Of all the Greek pantheon, none enjoys better brand recognition than Nike. Unless one is a true history buff, the word Nike is more likely to evoke mental images of sneakers than Greek mythology. It...
As one of the twelve Olympians, the god Hephaestus was a major deity for the ancient Greeks. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was primarily the god of fire and smiths, but he was also in charge of...
Polish archaeologists excavating a Roman military camp in Bulgaria expected to discover some coins; and they weren’t really surprised by the hoards of day-to-day tools and the expansive ancient water...
The Australasian realm in the Pacific Ocean includes Australia, New Zealand, eastern Indonesia, and several Pacific island groups - including Papua New Guinea – all scattered along the Ring of Fire,...
A s arcophagus is a receptacle, usually made of stone, that is made to hold a coffin or corpse. Unlike coffins, which are buried, sarcophagi are usually displayed above the ground and for this reason...
Archaeologists in Taiwan recently discovered an unusual female skeleton buried in a remote cave, which proves centuries-old legends about so-called “short, dark-skinned Negrito people” living in the...
It wasn’t until the 1970s that scientists developed an effective cure for leprosy . Up until then this terrible disease was feared not just for its awful symptoms, but also for the stigma that came...
A shocking case of possible arson, still officially being called a forest fire, has caused irreparable damage to the ancient moai statues on Easter Island. The iconic towering stone heads and other...
One of the last primeval forests in Europe, Białowieża forest in Poland , is the subject of a fascinating new LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey. It has yielded a vast and incredible array of...
The modern city of Naples lies on some extremely historical waterways, some over 2,000 years old. Scientists heading a novel project in contemporary urban spaces suggest that these historical water...
Archaeologists have discovered an ancient Egyptian temple with 15 mummified falcons, many of them headless and buried around a pedestal. The discovery suggests a previously unknown ritual performed...
The story of Ymir and the creation of the universe typifies the emphasis on sacrifice as a theme, in Nordic myth and in creation stories around the world. In Norse mythology, Ymir was the primeval...
A company called SpinLaunch has developed a new system for sending satellites and other heavy payloads into space. The engineers at this U.S-based startup designed and built a gigantic outdoor...
One of the most fascinating World Heritage Sites is the Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso. Metallurgy in Burkina Faso was a common practice throughout this area of Africa that dates...
Between 550 and 520 BC Cyrus the Great had unified the Medes and the Persians and founded an empire that stretched from the Indus River to North Africa and from the Aral Sea to the Persian Gulf...
Ancient Greek mythology is full of fantastic beasts and monsters. One of the most famous examples is the brutal one-eyed race of giants, the cyclopes. Several different cyclopes appeared in various...
There was no end to medieval creativity when it came to torture , punishment and humiliation! The ‘scold’s bridle’ or ‘mask of shame’ was a concept developed in medieval Europe to punish people,...
What does Tutankhamun have in common with Cleopatra, Charles II of Spain, or even Queen Victoria? Besides being royalty in their distinct corners of the world, all of them were a product of...
Hundreds of perfectly preserved human footprints, dated between 9,000 and 1,000 years old, have been exposed on Merseyside’s Formby Beach on the Irish Sea. And that’s not all. The ancient footprints...
Capital punishment (death by execution) has been a part of human society since time immemorial. Even though it is a practice as old as human civilization, perhaps the most surprising thing about...
A team of chemists from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana have discovered a mechanism that could explain how the fundamental ingredients of living cells were first created in the...
Hecate the goddess of Greek mythology has been primarily remembered for her associations with magic and witchcraft. Throughout history however, her sphere of influence also included the moon, night,...
As a species, humanity has always been shockingly gifted at finding new ways to kill one another. As wars have raged over the millennia, armaments have had to evolve. This has led to some genuinely...
An ongoing community archaeology project in southeast Suffolk, known as Rendlesham Revealed , has uncovered a royal hall “of international importance” dating back 1,400 years. Termed the “Hall of the...
