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Stonehenge

Outside the Circle: The Ancient Stonehenge Landscape – A Wider Perspective

Stonehenge stands on the windswept Salisbury Plain reminding us of the engineering, astronomical, and mathematical skills of our distant ancestors. Undoubtedly, Stonehenge is recognised worldwide as...
Underwater World (Public Domain) and ruins of the Palace of Sayil, Yucatan. (Rose Vekony/CC BY-SA 3.0); Deriv

Atlantis Unearthed – Do Surprising Underwater Scans Show Lost Architecture on the Sea Floor?

In his poems of the Iliad, the Greek Philosopher Homer introduces us to the mythical city of Troy, which remained a curiosity to many until the late 1870s when Heinrich Schliemann, on a hunch, began...
Images A, C and D show incisions while B shows the hole drilled into the skull.

Evidence of the Earliest ‘Skull Cult’ Activity: Drilled and Carved Skulls Found at the World’s Oldest Temple

Just as people at the world’s oldest known temple site in Southeast Turkey began to make the transition from hunter-gatherers to a more settled lifestyle, they also started a “skull cult” in which...
Stone head of lord Buddha photographed during a dive at the Temple, near Pemuteran, Bali

The Underwater Temple Garden: A Unique Fusion of Bouyancy and Enlightenment

The Underwater Temple Garden is a unique dive site located in Bali, Indonesia. This underwater garden was created in recent years, and contains a Balinese Hindu temple compound. A photo of the site...
Is this ‘Temple of Fertility’ in Peru Really a Giant Collection of Stone Penises, or is it a Phallic Fallacy

Is this ‘Temple of Fertility’ in Peru Really a Giant Collection of Stone Penises, or is it a Phallic Fallacy?

The megalithic Fertility Temple also known as “Chucuito” on the edge of Lake Titicaca in Peru is special and at the same time controversial basically for a single reason: its “sexuality”. Whether the...
Kailasa Temple: How Was This Massive Hindu Temple Carved out of a Single Rock?

Kailasa Temple: How Was This Massive Hindu Temple Carved out of a Single Rock?

The Kailasa Temple has been dubbed as ‘Cave 16’ of the Ellora Caves, and is notable for being the largest monolithic structure in the world that was carved out of a single piece of rock. Apart from...
A portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi: How an Adventuresome Peasant Boy Became Japan’s Second Great Unifier

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a powerful Japanese daimyo (feudal lord) who lived during the 16th century. He is regarded as Japan’s second ‘great unifier’, the first being Oda Nobunaga, and the third being...
‘The Ark Passes Over the Jordan’

Ark of the Covenant: A Weapon, A Throne, A Temple – Part I

The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is one of history’s most intriguing ancient mysteries. According to Biblical sources, it was constructed after Moses had freed the...
Drawing of what part of Tenochtitlan city (now Mexico City), location of the temple and ball court, may have looked like, based on the Spanish chronicles.

Aztec Temple, Ball Court and 32 Neck Bones Discovered in the Heart of Mexico City

Archaeologists announced on Wednesday that important remains of a significant Aztec temple and a ceremonial ball court have been discovered in downtown Mexico City. According to the experts, the...
Remains of the famous Fugan Temple that was recently discovered in Chengdu, China.

Buried for Almost a Millennium, Archaeologists Recover Over 1,500 Religious Artifacts at Lost Chinese Temple

A team of archaeologists has uncovered more than 1000 tablets inscribed with Buddhist scriptures and over 500 pieces of stone sculpture, as well as glazed tiles with inscriptions, at the site of a...
Bayron Temple, the most notable temple in Angkor Thom

Walking in Shadows of Serenity: The Great Sacred City of Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom (which means ‘Great City’) was the last capital of the mighty Khmer Empire, which was based in modern day Cambodia. This typically intricately decorated Khmer city, which is located in...
Frieze discovered at the atrium of the Main Pyramid Huaca Garagay site.

Incredible New 3,500-year-old Chavin Style Friezes Discovered at Central Site in Lima

Lima Municipality archaeologists have discovered ancient, high relief friezes painted in several colors at Huaca Garagay site in Lima's San Martin de Porres district. Experts suggest that the newly...
The Maiden Tower is the most recognized structure in the Old City of Baku, Azerbaijan.

