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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.

Burning scroll
2 June, 2019 - 01:31 dhwty

Who Destroyed the Great Library of Alexandria?

The destruction of the great library of Alexandria has been lamented as one of the biggest losses of the ancient world. Nearly one million documents from across Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India...
A pair of wooden shiziguo type lions decorated with gilt and polychrome. The female has a cub, symbolizing a happy family. Chinese, early Ching Dynasty (Image: © Walther G. von Krenner)
1 June, 2019 - 14:55 Ken Jeremiah

Chinese Lion Kings: Winged Lions, Foo Dogs and Gaimei

The King of the Beasts triumphs in Chinese mythology, albeit in many shapes and forms. Chinese artists combined different creatures’ attributes to create a composite beast, which they called pixiu (...
Skulls painted with names, colorful flowers, and crosses in the Charnel House in Hallstatt, Austria. Source: J. Ossorio Castillo / Adobe.
31 May, 2019 - 23:06 Sarah P Young

The Incredible World of Painted Skulls and Bone Houses

Overlooking the Alps, in the idyllic Austrian mountain town of Hallstatt , a few hundred grave markers indicate the resting place of former residents. But those who choose to be buried there know...
The animal trials were common in the Middle Ages. (The Trail of Bill Burns by P. Mathews, 1838) Source: דוג'רית / Public Domain
31 May, 2019 - 18:54 dhwty

Strange But Serious Medieval Animal Trials Were No Kangaroo Court!

One of the more unusual aspects of the Medieval world was that animals could be put on trial like human beings. Yes, there was such a thing as legal animal trials! While the veracity of many Medieval...
Lower right part of the three-sided border: an archer shooting at a dragon, and a grotesque, in Brunetto Latini's Le Livre du Trésor. (circa 1315-1325)France, N. (Picardy) (Public Domain)
30 May, 2019 - 02:47 ashley cowie

The Twisted Phenomena and Strange Features of Medieval Art

Why would knights be fighting snails? Medieval art is a complex weave of surreal, bizarre and sometimes disturbing imagery and artists took creative license to a whole new experimental level. With...
Inca in a religious event. The Inca civilization is accredited with the first peanut paste.
29 May, 2019 - 16:31 dhwty

Who Invented Peanut Butter? Origins of the Tasty Sandwich Spread

Peanut butter is a popular type of food commonly used as a spread, though it may also be used as an ingredient in various recipes. As many already know, peanut butter is made from ground dry roasted...
Was Nitocris a female pharaoh in the 6th dynasty?
26 May, 2019 - 01:51 dhwty

The Shrouded History of Nitocris: Was the Last Pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty a Woman?

Nitocris is claimed by some sources to have been a female pharaoh of ancient Egypt. However, prior to the Ptolemaic Dynasty, there were few female rulers in the history of ancient Egypt. Many of...
The Blue Cloak or The Topsy Turvy World, painted by Pieter Breugel the elder (1559) Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. (Public Domain)
24 May, 2019 - 23:43 ashley cowie

Dirty Dark Secrets Behind Ancient Fairy Tales

Presumed innocent, yet dirty dark secrets are imbedded in the bedtime stories told to children. Fairy tales are magical narratives that pervade the young minds of children so deeply, leaving imprints...
Ancient carpenter, woodworking. Source: deanjs / Public Domain.
24 May, 2019 - 14:01 Rachel Brown

How Ancient Woodworkers Sculpted Civilization

Humans have a remarkable relationship with trees . Trees not only provide the oxygen we need to breathe, but also wood in its rawest form. For millennia, woodworking by carpenters, turners, and...
Camazotz Maya style Batman suit created by Mexican designer Kimbal
23 May, 2019 - 15:07 Caleb Strom

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

As social media is abuzz with who might be cast in the next Batman movie, with concerns that some of the candidates might not be menacing enough to fill those big black boots, it might be time to...
Tramin (South Tyrol. )Saint James church in Kastelaz: Romanesque frescos (1210s ) showing fantastic creatures. (Public Domain)
22 May, 2019 - 21:29 nrushton

Hiding in Plain Sight: Medieval Mermaids in Churches

Why would an ancient, folkloric, but non-Biblical, character such as a mermaid find its way into so many medieval European churches? And can such mermaid imagery and symbology be correlated with the...
Samurai armor is both brutal and delicate.
22 May, 2019 - 01:36 Kerry Sullivan

The Brutality and Delicacy of Samurai Armor: Superior Protection with a God-like Aesthetic

