Orkney is an archipelago in the northern isles of Scotland, annexed by Norwegian explorers in 875 AD and Christianized by King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway, (960s – 1000). It was from Orkney where many...
The oldest irrigation system in the world is in China. Called Dujiangyan, it is also the only surviving monumental non-dam irrigation system from the ancient past. A marvel of Chinese science and...
Wine wasn’t the only drink popular with ancient Greeks, according to a new report. The discovery of two Bronze Age breweries suggests that beer was a popular choice for alcohol too. Researcher Tania...
The Syro-Hittite temple of Ain Dara built in the 1 st millennium BC boasted intricate stone sculptures of lions and sphinxes, elaborately decorated walls with geometric designs, floral patterns,...
Researchers working at an archaeological site in the Netherlands have made a startling Stone Age discovery. They have unearthed the earliest known example of a baby’s grave in the Netherlands...
The popular image of the light-skinned European hunter-gatherer is not correct. DNA taken from a 7,000-year-old wisdom tooth found in Spain in 2006 shows a different story. A study of the tooth shows...
In a shocking example of destruction of a fragile archaeological site, a truck driver has been charged with careless driving and entering a prohibited zone after he accidentally drove his truck over...
Time travel is one of the most intriguing scenarios humans have ever fantasized about, but unfortunately for those curious minds and wild dreamers out there, many modern physicists claim that outside...
A total lunar eclipse will occur on Wednesday, January 31, and Australia is in the perfect position to see it. But it’s also being called many other lunar things, from a Blood Moon to a Blue Moon and...
Ruins of old mills dot the landscape of the Valle dei Mulini (‘Valley of the Mills’). Their crumbled walls are the remains of abandoned structures which once filled the valley with human life. Now,...
Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) have recently discovered a rare and richly decorated Arabic-inspired chess piece in Tønsberg. Arabic Inspired Chess...
In most parts of Europe, the medieval period ended around the fourteenth century, right around the time Giotto introduced perspective into the art of pre-Renaissance Italy. Yet for the twelfth...
The new TV series Britannia, which has won plaudits as heralding a new generation of British folk-horror, is clearly not intended to be strictly historical. Instead director Jez Butterworth gives us...
Did you know that Bristolians are entitled to live in Dublin thanks to an 846-year-old charter written by King Henry II which has never been revoked? In other words, people from Bristol could remain...
The probable marriage of Ankhesenamun, the widow of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, to the aged vizier Aye before she vanished from the records paved the way for the old family retainer to ascend the throne of...
The Prehistoric Native Americans of the Hopewell culture (Middle Woodland Period) constructed burial mounds filled with precious artifacts such as shells, copper and silver items, obtained from...
You might have noticed that Ursula, the antagonist in Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989), was a sea witch disguised as a half-human, half-octopus mythological hybrid creature . And, the antagonist of...
Ever since the discovery of KV62, the treasure-filled sepulcher of Tutankhamun, in 1922 – and even before that in 1907 when the mysterious Tomb 55 came to light – Amarna royals have always managed to...
Archaeologists have reportedly discovered a prehistoric, ochre crayon believed to have been used to draw on animal skins 10,000 years ago. The crayon was discovered near the site of an ancient lake...
Ninjas or shinobi ("to sneak”) have become kings of popular culture and their acrobatic trained-killer antics have been featured in hundreds of movies and television series. These deadly mercenary...
Crocodiles and snakes wind their ways across the walls. The creatures swim in a sea of stars, moons and geometric designs... Traditional art and architecture are alive in the village of Tiébélé in...
Cases of suicide are known to have occurred in ancient Rome, as they have been recorded by ancient writers. But there are many questions surrounding this subject that have yet to be fully answered. A...
Reports of archaeological finds from Oman, a middle-eastern country on the Arabian Peninsula, are rarely in the news. But this week, archaeologists in Oman have reported the unearthing of the largest...
The famous archaeological site of Teotihuacan may have served a different purpose for the Aztecs to what Spanish chroniclers claimed. A possibly deliberate change of the city’s name suggests that it...
