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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.

Prehistoric skeleton buried adorned with copper alloy goods.
25 December, 2017 - 19:06 Theodoros Karasavvas

Experimental Color Chart Reveals the Original Beauty of Prehistoric Copper Goods

An international team of Serbian and UK researchers claim to have developed a Cu-As-Sn (Copper-Arsenic-Tin) color ternary diagram, which will help scientists to uncover the original colors of ancient...
Medieval style bathing depicted in calligraphy of a book circa 1400.
25 December, 2017 - 00:19 dhwty

Medieval Hygiene Might Have Been Better Than You Think

The Medieval period is usually perceived as a time in Europe during which the greater part of the continent was in decline. In many aspects of Medieval society, the quality of life was inferior as...
Relief from a scribe's tomb found in Flavia Solva. (Public Domain) Background: Latin stone inscription.
23 December, 2017 - 13:58 dhwty

Acta Diurna: The Telegraph of Ancient Rome, Bringing You All the Latest Gladiator Combat News

‘Roman emperor conquers new lands !’ ‘Five new ways to use your fish paste .’ ‘When do the stars say you will marry ?’ ‘ Viae militares expand our reach to foreign lands.’ These may have been some of...
Rock art in central Northumberland, northern England. (Author provided)
22 December, 2017 - 01:58 ancient-origins

What Neolithic Rock Art Can Tell Us About the Way Our Ancestors Lived 6,000 Years Ago

The British and Irish countryside is often celebrated for its wealth of unique places of heritage, significance and interest. But not many people know that this heritage includes thousands of ancient...
Mór Than's painting The Feast of Attila, based on a fragment of Priscus.
19 December, 2017 - 19:00 Caleb Strom

Did the Roughly-Hewn Stone Throne at Torcello Really Belong to Attila the Hun?

On the island of Torcello there exists an ancient white chair that local legend names as the throne of Attila the Hun. The chair is large, of solid stone and certainly has the air of unyielding...
Aristotle's School, a painting from the 1880s by Gustav Adolph Spangenberg.
19 December, 2017 - 13:58 Dr. Sophia Protopapa

The Nicomachean Ethics: How to Approach the Ethical Musings of Aristotle

Aristotle spoke thoughtfully as he strolled along the natural pathways of the Lyceum and his companions were entranced by their teacher’s words. His philosophical musings seemed to intertwine...
The Pylos Combat Agate, an ancient object found in Pylos, Greece and created around 1450 BC.
18 December, 2017 - 19:03 David W Mathisen

Is this Minoan Artistic Marvel a Miniaturization of the Heavens?

The discovery of the Pylos Combat Agate in a Mycenaean shaft-grave tomb dating to 1500 BC may be one of the most significant archaeological and artistic finds in decades, perhaps in centuries. The...
The Sayhuite Monolith
16 December, 2017 - 18:50 dhwty

Sayhuite Monolith: Can You Solve the Mystery of the 200 Designs Carved by a Forgotten Creator?

Long ago, forgotten artists put their blood, sweat, and possibly even tears into creating more than 200 designs on a monolith in what is now Peru. They carefully engraved the forms of reptiles,...
The four-handled tureen adorned with dragons, birds and spikes
15 December, 2017 - 13:56 Theodoros Karasavvas

Bronze Artifacts Found in 3,100-Year-Old Tomb Tell of Dynastic Take Over

Chinese archaeologists have discovered ritual tureen and “soup bowls” next to a badly decomposed body in a Zhou dynasty-era tomb. Among the remains there were also uncovered two wine vessels, which...
Message in an old bottle
12 December, 2017 - 13:49 dhwty

Adrift at Sea: The Long-Awaited Recovery of the Oldest Message in a Bottle

Two years ago, a bottle was found with a message in it that had been released before the outbreak of World War One. It had survived not only the ravages of the seas, but both world wars and the life...
The document was found hidden under the wooden loin cloth of the statue
11 December, 2017 - 22:50 Theodoros Karasavvas

Secret Centuries-Old Document Discovered Inside Buttocks of Jesus Statue

During restorations of an 18th century wooden statue of Jesus Christ, Spanish workers discovered a peculiar note that appears to be a makeshift time capsule. The most surprising and bizarre thing...
Bust of Euripides. Marble, Roman copy after a Greek original from ca. 330 BC. Codex Hierosolymitanus Sancti Sepulcri 36, p. 539.
9 December, 2017 - 01:49 aprilholloway

Overwriting Euripides: Hidden Classical Texts Were Washed Over in Medieval Times

The idea to reduce, re-use, and recycle is not a modern phenomenon. Over the last few years, there have been several instances in which scientists and historians have found ancient texts being...
Detail of ‘Himiko, Queen of Yamataikoku.’ It is said this mysterious shaman queen of Japan had magic mirrors.
8 December, 2017 - 01:51 aprilholloway

