How Corruption And Division Doomed The Roman Empire, See The Shockingly Well-Preserved Bog Bodies Of Ancient Europe, And More

See this week's most popular stories from History Uncovered. [History Uncovered]( [Why Did Rome Fall? Inside The Empire's Tumultuous Decline]( [The golden years of "Pax Romana" came to an end in 180 C.E. with the ascension of the dictatorial Commodus as emperor. The fall of Rome arguably began over the next century, as the empire began to confront serious political and economic issues, transforming "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust."]( [44 Wild Photos From The Drug-Fueled Heyday Of Studio 54]( [In the late 1970s, this was the greatest party on Earth.]( [The Tragic Story Of American Airlines Flight 191, The Chicago Plane Crash That Killed 273 People]( [In May 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 crashed just minutes after departing Chicago's O'Hare Airport, killing 273 people and sparking a wave of new airline safety regulations.]( [33 Eerie Photos Of Centuries-Old Bog Bodies That Are So Well-Preserved They Look Like They Only Just Died]( [From the Tollund Man to the Yde Girl, the ancient European mummies known as bog bodies date back thousands of years and are some of history's best-preserved corpses.]( [Remains Of 13 Executed People Uncovered At A 16th-Century Gallows In Slovakia]( [At the site of a former gallows in Holíč, archaeologists unearthed 13 people's remains and two metal buckles.]( [Enormous Viking Ship Discovered Thanks To Metal Detectorists At An Historic Manor In Norway]( [2,000-Year-Old Tattoo Gun Made With Cactus Spines Identified As Oldest Tool In Northwestern America]( [This discovery is a full millennium older than prior tattoo tools discovered in the area.]( [Roy DeMeo: The Butcher-Turned-Mobster Who Perfected The Art Of Killing — And Was Behind 200 Murders]( [Gambino soldier Roy DeMeo and his deadly crew of killers used their chilling "Gemini Method" to murder untold dozens of victims throughout the 1970s and early '80s.]( [A 2,000-Year-Old Roman Sandal Was Just Pulled Out Of A Well Near An Ancient Military Fort In Germany]( [Researchers Have Located The Oldest Known Deep-Sea Shipwreck — And Uncovered Priceless Artifacts From It]( [The vessel likely sank between 1400 and 1300 B.C.E.]( [How Sharon Tate Went From Hollywood 'It Girl' To Manson Family Murder Victim]( [Sharon Tate has become a footnote in the Charles Manson murders of 1969, but the Hollywood actress was far more than a victim.]( [Researchers Uncover Evidence That Ancient Egyptians May Have Performed Cancer Surgery As Early As 4,000 Years Ago]( [A 4,600-year-old Egyptian skull features possible signs of cancer surgery, upending previous ideas of when such techniques arose.]( [Scientists Recreate The Beer Of Ancient Egypt Using 5,000-Year-Old Yeast]( [The beer was described as "spicy, and somewhat fruity, and it's very complex in flavor."]( [The Disturbing Story Of John Rolfe And Pocahontas That You Didn't Learn In History Class]( [Iron Age Celtic Woman Found Buried In A Hollowed-Out Tree Trunk In Zurich]( [She ate significant amounts of starches and sweets, performed little manual labor, and was buried with fine clothing and intricate jewelry.]( [King Charles II Was The Last Habsburg Ruler Of Spain — Because The Family Couldn't Stop Inbreeding]( [Charles II died in 1700 at the age of 38 after suffering from countless maladies throughout his lifetime. His autopsy report read that his body "did not contain a single drop of blood; his heart was the size of a peppercorn; his lungs corroded; his intestines rotten and gangrenous; he had a single testicle, black as coal, and his head was full of water."]( [Listen To The History Uncovered Podcast]( ["That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," astronaut Neil Armstrong said on July 20, 1969, the day humanity first landed on the moon. It was the middle of the Cold War, and the Russians had already sent Sputnik into orbit. To this day, many believe the moon landing was faked - so was it?]( [Support History Uncovered, Become A 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](