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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.

The Court of Emperor Frederick II in Palermo by Arthur vom Ramberg (1865) Web Gallery of Art (Public Domain)
26 January, 2022 - 19:19 Dr Marion Dolan

The Wonder Of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Stupor Mundi

Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) was known as the Wonder of the World, Stupor Mundi , because there had never been anyone like him; nor will there ever be another to match him. Like many...
24 January, 2022 - 22:00 Thanos Matanis

The Influence of Mythology on the Mind of Alexander the Great

History regularly describes Alexander the Great as a general who either imitated or communed with mythical gods and heroes throughout his campaigns and conquests. In fact, the mythological was often...
Kerameikos, Restoring Athens’ Necropolis To Life
24 January, 2022 - 21:34 micki pistorius

Kerameikos, Restoring Athens’ Necropolis To Life

From the ruins and rubble rises the narrative of the history of Kerameikos, restoring life to the Athenian necropolis. The obituaries on the gravestones and stelae and the sculptures on the marble...
One of the skulls from the Nahal Hemar Cave. KEYWORD Source: Clara Amit / IAA
22 January, 2022 - 13:43 Nathan Falde

Fascinating Asphalt-Coated Skulls Excavated in Israel Date to 7,000 BC

Nahal Hemar cave in Israel’s southern Judean Desert has proven to be one of the most artifact-rich excavation sites in the region. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has provided details of a new...
Wendigos fall into the larger definition of cannibalism as they consume parts of living people. Source: Daniel / Adobe Stock
22 January, 2022 - 01:00 Phoenix Vald

Atypical Nourishment – Hematophagy, Cannibalism and Necrophagy

The character Renfield from Bram Stoker's “Dracula" admitted the importance of blood, saying that “The blood is the life." This idea is not new, for example, Maya kings attempted to obtain the good...
Aerial photo of the Daisenryo Kofun , the largest of the Mozu tombs, a group of megalithic tombs located in Sakai, Japan. Source: TM / Adobe Stock
21 January, 2022 - 22:00 ashley cowie

Satellite Images Reveal Japanese Kofun Tombs all Aligned to Rising Sun

A team of scientists has mapped the alignments and orientations of hundreds of ancient Japanese Kofun keyhole-shaped burials, only to discover that not some of them, but all of them, face towards the...
Venturing Into The Symbolic Landscape Of Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest
21 January, 2022 - 20:02 jim willis

Venturing Into The Symbolic Landscape Of Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest

The site of Sherwood Forest , legendary home of ‘Robin Hood and his Merry Men’ lies a bit more than 240 kilometers (150 miles) west of London. In the 1200s, which is usually considered by many to be...
Antiquity’s Fierce Child Warriors Who Died For Their Tribes
19 January, 2022 - 15:17 ashley cowie

Antiquity’s Fierce Child Warriors Who Died For Their Tribes

Standing at the spearhead of many of history's greatest battles were battalions of grotesque weapon wielding, combat-trained children, as ready and willing as their parents to die for their city-...
The elongated skull of a Peruvian warrior who underwent skull surgery 2,000 years ago. Source: Museum of Osteology
18 January, 2022 - 22:00 Cecilia Bogaard

2,000-Year-Old Peruvian Underwent Successful Skull Surgery

A skull housed at the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma is causing quite a stir. The ancient elongated skull, dating back 2,000 years, once belonged to a Peruvian warrior. After being injured during...
17 January, 2022 - 22:00 dhwty

The Unfinished Timurid Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi

The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi is a monument in Turkestan, a city in southern Kazakhstan. The mausoleum was built during the reign of Timur, the ruler of the Timurid Empire. The monument was...
Hierapolis, Phrygian City Of Cybele And Home Of Hades
17 January, 2022 - 20:03 micki pistorius

Hierapolis, Phrygian City Of Cybele And Home Of Hades

Cybele was the sole Phrygian Mother Goddess, acting as an interlocutor between the known and unknown, the living and the dead. As such, one of her chthonic cults was established at the Ploutonion or...
On the left, photograph of ancient Egyptian child mummy from Tomb of Aline, discovered in Hawara. On the right, CT scan of soft tissue infection in the lower leg, showing a mass consistent with dried pus. Source: Panzer et. al / International Journal of Paleopathology
17 January, 2022 - 13:51 Nathan Falde

Scan of Child Mummy Reveals Bandages and Pus-Filled Wound

During a computed tomography (CT) scan of a child mummy belonging to a youngster who lived in ancient Egypt , archaeologists found something unique and most unexpected. The imagery they obtained...
The many faces of the famed medieval sorcerer, Merlin. Source: rolffimages / Adobe Stock
15 January, 2022 - 18:00 Meagan Dickerson

