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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.

The terracotta figure represents an acrobat, created to provide entertainment in the afterlife for Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Source: Xinhua
14 June, 2022 - 14:36 ashley cowie

One In 8,000! This Unique Terracotta Figure Is Unlike All The Rest

Let’s begin this story with an exercise. If you are not driving, lie down on your back. Bend your knees and place your feet on the ground about your hips-width distance apart. Now, place your right...
Top; The short Hallstatt sword with design was characteristic of the Bronze Age. Middle; Longer sword, designed to take advantage of the stronger properties of iron and was dated to the very beginnings of the Iron Age. Bottom; Bowl-head pin made of a non-ferrous metal alloy.
13 June, 2022 - 14:41 Sahir

2,800-year-old Hallstatt Swords Rewrite Bronze to Iron Age Technological Leap

Two extremely rare early Iron Age Hallstatt swords dating to the eighth century BC have been unearthed in the Bavarian town of Andechs in Starnberg district. These 2800-year-old swords are among the...
Archaeologist Dr. Paloma de la Peña working at one of the lithic tool sites that revealed the ancient communication network across the region for making these tools to near exact specifications. Source: © Dr Paloma de la Peña
9 June, 2022 - 22:33 Nathan Falde

65,000-Year-Old ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Tool Reveals Ancient Communication

A team of international scientists has discovered an enlightening fact about early humans who lived in southern Africa between 60,000 and 65,000 years ago. Similarities in their toolmaking technology...
An archaeologist excavates a ceramic artifact at the pre-Hispanic Aztatlán culture settlement in Mexico, hidden beneath the urban sprawl of the west coast port city of Mazatlán. Source: INAH
9 June, 2022 - 18:51 Sahir

Pre-Hispanic Aztatlán Culture Evidence Found Under Mexican Urban Sprawl

Workers carrying out paving and infrastructure work in Mexico’s southern port city of Maztalan stumbled upon ancient human remains from a pre-Hispanic Aztatlán culture settlement. Preliminary...
The world famous York Viking poop fossil or Lloyds Bank coprolite that is about 900 years old. Source: Linda Spashett/ Wikimedia
8 June, 2022 - 19:00 Robbie Mitchell

The Lloyds Bank Coprolite: The Importance of One Huge Viking Poop

The scenic city of York in England has a lot to be proud of. The city, in one form or another has been nestled between the Ouse and Foss rivers for over 2,000 years. It has a rich history dating back...
Jim Fitton, a retired British geologist on holiday, was sentenced to 15 years of prison in Iraq for antiquities smuggling. Source: YouTube screenshot / itv News
7 June, 2022 - 18:46 Sahir

British Geologist Gets Ridiculous 15-year Prison Sentence in Iraq

In a legal case that has been unfolding in Iraq since the last week of March, the arrest of a retired British geologist has the seismic potential to rock diplomatic relations. When Jim Fitton was...
A Roman road found in west Wales was the same road used to transport bluestones to Stonehenge according to the latest research. Source: Mark Merrony / Oxford University
7 June, 2022 - 14:53 ashley cowie

Stonehenge’s Bluestone Tracks Discovered Beneath Roman Road

An Oxford University archaeologist exploring the Welsh countryside has discovered an ancient Roman road in Wales. He believes it might be the lost route upon which the bluestones were transported to...
Recent research and experimentation has recreated the original "high-tech" way of Egyptian olive oil production. This stone panel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), entitled "Clutching an Olive Branch," is from circa 1353–1323 BC in the New Kingdom, Amarna Period. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art
6 June, 2022 - 18:33 Sahir

Egyptian Olive Oil Production Method Recreated With Delicious Results!

Dr Emlyn Dodd, an archaeologist specializing in the study of ancient food and drink, has attempted to recreate the ancient and original method of Egyptian olive oil pressing called the torsion method...
Ancient amphorae, China. Source: lotusjeremy / Adobe stock
6 June, 2022 - 14:55 Nathan Falde

4,000 Years Ago, Chinese Advances Were Fueled By Mass Beer Production!

What were the important forces and factors that led to notable evolutionary leaps in Chinese culture more than 4,000 years ago? New research identifies one major cultural development that helped...
Aerial drone image of the Cerne Giant chalk figure, Dorset, England. Source: Roberto / Adobe Stock
5 June, 2022 - 23:00 Andrew Swan

The Cerne Giant and the Egyptian Osiris Hypothesis

In the county of Dorset in southwest England is an enigmatic figure which has been carved into the side of a hill. Known as the Cerne Giant, it is a 55-meter (180 foot) tall depiction of a naked man...
The 2,000-year-old silver penis pendant was discovered by a metal detectorist. Source: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
4 June, 2022 - 18:59 Sahir

Roman Penis Pendant Found in Britain Declared a “National Treasure”

A Roman “penis pendant,” or more accurately a phallic amulet, found in England 18 months ago, has been declared a national treasure. Described as a first-of-its-kind find, it was discovered by metal...
The first ever stylistic representation of the “young corn god” of the Maya, from the 7th century, recently discovered in a lost ritual pond in the vast remains of Palenque, Mexico. Source: INAH
4 June, 2022 - 14:40 Sahir

