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Priapus fresco at the House of Vettii in Pompeii

Pompeii fresco depicts hapless Priapus with a painful condition

Maybe Priapus, the ancient Greek and Roman god with the enormous phallus, was not so lucky after all. An Italian doctor and researcher says one of the most famous paintings of the rustic divinity...
Ethiopian grave

Amazing jewels and artifacts found in 2,000-year-old Ethiopian grave reveal link to Rome

A major excavation carried out in the ancient city of Aksum in northern Ethiopia has yielded stunning treasures from both the Roman empire and Aksumite kingdom, revealing a connection with the Romans...
Colosseum

Ancient Roman Tunnel from Gladiator Training School to Colosseum set to be Revived

Authorities hope to preserve some ancient Roman history with the restoration of a tunnel that runs from a gladiator training school to the Colosseum, where brutal gladiatorial bouts took place. Parts...
‘The Elevation of the Great Elector into Olympus’. Ceiling painting (detail: Mercury), City Palace, Potsdam

Two thousand year old Mercury figurine found in Yorkshire

A metal detector enthusiast has discovered a 2000-year old figurine depicting the Roman god Mercury in a field near Selby, Yorkshire, UK. It is the 1,000 th officially recorded archaeological find of...
The treasure-hunters. Working with a metal detector.

Metal detectorist uncovers Roman treasure hoard in England

A person with a metal detector uncovered some beautiful items of a Roman period burial from around 200 AD in a field in England north of London. An archaeologist says the items were likely owned by a...
One of the many subterranean chambers discovered by Luciano Faggiano during his excavations under Lecce, Italy.

Man Intent on Fixing Toilet Uncovers Centuries-Old Subterranean World Beneath his Basement

An Italian man’s dream to open a modest restaurant became an archaeological obsession when he broke ground in order to repair a faulty toilet. The underground world filled with centuries of history...
Ancient Roman Curse Tablets

Ancient Roman Curse Tablets Invoke Goddess Sulis Minerva to Kill and Maim

Although the ancient Romans were the first people to have had a fire brigade, they did not have a police force (apart from a night-watch). Thus, victims of minor crimes such as petty theft had to...
The Colossal Head of Decebalus, King of the Dacians

The Colossal Head of Decebalus, King of the Dacians

In the heart of Rome stands a 38m tall column built in the 2 nd century AD. Carved in low relief spiralling around the monument are over 2600 figures, representing the combatants of wars fought in a...
Famous painting depicts the goddess Aphrodite-Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore.

Temple in ancient city of Odessus reveals Greek Goddess Aphrodite was worshipped by Thracians

A new look into a Thracian temple buried beneath Roman baths is challenging what researchers once thought about the worship of deities in the ancient city of Odessus, now the Bulgarian Black Sea city...
The Roman conquerors are waited for by the men of Albion.

Waves of invaders came to Britain but left few genes, new study says

People who came from prehistoric Germany, Belgium and France beginning about 11,000 years ago seem to have contributed the most genetic material to modern Caucasian Britons, according to a new study...
Roman Army & Chariot Experience, Hippodrome, Jerash, Jordan.

Oldest Roman Military Camp discovered in Italy was Built to Fend off Fierce Pirates

An ancient Roman fort has been discovered in Italy by researchers using advanced sensing technology. It is reportedly the oldest military camp built by the Roman army ever found, and the only Roman...
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...
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...
Roman bronze figure representing Silenus

Ancient Roman bronze figure of mythological Silenus found on Danish island

A small Roman bronze figure representing Silenus, the mythological companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus, has been found on the Danish island of Falster. The miniature bust dates back nearly...
1,600-year-old Roman child coffin

Archaeologists reveal contents of 1,600-year-old Roman child coffin

A young girl’s body buried in the English countryside 1,600 years ago was a major find in 2013 because, archaeologists say, children of her age may not have been considered to have achieved full...
Zenobia, the Warrior Queen of Palmyra, Syria

Zenobia, the Warrior Queen of Palmyra, Syria

In 30 BC, the last active Ptolemaic queen of Egypt, Cleopatra VII, was dead. According to the written sources, she committed suicide by holding a poisonous snake to her breast, so as to avoid being...
Roman concrete was used to construct the magnificent pantheon, which has endured for two millennia.

Researchers discover secret recipe of Roman concrete that allowed it to endure for over 2,000 years

Ancient Rome’s concrete recipe is an impressive feat in architectural history. Some Roman buildings are so spectacular in their construction and beauty that modern builders would never attempt...
Coligny Calendar:  The 1,800-Year-Old Lunisolar calendar banned by the Romans

Coligny Calendar: The 1,800-Year-Old Lunisolar calendar banned by the Romans

In 1897, the Gaulish Coligny Calendar was discovered in Coligny, Ain, France. The bronze calendar was found broken into 73 pieces, which together form a 5 foot wide, 3.5 foot high bronze tablet. When...
Shackled adult and child skeletons unearthed in ancient Roman necropolis in France

Shackled adult and child skeletons unearthed in ancient Roman necropolis in France

An archaeological team in France has unearthed a Gallo-Roman necropolis in Saintes, France, in which the remains of a group of adults and a child were found with iron shackles around their wrists,...
Enormous 2,300-year-old Roman water basin unearthed in the heart of Rome

Enormous 2,300-year-old Roman water basin unearthed in the heart of Rome

A very large Roman water basin that once held more than four million liters of water has been discovered 20 meters (65 ft) below street level in the heart of Rome. Archaeologists are saying it is the...
Infant skeleton found beneath Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon, Israel

The discovery of a mass baby grave under Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon, Israel

Along the shores of Israel's Mediterranean coast, in the ancient seaport of Ashkelon, archaeologist Ross Voss made a gruesome find. While exploring one of the city’s sewers, he discovered a large...
Largest known megalithic block from antiquity revealed at Baalbek

Largest known megalithic block from antiquity revealed at Baalbek

A new analysis conducted by the German Archaeological Institute at the ancient stone quarry of Baalbek/Ancient Heliopolis, in Lebanon, has calculated the size and weight of an enormous monolith, and...
Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends

The masterful works of ancient sculptor Phidias

Phidias was a master sculptor in ancient Greece. Very little is known of his life, but his accomplishments are famous throughout the world. Phidias worked masterfully with bronze and other materials...
Education in Ancient Egypt

2,000-year-old youth organization was established in Roman-occupied Egypt

In Roman Egypt, 14-year-old boys were enrolled in a youth organization in order to learn to be good citizens. So says social historian and historian of ideas Ville Vuolanto, University of Oslo, who...

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