The Bloody History Of The Knights Templar, Inside The Suspicious Death Of George Reeves, And More From History Uncovered

Read our most popular stories from this week. [History Uncovered]( [Researchers Just Used Homer's Iliad To Help Them Locate Ancient Shipwrecks Off The Coast Of Greece]( [Within the wreckage of the ships, archaeologists found a Spanish amphora dating to 150-170 C.E., Roman-era pottery of African origin, and a stone anchor from ancient Greece estimated to be 3,000 years old.]( [Vows Of Chastity, Fierce Battles, And The Holy Grail: Inside The Bloody History Of The Knights Templar]( [The Knights Templar was a Catholic military order formed during the Crusades — and some believe the group found the legendary Holy Grail while in Jerusalem.]( [Family Discovers That The Painting Hanging In Their Dining Room For 30 Years Is A JMW Turner Worth $40K]( [In the early 1990s, a buyer purchased a watercolor painting of Bishop Vaughan's Chapel at St. David's Cathedral in Wales at an auction for the equivalent of $300 today — and they just realized it's an original work by Joseph Mallord William Turner that may be worth up to $40,000.]( [George Reeves Rose To Fame As Superman In The 1950s — Then He Died In A Suspicious 'Suicide']( [Police ruled George Reeves' death in June 1959 a suicide, but a series of suspicious events surrounding the incident led some people to point a finger at the actor's fiancee — or even the Mafia.]( [Archaeologists In China Just Uncovered A Shockingly Well-Preserved Ming Dynasty Tomb](  [The Portrait That Made Henry VIII Fall In Love With Anne Of Cleves Has Been Restored At The Louvre]( [When Henry VIII saw Anne of Cleves' portrait, he took delight in "the pretty, doll-like face that looked back at him, with its fair hair" and "demure, maidenly expression."]( [The True Story Of Prescott Bush, From His Support Of Planned Parenthood To His Ties To Nazi Germany]( [The patriarch of the Bush political dynasty, Prescott Bush represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate from 1952 to 1963 — and paved the way for both his son and grandson to become presidents.]( [The Tragic Tale Of "The Elephant Man" Who Just Wanted To Be Like Everybody Else]( [Before he turned five years old, numerous still-unexplained growths began to form on Joseph Merrick's head and limbs. Ostracized for his strange looks, he survived by working as a freak show performer known as the "Elephant Man."]( [A Moat And Bridge Of 'High Significance' Were Just Found At A Medieval Farmhouse In England]( [Researchers at Cowfield Farm uncovered the remains of a Medieval farmhouse dated to the 12th or 13th century C.E., complete with a moat and a wooden bridge.]( ['Lady Pirate' Anne Bonny Ruled The 18th-Century Caribbean — And Made Her Male Comrades Look Tame]( [Whether she was wielding a sword or firing one of her many pistols, Anne Bonny was among the most fearsome pirates of her time.]( [25 Haunting Photos Of Shrunken Heads That Reveal The Truth Behind This Ancient Practice]( [For centuries, the Jivaroan people of South America severed and shrank the heads of their enemies for rituals and trophies — and later for trade.]( [A Viking-Age Sword Was Just Pulled From An English River By A Man Fishing With A Magnet]( [Trevor Penny was magnet fishing in Oxfordshire's River Cherwell in November 2023 when he pulled a sword from the water — and it's now been authenticated as a Viking weapon dating to between 850 and 975 C.E.]( [These 11,000-Year-Old Facial Piercings Were Just Found In Turkey — And They're Among The World's Oldest](  [Inside The Wager Mutiny, The 18th-Century British Crew Revolt That Descended Into Murder And Cannibalism]( [The British warship HMS Wager was supposed to "annoy and distress the Spaniards" in the South Seas. Instead, the crew became stranded on an uninhabited island — and descended into chaos.]( [Listen To The History Uncovered Podcast]( [Most depictions of Mary Magdalene in popular culture characterize her in the same way: as a sex worker. In the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, for example, Mary is critiqued by Judas for her "profession" and later describes how she's quote-unquote "had so many men." Indeed, most people, when asked to describe Mary Magdalene, would probably say she was a sex worker, one who became a symbol of forgiveness and redemption through her relationship with Jesus.]( [Become An All That's Interesting Member]( [For just $4.99 a month, you'll enjoy all our content without ads, receive a quarterly letter from the editor, and get exclusive access to premium podcast episodes.]( [Unsubscribe]( [Web Version]( [History Uncovered On Instagram]( [History Uncovered On Facebook](