Crossroads Roundup: Missing Caravaggio Unveiled, an Ancient Egyptian Structure Found, and the Lost Colony of Roanoke

Our favorite stories on art, archaeology, folklore, and more from this past week.

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Ecce Homo, Caravaggio ca. 1605-1609. Via @MuseodelPrado on X (Twitter).

This week, several high-profile paintings were in the news, including the above Ecce Homo by Caravaggio.

Back in 2021, Ansorena Auction House in Spain put Ecce Homo up for sale for just €1,500, mistakenly attributing it to a minor 17th-century artist. When the Prado Museum in Madrid caught wind of the story, they alerted the auction house that there existed “sufficient stylistic and documentary evidence” that the painting was by Baroque master Caravaggio. In response, the Spanish government placed an export ban on the painting and granted the piece heritage status, ensuring it could be properly evaluated.