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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.

Robert the Bruce’s heart was found in 1921 and lost again until 1996. Now this King of Scots (Bust of Robert the Bruce at the National Wallace Monument) rests in peace, knowing his final wishes were granted. Source: Left: tussik / Adobe Stock; Right: Otter / CC BY-SA 3.0
13 June, 2022 - 22:44 Robbie Mitchell

The Long Road Taken By Robert the Bruce’s Heart

Robert the Bruce is one of the most, if not the most famous Scotsmen to have ever lived. Infamous for the 14th-century reign that saw him taking on England’s much bigger and better-equipped army and...
Queen Elizabeth II. Source: Open Government License
13 June, 2022 - 19:03 Cecilia Bogaard

Queen Elizabeth II Becomes Second Longest-Reigning Monarch in History

As the United Kingdom recovers from the jubilee celebrations which took place from the 2nd to the 5th June 2022, commemorating seventy years since Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne, the queen has...
Queen Elizabeth I as depicted in the film Mary, Queen of Scots. Credit: Focus Features
12 June, 2022 - 22:54 Mark Brophy

Was Queen Elizabeth I Killed by her Poisonous White Makeup?

Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most successful, celebrated queens in British history. The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn , she came to the throne on November 17, 1558, following the death...
Witch on a broomstick. Source: T.Den_Team / Adobe Stock
11 June, 2022 - 18:39 Mark Brophy

The Cringeworthy Reason Witches are Shown Riding Broomsticks

What comes to mind when you think of a witch? For most people, the first image that comes to mind is of a witch flying through the night sky on a broomstick. Ever wondered why witches have been...
In the famous Eighty Years' War or Dutch War of Independence, ice skates played a crucial role in the final outcome between Spain and the Netherlands that also led to the end of the notorious Spanish Inquisition. Blades of ice skates, made by the German company "Kondor," from about 1890. Source: Christos Vittoratos / CC BY-SA 4.0
11 June, 2022 - 14:46 Lex Leigh

Battles on Ice Skates in the 1500s: The Dutch Against The Spanish!

When you think of Spain, you don’t normally think of ice skates. Yet, that’s exactly what the King of Spain wanted back in 1572. And it wasn’t just a single pair; the king specifically requested 7,...
A honey collecting honey hunter in Nepal. Source: Andrew Newey
11 June, 2022 - 01:48 Joanna Gillan

The Ancient Art of Honey Collecting on the Himalayan Cliffs of Nepal

The Gurung tribespeople of Nepal have been collecting honey from Himalayan cliffs for centuries, risking their lives in an ancient tradition that has been passed down over many generations. But now...
Brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell measuring one of the Gloucester’s cannons. Source: Norfolk Historic Shipwrecks
10 June, 2022 - 22:47 Nathan Falde

Divers Find Famous Lost HMS Gloucester Shipwreck off the English Coast

The Gloucester was a 17th century warship that sunk to the bottom of the sea 340 years ago off the coast of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, with over well over 100 passengers dying. This maritime...
Detail of an etching of Manetto, who was pranked by Filippo Brunelleschi, from The Fat Woodworker. Source: Public domain
10 June, 2022 - 18:44 Lex Leigh

Filippo Brunelleschi and his Remarkable Renaissance Prank

Everyone loves a good, harmless prank. This was especially true for Filippo Brunelleschi, a Florentine man who famously got back at his friend for having failed to show up at a dinner party in...
A knight taking a serf bride off to fulfill his right of jus primae noctis, or first night intercourse. Source: diter/Adobe Stock
10 June, 2022 - 14:47 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Jus primae noctis: Did Medieval Lords Really Sleep With Serf Brides First?

The jus primae noctis , droit du seigneur , or “right of the first night,” is an alleged medieval custom which permitted lords to engage in sexual intercourse with the brides of their male subjects...
The history of shaving reveals how ideals of beauty and body politics have changed over time. Source: master1305 / Adobe Stock
9 June, 2022 - 14:59 Robbie Mitchell

Style, Sanitation and Control: The Ever-Changing History of Shaving

Let’s face it, shaving is a total inconvenience, whether it be your beard, legs, or something else. Yet most of us regularly do it in some form or another. Why? When did this trend begin? Well,...
Chicken domestication seems obvious today. For the longest time we have believed chickens were a domesticated food source since the dawn of civilization, but recent archaeological scientists have proven otherwise in a big way! Source: Robert May/ Antiquity Publications Ltd
8 June, 2022 - 22:40 Nathan Falde

Before Chicken Domestication, The 'Exotic' Birds Were Revered, Not Eaten

Remarkable and extensive new research has shed light on one of the true mysteries of animal domestication. This breakthrough research has revealed important new information about chicken...
The concept of meditating in nature is based in beliefs in animism. Source: ittipol / Adobe Stock
7 June, 2022 - 22:59 Lex Leigh

