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From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

Arabian Nights by Jean-Joseph Benjamin Constant (1845 – 1902) (Public Domain)
14 February, 2018 - 15:20 MartiniF

Romance of the Beautiful Slave and the Rebellious Ruler: Al-Khayzuran and Al-Mahdi

Arabian Nights conjure up images of romantic love stories of slave girls’ rags to riches journeys of the heart. We celebrate Valentine’s Day with the real love story of such a slave girl. It was not...
François Clouet - Dame au bain (Portrait of Diane de Poitiers)
13 February, 2018 - 22:59 dhwty

A Mistress with the Midas Touch: Her Hunger for Gold Would Be the Death of Her

Diane de Poitiers was a French noblewoman and courtier who lived during the 16 th century. She is best remembered for being the mistress of Henry II, the King of France. This allowed Diane to wield...
Mosaic of the vault of the chapel of San Zeno (IX century).
13 February, 2018 - 01:56 ancient-origins

Jesus’ Fashion Faux Pas: What Was He Wearing?

Joan Taylor / The Conversation Over the past few decades, the question of what Jesus looked like has cropped up again and again. Much has been made of a digital reconstruction of a Judaean man...
North Sea once formed a land-bridge between Europe and Britain.
12 February, 2018 - 15:21 Charles Christian

St Michael’s Ley-line Leading to Legendary Doggerland

Does the St Michael ley-line reach far beyond the boundaries of our imagination to a destination lost in time and shrouded in myth? Doggerland was once a land-bridge connecting Britain to Europe...
Detail of the Berlin bust of Nefertiti; and the latest 3D sculpture of the queen based on the mummy of the Younger Lady; design by Anand Balaji
11 February, 2018 - 23:00 anand balaji

Bust of Contention: Nefertiti’s sculpture raises issues of Race and Color—Part II

The recent attempt at reconstructing the face of the iconic beauty, Nefertiti, by basing her looks on the mummy of the Younger Lady found in KV35 has caused an enormous uproar among Egyptophiles all...
‘The Last Judgment’ triptych (open) (1467-1471) by Hans Memling.
11 February, 2018 - 18:59 ashley cowie

Prophecy of the Popes: Are We Reaching the End of Days?

For thousands of years, people all over the ancient world claimed to have the powers of foresight. In 1143, The Prophecy of the Popes was created - listing the future attributes of the 112 pontiffs...
Limestone trial piece showing the head of Nefertiti; and detail of the mummy of the Younger Lady; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin and G. Elliot Smith); Deriv.
11 February, 2018 - 14:02 anand balaji

Bust of Contention: Controversy erupts as the Younger Lady is dubbed Nefertiti—Part I

Few ancient Egyptian royals are capable of garnering as much attention, generating frenzy, and stoking controversy globally as the legendary beauty Queen Nefertiti can. Despite having been a powerful...
A bottle of an elixir.
10 February, 2018 - 18:55 dhwty

Seeking Life but Finding Death: Deadly Chinese Elixirs of Immortality

The elixir of immortality (known also as the ‘elixir of life’) is a legendary substance found in many ancient cultures. This elixir is expected to grant eternal life to the person who consumes it...
George Catlin, Tchung-kee, a Mandan Game Played with a Ring and Pole", 1832-3.
9 February, 2018 - 02:02 ancient origins

Ancient North Americans Played High-stakes Games

University of California, Santa Barbara From games of chance to tests of physical skill, ancient North America Indians took their sport and recreation seriously, research shows. “Games are ubiquitous...
A shepherd (Jesus? Tammuz? Other?) with his flock.
8 February, 2018 - 22:48 Caleb Strom

Tammuz and Jesus: More Than a Distant Connection?

Christianity has its origins in a Middle Eastern religion, Judaism, so it is little surprise that there are some residual similarities between Christian theological thought and ancient Middle Eastern...
Detail from one of the three surviving planks of Queen Tiye's wooden shrine from KV55; made of wood, gesso and gold leaf. Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
7 February, 2018 - 15:24 anand balaji

The Golden Shrine of Queen Tiye: Reburial of a Rebel Ruler and His Mother - Part II

When he came to the throne, Pharaoh Tutankhamun set about transporting the royal remains of his immediate ancestors from Amarna to Thebes. The inhabitants of the Sun City had also begun to slowly...
Scene from the decorated upper portion of the East wall in KV62 shows the mummified Tutankhamun lying supine within a tall, garland-bedecked shrine; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Meretseger Books); Deriv.
6 February, 2018 - 18:53 anand balaji

Nefertiti and a Rush of Scans: Will the Beautiful One Arise in the King’s Valley? — Part II

After nearly a year of silence, the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings is once again back in focus thanks to the Ministry of Antiquities granting permission to a team of Italian experts...
Superimposed photo of Nefertiti’s bust on Tutankhamun’s mask; and artist’s rendering of the proposed rooms behind the KV62 burial chamber; design by Anand Balaji (Photo credit: Roy Lester Pond and Anand Balaji/Deposit Photos); Deriv.
5 February, 2018 - 22:59 anand balaji

