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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.

Giza pyramids where the Dixon relics were discovered. Source: kanuman / Adobe.
30 May, 2019 - 18:55 Morgan Smith

Lost Artifacts of the Great Pyramid: The Mysterious Case of the Dixon Relics

There is a certain perception of the Great Pyramid as an utterly void arrangement of empty halls and chambers, strangely bereft of artifacts and inscriptions that might offer clues to its...
Vintage armillary sphere.
30 May, 2019 - 18:53 dhwty

Armillary Spheres: Following Celestial Objects in the Ancient World

Astronomy is often considered to be one of the oldest branches of science. In many ancient societies, astronomical observations were used not only for the practical job of determine the rhythm of...
Angel and a page from the book of Raziel
22 May, 2019 - 19:28 Kerry Sullivan

Practical Magic: The Secret Teachings of the Book of Raziel the Angel

Within the varied teachings of the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah there is a minor tradition known as Practical Kabbalah (Kabbalah Ma’asit). This branch concerns itself with the use of...
Samurai armor is both brutal and delicate.
22 May, 2019 - 01:36 Kerry Sullivan

The Brutality and Delicacy of Samurai Armor: Superior Protection with a God-like Aesthetic

The Samurai class was officially dissolved over 150 years ago. Nonetheless, the warriors’ elaborate armor is still recognized globally as an iconic emblem of Japanese military strength and virtue...
Death mask of Napolean Bonaparte
21 May, 2019 - 23:03 ancient-origins

10 Sacred Masks for Hunting, Ritual, Shame and Death

Masks are one of the few things on the earth that connect all of humanity throughout time. We have created ritual masks since our very beginnings in order to disguise, protect, or entertain. They...
A comet strike/ Tutankhamun’s brooch/Tutanhhamun’s Sarcophagus
21 May, 2019 - 20:53 Joanna Gillan

Tutankhamun’s Scarab Brooch Confirmed as Born From a Direct Comet Hit

The fascinating story of the origins of a component in Tutankhamun ’s scarab brooch has been furthered this week. It has been established that some of the material found in that brooch was result of...
Royal Palace at Ebla. Source: CC BY-SA 3.0
21 May, 2019 - 19:05 ancient-origins

First Kingdoms: The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ebla

Spectacular things were happening in Mesopotamia in the period we call the Early Bronze Age, particularly in the southern part of it, commonly called Babylonia. It was here that the wealthy,...
Charred food remains from hearths were discovered, left by ancient humans eating starch. Source: PetarPaunchev / Adobe.
21 May, 2019 - 01:41 ancient-origins

Earliest Evidence for a Cooked Starch Paleo Diet

New discoveries made at the Klasies River Cave in South Africa's southern Cape, where charred food remains from hearths were found, provide the first archaeological evidence that anatomically modern...
Work using the Statue of Gilgamesh and Lamassu. Source: CC BY 4.0
19 May, 2019 - 22:58 Gordon Board

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead...
The ancient Crusaders' DNA can help us understand historical events. Source: Alessandro Cristiano / Adobe.
19 May, 2019 - 18:58 ancient-origins

A History of the Crusades As Told by Crusaders' DNA

History can tell us a lot about the Crusades , the series of religious wars fought between 1095 and 1291, in which Christian invaders tried to claim the Near East. But the DNA of nine 13th century...
Finger bone fragment containing Denisovan DNA. Source: Thilo Parg / CC BY-SA 3.0.
18 May, 2019 - 18:49 Glenn Dahlem

Did the Denisovans Walk to North America?

