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Representational image of Maya healing by a medicine man. Source: HaiderShah / Adobe Stock

Unlocking the Secrets of Maya Healing

At a time when human beings are suffering from a host of illnesses caused by stress and modern-day living, the need for ancient wisdom has never been more important. In fact, many people have become...
Vlad the Impaler cried real tears of blood. Source: Lama9838/CC BY-SA 3.0

Sadistic Vlad the Impaler Cried Real Tears of Blood, Study Reveals

Vlad Dracul, the infamous medieval Romanian ruler known as Vlad the Impaler and the inspiration for the character of Count Dracula , is considered one of the most bloodthirsty rulers in human history...
Ancient Egyptian mummy photographed at the archaeological museum of Florence. Source: Massimiliano / Adobe Stock

Ancient Egyptian Worker Took Sick Leave to Embalm his Mother

The British Museum houses a tablet which provides a peek into work-life balance in ancient Egypt. It documents the number of sick days and why 40 workers took time off from their workplace in 1250 BC...
13th century depiction of hemorrhoid surgery. Source: The British Library / Public Domain

Hippocrates Did WHAT to Treat Hemorrhoids?

Did you know that more than half of all people will have to deal with hemorrhoids at least once in their life? Although hemorrhoids are an issue no one looks forward to dealing with, if you ever find...
Dance mania, or St. John’s Dance, during as depicted by Pieter Brueghel the Younger. Source: Public domain

Dance Until You Drop: The Mysterious Case of Medieval Dance Mania

St. John’s Dance was a social phenomenon involving a type of dance mania that gripped mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries whereby participants literally danced until they dropped...
Navajo Yebichai (Yei Bi Chei) dancers. Edward S. Curtis. USA, 1900. The Welcome Collection, London

Can a Ghost Make You Ill? The Ghost Sickness Belief of the Native American Indians

Ghost sickness is the belief that ghosts are able to cause a living person to fall ill. This particular term is used by the Native Americans, especially amongst the Navajo people. Nevertheless, this...
The diagnostic methods and treatments in the Trotula are based on the theories of Claudius Galen and Hippocrates, shown in this 12th century mural from Anagni in Italy.

Medieval Attitudes to Women’s Medical Conditions Found in The Trotula

The Trotula is a very well-known 12 th century text, originally written for male medical practitioners treating gynecological or obstetrical issues, which reveals a great deal about how people...
Medieval Cancer Rates Were Shockingly High, New Study Shows

Medieval Cancer Rates Were Shockingly High, New Study Shows

A team of University of Cambridge researchers have just released the results of their study of cancer incidence in medieval and pre-Industrial Revolution-era Britain. The scientists examined the...
A wine window (buchetta del vino), used in the past to sell wine directly to passers-by, on the old stone wall of an ancient building in the historic centre of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Source: Simona Sirio /Adobe Stock

Medieval ‘Wine Windows’ Revived Due to Coronavirus

An old tradition has been revived in Florence, Italy due to the COVID-19 crisis. Once again wine windows have been opened to serve customers in one of Italy’s most beautiful cities. This tradition...
Study finds that medieval remedy found in 1000-year-old medical text could hold key to treating antibiotic-resistant infections. Source: shaiith / Adobe Stock

Medieval Remedy Could Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections

A possible medical breakthrough has been made by experts, all thanks to a 1000-year-old medieval English medical text. A treatment, that dates to the Dark Ages , is helping researchers to treat a...
Archaeology shows the damaging impact of pandemic outbreaks and how the ancient Africans dealt with them. From social distancing to more extreme measures of burning settlements, what lessons can be applied today?    Source: Fxquadro / Adobe stock

Archaeology Shows How Ancient African Societies Managed Pandemics

Every so often, a pandemic emerges that dramatically alters human society. The Black Death (1347 - 1351) was one; the Spanish flu of 1918 was another. Now there’s COVID-19 . Archaeologists have long...
Left: Florence Nightingale inspects a hospital ward during the Crimean War. ( Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0).   Right: Portrait of Florence Nightingale from Carte de Visite. (H. Lenthall / Public domain)