A Fiery Maiden Guards Her Secrets

“At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, there was raised an 8-storied towered temple (Maiden’s Tower) devoted to seven gods, grandiose for those day… [possessing] seven sacred levels, [and] wall-...
A photo of the White Temple, Chang Rai, Thailand

Nothing Else Like It! Ancient Meets Modern in the White Temple of Thailand

When the rebirth of an ancient building is assumed by a modern thinking artist, strange elements might appear. This is what has happened at the site of Wat Rong Khun, now the White Temple, Thailand...
The complex includes both Christian and Mithraic places of worship, a huge castle, underground features, rock-cut tombs, and water channels.

Mithraism May Become a Bit Less Mysterious with New Temple Discovery in Turkey

In ancient times, there was an Aryan religion, Mithraism, so veiled in secrecy that only rumor of its beliefs and rites were recorded. Archaeologists are hoping to shed more light on the mysteries of...
The Koh Ker pyramid, Cambodia.

Revealing the Mysterious Story of the Koh Ker Pyramid in Cambodia

The Koh Ker complex of temples is located in Northeastern Cambodia. This is the conventional story for its beginnings: “Army General Jayavarmal separated from the central government in Angkor, from...
One of the scenes created by the research team, depicting a small temple in the surrounds of Angkor Wat. Tom Chandler and Brent McKee (Monash University)

Amazing Reconstruction Shows Daily Life Around Angkor Wat in Remarkable and Beautiful Detail

A new project called Digital Angkor has reconstructed Angkor Wat and its surrounding environment in exceptional detail, shedding light on what daily life would have been like centuries ago at the...
Traditional architecture and modern shops in Pingyao, Shanxi Province, China.

Pingyao: What Gems of Architecture are Housed in this Traditional Imperial Chinese City?

The ancient city of Pingyao is a county-level city located in the center of China’s Shanxi Province. This ancient city has been described as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional...
A photo of the Hand of Hercules.

The Colossal Hand of Hercules, So Where is the Rest of Him?

The Hand of Hercules is the name given to a massive fragment of an ancient statue that was unearthed by archaeologists in Amman, the capital of Jordan. This fragment is believed to have once been a...
A richly decorate vase in the National Archaeological Museum of Paestum, Italy.

Just How Rich Were the Inhabitants of Magna Graecia Really?

A team of archaeologists excavating in the Italian city of Paestum (Poseidonia), has uncovered the remnants of a palatial structure and indispensable ceramics. Almost 2,500 years ago, Poseidonia was...
The newly-discovered alabaster statue of Queen Tiye.

Extremely Rare Alabaster Statue of Queen Tiye Found in Egyptian Funerary Temple

A team of archaeologists has uncovered a unique carved alabaster statue of Queen Tiye in Luxor, Egypt. The exciting find was made by the European-Egyptian mission that works under the wings of the...
The Best Preserved Roman Temple? From Emperors to Founding Fathers, Elite Connections Maintained the Maison Carrée

The Best Preserved Roman Temple? From Emperors to Founding Fathers, Elite Connections Maintained the Maison Carrée

The Maison Carrée (which means ‘Square House’ in French) is an ancient monument located in Nîmes, a city in the Occitanie region of southern France. This building was built during the 1st century BC...
Have We Got a Temple, Theater, and Gate? Check! New Details Emerge on Roman Urban Planning in Central Italy

Have We Got a Temple, Theater, and Gate? Check! New Details Emerge on Roman Urban Planning in Central Italy

Archaeologists have discovered a magnificent ancient Roman temple the size of St Paul's Cathedral in central Italy. The discovery took place with the help of a radar device that was attached to the...
Why Do We Ignore the Ancient Treasures on top of Mediterranean Mountains?

Why Do We Ignore the Ancient Treasures on top of Mediterranean Mountains?

Jason König / The Conversation The mountains of the Mediterranean are permanent reminders of the past. The ancient Greeks climbed to their summits to offer sacrifices to the gods for centuries, even...

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