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The Mysterious Book of Soyga

Holy Conversations: The Impact of the Mysterious Book of Soyga

The Book of Soyga , or the Aldaraia sive Soyga vocor, was written in the sixteenth century as a possible treatise on magic. The illustrious occultist John Dee of the court of Elizabeth I owned one of...
Pyramids of Güímar - Tenerife

The Mystery of the Guanches and the Pyramids of Tenerife

Tenerife in the Canary Islands is well-known as a holiday destination, but many tourists visit the island unaware that there are pyramids there and an ongoing mystery. Who built the pyramids, when...
Wallpainting in a Laotian temple, depicting the Bodhisattva Gautama (Buddha-to-be) undertaking extreme ascetic practices before his enlightenment. A god is overseeing his striving, and providing some spiritual protection. The five monks in the background are his future 'five first disciples'.

Wealth and Religion Tied through Time: Was Ancient Religious Morality Spurred by Affluence?

Religion has become associated with having a focus on morality. But that wasn’t always the case, researchers say. Academics have long suspected that the modern world’s major religions were born of...
This image shows a Yamnaya skull from the Samara region colored with red ochre.

When modern Eurasia was born: Genetics yield clues to origins of Eurasians

Was it a massive migration? Or was it rather a slow and persistent seeping of people, items and ideas that laid the foundation for the demographic map of Europe and Central Asia that we see today?...
The unbroken seal on Tutankhamun’s tomb, 1922.

Tomb Curses of Ancient Egypt: Magical Incantations of the Dead

Nothing instilled more fear in the tomb raiders of times past, than the possibility of encountering a curse that warned of dire consequences for those that did not heed its warning. In ancient Egypt...
The Byzantine emperor Basil I (left) with his son Leo VI. Uploaded by Ghirlandajo, 2005

The Forgotten Renaissance: The Successes of the Macedonian Dynasty

The Macedonian Dynasty was relatively short lived in the grand scheme of dynasties, yet it sent waves throughout the Byzantine Empire . Under them, previously lost territories were regained, the...
Old well at Monopolata village of Kefalonia island in Greece.

Hundreds of babies found in mass grave in ancient Athenian well were not victims of infanticide

A team of researchers using the latest technologies have come to startling new conclusions about the discovery of 450 dead babies and 150 dogs in an ancient Greek well. The discovery of the baby’s...
Priapus fresco at the House of Vettii in Pompeii

Pompeii fresco depicts hapless Priapus with a painful condition

Maybe Priapus, the ancient Greek and Roman god with the enormous phallus, was not so lucky after all. An Italian doctor and researcher says one of the most famous paintings of the rustic divinity...
Artist’s representation of Atlantis

Atlantis Revealed: Plato's Cautionary Tale Was Based On A Real Setting

The time is 360 BC, the dawn of Western civilization. Athens, the cradle of democracy, is the epicenter of the ancient world. In his dialogues of Timaeus and Critias, Plato introduces a tale of an...
The three statues unearthed by archaeologists in Peru.

3,800-Year-Old Statues from Advanced Caral Civilization found in Peru

Researchers in Peru have discovered three statues and two faces believed to be from the ancient Caral civilization located on the coast north of the capital, Lima. According to a report on the...
Relief on the Miègeville's gate of the basilica Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. The relief shows Simon magus, demons, and birth of the wine.

The Strange Life of Simon Magus, Christian, Pagan, Magician, and Sorcerer

Simon the Magician, otherwise known as Simon Magus, comes down through history predominately from the New Testament account, Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24 , with all other ancient sources pertaining to...
The Visoko Stone

Visoko: An Astronomical Map of More than 100,000 Years

I met Semir Osmanagich, three years ago, in Pescara (Italy) during a conference on Ancient Civilizations and we had several intriguing conversations that were the seeds of my study on the enigmatic...
Battle between the Scythians and the Slavs

Elite Iron Age Scythian warrior discovered with bronze arrowhead embedded in his spine

The discovery of the body of an Iron Age Scythian warrior in central Kazakhstan shows that the warrior had survived a battle despite being wounded by a bronze headed arrow. The warrior was discovered...
The 2500-year-old vase with Amazon woman depiction.

Amazon Warrior Woman on Horseback Discovered on 2,500-Year-Old Vase

The 2,500 year old figure of an ancient Amazon woman has been discovered on a small vase preserved in an American museum. The figure was found painted on to a white pyxis , a cylindrical box often...
The head of a mummified cat

Mummifying Millions: Operation of the Animal Cult Industry of Ancient Egypt

Read Part 1 Millions of animal mummies have been found in the dark, carved stone tunnels beneath the location of Egypt’s earliest pyramid, in the Catacombs of Anubis in North Saqqara. The astounding...
A limestone sarcophagus of an unknown person has been unearthed near Aswan. Some of the sarcophagi at the site have mummies intact.

Six tombs containing mummies belonging to elite figures of 26th Dynasty unearthed in Egypt

Six ancient Egyptian tombs belonging to elite members of the 26 th dynasty of the Late Pharaonic Period have been excavated by an Egyptian archaeological team. The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities...
Statue of Hermanubis, a hybrid of Anubis and the Greek god Hermes.

Mummifying Millions: The Canine Catacombs and the Animal Cult Industry of Ancient Egypt

Many associate two popular themes with ancient Egypt: animal worship and mummies. The two have been combined on unprecedented levels deep in the Catacombs of Anubis in North Saqqara. The necropolis...
Yamacutah Statue Head showing blue pigment.

Rediscovering Yamacutah, a Sacred Monumental Site Once Lost to the Pages of History

On the afternoon of April 22, 1784, Jordan Clark and Jacob Bankston two men traveling from Virginia, ventured onto what was considered by many as sacred grounds. The site was located along the North...
Easter Island Statues

The Statues and Symbolic Gestures that Link Ancient Göbekli Tepe, Easter Island, and Other Sites Around the World

Ancient monuments left by mankind present an unsolved enigma: why do humanoid statues from many prehistoric sites— from those found at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey to those at Easter Island—all share...
Wild carnivorous animals emerge from a trap door into the Colosseum. ‘The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1883.

Complex Elevator and Trap Door System for Raising Wild Animals into the Colosseum Reconstructed

Many thousands of people suffered violent deaths in the gladiatorial contests of the Colosseum and other arenas of the ancient Roman empire. Innumerable animals killed and were killed in the blood-...
Ethiopian grave

Amazing jewels and artifacts found in 2,000-year-old Ethiopian grave reveal link to Rome

A major excavation carried out in the ancient city of Aksum in northern Ethiopia has yielded stunning treasures from both the Roman empire and Aksumite kingdom, revealing a connection with the Romans...
Cerridwen: Mother, Magician, and Crone from Old Welsh Mythology

Cerridwen: Mother, Magician, and Crone from Old Welsh Mythology

An enchantress from Welsh mythology, Cerridwen is regarded as a woman of incredible power and magic. She pervades Welsh and Irish culture as an emblem of wisdom and rebirth, remaining today as a...
A gold lunula from County Wicklow. The piece, dating from 2400 BC to 2000 BC, is in the  British Museum. Note the decorations etched into the ends or horns of the lunula.

Ancient Trade Route reveals Prehistoric Inhabitants of Ireland preferred Exotic Gold

A new study using scientific methods to examine where Irish gold came from has found that there may have been trade between Ireland and southwest England about 4,500 years ago. Scientists speculate...

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