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The gold and garnet sword harness pyramid found in Norfolk, England.

Sword Harness Pyramid With Rare Gems Unearthed In England

A UK metal detectorist has unearthed a rare 1,400-year-old Anglo-Saxon sword harness pyramid crafted in gold and garnet from India or Sri Lanka. This tiny, bejeweled treasure was discovered in April...
The research suggests that a re-evaluation of gender in Iron Age society is required. Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock.

Study Argues Medieval Finnish Warrior Was Non-Gender Specific

A new study claims to have solved the mystery of non-binary gender evidence at a medieval warrior grave. In 1968, in the village of Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in southern Finland, a warrior’s grave...
Aerial photo of Old Harlem showing the newly found ancient Dutch castle      Source: Saricon / NHNieuws

Rare Ancient Dutch Castle is Bigger and Better than Expected!

The Netherlands isn’t known as a country that announces archaeological discoveries every week. However, there are countless ancient sites of medieval interest in the Netherlands, ranging from Anglo-...
Dover Castle in  Source: Alexey Fedorenko / Adobe Stock

Dover Castle: The Key to England at the Gateway to Europe

Dover Castle has been dubbed the “Key to England” due to its location at the frontline of defense. Dover has played an important role in Britain’s history, both as a trading port and as the gateway...
A man contorting his face at the idea of some of the weirdest foods in history. Source: Kurhan / Adobe Stock

A Test for the Taste Buds: The 7 Weirdest Foods in History

In many ways, the culinary arts of preparing food are the oldest in the world. Ever since becoming sentient, humans had to experiment with cooking in order to sustain themselves. From the dawn of...
The decadence of Rome, as depicted in Thomas Couture's famous painting, is still celebrated today in film and literature. And no event was reported as more scandalous than the Banquet of Chestnuts in 1501, held the night before Halloween.

The Banquet of Chestnuts: A Perverse Pastime at the House of Borgia?

On October 30, 1501, the most decadence of festivals occurred in the papal palace of Cardinal Cesare Borgia. A party that his own father, Pope Alexander VI, not only attended but participated in. The...
A new find on this day of digging at the medieval Wales site on Whitesands Bay, Pembrokeshire was a clay furnace which was removed from next to the ancient chapel wall (St. Patrick’s Chapel).

Medieval Wales: 200 Skeletons Unearthed At Forgotten Coastal Chapel

Archaeologists from the University of Sheffield and the Dyfed Archaeological Trust are currently working on a dig in southwest Wales that is literally a race against time. On Whitesands Bay beach in...
Aerial view of Caerlaverock Castle in the Dumfries and Galloway Council Area of Scotland, which is the subject of a study on medieval climate change. 	Source: Simon Ledingham/Caerlaverock Castle / CC BY-SA 2.0

Spectacular Caerlaverock Castle Is Under The Climate Microscope

Climatology experts are working with archaeologists in examining the impact of medieval climate change on one of Scotland’s oldest stone castles. Caerlaverock Castle lies less than 3 miles (4.8 km)...
One of the spectacular views of Framlingham Castle, which has aged into a highly interesting tourist attraction managed by the English Heritage charity today. Source: Ian Dalgliesh / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Medieval Mayhem of Framlingham Castle

Framlingham Castle is a Medieval castle located in Framlingham, a market town in the eastern English county of Suffolk. The first castle was built during the 11th century and was originally a timber...
How could an entire village disappear? Source: Ivan Kmit / Adobe Stock.

Ghosts in the Landscape: How Did the Village of Gainsthorpe Vanish?

There are many medieval villages in England that have disappeared throughout the years. However, one that remains more visible than most is the village of Gainsthorpe in Lincolnshire. When viewed...
Foundation Dig Finds Evidence of Medieval Scotland in Inverness

Foundation Dig Finds Evidence of Medieval Scotland in Inverness

During excavations in advance of new development, archaeologists in Scotland have uncovered medieval ruins, and they are revealing secrets about the industrial past in Inverness , the capital of the...
Medieval People Were Reopening Graves, But Not to Rob Them

Medieval People Were Reopening Graves, But Not to Rob Them

In the Middle Ages being dead wasn’t a guarantee you would rest in peace. Researchers have found hundreds of examples of people re-opening graves in cemeteries from Transylvania to southern England...
Spiritual Marriage and Holy Virginity: The Medieval Practice of Sexless Marriage

Spiritual Marriage and Holy Virginity: The Medieval Practice of Sexless Marriage

The institution of marriage dates back to almost the beginning of written history, with countless variations on how it has been practiced throughout the ages in different cultures and religions. The...
Ancient Nubian Super Church Changes Our Understanding of History

Ancient Nubian Super Church Changes Our Understanding of History

Sometimes archaeology demands that history be revised. Recent discoveries in Old Dongola, in modern-day Sudan , appear to have unearthed the need to reappraise the entire history of the Nubian church...
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...
British Metal Detectorist Reunites Stolen Ancient Treasure with Owner

British Metal Detectorist Reunites Stolen Ancient Treasure with Owner

A couple weeks ago Mr. Charles Cartwright, an amateur British metal detectorist, took his machine out for an inaugural search in a field in Doddenham, Worcestershire, England. He’d been out for about...
Infrared Reveals a Wife Swap in a Prominent Medieval Religious Book

Infrared Reveals a Wife Swap in a Prominent Medieval Religious Book

Some good old-fashioned swinging? Medieval photoshopping? Not quite, but scientists have discovered something about Francis I of Brittany that he would surely have preferred to have kept secret...
A young priest listens to confession.

Penitentials - Medieval Priests Had Handbooks to Deal with Sexual Deviance

Penance has played a prominent role in religions all over the world. And the interesting thing is there are documents spanning the globe which discuss penance and provide clear opportunities to find...
Margery Kempe: Medieval Mystic and ‘Heretic’ Heroine

Margery Kempe: Medieval Mystic and ‘Heretic’ Heroine

Margery Kempe was, for the first 40 years of her life, an ordinary woman. Born into a middle-class family in 14th century East Anglia in England, she is remembered today for her remarkable later life...
A figure wearing a face mask in St Albans Cathedral

New Masked Carving in St Albans Cathedral Restoration is Distasteful

St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire is the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain and work to restore its rare medieval shrine has just been completed. But the addition of a new...
The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius by Carlo Crivelli

Early Ideas About Extraterrestrial Life: What Might Inhabitants from Other Planets Look Like?

The Christian Church attempted to censor Galileo’s findings in the first decades of the 17th century, but it was a time of expanding knowledge, so it did not take very long for the information to get...
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...
Urząd Marszałkowski and Olsztynie/ Materiały prasowe

Arsenal of Knight’s Weaponry found from Epic Battle of Grunwald

It was in 2018 that dozens of explorers, archaeologists and historians from Poland and abroad, congregated to conduct an archaeological research project on the legendary Battle of Grunwald . This...
Domestic Violence in Medieval Marriages: The Tragic Story of William and Isabel Newport

Domestic Violence in Medieval Marriages: The Tragic Story of William and Isabel Newport

Domestic violence is a serious problem in modern society, but it should surprise no-one that this issue has been plaguing Western society for many hundreds, even thousands of years. It is difficult...

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