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Ancient site of Göbeklitepe in Turkey, the oldest temple in the world. Source: JB Press / CC BY-SA 2.0)
14 October, 2019 - 23:04 Refik

Was Göbeklitepe An Ancient Temple of Sacrifice?

Göbeklitepe, the world’s oldest temple , is around 12,000 years old. It was built by hunter-gatherers in the pre-pottery Neolithic period, before writing and the wheel were invented. Göbeklitepe has...
Maya Sacrificial Victims Were Likely Young, Foreign and Skinned Alive
15 August, 2019 - 14:04 ashley cowie

Maya Sacrificial Victims Were Likely Young, Foreign and Skinned Alive

Scientists in Mexico have been studying tooth enamel from the skulls of 1,000-year-old Maya human sacrificial victims from the gloomy depths of a sacred cenote (sink hole). The new study was...
Paris Catacombs
21 April, 2019 - 01:41 dhwty

The Dark Underworld of the Paris Catacombs

Paris, the capital of France, is often called La Ville Lumière (meaning ‘The City of Light’), however, beneath this bustling European city of 12 million people, lies a dark subterranean world holding...
Skulls found at Le Cailar archaeological site show signs that the heads were embalmed.
8 November, 2018 - 18:51 ashley cowie

Gallic Warriors Reaped, Embalmed Then Displayed the Heads of Their Slain Enemies

Returning from battle, according to ancient accounts, Gallic warriors displayed the severed heads of their fallen enemies around their horses’ necks for all to see, as they returned victorious to...
One of six trophy heads found in the 27 funerary pits.
14 August, 2018 - 18:51 ashley cowie

Recently Unearthed Head Collectors in Ancient Peru Might Not Be So Unique

Head-hunting, as a way of establishing power and veneration of the head as the throne of the soul and the body’s spiritual engine, began in Europe as far back as Mesolithic times, approximately 13,...
The door to the crypt was broken into.
20 July, 2018 - 13:59 Ed Whelan

Disrespect for the Dead: Disturbing Theft of 21 Skulls from an English Church

The BBC is reporting a bizarre and grisly crime, that took place in Kent, England. Thieves have stolen some 21 human skulls from St Leonard's Church in Hythe, Kent. They were stored in a charnel...
Victim of Waldemar Atterdags invasion of Visby in 1361
17 June, 2018 - 19:02 dhwty

Battle of Visby: Medieval Massacre Leaves Behind Harrowing Remains of Fallen Soldiers

The Battle of Visby was a violent Medieval battle near the town of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland, fought between the inhabitants of Gotland and the Danes, with the latter emerging victorious...
Skulls from the Andean Paracas (top left). (CC BY-SA 3.0); Paracas skull at Ica Museum(right). (CC BY 2.0); Child head shaping methods (bottom left).
15 February, 2018 - 23:00 ashley cowie

Elongated Skulls Increased Kudos in Ancient Peru

Archaeologists dig them up all over the ancient world from Egypt to Peru, and now, these curious elongated skulls are believed to have been “status symbols,” according to a recent paper in Current...
Dried corpse hanging on the wall in the chapel at Évora
13 November, 2017 - 13:44 dhwty

The Macabre Capela dos Ossos: Why was it Decorated with the Dead?

When one thinks about the interior design of a place of worship, one generally includes statues of religious icons, paintings of important religious events, perhaps the odd stained-glass window and...
Fight with Cudgels, 1819-1823 by Francisco de Goya
29 August, 2017 - 02:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

New Study Reveals that London was the Most Violent Place in Medieval England

A new study suggests that medieval London was notorious for its excessive violence. The overall findings suggest that violence affected many parts of medieval London, although predictably it...
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...
Section of skulls at the tzompantli found near the Templo Mayor, Mexico City
3 July, 2017 - 18:57 Theodoros Karasavvas

Gruesome Remains of Aztec Skull Tower Discovered in Mexico Include Women and Children

Archaeologists have uncovered a tower of human skulls beneath the heart of Mexico City. The new find has given birth to new questions about the culture of sacrifice in the Aztec Empire after numerous...
Ancient Remains: Iron Age Necromancy on the Bones of the Dead?
10 June, 2017 - 22:45 ancient-origins

Ancient Remains: Iron Age Necromancy on the Bones of the Dead?

In 2012 ancient remains were discovered in a bog in Denmark – not an uncommon occurrence. However, after examining the bones, archaeologists were startled by what appeared to be a brutal desecration...
Map of the Americas circa 1619. Insert: Paleoamerican skull from Burial 1, Lapa do Santo site, Brazil.
23 February, 2017 - 22:48 Mark Miller

Skull Analysis Concludes the Americas Were Settled by More than One Wave of Migrants

Has there ever been a more exciting adventure than when humans spread out across the globe with their primitive tools and not so much as a hand-drawn map? A new study of cranial shapes of prehistoric...
Figurines discovered in recently-unearthed tomb in Mexico.
13 February, 2017 - 22:53 ancient-origins

Ancient Intact Tomb Unearthed in Mexico with Skulls, Bones, and Shaman Figurine to Protect the Deceased

Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,700-year-old intact tomb in Mexico where they found the skulls and other bones of twelve male adults, as well as pre-Columbian figurines and statues. Each of the...
New Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered: Archaeologists Excited to Unearth Two New Fragments in the Cave of Skulls
31 December, 2016 - 00:49 Mark Miller

New Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered: Archaeologists Excited to Unearth Two New Fragments in the Cave of Skulls

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a set of nearly 1,000 manuscripts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and ancient Greek, which contain some of the oldest known versions of the Hebrew Bible and are said to be one of the...

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