The Samurai class was officially dissolved over 150 years ago. Nonetheless, the warriors’ elaborate armor is still recognized globally as an iconic emblem of Japanese military strength and virtue...
Full Contact Sword Combat during the Medieval combat in Russia. Source: Wranglerstar / YouTube Screenshot.
21 May, 2019 - 14:04 ashley cowie

World Championship in Medieval Combat Unfolds Like a Ukrainian Game Of Thrones

This weekend the ‘World Championship in Medieval Combat’ was held in the Ukraine where hundreds of warriors clanking around in armor , swinging swords and axes, in a scene reminiscent of an episode...
Cicero proudly shows his discovery of the 'Tomb of Archimedes' by Martin Knoller (1775) (Public Domain)
21 May, 2019 - 03:15 Roberto Volterri

The Tomb of Archimedes, Genius of Syracuse, Concealed by a Naiad

First century AD Roman statesman and orator, Cicero’s claim that he had found Archimedes’ tomb may be refuted. In Greek mythology Ciane is a freshwater nymph, who tried to save Persephone from being...
Medieval Queen, her King and knights in castle.
18 May, 2019 - 14:07 Ed Whelan

Bones of Powerful Medieval Queen Identified at Winchester Cathedral

Archaeologists have potentially made a very important discovery after tests on human remains from early medieval mortuary caskets in England. They examined a large number of human bones and believe...
The passage of carts over decades could cause ruts (like the one shown), particularly in high-traffic areas of Pompeii.
17 May, 2019 - 12:37 Ed Whelan

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The buried city of Pompeii continues to provide many insights into Roman society , economy, and culture. The ash and pumice , that fell on Pompeii from Mount Vesuvius , froze the city in time. A...
Panoramic view from the summit of the Pyramid of the Moon, with the Pyramid of the Sun on the far left (Rene Trohs / CC BY-SA 4.0)
17 May, 2019 - 10:47 Roberto Volterri

Orion: Archaeoastronomy Inspiration for the Pyramids of Giza and the Pyramids of Teotihuacan

As ancient Egyptian architects gazed up at the night sky and built the three pyramids of Giza based on the celestial plan of the Constellation of Orion , so millennia apart and at the other side of...
Large asteroid hitting Earth
16 May, 2019 - 18:45 ancient-origins

Ancient Cataclysms: 9 Catastrophes That Rocked the World

Ancient cultures around the world have passed down their tales of devastating natural disasters in oral traditions, folklore, historical accounts, pictorial representations, and through myths...
Qilin (kongkiatnt/ adobe stock)
15 May, 2019 - 10:09 Ken Jeremiah

Chinese Unicorns: Harbingers of Good Omens

Considering that fanciful animals, which the Chinese collectively dub pixiu ( pi hsieh ), typically stem from a real creature, the question must be asked: Were there once horses with horns? Although...
Medieval knight armor with chain mail
14 May, 2019 - 18:52 dhwty

Advances in Medieval Knight Armor Could Not Match Weapon Technology!

The knight in shining armor is undoubtedly the first image that comes to mind for most people when they think about warfare during the Middle Ages . The knight in this mental image is often a warrior...
The End of the Huns: The Death of Attila and the Fall of the Hunnic Empire
13 May, 2019 - 22:09 dhwty

The End of the Huns: The Death of Attila and the Fall of the Hunnic Empire

Attila the Hun was also known as Flagellum Dei , which means the ‘Scourge of God.’ With him at the lead, the Huns were one of the biggest threats faced by the Roman Empire. Although he was famously...
Göbekli Tepe PIlars in the Sanliurfa museum. (Cobija / CC BY-SA 4.0)
13 May, 2019 - 04:33 Martin Sweatman

Common Cosmic Symbolism: Is Göbekli Tepe Ancestral to Ancient Egypt?

Since its discovery in 1994, 10,000-year old Göbekli Tepe has been an enigma, gradually revealing its ancient secrets to archaeologists and scientists. Meticulously excavating the site from soil that...
Chamber of torture devices and ancient punishments in Prague Castle
12 May, 2019 - 18:53 ancient-origins

9 Methods of Ancient Punishment That’ll Make You Squirm

For as long as societies have had to deal with crime, they’ve had to deal out punishment. In some, places, and situations the process was only meant to humiliate the guilty, but most of the following...
A rock painting possibly depicting a person with a dog.
11 May, 2019 - 22:45 ashley cowie

Bow Wow, Wow! The 45 million-year-old History of Dogs, And Us!

Anyone who has a dog, or has experienced losing one, knows the depth and uniqueness of ‘that special bond’, but why and when in the history of our planet, did this love affair between humans and dogs...

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