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Hanging out in the margin of an illuminated manuscript

Beautiful, Decorative, and Sometimes Crude: Illuminated Manuscripts and Marginalia

Illuminated manuscripts are manuscripts that are covered with painted ornaments presented under several forms. These documents are perhaps most commonly associated with the European Middle Ages...
Portrait of Hernán Cortés. A stolen letter to Cortés has been tracked to a New York auction house.

Scholarly Sleuths Scuttle Shady Sale of Letter Sent to Hernán Cortés

In September 2020, a trio of scholars based in Mexico and Spain managed to stop the sale of a valuable historical document that had been stolen from the National Archives of Mexico (AGN), Mexico News...
Sections of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets scroll discovered in the Judean Desert expedition prior to their conservation. Source: Shai Halevi / Israel Antiquities Authority

Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Discovered In Judean Desert Cave

Dozens of fragments of a 2,000-year-old biblical “Dead Sea scroll” have been found in a cave in the Judean desert, Israel. It is the first time such text has been found in 60 years, since the...
Was Rama Based on a Real Historical Figure?

Was Rama Based on a Real Historical Figure?

Rama, one of the principle figures of the Hindu text the Ramayana is revered throughout India and the world. Many historians doubt that Rama was an actual person, however, many Hindus believe he was...
AI (Pixabay License) is deciphering ancient Greek texts (Pixabay License) faster than humans.

Google AI Decodes Broken Greek Texts Better than Humans

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to revolutionize the world in the coming decades. An example of this comes from Google’s AI research division (DeepMind) which has used the technology to...
The Voynich Manuscript is open to the public to attempt translation

Voynich Manuscript Is Solved And This Time It’s Academic

Claims of ‘cracking the code’ of the Voynich manuscript have lost their sheen somewhat over the last few years, with weak cases being presented from all and sundry. This attempt, described...
Two pages from the Voynich Manuscript. Has the Voynich Manuscript code finally been cracked?

Has the Enigmatic Voynich Manuscript Code Finally Been Cracked?

The Voynich Manuscript is a mysterious illustrated hand-written vellum codex in a currently unidentified written and visual code. However, according to a non-peer reviewed paper published in John's...
Top 10 oldest everyday items

Ten of the Oldest Everyday Items Ever Found

Every day you get up, get dressed, eat, and probably head out to work, school, or some other activity outside your home. If you work, you may have to interact with customers, who are not always...
The conservation of papyrus requires above all craftsmanship, expertise and time. A specialized papyrus conservator was brought to Basel to make this 2000-year-old document legible again.

Experts Finally Decode 2000-year-old ‘Mirror Writing’ Papyrus

Since the 16th century, Basel has been home to a mysterious papyrus. With mirror writing on both sides, it has puzzled generations of researchers. A research team from the University of Basel has now...
A romanticized 19th-century recreation of King John signing Magna Carta. (Deriv.) (Public Domain) Background: Detail of Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, one of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 Magna Carta text.

The Magna Carta: Did a Tyrannical English King Really Set the Stage for Liberty?

The Magna Carta is often lauded as an important milestone in human history. It is said to have guaranteed individual rights, the right to justice, and the right to a fair trial, as well as...
This rare manuscript is the only recorded palimpsest of a Qur’an copied on to a Christian text

Eagle Eyed scholar Discovers a Rare Manuscript with Bible Text Hidden Under Quran

A rare manuscript has become a unique one thanks to the eagle eyes of a French scholar. Dr. Eléonore Cellard noticed that there was barely visible text beneath an 8th century copy of holy scripture...
The document was found hidden under the wooden loin cloth of the statue

Secret Centuries-Old Document Discovered Inside Buttocks of Jesus Statue

During restorations of an 18th century wooden statue of Jesus Christ, Spanish workers discovered a peculiar note that appears to be a makeshift time capsule. The most surprising and bizarre thing...
Top left section detail of (1593) [The Codex Quetzalecatzin]. [Mexico: Producer not identified] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress Obtains Mesoamerican Map from the Dawn of the Americas

The U.S. Library of Congress has recently announced that a unique, indigenous-made map of Mexico from the era of the Nahuatl people's first contact with European explorers is now part of its vast...
Papyrus (P. BM EA 10591 recto column IX, beginning of lines 13-17).

Ancient Advanced Technology Reveals Itself in Egyptian Papyrus Ink

A new study shows ink on 2,000-year-old Egyptian papyri fragments contains copper. This means the assumption that carbon was the only basis for ink to write on ancient papyri is now a thing of the...
Julius Caesar by Peter Paul Rubens.

“Veni, Vidi, Scripsi”: The Literary Conquests of Gaius Julius Caesar

A man who needs no introduction, Gaius Julius Caesar is more than well known for the stories he spearheads—namely, his numerous military victories. (Although, even his defeats somehow sound rather...
“But In Case Anything Should Happen”: Wills and Covenants in the Age of Alexander the Great

“But In Case Anything Should Happen”: Wills and Covenants in the Age of Alexander the Great

Would kings, dictators and statesmen have used Wills in the ancient Greek world to assure successions, pass down estates and document their last wishes? ‘All will be well but in case anything should...
After 60 Years, Archaeologists are Thrilled to Find a Twelfth Dead Sea Scroll Cave

After 60 Years, Archaeologists are Thrilled to Find a Twelfth Dead Sea Scroll Cave

A team of archaeologists from the Hebrew University were exploring a cave near the Dead Sea and claim that the cave once hosted Dead Sea Scrolls from the Second Temple period. Unluckily, the ancient...
Rental Agreement Discovered in Turkey Shows Tenancy Was No Easier 2,200 Years Ago

Rental Agreement Discovered in Turkey Shows Tenancy Was No Easier 2,200 Years Ago

Archaeologists have unearthed a unique inscription in the ancient city of Teos in the Seferihisar district of Izmir Province, Turkey. The text carved in stone is a rare example of an ancient rental...
The Hidden Story of Poland: What Happened to the Forgotten Kingdom of Lechia?

The Hidden Story of Poland: What Happened to the Forgotten Kingdom of Lechia?

The history of Poland has been misunderstood for decades. Even now, many official texts say that Poland comes from the tribe called Polanie. And according to the stories written by Christian writers...
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: The Largest Cache of Early Christian Manuscripts Discovered to Date

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: The Largest Cache of Early Christian Manuscripts Discovered to Date

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of texts that were discovered at Oxyrhynchus (known today as el-Bahnasa), a site located in Upper Egypt. This group of documents is seen as one of the most...
Translation of 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Will Reveals Family Disputes Similar to Today

Translation of 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Will Reveals Family Disputes Similar to Today

Unlike ancient Latin and Greek texts, Egyptian hieroglyphs have been mostly inaccessible for the average ancient history enthusiast. But this is beginning to change with a collection of texts that...
One of the papyri in the ancient logbook which documented some details on the later construction period of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Ancient Egyptian Logbook of Inspector Who Helped Construct the Great Pyramid Revealed

Some of the details of the construction of the Egyptian Great Pyramid are revealed to the public for the first time when they go on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The information comes in...
Ancient Greek wrestling matches  - Papyrus

Newly deciphered papyrus reveals ancient Greek wrestling matches were fixed

Researchers have translated an ancient Greek document from 267 AD, which talks about an ancient wrestling match that was fixed, Live Science reports . The document is a contract between the...
Egypt Wine Guards

Egyptian Grape Guards Ancient Contract Decoded

I agree that I have made a contract with you on the condition that I guard your property, a vineyard near the village Panoouei, from the present day until vintage and transport, so that there be no...