The Mithraic Mysteries worshipped a pagan god from subterranean temples buried throughout the empire. By Kerry Wolfe.

The 700-year-old shipwreck was found at a construction site in China, buried beneath silt and mud. It may have sank after being hit and taking on water. By Owen Jarus.

A mysterious bronze disc found in a shipwreck has finally been identified as the oldest astrolabe on record.

James Scott's search for the origins of the state. By Samuel Moyn.

Cahokia was bigger than Paris—then it was completely abandoned. I went there to find out why. By Annalee Newitz. (Dec. 2016)

Cuneiform was used for over 3,000 years in the Ancient Near East, but was only decoded in the 19th century. The writing form is still revealing amazing stories, from literature to mathematics. By Louise Pryke.

The aestivation hypothesis for resolving Fermi’s paradox. By Anders Sandberg, Stuart Armstrong and Milan Ćirković. (May 10, 2017) [PDF]

The brilliant object sits on display in a Viennese museum—and Mexico's been wanting it back for decades. By Jacob Mikanowski.

Akhenaten upended the religion, art, and politics of ancient Egypt, and then his legacy was buried. Now he endures as a symbol of change. By Peter Hessler.

A hoard of Roman bronze artefacts discovered in Gloucestershire includes a unique statue, never found before in Britain.

The charred remains of 2,500-year-old honeycombs, as well as other beekeeping artifacts, have been discovered in an Etruscan workshop in northern Italy.

Entire city was planned on a carefully thought-through grid system.

Then again, they may just have an awful lot of both. By Natasha Frost.

Was it even a good idea? By John Lanchester.

British and Iraqi archaeologists identify the first known settlement built under the enigmatic Sealand kings. By Mary Shepperson.

In “Enraged,” Emily Katz Anhalt shows how the earliest works of Western literature questioned the values of the society that produced it. By Mary Beard.

Our imaginative life today has access to the pre-linguistic, ancestral mind: rich in imagery, emotions and associations. By Stephen T. Asma.

New tool helps archaeologists “hear” history. By Giorgia Guglielmi.

As the US press and social media came alive in condemnation as a result of the Hobby Lobby smuggling case, I couldn’t help but notice that while the hashtag #HobbyLobbyisISIS is noticeably attention-grabbing the more important facet of the “is-that-object-looted” puzzle was still being overlooked. By Lynda Albertson. (July 9, 2017)

Pop culture has always found something sexy about female fighters, who feature in everything from Sumerian hymns and Greek mythology to the new Wonder Woman film. By Christian-Georges Schwentzel. (May 25, 2017)