For a people from whom one 41,000 year old finger bone fossil from a nine year old girl, along with a bracelet she wore, were (until recently) the only authenticated known artifacts, the mysterious...
The passage of carts over decades could cause ruts (like the one shown), particularly in high-traffic areas of Pompeii.
17 May, 2019 - 12:37 Ed Whelan

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The buried city of Pompeii continues to provide many insights into Roman society , economy, and culture. The ash and pumice , that fell on Pompeii from Mount Vesuvius , froze the city in time. A...
Example of an ancient calendar. The ancient Egyptians created a calendar with 365 days in a year.
16 May, 2019 - 16:52 dhwty

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The calendar is one of mankind’s most important inventions. Calendars allowed societies to organize time for religious, social, economic, and administrative purposes. The calendar, or rather, two...
Imprints found in the cave allowed analysis of ancient human behavior
15 May, 2019 - 23:57 ancient-origins

14,000-year-old Footprints in Italian Cave Reveal Ancient Human Behavior

Evidence of crawling in an Italian cave system sheds new light on late Stone Age human behavior in groups, especially when exploring new grounds, says a study published today in eLife. The Discovery...
Archaeological excavations illuminate human environmental impact.
13 May, 2019 - 22:55 ancient-origins

New Data Platform Illuminates History of Human Environmental Impact

The human environmental footprint is not only deep, but old. Ancient traces of this footprint can be found in animal bones , shells , scales, and antlers at archaeological sites. Together, these...
The Copper Scroll part of the Dead Sea Scrolls
12 May, 2019 - 23:08 mhearns

The Copper Scroll Abacus: Is the Real Treasure Found In the Numbers?

Even the most intriguing mysteries have a sell-by date in a 24/7 mass communications age. But one has proven itself to be more enduring since a copper scroll was unearthed on the coast of the Dead...
Sumerian tablets, Sumerian script is known as cuneiform. Source: Pixabay/ CC0
9 May, 2019 - 22:56 dhwty

Sumerian Tablets: A Deeper Understanding of the Oldest Known Written Language

Ancient languages are captivating despite the fact that studying them or learning about them is a long, complex process. Of course, many students just get briefly acquainted with this subject and...
Quedlinburg Castle and Monastery, Quedlinburg, Germany where the Annals of Quedlinburg were written.
8 May, 2019 - 00:22 dhwty

The Annals of Quedlinburg: Rare Example of Female Scholarship in Medieval Europe

Mention medieval scholarship , and the first image that most people will have would probably be that of a monk with a quill in his hand and an open book before him. The most well-known scholars of...
The Burney Relief
5 May, 2019 - 18:55 dhwty

The Famous Burney Relief: Who Was the Mysterious Mesopotamian Goddess?

The Burney Relief (known also as the Queen of the Night) is a terracotta plaque from ancient Mesopotamia . The relief is dominated by a nude female figure with wings and talons . She is usually...
Was sophisticated Roman technology used in construction of the Roman Colosseum?
4 May, 2019 - 17:04 Joanna Gillan

Romans Had Ancient Tech for Creating Seismic Invisibility Cloak Around Monuments

A team of civil engineers in France have revealed that the Romans had ancient technology for building structures that acted like modern-day electromagnetic cloaking devices. The pattern of...
Representation of the cuneiform inscription discovery about the ancient city of Karkemish
4 May, 2019 - 13:16 ancient-origins

Ancient Inscription Details Conquest of Assyrian King Sargon II

In "A New Historical Inscription of Sargon II from Karkemish," published in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies , Gianni Marchesi translates a recently discovered inscription of the Assyrian King...
Assyrian Cuneiform
25 April, 2019 - 23:54 dhwty

Deciphering Cuneiform to Get a Handle on Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

Cuneiform is a system of writing that was invented by the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia. Believed to have been created sometime during the 4th millennium BC (between 3500 and 3000 BC), this script...
Was the Brazil Tablet left by early Transatlantic explorers?
25 April, 2019 - 01:30 Clyde Winters

The Brazil Tablet: Dropped in the Jungle by Early Transatlantic Explorers?

In 1310, Malian explorers led by Mansa (King) Abubakari set sail to discover new lands across the Atlantic. A mysterious statuette was left by these ancient explorers in the Brazilian jungle...
Artistic representation of a shotel sword (PetriBot / CC BY-SA 4.0) on a fractal background. (Pixabay License)
20 April, 2019 - 13:58 Sarah P Young

The Shotel Sword: Ancient African Weapon Was Worn To Impress the Ladies

One thing that every culture has in common is weaponry, and that weaponry is often unique and distinctive in its appearance. Swords are a particularly prevalent example of this – from the...

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