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![A fragmented mosaic of Alexander the Great](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/u9omhsHVQkMe6oURyE4b8k-320-80.jpg)
What if the Persians had defeated Alexander the Great?
By Owen Jarus published
The world we live in might be unrecognizable if Alexander the Great had been defeated by the Persians.
![Three skulls are shown in a museum exhibit. They all have pock-marks on their frontal bones. There are two signs that label them as people who had tertiary syphilis.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/HbNxUNmV999TdtWyvo37V8-320-80.png)
Syphilis originated in the Americas, ancient DNA shows, but European colonialism spread it widely
By Kristina Killgrove published
Paleogenomics has finally solved a question that has puzzled researchers for decades: Where did syphilis come from?
![Silver amulet with rolled-up silver sheet inside against a white background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q4JxZLvx5Dk5SseNmeyvQH-320-80.png)
1,800-year-old silver amulet could rewrite history of Christianity in the early Roman Empire
By Kristina Killgrove last updated
A silver amulet found next to a skeleton in a 1,800-year-old grave in Germany speaks to the importance — and the risk — of being Christian in Roman times.
![A variety of reliquaries, some with their heads missing](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/F5DnFKdiUD6kb8cFApq3Ze-320-80.jpg)
188 medieval figurines that held Christian saints' bones unearthed in Berlin's oldest town square
By Owen Jarus published
Archaeologists have found 188 medieval reliquaries during excavations at a square in Berlin. Some of them still contain human bones of people considered to be saints or holy.
![A reconstruction of a late Neanderthal from El Salt.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/waiNnxX4cmTZbcjv8VCqtG-320-80.jpg)
10 fascinating discoveries about Neanderthals in 2024, from 'Thorin' the last Neanderthal to an ancient glue factory
By Kristina Killgrove published
This year, we learned that our Neanderthal cousins were a lot like us, despite treading their own path that ended in extinction.
![A sculpture of Lamassu in a museum](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/t4tnnNdkiGL3o4g6TLh8hR-320-80.jpg)
Ancient Assyrian capital that's been abandoned for 2,700 years revealed in new magnetic survey
By Margherita Bassi published
A new magnetic survey of the ancient Assyrian capital of Khorsabad has revealed several structures, including a villa, buried underground.
![A skeletonized horse's mouth appears in the middle of the image, its top teeth showing. Archaeologists work in the background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4dhywk3PsqYeSxvrVyZB3V-320-80.png)
Archaeologists have found dozens more sacrificed horses in 2,800-year-old burial in Siberia that's eerily similar to Scythian graves
By Sierra Bouchér, Kristina Killgrove last updated
The sacrifices could be an early form of a Scythian burial tradition that lasted for hundreds of years.
![A cropped image of the statue of a child with a ball in its left hand.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dcja5zyE7zBxi53LiYHLQU-320-80.jpg)
'Truly extraordinary' ancient offerings, including statues of snakes and a child priest, found submerged in 'healing' spring in Italy
By Owen Jarus published
The remains of ancient bronze statues, including sculpted snakes up to 35 inches long, have been found within a hot spring in Italy.
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