Artifacts

There are undoubtedly millions of ancient artifacts from the past that have served to shed light on the lives of our ancestors from many millennia ago. But some ancient mystical artifacts stand out for their uniqueness, their intrigue, or their ability to expand our knowledge about previously unknown aspects of our history. Here we feature many such ancient history artifacts, from amazing examples of ancient technology, to artistic masterpieces, unexplained objects, ancient texts, and mysterious artifacts that shed light on the daily lives of our ancestors.

Representational image of a tamil bell from inside of Meenakshi Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu, South India. Source: Владимир Журавлёв / Adobe Stock

13 March, 2022 - 13:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Age-Old Mystery of New Zealand’s Tamil Bell

It was 1836 when William Celenso, a Christian missionary from Cornwall in England, first stumbled upon the mysterious Tamil Bell in a remote Maori village in New Zealand. It was being used as a...

The nine classes of gold objects from Bronze Age Britain analyzed in the study. Source: © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 / Antiquity Publications Ltd

12 March, 2022 - 13:58 Nathan Falde

Gold Not Used as Money in Bronze Age Britain, Claims New Study

In Bronze Age Britain (2,500 to 800 BC), gold was frequently mined and used to manufacture a range of decorative and ceremonial objects. But in contrast to other areas, it seems that people of that...

Game pieces and board retrieved from the excavation site in Oslo, Norway. Source: Ida Irene Bergstrøm / Science in Norway

11 March, 2022 - 21:59 ashley cowie

Game Pieces Of The Medieval Norwegian Dope Addicts

Game pieces from the gaming and gambling history of Norway have been discovered in medieval Oslo. So bad did gambling addiction become that the king had to change national gaming laws. An excavation...

Scanning the Mali manuscripts, which are now under the protection of SAVAMA-DCI, who are digitizing the rescued artifacts. Source: Mali Magic / Google Arts & Culture

11 March, 2022 - 17:30 Sahir

Mali Manuscripts Rescued and Digitized to Celebrate the Malian Renaissance

Mali has recently been in the news for its decision to oust French troops from its territory. The French were originally summoned to prevent jihadists from taking control over Africa’s eighth-largest...

Ukrainian heritage is already endangered by the crisis. Here shows the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum shown burning (left) with artwork of Maria Prymachenko (right) destroyed. Source: The Art Newspaper

11 March, 2022 - 13:56 Nathan Falde

Ukraine Officials Rush to Stop Destruction of Ukrainian Heritage

The National Museum of Ukraine in the city of Lviv was once a busy and active place. Tourists and visitors streamed in and out in large numbers every day, enjoying the opportunity to explore its...

The return of the moai to Rapa Nui from Chile. Source: Paula Rossetti

10 March, 2022 - 21:52 Cecilia Bogaard

The Return of the Moai: Rapa Nui and the Fight for its Ancestors

Rapa Nui, the original name for Easter Island, is most famous for its giant monolithic moai statues. Located 3,512 km (2,182 mi) off the coast of Chile, Rapa Nui has suffered a history of constant...

Authorities seized stolen artifacts, including three magic incantation bowls. Source: Yoli Schwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority

10 March, 2022 - 00:59 Nathan Falde

1500-Year-Old Magic Bowls Inscribed with Spells Seized in Jerusalem Raid

During a raid on a private home in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) seized a large cache of stolen or illegally excavated archaeological...

Reproduction horse armor and linen pierced by an arrow point. Source: Jones et. al. / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

9 March, 2022 - 13:58 Sahir

Knights and Armored Steeds: Was Horse Armor Effective in Battle?

Nothing recalls the medieval era in Europe better than the image of a gallant knight in shining armor mounted on a fully barded—or armored—steed. But how effective was such mail horse armor in...

A rare Pictish stone discovered near the site of the Battle of Nechtansmere in Scotland. Source: University of Aberdeen

8 March, 2022 - 18:21 ashley cowie

Rare Pictish Stone Uncovered in Scotland’s Birthplace

Archaeologists in Scotland have unearthed a carved Pictish stone which might be associated with the formation of the nation in what has been dubbed “the find of a lifetime.” When describing the...

The evidence found in north China from roughly 40,000 years ago, including advanced stone tools and ochre processing knowledge, was created by ancient humans. However, archaeologists are still trying to figure out who these ancient hominins were, and the choices are Neanderthals, Denisovans or Homo sapiens. Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock

8 March, 2022 - 13:59 ashley cowie

40,000-year-old Tools Used by Ancient Humans Unearthed In North China

Archaeologists in China have unearthed a hoard of intricately crafted stone blades and ochre processing activities attributed to ancient humans living less than 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of...

Gold ingots from China (representational image). Source: malp / Adobe Stock

7 March, 2022 - 21:57 Nathan Falde

Chinese Gold Ingots Stolen From 18th Century Shipwreck Have Been Returned

The United States government has just returned a collection of historically significant artifacts stolen by fortune hunters to the French government, to whom the artifacts rightfully belong according...

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest ochre workshop in East Asia in north China and a recent study in the Nature journal shows how the lithic tools found at the site link to Africa. Source: Griffin University

3 March, 2022 - 21:55 Sahir

Advanced Human Culture Dating Back 40,000 Years Found in China

A new study published in the journal Nature by an international team of archaeologists has provided fascinating new insights into hunter-gatherer lifestyles 40,000 years ago in north China, and Homo...

