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Artifacts

There are undoubtedly millions of ancient artifacts from the past that have served to shed light on the lives of our ancestors from many millennia ago. But some ancient mystical artifacts stand out for their uniqueness, their intrigue, or their ability to expand our knowledge about previously unknown aspects of our history. Here we feature many such ancient history artifacts, from amazing examples of ancient technology, to artistic masterpieces, unexplained objects, ancient texts, and mysterious artifacts that shed light on the daily lives of our ancestors.

Left, finders with the coins, right, the coins by a tree.

Treasure Trove of Rare 17th-Century Coins Discovered in Poland

In a remarkable find near the town of Pomiechówek, Poland, a father and son from the Triglav Historical and Research Association, Sławomir and Szymon Milewscy, have unearthed a hoard of rare 16th and...
: A slate slab from the Stone Age site of Gönnersdorf shows a fish trap.

15,800-year-old Engravings of Fish Traps Are Oldest Depictions of Fishing

LEIZA, MONREPOS and Durham University At the Ice Age site of Gönnersdorf near Neuwied am Rhein, researchers from the Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioral Evolution MONREPOS...
modified horns Egypt

Modified Sheep Skulls From 3700 BC Found In Egypt's Mortuary Complex

Intentionally modified sheep skulls, gauged by the deliberate deformities, have been uncovered at the ancient mortuary complex in Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt, dating to about 3,700 BC. Numbering 6 in...
Starfish varieties found at the Tula site, plus beautiful mosaic and Toltec jug.

Toltec Starfish Deposit at Tula Reveals Deep Cosmic and Ocean Ties

Five starfish in a highly elaborate ritual deposit at the Toltec site of Tula have been found – an exhibition of how central the ocean and its creatures were to the economy, religion, and artistic...
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Podcast: History Fuzz: Episode 06: Dr. Robert Weiner. Anasazi ceremonial ways and the Mount Wilson Meridian

In this episode, Dr. Robert Weiner, an archaeologist in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, offers a deep dive into the ancient Chacoan road networks in the U.S...
Valcamonica rock art that people have dubbed 'The Astronauts'.

For 10,000 Years, Valcamonica Rock Art Shows Italy's Societal Evolution

Some of the world’s earliest-known graffiti artists in Italy carved into rock tens of thousands of images from the mundane to the mystical, recording scenes from the twilight of the Stone Age to the...
Curious bamboo contraption found at the Schwarzhorn Glacier, Switzerland.

Origins Unknown: Unfathomable Bamboo ‘Wagon’ Found in Swiss Alps

As glaciers continue to melt in the Swiss Alps, a hiker made an unusual discovery near the fading Schwarzhorn Glacier - a two-wheeled bamboo contraption that has left archaeologists scratching their...
Figurine example (H20257) from Thonis-Heracleion

Fingerprints on Egyptian Terracotta Figurines Show Organization of Labor

Ancient fingerprints found on terracotta figurines from the ancient port city of Thonis-Heracleion, are being studied by an Oxford University Ph.D. student, to reveal the age and sex of the...
Left; Proto-cuneiform tablets, Right; Analysis of proto-cuneiform examples.

Breakthrough in the Origins of Writing: From Seals to Signs

Proto-cuneiform, an early sign-based script, marks a pivotal moment in human history as the precursor to the world's first writing system, cuneiform. Emerging between 3350 and 3000 BC in the city of...
Left; Tamara Gomez Kobayashi examines one of the newly discovered graves in Pryssgården. Right; a knife with a curved edge used for working leather and a needle for sewing leather.

Posthumously Stabbed: Bizarre Woman’s Burial Unearthed in Sweden

Archaeologists currently investigating an Iron Age burial ground in Pryssgården, Sweden, have found a woman’s grave containing a small needle and a curved knife inserted vertically into the earth!...
The imprint of the Shroud of Turin made on fabric by a shallow bas-relief.

