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The Lamassu that has been re-excavated in Iraq. Image Credit : Mustafa Yahya

Astonishing 2,700-Year-Old Assyrian Winged Deity Unearthed in Iraq

In a landmark discovery, archaeologists have re-excavated a magnificent lamassu at the ancient city of Khursbad, Iraq. The monumental sculpture, an embodiment of an Assyrian protective deity , is...
Osiris as a pharaoh, real king (NorLife/ Adobe Stock)

Was Osiris A Real Person Deified After Death Or A Mythical God?

Who was Osiris? Was he a mythological God in ancient Egypt before Christianity began, or was he a real person, a King of Egypt? Dr Ken Jeremiah provides his thoughts on the existence of a real person...
Night view of the Old Citadel of Aleppo, Syria. Source: holdeneye/Adobe Stock

Aleppo: Before and After the Ravages of War (Video)

Aleppo , Syria, experienced a dramatic transformation due to the conflict that unfolded in the country. Once a vibrant and culturally rich ancient city, Aleppo now bears the scars of war. Before the...
Ancient Egyptian graffiti, in this case Coptic graffiti, at the Temple of Isis in the Philae Temple Complex in Egypt. Source: Warren LeMary / CC0

3D Mapping Brings 2,000 years of Ancient Egyptian Graffiti into Focus

The oldest known graffiti in the world dates back to the ancient Egyptian civilization. It was carved and painted over 4,000 years ago on the walls of the temples and tombs. Ancient Egyptian graffiti...
Isis with Osiris in the background ( OLGA RA/ Adobe Stock)

The Origin And Purpose Of Egyptian Civilization According To Ancient Hermetic Texts

The Korê Kosmou or Pupil of the Eye of the World is a Hermetic text dating to the third century AD. The Greek text was preserved from antiquity by Johannes Stobaeus of Macedonia as part of his...
This impressive, massive, Roman era mosaic was found in a 4th century BC building in Homs Governate, Syria. It includes rare depictions of the Trojan War.      Source: Nabu Museum, Syria

Huge Roman Mosaic Depicting Trojan War Saved From Terrorists in Syria

Archaeologists in Syria have discovered a massive, highly-detailed mosaic dating back to the Roman era. Depicting a range of mythological figures, as well as rare panels about the Trojan War, this...
The San Casciano dei Bagni ancient Roman bath site (left), next to the modern baths.

Ancient Roman Baths and Sanctuaries Found at San Casciano dei Bagni

In the culturally and historically rich province of Tuscany in central Italy there is an old way of blessing someone verbally. It translates into the phrase “...from the warm waters of San Casciano...
Wow! Stunning Pompeii Hunting Fresco Refreshed By Lasers

Stunning Pompeii Hunting Fresco Restored With Laser

A 2,000-year-old painted hunting scene discovered in Pompeii has been painstakingly restored with lasers. However, this Pompeii fresco is not restricted to Roman hunting scenes, but also a range of...
Statue identified as being Sebiumeker, god of procreation and fertility from Meroe in present-day Sudan. Source: K. Braulinska / PAP

Asian and Nubian Influences Found In Ptolemaic Era Statues in Berenice

Several mysterious statues dating back over 2000 years have been unearthed inside a temple in the ruined port of Berenice in Egypt . What makes them unique is that they exhibit strong influences from...
Romulus and Remus placed in the river

Romulus and Remus, Osiris and Moses: Are the Storytelling Similarities a Mere Coincidence?

The stories of Romulus and Remus, Osiris, and Moses all share a common element. Why is it that the overarching theme surrounding ancient people and the start of their legacy is a male floating down...
Assyrian soldiers carry beheaded heads of their prisoners as depicted on a wall in the South-West Palace at Nineveh, during the “First” Fall of Neneveh.          Source: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin / CC BY-SA 4.0

August 10 612 BC: Nineveh, the Largest City in the World, Fell

On this day, 2,632 years ago, the ancient metropolis of Nineveh fell. “ ABC 3 ” is a historiographical text from ancient Babylonia which records August 10th 612 BC as the date of this dramatic...
The god Horus represented by a falcon at the Temple of Edfu. Source: Edyta / Adobe Stock

The Cult of Horus: Myths That Stretch From Egypt To Rome

Horus (also known as Heru) was one of the most important deities in the ancient Egyptian pantheon . The ancient Egyptians worshipped Horus mainly as the sky god and the god of kingship. In the cult...
Sarcophagus of Tutankhamun with close up on the crook and flail. 	Source: Public Domain

Why Did the Humble Crook and Flail Symbolism Appeal to the Pharaohs?

