All  

Store Banner Mobile

Store Banner Mobile

Latest News

All the latest news on finds, advancements, and research in archaeology and ancient history, from the No 1 Ancient History website in the world

News

Joshua’s armies depart a burning and looted Ai.

Military Blunder and the Death of a King: Joshua’s Debacle at Ai – Part II

The battle of Ai is probably one of history’s most overlooked battles in which military trainees or cadets can learn valuable lessons. Joshua—new leader of the tribes of Israel, great military leader...
The silver Tantalus Bowl found in Vinkovci, Croatia in 2012. Source: ©Damir Doracic, Archaeological Museum Zagreb

Practical Joke or Practicing Restraint? The Drinking Vessel That Turned Greedy Guests into Wet Blankets

A 4th century silver Roman bowl may be one of the earliest known examples of a practical joke. It looks like a regular drinking vessel at first, but the unsuspecting wine reveler who was given this...
Old books

A Masterful $2.5 Million Dollar Rare-Book Heist Stuns Community

In an unprecedented incident in 2017, a group of unknown thieves rappelled down into a specially secured warehouse in Feltham, Middlesex in the early hours of January 30 th and made off with 160 rare...
Detail of “An Old Woman Spinning” (1646-1648) by Michiel Sweerts.

New Study Answers the Question - Did Medieval People Reach Old Age?

An Australian archaeologist has decided to take a different approach to looking at the lives of past society. Instead of focusing on the rich, young, and beautiful (all popular groups by today’s...
A scientific illustration of what the Upward Sun River camp, where the remains of the ancient child were discovered, would have looked like. Source: Eric Carlson in collaboration with Ben Potter.

Ancient Infant DNA Rewrites the History of Humans Entering North America

Scientists claim that a genetic analysis of the 11,500-year-old remains of an infant girl from Alaska has shed new light on the populating of the Americas. The new finds suggest that the “Last...
Lemminkäinen and the black swan.

Lemminkäinen: Resurrection of the Handsome, Yet Frivolous Finnish Epic Hero

Thus became a mighty hero, In his veins the blood of ages, Read erect and form commanding, Growth of mind and body perfect But alas! he had his failings, Bad indeed his heart and morals, Roaming in...
The area where the ancient underground city was discovered in Turkey's Trabzon province represented here.

Ancient Underground City Found Hidden in Turkey's Trabzon Province

Archaeologists from Turkey have announced the discovery of an underground city dating back 4,000 years and ostensibly belonging to a Byzantine dynasty. The lost city was unearthed during urban...
The ring, engraved with St George, was found in a field near in Yorkshire.

Amateur Treasure Hunter Will Make Thousands of Dollars from a Medieval Gold Ring

An amateur treasure hunter has made an exciting discovery in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The young man unearthed an engraved 20-carat gold ring dating to the medieval period. The find may...
Externsteine, north-eastern face, across Wiembecke pond.

Worship? Meditation? Sacrifice? What Ancient Ritual Activities Were Held at the Externsteine Sacred Stone Formation?

Externsteine is an unusual sandstone rock formation near Ostwestfalen-Lippe in the northwest of Germany. It is unique among other monolithic sites in Europe because it is a natural formation that has...
Joshua’s armies use horns of war in siege against Jericho.

Sounding the Horns of Doom at the Battle of Jericho – Part I

Joshua was a great military leader and a controversial figure in the Bible. With Moses’ death at Mount Nebo, Joshua was elected the new leader of the tribes of Israel. Under Joshua’s leadership, the...
Arge Bam, Bam, Iran.

Castle in the Sand: Arg-e Bam as a Pillar of Middle-Eastern Longevity

Iran’s Arg-e Bam, Bam Citadel, once stood as a pillar of longevity in the Middle East. Created upon the beginnings of the Achaemenid Empire (6th-4th centuries BC), and building on the commercial...
Tingis Gate, Volubilis.

