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Ancient Botanical medicine involved smell and taste. Source: Thomas Mucha/Adobe Stock

Ancient Botanical Medicine Was Driven By Taste and Smell, Study Finds

With the advent of modern medicine, it’s hard to imagine the role taste had in the preparation of ancient botanical remedies. In layman terms, taste and flavor had a huge role to play in their...
Loarre Castle. Source: FJ / Adobe Stock

The Formidable Castle of Loarre, Jewel of Aragon

Spain has a strong medieval heritage. Specifically, its northern region of Aragon is strongly rooted in the early origins of a modern and unified Spanish nation. As a vestige of that glorious...
Researcher holding the bronze Irulegi hand inscribed in Vasconic script. Source: Aiestaran, M. et. al / Antiquity Publications Ltd

Bronze Hand Inscribed with Rare Vasconic Script Linked With Basque Found in Spain

A stunningly rare artifact found at an Iron Age site in Spain contains an example of the equally rare ancient Vasconic script. Dating to the first century BC, the artifact in question is a flattened...
Archaeologists survey the area near Trafalgar Square, London.        Source: © Archaeology South-East

Saxon ‘London’ Was Bigger Than Previously Thought

In a remarkable archaeological endeavor, the team from Archaeology South-East, a division of the UCL Institute of Archaeology, has made groundbreaking discoveries beneath the National Gallery at the...
An illustration of William Captain Kidd relaxing on the deck. Source: Public Domain

Bizarre Pirate Traditions Most People Don't Know About (Video)

Pirate culture , often portrayed as a romanticized tale of swashbuckling adventure, actually harbored numerous peculiar traditions. These customs, largely overlooked in popular depictions, reveal a...
Centauromachy - Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs by Luca Giordano, The Hermitage. Source: Public Domain

Centauromachy - the Fabled Clash Between Lapiths and Centaurs

Centauromachy is a unique and captivating tale woven into the complex tapestry of Ancient Greek mythology. It stands as a timeless narrative packed with themes of conflict, ancient civilizations, and...
Death of Semele, caused by the Theophany of Zeus without a mortal disguise, by Peter Paul Rubens (1640) (Public Domain)

Ancient Greek Theophanies, Ghosts And Hallucinations

Gods and goddesses revealed themselves rather remarkably often to the privileged and chosen ancient Greeks, even if it was in disguise to hide their blinding brilliance. Like English, Greek did not...
Artist's impression of Teuta, Queen of the Illyrian Ardiaei tribe, leads a pirate expedition against Rome. According to Illyrian laws, piracy was a legitimate trade, which led to war against the Roman Republic, who did not approve. Source: © The Creative Assembly / SEGA from Total War.

Piracy in the Ancient Mediterranean and the Notorious Cilicians

Piracy (in its maritime context) is thought to have existed ever since the seas were used by merchants as trade routes. The Mediterranean Sea was no exception, and piracy has been notorious in this...
The tonsure of King Wamba, by Joan Brull Vinyoles circa 1894. Source: Public domain

King Wamba Lost the Throne When He Unwittingly Underwent a Tonsure

Within ancient history, tales of kings and rulers often contain unexpected twists and turns. Enter Wamba, the 7th century King of the Visigoths, whose reign is shrouded in a peculiar legend regarding...
A tribe of human ancestors, Homo erectus, wanders through the savannah past mammoth skeletons. Source: ratpack223/Adobe Stock)

The Risky Paleo Diets of Our Ancestors (Video)

The excavation of KNM-ER 1808, a Homo erectus specimen, in Kenya unearthed insights into the perilous dietary choices of our ancestors. The skeletal analysis revealed intriguing anomalies, such as...
Boleslaw the Brave Entering Kiev, by Piotr Michalowski. Boleslaw was crowned the first king of Poland in 1025 AD. Source: Piotr Michałowski / CC BY-SA 4.0

The History of the Piast Dynasty, the First Rulers of Poland

Throughout history, Poland—in its various forms and sizes—was always a powerful and dominant Slavic nation. However, it needed strong and competent rulers in order to really thrive and emerge as the...
Images of the exploration of the Bronze Age copper ingot shipwreck, at the Bay of Antalya. Source: Mateusz Popek/ Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń

World's Oldest Copper Haulage Shipwreck Redefines ‘Wreck’

Scientists from the Center of Underwater Archaeology at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland, have examined what is believed to be the world's oldest known shipwreck used for transporting...
An artist’s imaginary depiction of a pharaoh burning herbs in a ritual. Source: Fair use

Dealing in the Past: How Did Ancient Egyptians Get Nicotine and Cocaine?

