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Typical fragment of a wall, Lelu Ruins, Kosrae

Coral Tombs Housed Royal Micronesians 700 years ago

Centuries ago on the island of Kosrae in the central Pacific Ocean, islanders cleaned their deceased kings’ bodies, anointed them and then buried them in temporary coral tombs for three months only...
Two 3,500-year-old tombs adorned with vivid paintings unearthed in Egypt

Two 3,500-year-old tombs adorned with vivid paintings unearthed in Egypt

The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) and the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt have announced the discovery of two private 18 th Dynasty tombs with beautifully painted walls near Luxor in...
Model of a Neolithic flint mine

Miners in Iberia 5,300 years ago had high social status and rich burials

Stone Age Iberian miners of both sexes 5,300 to 4,300 years ago are believed to have had important status in their community near what is now Barcelona, Spain, as some of their dead were entombed in...
Forensic facial reconstruction of Homo erectus pekinensis, commonly known at Peking Man.

Tooth from prehistoric woman reveals life and times of Peking Man

A single tooth from a rare and important shipment of fossil finds – forgotten for decades in an unopened box in museum storage – has been rediscovered, and it is giving experts new knowledge about...
From the Gisla Saga

The Gisla Saga: an Icelandic Tale of Love, Family, and Revenge

Considered an outlaw saga, the Gisla Saga survives in thirty-three manuscripts, first written in the 13 th century. It is notable for its psychological treatment of characters and its blatant...
Vast ancient underground city beneath Cappadocia

Vast ancient underground city beneath Cappadocia being excavated

The newly-discovered subterranean city beneath Nevşehir in Turkey is mysterious, intriguing, and rich with history. The caves, tunnels, hidden churches, and escape galleries, which were uncovered...
Model Kate Keown portraying Beatrice Cenci. 1968.

The Spirit of Beatrice Cenci - A Tale of Terrible Injustice in Ancient Rome

Just a stone’s throw away from St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City is the Ponte Sant’Angelo. Today, this bridge is one of the famous tourist attractions in the city of Rome. Yet, this bridge hides...
The head of an ancient Chinchorro mummy from northern Peru

7,000-year-old Chinchorro mummies are turning gelatinous

The Chinchorro mummies of Chile survived more than 7,065 years without deteriorating until about 10 years ago, when moisture began to allow bacterial growth that is making them turn gelatinous and...
Smoothed chambers and tunnels through salt run deep into the vast Khewra Salt Mines.

The enormous and ancient Salt Mines of Khewra, said to be found by horse of Alexander the Great

It is perhaps due to the importance of salt that one of the biggest salt mines in the world is associated with one of the greatest conquerors of the ancient world. Cheap and easily available, s alt...
A painting depicting the nomadic Xiongnu people of Mongolia.

The Prolific Legacies of Ancient Conquerors, 11 Men Shaped Asian Genetics

Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan was renowned for his domination of ancient Asia, and genetic studies have indicated that his powerful reach extends into modern times, as his DNA is thought to be...
The ancient Mexican Codex Borgia of the Aztecs, who came after the Olmecs but who also revered corn, shows Quetzalcóatl

Possible sacred maize object found in stream at Olmec site

Archaeologists have found an artifact made of jadeite at an Olmec site in Mexico that they think represents a cob of corn and that may have been offered to the gods. Corn was a vitally important crop...
One of the giants in St Mary's church, Aldworth

The Life and Legend of the Aldworth Giants

In the simple, tiny church of St. Mary, Aldworth there lie the nine stone statues of what have become known as the “Aldworth Giants,” a name bestowed upon them because all are over 7 feet tall and...
Silver coins and other ‘buried treasure’ were located by explorers in a cave in northern Israel. Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority

Explorers find Hidden Treasure in Cave – Coins and Jewelry Dating to Alexander the Great

Hidden treasure found by amateur explorers in a cave is being described as one of the most important discoveries in northern Israel in recent years. Members of the Israeli Caving Club have uncovered...
Sobeknefru, Powerful Pharaoh and Queen of the Dragon Court

Sobeknefru, Powerful Pharaoh and Queen of the Dragon Court

Named after the crocodile God Sobek, Sobeknefru, whose name means ‘she who shows the beauty of Sobek’, succeeded her brother to the throne of Egypt. At the time she came to power, the cult of Sobek...
Stone tool unearthed in Oregon

Stone tool unearthed in Oregon may date back 15,800 years or more

A stone tool believed to be 15,800 years old or older and with bison blood on it, has been excavated from deep under the earth’s surface in Oregon, archaeologists announced. If the scraper, made from...
Prehistoric People

Scant Evidence that Early Prehistoric People were Warlike, Anthropologist claims

The earlier Stone Age seems to have been a time of peace and not war, says an anthropologist specializing in war who has studied the published work of dozens of researchers. Unfortunately for many...
View of Rich Hill (Cerro Rico).

Mountains of Silver: Tiny Bolivian village of Potosi was once the largest industrial mining complex in the world

Empires may rise and fall, but the impact they have on their conquered subjects and the future may continue beyond their passing, for better or for worse. The Spanish Empire, which began in the 15 th...
Part of the Basilica Cistern, near the Hagia Sophia.

The Underground World of the Hagia Sophia

For over a thousand years until its fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the city of Constantinople was one of the greatest urban centres in the Christian world. At the heart of this city was the Hagia...
Rostam the hero fighting the Dragon in the Seven Quests of Rostam. Iranian miniature illustration from Shahnameh

The Longest Poem Ever Written: Shahnameh – The Epic Book of Kings

In 977 AD, a Persian poet named Ferdowsi began on a grandiose poetic journey that would take him 33 years to complete. He used ancient Persian tales which had been told from generation to generation...
The Temple of Mars Ultor, constructed under Caesar Augustus in Rome’s Forum of Augustus

Researcher won’t render unto Caesar his claim of transforming Rome to marble

It turns out Caesar Augustus was an undeserving braggart. He claimed, “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” But new research by a university professor has found that only a...
The 2.8 million-year-old fossilized jawbone with small teeth which may be a transitional fossil between primitive and modern man

Jawbone found in Ethiopia set to rewrite history, push back origins of humans

An extraordinary fossil find in the desert of Ethiopia is pushing back the dawn of humankind by approximately half a million years, and rewriting what we know about the evolutionary branching that...
Reconstructed Temple of the Night Sun in Mortuary of Queen Hatshepsut

Reconstructed Temple of the Night Sun in Mortuary of Queen Hatshepsut opens to the public

More than 1.2 million rotations of the Earth on its axis since her death, Queen Hatepshut has not been eradicated from memory by her ancient successors. Far from it. Still today, nearly 3,500 years...
A statue of a Norse valkyrie, or battle maiden, on a horse in a park in Copenhagen, Denmark

Neo-pagans are building a temple to practice the ancient Norse religion

In many ways, the old Norse beliefs of Scandinavia are strange and wonderful. The old pagan religion had gods and goddesses of music and fertility, nature deities, elves, dwarves, giants, magical...
Monumental stone face at Bayon Temple, Cambodia.

Built by Kings, the Ancient Bayon Temple of Cambodia Mixes Spirituality, History and Symbolism

The 12 th century is generally regarded as a period of European decline. In other parts of the world, however, this was certainly not the case. In South East Asia, the Khmer Empire was enjoying its...

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