A wildfire high in the mountains of Wyoming has revealed a vast, centuries-old Shoshone campsite, with artifacts numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
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Wrecks From Infamous 19th Century Whaling ‘Disaster’ Discovered Off Alaska Coast
With help from both new technology and global warming, archaeologists have discovered the site of The Whaling Disaster of 1871 — one of the worst debacles in the history of American whale-hunting — off the coast of Alaska.
Read More‘Forgotten Casualty’ of Pearl Harbor Attack Revealed Off Coast of Hawaii
Archaeologists in Hawaii have documented, for the first time, one of the first casualties of the attack on Pearl Harbor 74 years ago.
Read More200-Year-Old Shipwreck Survivors’ Camp Found on Alaska Island
A group of Russian traders who found themselves shipwrecked on an Alaskan island in winter more than 200 years ago are no longer just figures in local lore. This summer,…
Read MoreOrigin of ‘Spanish Armor,’ Said to Have Been Found in Texas Desert, Stumps Scientists
It seems to have passed through more hands than The Maltese Falcon. And it’s proving to be nearly as mysterious. Two pieces of iron armor — reportedly first found in…
Read MoreNevada’s ‘Peace Camp,’ The Last Site of Its Kind, Reveals History of Cold-War Protests
It was visited by scientists and celebrities, from Carl Sagan to Martin Sheen. It was the year-round home of less famous activists for decades. And it was nearly lost, until…
Read MoreRadioactive Wreck of WWII Aircraft Carrier Discovered Near San Francisco Bay
After more than 60 years — and some of the most intense action that a military vessel has ever seen — a World War II-era aircraft carrier has recently been…
Read MoreSite of Deadliest Native American Massacre Identified in Idaho
A peaceful patch of farmland in southeastern Idaho likely holds a grisly, bitter history — but the full story remains hidden, at least for now. Archaeologists surveying acreage along the Bear…
Read MoreAt 50, Ring-Tab Beer Cans Are Now Officially Historic Artifacts
[Editor’s Note: This is just one of Western Digs’ top stories of 2015: Discover the other surprising, enlightening, and sometimes disturbing finds that were the Top 5 Archaeology Discoveries in the American…
Read More‘Mysterious’ Winchester Rifle From 1882 Found Leaning Against Tree in Nevada National Park
Archaeologists surveying the remote reaches of Nevada‘s Great Basin National Park came upon a tantalizing find from the Old West — a weathered, 132-year-old Winchester repeating rifle, discovered propped up against a juniper tree, just…
Read MoreHundreds of 19th-Century Wickiups Recorded in Colorado Mountains
In the mountain forests of western Colorado, archaeologists and tribal members have recorded scores of sites that contain the remains of hundreds of wickiups, cone-shaped wooden structures built by the Ute, or Nuche, people more than…
Read MoreSunken WWII Ship, Famed for Pearl Harbor Rescue Mission, Discovered Off Hawaii Coast
Archaeologists exploring the ocean depths just off the coast of Oahu have discovered, intact, the sunken vessel that carried out a gripping rescue mission on December 7, 1941 — sailing…
Read MoreShipwrecks Discovered in Nautical ‘Graveyard’ at San Francisco’s Golden Gate
Maritime archaeologists say they’ve discovered the wrecks of two great but long-forgotten ships, along with a newly found “mystery wreck,” just outside San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate. Researchers with the…
Read MoreVinyl Records Excavated at Famous ’60s Commune Challenge ‘Hippie’ Stereotype, Study Says
The Grateful Dead once lived there, apparently taken with the acoustics of the living room. Its bucolic grounds were featured on the back cover of the Dead’s 1969 album Aoxomoxoa….
Read MoreFrom Stone Darts to Dismembered Bodies, New Study Reveals 5,000 Years of Violence in Central California
From shooting their enemies with darts and arrows to crushing their skulls and even harvesting body parts as trophies, the ancient foragers of central California engaged in sporadic, and sometimes…
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