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History

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.

Pseudo-History or Famed Fiction? Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia
20 April, 2021 - 02:00 Meagan Dickerson

Pseudo-History or Famed Fiction? Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia

Geoffrey of Monmouth has gone down in history for his classic epic, the Historia Regum Britanniae , known in English as The History of the Kings of Britain . This masterpiece of medieval literature...
19 April, 2021 - 20:05 Dr. Benjamin B....

Ainu And Hopi Take To The Sky

The ancient Chinese and South Asian cultures reflected an early interest in the idea that one could build a machine to take to the air, even if the technology to be able to do so was not yet...
Replica of Fet Mats Israelsson, Falu Grava Visitors Center, Falun, Sweden. (Tidsspegeln) Inside Falun copper mine. (bluecoomassie/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
18 April, 2021 - 14:53 Aleksa Vučković

The Mummified Miner: Fet Mats Israelsson and His Unfortunate Demise

Mining is an industry that really doesn’t sound all that entertaining or enigmatic. Rocks, drills, and pickaxes - not much happens in the world of a miner. But when it does - it tends to be...
The Female Siberian Ice Maiden Whose Legends Lives On
17 April, 2021 - 02:01 Sarah Piraino

The Female Siberian Ice Maiden Whose Legend Lives On

Buried in permafrost soil around the 5th century AD, a 35-year-old woman was discovered in the Republic of Altai, Russia. Finding the woman helped archaeologists develop deeper understanding of the...
The Periplus Of The Ports Of Ethiopia, The Hidden Empire
16 April, 2021 - 12:40 davidchildress

The Periplus Of The Ports Of Ethiopia, The Hidden Empire

Known as the Hidden Empire, Ethiopia’s official name, until recently, was Abyssinia. Its history fades back into the mists of time and for some reason, Ethiopia has largely been written out of world...
The Mûmakil Elephant Slayers Of The Ancient World
14 April, 2021 - 21:07 ashley cowie

The Mûmakil Elephant Slayers Of The Ancient World

In the ancient world elephants were worshiped as divine symbols, harbingers of good luck and the carriers of wisdom, but they were also deployed to intimidate opposing armies and as highly-...
Papua New Guinean. There has been an increase in recent years in attacks aimed against Papua New Guinea witchcraft.
14 April, 2021 - 15:44 Caleb Strom

Papua New Guinea Witchcraft: Ancient Spirits and Deadly Modern Witch Hunts Live On

Papua New Guinea is one of the few places in the world where literal witch hunts still take place on a regular basis. Witch hunts continue to be practiced, even though engaging in a witch hunt was...
Saxo Grammaticus: Warrior Historian of the Danes and a Medieval Influencer
14 April, 2021 - 14:57 Aleksa Vučković

Saxo Grammaticus: Warrior Historian of the Danes and a Medieval Influencer

Saxo Grammaticus was a Danish historian whose writings were instrumental for the preservation of the ancient history of the Danes and their nations. Considered to be one of the major historical...
Richard II: The Tragic Life, Love and Death of the King of England
14 April, 2021 - 00:03 dhwty

Richard II: The Tragic Life, Love and Death of the King of England

Taking the throne at the early age of ten, Richard II was a 14 th century King of England, whose life was shaped and manipulated by those surrounding him in their constant quest for power. Even his...
St Guthlac of Crowland: The Medieval Warrior Who Became a Hermit Saint
12 April, 2021 - 22:57 Meagan Dickerson

St Guthlac of Crowland: The Medieval Warrior Who Became a Hermit Saint

When most people think about what it means to be a saint, the image that comes to mind is of a benevolent, gracious figure that exudes holiness in every cell of their being, and that every word and...
Messages in Myths: Eden A Poetic Rendition Of Reality
12 April, 2021 - 17:42 jim willis

Messages in Myths: Eden A Poetic Rendition Of Reality

There are few people in the world today who have not at least heard of the tale of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the mysterious Garden of Eden . Their story is told in the first chapters of...
Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of England
11 April, 2021 - 14:43 Sarah Piraino

Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of England

Catherine of Aragon was the first wife of the infamous King Henry VIII. Known for her failure to produce a male heir, she was the mother of Mary, later Queen Mary I of England. Catherine would spend...
Eaten Alive By Eels: The Infamous Cruelty of Publius Vedius Pollio
10 April, 2021 - 21:52 Aleksa Vučković

