Around the World March 1, 2011
VIRGINIA: An encrypted message in a bottle dating to the Civil War has been removed and deciphered by codebreakers. "You can expect no help from this side of the river," began the unsigned message, which is in a museum collection. It was meant for Confederate Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, in response to his request for aid during the Siege of Vicksburg in Mississippi. But the note never reached his hands—it was dated July 4, 1863, the date he surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant.
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2018
Letter from Virginia July/August 2015
Excavations are providing a new look at some of the Civil War’s earliest fugitive slaves—considered war goods or contraband—and their first taste of liberty
Digs & Discoveries November/December 2022
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2022
Features September/October 2024
How the rapidly evolving field of archaeogenetics is unlocking secrets of the past
Features September/October 2024
After a century of searching, a chance discovery led archaeologists to one of the most important sanctuaries in the ancient Greek world
Features July/August 2024
Across the Indonesian archipelago, people raised immense stones to honor their ancestors
Features July/August 2024
Archaeologists return to Nineveh in northern Iraq, one of the ancient world’s grandest imperial capitals
Features May/June 2024
From Iraq to West Africa and the English Channel to the Black Sea, archaeologists are on the hunt for evidence of once-great cities lost to time
