The ancient Scythians were renowned for their horsemanship and prowess in battle. What was the secret behind these nomadic peoples who were so dangerous and successful? Ancient Origins guest author...
Egyptian Blue is one of the first artificial pigments known to have been used by man. First created around 5,000 years ago by heating a mixture of a calcium compound, a copper-containing compound,...
The oldest case of heart failure in a mummy has been identified in the remains of Nebiri, Chief of Stables, who lived 3,500 years ago in Egypt. Nebiri’s head and a broken canopic jar with his...
The incredible Shigir Idol, wooden wonder from the prehistoric world, has been precisely dated by leading German scientists, and the results are sensational. The tall, carved wooden statue has been...
About 1,000 years ago an unlucky soul apparently buried his treasure—a cache of Viking coins—in a field in Wales and never dug it up again. Perhaps the medieval person died before retrieving it or...
The remains of an ancient Scythian warrior have been found buried in a cloak covered with gold. Archaeologists believe he ruled an area on what is now the Russian steppes around 2,500 years ago. He...
Teofilo Folengo was a prominent 16 th century poet who wrote fantastic works that influenced later writers, including Francois Rabelais, author of Gargantua and Pantagruel. Two Italian doctors...
Rings, crosses, circles, squares, and a swastika are some of the many intricate designs of the enigmatic and ancient geoglyphs spread across the vast northern steppe of Kazakhstan. 50 huge geoglyphs...
Researchers had speculated that victims of human sacrifice found at the Native American site Cahokia in Illinois were brought in from outside the area, perhaps as tribute. But a new analysis of the...
Greek archaeologists have discovered a pre-classical era Greek palace at Aghios Vassilios hill dating from the Mycenaean Age, which some researchers believe is the long-lost palace of Sparta...
The tragic infant's remains were unearthed in excavations near Kurai village in Kosh-Agach district of the Altai Republic in southern Siberia. The baby's remains were sealed in a tightly closed stone...
An ancient Roman water law inscribed in Greek on a large marble slab has been unearthed in Laodicea, Turkey, which appointed curators to oversee the city’s water supply and set fines for people who...
In 1978 a farmer ploughing his fields discovered a 6 foot (1.8 meter) high carved stone depicting a man carrying an axe. The monumental carving turned out to be an ancient Pictish artifact which was...
An ancient ball court, a midden mound and about 400 burials that date back to before Europeans arrived in the Caribbean were found on the Portugues River in Puerto Rico several years ago. The site...
Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Purgatory is presented within The Divine Comedy as a mountain that must be climbed to be overcome. Following Dante and Virgil's sojourn into Hell, he and his guide...
Read Part 1 | Part 2 At the beginning of Inferno , the first section of the Divine Comedy , Dante Alighieri is thirty-five years old in the year 1300—representing both the new millennium and the...