Ancient Technology

Dating back thousands of years are numerous examples of ancient technology that leave us awe-struck at the knowledge and wisdom held by people of our past. They were the result of incredible advances in engineering and innovation as new, powerful civilizations emerged and came to dominate the ancient world. These advances stimulated societies to adopt new ways of living and governance, as well as new ways of understanding their world. However, many ancient technology mysteries were forgotten, lost to the pages of history, only to be re-invented millennia later. Here we feature ancient technology history and dozens of amazing artifacts that reflect the brilliance of ancient minds.

The Lycurgus Cup.

3 February, 2018 - 01:55 aprilholloway

Romans Mastered Nanotechnology and Used it for Eye Catching Decoration

A strange chalice made its way into the British Museum’s collection in the 1950s. It is a 1,600-year-old jade green Roman artifact called the Lycurgus Cup. The image on the chalice is an iconic scene...

South Bridge, Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China.

2 February, 2018 - 01:50 aprilholloway

Dujiangyan: The 2,200-Year-Old Chinese Irrigation System That is Still Used Today!

The oldest irrigation system in the world is in China. Called Dujiangyan, it is also the only surviving monumental non-dam irrigation system from the ancient past. A marvel of Chinese science and...

Romano-British silver toothpick. (The British Museum) An ivory toothpick found in India. (The British Museum) A gold case with matching a tooth and earpicks.

19 January, 2018 - 01:58 dhwty

The Strange History of the Toothpick: Neanderthal Tool, Deadly Weapon, and Luxury Possession

A toothpick – the go-to little tool you select after a meal of corn on the cob, an object you absentmindedly chew on while listening to an unremarkable conversation, the piece of wood you carelessly...

Roman glass (not the legendary flexible glass). Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart.

18 January, 2018 - 01:50 dhwty

An Unbreakable Story: The Lost Roman Invention of Flexible Glass

Imagine a glass you can bend and then watch it return to its original form. A glass that you drop but it doesn’t break. Stories say that an ancient Roman glassmaker had the technology to create a...

Main: A scene of the Qing dynasty campaign against the Miao (Hunan) 1795 (public domain). Inset: Model of a Chinese South Pointing Chariot, an early navigational device using a differential gear.

15 January, 2018 - 13:59 dhwty

The South-Pointing Chariot: This Ancient Chinese Invention Led Armies In a Unique and Impressive Way

The south-pointing chariot is a Chinese invention that functioned in a similar way to a compass. Instead of pointing north, however, this device could point south, or any other direction it was ‘...

Prehistoric hand axe found in Israel.

10 January, 2018 - 13:59 Theodoros Karasavvas

Half-a-million-year-old Feeding Ground for Homo Erectus Found Near Tel Aviv

Archaeologists from Israel have announced the discovery of hundreds of hand-axes, most likely used by prehistoric humans from five hundred thousand years ago at Jaljulia, north-east of Tel Aviv...

Reconstruction of the Myklebust Viking ship burial chamber c. year 870 AD, Norway, probably containing King Audbjorn of the Fjords. The king’s head is resting on pillows filled with bird feathers.

10 January, 2018 - 01:50 ancient-origins

What Comforting Items Did Vikings Have That Are Still the Height of Luxury Today?

By ThorNews In the largest and most richly equipped Viking burial mounds discovered in Norway there are usually found beds and several types of bird feathers and down from pillows and duvets,...

Mount Ararat is located near the border between Armenia and Turkey. Insert: Image of Mount Ararat.

9 January, 2018 - 01:57 ancient-origins

Does ‘New Evidence’ Prove Noah’s Ark Is Buried on a Turkish Mountain?

By Tom Ozimek , Epoch Times Conclusive evidence of the existence of Noah’s Ark has eluded ark hunters since time immemorial. The Bible says the vessel made landfall on the “mountains of Ararat” in...

Aerial view of an ancient irrigation system discovered in the foothills of Xinjiang, China.

6 January, 2018 - 01:58 ancient-origins

Did Ancient Irrigation Technology Travel Silk Road?

Using satellite imaging and drone reconnaissance, archaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis have discovered an ancient irrigation system that allowed a farming community in arid...

A large hand axe found in the Wadi Dadsa.

30 December, 2017 - 02:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ancient Stone Artifacts Could Tell the Story of When Early Humans Spread Out of Africa

A team of archaeologists has announced the discovery of over a thousand stone artifacts, with some of them being up to 1.76 million years old. The discovery took place at Wadi Dabsa, in southwest...

Medieval style bathing depicted in calligraphy of a book circa 1400.

25 December, 2017 - 00:19 dhwty

Medieval Hygiene Might Have Been Better Than You Think

The Medieval period is usually perceived as a time in Europe during which the greater part of the continent was in decline. In many aspects of Medieval society, the quality of life was inferior as...

