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Painting of a Renaissance banquet, by Władysław Bakałowicz. Source. Public Domain

The Most Decadent Banquets in History (Video)

Indulging in extravagant feasts throughout history, these banquets were grand spectacles of excess and luxury. In 1873, a German businessman orchestrated a lavish gathering in New York, featuring a...
Roman parties were all about grand displays of wealth, power and status. (Public Domain)

The Truth About Secret Ancient Roman Parties (Video)

In ancient Rome , extravagant parties were not just about revelry; they were grand displays of wealth, power, and social status. These gatherings encompassed various types, including dinner parties,...
Roman silver spoon and fork. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public Domain.

This Roman Gadget Was Clearly Designed to Impress (Video)

In the realm of the Roman era, renowned for its grand architecture and sculptures, it's the everyday artifacts that resonate on a personal level. Amidst lavish dinner parties that characterized Roman...
A Sultan of the Ottoman Empire having a feast. Source: AI generated.

How a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Dined (Video)

Ottoman sultans , including the illustrious Suleiman the Magnificent, held a profound appreciation for culinary extravagance. The kitchens of the Topkapi Palace , during the 16th century, teemed with...
Viking celebration. Source: Justinas / Adobe Stock.

Raid, Pillage, and Party: Inside the World of Viking Celebrations (Video)

What comes to mind when you think of Vikings ? Pillaging and plundering? Battle cries and warrior spirit ? What about partying? That's right, Vikings knew how to have a good time, too. Mead halls ,...
An ancient party. Source: AI generated

Top 8 Legendary Parties - Iconic Celebrations in Ancient History

Sometimes people just need to let their hair down. Whether you’re a despotic ruler seeking to distract from a major controversy or a downtrodden peasant looking to get away from the daily grind,...
Sieving For Micro-Insights into the Maya Rituals at Palenque Palace

Sieving For Micro-Insights into the Maya Rituals at Palenque Palace

Archaeologists in Mexico are enjoying fresh insights into the Maya people’s relationship with animals, having devised a new sieve to capture micro-remains. The Maya city of Palenque (fortified place...
The decadence of Rome, as depicted in Thomas Couture's famous painting, is still celebrated today in film and literature. And no event was reported as more scandalous than the Banquet of Chestnuts in 1501, held the night before Halloween.

The Banquet of Chestnuts: A Perverse Pastime at the House of Borgia?

On October 30, 1501, the most decadence of festivals occurred in the papal palace of Cardinal Cesare Borgia. A party that his own father, Pope Alexander VI, not only attended but participated in. The...
Shellfish Extravaganza at Iron Age Feast Unearthed in Ancient Orkney

What Prompted the Shellfish Extravaganza at an Iron Age Feast Site, Orkney?

Archaeologists in the far north of Scotland have unearthed thousands of seashells from the remains of an Iron Age feast dating back to around the 5 th century AD, including 18,630 sea snail shells...
Andy Hook from Blackfriars Restaurant in Newcastle has joined forces with Giles Gaspar from Durham University’s Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, along with a group of scholars and chefs, to create a series of courses aiming to teach students about medieval food. Source: Eat Medieval

Calling Medieval Foodies! Online Courses for Cooking Medieval Food

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. This old adage has now been taken to a whole new level in the northeast of England. A team of...
Beowulf against the dragon.

Finding Beowulf: Is Some of the Famous Anglo-Saxon Heroic Epic Based on Truth?

Beowulf is possibly the most famous example of Anglo-Saxon literature. The heroic epic was created between the 8th-11th century and is set in Scandinavia. In the tale, Beowulf helps the king of the...
An ancient Irish feast used to take place at important times at what is now known as the Navan Centre and Fort. Source: Visit Armagh

Ancient Irish Pagans Made Epic Journeys for Ceremonial Feast

A study of animal remains at one of Ireland’s most important archaeological sites has provided researchers with new insights into the Iron Age, revealing that ancient pagans traveled vast distances...
A pig’s jaw found at the Navan Hill Fort site  Source: Dr Richard Madgwick / Scientific Reports

Iron Age Feasting and Festivities Evidenced at Navan Hill Fort

Animal teeth and bones excavated by archaeologists from the ancient Navan Hill Fort site in modern-day County Armagh suggest the location was an ancient center for ritual gatherings. Each of the pig...
Stonehenge was one of the feasting destinations of the pigs.

Prehistoric Britons Brought Pigs From As Far As Scotland For Stonehenge Feasts

New findings suggest ancient people in the late Neolithic period travelled hundreds of kilometers across Britain’s wild landscapes to attend great feasts and festivals at stone circles in Wiltshire...
Portrait of Adolf Frederick of Sweden

Adolf Frederick: The Swedish King Who Ate Himself to Death

Adolf Frederick was a Swedish king who lived during the 18 th century. Although Adolf Frederick ruled Sweden for almost 20 years, it was unremarkable and nothing of great note took place during his...
Representation of prehistoric people around a campfire.

Cave Holds Evidence of a 20,000-year-old Kangaroo Meat Family BBQ

Some 20,000 years ago a family of eight to ten people shared in a timeless tradition – they had a BBQ. But the meat on their menu was probably not a kind of steak you’d normally put on your grill…...
L-R: An iron involuted brooch, copper alloy horn-cap, dress pin and cauldron that were found at the site.

Ancient British Bake Off? Cauldrons Fit for Feasting Found at Iron Age Settlement

The wealth of evidence found suggests there were many mouths being fed at an Iron Age settlement in the UK that looks to have developed into a regional center for ceremonies and feasting. A Unique...
A boy holding a platter of fruits with a bucket of crabs, in a kitchen with fish and squid, on the June panel from a mosaic depicting the months (3rd century)

Eating Like a Roman: Healthy Greens, Gritty Bread and Fish Paste – The Evolution of Ancient Roman Cuisine

While the reputation of ancient Roman dining features decadent drinking and feasting to a point of excess – leading to notorious purges in the vomitorium – those stories were largely anecdotal, or...
Mythbusting Ancient Rome – The Truth About the Vomitorium

Mythbusting Ancient Rome – The Truth About the Vomitorium

After gorging on a feast of sausages, blood pudding, young sow’s udder, sea bream, lobster, mullet, Attic honey, and Syrian dates, all washed down with a few glasses Falernian wine, it is little...
Turtles May Have Been Feasted On as Part of Funeral Rites at Ancient Turkey Site

Turtles May Have Been Feasted On as Part of Funeral Rites at Ancient Turkey Site

During excavations at Kavuşan Höyük, six miles (9.7km) from the modern town of Bismil in Turkey, archaeologists discovered a mysterious burial. Apart from human remains, the grave includes several...
Fermented shark, hákarl, is an example of a culinary tradition that has continued from the settlement of Iceland in the 9th century to this day.

Viking diet was better than in many parts of the Medieval world

The Vikings are famous for their great feasting halls, in which an image of a rowdy bunch of beer-drinking men gnawing on meaty bones comes to mind. But what did they really consume besides beer and...
A reconstruction of the shaman woman’s burial at  the Hilazon Tachtit cave

First Feast? The Burial at the Hilazon Tachtit Cave Site

Excavation at the 12,000-year-old Hilazon Tachtit cave site, located in what is now Israel, led to an astonishing discovery. At the cave site, twenty-nine Natufian individuals are buried. Twenty-...