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Pompeii graffiti. Source: Niklas / Adobe Stock.

Pompeii's Graffiti: An Ancient Form of Social Media (Video)

Archaeologist Dr. Catherine Huntley's work unveils the ancient walls of Pompeii as repositories of historical insights. In contemporary times, graffiti often carries a negative connotation,...
Medieval Lawyers Used Sheepskin Parchment to Prevent Fraud and Forgery

Medieval Lawyers Used Sheepskin Parchment to Prevent Fraud and Forgery

Archaeologists tracing the evolution of British legal practices discovered one area where innovation was discouraged: the parchments for documents. From the 13 th to the 20 th century AD, British...
Sections of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets scroll discovered in the Judean Desert expedition prior to their conservation. Source: Shai Halevi / Israel Antiquities Authority

Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Discovered In Judean Desert Cave

Dozens of fragments of a 2,000-year-old biblical “Dead Sea scroll” have been found in a cave in the Judean desert, Israel. It is the first time such text has been found in 60 years, since the...
Images of the MS. 632 birthing girdle. a) The dripping side-wound. b) The rubbed away green cross or crucifix. c) Tau cross with red heart and shield.  Source: Courtesy of the Wellcome Collection

New Birthing Girdle Study Answers Questions About Medieval Childbirth

In the Middle Ages, pregnant women allegedly wore a type of specially prepared wrap known as a birthing girdle. Birthing girdles were long, thin, rolls made from animal skin parchment. They were...
The Vinland Map: A Most Non-European Artifact

The Vinland Map: A Most Non-European Artifact

The Vinland Map carries with it the air of mystery and, some would say, the stench of deception. In the vaults of Yale University, and insured for $25 Million, it is either a colossal fraud or an...
Rolled up parchment with information of payment to William Weston from Henry VII

A Timeworn Scroll Reveals King Henry VII’s Interests in New World Colonization

In AD 1499 England launched its very first English-led expedition to "Terra Nova” (New World) and now researchers studying a 16th century scroll have found King Henry VII awarded William Weston, one...
The Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) provided an incredibly clear view of the medieval text.

6th Century Roman Law Text Discovered After Being Hidden for Centuries Inside Parchment Recycled as Medieval Bookbinding

The secrets within medieval manuscripts can be read once again, thanks to modern technology and new imaging techniques. Experts now suggest that computational imaging and signal processing advances...
A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: The Crafty Story of Embroidery in Medieval Manuscripts

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: The Crafty Story of Embroidery in Medieval Manuscripts

Even though paper would eventually come to be more popular, parchment was the preferred material for book making, and eventually printing, throughout the middle ages. Parchment, used before the rise...
The Library of Pergamum: A Contender for the Greatest Library of the Ancient World

The Library of Pergamum: A Contender for the Greatest Library of the Ancient World

Pergamum, Anatolia, now the modern Turkish town of Bergama, was one of the most important cities in the Hellenistic Greek age. It was culturally rich, with an extensive library at its heart. The city...
After 60 Years, Archaeologists are Thrilled to Find a Twelfth Dead Sea Scroll Cave

After 60 Years, Archaeologists are Thrilled to Find a Twelfth Dead Sea Scroll Cave

A team of archaeologists from the Hebrew University were exploring a cave near the Dead Sea and claim that the cave once hosted Dead Sea Scrolls from the Second Temple period. Unluckily, the ancient...
Deriv; Ordination of Jacques de Molay in 1265 as a Knight Templar, at the Beaune commandery and the Chinon Parchment.

The Guilt of the Gnostic Knights Templar: The Chinon Parchment

The recently discovered Chinon Parchment of the Vatican Library in 2001 has brought a level of redemption to the Knights Templar. It does not discount their “heretical” activities, which were...
Manuscript of the ‘Book of Hours’ produced in Florence in the late 15th century. It is on uterine vellum. Credit: Rauner Special Collections Library.

Getting under the skin of a medieval mystery

A simple PVC eraser has helped an international team of scientists led by bioarchaeologists at the University of York to resolve the mystery surrounding the tissue-thin parchment used by medieval...
1,400-year-old medicinal treatise of Galen found hidden under hymns in ancient manuscript

1,400-year-old medicinal treatise of Galen found hidden under hymns in ancient manuscript

A 6th century translation of a work of one of the most important ancient Greek doctors has been discovered in an animal-hide manuscript, hidden underneath text of 1,000-year-old hymns. A researcher...
13th century cat- and goat-hide shop

13th century cat- and goat-hide shop excavated in England

People wore domestic cat fur clothing in medieval England, and archaeologists may have found a site where such leather was produced in the 13 th century. Archaeologists digging in Norwich, England,...
Ancient Book

Ancient DNA on parchments reveal hidden stories

Parchment documents--ancient writings on animal skins--record an immense wealth of information about the history of humanity and past civilizations. However, new research has shown that within these...
Ancient Greek Manuscript

Ancient philosophical writings found hidden beneath a medieval text

A group of scientists and historians have made an incredible discovery relating to some writings made on parchments that were produced in medieval times. Using cutting-edge technology, the...