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Other Artifacts

Other Artifacts covers many items which have been recovered from the past and give us insights into ancient human worlds. From loaded Roman dice to the Shroud of Turin, these items help tell the stories of the varied culture and everyday lives of our ancestors. 

Drawing of an obelisk.
3 September, 2017 - 23:05 Caleb Strom

Constructing an Obelisk: How the True Rocks of Eternity were Made

Since Classical antiquity, the West has had a fascination with ancient Egypt. Even Roman tourists would regularly visit Egypt in droves and all but one of the Egyptian obelisks were removed at some...
The head of the unknown ancient Egyptian pharaoh found at Hazor in Israel.
1 September, 2017 - 18:48 Alicia McDermott

Why Was This Sculpture of a Forgotten Pharaoh First Transported to Israel and Ultimately Smashed?

With a close-fitting, curled cap wig topped with a solar cobra, the head of a sculpture found in Israel in 1995 almost certainly depicts an ancient king of Egypt. But researchers are still trying to...
Detail of Alexandre Cabanel’s ‘The Birth Of Venus.’
31 August, 2017 - 02:00 johnblack

Linking the Planets and Human Life: Venus Calendars Helped Track Pregnancy in Neolithic Greece

Back in 4000 BC women of the ancient Aegean civilization may have used a calendar tracking the movement of the planet Venus to follow their pregnancy milestones. This is an intriguing explanation for...
A chunk came out of the coffin after visitors put a child inside it Image
26 August, 2017 - 02:00 Gary Manners

No, It’s Not a Cot: 13th Century Coffin Smashed in Photo Attempt at Priory Museum

In the UK, some careless and one might say foolhardy visitors to the Prittlewell Priory Museum in Southend, Essex caused damage to an 800-year-old stone sarcophagus when they placed their child into...
Example of Roman coins from a hoard at Llanvaches, Monmouthshire, Wales in 2006. Roman coins have been found in a few locations across Scandinavia as well.
22 August, 2017 - 01:56 Riley Winters

Making Money Divine: Roman Imperial Coins had a Unique Value in Scandinavian Cultures

"My fleet sailed from the mouth of the Rhine eastward as far as the lands of the Cimbri to which, up to that time, no Roman had ever penetrated either by land or by sea, and the Cimbri and Charydes...
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War that took place on 2 August 216 BC in Apulia, in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage, under Hannibal, surrounded and decisively defeated a larger army of the Roman Republic
16 August, 2017 - 13:58 Theodoros Karasavvas

Analysis of Roman Coins Proves Roman Empire Got Rich on Iberian Silver

An analysis of Roman coins has revealed information about the defeat of the Carthaginian General Hannibal and the rise of the Roman Empire . The scientists who examined them suggest that the defeat...
Clockwise: Rhodesia Man (YouTube Screenshot), H. H. Nininger (Fair Use), Auroch skull (Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients), Salzburg Cube (Public Domain),Roman Nails (CC BY-SA 2.0)
15 August, 2017 - 13:58 Sam Bostrom

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 5

This series has highlighted many real modern world phenomena that don’t quite fit the conventional wisdom regarding the ancient history of the world as we think we know it. In this section, we will...
Loutrophorai: Greek, Attica, c.440BC, (Penn Valley); Greek, Classical Period, 450–425 BC (MFA);Greek, South Italian, Early Hellenistic Period c.320–310 BC
15 August, 2017 - 02:01 Veronica Parkes

From Cremated Ashes to Holy Water for a Bride’s Ritual Bath, The Loutrophoros Was No Ordinary Vase

A loutrophoros is a distinctive type of Greek pottery characterized by an elongated neck with two handles. It is a specific type of amphora , which was a type of Greek container used as early as the...
The theatre at Aspendos, Turkey is famous for its magnificent acoustics. Even the slightest sound made at the center of the orchestra can be easily heard as far as the upper most galleries. It is the best preserved and most complete example of a Roman theatre.
13 August, 2017 - 01:53 ancient-origins

Ancient Acoustic Artifacts and Communication with the Gods

In this article, I will introduce the subject of archaeoacoustics and ancient “musical instruments”. As we will see, these can be used in conjunction with a number of ancient sites from around the...
Maori Warrior
11 August, 2017 - 22:54 Theodoros Karasavvas

Maori Artifacts Indicate Early Polynesian Settlement on New Zealand Island

Live Science reports that a team of archaeologists in New Zealand has been untangling the mysteries of an early Polynesian settlement near the northern tip of the islands that could have been...
Detail of portrait from 1807 showing a young man in ‘sunglasses.’
11 August, 2017 - 13:58 Riley Winters

Sunglasses: A History of Protective, Stylish, and Popular Eyewear

I never leave my house without a pair of sunglasses. Usually, there are also pairs in my purse, in my car, and in a coat that I keep in the trunk. In fact, I am both proud and ashamed to admit that I...
Picture of a reed boat at the Floating Islands, on Lake Titicaca.
6 August, 2017 - 01:50 garydavid

