As part of the restoration works of the Gothic cloister of the Royal Monastery of Santes Creus currently underway in Catalonia, archaeologists have uncovered the ‘totally unexpected’ intact remains...
The Samurai , esteemed warriors of ancient Japan, transcended gender boundaries, with notable women like the onna-musha demonstrating prowess alongside their male counterparts. Their emergence...
Sicily's enigmatic mummy rituals have captivated researchers and historians alike for decades. Originating with the capuchin monks of Palermo , the tradition of mummification rapidly spread across...
The Shaolin Temple is an ancient Buddhist monastery located on Song Mountain in the Henan Province of China. The temple has a history that spans over 1500 years and has been the birthplace of a...
The imposing ruins of Fountains Abbey dominate the rural landscape around the village of Aldfield, three miles (4.8 kilometers) west of the town of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The largest...
Humans have been making beer for thousands of years, but the oldest brewery still in existence wasn’t built until the 11th century. The Weihenstephan Brewery was founded in Freising, Germany in 1040...
St. Francis, born Giovanni di Pietro Bernadore, was a mystic Italian Catholic friar. To this day, he is one of the most revered of all the saints and is remembered as the founder of the Franciscan...
Nestled in the mountains of Wakayama prefecture a couple of hours southeast of Osaka, Japan by car lies a world-famous cemetery that is home to the graves of over 200,000 Buddhist monks who are said...
Archaeologists in England have found medieval holy men were “riddled with worms.” What did they expect to find in a group of people who consumed their own feces? Every once in a while, a group of...
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a medieval monk? Perhaps you’ve wondered about the reasons behind becoming a monk, or what they do on a daily basis. Monasticism has existed for...
Over 1,000 years ago, an esoteric sect known as Shingon – which combined elements from Buddhism, Old Shinto, Taoism, and other religions – developed a horrifying practice of self-mummification of the...
Human beings have always had a fascination with death. In some cultures, the dead are never left alone, but continue to interact with the living. For instance, some set up ancestor cults to...
The origins of Christianity in Ireland trace back as far as the 5th century, when the Bishop Palladius was sent from Rome on a mission to convert the Irish people in 431 AD. Palladius was followed a...
The world of a monk is a world of seclusion and solitude. It offers introspection and an inner peace that is so crucial in comprehending greater religious philosophy. And the lives of Carthusian...
A series of ancient Christian ruins, including monks’ cells and the remains of three churches with well-preserved biblical inscriptions, have been found in Egypt dating back to the fourth century AD...
The Pskov-Caves Monastery is a Russian Orthodox monastery located in the town of Pechory, in the northwestern part of Russia. The monastery was established during the 15th century AD and is well-...
The Republic of Georgia has a dramatic history stretching back centuries, partly because of its strategic position in the Caucuses, midway between Europe and Asia. Among the many attractions of this...
The decomposed body parts of hundreds of medieval monks have been uncovered on the grounds of Westminster Abbey in London, during the excavation of the long-lost Great Sacristy of Westminster Abbey...
The impact of Alexander III of Macedon better known to us as Alexander the Great , continues to this day. Even in the Indian sub-continent, his legacy is still visible in the names of numerous...
Sri Lanka, a beautiful country renowned for its beaches, is also a historic country with many Buddhist sites. Among the most important temples in the largely Buddhist country is Kelaniya Raja Maha...
Vikings are often seen as heathen marauders mercilessly targeting Christian churches and killing defenceless monks. But this is only part of their story. The Vikings played a key role in spreading...
An examination of some bones has surprised many experts in Greece. They were found on Mount Athos, which is a male-only area, populated exclusively by monks. Some of the bones seem to be female...
The Baltic nation of Estonia is one of Europe’s least crowded countries and has two UNESCO World Heritage sites, one you may never have heard of. The Struve Geodetic Arc , which Estonia shares with...
In the past, we were drawn to caves, viewing them as sacred or mysterious places . And it would seem not much has changed, as caves still hold an enduring fascination for humans. One of the most...