Erotic Mochica artifact, a ceramic ceremonial vessel representing the sexual union between a man and a woman. Source: Museo Larco / Google Art Project

2 March, 2022 - 13:58 ashley cowie

Erotic Peruvian Artifacts Being Used to Prevent Cancer in Men

Health authorities in Peru are teaching men how to inspect their genitals to catch early cancers. To achieve this goal they are using ancient Mochica artifacts depicting sexual scenes. Would you...

The so-called world’s oldest trousers discovered in China’s Tarim Basin used different textile techniques for different parts of the trouser fabric. Source: M. Wagner / Archaeological Research in Asia

27 February, 2022 - 21:59 Sahir

World’s Oldest Trousers Used Methods Still Employed by Modern Fashion

Back in 2014, a pair of pants were discovered in the Tarim Basin in China. Believed to be the oldest pair of trousers in the world, they were made between 3,000 and 3,300 years ago. Dating back to...

Collage of various measures of unit of length. Source: Andrey Armyagov / Adobe Stock

27 February, 2022 - 14:00 ancient-origins

A Rediscovered Unit of Length and Implications for the Neolithic

Following work which began in the 1970s and spanned nearly 40 years, Peter Harris and Norman Stockdale identified a “new” unit of length in 2015. They called it the Harris and Stockdale Megalithic...

Ubaid Lizardmen Source: CC by SA 4.0

26 February, 2022 - 21:59 johnblack

Ancient Reptilians: The Unanswered Mystery of the 7,000-Year-Old Ubaid Lizardmen

It is a commonly accepted view in mainstream archaeology that civilization started in ancient Mesopotamia with the great civilization of Sumer in what is now modern-day Iraq. However, at the...

The four lead ingots discovered in a shipwreck off the coast of Israel. Source: Ehud Galili / University of Haifa’s Institute for Maritime Studies

23 February, 2022 - 13:58 ashley cowie

Four Ancient Lead Ingots Rewrite Cyprus’ Role in Bronze Age Trade

It’s all changed in the ancient history of Cyprus, thanks to the discovery by archaeologists that the copper-rich island was a significant trader during the fall of empires in 1200 BC. The keys to...

These two daggers were found in King Tutankhamun's burial wrappings: the lower one is King Tut’s dagger made from iron from a meteorite, and likely foreign made according to the latest research study. Source: Ancient Egypt

22 February, 2022 - 20:48 Sahir

King Tut’s Dagger Twist: It Was Not Made In Egypt

Subject of many studies and investigations, Egyptian King Tut’s dagger has already been proven to have been made from meteorite iron. A recent study has now added a new dimension to exactly where...

This statue was originally painted. Left: Painted replica of Augustus of Prima Porta statue with pigments reconstructed for the Tarraco Viva 2014 Festival

22 February, 2022 - 00:58 Riley Winters

A More Colorful Ancient World: Classical Statues Were Once Painted

Once upon a time, long before wars, natural disasters, and erosion took hold of the ancient Greek statues, these ivory gems vibrated with color. Ancient Greek sculptors valued animated and pulsating...

A rare iron arrowhead dating to AD 300-600 was found at Sandgrovskaret in 2018. Source: Espen Finstad/Secrets of the Ice

19 February, 2022 - 14:00 Nathan Falde

Reindeer Hunting Relics Found On Ancient Mountain Trail in Norway

Fittingly, archaeologists who explore landscapes exposed by glacial melt are known as glacial archaeologists. In 2018, a team of these specialized experts were dispatched to the ice-covered mountains...

Pages from the 15th century medieval manuscript the Talbot Shrewsbury Book. Source: British Library / Public domain

18 February, 2022 - 13:59 Sahir

Lost Lovers and Heroes: 90% of Medieval Manuscripts Have Not Survived

A study comparing the survival of medieval manuscripts and tales from regions around Europe has arrived at some stark conclusions about the preservation of the medieval European past. A vast majority...

Earl of Derwentwater's bedsheet from the Tower of London, embroidered with a message made of human hair from Anna Maria Radcliffe in tribute to her executed husband will be part of the Dockland executions in London exhibition. Source: Museum of London Docklands

17 February, 2022 - 18:00 Sahir

Bedsheet Lovingly Embroidered With Hair Likely From A Severed Head

The Museum of London Docklands is preparing for a somewhat macabre exhibition entitled Executions [in London]. Slated to begin in autumn, the executions in London exhibits will feature some of the...

The Scythian woman’s skull found in a new Siberian burrow tomb at the famous “Siberian Valley of the Kings,” and her large crescent shaped gold neck ornament clearly visible along with another gold item just below her upper jaw. Source: Igor Pieńkos / Science in Poland

17 February, 2022 - 14:00 Nathan Falde

Unique Golden Pectoral Ornament Found in 2,500-Year-Old Scythian Grave

While performing excavations inside a large barrow (burial mound) at a place known as the “Siberian Valley of the Kings,” a team of Polish and Russian archaeologists uncovered the remains of two...

Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera – Part I

16 February, 2022 - 00:54 WalterJoergLangbein

Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera – Part I

In 1961, the Rio Ica burst its banks and flooded parts of the Ocucaje Desert. Was an earthquake responsible for the flood? When the water had retreated, the local farmers inspected the damage. Their...

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