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Drone photograph of the excavations of the royal hall unearthed at Rendlesham. Source: Suffolk County Council

1,400-Year-Old Royal Hall of East Anglian Kings Unearthed in Suffolk

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...
Reliefs based on the Pinelli engraving (1928). It depicts a scene from the everyday life and the campaign of Alexander the Great. Reliefs by the sculptor Pr. Tzanoulinos (bronze). Hellenic War Museum (Athens, Greece). (CC by 2.0 / Tilemahos Efthimiadis)

Archaeological Track of Alexander The Great’s Footprint in Persia

Archaeology in modern Iran tracks Alexander the Great’s footprint in ancient Persia as his army crossed the Euphrates, crisscrossed the plateaus, marched along the Royal Road, across the Zagros...
The Tomb of Jesus in Shingo, northern Japan. Source: smoke / Adobe Stock

One Japanese Legend Claims That Jesus Christ Lived and Died in Japan

A small village in northern Japan attracts thousands of visitors each year claiming to be the site of the true tomb of Jesus Christ. Local legend has it that he visited Japan during his lost years ,...
Niflheim, here viewed as the land of the dead who died without honor. Source: Zaleman / Adobe Stock

Niflheim in Norse Mythology: Land of the Dead and Home to Lady Hel

In Norse cosmology, the universe was made up of nine distinct realms. Each had its unique inhabitants and mythology, but some played bigger parts in the Norse mythology than others. One of the most...
Japan’s Okunoin Cemetery, Est. 816 AD: Graveyard for 200,000 Monks

Japan’s Okunoin Cemetery, Est. 816 AD: Graveyard for 200,000 Monks

Nestled in the mountains of Wakayama prefecture a couple of hours southeast of Osaka, Japan by car lies a world-famous cemetery that is home to the graves of over 200,000 Buddhist monks who are said...
This impressive larger-than-life Hercules statue has been excavated in the ancient city of Philippi, in modern Greece.   Source: YPPOA Hellenic Ministry of Culture

2,000-Year-Old Statue of Hercules Found in Ancient City of Philippi

Eastern Macedonia’s most important archaeological site, Philippi (also written as Fillipi), has had a huge role to play in shaping the history of the Western world. The UNESCO World Heritage Site,...
Gold Coin Hoard in Israel Tells the Violent Story of Muslim Conquest

Gold Coin Hoard in Israel Tells the Violent Story of Muslim Conquest

Stashed in a wall in Israel around the time of the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem 1,400 years ago, this gold coin hoard was minted during one of the bloodiest and paradigm changing periods of history...
1889 painting of Circe by Wright Barker. Source: Public domain

The Spellbinding Story of Circe, Goddess of Magic in Greek Mythology

Circe is a complex character within Greek mythology. Feared and desired in equal measure, Circe was a goddess of magic, and even today she continues to be one of the most enchanting and deadly...
Zoroastrian Fire temple at Baku, Azerbaijan adapted practiced according to the Avesta and other Zoroastrian scriptures.	Source: Konstantin / Adobe Stock

The Avesta and Zoroastrianism: The Creation, Disappearance and Resurgence of an Ancient Text

Of all the religious texts, the Avesta is perhaps the least familiar. This is unsurprising, since the Avesta was written in a now-dead language, before being lost for almost one thousand years...
The recently discovered underground corridors near Shahr-e Belqeys appear similar to this photo of the subterranean site of Nushabad.	Source: Fotokon / Adobe Stock

Medieval Underground Corridors Found in Iran During Roadwork

A routine road construction project has led to the accidental discovery of an extensive network of underground corridors in Bam village of Esfarayen county in northeast Iran. Archaeologists have...
Alexander Of Macedon And His Nemesis Persian Darius III

Alexander Of Macedon And His Nemesis Persian Darius III

Ironically, Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, written around 370 BC, a narrative describing the education of the ideal ruler centred on Cyrus the Great founder of the Achaemenid Dynasty, was a great inspiration...
Was Plato’s Atlantis historical fact? And if so, where are its ruins?  Source: fergregory / Adobe Stock

Three Scientific Mysteries of Plato’s Atlantis

In the early years of researching my 5-volume Gods of Atlantos Saga , I read and re-read Plato’s accounts of Atlantis – his dialogues Timaeus and Critias – and was brought up short by three of his...
Top image: Painting by Peder Severin Krøyer, entitled Hip, Hip, Hurrah!, depicting a group of artists toasting at a party. Source: Gothenburg Museum of Art / CC BY 4.0

Despite its Ritual Importance, “Toasting” Came from a Piece of Toast

We’ve all taken part in toasting rituals. At birthdays and weddings, in remembrance of loved ones or as a sign of respect, modern-day toasts range from a polite nod while wetting one’s lips to...

