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Ancient relief carving depicting drug use

Archaeological study explores drug-taking and altered states in prehistory

Neanderthals on speed 60,000 years ago; Paleolithic art inspired by psilocybin or Amanita muscaria mushroom trips; and alcohol-fueled religious worship all over the world down through the ages –...
Abramelin the Mage

The Book of Abramelin the Mage, Esoteric Grimoire of Kabbalistic Knowledge

Western esoteric thought has its roots in the Late Antique period in the Eastern Mediterranean. This was an area of the world where east met west. Consequently, this was also an area where the...
The wrecking of the White Ship

Tragic Accident or Mass Murder? The Sinking of the White Ship leads to Disaster for England

Many year ago, before modern air travel, the only way to travel across large bodies of water was by ship. Many passengers would crowd onto a large vessel for a lengthy journey to their destination...
James Balme found this stone on sale as a garden ornament in England

Ancient stone with strange carvings, possibly Anglo-Saxon, turns up in garden shop

A stone with mysterious carvings, possibly dating from the Anglo-Saxon or Viking era, had been on sale as a garden ornament when television host and archaeologist James Balme bought it recently,...
Newly-discovered Mycenaean tomb near Amfissa, Greece

3,300-year-old Mycenaean tomb and precious artifacts found in Central Greece

Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a vaulted Mycenaean tomb near Amfissa, central Greece, containing human remains and a hoard of treasures. The 3,300-year-old tomb is the first of its...
The sun strikes the exact center of the figure at right at noon on the winter solstice.

A thousand years ago, Native Americans aligned drawings with solstice sun

Hundreds of years ago, Native Americans in what is now West Texas drew more than a thousand glyphs in red pigment on rocks on a cliff. Every winter solstice at noon, the sun strikes the center of one...
An Egyptian mummy

Ancient Egyptian mummies found floating in sewage water in Egypt

Several mummies complete with sarcophagi were retrieved from dirty water where they’d been found floating near El Minya, Egypt. According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, two...

Archaeologists Date Prehistoric Temples in Hawaii to establish origins of First Kingdom

The prehistoric religious temples of Hawaii are being dated by researchers with the help of small sea creatures. Indigenous temples of Hawaii, known as heiau , can be found across the islands. Dr...
The sun rises behind the Taj Mahal

Garden and pavilions of the Taj Mahal found to align with rays of the sun

New research has revealed that the gardens of the Taj Mahal, and the structures within it, align with the rising and setting sun during the summer and winter solstices. While the reason for...
Skull of male with trepanation, who had a hereditary deformation of the skull

New study reveals trepanation surgery in ancient Siberia

Russian scientists are examining ancient human skulls and testing bronze tools on a modern skull to see how doctors in Siberia more than 2,000 years ago performed brain surgery on three adults. It is...
Rare ritual jars found buried under ancient ruins in Japan

Rare ritual jars found buried under ancient ruins in Japan intended to purify, bring eternal youth

Japanese archaeologists have made a surprising discovery beneath ancient ruins in Japan. An arrangement of coin-filled clay pots aligned to the cardinal directions have been found buried beneath the...
Castaway survivor

How Castaway Survivor Alexander Selkirk Inspired the Tale of Robinson Crusoe

Many people would be familiar with the novel “ Robinson Crusoe” , a story written by the 17 th /18 th century English writer, Daniel Defoe. In the novel, the eponymous character is said to have been...
The Rape of the Sabine Women by Pietro da Cortona

The Rape of the Sabine Women

According to tradition, the city of Rome was founded in the 8 th century B.C. by Romulus. The Roman historian Livy wrote that the city of Rome grew strong quickly, and was able to defend itself...
Marco Polo travelling, Miniature from the Book "The Travels of Marco Polo"

The Life and Adventures of Marco Polo

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, a stately pleasure-dome decree…" Thus begins one of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s three great poems, the unfinished “ Kubla Khan” . According to the poet, this poem was...
New tattoos on 5,300-year-old Otzi the Iceman mummy

Scientists discover new tattoos on 5,300-year-old Otzi the Iceman mummy

Scientists have discovered four more tattooed lines on ‘Ötzi the Iceman’, a 5,300-year-old mummy, bringing the total number of tattoos to 61. Researchers are still divided over whether the tattoos...
One of the fifteen gateways of ancient Nineveh. A reconstruction was begun in the 1960s by Iraqis, but was not completed. The lower portions of the stone retaining wall are original.

Tragedy as militants bomb 2,700-year-old Nineveh Wall in Iraq

Militants of the Islamic State have destroyed a large portion of the ancient Nineveh wall in Mosul, which dates back some 2,700 years. The tragic loss adds to a series of archaeological, historical,...
Bronze Age Golden Hat

The Mystery of the Four Golden Hats of the Bronze Age

The relics and artifacts uncovered throughout the centuries have provided an immense knowledge base about how our ancient ancestors lived, what they believed in, and what skills they had...
Proto-cuneiform recording the allocation of beer, probably from southern Iraq, Late Prehistoric period, about 3100-3000 BC

Archaeologist attempts to revive lost alcoholic beverages from ancient recipes and residues

An archaeologist working with a brewery is recreating ancient beers from around the world, including Turkey, Egypt, Italy, Denmark, Honduras and China. Alcohol archaeologist Patrick McGovern thinks...
Lithograph of Pervuian elongated skulls by J. Basire, 1842, and a Peruvian landscape. (Public Domain/Deriv)

Peruvian child mummy with elongated skull undergoes analysis

Scientists know little about a pre-Columbian child mummy of Peru on display in Ohio, but that may soon change as the body of the toddler has just undergone CT scans at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital...
An archaeologist at work in a Roman-era necropolis in Poland

Scientists find huge Roman-era burial site in Poland included two 'Princely Graves'

Archaeologists are working in a huge necropolis in Poland where remains of people who lived from about 100 to 400 A.D. are buried. They have found two gigantic tombs that they call “princely graves...
50,000-year-old Skull

50,000-year-old Skull May Show Human-Neanderthal Hybrids Originated in Levant, not Europe as Thought

A 55,000-year-old skull found at Manot Cave in northern Israel is shedding light on the origins and migrations of ancient humanity. The skull, suggested to be evidence of a pairing between...
Drawing of a Green Man. Beham, (Hans) Sebald, 1500-1550

Unraveling the Nature of the Green Man, Part 2: How a Pre-Christian Icon came to be found in Christian Monuments

One of the most important quandaries to discuss in relation to the Green Man, a representation of a face surrounded by foliage and greenery, is how he came to grace the interiors and exteriors of...
Statue of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan Not the Only Genes in Town - Genetic Founding Fathers of Asia were Mystery Men

Genghis Khan was not just an infamously ruthless warrior, and founder of the largest contiguous empire in history, but was also a prolific father as well, siring so many children that now 0.5 percent...
The Green Man Legend

Unraveling the Nature and Identity of the Green Man

An enigma spanning thousands of years, the Green Man is a symbol of mysterious origin and history. Permeating various religious faiths and cultures, the Green Man has survived countless...

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