By Jane Messer / The Conversation One of my life’s aims is to swim in as many lakes, rivers, pools and oceans as I possibly can, to use my liberty and swimming skills as freely as I can. I love the...
“The horses burst through the sky and with swift-hooved feet cut a dash through the clouds, which blocked their way as borne on wings they passed the east wind .” (Ovid, Metamorphoses II.157–60) The...
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...
Cuisine is an essential aspect of one’s culture. The meals enjoyed by various communities in ancient times have evolved throughout history to become the foods we know and love today. However, these...
As long as humans have walked the Earth, they’ve been finding reasons to kill each other. Over time, we’ve gotten pretty good at it. It should come as no surprise then that over the years armies have...
One of the most fascinating archaeological sites in Central America is Ek’ Balam. Ek’ Balam is found in Temozón, Yucatán, Mexico in the Northern Maya lowlands, several miles northeast of Chichen Itza...
Researchers digging in the ancient city of Aizanoi have announced the discovery of many new artifacts and works. But the discovery of an “almost intact” statue of a giant man with one foot takes the...
Fur coats aren’t just a product of the modern industrial period, but now are seen to have a tradition stretching back some 300,000 years ago, albeit in a different setting altogether. People have...
Archaeology may be the discovery of and research of things that happened long ago, but it is an ever-changing field. Every year new discoveries are made that either teach us something new or show us...
The first Viking raids recorded in Ireland date to 795 AD, and then they rapidly appear in the historic record. Traditionally the early Viking activity in Ireland falls into three phases, the first...
Very few people have failed to hear of Cleopatra, one of the most well known women in history. Remembered as a seductive temptress, not only the lover of Julius Caesar but also the wife of Mark...
When this English metal detectorist realized that he hadn’t dug up a metal top, but an ancient Roman gold earring, he “sank to his knees in disbelief”. After many unfruitful searches, 53 -year-old...
In another case of nature’s wrath rearing its head, flash floods have struck the iconic world heritage site at Petra, Jordan, forcing the evacuation of 1,700 tourists . A whopping 66 millimeters of...
4,000-year-old Hittite texts speak of the lost cultic centre of Zippalanda, somewhere in modern Turkey. Now, new discoveries at the Uşaklı Höyüy site further suggest this was the ancient holy city...
The Wendigo is a horrifying creature of Algonquian Native American legends said to devour human flesh to survive a harsh winter. But are they only part of Native American mythology or are there...
When archaeologists in Denmark identified the foundations of a huge Viking hall they knew they’d hit archaeological paydirt. But they didn’t expect that this building would be the largest Viking hall...