Researchers in Japan Discover the Secrets Behind Magic Mirrors and a Mysterious Shaman Queen

Magic mirrors are not just objects found in fairy tales. An experiment conducted on a replica bronze mirror in Kyoto’s National Museum shows that the original may be an example of an actual magic...
Maiestas Domini page from Codex Amiatinus (fol. 796v), Firenze, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana and folio 5r from the Codex Amiatinus (Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, MS Amiatinus 1), Ezra the scribe. "When the sacred books had been consumed in the fires of war, Ezra repaired the damage."
7 December, 2017 - 18:53 dhwty

The Codex Amiatinus: The Skins of 500 Calves Were Used to Create this Monumental Manuscript

The Codex Amiatinus dates to the end of the 7th century AD; making it the oldest known surviving complete Catholic Bible written in the Latin Vulgate. It has been estimated that over 1500 calves were...
The engraved whetstone found in Oslo, Norway. Credit: Karen Langsholt Holmqvist/NIKU
7 December, 2017 - 01:56 Gary Manners

Puzzling Medieval Runes Found on Stone in Norway

A rare find of a stone bearing engravings of runes that date back to the Middle Ages has been unearthed recently at an excavation near Oslo. The relic is a whetstone which was a tool used for...
Mummy of a 900-year-old Russian "polar princess"
5 December, 2017 - 18:55 Caleb Strom

Viruses Sleeping in Mummies—Could Ancient Corpses Lead to Modern Epidemics?

Mummies fascinate historians, archaeologists, and anyone with antiquarian leanings. Mummies allow scientists to learn more about the diets, clothing, appearance, genetics, and general lifestyle of...
Romanian Postage stamp design 1989 with Conrad Hass, Austrian military engineer with an early rocket design.
4 December, 2017 - 22:55 dhwty

Conrad Haas’ Flying Javelin: Yes, It Is 16th Century Rocket Science

Conrad Haas was a military engineer who lived during the 16 th century. Not much is known for certain about Haas’ life, in fact, he was largely forgotten by history. But this changed in 1961, when a...
A depiction of Peter using his sword to strike Malchus (circa 1520, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon).
3 December, 2017 - 18:48 dhwty

Is the Sword of St. Peter in Poland The Real Deal?

The Sword of St. Peter is an artifact believed to have once been in the possession of St. Peter, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Bible stories say the right ear of one of the high priest’...
A modern depiction of the hellhound Cerberus.
3 December, 2017 - 14:04 aprilholloway

Gate to Hell Guardians Were Used to Ward People Off Deadly Cave

The Gate to Hell, also known as Pluto’s Gate, was the Greco-Roman entrance to the Underworld. When archaeologists found an example of this sacred site in Turkey they also discovered two guardians who...
Fragment of Apocalypse of Peter, part of the Nag-Hammadi-Codex found in Egypt.
2 December, 2017 - 01:55 Theodoros Karasavvas

Professors Find Original Greek Copy of Jesus’ Teachings to James

Two biblical scholars from the University of Texas at Austin claim to have discovered the first-known original Greek copy of a heretical Christian writing that describes the secret teachings of Jesus...
A Sheela na gig carving on a church in Kilpeck, England
29 November, 2017 - 18:56 dhwty

Why Are There Carvings of Women Flashing Their Genitals on Churches Across Europe?

The last place one would expect to see an image of a woman flashing her genitals is a church wall, but across Europe, most notably Ireland and Britain, there are dozens of them. Most are old women...
Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an, China.
29 November, 2017 - 01:58 johnblack

Terracotta Army Weapons Were Genuine, Military Grade and State of the Art

In 1974 in Xi’an, China, one of the world’s most phenomenal archaeological discoveries occurred. It was the moment when more than 8000 full scale warriors cast of clay were rediscovered after been...
The letter (Image courtesy Andong National University)
28 November, 2017 - 02:01 aprilholloway

Last Words of Love Were Sealed for 500 Years in a Korean Tomb

I just want to go to you. Please take me to where you are. My feelings towards you I cannot forget in this world and my sorrow knows no limit. Where would I put my heart now and how can I live with...
Top left section detail of (1593) [The Codex Quetzalecatzin]. [Mexico: Producer not identified] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
23 November, 2017 - 22:57 Theodoros Karasavvas

Library of Congress Obtains Mesoamerican Map from the Dawn of the Americas

The U.S. Library of Congress has recently announced that a unique, indigenous-made map of Mexico from the era of the Nahuatl people's first contact with European explorers is now part of its vast...

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