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3D reconstructions of the enclosure of Le Peu and its environment from archaeological data. Source: © Archeovision Production 2018/ Antiquity Publications Ltd

6,300-Year-Old Settlement Was Home to Earliest Megalithic Builders

Archaeologists in France have found evidence of a 6,300-year-old fortified compound and residential site belonging to Europe’s first megalithic builders! These builders constructed impressive...
The Skull of Anne d’Alegre, countess of Laval (1565-1619) equipped with hippo bone dental prostheses and gold wire. Source: Rozenn Collator / Inrap

Anne d’Alegre and Her Dirty Dental Secret

Like many LA celebrities today, serious dental work was carried out in 17th century France to protect the smiles of perceived social elites. This statement is based on new research into the well-...
The Cairn of Barnenez in Brittany, France. Source: Eve / Adobe Stock

Timeless Beauty at Cairn de Barnenez – The Prehistoric Parthenon

For those looking to step back in time, the Cairn de Barnenez located in France’s Brittany is ideal. As one of the world’s oldest standing structures in the world, the Cairn de Barnenez is a marvel...
A copper torc was excavated from a prehistoric necropolis in southern France. Source: Denis Dubesset / INRAP

2,600-Year-Old Prehistoric Necropolis in France Reveals Treasures

A prehistoric necropolis used between 900 and 600 BC in Aubagne in southeastern France has revealed a first millennium BC individual, bedecked in copper jewelry, after two rounds of excavations in...
The elongated skull of a knight found in one of two lead-line sarcophagi found interred in Notre Dame Cathedral. Source: Denis Glicksman / INRAP

Notre Dame Sarcophagus Opened Revealing Knight with Elongated Skull!

Finding the remains of a high priest buried at the most sacred spot in Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, and all of medieval France, seems a predictable discovery. However, unearthing a knight with an...
Knight giving an oath of allegiance. Source: Andrey Kiselev

The Legendary Origins of the Most Noble Order of the Garter

Monarchies collect a whole host of traditions through the centuries, and the United Kingdom is no exception. The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an ancient order of chivalry that dates back to 1348...
Portrait of Dauphin Louis-Charles of France, Marie Antoinette’s son. Source: Public domain

Dozens of Imposters Pretended to be Louis XVII, Marie Antoinette’s Son

The executions of both Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI have acquired legendary status. Surprisingly, the fate of their son, and the dozens of imposters who came out of the woodwork claiming to be...
Representation of a ritual human sacrifice on an altar. Source: archangelworks / Adobe Stock

Blood for the Gods: 10 Cultures that Engaged in Ritual Sacrifice

Since the dawn of humanity, countless civilizations have engaged in ritual sacrifice. Often, these sacrifices involved other humans, and were so common they were considered a normal aspect of life...
Artists working on the replica Cosquer Cave in Marseille. Source: Cosquer Méditerranée

Race Against Time to Save the 33,000-Year-Old Underwater Cosquer Cave

During glacial Pleistocene, the entry to the famous Cosquer Cave was 100 meters (330 ft) above sea level, but the Holocene sea level rise, propelled lately by climate change, has meant that the...
King Charles VI had a glass delusion. Source: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS / Adobe Stock

Troubled King Charles VI of France Believed He Was Made of Glass

For several centuries, beginning around the 14th century AD, a strange affliction known as the ‘glass delusion’ spread around Europe, particularly amongst nobles, royals and elite members of society...
Main – Representational image of Napoleon Bonaparte. Source: de Art / Adobe Stock. Inset: Angry rabbit. Source: Eric Isselée / Adobe Stock

Napoleon Bonaparte Was Attacked by an Army of 1000 Marauding Rabbits!