Valuable Volubilis: The Best-Preserved Roman Ruins in Morocco

It was time for the harvest and the inhabitants of Volubilis were busy in their fields. This was the prime moment for a local tribe to attack the rich administrative center. As the Roman soldier saw...
The most recent seal found at the excavation site near the Western Wall, Jerusalem.

Is this Seal More Evidence for the Biblical Account of Jerusalem?

Israeli archaeologists announced the discovery of a 2,700-year-old clay seal of “immense archaeological value” near the plaza of the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, five years after the...
Statue of Saint Isidore of Seville.

St. Isidore of Seville: Patron Saint of …. The Internet?!

The Catholic tradition of assigning the patronage of saints to certain places, careers, or activities is usually obvious. For example, St. Luke was a physician and he’s one of the patrons of doctors...
Illustration of Mahabharata (Public domain)

The Legend of Shikhandi, the Transgendered Warrior Who Paid the Price of Opposing Powerful Men

Chauvinism existed even in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The ancient text depicts the legendary eighteen-day bloodbath, dubbed the Kurukshetra War, where the hero/heroine’s greatest feat was not...
Bust of Aeschylus, Zappeion, Athens. (Tilemachos Efthimiadis/CC BY SA 2.0) Illustration of the death of Aeschylus.

Eagle Mistakes Bald Head for a Rock: The Bizarre Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Aeschylus

Aeschylus, widely regarded as the “Father of Tragedy,” was one of the first of classical Athens’ great dramatists. He raised the emerging art of tragedy to new heights of poetry and theatrical power...
Seeing gods among the stars

The Jesus Paradox: Were Gods Real Beings of Flesh and Blood, Who Once Existed on Earth in Ages Lost?

Contrary to popular belief, Jesus of the New Testament is a mythic figure, not a historic one. Nowhere outside scripture has he ever existed and this is proven in his life as an astrological allegory...
Egyptian mummy mask

Secret Text in Ancient Mummy Cases to Be Revealed With New Tech

The hieroglyphics that adorn the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs are pure propaganda, designed to present the pharaoh or noble person in the best light possible. But scraps of papyrus paper used with...
The Little Chapel on Guernsey

Unusual Little Chapel Built with Glass and Broken Pottery Destroyed Many Times Over – But Still Stands!

A surprising and secluded chapel – with glittering mosaics on every surface creating a fairytale quality – lies hidden in verdant, wooded hills in St. Andrew, a parish on the island of Guernsey, a...
This Chinese-made mirror from the Yayoi Pottery Culture period (300 BC- 300 AD) was unearthed whole from an archaeological site in Fukuoka, Japan.

Rare 1,900-Year-Old Chinese Mirror Has Mysterious Inscription, Which is Coming True

An extremely well-preserved 1,900-year-old bronze mirror has been unearthed in Fukuoka, Japan. The artifact stands out for its fantastic condition and an intriguing description engraved on its...
Pendant, Aurignacian culture, 31000-24000 BC

Did Prehistoric Middle Eastern Culture Visit Europe, Spawn Artistic Culture, and Leave?

A team of archaeologists investigating a cave in Israel, claims to have found evidence that prehistoric tools and artwork from Western Europe could possibly owe their existence to an earlier culture...
‘The Slave Market’ (1886) by Gustave Boulanger.

Skin Color Didn’t Matter to the Ancient Greeks and Romans

The term “racism” refers to a phenomenon of group hatred or bigotry based on ethnic and cultural prejudice. In the United States, the term is most often heard in conjunction with the descriptors “...
A large hand axe found in the Wadi Dadsa.

Ancient Stone Artifacts Could Tell the Story of When Early Humans Spread Out of Africa

A team of archaeologists has announced the discovery of over a thousand stone artifacts, with some of them being up to 1.76 million years old. The discovery took place at Wadi Dabsa, in southwest...
A human skeleton in space.

Medical Astrology: Moon Fever and Diseases Sent from the Skies

For centuries, humans have believed that the celestial realm could influence everyday life. This is the basis of astrology. The rise and fall of kingdoms and the fortunes of individuals have all been...

Pages