The four-handled tureen adorned with dragons, birds and spikes

15 December, 2017 - 13:56 Theodoros Karasavvas

Bronze Artifacts Found in 3,100-Year-Old Tomb Tell of Dynastic Take Over

Chinese archaeologists have discovered ritual tureen and “soup bowls” next to a badly decomposed body in a Zhou dynasty-era tomb. Among the remains there were also uncovered two wine vessels, which...

Romanian Postage stamp design 1989 with Conrad Hass, Austrian military engineer with an early rocket design.

4 December, 2017 - 22:55 dhwty

Conrad Haas’ Flying Javelin: Yes, It Is 16th Century Rocket Science

Conrad Haas was a military engineer who lived during the 16 th century. Not much is known for certain about Haas’ life, in fact, he was largely forgotten by history. But this changed in 1961, when a...

Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an, China.

29 November, 2017 - 01:58 johnblack

Terracotta Army Weapons Were Genuine, Military Grade and State of the Art

In 1974 in Xi’an, China, one of the world’s most phenomenal archaeological discoveries occurred. It was the moment when more than 8000 full scale warriors cast of clay were rediscovered after been...

The Viking weaver’s sword found at the South Main Street dig in Cork

28 September, 2017 - 14:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

1,000-year-old Viking Sword in Extraordinary Condition Discovered in Ireland

A 1,000-year-old wooden Viking weaver’s sword has been unearthed by archaeologists at the historic site of the former Beamish and Crawford brewery in Cork city, Ireland. Experts describe the sword as...

A cowboy boot in a horse’s stirrup.

23 September, 2017 - 13:59 dhwty

Giddyap! How the Stirrup Revolutionized Horseback Riding and Helped Build Empires

Seemingly simple, yet oh so significant - the stirrup is an invention that changed the history of the world. The emergence of the stirrup revolutionized the way horses were ridden and consequently re...

Tar collected in a birch bark container from the pit roll experiment, a technique which uses glowing embers placed over a roll of bark in a small pit.

5 September, 2017 - 01:52 ancient-origins

How Neanderthals Made the Very First Glue 200,000-Years-Ago

The world's oldest known glue was made by Neanderthals. But how did they make it 200,000 years ago? Leiden archaeologists have discovered three possible ways and published their findings in...

Five carved stone spheres from Scotland held at the Ashmolean Museum

22 August, 2017 - 23:06 Hugh Newman

Geometric Stone Spheres of Scotland: Part 2 – Explanations From Platonic Solids to Sexual Healing

The purpose of these, predominantly Scottish in origin, spheres is unknown, although simple theories range from projectiles to predictive devices and more. But the sophistication of their design and...

Figure 1. Geometric stone spheres. (Photo Credit: Martin Morrison, taken at Hunterian Museum, Glasgow)

21 August, 2017 - 19:01 Hugh Newman

Geometric Stone Spheres of Scotland: Part 1 – More Than A Projectile - What Possible Purpose 5,000-years Ago?

“O nly in the period when Megalithic Man was setting out the sophisticated stone rings has a sufficiently high standard of mathematical knowledge and skill ever been reached before the fifteenth...

Detail of a rattle, 1100-1470 AD, Chimu, north coast Peru, gold or gold-plated silver - Art Institute of Chicago.

11 August, 2017 - 02:01 aprilholloway

Golden Years: Metal Coating Techniques Used 2000 Years Ago Outshine Modern Methods

Ancient technology used by craftsmen 2000 years ago to apply thin films of metal onto their statues surpassed modern standards for producing DVDs, solar cells, and electronic devices. It makes you...

The Medieval ring found in Kavarna, Bulgaria (Image: Kavarna Municipality)

3 August, 2017 - 02:02 aprilholloway

Jewelry to Die For: 14th-Century Bulgarian Ring with a Killer Dose

When a medieval ring was uncovered by Bulgarian archaeologists excavating the remains of the medieval fortress on Cape Kaliakra, near the town of Kavarna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, they were...

Photo of camping bed found in Tutankhamun tomb. By Harry Burton

2 August, 2017 - 23:01 Theodoros Karasavvas

Why did King Tut Have Possibly the First Three-Part Folding Camp Bed Ever Made?

Researchers have analyzed a model of King Tutankhamun's bed and they have concluded that this was the first ever three-part folding camp bed in history. Experts suggest that the bed provides an...

Representation of a group of Neanderthals.

28 July, 2017 - 01:52 aprilholloway

Toolmaking Teachers? Surprising Skills Shared Between Neanderthals and Modern Humans

50,000-year-old tools made from deer ribs suggest modern humans may have learned tool-making from Neanderthals. Found in the southwest of France, these artifacts add to a growing body of evidence...

All images courtesy of Dr Rita Louise

24 July, 2017 - 18:56 Rita Louise

The Vajra: An Ancient Weapon of War

The vajra is the most important ritual implement of Vajrayana Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the word vajra is defined as something hard or mighty, as in a diamond. It symbolizes an impenetrable, immovable...

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