The Many Faces of Merlin: Prophet, Architect, Holy Man

The character of Merlin has been a recurring figure in Western popular culture ever since the Middle Ages. In his many iterations, Merlin is most often associated with the legendary King Arthur...
Rediscovering Iconic Artifacts From Noah’s Flood In The Stars
14 January, 2022 - 20:10 John McHugh

Rediscovering Iconic Artifacts From Noah’s Flood In The Stars

The story of a primordial, global Deluge popularized in the Noah’s Ark narrative endures as one of antiquity’s most baffling enigmas. Old Testament theologians unanimously agree that the Biblical...
The Enigmatic H-Symbol Linking Gōbekli Tepe, The Priesthood And The Zodiac
13 January, 2022 - 15:17 ralph ellis

The Enigmatic H-Symbol Linking Gōbekli Tepe, The Priesthood And The Zodiac

Could the strange H-symbol on the tunics of first century Jewish high priests of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem resonate with the similar H-symbol, that was deemed sacred almost 10,000 years...
Deriv; Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona.
13 January, 2022 - 00:42 MarkPinkham

Palatkwapi-Sedona: City of the Star People

A legend among the Hopis states that there was once a great temple city of wisdom built by the Star People, the Kachinas. Many of the Hopi clans visited this city during their respective migrations...
Samples of Schinus mole discovered at Quilcapampa in Peru which were used by Wari culture to make an alcoholic drink. Source: Lisa Milosavljevic & Royal Ontario Museum / Antiquity Publications Ltd
12 January, 2022 - 00:00 Sahir

Wari Culture Used Alcohol and Drugs to Maintain Political Control

An altered state of consciousness to rule an ancient empire? Not a plot of a television series or a fantasy novella, but a page out of the fascinating book that is human history. A new study...
536 was a year of climate cataclysm. Winter landscape by Caspar David Friedrich. Source: Public domain
11 January, 2022 - 01:00 johnblack

Year of Darkness: The Climate Cataclysm of 536 You’ve Never Heard Of

During 536 the world was beset by a long winter. Dubbed “the year of darkness” in the New Scientist , temperatures plummeted and the sun was dimmed by a vast fog which blocked its rays from hitting...
Enchanted landscape of Fairy Chimneys forms of sandstone in the canyon near Cavusin village, Cappadocia (Andrew Mayovskyy / Adobe Stock)
10 January, 2022 - 20:41 micki pistorius

Cappadocia, Enchanted Land of Khepat, Ancient Anatolia’s Mother Goddess

Cappadocia in central Anatolia/Turkey presents an ancient scenery mesmerizing the mind and captivating the imagination, where Khepat, the Mother Goddess, carved a fairy tale landscape against the...
‘Eagle of Lagash’ symbol found on votive bas relief of Dudu in the Louvre Museum. Source: Louvre Museum / CC BY-SA 2.0
9 January, 2022 - 14:00 Aleksa Vučković

Lagash, the Lost City of Mesopotamia

The historic region of Mesopotamia has been long regarded as one of the original cradles of civilization. Defined by the bountiful Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Mesopotamia gave birth to some truly...
Vincent van Gogh's Pair of Shoes was painted in June 1895 at Auvers-sur-Oise. (Public Domain)
7 January, 2022 - 20:14 ashley cowie

Magic Shoes And Boots: The Soles Of Mythology

Interest in the history and archaeology of ancient footwear began in the 17th century and today the formal study of footwear is called ‘ calceology.’ This field of science includes interpreting...
One of the Frankenstein mummies found at Cladh Hallan in Scotland. Source: Mike Parker Pearson / University College London
7 January, 2022 - 01:00 aprilholloway

Why Did Ancient Scots Prepare ‘Frankenstein’ Mummies?

In 2001, a team of archaeologists found a pair of skeletons at an archaeological site on the island of South Uist off the coast of Scotland. At first, it appeared to be a typical Bronze Age discovery...
The Bolivian celebration known as the Fiesta de las Ñatitas pays homage to the dead. Source: Carlillasa / CC BY-SA 4.0
6 January, 2022 - 21:59 Khadija Tauseef

Bolivia’s Fiesta de las Ñatitas: Venerating Human Skulls and the Dead

As the sun reaches its zenith, people begin to flood the streets of La Paz, holding in their hands glass urns containing — wait for it — skulls. Although to many cultures this practice may seem...
A Twelfth Night Feast: 'The King drinks' by Jan Steen (1661) Royal Collection (Public Domain)
5 January, 2022 - 19:46 Charles Christian

Twelfth Night Ghost Story: The White Lady Of Flamborough

In the spirit of Twelfth Night one of Ancient Origins Premium’s favorite storytellers Charles Christian, entertains with his Father’s Ghost Story: I may have mentioned before I am sufficiently...

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