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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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The Royal Ballet of the Dowager of Bilbao's Grand Ball, 1626.

Displaying Sophistication with Masks and Curtsies: The Early History of Ballet

Ballet has been described as an art form created by the movement of the human body . It is a type of dance performed on a stage in front of an audience. The word ballet is derived from the French...
The Tereshchenko and Hope Diamonds, two rare, blue, and world famous diamonds.

Dazzling and Dangerous? Examining the History of the Exquisite Hope Diamond

The Hope Diamond is one of the most well-known diamonds in the world. This famous diamond has been on exhibition in the National Museum of Natural History (which is administered by the Smithsonian...
Front view of the Cup of the Ptolemies

Getting to the Bottom of the Captivating Cup of the Ptolemies

The Cup of the Ptolemies is one of the most spectacular ancient cups to have survived the ages. This attractive artifact has also gained a fascinating story over the years of its existence. The cup...
The pit of arm bones (Antiquity photo)

Pit of Amputated Arms in France from 6,000 years ago Suggest War and Trophy-Taking

About 6,000 years ago in France some hostiles in an apparent act of warfare and trophy-taking killed a group of adults and children, amputated their arms and buried the limbs in a circular pit...
A painting showing what the Holy Ghost ship would have looked like.

600-Year-Old Royal Ship of Henry V Found Buried in Hampshire River

A wooden shipwreck believed to be one of King Henry V’s greatest ships has been tentatively identified in the River Hamble in southern England. The 600-year-old warship, known as the Holigost (Holy...
Old engraving depicting a coven.

The Zugarramurdi Witch Trials: Welcome to the Spanish Salem

On the border with France, embraced by a vast green pasture on which the cows calmly graze, lies the village of Zugarramurdi. Located in the Navarre region of Xareta this tiny village currently has...
The iconic features of Mont Saint-Michel in the evening light.

Medieval Mont St-Michel: The Sacred Castle in the Sea

Considered one of the wonders of the Western World, Mont St-Michel is a medieval fortress in France, sitting on top a rocky island in the ocean. Floating like a mirage on the horizon, this sacred...
The tooth before it was removed. Credit: Musee Homme de Tautavel

560,000-year-old tooth found by student may be one of the oldest human remains in France

A volunteer archaeologist by the name of Valentin Loescher, aged 20, has found an ancient tooth at the Arago Cave, near Tautavel, south western France. He was working as part of an archaeological dig...
Remains of European soldiers of Napoleon's Grand Army, who died of starvation, disease and the elements, in a mass grave in Vilnius, Lithuania

Remains of 3,000 of Napoleon’s soldiers found in mass grave show signs of starvation

Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of war, is 'Do not march on Moscow.' – Bernard Montgomery, British military figure. About 675,000 men of Napoleon's Grand Army set out for Moscow to conquer Russia in...
The mural shows a woman plucking a harp. (Photo by the Arles Museum of Antiques)

A rare treasure of ancient Roman frescoes comparable to Pompeii has been unearthed in France

Archaeologists have excavated an ancient Roman villa in Arles, France, with fresco murals depicting a musician playing a harp, Dionysus and the entourage of Bacchus. Researchers say it is rare to...
Chateau de Duingt, Annecy, France

Annecy in the French Alps has ancient origins dating back to 3100 BC

The history of Annecy can be traced back a very long way indeed. Annecy, and the neighboring town of Annecy-le-Vieux, were built on one of the oldest sites of human habitation in the French Alps. In...
Remains of the body with the golden torc visible around the neck

2,500-year-old Celtic tomb with richly adorned body may belong to a Prince or Princess

Someone very important to the Celts of northeast France was buried in a huge mound about 2,500 years ago, but the skeleton has deteriorated so much archaeologists are unsure whether the person is a...
Noblewoman buried with her husband’s heart - France

Fully clothed body of 17th Century noblewoman buried with the heart of her husband unearthed in France

The well-preserved and fully clothed body of a French noblewoman, thought to be Louise de Quengo, has been discovered among 800 other graves in the city of Rennes in Brittany, North West France. The...
Mummy of a child with a gilded face mask. Greco-Roman Museum, Alexandria, Egypt. Representational image only.

Egyptian Child Mummy Dumped in Garbage in France, Now Restored and Protected

The mummy of an ancient Egyptian child was saved from a municipal dump and is set to go on display for the first time outside Paris. The 2,000-year-old mummified body and casket are thought to have...
The scene at the supermarket, before the bones were removed

Archaeologists piece together final moments of hundreds of Medieval Parisians

The skeletons of more than 200 medieval Parisians have been moved for further study to a warehouse of the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research in a suburb north of Paris,...
Joyeuse: The Legendary Sword of Charlemagne

Joyeuse: The Legendary Sword of Charlemagne

The sword of Joyeuse, which today sits in the Louvre Museum, is one of the most famous swords in history. Historical records link the sword to Charlemagne the Great, King of the Franks . If it did...
Knights Templars

Mystery of the Knights Templars: Protectors or Treasure Hunters on a Secret Mission?

The Knights Templars were a secret society whose true purpose remains a mystery or is at least vigorously debated among scholars and historians to this day. The Templars left behind many clues of...
Le Chêne Chapelle

Le Chene Chapelle: The Ancient Oak Tree Chapel as Old As France Itself

I will tell you where they are. …, they are already in their home under the ground, a very delightful residence of which we shall see a good deal presently. But how have they reached it? for there is...
Emile Fradin and the artifacts found at Glozel, with sketches of pottery

The Glozel Controversy – Amazing Historical Discovery or Elaborate Hoax?

The discovery of a cavern filled with artifacts in Glozel, France in 1924 was an astonishing find. Initially brought to light by a farmer plowing his fields, the cavern yielded more than 3,000...
Rennes-le-Château

The conspiracy theories of Bérenger Saunière and Rennes-le-Château

Rennes-le-Château is a castle in small hilltop village in Southern France that is at the center of many conspiracy theories. Some say that priest Bérenger Saunière discovered buried treasure in the...
Coligny Calendar:  The 1,800-Year-Old Lunisolar calendar banned by the Romans

Coligny Calendar: The 1,800-Year-Old Lunisolar calendar banned by the Romans

In 1897, the Gaulish Coligny Calendar was discovered in Coligny, Ain, France. The bronze calendar was found broken into 73 pieces, which together form a 5 foot wide, 3.5 foot high bronze tablet. When...
Shackled adult and child skeletons unearthed in ancient Roman necropolis in France

Shackled adult and child skeletons unearthed in ancient Roman necropolis in France

An archaeological team in France has unearthed a Gallo-Roman necropolis in Saintes, France, in which the remains of a group of adults and a child were found with iron shackles around their wrists,...
200,000-year-old Neanderthal remains in Tourville-la-Rivière in France

Archaeologists uncover 200,000-year-old Neanderthal remains in France

Scientists have discovered a rare collection of Neanderthal remains at the open-air site of Tourville-la-Rivière in the Seine Valley of northern France. According to a report in the journal PLOS ONE...
Gilles de Rais

Gilles de Rais – violent predator or political victim?

Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, more commonly known as Gilles de Rais, was a 15 th century French nobleman, Breton baron, and marshal of France. He was known as an accomplished lieutenant to Joan of Arc...

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