Kings and queens, monarchs, emperors and rulers all over the world, through time immemorial, have had the responsibility of leading their people and defending their kingdoms. Monarchs are viewed as...
Entrance to the Luxor Temple at sunset showing the obelisk and statues of pharaohs

Luxor Temple: The Sacred Sanctuary With An Eternal Legacy

Luxor Temple is one of the most famous temple complexes in Egypt. This temple complex is situated on the east bank of the Nile River, in Luxor, the main city of Upper Egypt’s fourth nome. Luxor...
One of the decorated ostrich eggs used in the study.  Source: Tamar Hodos et al. / Antiquity Publications Ltd

Scientists Unscramble Secrets to World of Ancient Ostrich Eggs

An international team of scientists have revealed secrets about the ancient creation skills, trade and economy of decorated ostrich eggs in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Easter is here again and...
The oldest board game in the world, the Royal Game of Ur.   Source: Shriram Rajagopalan / CC BY 2.0

Play the Oldest Board Game in the World: Royal Game of Ur - Part 2

In the first part of this article, we attempted to unravel the mystery symbolism on the oldest board game in the world - the Royal Game of Ur. The Heliopolitan creation myth was used to explain how...
The Royal Game of Ur board (or Game of Twenty Squares), found in the Royal Tombs of Ur in Mesopotamia, dating c. 2600-2400 B.C. Source: The Trustees of British Museum / Provided by the author

Deciphering the Patterns of the Royal Game of Ur Board - Part 1

The world’s first known board game was found in Mesopotamia (c. 2600 BC). Despite this, Egyptian beliefs help us best to understand the Royal Game of Ur’s board design, rules and all. Especially the...
The leader of the excavation, archaeologist Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, and one of the Assyrian relief carvings unearthed in the northern Kurdistan region of Iraq.    Source: Alberto Savioli / Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project / University of Udine

3000-Year-Old Assyrian Reliefs Unearthed in ISIS Stomping Ground

Archaeologists have unearthed ancient carved Assyrian reliefs of a king in a procession of gods and goddesses riding on animals and mythical creatures. The Assyrian carvings are almost 3,000 years...
Reconstruction of the “Mithraeum of Colored Marbles.” The ‘spelaeum’, the most important room in the Mithraeum, is shown on the bottom level.            Source: G Albertini / Live Science

Dazzling Temple to Cult God Mithras Uncovered in Italy

A 1600-year-old temple in which the ancient god Mithras was worshipped has been discovered beneath Roman ruins in Ostia, Italy. A magnificent ancient building, which is being described as the ‘...
The famous colonnade street of Apamea which has reportedly been destroyed. (Maurizio / Adobe)

Syrian Army Discovers Tragic Destruction of Apamea at the Hands of Terrorists

The Head of the Department of Antiquities and Museums of Hama in Syria, Abdul Qader Farzet, has announced that the ancient Syrian city of Apamea, which was recently reclaimed by government forces,...
The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, Detail of the first Band west from the center. From left to right: two wind creatures (the winged ram with four heads personifies the south wind), the snake- and frog-headed eight goddesses and gods of the Ogdoad who ruled the cosmos before the creation of the world and Osiris seated on a throne sails across the sky as personification of the full moon accompanied by the seated goddesses Nephtys (left) and Isis on the right (Maat stands near the bow of the ship). Siri

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

In Egypt, Sirius was the Star of Isis, Isis being the companion and rescuer of the god Osiris. In a very deep way, Osiris was Egypt. His body was believed to be the body of Egypt, an actual overlay...
‘The Birth of the Milky Way’ (1636-1637) by Peter Paul Rubens.

Breastfeeding Beliefs: From Invincibility to Universal Creation

Breastfeeding is an infant feeding practice in which a child is fed breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding could be performed by the mother herself or by a wet nurse. Evidence of...
Syrian archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad. (Fair Use) Palmyra, Temple of Bel. (Arian Zwegers/CC BY 2.0)

Khaled Al-Asaad: Hero of Palmyra Slaughtered for Protecting the Ancient Treasures of Syria

On August 18, 2015, ISIS insurgents executed one of the world’s foremost experts on the ancient city of Palmyra, Khaled al-Asaad. Khaled al-Asaad, director of the archaeological site located at...
The stele has hieroglyphic and demotic inscriptions and measures 41 inches

Rosetta-style engraving lauding Cleopatra I and two Ptolemaic Pharaohs unearthed in Egypt

A 2,200-year-old Rosetta-style limestone stele has been found at an ancient site near the Mediterranean Sea and the city of Alexandria in Egypt. Though archaeologists and Egyptologists haven’t...

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