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The Pskov-Caves Monastery and its 10,000 Monk Necropolis

The Pskov-Caves Monastery and its 10,000 Monk Necropolis

The Pskov-Caves Monastery is a Russian Orthodox monastery located in the town of Pechory, in the northwestern part of Russia. The monastery was established during the 15th century AD and is well-...
Vardzia, Georgia’s Incredible Cave City Built By Their Fierce Queen

Vardzia, Georgia’s Incredible Cave City Built By Their Fierce Queen

The Republic of Georgia has a dramatic history stretching back centuries, partly because of its strategic position in the Caucuses, midway between Europe and Asia. Among the many attractions of this...
Monastery in Meteora, Greece.

Meteora: Majestic Greek Monasteries Suspended in the Air

Meteora means ‘suspended in the air’ in Greek. This site is one of the largest and most important Greek Orthodox monastic complexes. It is located in the north-western edge of the Plain of Thessaly...
Bardsey Island

Bardsey Island – A Small Land for 20,000 Holy Souls

For being only one mile long by less than a mile wide, Bardsey Island is a small piece of land, but it is of great historical and cultural significance. The island’s reputation is bolstered through...
The Tatev Monastery in Armenia is home to the mysterious Gavazan Column, a medieval seismograph created to warn the monks of an approaching earthquake. Source: Goinyk / Adobe Stock

Understanding the Swinging Seismographic Gavazan Column at Tatev Monastery

The Gavazan Column, called the Gavazan Siun , is a unique monument located in the compound of the Tatev Monastery in Armenia. During the Middle Ages, the monastery was a great center of learning in...
Nalanda University                         Source: disha / Adobe Stock

Nalanda, Ancient University Opens to International Students Again

India is a religiously diverse nation and has many important archaeological sites associated with Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Islam, to mention a few. When Buddhism was founded more than 2,500...
Statue of the Irish hero Red Hugh O’Donnell. Source: rgmcfadden / CC BY-NC 2.0.

Skeleton Of Irish Hero, Red Hugh O’Donnell, To Be Exhumed In Spain

Spanish archaeologists are preparing to dig beneath the remains of an ancient chapel in Valladolid looking specifically for the remains of the Irish hero, Red Hugh O’Donnell. Beginning this Monday a...
The human remains on the riverbank may be part of a medieval cemetery. Representative image. Source: milkovasa /Adobe Stock

Skeleton On Irish Riverbank Points To Long Lost Medieval Cemetery

In Ireland, two people out for a walk made a disturbing discovery. They found the skeletal remains of a human on the bank of a river. It is believed that the skeleton comes from a long-lost medieval...
Ostrog Monastery in the rocks, Montenegro              Source: flu4022 / Adobe Stock

Why Ostrog Monastery is a Shining Beacon for Pilgrims

The small republic of Montenegro has a rich and fascinating history with many astounding historic sites that date back to the Classical period. Perhaps the most famous site in all of Montenegro is...
View over Mount Athos from the balcony of Pantokratoros monastery, on the north side of Agion Oros.          Source: Skoikopoulos / CC BY-SA 3.0

Female Remains Found at Strictly Male-only Greek Monastery

An examination of some bones has surprised many experts in Greece. They were found on Mount Athos, which is a male-only area, populated exclusively by monks. Some of the bones seem to be female...
Rescuers found three dead and several injured at the ancient monastery collapse in Egypt. Source: Youssef Sidhom.

Three Crushed To Death In Ancient Egyptian Monastery Collapse

Three dead bodies have been retrieved from a collapsed ancient monastery wall in Upper Egypt . On Sunday night Egyptian Civil protection forces faced the terrible task of retrieving three bodies from...
A Buddhist stupa at Thotlakonda Buddhist Monastery

Heavy Rain Reduces Indian Buddhist Stupa to Rubble

In India, archaeologists and historians have been shocked by the sudden collapse of a restored 2200-year-old Buddhist stupa at a monastery in India. The monument half-collapsed after a prolonged...
The discovery of the sarcophagus was made during redevelopment work. Source: Département du Lot / Facebook.

