To the Hebrew prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea, the Psalms and the Book of Kings , the Sabbath signified the Full Moon, whereas for Jews in the days of ancient Rome it came to mean one day out of a...
Ancient Egyptians are renowned for their sense of cleanliness and hygiene, and bathhouses for therapeutic purposes have been found dating as far back as 2000 BC. In a brand-new discovery,...
While the infamous Jack the Ripper and his legendary killing spree in the 19th century is the stuff of legends, few have heard of another forgotten assailant who terrorized the streets of London just...
Researchers in Turkey have unearthed yet another trepanned skull. But was this brutal operation the work of magicians or medics? While the academic disciplines of neurology and neurosurgery didn't...
The wako (also called wokou or waegu) were a group of marauders that dominated the seas of East Asia for centuries. They have been seen by Western historians and culture as a kind of Japanese pirate...
As you wait with baited breath for your lottery numbers to be called out, spare a thought for the people who took part in England’s first state lottery in the 16th century. Seen as an ideal solution...
There is no end to the multitude of close combat weapons , from swords to spears, scythes, pikes, maces, glaives, flails, partisans, and hundreds more. Often designed to inflict the greatest damage...
It has long been known from carvings and tomb paintings that the ancient Egyptians used branding irons to mark their cattle. Now a new study presents evidence that they also used branding stamps on...
In the recent past, a gem that is thought to be more precious than even gold, the elusive lapis lazuli , has received a bad reputation for being a source of illegal mining by the Taliban in...
A team of Italian archaeologists excavating at the ancient Etruscan city of Vulci has discovered a previously unknown of monumental temple near the legendary Tempio Grande sacred site. The ancient...
Archaeologists excavating a Roman-era ruin in the ancient city of Amastris in Turkey have recently made the curious discovery of a talismanic amulet seal. The pyramid-shaped Egyptian amulet has...
Trần Lệ Xuân, or Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, the First Lady of the Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1963, once celebrated the holiday to commemorate the Trung sisters by riding an elephant in honour of...
Medieval India was a land divided. Each region was ruled by its own regional kingdoms and dynasties. Over time, a handful of larger kingdoms began to exert control over smaller kingdoms, forcing them...
In 2016, archaeologists finally accepted that a 2,000-year-old mummy was not a male priest when CT scans revealed the embalmed corpse seemed to be carrying a baby! It was declared the ‘only known...
Even today, the Cretan town of Lissos can only be reached by sea or a seemingly endless hike across the stunning landscape and mountains that surround it. Despite previous excavations uncovering...
Few stories in English folklore have had the staying power of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. While many people are familiar with the legend, few people realize how many different...
One would expect the oldest written words found during archaeological excavations to be carved into the face of a stone tablet, or perhaps into the surface of an ancient stone monument. But they can...
Pegasus is the majestic flying horse of Greek mythology , best known for its association with the heroes Perseus and Bellerophon. Traditionally depicted as a pure white horse with wings, the Pegasus...
Ancient burial sites in Egypt have yielded tattooed mummies, that are predominantly female rather than male. Over time, various debates have arisen about who these mummies were, in terms of their...
Of all the horrible and shocking things that human beings can do to one another, nothing alarms, disgusts, terrifies – or fascinates – more than cannibalism. The subject is intriguing, in part,...
There is perhaps no more famous character in British legend than that of King Arthur. For centuries, people have been reading tales of King Arthur and his knight’s exploits. Of all the characters...
Archaeologists in Italy were “impressed” with their discovery of a hydraulic system beneath a luxury Roman villa that was covered in the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius. However, they were “shocked” when...
A study has revealed new information about the ancient migration and domestication of cats in Europe following the arrival of their wild ancestors in Europe from the Near East (the modern Middle East...
Sometimes archaeological discoveries are made that don’t make much sense or seem out of place. Often these mysteries are solved and have simple explanations. Take for example the Heliodorus pillar in...