Eaten Alive By Eels: The Infamous Cruelty of Publius Vedius Pollio

Cruel masters were somewhat of a staple in history. Through all the ages, particularly evil men were a dime a dozen and often used their positions of power to exert cruelty on undeserving servants...
Ram-headed falcon amulet, gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise and carnelian. (1254 BC) Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre (Rama/ CC BY-SA 3.0)
9 April, 2021 - 21:39 Nigel Pennick

Lustrous Gems As Amulets And Talismans Of Ancient History

Astrology is a very significant component of traditional magic. Although today it is marginalized even in magical practice, it played a significant role in determining when and how to implement a...
Benjamin Hornigold and the Republic of Pirates
9 April, 2021 - 02:00 dhwty

Benjamin Hornigold and the Republic of Pirates

Benjamin Hornigold was an English pirate from the early 18 th century who operated in the waters of the Caribbean , specifically in the Bahamas. Best remembered for establishing the ‘Republic of...
Agricola among Roman generals and emperors in this frieze from the Great Hall of the National Galleries Scotland by William Brassey Hole (1897) (Public Domain)
7 April, 2021 - 21:58 ashley cowie

Did The Roman Empire Reach The Brochs Of Orkney?

Greatly simplified, one of the primary reasons for the decline of the Roman empire was its rapid expansion, and ultimately its vast size became too expensive to manage effectively and it fell to...
The five female Olympians of the Ancient Greek Pantheon. Source: local_doctor / Adobe Stock
3 April, 2021 - 22:20 Khadija Tauseef

Five Female Olympians of Ancient Greece: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Greek Mythology consists of numerous gods and goddesses, although the Greek pantheon itself is comprised of just twelve main gods ruling Mount Olympus. Among the twelve, there are five female rulers...
The Copper Age: When Metallurgy Came to Rule the World
3 April, 2021 - 14:42 Aleksa Vučković

The Copper Age: When Metallurgy Came to Rule the World

The so-called Chalcolithic - or the Copper Age - is one of the great eras of cultural development, fitting into the main framework of man’s crucial steps towards civilization. This period introduced...
Politics Behind The Jewish-Roman War: Vespasian Versus Izates Manu
2 April, 2021 - 21:26 ralph ellis

Politics Behind The Jewish-Roman War: Vespasian Versus Izates Manu

A few years ago, the world of biblical archaeology was treated to a spectacular mosaic find from the ancient Huqoq synagogue , an archaeological site just north of Tiberias. The image-exclusive was...
Foot binding tradition
2 April, 2021 - 03:11 Joanna Gillan

Last Traces of the Ancient Foot Binding Tradition Captured on Film

Throughout history, men and women alike have suffered pain and agony in the name of beauty - from the practices of body modification in indigenous tribes throughout the world, to suffocatingly tight...
2021 The Year Virtual Archaeology Fights Back
31 March, 2021 - 23:44 ashley cowie

2021 The Year Virtual Archaeology Fights Back

The 2020 lockdowns saw thousands of planned archaeological excavations canceled and postponed and those archaeologists who persisted at their projects faced serious challenges accessing archives,...
Queen Ranavalona: Ruthless Ruler of Madagascar
29 March, 2021 - 22:56 dhwty

Queen Ranavalona: Ruthless Ruler of Madagascar

Ranavalona was the 19th-century ruler of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She lived during a time when there was increasing contact between the island kingdom and Europeans. Ranavalona, however, pursued a...
Aspasia The Metiki Who Seduced And Confused Athens’ Powerful Men
29 March, 2021 - 20:32 MartiniF

Aspasia The Metiki Who Seduced And Confused Athens’ Powerful Men

In his writing on the Athenian Statesman Pericles, Plutarch (c. 46 – c. 119 AD), marvels at the "... great art or power this woman had, that she managed as she pleased the leading men of the state...
An Ancient Treat: The Rich History of Fruitcake
29 March, 2021 - 01:56 Alicia McDermott

An Ancient Treat: The Rich History of Fruitcake

Love it or hate it, fruitcake has been a winter holiday staple for a long time. You could say the earliest version was a barley, pomegranate seed, nut, raisin, and honeyed wine dessert called satura...

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