The Sacred Meaning of the Reed: From Houses and Boats to Rituals, Ceremonies and Portals

Many cultures around the world either place a special importance on the hollow-stemmed reed plant or recognize a certain “place of the reeds” within their territory. Legends of the Hopi tribe in...
Reconstruction of the Palace at Knossos
5 August, 2017 - 01:59 Riley Winters

A Discovery That Shook the Archaeological World: Sir Arthur Evans and the Unveiling of Knossos

"A gentleman and a scholar." There are few such men who fit this description from the "archaeological" community of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There were certainly gentlemen and scholars...
A globe from 1504 that may be the world's oldest depicting the New World is engraved on ostrich egg halves in this photo from the Washington Map Society
1 August, 2017 - 01:48 aprilholloway

Globe on an Ostrich Egg is World’s Oldest Depiction of the New World

An elaborately carved globe made from joining the lower halves of two ostrich eggs is the oldest known depiction of the New World. The 16th century globe had become lost to the pages of history but...
The Stone of Scone.
29 July, 2017 - 01:54 Riley Winters

The Voice is Mightier than the Sword: The Stone of Scone That Roared with Power

"Unless the fates be faulty grown And prophet’s voice be vain Where’er is found this sacred stone The Scottish race shall reign." -translated by Sir Walter Scott, 16th century A stone valued more for...
Colossi of Memnon, guarding the passage to Theban Necropolis; west-bank's section of Luxor, Egypt.
25 July, 2017 - 19:00 Ahmed Osman

Memnon’s Musical Statues: The Long-Standing Guardians of Amenhotep III’s Temple That Found a Voice

The most important statues in Egypt, after the Giza Sphinx, are the two Colossi of Memnon in Western Luxor. The two gigantic statues, about 3500 years old, are also known as the musical statues...
Antarctica.
22 July, 2017 - 19:08 ancient-origins

Mysterious Map Emerges at the Dawn of the Egyptian Civilization and Depicts Antarctica Without Ice – Who Made it?

On a chilly winter day in 1929, Halil Edhem, the Director of Turkey's National Museum, was hunched over his solitary task of classifying documents. He pulled towards him a map drawn on Roe deer skin...
Removing the lid of Roman sarcophagus found in Borough Market, London
19 July, 2017 - 23:02 Theodoros Karasavvas

Ancient Roman Sarcophagus of Great Archaeological Value Discovered in Central London

A remarkably rare Roman sarcophagus has been discovered at an ancient burial site in the Borough area of London, England. The stone coffin, has been described by experts as “the find of a lifetime”,...
Could the Egyptian Ankh Symbol Be Spawned of the Viscera of Bulls?
18 July, 2017 - 18:46 Caleb Strom

Could the Egyptian Ankh Symbol Be Spawned of the Viscera of Bulls?

The ankh symbol has for centuries been a symbol of eternal life, the universe, the divine, and other religious and metaphysical ideas. It was originally used as a symbol in ancient Egypt to represent...
The Ark Passes Over the Jordan, James Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836 - 1902)
15 July, 2017 - 14:02 ralph ellis

Could the Ark Described at Edessa Be the Biblical Ark of the Covenant?

The year was 165 AD, and the location was the Edessan necropolis at Sogmatar, in what was then northern Syria. In this year King Wa'el of Edessa had an inscription carved upon the sacred hill of...
Ruins of Pompeii seen from the above with a drone, with the Vesuvius in the background
10 July, 2017 - 01:57 aprilholloway

A Diet of Delicacies for the People of Pompeii Included Giraffe and Sea Urchin

Several years ago, surprising discoveries were made in a study , which drew on the findings of a sizable excavation of an area of Pompeii. The study, which was presented to the Archaeological...
Two views of the Parade Armor of Henry II of France.
23 June, 2017 - 14:02 dhwty

Renaissance Aesthetics at its Finest: The Exquisite Parade Armor of Henry II of France

The crowded, dusty square was full of excitement. Even the heat and the cramped space served as no deterrent to the people who continued trying to push their way into the already full meeting place...
Stone head of lord Buddha photographed during a dive at the Temple, near Pemuteran, Bali
21 June, 2017 - 18:49 dhwty

The Underwater Temple Garden: A Unique Fusion of Bouyancy and Enlightenment

The Underwater Temple Garden is a unique dive site located in Bali, Indonesia. This underwater garden was created in recent years, and contains a Balinese Hindu temple compound. A photo of the site...
Is this ‘Temple of Fertility’ in Peru Really a Giant Collection of Stone Penises, or is it a Phallic Fallacy
20 June, 2017 - 02:03 Theodoros Karasavvas

Is this ‘Temple of Fertility’ in Peru Really a Giant Collection of Stone Penises, or is it a Phallic Fallacy?

The megalithic Fertility Temple also known as “Chucuito” on the edge of Lake Titicaca in Peru is special and at the same time controversial basically for a single reason: its “sexuality”. Whether the...

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