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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.

Summer solstice Utah sunrise. Source: Heath /Adobe Stock
21 June, 2019 - 22:23 Alicia McDermott

6 Spectacular Summer Solstice Celebrations Around the World

With the sun shining high, the summer solstice, aka the longest day of the year, is a day for celebration for many people around the world. For people living north of the equator, Friday, June 21 is...
When Children Came out to Play: Ancient Toys and Games
21 June, 2019 - 15:07 ashley cowie

When Children Came out to Play: Ancient Toys and Games

The main halls and secured vaults of museums around the world are loaded with vast arrays of grotesque antique weapons, golden lined velvet robes, ceremonial swords and crowns, jewel encrusted...
Modern Representation of a Varangian Guard.
20 June, 2019 - 22:33 Riley Winters

Varangian Guard: Bodyguards and Berserkers of the Byzantine Empire

Read Part 1 The tale of the Varangians continues in its prime in the form of the Varangian Guard, a prominent and selective Byzantine army arising in the 10th century. Composed of the Scandinavian...
Imaginary ruins of a sunken kingdom. Source: manjik /Adobe Stock
20 June, 2019 - 14:03 ancient-origins

10 Sensational Sunken Kingdoms: Atlantis’ Companions Beneath the Waves

Some of the most exciting archaeological discoveries and mysteries are the ones involving the ancient ruins of kingdoms lost beneath the waves. There is something about the underwater world that...
The appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena. Mary Magdalene sees the risen Jesus alone. Source: Alex Bakharev / Public Domain.
19 June, 2019 - 19:05 Michael Hearns

Was Mary Magdalene Destined To Be the First Pope?

New evidence has recently been uncovered and it implies that Mary Magdalene was the likely successor of Jesus . The importance of Mary Magdalene has always been accepted because she was the principal...
Empress Jingu In Korea (Public Domain)
19 June, 2019 - 15:42 MartiniF

The Rise and Fall of Shaman Queens of the East

The word ‘shaman’ conjures up images of Native American medicine men smoking peace pipes, dancing in a trance to drumming around a fire or African sangomas , adorned with leopard skin, throwing...
The Magic of Merlin ( denissimonov/ adobe stock)
17 June, 2019 - 18:53 jim willis

The Magical Message of Merlin Versus Modern Materialism

Approaching a subject such as lore about Merlin the Magician is to engage an old, old story that has been cast in poetry, history, music, art, and literature. Through it all is woven a story that has...
Nuclear explosion( victor zastol'skiy/Adobe Stock)
14 June, 2019 - 21:27 jim willis

Archaeology Uncovering the Great Forgetting

For 13 days in October of 1962, our civilization was poised on the edge of nuclear destruction. American president John F. Kennedy and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in a faceoff. The world...
Queen Dido, founder of Carthage and the Punic pantheon. Source: Eloquence / Public Domain.
13 June, 2019 - 19:01 dhwty

Gods of Carthage and The Punic Power House of Baal Hammon and Tanit

According to tradition, the city of Carthage was founded in 814 BC by the legendary Queen Dido . The founder of this city was originally a princess from the Phoenician city of Tyre. She was, however...
Vestal Virgins Tending the Sacred Fire.
13 June, 2019 - 18:04 dhwty

Vestal Virgins: Powerful Priestesses of Rome’s Sacred Flame

In the Res Gestae Divi Augustus (‘The Deeds of the Divine Augustus’), Augustus demonstrates his piety by stating that he was a member of all four major priesthoods in Rome – the Pontifices, Augures,...
Resounding geomungo, praiseworthy lotus from Hyewon pungsokdo (1805).Gansong Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea (Public Domain)
12 June, 2019 - 20:43 MartiniF

Gungnyeo, the Ranks and Regiment of Women Serving Korean Royalty

The smooth running of Korean royal households depended upon the unseen hands of gungnyeo; the seamstresses, cooks, chambermaids, water- and firewood bearers and other servants. Behind the scenes a...
The practice of Onmyōdō. Source: Epiximages / Adobe Stock.
11 June, 2019 - 23:01 NisaRyan

The Oriental Magical Practice of Onmyōdō and Its Checkered History

The practice of Onmyōdō has a contentious history in Japan and, for reasons that will become clear, was outlawed for some time along with its close cousin, Shugendō (修験道). Onmyōdō, means literally, ‘...
Cincinnatus Receiving Deputies of the Senate.
11 June, 2019 - 19:47 dhwty

The Roman Dictator Cincinnatus: Model of an Honest Politician?