Sarcophagus From the Frankish Merovingian Era Found in France

In France a very significant early medieval tomb has been uncovered in a chance find from a key period in the history of France, under the Franks . Construction workers came across the sarcophagus of...
Beaubec excavation of the Norman Monastery. Source: Beaubec Excavations / Fair Use.

Norman Artifacts Indicate Long-lost Monastery Has Been Found in Ireland

In Ireland a long-lost 13 th century monastery has been found along with a large number of medieval artifacts . Monastic farms and other buildings that belonged to French and Norman monks who had...
Ancient Buddhist text discovered near Mes Aynak, Afghanistan

Rare Ancient Buddhist Text Discovered In Doomed Temple Super-Complex Near Kabul

Archaeologists in Afghanistan have discovered exceptionally rare pieces of an ancient Buddhist manuscript dated to around the seventh century AD at an ancient settlement near Kabul. In the spring of...
Monk in the forest Credit: Demian / Adobe Stock

Silence is Golden: Ancient Monks Couldn’t Even Find Peace and Quiet

In our contemporary world, noise pollution has reached dangerous levels. But even in what many reminisce as “quieter times” in the “more peaceful” past people were still searching out silence and...
Cenobio de Valeron, Gran Canaria     Source: Tamara Kulikova / Adobe Stock

Cenobio de Valeron: 350 Small Caves Create Confusion in the Canary Islands

The strange appearance of the cavities that comprise the immense Cenobio de Valeron archaeological site in the Canary Islands caused confusion for Spanish colonizers and early scholars. They...
Ancient ruins on High Island

Uninhabited Irish Island Complete with Ancient Ruins Is Up for Sale

The West Coast of Ireland has some of the finest scenery in the British Isles and indeed Western Europe. Its many islands such as Achill are renowned for their wild beauty. If you have ever dreamed...
One of the 40 monasteries on the Holy Mount Athos.

Mount Athos – Garden of the Mother of God and Holiest of Holy Mountains to Some

Mount Athos, known also as the Holy Mountain, is a mountain located in Greece. The site is a semi-autonomous republic of Eastern Orthodox monks and is considered to be one of the holiest places of...
Somapura Mahavihara in Bangladesh.

Somapura Mahavihara: The Most Spectacular Pre-Islamic Monument in Bangladesh

Somapura Mahavihara is an 8th century Buddhist monastery and an important archaeological site located in Paharpur, Bangladesh. It is one of the five great mahaviharas, (meaning great vihara or large...
Skeletal remains of a handless man found just off Guernsey.

Handless Man Adds Further Intrigue to the Island of the Medieval Porpoise Grave

Archaeologists in the Channel Islands (part of the United Kingdom) made a baffling discovery recently. They discovered the handless skeleton of a man on one of the rocky islets located in the English...
St. Thomas Island. (Inset:12th – 14th century monastery)

Sunken Fortress and Ritual Pits Discovered at Holy Island in Bulgaria

Archaeologists in Bulgaria have discovered a Late Middle Ages Byzantine settlement, in the form of a sunken fortress, and a small monastery on Bulgaria’s tiny St. Thomas Island in the Black Sea. In...
The monastery at Clonmacnoise held a strategic position.

Clonmacnoise: Medieval Monastery Still Standing After 80 Attacks by the English, Irish, Vikings and Normans!

Clonmacnoise is a medieval monastic site located in County Offaly in the Irish province of Leinster. This monastic site is recorded to have been founded during the middle of the 6 th century AD,...
The stunning landscape of historic Glendalough.

Glendalough Monastic City: Center for a Spiritual Retreat and Scholastic Betterment…Except During Viking Raids

Glendalough is a Medieval site located in County Wicklow, in the eastern Irish province of Leinster. It is renowned for its early Christian monastic settlement, which developed over the centuries...

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