See images of modern Druids who visit Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice

Watch the sunset at Stonehenge during the 2025 Summer Solstice

Each year, tens of thousands gathered at Stonehenge to witness the sun’s alignment with the stones during the solstice. Watch a replay of a lifestream of the event from 2025.

An artist recreated Stonehenge as a bounce house in 2012

Though Stonehenge is sacred to many modern druids and pagans, artist Jeremy Deller reimagined it as a giant inflatable bouncy house—touring Paris, London’s 2012 Olympics, and even Stonehenge itself.

Is the sun aligned with Stonehenge right now?

Twice a year, during the longest day and night, the sun’s path aligns ever so gently with the ruins of Stonehenge. During the summer solstice, viewers can see the sun’s rise crest the central heel stone. The winter solstice sees the sun set across the site’s altar stone. Use this interactive to tour the historic site and check its current skyscape.

The winter solstice has been celebrated globally for millennia

From gatherings at Stonehenge in the UK to celebrations of the triumph of Mithra in Iran, cultures around the world have marked the shortest day of the year in a variety of ways for a very long time. Here are eight known to us today that endure.

Take a virtual tour inside Stonehenge

Prehistoric visitors approached Stonehenge along a processional route known as the Avenue, where the sunrise of the summer solstice aligns with the sarsen stones. This interactive 3D tour recreates that experience with explainer videos and detailed sidebars.

Stonehenge was part of a continent-wide "henge" boom

While Stonehenge is the most famous, it was one of roughly 1,300 henges built across prehistoric Europe. This piece from the British Museum situates Stonehenge within the broader ceremonial tradition.

Norse Yule solstice rituals inspired many modern Christmas decorations

Scandinavian Vikings celebrated Yule during the winter solstice, burning massive, decorated logs to protect their homes and ensure good harvests, while hoping for the sun's return. The festival included evergreens, mistletoe, holly, and ivy.

Scientific advances have transformed understanding of Stonehenge’s builders

Techniques such as radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, and isotopic testing have revised scholars' understanding of Stonehenge. This article presents evidence suggesting that societies were more cooperative and less violent than earlier theories had suggested.

Hear the story of the police crackdown on a Stonehenge festival in 1985

This documentary revisits the 1985 police crackdown on a massive free festival at Stonehenge, when the UK government under Margaret Thatcher blocked access and deployed 1,300 riot police—an event that reshaped public access to the site.

The booming fossil industry on the Jurassic Coast

Ever since the Jurassic Coast was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001, professional and amateur fossil-finders have increasingly set out for its craggly cliffs to discover ammonites, icthyosaurs, and even new discoveries. This photo essay takes a human look at the growing interest and industry in fossil discoveries along the famed 95-mile strip of England.

Renaissance Faire's provide an escape into the late medieval world

These cultural events (roughly 300 distinct fairs in the US) stem from the original festival in Los Angeles in 1963. Long viewed as a hippie festival, the fests attract eclectic fans—historians, craftworkers, dramatists and drinkers. Listen to a quick survey of the festival's surprising origins.

See artifacts from the ancient Olympics at the Met

For nearly a millennium, the ancient Greeks gathered every four years to participate in or watch sports, from footraces to a type of mixed martial art. These events—in some cases known as the Olympics—provided the basis for the modern event, which began in 1896 in Athens.

Photos from Burning Man 2023

The annual Burning Man festival occurs in August where over 70,000 people gather in the austere setting of the Black Rock Desert playa in Nevada. The city is set up for a week in concentric circles where attendees set up their habitats and art...

What one seventh-century European teen might have looked like

A 16-year-old girl believed to have traveled from Central Europe to England in the seventh century was buried with rare, expensive jewelry. Her body was found in Cambridge, England in 2012, and analysis revealed what her face likely looked like. See...

Oktoberfest revelers wear traditional dress

Lederhosen (short leather pants) and dirndls (dresses with lace-up bodices) are found everywhere at Oktoberfest, This short documentary explores the resurgence of traditional clothing in Germany, which extends beyond Oktoberfest.

A look at some of the world's most unique churches

From a skeleton-adorned church in the Czech Republic to wooden churches built without nails in Russia, this video explores some of Christianity's most intriguing architectural feats. These places of worship were built in remote areas throughout history, and show amazing innovation. See a fascinating glimpse into the overlooked structures, along with stories of how and why they came to be.

Bardcore: the modern exploration of medieval music

The medieval instrumentation and lyric interpretation of modern pop, rock, metal, and hip-hop took off in April 2020, launching a new and growing genre. Bardcore is defined by its use of musical nostalgia and internet culture’s “memeification,” according to the historians in this nearly two-hour-long podcast. Listen to this episode to hear a medievalist and music historian break down the rise, relevance, and reasons behind Bardcore.

Egypt's pantheon is the result of a thousand years of myths

Their pantheon consisted of nearly 2,000 divine beings which evolved over time, led by the broadly worshipped sun god Ra. Many of the myths surrounding each god changed dramatically or even intertwined with others as cult followings grew popular or shifted from city to city.

See the winning photos from a major European nature photography contest

Selected from nearly 9,000 submissions by 546 photographers across 15 countries, the honored images range from clashing Alpine ibexes to a wolf feeding on flower nectar, captured by the grand prize winner, 20-year-old Luca Lorenz.

One hundred rare, vintage photos of the British royal family

Their power may be in symbol only, but the Royal family commands our attention anyway. Take a look through the last few decades at some of the more choice, unknown shots of the Royal family, from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III.

Experience Maya culture through art—both ancient and modern

This gallery showcases how Maya culture endures through both ancient monuments and modern artistic expressions, tracing visual traditions from pre-Columbian carvings and murals to contemporary works created by Maya artists.

Miracles versus magic: How early Christians distinguished their beliefs from pagan ones

This in-depth article describes how early Christians attempted to differentiate their beliefs and rituals from those that came before. One major difference? Demons. For pagans, demons could be good or bad, occupying the middle ground between gods...

Native Americans developed pottery and religion, and experienced population growth during the Woodland period

Between 500 B.C.E. and 1100 C.E., Indigenous peoples produced pottery and practiced animism, a spiritual worldview in which animals, plants, and natural forces are believed to possess sacred power. They moved seasonally to make the most of available resources.

See images of the spring break scene of the '80s

A guide to the modern supra

This essay was written by an American who ventured to a Georgian village in search of a modern supra, the traditional communal feast hosted by a toastmaster that has existed for centuries. What he found was a warm, welcoming, and wine-soaked experience.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.