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The Immovable Ladder at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Immovable Ladder: Bizarre Feud Prevents Ordinary Ladder Being Moved for 3 Centuries

The Immovable Ladder is an ordinary wooden ladder with an extraordinary history. It was placed under a window on the exterior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem and, due...
The Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci

It’s March 25 – Happy Medieval New Year!

March 25 this year will fly by for most of us as just another day in the Gregorian calendar. But the date was far more significant in the past. For over a millennium across Europe and beyond this was...
Ancient Christian Ruins with Biblical Inscriptions Discovered in Egypt

Ancient Christian Ruins with Biblical Inscriptions Discovered in Egypt

A series of ancient Christian ruins, including monks’ cells and the remains of three churches with well-preserved biblical inscriptions, have been found in Egypt dating back to the fourth century AD...
Armenia’s Greatest Military Leader: Vardan Mamikonian And His Dynasty

Armenia’s Greatest Military Leader: Vardan Mamikonian And His Dynasty

Vardan Mamikonian was an Armenian military leader who lived between the 4 th and 5 th centuries AD. He is best-known for leading the Armenians against the Sassanians at the Battle of Avarayr in 451...
The Mysterious Codex Argenteus: Famed Silver Bible of the Goths

The Mysterious Codex Argenteus: Famed Silver Bible of the Goths

The Goths, one of the major Germanic tribes of ancient times, were a key player in the events that marked the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. Although their era lasted only a few centuries,...
Is the Blood of Jesus Really Held in the Basilica of the Holy Blood?

Is the Blood of Jesus Really Held in the Basilica of the Holy Blood?

Bruges in Belgium is a world-famous city, known for its incredible architecture. The Basilica of the Holy Blood, a Roman Catholic basilica, stands proud among the many incredible buildings. The...
Sunbeams illuminating a church

A Sacred Light in the Darkness: Surprising Winter Solstice Illuminations at Spanish Missions

On Monday, Dec. 21, nations in the Northern Hemisphere mark the winter solstice – the shortest day and longest night of the year. For thousands of years people have marked this event with rituals and...
St John knights castle at night, Rhodes island, Greece

Rhodes Island, Home to Famed Warrior-Monks Who Fought for their Beliefs

The island of Rhodes which now forms part of Greece, has a long and dramatic history dating back 12,000 years to the Neolithic era. In the medieval period it was the headquarters of The Order of...
The Battle of Rocroi, by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.

Social Consequences of the Thirty Years' War: Was it Worth it?

The Thirty Years’ War was a major European war that occurred during the 17th century. While the conflict took place mainly in the area of modern day Germany, it involved many of the great European...
View of the baptistery in the ancient city of Butrint, Albania.

Christian Symbols Hidden in Ancient Pagan Mosaics of Butrint Baptistery

For many years Albania was an isolated country, but in recent decades it has opened to tourists and we are gradually becoming more familiar with its many spectacular heritage sites. The remarkable...
A fragment of the 5th-century chalice etched with Christian symbols, unearthed at Vindolanda in Northumberland. Credit: The Vindolanda Trust

Holy Grail of Christian Graffiti Discovered On 5th Century Chalice

A lead chalice-cup etched with Christian iconography and letters from three languages has been discovered in remains of 5th-century church on Hadrian’s Wall in England, but what does it say?...
The Holy Saviour Church in Chora. Credit: Yordan Rusev / Adobe Stock

Turkey Converts ANOTHER Former Byzantine Church into a Mosque

Just one month after announcing that the world-famous Hagia Sophia, originally a Byzantine cathedral, would be converted back into a mosque , Turkish President Erdogan has inflamed tensions yet again...
The Garden Tomb, rock tomb in Jerusalem, Israel      Source: valenizi / Adobe Stock

Could the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem be the Site of Jesus’ Resurrection?

Jerusalem is an ancient city, founded as the City of David in 1010 BC, but there is evidence of settlements going back to 4500 BC. It has been conquered more than 40 times by various nations,...
Marine archaeology students examine the pottery near the bulkhead at the Israeli shipwreck. Source: A. Yurman/Leon Recanati, Institute for Maritime Studies of the University of Haifa

Shipwreck Found With Both Christian and Muslim Artifacts

Off the Israeli coast, marine archaeologists have been excavating a mysterious shipwreck that is changing how experts think about the 7th century AD in the Middle East. The vessel sank in a period...
Aerial view of 1,300-year-old church in the village of Kfar Kama, near the Mount of Transfiguration (Mount Tabor), Israel. Source: Alex Wiegmann, Israel Antiquities Authority

Archaeologists Make Biblical Discovery at Mount of Transfiguration

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a 1,300-year-old church with exceptionally well-preserved mosaics beside the famous Biblical Mount of Transfiguration. Perhaps one of the widespread...
Closeup of the front side of double-side mold recently found in Switzerland.                Source: Graubünden Archaeological Service

Does This Ancient Mold Depict Christ Or Odin? You Decide

A team of excavators at an archaeological dig in Chur, Switzerland have unearthed a 1000-year-old double-sided mold that was used to forge Christian jewellery . Or was it? The unusual double-sided...
This lintel engraved with a cross was found during excavations at a Christian town in Galilee. Source: G. Cinamon & Y. Lerer

Excavators Find Christian Town in Galilee’s ‘Forbidden Territories’

After years of investigations, Israeli archaeologists now believe that they have uncovered a Byzantine-era Christian town in Galilee. This site has yielded a host of remains and historic artifacts...
Representational image of Moors in Spain.   Source: Théodore Chassériau / Public domain

Deciphering the Truth Behind the Moors in Spain

Al-Andalus is the name given to the Iberian Peninsula when it was under Muslim rule. Islam arrived in that region with the arrival of the Moors during the 8 th century AD, and succeeded in conquering...
The possible Church of the Apostles at el-Araj is currently underwater.

Church of the Apostles Found? Maybe, But It’s Underwater for Now

Archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority have made what they claim to be a major discovery. They believe that they have found a Byzantine-era church that was built on the site of the home...
The Dead Sea Scroll fragments, which originally were believed to be blank, but now new research has revealed ancient writing.           Source: University of Manchester

‘Blank’ Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Reveal Hidden Message

A team of experts have made an important discovery about some Dead Sea Scroll fragments in the United Kingdom. They have found letters on four fragments that were believed to be ‘blanks’. This...
San Gennaro catacombs                   Source: coca / Adobe Stock

Why the Bones of San Gennaro Were Removed from the Catacombs

The city of Naples in Italy has much to offer and is said to be the birthplace of pizza as well as being known for its beauty, culture, and art. One of the most unique historical sites in Naples are...
Representation of an Irish holy well. Source: Michal / Adobe stock

Believers Flock to Irish Holy Wells Seeking Solace From Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has led many people to seek comfort in a variety of ways. Some have returned to traditional customs and beliefs. In Ireland many people are making a pilgrimage to holy wells...
Left: Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps - Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. (Leonid Andronov / Adobe stock). Right: Crest of the House of Hohenzollern. (Public domain)

The House of Hohenzollern – The Rise and Fall of German Emperors

In the history of the European Middle Ages, noble families and powerful feudal lords always played a very important role. The wealthier, influential aristocratic families rose to great heights and...
Nazareth Inscription.

New Evidence Throws Doubt On Nazareth Inscription’s Ties To Jesus

During the 1930s, a stone tablet was sent from Nazareth to the Louvre Museum in Paris, which became the focus of religious scholars and biblical archaeologists after its inscription was translated...

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