The Dokos shipwreck, the oldest discovered to date, is more than 4,000 years old

Historians estimate only 1% of shipwrecks have been discovered

The oldest known shipwreck dates to around 2,700–2,300 BCE, but evidence suggests humans started open-ocean sailing at least 50,000 years ago. Many have completely deteriorated but artifacts aboard the vessels remain, while many lack historical records of the event or location.

Explore a database of more than 200,000 wrecks

Only a small fraction of shipwrecks occurring throughout human history have been discovered. This database is the largest compilation to date, and includes more than 80,000 images, with related news updated on a rolling basis.

Researchers discover a massive Lake Superior shipwreck

A 292-foot Whaleback ship, Barge 129, was found in Lake Superior 120 years after a storm sank it, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society said.

The Antikythera mechanism: The oldest-known analog computer

A device now considered the world's oldest computer was pulled from a shipwreck more than 120 years ago. Known as the "Antikythera Mechanism," it is now believed to have allowed precise tracking of astronomical positions, and its sophistication overturned understanding of Ancient Greek capabilities.

Maritime trade in the Mediterranean accelerated during the late Bronze Age

This map illustrates the vibrant trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age (circa 1500–1200 BCE), highlighting an era of growing interconnectivity among major powers including Egypt, the Hittite Empire, Mesopotamia, and others.

The oldest DNA recovered so far is 2 million years old

The oldest DNA recovered so far is about 2 million years old and has given scientists an unadulterated peek into ancient history. This nine-minute video explores the findings and implications of the DNA, which was pulled from frozen soil in...

Human settlements may be older than previously thought

This narrative article follows an archaeological team as they sift through the remains of Nahal Ein Gev II, an ancient village near the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Abandoned about 12,000 years ago, the site has been investigated for years and...

Santa Barbara's Channel Islands revealed the oldest skeletal remains in North America

IN 1959, archaeologists found a human femur jutting out from a rock face on Santa Rosa Island. Using the then-new technology of radiocarbon dating, they measured the age of the remains at 13,000 years—the oldest in the continent.

Archaeologists decode the first known sentence in what may be the oldest written alphabet

This five-minute video details the accidental discovery and subsequent decoding of the first known sentence in what's believed to be the oldest written alphabet. The Canaanite sentence was found on a Bronze Age hair comb unearthed in Tel Lachish, a city of the ancient Biblical Kingdom of Judah, during a dig focused on excavating the kingdom's first Iron Age city. The Canaanite language developed sometime between 3,000 and 1,000 BCE.

Why only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still exists

Greek writers recorded lists of great structures that were later codified by Renaissance writers. The definitive list includes the Colossus of Rhodes, the Giza Pyramid (the only existing one today), the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

A photo gallery of underwater shipwrecks

Tobias Friedrich is a German scuba diver specializing in underwater photography. Check out this stunning gallery of shipwrecks as well as other galleries on conservation, sharks, and more.

The underground cities of the Byzantine Empire

This TED-Ed video explores the mysterious cave cities of Cappadocia. Although their oldest sections may go back to the Bronze Age, most of these subterranean complexes were excavated during the Byzantine period, when the locals went underground to take shelter from Arab raiders. Monasteries were also cut into pinnacles of the local tufa, and decorated with frescoes that have often survived to the present.

A look at the Kidd Creek Mine in Canada, which houses the world's oldest isolated water

The mine sits on the Precambrian Canadian Shield—an ocean floor dating back 2.7 billion years. Exhibiting a musty smell, the water is 10 times saltier than seawater and offers insights into Earth's ancient seabed.

What did the earliest swords look like?

That depends on where you draw the line between daggers and swords. According to current evidence, the first swords appeared 5,000 years ago in what's now Turkey. Unfortunately, evidence of the earliest swords is colored by survivorship bias; It's...

Hear what ancient Greek music sounded like

Greek poetry was usually created with the intention that the words would be sung along with music. Evidence and reconstructions of ancient melodies and instruments mean researchers and musicians of today can play music in which the final notes have long since faded.

Explore this hantavirus cruise ship outbreak case map from May 2026

Assembled from case information from state and health agencies, this detailed mapping includes the last known locations of each confirmed, deceased, and suspected case and their status.

The 10 most amazing deep sea creatures

In this video, researchers from the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium discuss the most fascinating deep sea creatures, and how they developed some of their strangest features.

Analysis finds dementia was rare in ancient Greece

Ancient medical texts seldom mention severe cognitive decline, suggesting that such conditions were uncommon. This scarcity is attributed to factors like shorter lifespans and active lifestyles, implying that modern environmental and lifestyle changes—along with longer life expectancy—contribute to the current prevalence of dementia.

Experts reconstruct Pompeii’s daily life—and whether disaster could strike again

This documentary utilizes archaeology, X-rays, and 3D reconstructions to reconstruct what the streets, homes, and rituals of Pompeii looked like before 79 CE. Scientists also use satellite imaging to track landslide risks that could damage the site today.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

22 fascinating discoveries of massive gold coin hoards

The gallery highlights major gold coin treasures from ancient to modern times, from the Saddle Ridge hoard in California in the 1800s (now worth $10M) to finds in Baltimore, Kentucky, and more. Each discovery reveals something about the period, with some buried and others left in vaults.

Watch how engineers salvaged almost every sunken ship at Pearl Harbor

This four-part video series explains the massive effort to raise, repair, and refloat the Pacific Fleet—detailing the engineering challenges, diving operations, and months of around-the-clock work that restored all but three damaged ships to active service.

How a modern 'beer archaeologist' crafts ancient ales

The short documentary follows Travis Rupp, a University of Colorado classics professor who also works with Avery Brewing to produce Ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Peruvian beer.

Visit these 'blue zones,' where people live the longest

Blue zones, a term coined in 2004 by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner, are regions in the world where people live the longest and healthiest lives. Researchers have identified a few key aspects defining the culture of these areas—physical activity, diet, purpose-driven lives, and more. Explore the top five blue zones from across the world here.

Fossils form in environments where dead organisms can be rapidly buried

Such landscapes enable corpses to be encased by terrain before significant decay occurs. They are most commonly found in river deltas and sinking coastal regions, where sediments accumulate over time until geological forces expose the areas to erosion, revealing embedded fossils.

A volcanic island north of Sicily is the world's longest continuously active volcano

Stromboli has been releasing lava for at least 2,000 years, with the earliest recorded eruption dating back to 350 BCE. Its mild but ongoing bursts of bright lava have earned it the nickname, "lighthouse of the Mediterranean."

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

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.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

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

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

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

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

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

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.