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The new Acropolis museum has empty plinths waiting for the Elgin Marbles.

Robots and replicas: Is the British Museum going to lose its Marbles?

Robot sculptors creating near-perfect replicas of the Parthenon Marbles may provide the key to the long-running dispute over the ownership of one of the ancient world’s most contested treasures.

  • Simon de Bruxelles

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An Egyptian mug from the second century B.C. at the Tampa Museum of Art that was found to have traces of hallucinogenic plants.

Psychedelic traces found on mug from ancient Egypt

Egyptians may have used hallucinogenic substances as part of a fertility rite, researchers say.

  • Alexander Nazaryan

‘Peak popularity’: Why names go in and out of vogue

One of the earliest names ever recorded was Enpap-x. But Alexander and Freya are ancient too. Some names catch on, others fade from glory. Why? And what are the rules on trading in your name for a new one?

  • Angus Holland and Angus Delaney
Some of the footprints of two humans pieces found side by side in Kenya.

Footprints show two human species crossed paths 1.5 million years ago

One had an ape-like big toe, the other a high arch. One was a juvenile, another had a stiff foot.

  • Will Dunham
Matthew Flinders

Rare Matthew Flinders account of the first circumnavigation of Australia up for auction

An original 200-year-old copy of A Voyage to Terra Australis – complete with handwritten annotations and corrections – is expected to attract bids of more than six figures.

  • Rob Harris
Brecon Beacons National Park.

Rebranding the green, green grass of Wales

In a burst of national pride, Wales is slowly purging the names the English bestowed upon many of its natural beauties. But not everyone is happy.

  • Rob Harris
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Private George “Dick” Whittington is guided from the Battle of Buna byb”Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel” Raphael Oimbari. Christmas Day, 1942.

The battle over two of the most compelling images of war

A new book tells the remarkable story behind two photographers who fought censors to record the truth of war.

  • Tony Wright
Albert Jacka.

‘Machine guns and men in trenches’: On the eve of battle, Albert Jacka made an awful discovery

In early 1917, as the Allies prepared to take Bullecourt on the Western Front, Jacka was sent into No-Man’s Land.

  • Peter FitzSimons
Using a Lidar dataset, researchers revealed a previously unrecorded dense Mayan urban settlement, which they are calling Valeriana. 

More than 6000 Mayan structures discovered buried in Mexican jungle

The city, which has been named Valeriana by archaeologists, bears the hallmarks of an important regional capital.

  • Sarah Knapton
A page in The Settler’s Muster Book featuring the name Mary Wade. UNESCO describes the book as one of the most significant documents from the early years of British colonisation, highlighting its historical importance and untapped research potential

What Australia’s first census reveals about the country today

The handwritten account of the people – and sheep – living around Sydney in 1800 is a fascinating snapshot of early colonial history.

  • Julie Power

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/topic/history-jll