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is a figure from the Early Republican period of Rome’s history. Cincinnatus (a nickname given to him due to his curly hair) was an aristocrat who belonged to the...
The tomb of Philip II of Macedon at the Museum of the Royal Tombs in Macedonian Aigai, Vergina . Source: Public Domain
11 June, 2019 - 14:02 dhwty

Does the Greatest Macedonian Rest In the Royal Necropolis at Aigai?

Aigai (known today as Vergina) is an archaeological site situated in northern Greece, not far from the city of Thessaloniki . This was the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedon . No doubt,...
Glastonbury Abbey, legend or King Arthur (BMDstudio / Adobe Stock)
11 June, 2019 - 00:22 Roberto Volterri

Psychic Archaeology Uncovers Lost Structures at Glastonbury

‘The Company of Avalon’ was a group of monks who allegedly directed excavations at Glastonbury Abbey from behind the scenes, so far behind the scenes in fact from the ‘other side’. In the early 1900’...
Phoenician stone sculpture (disq / Adobe Stock)
10 June, 2019 - 13:59 dhwty

The Phoenicians: Mysterious Merchant Mariners Whose Inventions Impacted the World Forever

The Phoenicians were an ancient people who once ruled the Mediterranean. Despite little being known about them as very few of their inscriptions have survived, their legacy has had an enormous impact...
Maat, goddess of truth and justice
9 June, 2019 - 17:35 Bryan Hill

Maat: Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Truth, Justice and Morality

Maat, also known as Ma’at or Mayet, was a female goddess in the ancient Egyptian religion who represented truth, justice, balance and morality. The daughter of the Egyptian sun deity Ra and wife of...
Cleaned skulls stacked under a tree in the cemetery as per tradition on Skull Island, Trunyan, Bali. Source: dani3315 / Adobe Stock.
7 June, 2019 - 23:00 dhwty

The Decomposing Bodies of Skull Island: The Unique Funerary Custom of Trunyan

Trunyan (also spelled as Terunyan) is a village located on the Indonesian island of Bali. This village is known colloquially as the ‘Skull Island’, due to its unique funerary practice , known as...
Malta, Shrouded in Megalithic Mystery
7 June, 2019 - 17:13 elyn aviva

Malta, Shrouded in Megalithic Mystery

The crowd waited expectantly at Malta’s ancient Mnajdra Temple for the spring equinox sun to peek out from behind a nearby hill. Suddenly the sun broke through the low-lying morning mist. Warmed by...
The Yamnaya came to Europe from modern-day western Russia or the Ukraine. Source: katiekk2 / Adobe Stock.
6 June, 2019 - 19:00 Caleb Strom

How A Handful of Yamnaya Culture Nomads Became the Fathers of Europe

The origins of modern Europeans are shrouded in mystery and wracked by controversy. Archaeologists and linguists have long debated the origins of the Indo-European language family as well as the...
Antikythera Mechanism - National Archaeological Museum, Athens by Joy of Museum (CC BY-SA 4.0)
6 June, 2019 - 00:16 ashley cowie

The Antikythera Mechanism: Who Designed the World’s Oldest Astronomical Computer?

Since its discovery in a shipwreck near Greece in 1900, an ancient metallic astronomical clock, called the ‘Antikythera Mechanism’ still baffles scientists. Research articles on the clock offer loose...
Pirate ship on the open sea at sunset. Representative image of the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
4 June, 2019 - 18:07 ML Childs

Blackbeard and his Infamous Pirate Ship, Queen Anne's Revenge

“So our Heroe, Captain Teach, assumed the Cognomen of Black-beard, from that large Quantity of Hair, which, like a frightful Meteor, covered his whole Face, and frightened America more than any Comet...
An 1811 wood engraving depicts the coronation of King Henry. Source: Fine Art America
4 June, 2019 - 02:00 ancient-origins

The Kingdom of Hayti and the Slave that Pronounced Himself King

By Marlene Daut / The Conversation Marvel’s blockbuster “Black Panther,” which recently became the first superhero drama to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award, takes place in the secret...
Pope Formoso and Stephen VI by Jean-Paul Laurens (1870) (Public Domain)
3 June, 2019 - 18:13 Roberto Volterri

Synodus Horrenda: The Macabre Trial of the Corpse of Pope Formoso

In AD 897 the holy space of the Basilica of St John of Lateran, Rome , was violated by a truly sinister event inside the dark walls of the house of God. In the august presence of the Emperor Lamberto...

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