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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.

They came from the fjords of Western Norway, and when they left, only silence could be heard.
10 December, 2017 - 19:01 ancient-origins

Did the Viking Age Really Start on 8 June 793 AD?

BY THORNEWS “ Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race (…). The heathens poured out the blood of saints around the altar, and trampled on the bodies...
Santa with pipe and the knowing smile of ancient wisdom.
10 December, 2017 - 13:56 jim willis

Santa the Shaman Comes to the New World: The Shapeshifting Magic-Man from the Ancient Past

In 1626, a ship filled with folks from the Netherlands put into what would later be called New York Harbor and went about building a Dutch colony called New Amsterdam. The figurehead on the prow of...
Skeletal remains and recreation of a prehistoric timber circle
8 December, 2017 - 15:31 Jason Jarrell

Burned Bones, Mysterious Timber Circles & the Rites of the Ancients - Adena Culture in Mason County

Mason County, West Virginia is a place rich in history. Founded in 1804, the county is named after George Mason, who was a delegate at the American Constitutional Convention of 1787. In October of...
Some Saxon Queens had killer reputations. (Public Domain);Deriv.
6 December, 2017 - 15:26 Charles Christian

Killer Queen: Meet Queen Elfrida – The Original Wicked Stepmother

History has seen some incredible, cut-throat politics and lurid scandals, including the reign of Queen Elgiva: a teenage Saxon princess who was caught enjoying a threesome (along with her mother!),...
Ancient Egyptian painted relief showing foot and toes. Design by Anand Balaji.
4 December, 2017 - 15:21 anand balaji

Game of Toes in Amarna: Missing Body Parts and Funerary Practices of King and Commoner

Pharaoh Akhenaten was the subject of great controversy when he lived; and this did not cease after he died. If anything, his memory has both troubled and impressed people down to this day. Be it his...
This Swedish Viking had filed front teeth.
3 December, 2017 - 22:55 ancient-origins

Did These Filed and Grooved Teeth Belong to a Viking Elite Warrior?

BY THORNEWS Scandinavian findings and a mass grave in Dorset, England, proves that some Viking males filed grooves into their front teeth and most likely filled them with pigment. Researchers are...
Exhibit in the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
2 December, 2017 - 13:43 dhwty

Saint Brendan and His Epic Voyage: Was the Irish Saint the First European in the New World?

Saint Brendan (also referred to by his various epithets ‘the Navigator’, ‘the Voyager’, ‘the Anchorite’, and ‘the Bold’) was an Irish saint who lived between the 5th and 6th centuries AD known for...
A Viking Warrior
1 December, 2017 - 18:50 ancient-origins

Never Offend a Viking or ‘The Thing’ Might Just Decide Your Fate

BY THORNEWS If you offended a Viking, a normal reaction would be to kill you on the spot. If the murder took place in daylight with witnesses present and without trying to hide his act, the...
Recreated Viking helmet and weapon
1 December, 2017 - 14:30 Cam Rea

Burning, Pillaging, and Carving up the Lands: Viking Raids into England - Part II

Vikings in history and popular culture are known as strong and dangerous, bloodthirsty killers, raiders, pillagers – pirates of land and sea. But who were the Vikings, and what were the causes of...
Battle of Grand Port by Pierre-Julien Gilbert
1 December, 2017 - 13:52 micki pistorius

Mauritius: From Conquests to Naval Battles, Piracy and a Long-Awaited Independence

Volcanic activity in the Indian Ocean gave rise to the island we know today as Mauritius. Undetected for millennia, like a tiny green emerald dropped in the azure blue Indian Ocean, it lay virginally...
The Burning Galley
29 November, 2017 - 15:25 Cam Rea

“Never Before Has Such a Terror Appeared”: Viking Raids into Ireland – Part I

Vikings struck terror into the hearts of many in Europeans—and their reputation still lingers today when you ask a person to describe them. The answers given are that they were violent, hairy brutes...
A 17th century condom from Sweden.
28 November, 2017 - 23:04 dhwty

Ancient Methods of Contraception – Even Tutankhamun Wore Protection

In today’s society, there are various forms of contraceptives available on the market. Some of these, like the combined oral contraceptive pill (often referred to just as ‘the pill’), for instance,...
India, Rajasthan, 13th-14th century (Public Domain) and A 12th-century sandstone statue of a dancing Apsara from Uttar Pradesh, India.
27 November, 2017 - 15:22 MartiniF

