New Year’s resolutions have been around long enough that we all seem to stick to the same ones—hit the gym, lay off the candy, read more books, call your mother—regardless of whether we follow through with our intentions. While January 1 seems like the perfect time to start anew, exactly when people developed that mindset …

Scientists at a leading laboratory in the United States are using a cutting-edge form of X-ray to scan inside an Egyptian mummy that has never been unwrapped since its excavation a century ago. This is the first time that such a high intensity synchrotron X-ray will have been used on a mummy, with the aim …

A rare original Greek copy of ‘Jesus’ secret teachings to his brother James’ has been discovered by biblical scholars. Fragments of a 1,600-year-old heretical document describe how Jesus passes on knowledge of heaven and future events, including James’ inevitable death. The text, from the story the ‘First Apocalypse of James’, refers to James as Jesus’ …

The first Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar in 55BC is a historical fact, with vivid accounts passed down by Tacitus, Cicero and Caesar himself. Yet, despite a huge landing force of legionaries from 800 ships, no archaeological evidence for the attack or any physical remains of encampments have ever been found. But now …

A gold laurel leaf removed from the crown Napoleon Bonaparte wore to his coronation sold for 625,000 ($735,000) euros at an auction in Paris on Sunday. The sale price far exceeded the estimate of between 100,000 and 150,000 euros, Al Arabiya reports, citing Osenat auction house. The leaf was one of six cut from the …