artifacts

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Human Remains Taken From Easter Island Are Returned
An Easter Island
Promise Is Kept
Nov 13, 2024 1:05 PM CST

An Easter Island Promise Is Kept

Artifacts taken by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl are returned, as intended: relative

(Newser) - Artifacts and human remains taken by a Norwegian explorer and anthropologist in the late 1940s are being returned to Easter Island, an Oslo museum said Wednesday. In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sailed on a log raft named Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 101 days to prove his theory—that...

Bust Bought for $6 Could Sell for $3M

Scottish town has buyer in mind as it looks to offload 18th-century Bouchardon Bust

(Newser) - It adorned a castle in the 19th century. It was purchased for just over $6 in a 1930 auction. And in 1998, it was used as a doorstop on a shed. Now, there could be another twist in the fate of the Bouchardon Bust, an early 18th-century sculpture of Scottish...

Pair of Porcelain Jars Sells for $12.5M

Rare Ming dynasty jars with covers smash the $1M Sotheby's estimate

(Newser) - A pair of beautiful ceramic jars dating back to China's Ming dynasty were expected to sell for around $1 million at a Sotheby's auction in London on Wednesday. But the bids kept climbing, and when the hammer finally fell, the 16th-century artifacts had topped the $12 million mark....

Woman Accused of Swiping Park's Artifacts in 'Complete Shock'

Colorado pair allegedly trespassed at cowboy camp in Utah's Canyonlands, took historic items

(Newser) - A Colorado couple has been hit with misdemeanor charges after authorities say they trespassed and swiped historical artifacts from an old-time cowboy camp at Utah's Canyonlands National Park. The Washington Post reports that the US attorney's office in the Beehive State announced this week that 43-year-old Dusty Spencer...

Rare Copy of Constitution in Filing Cabinet Sells for $9M

Document said to be the only privately owned copy of the US Constitution was printed 237 years ago

(Newser) - A rare copy of the US Constitution printed 237 years ago and sent to the states to be ratified was sold for $9 million at an auction Thursday evening in North Carolina. Brunk Auctions sold the document, the only copy of its type thought to be privately owned, at a...

Egypt's Massive $1B Museum Celebrates a Milestone

Facility long under construction opens 12 galleries in trial run

(Newser) - Under construction for two decades, delayed by war, civil unrest, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Egyptian Museum celebrated a milestone on Wednesday, partially opening its main galleries for the first time. The public can now access 12 huge galleries containing ancient Egyptian artifacts, NBC News reports. But this is...

Tribe's Sacred Artifacts Finally Escape Church Basement

Wyoming Episcopal Church returns hundreds of artifacts to Northern Arapaho Tribe

(Newser) - The Wyoming Episcopal Church is marking Indigenous Peoples Day by returning some 200 artifacts to the Northern Arapaho Tribe, which has been fighting for ownership for decades. The diocese has held the artifacts—including ceremonial headdresses, medicine bags, stunningly beaded clothing, bows and arrows, and children's toys—since 1946,...

Rare Jar Smashed by Boy, 4, Is Back on Display With New Sign

'Please don't touch,' museum advises visitors

(Newser) - A rare Bronze Age jar accidentally smashed by a curious 4-year-old visiting a museum in Israel was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together. Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the Hecht Museum in Haifa when their youngest...

Ancient Necklace Likely Looted From Turkey Returns Home

Boston Museum of Fine Arts is applauded for its move to return piece

(Newser) - A stunning gold and carnelian necklace displayed at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts for four decades is heading back "to its rightful home," per Smithsonian . The museum has returned the 2,500-year-old necklace to Turkey, from which it was likely stolen in 1976. Jewelry taken from Turkey'...

Just 8 of These Exist. We the People Can Now Bid on It

Minimum bid for rare 237-year-old copy of US Constitution found in NC filing cabinet: $1M

(Newser) - Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broadsheet of paper across a desk. It's in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it's just a few weeks shy of...