1300-Year-Old Severed Head Sculpture Located in the ‘Lost City’ of Maya

The first published European account of the lost city of Palenque is from 1567, by the Spaniard, Father Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada, who found this vast abandoned Maya city. The local Chol Maya called...
Dr. Margaret Maitland, Principal Curator of the Ancient Mediterranean at National Museums Scotland, with the recently discovered ancient Greek graduate yearbook. Source: National Museums Scotland
3 June, 2022 - 18:28 ashley cowie

Ancient Greek ‘Graduate Yearbook’ Discovered in Scottish Vault

An unknown ancient Greek marble inscription stored in a museum vault since the 1880s has been rediscovered in Scotland. New research now shows that the tablet includes a list of young men who took...
The red painted curse found in a new tomb at UNESCO-listed Beit She'arim, Israel, about 100 km or 62 miles northwest of Tel Aviv, which warns would-be grave robbers that Jacob is watching! Source: IAA
3 June, 2022 - 14:57 ashley cowie

Disturbing Red Painted Curse Discovered In Jerusalem Catacomb

An ancient painted curse has been discovered in a tomb in Beit She'arim. Representing the first such discovery in 65 years, the timeworn Greek text warns thieves that Yaakov (Jacob) “the Proselyte”...
The Condor pot discovered at Chavín de Huántar Source: Antamina
2 June, 2022 - 18:58 ashley cowie

Hidden Tunnels Lead to 3,000-Year-Old Condor Gallery At Chauvín de Huántar

When an archaeologist in Peru squeezed into a tunnel at Chauvín de Huántar in Peru, he discovered a hidden 3,000-year-old chamber. At the center of the ancient space he came across a singular...
An unusually large amber bead is the “apple-of-our-eye” find from the Gjellestad Viking ship excavation, according to archaeologist and project manager Christian Løchsen Rødsrud. Source: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo
2 June, 2022 - 14:59 Sahir

Most Exciting Finds From The Gjellestad Viking Ship So Far

It was in the May of 2020 when a 1,000-year-old Viking ship burial site, the Gjellestad Viking ship, was planned for extensive excavations. The site was discovered in 2018 and since then Ancient...
This ancient Urartian bronze belt, a rare artifact from the mysterious Urartu culture, was recently discovered in the ancient city known as Satala in Turkey. Source: TRT Haber
1 June, 2022 - 15:13 Sahir

Bronze Urartian Belt Proves Kingdom Extended Much Further North

The past four years of excavations in Turkey’s ancient city of Satala have produced many exciting finds. Perhaps the most remarkable of the artifacts discovered there so far are the ornate Urartian...
Some of the 250 newly discovered mummy sarcophagi at the outdoor pop-up Djoser exhibition in Saqqara south of Cairo. Source: Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities
30 May, 2022 - 22:47 ashley cowie

New Treasures of Saqqara Showcased at the Pop-Up Djoser Exhibition

Egypt’s oldest pyramid in Saqqara was the spectacular venue for a pop-up Djoser exhibition in the desert outdoors. This is no tent with a few plastic chairs, but a fully equipped travelling museum...
This phallus has insulting Roman graffiti above it that was meant for another Roman soldier. The insult reads: “You shi**r!” Source: Vindolanda Charitable Trust
26 May, 2022 - 22:39 ashley cowie

Roman Graffiti Shows Carved Phallus With Insult Found at Vindolanda Fort

A sizable, engraved penis has been discovered at the Vindolanda Roman fort in England, with a clear insult carved above it. The Roman graffiti insult, aimed at another Roman soldier, reads: “You shi...
Researchers generated a virtual sequence to unfold a sealed letter protected via letterlocking. Source: Unlocking History Research Group / CC BY 4.0
26 May, 2022 - 18:56 Lex Leigh

Securing Ancient Secrets: The Fascinating History of Letterlocking

Communication through written word existed long before the days of text messages and DMs, and even then some kind of security was needed to protect people’s secrets. When we think of a handwritten...
The Fajada Butte Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon in New Mexico is a spiral petroglyph that is lit up with brilliant streaks of focused Sunlight at key moments in the year. Source: YouTube screenshot / Mystery History
24 May, 2022 - 15:00 Caleb Strom

Connecting Heaven and Earth: The Sun Dagger of Fajada Butte, New Mexico

Near the entrance to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA is an imposing butte that had sacred significance to the ancestral Pueblo culture, who inhabited Chaco Canyon up until about 1150 AD. On Fajada...
Herod’s calcite-alabaster bathtub found in Kypros fortress. Source: Prof. Amos Frumkin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem / Nature
23 May, 2022 - 22:58 Nathan Falde

Herod the Great’s Alabaster Bathtubs

Herod the Great was renowned for his ambitious projects and extravagant tastes. Now a major discovery has come regarding these projects, from of all places, his bathtub. Two beautiful bathtubs...
Maya teeth were turned into jeweled teeth by skilled ancient dentists, but a recent study suggests that this also benefited oral hygiene! Source: Gary Todd / CC0
22 May, 2022 - 22:58 ashley cowie

Ancient Maya Tooth Bling Was Also Good for Oral Hygiene!

The Maya loved their bling and often decorated their teeth with gemstones. But maybe these weren’t all just for show. A new study conducted by the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the...
Bronze Age spear found in Cirencester, England. Source: Thames Water
21 May, 2022 - 18:58 Sahir

Near-Pristine Bronze Age Spear Dated Over 3,000 Years Found in Britain

Spearheads are often seen as representing the ‘highest tradition of the Bronze Age’. This statement is exemplified by the discovery of a Bronze Age spear at a Thames Water sewage works in Cirencester...

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