Nefertiti and a Rush of Scans: Race to find Double Burial Gathers Steam—Part I

The world famous tomb of Tutankhamun was thrust into the spotlight like never before, ever since Dr Nicholas Reeves published a paper titled The Burial of Nefertiti? in August 2015. Based on ultra-...
A relief originally from the tomb of Userhat (TT47) at Thebes depicts Queen Tiye. Brussels Royal Museum.
5 February, 2018 - 15:23 anand balaji

The Golden Shrine of Queen Tiye: When and How Did It Reach the Theban Necropolis? -Part I

Among the hundreds of ancient rock-cut royal sepulchers that have been discovered in Egypt one in particular, KV55, stands out for its infinite intrigue. At some point in time, this Eighteenth...
Wasteland Viking Ship
2 February, 2018 - 15:22 ashley cowie

Christian Round Churches Hide Astronomical Secrets of the Viking Seafarers

Orkney is an archipelago in the northern isles of Scotland, annexed by Norwegian explorers in 875 AD and Christianized by King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, (960s – 1000). It was from Orkney where many...
‘Temple on Ganges in state of collapse, India, ca. 1906’ in the city of Varanasi, India. (Public Domain) Lijing Gate in Luoyang, Henan, China. (CC BY SA 2.0) Quarantal Monastery, Jericho, Palestine. (Tamar Hayardeni/CC BY 3.0) The alleged ‘Abraham house’ in Ur city, Dhi Qar, southern Iraq. (Aziz1005/CC BY 4.0) ‘The Acropolis at Athens’ (1846) by Leo von Klenze. (Public Domain) A traditional (at least for the 19th century) lebanese house on the seafront near Byblos Castle, Byblos, Lebanon. (CC BY SA 3.0)
31 January, 2018 - 14:02 Theodoros Karasavvas

11 of the Most Ancient and Continually Occupied Cities in the World

Time travel is one of the most intriguing scenarios humans have ever fantasized about, but unfortunately for those curious minds and wild dreamers out there, many modern physicists claim that outside...
Detail from a replica of the small golden shrine found in KV62 that shows Ankhesenamun and Tutankhamun; design by Anand Balaji
29 January, 2018 - 22:59 anand balaji

Inching Closer to Ankhesenamun: Is the Last Sun Queen Set to be Found? — Part II

The probable marriage of Ankhesenamun, the widow of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, to the aged vizier Aye before she vanished from the records paved the way for the old family retainer to ascend the throne of...
A diorama at the Etowah Mounds showing two stone effigies being ritually buried, next to the actual statues, seen from the rear
29 January, 2018 - 20:08 Jason Jarrell

Landscape of the Ancients: The Hopewellian Burial Mounds Lift the Veil on Prehistoric Native American Cultures

The Prehistoric Native Americans of the Hopewell culture (Middle Woodland Period) constructed burial mounds filled with precious artifacts such as shells, copper and silver items, obtained from...
Albany Bulb Sea Witch Prays to the Pink and Purple Sky.
29 January, 2018 - 18:52 ashley cowie

Untwisting the Knotted History of Sea Witches

You might have noticed that Ursula, the antagonist in Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989), was a sea witch disguised as a half-human, half-octopus mythological hybrid creature . And, the antagonist of...
Detail of goddess Mut with likeness of Ankhesenamun; design by Anand Balaji
29 January, 2018 - 14:01 anand balaji

Inching Closer to Ankhesenamun: Unraveling the Radiant Child of Amarna—Part I

Ever since the discovery of KV62, the treasure-filled sepulcher of Tutankhamun, in 1922 – and even before that in 1907 when the mysterious Tomb 55 came to light – Amarna royals have always managed to...
Ninja warrior
28 January, 2018 - 18:55 ashley cowie

Ancient Psycho Secrets of Ninja Assassins

Ninjas or shinobi ("to sneak”) have become kings of popular culture and their acrobatic trained-killer antics have been featured in hundreds of movies and television series. These deadly mercenary...
‘Lucretia’ by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Lucretia’s suicide is a well-known example of suicide in ancient Rome.
27 January, 2018 - 13:57 dhwty

Petitioning for Death: Did Ancient Romans Really Ask for Permission to Commit Suicide?

Cases of suicide are known to have occurred in ancient Rome, as they have been recorded by ancient writers. But there are many questions surrounding this subject that have yet to be fully answered. A...
The Flying Carpet, a depiction of the hero of Russian folklore, Ivan Tsarevich 1880 by Viktor Vasnetsov
26 January, 2018 - 15:22 ashley cowie

Ancient Levitation – Magicians Secret Crafts Revealed

Since the dawn of its existence, mankind has developed survival skills. One of the very basic survival skills modern man does not even pay much attention to, is the need to make sense of our...
A tsunami stone.
25 January, 2018 - 01:51 dhwty

Japanese Tsunami Stones: These Centuries-Old Monuments Save Lives Today

Japan is often struck by earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire. At times, these seismic activities result in tsunamis - a ‘seismic or tidal sea wave’. Although such a deadly...

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