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art of the megalithic temple excavation site at Huaca el Toro in Peru. Source: EFE

Water Cult’s Megalithic Temple in Peru was Re-Purposed for Death

A megalithic temple found near the springs of the Zaña Valley river in Peru is an interesting find for several reasons. First, it’s the only known megalithic architecture in the Lambayeque region...
Heryshaf depicted as a ram wearing symbolic headdress. (Rama / CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Egyptian God Heryshaf – Mysterious Lord of Heracleopolis

We all know that the wonders of the ancient Egyptian pantheon are many and so amazing – and the deities that lurk within that pantheon are almost impossible to count and mention. Many of these...
A ceremony in the cult of Venezuelan goddess Maria Lionza. Self-harming rituals are practiced in this cult. Source: EJ George/YouTube Screenshot

Venezuelan Cult Still Practices Shocking Self-Harming Rituals

Every year thousands of Venezuelans hike into the mountains around Chivacoa and practice fire, blood, and smoke rituals as they pay homage to their indigenous goddess - Maria Lionza - who is still...
Goddess of Egypt, Bastet. Credit: MiaStendal / Adobe Stock

Egyptian Cat Goddess Bastet, Protector of the King

The wondrous world of Egyptian deities is filled with all manner of fantastic creatures, each one captivating in its unique depiction. This vast pantheon features hundreds upon hundreds of deities,...
Monument of the stone penis, excavated in Rollsbo near Gothenburg in Sweden. Source: The Archaeologists/NHM.

Prehistoric Stone Penis Penetrates Through Time

A Bronze Age stone penis once used for sacrificial fertility rituals has been uncovered in Sweden. The carved phallic statue stands erect at nearly 2 feet (52 centimeters) high and has been linked to...
Some of the animal species that held a special place in ancient folklore: Horse (Pixabay License), dog (Pixabay License), hedgehog (Pixabay License), squirrel (Pixabay License), baboon (Pixabay License), cat (Pixabay License).

8 of the Most Popular Animal Species in the Ancient World

Animals far outnumber us on the planet. And while humans have domesticated some of them for work or food, others have been observed, admired, feared, and revered from afar. For many ancient cultures...
The Cwezi were believed to be ancient extraterrestrials or demigods. Source: Stanislav / Adobe Stock.

The Cwezi: Ancient Race of Mystical People and the Modern-Day Cwezi Cult Accused of Black Magic

The Bachwezi people, who are also known as the Ancient Cwezi or Chwezi, were a group of people who legends say ruled the Empire of Kitara (Empire of the Sun), which encompassed a vast area including...
Decapitated skeleton excavated at Great Whelnetham, UK

Roman Burial Site Found in England Includes 52 Skeletons With 17 Bizarre After Death Decapitations

Sometimes archaeologists make grim and even shocking discoveries. In England, there has been one such find. Experts have found a cemetery, dating from the Roman era which contained a great many...
Medea with her children. The children became the focus of a hero cult in ancient Greece.

Baby, Baby, Baby: Why Did the Ancient Greeks Turn Dead Children into Heroes?

When we use the term “hero” today while discussing Greek mythological figures, it usually designates a man whose superhuman exploits and semi-divine parentage make him a person of legend. But in real...
Basilica of Saint Clement

The Mithraic Mysteries and the underground chamber of San Clemente

Prior to the adoption of Christianity as its official religion at the end of the 3 rd century AD, the Roman Empire’s religious policy was one of tolerance. Along with the official Roman religion,...
Glastonbury Tor, and Bull Nandi (Public Domain/Deriv)

Alchemy and Generating Lifeforce —Global Temples Made in the Shape of Lingams: Shaivite Bull Cult Part II

One form associated with the Bull Son of the Bull Cult was the Shiva Lingam, the sacred symbol that unites the phallus, the universal symbol of the male principle, with the ovum, the universal symbol...
The biblical town of Libnah from the Book of Exodus

Could Iron Age settlement be the biblical town of Libnah from the Book of Exodus?

Excavations at Tel Burna, an Iron Age settlement in the Shephelah region of modern-day south-central Israel, have revealed artifacts and fortifications dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries...
A seida (worshiped stone) Tromsø, Norway.

Sami Spirituality and the Cult of the Sacred Stones

The Cult of the Sacred Stones belong to the Sami people of northern Europe. The Sami (occasionally spelled Saami) live in Lapland, a part of northern Europe near Norway, Sweden and Finland, and...
Artist's rendering of the hof, a pagan temple, in Uppsala, Sweden.

The Heathen Hof: Resurrecting a Germanic Pagan Temple

A heathen hof, also referred to as a Germanic pagan temple, is the name given to a place of worship in the Germanic religion. These were pre-Christian temples found in various parts of Northern...
Sealings from the archive of Doliche.

Discovery of 1,000 Sealings Reveals an Ancient City’s Devotion to the Graeco-Roman Pantheon

Classical scholars from the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" of the University of Münster discovered a large number of sealings in south-east Turkey. "This unique group of artifacts...
King Herihor and Queen Nodjmet adoring the god Osiris in the afterlife. (Photo credits: Trustees of the British Museum (Wikimedia Commons)); Deriv.

The Hunt for Herihor: Waning Pharaonic Power and Advent of Priest-kings–Part I

Early in the Twenty-First Dynasty, a High Priest of Amun-Re, Herihor, declared himself ruler. The custodians of the cult of the state god finally got what they had always yearned for—overtly and...
Tel Burna, Structures of Libnah

Archaeologists Discover a 3,200-Year-Old Pagan Ritual Hall in Israel

Excavators from Israel have announced the discovery of three millennia-old pagan ritual evidence, which supports the hypothesis of pagan worship at Tel Burna back then. Experts suggest that the new...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji

Akhenaten: Imperishable Art of an Iconoclast: Creativity Blossoms in the Desert—Part I

Never before had a pharaoh ushered daring, almost bizarre and inconceivable transformations in religion and statecraft as Akhenaten did. Not only did he oust the pantheon of traditional gods and...
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...
Aerial view of circular henge remains and burials

Archaeologists Discover a Stone Age “Cult” Henge Site and 4,000 Year-old Human Remains

A team of archaeologists has discovered a Stone Age “cult” henge site and human remains that are estimated to be nearly 4,000 years old. Experts suggest that the human remains, found near Stratford,...
Moses’ Horns.

4 Completely Different Versions of the Story of Moses

The story of Moses doesn’t just show up in the Bible. In the ancient world, nearly every culture had their own version of what happened. The Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans all had their own...
2,000-year-old Warrior Armor Made of Reindeer Antlers Found on the Arctic Circle

2,000-year-old Warrior Armor Made of Reindeer Antlers Found on the Arctic Circle

By: The Siberian Times Reporter The ceremonial suit was embellished with decorations and left as a sacrifice for the gods by ancient bear cult polar people, say archeologists. The discovery is the...
The excavation site at Mariana, Corsica.

Mysterious Sanctuary Linked to Mithraism Found on French Island

An ancient sanctuary dedicated to the god Mithra was excavated in Lucciana on east coast of Corsica. The site was excavated by France’s National Institute for Preventative Archaeology (INRAP) in...
Birds, Stones, and Jaguars: Piecing Together the Multifaceted Ancient Olmec Religion

Birds, Stones, and Jaguars: Piecing Together the Multifaceted Ancient Olmec Religion

The Bilingual-Mayan inscription of Comalcalco and decipherment of the La Venta celts and Olmec iconography allows one to understand much about the ancient Olmec religion and its cult associations...

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