We may have a lot more to thank (or curse) our ancestors for than we realize. When the Black Death or the bubonic plague swept through Europe 700 years ago, it literally killed 50% of the population...
About 60,000 years ago, a human had a sexual encounter with a Neanderthal. Now, a genetic scientist has claimed that this single sexual act caused the deaths of up to a million people during the...
Psychologists and religious leaders agree that the ancient Camino de Santiago is a great “way” to fight depression and mental health illnesses. The trail, whose English name translates into the “Way...
St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire is the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain and work to restore its rare medieval shrine has just been completed. But the addition of a new...
Baalbek in Lebanon has been known by many names, ruled by many different kings and emperors, and has been under the dominion of many faiths in its long and storied history. Some 2,000 years ago,...
Back in 2020 researchers claimed that they had discovered a Neanderthal Covid gene which decreased our ability to fight the virus SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19. Now a new research project in Japan...
A team of scientists have cleared up the myths surrounding the death of the great Genghis Khan . They claim that his passing might hold a message for today’s leaders amidst the threats of the current...
Around 47,000 historical finds have been recorded with the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) scheme in 2020. According to finds.org , 6,251 of the lost artifacts were reported during...
It’s official. Ireland – the home of Halloween traditions – has banned Halloween parties and traditional trick-or-treating festivities this year as tackling Covid-19 remains top of government’s...
A strand of Neanderthal DNA inherited by modern humans has been linked to your likelihood of falling severely ill with Covid-19 , but not everyone is convinced. The Neanderthal gene is only found in...
The bubonic plague , otherwise known as the Black Death, originated in Asia during the late Middle Ages and spread north into Europe through the bacteria Yersinia pestis on infected fleas. To counter...
Chinese-Flu, Kung-Flu and now Trump-Flu, according to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, but now, in the middle of all these politicized pseudonyms names for...
In France, a brotherhood that is over 800 years old is helping to bury the dead during the COVID-19 pandemic. This fraternity, which has its origins in medieval times, continues to assist at burials...
As a professor of medieval Europe, I’ve taught the bubonic plague, and how it contributed to the English Peasant Revolt of 1381. Now that America is experiencing widespread unrest in the midst of its...
The internet is awash with comparisons between life during COVID-19 and life during the Bubonic plague . The two have many similarities, from the spread of misinformation and the tracking of...
Just as many now don face masks and do breathing exercises to protect against COVID-19 – despite debates around the science behind such practices – so too did the Islamic world turn to protective...
Every so often, a pandemic emerges that dramatically alters human society. The Black Death (1347 - 1351) was one; the Spanish flu of 1918 was another. Now there’s COVID-19 . Archaeologists have long...
One of the haunting images of this pandemic will be stationary cruise ships – deadly carriers of COVID-19 – at anchor in harbours and unwanted. Docked in ports and feared. The news of the dramatic...
Police forces around the world are deploying horses to maintain social control as communities begin to crack under the pressure of social restrictions. Archaeologists know horses were ridden in...
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted daily life around the world. It has also interfered with many historic traditions and ceremonies . A 1000-year-old swearing-in of a sheriff was not able to take...
The pandemic of COVID-19 is often called “unprecedented” – and for many people cooped up in their homes in different countries, the experience is both unparalleled and challenging. But in late-...
