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A depiction of the Norse goddess Sif.

The Story of Sif, Powerful Wife of Norse God Thor

The warrior god Thor is well known from Old Norse literature. He has become a popular cultural icon, but his wife seems to be largely forgotten these days. However, Sif was once recognized as an...
Santa Elena Fort, one of the first in La Florida, 1576 (today, Parris Island, South Carolina).

Archaeologists Find Elusive 16th-Century Spanish Fort on Parris Island

Nearly 40 years after finding the remains of the 16th-century town of Santa Elena on present-day Parris Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, archaeologists have discovered San Marcos, one of...
Painting depicting La Niña, La Pinta, and the Santa Maria. San Diego Maritime Museum.

Forgotten, Lost, or Destroyed? Exploring the Final Fate of the Famous Three Ships Led by Columbus

The story of Christopher Columbus would not have been complete without three ships: Santa Maria, La Pinta, and La Niña. Their names are still famous, but the ships themselves seem to have disappeared...
Pena National Palace.

A Monument of Faith: The Magnificent Pena Palace in Sintra

Sintra is a lovely town which is found near Lisbon in Portugal. It is one of the most popular places in Portugal and is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is also one of the Seven...
Facial Reconstruction of Bronze Age Woman from 3,700-Year-Old Skull Brings Her Story Back to Life

Facial Reconstruction of Bronze Age Woman from 3,700-Year-Old Skull Brings Her Story Back to Life

Although she has been dead for over 3,700 years, a woman known as ‘Ava’ became the muse for a modern artist. By combining her ancient remains with modern software and imaging techniques, the...
Lugh of the Long-Arm: The Martial and Sovereign Reach of Lugh Lama-fada

Lugh of the Long-Arm: The Martial and Sovereign Reach of Lugh Lama-fada

One of the most prominent characters of Irish mythology and literature, Lugh Lama-fada, served as the High King of Ireland for 20 years before his unfortunate death at the hands of the sons of...
Engraved plaque near the explorer’s tomb in Kochi, India and portrait of Vasco da Gama.

A Traveler Even After Death? The Two Tombs of Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama was a traveler and adventurer in the 15th century. However, his story did not end with his death. In fact, the afterlife of the explorer became an additional page in the history of the...
A woolly mammoth inside a permafrost cave in Yakutsk.

Initial Stage Reached on Dream of Cloning Woolly Mammoth

By The Siberian Times / By Olga Gertcyk A South Korean specialist hails the opening of new World Mammoth Centre in Siberia, dedicated to bringing the beast back to life. Cloning guru Professor Hwang...
Sverd I Fjell, Hafrsfjord

Bronze Swords of Hafrsfjord Tell a Legendary Tale of a Powerful King and a Great Battle

Long ago, the inhabitants of Norway lived in warring tribes and villages. It was not until the 872 Battle of Hafrsfjord that the fractious clans of habitable Norway were united under a single ruler...
Budai figurine

The Laughing Buddha: The Eccentric Monk, God of Plenty and Patron of Bartenders

Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was born in 6 BC, in what is now modern Nepal. He lived the comfortable life of a young prince until one day he ventured out into the world and was confronted...
A view of the fossilized, 1.7-million-year-old hominin toe bone upon which the cancerous tumor was diagnosed.

Researchers Diagnose Earliest Known Cancer on 1.7-Million-Year-Old Hominin Fossil

Scientists have identified a particularly lethal form of cancer on the fossilized toe bone of an early human relative who lived about 1.7 million years ago in South Africa. The tumor is the oldest...
Excavations at British sites are Revolutionizing Prehistoric Studies and Revealing Secrets of the Past

Excavations at British sites are Revolutionizing Prehistoric Studies and Revealing Secrets of the Past

You might say British archaeology is in a golden age, especially with excavations and discoveries at two sites that are adding great knowledge of the prehistory of the islands. One site, from about...
The embellished mummy case containing the remains of the priest Iret-hor-iru

CT Scans of Mummy of an Ancient Priest Reveal He Was Stricken with Modern Diseases

The mummy of an ancient Egyptian man from 2,200 years ago was recently scanned by researchers. The results proved that the man, who lived during the reign of the Ptolemies, had weak bones and tooth...
An artistic representation of a Telchine.