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history’s greatest generals and military geniuses, suffered his greatest defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. But eight years earlier, he had faced another enemy that...
Photo showing replica rock art etchings by firelight. Source: Needham et al. - PLOS ONE / CC-BY 4.0

Fiery Illusions of Rock Carvings: Prehistoric Movies

A virtual reality investigation of prehistoric rock art has concluded that flickering firelight may have been used to animate a selection of engraved rocks discovered in France. This could mean that...
The screen poster for the 1982 film The Return of Martin Guerre.		Source: Erogers148 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Martin Guerre: A Much Celebrated Historic Tale of Stolen Identity

On the 16th of September 1560, in the small rural French town of Artigat, a man named Arnaud du Tilh was put to death by hanging for a most unusual crime: for over three years, he had assumed an...
The rare St George seal, a matrix seal, found during the Villers-Cotterêts medieval castle restoration project last year.		Source: Serge Le Maho / Inrap

Unique St George Seal Found in Castle Ruins in Northern France

In 2020 the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) in France’s northernmost region, Hauts-de-France, requested that the country’s National Monuments Center (CMN) begin renovation of an...
Gold ingots from China (representational image). Source: malp / Adobe Stock

Chinese Gold Ingots Stolen From 18th Century Shipwreck Have Been Returned

The United States government has just returned a collection of historically significant artifacts stolen by fortune hunters to the French government, to whom the artifacts rightfully belong according...
This undated photo provided by Ludovic Slimak shows scientists working at the entrance of the Mandrin cave, near Montelimar, southern France where the oldest modern human remains in Europe were found.	Source: Ludovic Slimak / CNRS)

French Rock Shelter Changes Story of Neanderthals and Sapiens In Europe

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of Europe’s first Homo sapiens in Grotte Mandarin rock shelter in southern France. The considerable range of evidence found in the rock shelter cave at Grotte...
Bronze age man. Source: Gorodenkoff / Adobe Stock

Ancestry Shock: Britain Got Half its Genes from France!

A new DNA analysis of 793 Bronze Age skeletons from all over Britain and mainland Europe has revealed genetic secrets about a mass human migration that occurred around 3,000 years ago. Not Just...
The disarticulated remains of an adult male, excavated from a large prehistoric burial pit at Cliffs End Farm, Kent.                     Source: Wessex Archaeology

Study Finds Huge Undetected Migration Wave to Prehistoric Britain

The Bronze Age in Britain lasted from circa 2500 BC to 700 BC. Prehistoric Britain in this period was marked by complex tool making using copper and bronze. Britain’s Bronze Age was also...
Remains of the wooden wharfs of the French medieval port being excavated at the base of Chateau Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, Vendée, France.		Source: Emmanuelle Collado / Inrap

Surprise 10th Century Medieval Port Discovered In Western France

Archaeologists in western France have been up to their elbows excavating enormous oak ship timbers at a “surprise” 10th-century medieval port, where evidence of wine production, fishing trade, and...
Detail of ‘The Battle of Pavia’ (1528-1531) by Bernard van Orley and William Dermoyen.

The Battle of Pavia: Paving the Political Roads of Rival Rulers with Blood

February 24, 1525. A day that is not marked in infamy but in the blood of France. On this date, the Battle of Pavia occurred – the decisive event in a longstanding war and rivalry, and the crushing...
Jaques Le Gris, played by Adam Driver on the left, and Jean de Carrouges, played by Matt Damon, in The Last Duel. 	Source: 20th Century Studios

The True History Behind “The Last Duel” - A Tale of Trial by Combat

Medieval chivalric duels were undoubtedly the most thrilling events of the time. The last vestige of the ancient gladiatorial fights, knightly duels were a true display of the skill with arms and...
Queen Mary applies the Royal Touch to cure scrofula. Source: M S Lapthorn / Public Domain.

The Royal Touch: Could Medieval Monarchs Heal You With Their Hands?

For centuries, a commonality across the various monarchies of the world was a direct association between the ruler and a higher power. Kings and queens were seen either as God’s Chosen One or, in...
Marie Antoinette was entirely innocent of the crime. Source: oksana_bondar / Adobe Stock.

Marie Antionette’s Diamond Necklace: The Fraud That Killed A Queen

This is the story of Marie Antoinette, the 18 th century Queen of France, and a diamond necklace that was never actually hers. Although the story seems so outlandish as to be fiction, it is all true...
Ancient Skeleton Found Clutching Deer Antler in Neolithic Complex in France

Gallic Ancient Skeleton Found Clutching Deer Antler in Neolithic Complex in France

Archaeologists involved in a mid-summer excavation in northcentral France discovered two isolated Neolithic-era burials, dating from the years 5,500 BC to 3,700 BC. Uniquely, one of the skeletons was...

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