Piracy is a practice that can be dated all the way back to ancient times. In the Mediterranean, pirates were not a major threat as long as they could be kept in check, usually by a strong navy. By...
The Capitoline Triad was a trio of gods worshiped by the ancient Romans. This trio consisted of a male deity – Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon and head of the triad, and two female...
In the beginning, there was only dirt and mud and twigs. Then came the legendary hero Aeneas, and from him descended the sons of Rhea Silva and Mars, the god of war. These sons were Romulus and Remus...
During the time of the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic, Roman society was divided between two important classes – the patricians and the plebeians. Originally, the patricians were part of the...
Breastfeeding is an infant feeding practice in which a child is fed breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding could be performed by the mother herself or by a wet nurse. Evidence of...
For much of human history, pregnancy and childbirth was an extremely dangerous period in a woman’s life. It was often believed that the expectant mother and her baby were vulnerable to malevolent...
Courtship rituals have existed as long as the concept of romantic love. Such rituals exist to allow couples to get to know each other, and to allow an intimate relationship to develop. In modern,...
Eve MacDonald / The Conversation One of the great things about computer games is that anything is possible in the almost endless array of situations on offer, whether they are realistic or fantasy...
The Sack of Rome in 410 AD by the Visigoths is often regarded as an event that marked the beginning of the end of the Western Roman Empire. The man responsible for the second sacking of Rome (the...
In the Eternal City every monument tells a story. The Colosseum, funded from the sack of Jerusalem, stands as a potent symbol of Rome’s imperial might and, to many, its savagery. The architecturally...
The Praetorian Guard is said to be one of the most prestigious military units in the ancient world, and is arguably one of the most well-known today. These elite soldiers are best known for serving...
In today’s society, glass is a material that is easily available. Due to mass production, glass objects are considered common and can be found everywhere. In the ancient world, however, glass-making...
Described as “fierce, mightily cruel, and savage, pestilent, hostile, sombre, truculent, given to outrage, pestilent and untrustworthy, fickle and lawless” by his contemporaries, Hastein was one of...
Two thousand years ago the Mediterranean Sea was a haven for two species of whale which have since virtually disappeared from the North Atlantic, a new study analyzing ancient bones suggests. The...
Prior to the adoption of Christianity as its official religion at the end of the 3 rd century AD, the Roman Empire’s religious policy was one of tolerance. Along with the official Roman religion,...
The amphitheatre is one of the most iconic architectural contributions of ancient Rome. The most famous example of such a structure is the Colosseum in Rome, where brutal gladiatorial battles took...
Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known in history as Pliny the Elder, was an influential administrator, officer, and author during his life. Although he was only fifty-six years old at the time of his...
This week, Caesarea National Park came a step closer to its goal of rivaling Jerusalem as the top tourist destination in Israel. After a $27.5 million investment plan from the Edmond de Rothschild...
An intact tomb containing what seems to be a family has been found in Rome during a construction project. Its unusual contents will provide insight into Roman burial rites and also the environment in...
Experts at the Louvre Museum in Paris have made a rather important but strange discovery. They have discovered that an apparent bronze toe, is in fact a finger, and it belongs to a famous statue of...
Spanish university students trying to retrace Hannibal’s war march through northeastern Spain found a huge buried moat with ancient objects in it. The moat may have been meant to protect the ancient...
Nicky Nielson /The Conversation It’s a great place to sit in the shade and enjoy a gelato. The base of the Flaminian Obelisk in the Piazza del Popolo on the northern end of Rome’s ancient quarter...
A rubbish removal firm in London has made a potentially staggering archaeological discovery, in a pile of waste. According to the respected Smithsonian Institute, Envirowaste workers, while looking...