What Really Happened in the Celestial Palace? Daughters of Pleasure, Courtesans of the Gods

It takes much willpower to resist the temptation of the asparas ; beautiful dancing women in the court of Indra, king of the gods, in the celestial palace in Hindu mythology. They are the heavenly...
Thorbjörg Lítilvölva from the Saga of Erik he Red displayed in the Saga Museum in Reykjavik.
26 November, 2017 - 22:57 ancient-origins

The Feared and Respected Old Norse Völva Sorceresses

BY THORNEWS In the Viking Age, the völvas (female shamans) were both feared and respected: they exercised seiðr (Norse magic) and were supposedly in direct contact with Odin, the Allfather. The word...
Wassailing revelers at night – CC BY-SA 2.0
26 November, 2017 - 18:29 Charles Christian

From Saxon Sirens to Sacred Orchards: The Modern Traditions and Pagan Origins of Wassailing

Every January, in parts of rural England, people still gather to celebrate Wassailing, a tradition with distinctly Pagan origins intended to bless the coming year’s apple crops and protect orchards...
Detail of ‘Man eating noodles’ (1656) by Jan Vermeer van Utrecht.
26 November, 2017 - 01:58 dhwty

A Deadly Bite: The Plight of the Ancient Food Taster

Poison was a potent weapon that could be used by would-be assassins to get rid of their targets. This was especially useful when the target was a person in power and was surrounded by bodyguards. One...
Ancient Egyptian relief. Design by Anand Balaji.
24 November, 2017 - 15:30 anand balaji

Understanding the Monotheism of Akhenaten: Solar Disc Thrust into Eternal Darkness–Part II

At first glance it appears as though Pharaoh Akhenaten is someone whom one would describe as a textbook monotheist, but are we missing the plot? Apart from Amun (and later, Osiris) the king doesn’t...
The excavation of the Oseberg Ship, Norway. 1904 - 1905.
23 November, 2017 - 18:57 ancient-origins

Grave Findings Could Solve a Viking Age Mystery

BY THORNEWS In the autumn of 834 AD, two elderly women were buried together in the magnificent Oseberg ship discovered in 1903 near Tønsberg in Vestfold, Southeast Norway. Ever since the ship was...
A bust of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Design by Anand Balaji.
22 November, 2017 - 15:35 anand balaji

Understanding the Monotheism of Akhenaten: Decay of a Dream and the Final Curtain Call–Part I

Pharaoh Akhenaten has been revered and reviled in equal measure for unleashing his religious policy of one god, the Aten sun disc. But, was the king a monotheist in letter and spirit – one who...
‘The Deluge’ (1805) by J.M.W. Turner.
21 November, 2017 - 18:54 Dennis Brooks

The Comet that Sparked a Worldwide Flood ‘Myth’

It seems that Noah’s Great Biblical Flood was caused by comet fragments striking the earth. Isaac Newton was the first one to come up with a theory connecting the flood to a comet strike, in 1680...
An illustration of François l’Olonnais.
21 November, 2017 - 13:58 dhwty

François l’Olonnais: Cunning and Cruel Pirate and Flail of the Spanish

François l’Olonnais was a notorious French buccaneer who lived during the 17th century. l’Olonnais’ career as a pirate lasted about 10 years, from 1660 till his death in 1668/9. During this period,...
The Great Horned Serpent was powerful and magical in Native American mythology.
20 November, 2017 - 15:25 Jason Jarrell

Drowning, Poisoning, and the Dark Underworld. Meet the King of all Snakes, the wise Great Horned Serpent in Native American Cosmology

Since longer than history can recall, the western mind has been locked in a pattern of dualistic thinking. In the course of our experiences, the world is defined by a series of opposites, which...
Detail of ‘Monk tasting wine’ by Josef Wagner-Höhenberg.
20 November, 2017 - 01:55 ancient-origins

Feeling Guilty About Drinking? Well, Ask the Saints

Michael Foley / The Conversation Each year the holidays bring with them an increase in both the consumption of alcohol and concern about drinking’s harmful effects. Alcohol abuse is no laughing...
A typical depiction of a pirate
19 November, 2017 - 18:58 dhwty

French Pirate Olivier Levasseur Left Behind a Curious Cryptogram – Does it Lead to his Long-Lost Treasure?

Olivier Levasseur (known also by his nicknames ‘La Buse’, meaning ‘the Buzzard’, or ‘La Bouche’, meaning ‘the Mouth’) was a French pirate who was active during the 1st half of the 18th century...

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