The discovery of traces of nicotine and cocaine within 3,000-year-old human remains, which came to be known as Egypt’s cocaine mummies, raised curious questions amongst historians. Challenging...
Athelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert, an illustration in a manuscript of Bede's Life of Saint Cuthbert, probably presented to the saint's shrine in Chester-le-Street by Athelstan when he visited the shrine on his journey to Scotland in 934. It is the oldest surviving portrait of an English king and the manuscript is the oldest surviving made for an English king, circa 930 AD. Source: Public Domain

Æthelstan: The First King of the English (Video)

Æthelstan , grandson of Alfred the Great, emerged as the inaugural English king in 925, marking the pinnacle of Anglo-Saxon consolidation. Following Alfred's reign of turmoil, Æthelstan embarked on a...
Flint dagger found at the Bigarello Copper Age necropolis site in Lombardy, Italy	Source: YouTube Screenshot/ArchaeoReporter

Early Copper Age Tombs Unearthed From Italian City

Archaeologists in Italy are celebrating the excavation of a Copper Age burial site near the city of Mantua. Not only are the finely crafted blades and items of jewelry found there revealing ancient...
Artifacts and medallion of Emperor Caracalla found in the Roman tombs in Bulgaria. Source: Veliko Tarnovo History Museum

Rare Medallion of Emperor Caracalla Among Valuable Finds from Nova Varbovka

The Veliko Tarnovo Regional History Museum has presented to the media the valuable finds from the Roman graves discovered last December near the village of Nova Varbovka in Strazig. The rich grave...
Sculpture details of classic male form in Venice, Italy. Source: Andrew Deer/Adobe Stock

A Brief History of Homosexuality in Rome (Video)

Homosexuality in ancient Rome was a multifaceted aspect of society, often overshadowed in historical narratives. From prominent figures like Julius Caesar to Emperor Nero, instances of same-sex...
Representative image of the impact of ancient retrovirus on evolution. Source: alexkich / Adobe Stock

Brain’s Evolutionary Explosion Linked to Ancient Retrovirus Infection

A new study has unraveled a mystery that is key to understanding the course of human and animal evolution. A team of genetic researchers from Altos Labs at the Cambridge Institute of Science in the...
Medieval Mass battle ( AIGen/ Adobe Stock)

Grand Alliances: The Anglo-French War 1294 – 1303

In 1294, after almost 30 years of peace, England and France went to war. This sowed the seeds of the conflict known as the Hundred Years War, the era of the longbow and the famous Battles of Crécy...
Statue of Robin Hood.  Source: Lucian Milasan/Adobe Stock

Secrets of Sherwood: Was Robin Hood a Real Person? (Video)

The quest to ascertain the historical authenticity of Robin Hood, the legendary outlaw of English folklore, is akin to untangling a web of historical fragments and oral traditions. The historical...
Dr Valentina Rossi of University College Cork, Ireland, who led the research team which discovered that a 280-million-year-old lizard fossil is, in part, a forgery. Source: Zixiao Yang/University College Cork

The Oldest Fossil Reptile from the Alps is Declared an Historic Forgery

A 280-million-year-old fossil that has baffled researchers for decades has been shown to be, in part, a forgery following new examination of the remnants. The discovery has led the team headed by Dr...
Monument of Prince Yaroslav the Wise holding the cathedral of St. Sophia, at the entrance to the Golden Gate of Kiev, Ukraine. Source: lesniewski/Adobe Stock

Yaroslav the Wise, One of the Noblest Rurikid Monarchs

The early medieval nation of Kievan Rus’ emerged from the early Viking forays into the lands of the Eastern Slavic tribes. It quickly rose as a powerful state that was home to many Finnic, Slavic,...
Painting by Kobayashi Eitaku depicting Sugawara no Michizane reborn as the Tenjin.             Source: Public Domain

Tenjin: How to Become a God in Classical Japan (Video)

In classical Japan, Sugawara no Michizane, later known as Tenjin, rose from humble beginnings to become a revered figure. Born in 845 AD during the Heian Era into a scholarly family, he excelled in...
Archaeologists discovered certain motifs in Patagonia, Argentina, dating back more than 8,000 years ago.	Source: Guadalupe Romero Villa/ Science Advances

Patagonia Rock Art Reveals Ancient Messages Transmitted Across Generations

Cave painting in the southern areas of South America may have started 8,200 years ago, several millennia earlier than previously thought. The cave art, located in Patagonia, Argentina, was thought to...

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