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History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

Three Greek youths wonder where the wine has gone. Paestum, 470 BC. Source: BlackMac / Adobe Stock.
26 June, 2021 - 19:00 Kurt Readman

Heavily Seasoned: Why did the Ancients Like Salty Wine?

The history of wine stretches back to around 6,000 BC in the country of Georgia near the Caucasus mountains. However, knowledge of the wine and the wine-making process is scant at best. The most in-...
The Fate Of The First-Century Carpenter Of Jerusalem
25 June, 2021 - 12:10 micki pistorius

The Fate Of The First-Century Carpenter Of Jerusalem

First century AD Jerusalem was a bustling metropolis with a population estimated between 80,000 to 200,000 people. During Pesach or Passover, one of the ‘Three Pilgrimages to Jerusalem’ – the other...
Mirror magic, fortune telling and fulfillment of desires. Fantasy with a mirror, dark room, magical power, night view. (MiaStendal /Adobe Stock)
23 June, 2021 - 12:08 Dr. Benjamin B....

The Measure Of Ancient Mirrors: Planispheres, Phenakistoscopes And Telescopes

In some early texts concerning long-distance viewing, the term ‘mirror’ is used, but not as a device for simple reflection. Instead, the mirror takes on other powers, and the term seems to serve as...
Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Death by Immurement
22 June, 2021 - 22:56 dhwty

Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Death by Immurement

Immurement is a practice whereby a person is enclosed within a confined space with no exits. Normally, a person who is immured is left in that space till he/she dies, either of dehydration or...
A medieval baker with his apprentice. The Bodleian Library, Oxford. (Public Domain)
21 June, 2021 - 19:12 MartiniF

From Peasant To Pharaoh: The Popularity of ‘Pizza’ in the Ancient World

Since the ancient times, people have been eating pizza in one form or another. By 2200 BC, Egyptian flatbread was topped with a spread called dukkah and evidence of flatbread consumed in Italy also...
Could Dhaka Muslin be coming back?
20 June, 2021 - 22:59 Bipin Dimri

Scandalous Fashion: The Naked Appeal of Dhaka Muslin

Dhaka Muslin is a precious fabric that gained popularity around 200 years ago, but its roots go back much further. In the late 18 th century, Dhaka muslin became a new fashion and gained both...
How could an entire village disappear? Source: Ivan Kmit / Adobe Stock.
20 June, 2021 - 14:55 Kurt Readman

Ghosts in the Landscape: How Did the Village of Gainsthorpe Vanish?

There are many medieval villages in England that have disappeared throughout the years. However, one that remains more visible than most is the village of Gainsthorpe in Lincolnshire. When viewed...
Stonehenge and surrounding earthworks.
19 June, 2021 - 18:55 Dr. John Hill

Natural Harmony: How did the Stonehenge Druids Measure the Landscape?

What were the Proto-Druids up to at Stonehenge? Advances in GPS technology and other sophisticated mapping software allow their prehistoric surveying activities to be investigated in ways that were...
Australopithecus Afarensis (procy_ab / Adobe Stock)
18 June, 2021 - 15:44 jim willis

The Origins Of Mankind: Was There An African Eve?

Archaeogenetics is a fascinating science. Accepted current research suggests that every human being on earth is descended in an unbroken line, traced through their mothers in a genetic system called...
The holy relics and reliquary of Saint Ivo of Kermartin (St. Yves or St. Ives; 1253–1303 AD) in Tréguier, Brittany, France.
17 June, 2021 - 19:02 Meagan Dickerson

Relic Cults: Why Dead Saints Were So Important in the Middle Ages

The practice of preserving and enshrining the remains of saints and heroes, or other items associated with their life or death, has been ongoing for thousands of years dating back well into the pre-...
Pillar in Gobekli Tepe (Deriv.) ( sebnemsanders) with a starry night sky. ( CC0) What can be discerned about the site from Gobekli Tepe archaeoastronomy?
16 June, 2021 - 19:21 Martin Sweatman

Global Roundtrip Of Zodiacal Dating Of Ancient Artifacts

Archaeologists agree, Gōbekli Tepe changes everything. This hilltop sanctuary in southern Turkey, probably the world’s first megalithic temple, is like a time capsule dating back to nearly 13, 000...
Chandragupta Maurya (founder of the Mauryan Empire) and his spiritual leader Bhadrabahu moved to Shravanabelagola, where they continued their spiritual practices related to Jainism. Chandragupta’s footsteps have been engraved in this spectacular viewpoint rock hilltop.
15 June, 2021 - 14:58 dhwty