Museum to Kid Who Broke Ancient Artifact: Come Back

Israel's Hecht Museum let the 4-year-old who accidentally smashed jar piece it back together

(Newser) - A 4-year-old boy who accidentally broke a rare 3,500-year-old jar in an Israeli museum has been forgiven and was even invited back on Friday to help piece the jar back together, as curators hoped to turn the disaster into a teachable moment. Alex Geller, the boy's father, said...

Curious 4-Year-Old Shatters Museum's Ancient Jar

Bronze Age artifact does not survive an inquisitive boy at Israel's Hecht Museum

(Newser) - The clay jar at Israel's Hecht Museum had withstood the tests of more than three millennia, but it proved no match for a curious 4-year-old boy. The BBC reports that the child was "curious about what was inside" the 3,500-year-old jar that sat unprotected at the museum'...

A Rare Peek at Locked-Away Titanic Artifacts

BBC pays a visit to the secret warehouse storing thousands of items salvaged from the wreck

(Newser) - Our fascination with the Titanic has kept it in the headlines for the past 112 years, but some of its secrets are still under lock and key. The BBC had the chance to visit a secret warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia, filled with 5,500 of the ship's treasures, but...

Man's Find on Goodwill Site: a Piece of Washington's Tent
Man Hides Historic $1.7K
Goodwill Buy From Wife
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jul 27, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Man Hides Historic $1.7K Goodwill Buy From Wife

Richard Moore scooped up fragment of George Washington's tent from nonprofit's online store

(Newser) - If you prefer online shopping to in-person browsing, Goodwill's online store offers that option for not only its typical gently used clothing, books, and housewares, but also rarer items with heftier price tags. The nonprofit is now boasting of a "historic sale" via its site—a tattered piece...

Woman's $3.99 Thrift Store Find Is Priceless Mayan Artifact

Vase purchased in Maryland is actually ceremonial urn dating back 2K years

(Newser) - Five years ago, Anna Lee Dozier was browsing the shelves of the 2A Thrift Store in Clinton, Maryland, when she stumbled upon an interesting find in the clearance section. "It looked old-ish, but I thought maybe 20, 30 years old and some kind of tourist reproduction thing, so I...

US Returns $80M in Stolen Italian Artifacts

And says there are more such returns to come

(Newser) - Italy on Tuesday celebrated the return of 600 or so works of art looted from the country years ago and finally returned by the US. Together with 60 items the US repatriated to Italy last year, the antiquities are worth more than $80 million—an amount CNN reports is just...

Site Highlights Early Humans' Mastery of Wood, Largely Lost

Spear Horizon site shows evidence of splitting, carving wood 300K years ago

(Newser) - The Stone Age, launched roughly 3 million years ago, marks the time when tools first appeared. Early humans used stones for hammering, stones for grinding, and sharp stone flakes as knives and projectile points. But the Stone Age might just as well be called the Wood Age, German archaeologist Thomas...

With Signs of Afghan Looting, 'I Feel As If My Soul Is Dying'

Taliban denies looting at ancient sites despite evidence in satellite images

(Newser) - The Taliban's vow to protect the cultural treasures of Afghanistan may have been little more than lip service, according to researchers, who've uncovered evidence of the widespread bulldozing and looting of ancient sites. The Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation at the University of Chicago used satellite images and...

Auction Said to Be 'Nothing Short of Remarkable' Is Halted

Sale of Nelson Mandela artifacts has been suspended as South Africa fights for them

(Newser) - The planned auction of dozens of artifacts belonging to Nelson Mandela has been suspended pending a court application to completely halt it. The online auction had been scheduled by New York-based Guernsey's auction house on Feb. 24, in conjunction with Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, the eldest daughter of the anti-apartheid...

Mad Scramble in US Museums on Native American Displays

New rules handed down by Biden administration prohibit such exhibits without consent from tribes

(Newser) - Museums across America have started closing exhibits highlighting Native American artifacts in an attempt to comply with new Biden administration rules that mandate venues get the OK from Indigenous tribes before displaying those samples. The requirements under the updated Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act , originally passed in 1990,...

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