The Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples is one of Italy's largest libraries, housing over a million books and manuscripts. Among its collections, the Herculaneum Papyri stand out as some of the most...
The wooden furniture unearthed from the ruins of Herculaneum , preserved by the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius , provides an extraordinary window into the daily existence of ancient Romans...
In 44 BC, Cleopatra and Egypt faced a catastrophic event that would shape their destiny. A volcanic eruption , with far-reaching global consequences, struck the world, impacting Egypt severely. The...
In the shadow of the looming Mt. Vesuvius, amidst the chaos and impending doom, one lone figure defied the overwhelming odds . This individual, clad in a soldier's uniform, displayed remarkable...
During excavations at the Civita Giuliana villa in a suburb of the doomed ancient city of Pompeii in southern Italy, archaeologists unearthed a small, cramped room that told a story of misery and...
Remembered for having written the world’s first encyclopedia, Pliny the Elder’s curiosity got the best of him as he watched clouds of smoke emerging from Mount Vesuvius during its famed eruption in...
As Mount Vesuvius erupted violently in 79 AD, the skies above Pompeii turned dark and ominous. A deadly cloud of super-heated gases spewed forth, reaching a height of 33 km, and molten rock and hot...
In the year 536 AD, a mysterious event plunged the world into darkness for a year and a half. Constantinople writers of the time described the sun as dimmed and blotted out, causing crop failures,...
The debate around human evolution and the Out-of-Africa theory has received a fresh update, this time from southwestern Ethiopia’s Omo Kibish region. A study in Nature has pointed out how the Homo...
During 536 the world was beset by a long winter. Dubbed “the year of darkness” in the New Scientist , temperatures plummeted and the sun was dimmed by a vast fog which blocked its rays from hitting...
In 2021, archaeologists recovered the shattered skeletons of a man and a dog at a site in Turkey. Their frames were both smashed to pieces, but not by an act of human violence, but by the force of a...
Archaeologists in Italy are studying the remains of a Roman soldier who was thrust face-first into the sand at Herculaneum when Mount Vesuvius erupted on October 24th 79 AD. The presence of this...
Like in all ancient cultures maintaining access to fresh, unpolluted water, was infinitely more valuable than owning vast tonnages gold, silver and jewels. Archaeologists exploring a water well in...
On August 21, 1986, in northwestern Cameroon , a massive froth shot up into the sky from the waters of Lake Nyos, followed by a thick ghostly fog which covered the surrounding landscape. In an...
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius is perhaps the best-known natural disaster in the ancient world. It preserved whole towns and human remains, which have all been priceless from an archaeological point...
The Little Ice Age is a period tentatively defined as running from the 13 th /14 th to the 19 th century in which the northern hemisphere of Earth endured a limited but substantial cooling period...
Following Julius Caesar ’ s assassination in 44 BC extreme climate change led to crop failures which in turn fueled the increasing social unrest in Rome, adding greatly to the social disruption...
Scientists finally explain the Moon's mysterious disappearance and the cause of a global famine in 1110 AD. While the opening line of this article sounds like a bait and switch classic, every written...
A 2,300-year-old drainage system carved into bedrock beneath Pompeii will be used again to divert increasing rainwater into the sea. Mount Vesuvius on the west coast of Italy is the only active...
An ancient set of footprints commonly known as the ‘ devil footprints ’ on the side of an extinct volcano have long frightened and intrigued people in southern Italy . In reality, it was thought that...
Herculaneum, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman settlements. Recent advances in science now allow researchers to better understand...
The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of late 2004 claimed up to 300,000 lives in the space of 24 hours. In 2011, the Japanese tsunami claimed another 20,000 lives. Prior to these events, few...
Mount Shasta, located near the Oregon border in northern California, holds the distinction of being one of the world’s preeminent sacred mountains. It is recognized as an eligible Native American...
In the Campania region of Italy near the modern day city of Naples , there was once a prosperous Roman city - Pompeii. As a thriving center for trade, the inhabitants of the city were a mixture of...