A History of Nursing Heroes from Florence Nightingale to Coronavirus

By Leslie Neal-Boylan / The Conversation Nurses are heroes of the COVID-19 crisis. May 12 is International Nurses Day, which commemorates the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the first “professional...
Representation of an Irish holy well. Source: Michal / Adobe stock

Believers Flock to Irish Holy Wells Seeking Solace From Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has led many people to seek comfort in a variety of ways. Some have returned to traditional customs and beliefs. In Ireland many people are making a pilgrimage to holy wells...
Ancient Mill Back in Action to Meet Coronavirus Demand

Ancient Mill Back in Action to Meet Coronavirus Demand

In Britain , a historic and ancient mill, that dates back a millennium is once more producing flour after 50 years. The Sturminster Newton Mill is milling flour to meet soaring demand during the...
Amid coronavirus lockdowns and closures, you can spend your extra time in one of the virtual museums worldwide. (Main: Natural History Museum in London entrance. Inset: Closed sign.) Source: kmiragaya & Julistock / Adobe stock

Lockdown is the New Norm, But All is Not Lost As Virtual Museums Open

With UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson instructing the closure of museums and galleries across the UK, one by one their doors have shut this week after stringent new ‘lockdown’ measures were...
Left: Modern man wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus.

What Can the Plague of Athens Teach Us About Today’s Coronavirus?

The coronavirus is concentrating our minds on the fragility of human existence in the face of a deadly disease. Words like ‘epidemic’ and ‘ pandemic ’ (and ‘panic’!) have become part of our daily...
Representation of a quarantine zone.           Source: James Thew / Adobe stock

Where Did the Ancient Measure of Quarantine Start?

The recent global spread of a deadly coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China, has led world leaders to invoke an ancient tradition to control the spread of illness: quarantine. The practice is first...
Representation of an ancient pandemic. Deriv: ‘Plague in Rome.’ 1869. Paris Orsay. (jean louis mazieres/CC BY NC SA 2.0) Woman in a mask worried about novel coronavirus. (Yasser Alghofily/CC BY 2.0)

Learn From History: Don’t Panic, But Prepare For Coronavirus Pandemic

The world is asking “ are we on the edge of the next pandemic?” as the new coronavirus looks set to go global and case numbers rise. But looking back at ancient pandemics, what have we learned about...
Ancient demon. Credit: pixelleo / Adobe Stock

Mesopotamian ‘Demon of Epilepsy’ Discovered on 2700-Year-Old Tablet

A researcher studying an ancient Assyrian cuneiform tablet has found an image of a demon. The demon was believed to have been the cause of epilepsy. The tablet was used to treat health conditions,...
Embarkation of the Pilgrims’ (1857) by Robert Walter Weir. Source: Public Domain

Why the Pilgrims were Actually Able to Survive

By Peter C. Mancall / The Conversation Sometime in the autumn of 1621, a group of English Pilgrims who had crossed the Atlantic Ocean and created a colony called New Plymouth celebrated their first...
A man practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM includes some ancient remedies that can treat illnesses effectively. Source: DragonImages /Adobe Stock

11 Ancient Remedies that Effectively Treat Modern Ailments

With innovations appearing in our lives seemingly every day it seems that new breakthroughs in science are the only ones we trust. New is always considered better. With this prevalent thinking those...
The mummy of Guano

Ecuador’s Mummy of Guano is the Key to Understanding a Painful Global Disease

An Andean mummy in Ecuador may be the missing link to understanding the expansion of rheumatoid polyarthritis from the Americas to Europe. Its naturally mummified remains are set to change both local...
Henry Wallis – Poet Thomas Chatterton’s death by arsenic.

Death by Wallpaper: When Arsenic in the Walls Was Killing Children

Wallpaper isn’t as popular as it once was, and perhaps the reason for this falling out of fashion was its ability to kill! In 1778, a Swedish Chemist named Carl Scheele created a brilliant green...
A possible portrait of Saladin, found in a work by Ismail al-Jazari, circa 1185.

The Puzzling Death of Sultan Saladin: A 12th Century Medical Mystery Solved?

Here’s a 12th century medical mystery for you: What malady killed well-known Sultan Saladin? Was it small pox, tuberculosis, typhoid, or maybe malaria? Look at his symptoms – some of them were...

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