No Rest for the Wicked: The Role of the Telchines in the Myths of Greece and Rome

Magicians, artists and craftsmen, the Telchines are the proverbial jacks-of-all-trades - yet they are also atypical masters of all. Considered by most ancient authors to be malevolent daimons of the...
Some of the skeletons found on one of the two Viking ships.

Vikings Brutally Slain in 750 AD May Have Been on a Peaceful Mission

When people think of Vikings going on voyages, many imagine a bloodthirsty crew bent on evil and domination, and armed to the teeth for the looting and pillaging of helpless villagers. That may have...
The Roman silver coins that were recently discovered in Ampurias, Spain and the amphora in which they were held.

Archaeology Student Discovers Amphora Full of 200 Silver Roman Coins

The archaeological site of Empúries (Ampurias), located in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain, is a unique site in the Iberian Peninsula which contains both the ruins of a Greek city -the...
Deriv; Wayang kulit figure, representing Semar (CC BY-SA 3.0) and Mask of Semar for traditional Javanese theater performance (CC BY-SA 3.0), and sarong from Java, c. 1880.

Semar: The Fallen God and Divine Jester of Indonesian Mythology

Semar is probably one of the oldest characters in Indonesian mythology who was said to not have been derived from Hindu mythology. He was made famous by performances of Wayang (Shadow Puppets) in the...
“Full moon rising over Mount Shasta, as seen from northern valley.”

Mount Shasta: Inner Earth Realms and History of the Lava Beds

There are legends all over the world, found in every culture, which populate caves with spirits and supernatural guardians who dwell in a subterranean realm hidden just beneath surface of our own...
The rare pottery kiln that was used to fire jars in the ancient workshop. Photographic credit: Royee Liran, Israel Antiquities Authority.

1,600-Year-Old Pottery Workshop Has First Known Rock-Hewn Kiln in Israel

During the construction of a new residential quarter, north of the new Yaʽarit neighborhood, a team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered a Roman era pottery workshop,...
A petroglyph of a six-fingered hand. Red Tank Draw, AZ

The Mysterious Extra Fingers and Toes of the Pueblo People of Chaco Canyon

Ancient people of the Pueblo culture of Chaco Canyon, in what is now New Mexico, decorated their houses with six-digit handprints and footprints. Although it is not really known why these images were...
600-Year-Old Forbidden City Untouched in Flooded Beijing

600-Year-Old Forbidden City Untouched in Flooded Beijing

By Eva Fu , Epoch Times A 55-hour-long rainstorm pelted Beijing over July 19 and 20—a continuation of floods that have claimed nearly 600 lives and displaced tens of thousands since heavy rains swept...
Rope making tool from mammoth ivory from Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany, ca. 40,000 years old.

Discovery of Ancient Tool Unravels Mystery of How Rope was Made 40,000 Years Ago

Rope and twine are critical components in the technology of mobile hunters and gatherers. In exceptional cases, impressions of string have been found in fired clay and on rare occasions string was...
A model of the face of an adult female Homo erectus. Reconstruction by John Gurche, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Scientists Say A Mystery Species Bred with Ancient Humans in Distant Past

A new study of the genomes of Australasians has revealed sections of DNA that do not match any known hominin species. The dramatic findings mean that a mystery species bred with ancient humans in the...
A mummy unearthed in the Atacama Desert.

Mummies Found in Chile Did Not Let Harsh Life Conditions Get Them Down

Despite apparent episodes of food shortage, disease, violence, and severe weather conditions, it seems that, at least for some people, life in Chile between 500-1500 years ago was not that stressful...

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