In the ancient world, omens, especially bad omens, were not to be taken lightly. In ancient civilisations, the world was thought to be inhabited by supernatural forces. These forces were capable of...
Despite intensive research over many decades on one of the most famous kingdoms of the ancient world , scientists still know little about the diseases which plagued the people of Mesopotamia. An...
Hasankeyf, Turkey, is one of the oldest ancient sites in the world with evidence of human settlement. Dating back 12,000 years, it has been home to virtually every major Mesopotamian civilisation,...
The Marseille Tarot is the result of one or more attempts to copy imagery in Sumerian and Babylonian cylinder seals and other artefacts from that civilization. Theosophical Society founder Helena...
The Danube Valley civilization is one of the oldest civilizations known in Europe. It existed from between 5,500 and 3,500 BC in the Balkans and covered a vast area, in what is now Northern Greece to...
Archaeologists in Oman have uncovered an important Bronze and Iron Age site during preparations for construction of the Sinaw-Mahut Dual Road Project. Initial results of the exploration have revealed...
A New Year's resolution is a tradition, most common in the West but found around the world, in which a person makes a promise on New Year’s Eve to make certain changes or self-improvements in the...
An ancient amulet inscribed with cuneiform writing and dating back to the Mesopotamian civilization has been found during excavations in Dibbia, Musandam in Oman. It has been reported in the times of...
Archaeologists have found a huge structure at a dig site known as the Kultepe mound in Turkey which dates back four-and-a-half thousand years. It is believed that the building belonged to an...
In a move that has pleased many historians and archaeologists, Cornell University has forfeited their vast collection of cuneiform tablets , which detail daily life in ancient Mesopotamia, considered...
A new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, has added to the debate regarding the origins of people inhabiting ancient Mesopotamia during the region’s long history. Results showed that the remains...
Archaeologists have found a set of gaming tokens in a grave at Başur Höyük in southeast Turkey dating back to at least 3000 BC, making them the earliest gaming pieces ever found and confirming that...
Research carried out last year on an ancient site that was excavated by the National Trust for Scotland in 2004 revealed that it contained a sophisticated calendar system that is approximately 10,000...
Beer appears to have been an important part of Sumerian culture: the word “beer” appears in many contexts relating to religion, medicine and myth. In fact, the oldest evidence of beer comes from a 6,...
Babylon, the capital of Mesopotamia and the cradle of early civilization was known to be a magnificent city, especially because of its hanging gardens and walls. No wonder it is counted among the...