The Meaning of Animism: Philosophy, Religion and Being Alive

In some cultures, life and sentience are believed to exist for only certain beings, such as humans, animals, and plants. In other belief systems, however, places and objects are also believed to have...
Legedzine in the Ukraine is home to the remains of remnants of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture. Every year it hosts a festival organized by the Trypillian Culture State Historical and Cultural Reserve. Source: Александр Водолазский / CC BY-SA 4.0
7 June, 2022 - 01:58 mrreese

The Mysterious House-Burning of the Forgotten Cucuteni-Trypillian Culture

The discovery of ancient cultures, and artifacts related to those cultures, often brings for new and surprising information about how our ancient ancestors once lived. Some cultures are found to have...
‘The selection of the infant Spartans’ (1840) by Giuseppe Diotti. The origins of eugenics are traced back to ancient Greece. Source: Public Domain
5 June, 2022 - 18:58 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Shocking Ancient Greek Origins of the Eugenics Movement

Eugenics, the science of selectively choosing human genetics, is most synonymous with the modern world and the horrors of Hitler’s ‘final solution’, in which millions of Jews and other ‘undesirable’...
The Black Death or the Bubonic plague killed millions and was completely impossible for "doctors" to understand let alone treat. But they invented all kinds of cures for plague from sensible ones to totally insane ideas! Source: illustrissima / Adobe Stock
4 June, 2022 - 22:57 Sahir

Blood, Emeralds, Snakes & Poop: Bizarre European Medieval Plague Cures

Originating in China in the 1300s, plague arrived in Europe aboard a ship, bringing fearsome death in its wake. The Black Death ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, carrying away at least a third of...
The Swiss pikemen today in a Pike Square re-enactment during the 2009 Escalade in Geneva. Source: Rama / CC BY-SA 2.0 FR
2 June, 2022 - 22:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Swiss Pikemen: Europe’s Most Deadly Middle Age Military Formation!

The medieval pike, around 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) in weight and just under 5 meters (16.4 feet) in length, was a weapon supposedly invented in Turin, Italy in 1327 AD. However, its history was...
This sacrificed Inca child, known as the Llull Maiden #23, was found on a mountain in Argentina a number of years ago and shares similarities with the sacrificed child Inca mummies found on Ampato volcano, Peru. Source: © Johan Reinhard, Ph.D . (used with permission)
30 May, 2022 - 18:35 Sahir

Ritually Sacrificed Inca Kids Fed “Soothing” Coca and Caapi Cocktails

The medicinal use of plants and the collection, dissemination, and application of traditional knowledge surrounding plants (ethnobotany) is an indigenous practice from the Americas well documented to...
Iklaina: Perhaps the First City State of Mycenaean Culture
28 May, 2022 - 14:56 Sahir

Iklaina: Was the First Greek City State of Mycenaean Culture?

Recent excavations at Iklaina, hitherto believed to be a sleepy historic village on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, have challenged the established chronology of state formation in Greece. The...
Wars of the Diadochi: Alexander the Great’s Generals Fight For Spoils
27 May, 2022 - 22:55 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Wars of the Diadochi: Alexander the Great’s Generals Fight For Spoils

As Alexander the Great slipped away on his deathbed on June 10-11th 323 BC, the iconoclastic emperor, whose remarkable achievements would be imitated by countless impersonators throughout history,...
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 Montgolfier brothers were the first to launch a hot air balloon and their first public demonstration of a hot air balloon took place in Annonay, France on June 4, 1783. Source: Public domain
25 May, 2022 - 18:58 ashley cowie

The Naked Hot Air Balloon Aeronauts Who Conquered High Altitude Mayhem

In the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci dreamed of people flying through the air, but it wasn’t until 19 September 1783 that history’s first aerostatic flight was achieved by the Montgolfier brothers...
The saints Chrysanthus and Daria being pushed underground to their horrible death in a salt mine. Source: Public domain
24 May, 2022 - 22:57 Sahir

Legendary Christian Martyrs Chrysanthus and Daria Proved To Be Real

Legend has it that the now Christian saints Chrysanthus and Daria, who lived in the third century AD, converted thousands of fellow Romans to the Christian faith. This resulted in their arrest and...
Celebrity on a red carpet. Source: Tom Merton/KOTO / Adobe Stock
24 May, 2022 - 19:50 Sahir

The Red Carpet Treatment Goes Back Over 2,000 Years

Today, the red carpet is associated with VIPs, dignitaries, the heads of state, celebrities, film festivals. It conjures up images of flashing of camera lights and paparazzi, glitzy gowns and make-up...
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...

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