The Bladen Journal reports that a mummified hand found in Castleton, North Yorkshire, England is the only known ‘Hand of Glory’, a grotesque artifact meant to aid thieves in their work during the...
For hundreds of years, linguists have been trying to decode the ancient hieroglyphic script of the Mayans, left behind on monument carvings, painted pottery, and drawn in handmade bark-paper books...
About 1,400 years ago, the Loma Caldera volcano of El Salvador erupted, covering the small Maya village of Ceren in ash and preserving it in pristine condition to the present day. Unlike at Pompeii...
Sexual matters and practices are quite difficult to discern in the archaeological record. Unlike diet or diseases, sexual practices do not to leave traces on human remains. Additionally, objects used...
Ancient sunken treasures hidden for thousands of years will be revealed in an underwater antiquity museum, the first of its kind, set for the history-rich Bay of Alexandria in Egypt. The ambitious...
The war has so disrupted parts of the Near East that scholars have just a few Roman Empire sites to study in what was the Roman province of Syria. But archaeologists are able to work a few sites,...
Carthage was at one point of time Rome’s greatest rival in the Mediterranean. This great civilization was first founded as a Phoenician colony in modern day Tunisia and extended its influence in time...
1,300 years ago Yan Shiwei was an honored magistrate dedicated to supporting the first (and only) female Emperor in Chinese history—until she had him and his family executed. His bones have now been...
The continent of Africa contains a plethora of ancient wonders, yet very few of them are well-known internationally or attract tourists from across the world. From over a thousand stone circles...
Examples of the work of Britain’s earliest known artists, rock carvings at least 14,500-years-old, have been discovered on the island of Jersey. One of the pieces will be on display through 2016 in...
An 800-year-old inscription detailing a donation during the Hoysala Regime has been discovered in Arattipura, India. This find is thought to be a very important discovery for researchers interested...
The fossilized skeletons of strange creatures—odd, beaked fish with teeth and ‘feet’—were uncovered by quarry workers in southwestern England in the early 1800’s. Dubbed “fish lizards” (or...
Can there be any more important a question than, ‘How did we get here?’ Of course, I don’t mean those books we all gawked at as tweens desperate to understand our transforming pubescent bodies. I...
It seems as though no other substance occupies so much of the world’s land, for so little benefit to humanity, as sugar. According to the latest data, sugarcane is the world’s third most valuable...
While archaeologists and historians know much about the lives of Maya royalty and rulers, the lifestyles of the poor and middle class are wrapped in mystery. A new study that is examining hordes of...
Since it was first proposed by the Pre-Socratic philosopher, Empedocles of Acragas, fire has been regarded in the Western world as one of the four classical elements. The status of fire as a...
A medieval Buddhist tradition started by a Buddhist monk centuries ago has people this month in Thailand exhuming and painstakingly cleaning the remains of 3,890 people who were buried without their...
Two hours’ drive from Dubai in the mountains of Musandam lives a reclusive tribe of people who appear culturally unrelated to any others in the Arabian Peninsula, yet who may well be its original...
Archaeologists call them the Nazca lines of Kazakhstan – hundreds of giant geoglyphs formed with earthen mounds and timber found stretched across the landscape in northern Kazakhstan. They are...
The Minoan people of Crete—Europe’s first high civilization—present a mystery that has long perplexed scholars and inspired much speculation: Where did these people, whose culture and artifacts...
By Anna Liesowska An ancient wealthy young woman was found laid to rest with her horse and weapons by workers who accidentally dug up her burial mound. The excavator smashed the prehistoric...
India is renowned for having distinctive religious practices that coexist with one another. The numerous shrines and monuments allow one to contemplate the importance of faith for many. One of the...
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated annually by Chinese and Vietnamese communities around the world. As the name of this festival suggests, the day of its celebration falls exactly in the middle of...
In what archaeologists are calling the missing link to Stonehenge, the world’s first “eco” home, and the oldest settlement yet found in the prehistoric monument landscape has been discovered. Built...