

‘Le Lyonnais’ (not pictured above) has been discovered after nearly 200 years.

The French vessel was the victim of a maritime hit and run.

The newly-discovered diamond weighs about a pound.

The impressive gemstone comes in at 2492 carats.

A portrait of the scientists who found and examined the Piltdown Man skull (accompanied by a picture of Charles Darwin on the wall).

From forged artworks to fake mummies and even fraudulent orangutan bones, archaeological hoaxes fool scientists and stir the public’s imagination—until the culprits are forced to come clean.

A replica of Paleolithic cave drawings of deer, horses, and aurochs, dating to 15,000 BCE, from Lascaux cave in France.

The Stone Age timeline encompasses a huge chunk of prehistory—and life wasn’t only about hunting and gathering.

The ruins of the Maya settlement Palenque in Mexico.

The changing climate did not bode well for Khmer Empire, the Maya Civilization, and more ancient cultures.

Tollund Man on display at the Silkeborg Museum, Denmark.

The bodies of Iron Age Europeans are so well preserved in peat bogs that they’re sometimes mistaken for modern murder victims.

"Apex" is among the most complete Stegosaurus specimens ever discovered.

A portion of the preserved Maya village Joya de Ceren (“Jewel of Ceren”) under a protective roof.

Buried by a volcanic eruption 1400 years ago, well-preserved remains of the Maya village in modern-day El Salvador have earned a provocative nickname: The Pompeii of the New World.

Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, at sunset, c26th century BC.

A recent study claims that the pyramids of Giza were constructed alongside an almost 40-mile long artery of the Nile river that no longer exists today.

The mystery of the ‘Mary Celeste’ has confounded historians for more 150 years.

What really happened to the crew of the ‘Mary Celeste’? Delve into the theories and speculation surrounding this enduring maritime mystery.

Recreated Viking sod houses behind a wooden fence at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada.

Discover the mysteries of L’Anse aux Meadows, the only confirmed Viking settlement in North America.

The massive megafauna of the Ice Age / Getty / VICTOR HABBICK VISIONS/SPL

In this episode of Misconceptions, host Justin Dodd thaws out a few myths about the ice age, from the idea that Earth was once frozen solid to what actually caused the mammoths’ extinction.

Ötzi the Iceman may have gone bald in middle age—but hey, at least he had tattoos.

A reconstruction of Ötzi the Iceman at the South Tyrol Archaeological Museum in Italy.

Nicknamed Ötzi the Iceman, the mummified man was around 40–50 years old when he died in the Copper Age. Here are 13 surprising facts about him.

A 1790 painting of the mutiny on the 'Bounty' by Robert Dodd.

The mutiny on the 'Bounty' has inspired multiple movies, but the 'Hermione' revolt was way bloodier.

Not 'The Defender,' but we needed to show you something.

The peculiar sub had wheels and other innovative features.

Don't be afraid to throw around a curse or two!

"Never do better than the mime."

What really happened to Virginia Dare and the rest of the Lost Colony of Roanoke? In the late 1930s, an enterprising con man claimed to know.

The Legends Behind 6 Haunted Shipwrecks

11 Ancient Native American Earthworks You Can Visit

New 3D Scans Show the ‘Endurance’ Shipwreck in Stunning Detail

Jamestown’s Mysterious Black Tombstone Originated in Belgium, Archaeologists Say

Millions of Marine Fossils Discovered Beneath Los Angeles High School

Mysterious ‘Horseman’ Found in a Lead Coffin Beneath Notre-Dame May Have Just Been Identified

‘Le Lyonnais,' a Long-Lost French Steamship, Has Been Discovered Off the Massachusetts Coast

World’s Second-Largest Diamond Uncovered in Botswana

10 Famous Archaeological Hoaxes

7 Misconceptions About the Stone Age

5 Civilizations Destroyed by Climate Change

A Brief History of Bog Bodies

This $45 Million Stegosaurus Is Now the Most Expensive Fossil Ever Sold at Auction

The “New World Pompeii”: 10 Fascinating Facts about the Maya Village of Joya de Ceren

Egypt’s Giza Pyramids Might Have Been Built Next To A Now-Vanished River

The Unsolved Mystery of the ‘Mary Celeste’

10 Facts About L’Anse aux Meadows, North America’s Only Viking Ruins

Misconceptions About the Ice Age

The Iceman Baldeth: New Genome Analysis Shows Ötzi Had Surprising Ancestry—and Male-Pattern Baldness

13 Cool Facts About Ötzi the Iceman

5 of History’s Most Horrible Mutinies

A Century-Old Experimental Submarine, 'The Defender,' Is Found 'Hiding in Plain Sight' in Long Island Sound

7 Ancient Roman Curses You Can Work into Modern Life

The Dare Stones: The Elaborate Hoax That “Solved” the Mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke