A team of archaeologists in Saqqara recently the pyramid of Queen Neith — who they didn't even know existed until now.Zahi HawassSaqqara has been the scene of many astounding archaeological discoveries since 2020. Almost exactly 100 years after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, archaeologists in Giza made another find that rewrites much of what we know about ancient Egyptian royalty. Researchers have now uncovered the existence of a queen named Neith, who had remained unknown even to the experts for millennia.

What happened on this day in history: Gautama Buddha is born in present-day Nepal, Ryan White dies of complications from AIDS, and more.563 B.C.E.: Gautama Buddha Is Born Bettmann/Getty ImagesA giant Buddha statue in Japan. Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha, is born in Lumbini (present-day Nepal). The founder of Buddhism, Guatama was born to royal parents but later renounced his family’s wealth and became a wanderer in search of enlightenment.

Archaeologists excavating at Zorita de los Canes, a 9th-century hilltop castle in Guadalajara, Spain, recently unearthed the remains of a woman alongside an order of medieval warrior monks.Universitat Rovira i Virgili Researchers were surprised to find a woman among the remains of medieval warrior monks, then they found that she had injuries suggesting that she also died in battle. Throughout the Middle Ages, Christian and Islamic forces struggled for dominance in Spain during the so-called Reconquista.

Each week, we bring you an incredible experience from someone who lived it. In this edition, New York native Tina Trachtenberg — AKA “Mother Pigeon” — tells us how she came to dedicate her entire life to NYC’s most hated animals: rats and pigeons. In urban contexts, the pigeon is often regarded as the unsightly, disease-ridden cost of culture. Live in a city with a world-renowned museum? Chances are you also live somewhere filled with pigeons, dismissed by some as little more than “rats with wings.

Alexander Solonik’s Epic Prison Escape Wikimedia CommonsAlexander Solonik was the only person to escape from Matrosskaya Tishina and remain at large. Alexander Solonik was as mysterious as he was deadly. A former policeman, he was an expert marksman and proficient in martial arts. He may or may not have been in the Soviet special forces, but he undoubtedly became a contract killer for the Russian mob. While that landed him in prison, it also got him out of it.