Shroud of Turin Proved to be Fake by New Study Employing 3D Imprints

In late August of this year, researchers had stoked the flames of hell, claiming that a piece of cloth found 2,000-years-ago , was indeed, the Shroud of Turin. Now this hotly contested claim has been...
Zatrikion board game

Zatrikion: Knossos Board Game Shows Minoans Enjoyed Leisure and Play

The people of the ancient Minoan civilization on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea enjoyed a sophisticated society that included fine art, agriculture, writing systems, royal palaces, and an...
The Babylonian Map of the World, or Imago Mundi tablet.

Babylonian Map of the World Includes “Ark” Story Linked to Noah’s Ark

A 3,000-year-old Babylonian tablet known as the Imago Mundi, or the “Babylonian Map of the World,” recently led British Museum researchers to an astonishing find: a reference to a Great Flood story...
The swing of the leangle delivers a deadly blow to an opponent.

Biomechanics Study of Indigenous Australian Weapons Shows What Made Them So Deadly

Michelle Langley & Laura Diamond /The Conversation For the first time, state-of-the-art biomechanics technology has allowed us to scientifically measure just how deadly are two iconic Aboriginal...
Urn in the grave of the cremated Lusatian discovered in Nové Dědina near Uničov, Czech Republic.

Lusatian Longhouse From 7,000-Years-Ago Uncovered in the Czech Republic

Archaeologists in the Czech Republic have stumbled upon something quite incredible: remnants of a prehistoric housing estate inhabited by the earliest farmers of the Late Stone Age! Approximately 7,...
Serce Limani shipwreck

Serçe Limanı Glass Wreck: The Sunken Art of Islamic Glassmaking

The bottom of the Mediterranean Sea holds many secrets, many of which we will never uncover. But diver archaeologists are nevertheless keeping themselves as busy as can be. They survey the depths in...
Hippolytus and Phaedra fresco at the tiny Phaedra house in Pompeii.

New Discovery at Pompeii: Lavishly Decorated “Tiny House” Uncovered

Archaeologists working in Pompeii’s ancient Amanti Island district have unveiled a unique small residence with vibrant, intricate frescoes that rival even the city’s grander homes. Known as the “Casa...
Attempt to reconstruct a room in the house of the garrison commander in Asparos. Inset; the gold votive plaque.

Golden Plaque Dedicated to Military Deity Jupiter Dolichenus Found in Georgia

From the Roman fort of Apsaros, archaeologists have found a small, golden votive plaque dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, a deity with deep roots in the Roman military, though the true origins were in...
The burial of the Seeress of Fyrkat

The Viking Seeress of Fyrkat: a High-status Sorceress and Seductress

A Norse burial site in Denmark from around the year 940 contains the remains of a woman of high status whom experts believe was a seeress or völva . Such women held a special place in society and...
One of the Kaanu'l dynasty plaster reliefs found at Archaeological Zone of Dzibanché, Mexico.

Powerful Maya Serpent Dynasty Revealed in Reliefs in Mexico

Archaeologists in the Archaeological Zone of Dzibanché, Mexico, have unearthed three ancient relief facades depicting motifs tied to the powerful Kaanu'l dynasty, a ruling Maya lineage represented by...
The sacred symbol of the Djed pillar

What on Earth is the Sacred Symbol of the Djed Pillar?

Hieroglyphics play an important role in understanding ancient Egyptian culture. One of the most commonly found and mysterious hieroglyphic symbols is known as the djed symbol. With the appearance of...
Archaeologists removiing the 3,500-year-old wooden spade from the finde site.

Archaeologists Uncover One of the Oldest Wooden Tools Ever Found in Britain

Wessex Archaeology Today we're delighted to announce the discovery of one of the oldest and most complete wooden tools ever found in Britain. The spade was discovered during archaeological...
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Podcast: History Fuzz: Episode 05: Dr. Robert Barratt. Mathematics, coding and the Neolithic alignments of Malta and Ireland

In this engaging podcast episode, Dr. Robert Barratt, a research scientist at Queen’s University in Belfast, discusses his innovative application of computer code to investigate the astronomical...
Takenouchi sketch

The Takenouchi Manuscripts and the Story of Humanity Never Told

The Takenouchi manuscripts are a set of mysterious documents that were rewritten by a man named Takenouchino Matori 1,500 years ago in a mixture of Japanese and Chinese characters, transcribed from...

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