All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

medieval

Medieval Carcassonne town view, France. Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe

Carcassonne: Europe’s Largest Medieval Fortified City Was Defended by Straw Soldiers

Carcassonne is Europe’s largest fortified city that still stands today. It is located in Aude, a department in the southern French region of Occitanie . The city is divided into two parts by the Aude...
Production of salt for the salt trade.

When Salt Was Traded for Gold: The Salt Trade of West Africa that Built Kingdoms and Spread Culture

In West Africa during the Medieval period, salt was traded for gold. This may seem astonishing as salt is a cheap commodity in today’s society. It may be added that salt is easily available today...
Drolleries were common in medieval manuscripts.

Drolleries of the Middle Ages Included Comical Yet Sinister Killer Rabbits and Erotic Art

A drollerie (also spelled as drollery) is a type of marginalia found on Medieval manuscripts. Drolleries are amusing, often grotesque, figures drawn on the edges of manuscripts and may be found in...
Hogsback Stones in the Goven Church

Three ‘Brilliantly’ Carved Medieval Gravestones Unearthed By 14-Year-Old Scottish Amateur Archaeologist

A 14-year-old boy digging in a churchyard in Glasgow has rediscovered three rare medieval gravestones with highly-detailed interlacing carved patterns. The three very special gravestones were...
A box bed from the 18th century

The Medieval Box Bed Returns: Closing Yourself in for a Good Night’s Sleep

The box bed, sometimes known by its French name of lit clos, is a bed built into a piece of furniture. It looks curious to us today and it’s somewhat of a novelty to climb into bed and shut the doors...
Dr. Benjamin Pohl with the both the royal charter and the Bishop of Durham charter

Original King John Royal Charter Resurfaces After 800 Years [Press Release]

Press Release / University of Bristol A rare, original royal charter from the first year of King John’s reign has been discovered in Durham by a medieval historian from the University of Bristol. The...
Detail of ‘Christ in the House of Martha and Mary’ (1886) by Henryk Siemiradzki. Questions abound on the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife and the relationship between Mary and Jesus.

Forgery or a Lost Account? Examining the Authenticity of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife

...not [to] me. My mother gave me life... The disciples said to Jesus,... deny. Mary is (not?) worthy of it. ... Jesus said to them, "My wife... she is able to be my disciple... Let wicked people...
The Tremulous Hand of Worcester was a medieval scribe in the 13th Century.

The Tremulous Hand of Worcester: Unfurling the Medical Mystery of a Medieval Scribe

Handwriting is one of those things most people don’t really give a second thought to today – we live in a world where we are surrounded by text and the vast majority of the time it is printed rather...
Portion of Ibn Sīna’s Canon of Medicine folded into medieval text

Irish Translation of Ibn Sīna Medical Text Discovered in Medieval Book Binding

A recent discovery is demonstrating the influence of Islamic medicine on European physicians. A fragment from a book dating from the 1400s has revealed the influence of a Muslim Persian polymath on...
This deviant burial is a Medieval murder mystery.

Stabbed in the Back and Buried Face-Down: A Deviant Medieval Burial Found in Sicily

Researchers have announced a grisly find in Sicily, Italy. They have discovered a bizarre 1000-year-old Medieval grave. It contained the skeleton of a man who met a violent death and was buried face-...
Plumber Jannick Vestergaard and operator Henning Nøhr unearth a medieval sword on a Danish Street, February 5th.

Stunning Discovery of Medieval Sword by Workmen on a Danish Street

Many rare historical objects have been found during construction projects. A rare sword from the 14 th century has recently been unearthed in Denmark during a project in a busy city-street. The find...
Formidable Viking in Armor with axe.

Ragnar Shaggy-Trousers and Eystein Foul-Fart: The Truth Behind Viking Names

Vikings are pretty trendy of late. Marvel’s Thor films, for example, gave Viking mythology the Hollywood treatment and plonked its characters in contemporary America. There have been multiple Viking...
 Old iron chastity belt from Middle Ages.

The Long Fascination With the Chastity Belt – But Was it Just A Fantasy?

The chastity belt is an item that titillates and fascinates in equal measure. The idea of the brave medieval knight locking up his beloved, naively believing a mere padlock would be enough to keep...
Example of Anthropodermic bibliopegy – an 18-19th century notebook allegedly covered with human skin.

Books Bound in Human Skin – The Practice Isn’t As Rare As You Might Think!

Anthropodermic bibliopegy refers to the practice of binding books in human skin . According to folk legend, the binding of books (or more appropriately manuscripts, as they were hand-written) in...
Jayne and Martin Townley at their Middle Ages themed house hosting a medieval banquet

Jousting Champion and Magician Wife Transform House into Medieval Castle Complete with Banqueting Hall

A medieval-obsessed couple have transformed their four-bedroom, semi-detached home in Somerset, England, into a Middle-Ages-themed castle complete with a banqueting hall. Martin and Jayne Townley...
Medieval science

The Grave That Heals: Irish Folktale Proven True as Soil from Priest’s Grave Shows Key to Fighting Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Traditionally ancient folk remedies are not treated seriously by medical researchers and professionals. However, some scientists are taking a new look at these remedies because some are believed to...
Old catapult in Les Baux-de-Provence, France

Rare Find of Stone Catapult Ball Fired During Medieval Siege Unearthed in Scotland

Archaeologists in Scotland have made the rare discovery of a stone ball that was used like a cannonball during a medieval siege. The find is helping experts to better understand Scotland’s Wars of...
‘Invincible’ a modern depiction of a battle between Rus and Khazars.

The Khazars: A Forgotten Medieval Empire that Ruled the Northern Caucasus

"The Khazar people were an unusual phenomenon for Medieval times. Surrounded by savage and nomadic tribes, they had all the advantages of the developed countries: structured government, vast and...
The remarkably well-preserved Medieval sword found in the ruins of a Spanish castle.

Medieval Sword from the War of the Two Peters Unearthed In Spanish Castle

Archaeologists have made a rare discovery during their second season of work at a Medieval castle in Aín, Castellón, Spain. The have unearthed a 700-year-old sword that is in a remarkable state. The...
Great Fire of London in the year 1666 by William Russel Birch

Here is What it Would Have Been Like to be Caught in the Great Fire of London

Great explosions rang out in London’s Lower Thames Street: the sound of houses, shops, warehouses and taverns being blown up, a method intended to halt the spread of the seemingly unstoppable flames...
Skeletal remains of a handless man found just off Guernsey.

Handless Man Adds Further Intrigue to the Island of the Medieval Porpoise Grave

Archaeologists in the Channel Islands (part of the United Kingdom) made a baffling discovery recently. They discovered the handless skeleton of a man on one of the rocky islets located in the English...
Statue representative of courtship rituals.

Romantic Love: The Evolution of Courtship Rituals

Courtship rituals have existed as long as the concept of romantic love. Such rituals exist to allow couples to get to know each other, and to allow an intimate relationship to develop. In modern,...
Suspicious townfolk targeted Alice Kyteler.

Alice Kyteler: The Kilkenny ‘Witch’ Who Ran While her Servant Burned

Alice Kyteler (known also as the Kilkenny Witch ) was the first recorded person to have been condemned of witchcraft in Ireland. The alleged witch, however, succeeded in fleeing the country, thereby...
A 17th century engraving depicting an ordeal by water.

Trial by Ordeal: A Life or Death Method of Judgement

In the modern judicial system, the innocence or guilt of an accused may be established based on the evidence brought against him or her. In ancient and medieval societies, however, a different way of...

Pages