Chandragupta Maurya: Storied Founder of the All-India Mauryan Empire

Chandragupta Maurya was an ancient Indian ruler who lived during the 4th century BC. He was the founder of the Mauryan Empire and was the first person to have brought the majority of the Indian...
Scientific Evidence for the Many Myths of the Great Flood
14 June, 2021 - 23:02 Bipin Dimri

Scientific Evidence for the Many Myths of the Great Flood

Have you ever heard about Noah's Ark story? This story of the great flood is one of the most popular stories from the Bible. But it is far from the only great flood story to be found in history...
Libraries: The Legacies Of Ancient Bibliophiles
14 June, 2021 - 20:41 ashley cowie

Libraries: The Legacies Of Ancient Bibliophiles

It can be argued of course, but a story has five important elements: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict and the resolution. These five essential narrative elements keep stories...
Hannibal: The Carthaginian General Who Took on the Romans
12 June, 2021 - 22:55 dhwty

Hannibal: The Carthaginian General Who Took on the Romans

Hannibal Barca was a Carthaginian general who lived between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. He is perhaps best remembered for his military campaign against the Romans in the Second Punic War. Thanks to...
Modern-day legislation has been heavily influenced by Roman law. Source: Anneke / Adobe Stock
12 June, 2021 - 02:03 John S. Richardson

Roman Law and Its Lasting Influence On the Legal System of Europe

During the creation of the mighty Roman Empire, between 753 BC and 1453 AD, the Romans not only created the political institutions of Roman governance, but they also set up a series of legal...
Templar knight
11 June, 2021 - 15:51 MarkPinkham

Secrets of the Knights Templar: The Knights of John the Baptist

Soon after the Knights Templar founded their order in the Holy Land in 1118 AD they assimilated into a very ancient gnostic tradition and lineage known as the Johannite Church, which had been founded...
Mindscapes And Altered Realities Of The Ancient World
11 June, 2021 - 15:41 ashley cowie

Mindscapes And Altered Realities Of The Ancient World

From Australia to Alaska, and from South America to Europe, ancient cultures responded to their environments and developed particular belief systems to interpret reality. Although all of them...
Relief of Minoan Lady at Akrotiri, Santorini (Courtesy Micki Pistorius)
9 June, 2021 - 20:35 micki pistorius

The Resurrection of Asherah, Mother-Goddess of Humankind

Scant referrals in the Bible alert to the presence of a vilified female deity destined to be banished into oblivion. Yet the Biblical referrals obscure the beloved benevolent mother-goddess Asherah,...
Experts Still Stumped By Child Buried With A Bird In Its Mouth
9 June, 2021 - 01:53 Elizabeth Moore

Bizarre Burial: Girl With A Bird Skull In Her Mouth

Between the 18th and 19th century in Poland, a child was given an unusual burial involving bird skulls within the Tunel Wielki Cave. A ritualistic burial like this surely would have been a spectacle...
How did the Greeks Measure the Earth’s Circumference?
8 June, 2021 - 18:48 Caleb Strom

How did the Greeks Measure the Earth’s Circumference?

It is considered obvious today that Earth is roughly a sphere and that it can be measured like any spherical object. Scientists technically call it an oblate spheroid, but it is still sphere-like in...
Ancient Animal Envoys From Caves And Cosmos
7 June, 2021 - 20:28 jim willis

Ancient Animal Envoys From Caves And Cosmos

“The animal envoys of the Unseen Power no longer serve, as in primeval times, to teach and guide mankind. Bears, lions, elephants, ibexes and gazelles are in cages in our zoos. Man is no longer the...
Nostradamus and Hitler: Could a 16th Century Physician See the Future?
7 June, 2021 - 14:59 Kurt Readman

Nostradamus and Hitler: Could a 16th Century Physician See the Future?

Michel Nostradamus has been credited with many future prophecies, from the death of King Henry II of France to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. For most of his life he was a credible scientist who...
How Queen Artemisia I Won the Admiration of the King of Persia
6 June, 2021 - 23:00 Mary Mount

How Queen Artemisia I Won the Admiration of the King of Persia

Few women’s names have survived within the annals of ancient history with the mythic resonance of Queen Artemisia I, the warrior queen of Caria. She lived during an era that often, at best, made mere...

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