Baby Slings Were a Thing 10,000 Years Ago, New Discovery Reveals

A team of archaeologists have studied the remains of a 10,000-year-old baby with high technology. Their new paper not only found signs of ritual burial, but it reveals that baby carriers, or baby...
Humans have been bonding over popcorn and beer for centuries. What other ancient foods are we still eating today? Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock

12 Ancient Foods That We Still Love Today

There are few things humans love more than food. For centuries, humans have been creating new, delicious recipes to enjoy. While we may eat somewhat differently nowadays (after all, I don’t think our...
Achilles and Ajax engaged in a game of “pessi” an ancient Greek board game. Mysterious ancient stone spheres may have been used in a board game. Source: Egisto Sani / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Mystery Solved! Strange Stone Spheres are for an Ancient Greek Board Game!

Mysterious ancient stone spheres found across Aegean and Mediterranean settlements were potentially used in a pre-historic board game! A new study, aided by artificial intelligence (A.I.), has...
Skull funerary mask, Bhutan (Wellcome Collection / CC by SA 4.0)

16 Bizarre, Impressive and Hilarious Funerary Masks of the Ancient World

Throughout history, many cultures and civilizations created funerary masks as part of their burial customs. The masks were used to represent a deceased individual, to honor them, and to cover their...
A replica of the Peking Man skull, because all the originals vanished, from the Peking Man Site, on display at the Paleozoological Museum of China. Source: Yan Li / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Tragic Story of the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian

Nothing sparks the human imagination quite like the question, what came before? Philosophers, theologians, and countless religions have spent millennia pontificating on what came before humanity as...
Did Pope Gregory IV really start a war on cats in the 13th century? Source: SlothAstronaut / Adobe Stock

The Cat-Quisition: Pope Gregory IX Started a War on— Wait for It—Cats

Anyone with a thing against cats may get some satisfaction from a weird history “fact” circulating on the internet. Used as widespread clickbait, a frequently repeated story claims that in the 13th...
Ancient Roman refrigerator found at Novae Roman settlement, Bulgaria. Source: P. Dyczek / PAP

Archaeologists Unearth First Century Roman Refrigerator in Bulgaria

Over the last few decades, archaeologists from Bulgaria and Poland have been performing excavations at the site where the Roman legionary fortress of Novae once stood. The ruins of the fortress can...
A printed map from the 15th century depicting Ptolemy's description of the Ecumene by Johannes Schnitzer (1482) (Public Domain)

Terra Australis The Fabled Continent Of Antiquity’s Antipodes

For nearly 2,000 years, right up until Captain James Cook’s second voyage to the Pacific in 1775, geographers debated the existence of Terra Australis, a mythical landmass to the south-east said to...
A staff member cleans a Song dynasty mural discovered in the Zhouqiao relic site in Kaifeng City, central China's Henan Province. Source: Xinhua

Huge, Exquisite, Song Dynasty Stone Murals Found in China

Two massive stone mural carvings dating to the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127 AD) that were found in central China’s Henan province have been hailed by archaeologists as a remarkable discovery...
The fossil of a Homo erectus skull found in recent national civilization origin-tracing program. Source: Courtesy of the National Cultural Heritage Administration

Million-Year-Old Human Skull Found in China Reveals Evolutionary Secrets

Archaeologists in China have uncovered a human skull that is almost unimaginably old. While performing excavations in the central province of Hubei, a team of researchers affiliated with the Hubei...
Valley of the Tower of Tombs, ruins of ancient Palmyra in Syrian desert   Source: Monik-a / Adobe Stock

Piecing Together the Lost Mitanni Empire

The Mitanni Empire was established in 1475 BC and was disestablished in 1260 BC. It was one of the biggest and most powerful nations of its time, and its influence spread far and wide. Yet you’ve...

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