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Sunbeams illuminating a church

A Sacred Light in the Darkness: Surprising Winter Solstice Illuminations at Spanish Missions

On Monday, Dec. 21, nations in the Northern Hemisphere mark the winter solstice – the shortest day and longest night of the year. For thousands of years people have marked this event with rituals and...
10 Of The Most Famous Pirates, Male And Female, Who Ruled The Seas!

10 Of The Most Famous Pirates, Male And Female, Who Ruled The Seas!

There was a Golden Age of Piracy, and that’s not just figurative. It was literally true! Men and women made untold fortunes in gold, silver, jewels, and goods while riding the high seas and bringing...
Aerial view of the Phoenician settlement at Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño in Alicante, Spain. Inset; Examples of Phoenician silver. Source: Fernando Prados/Public Domain/Public Domain

9th Century BC Moat to Protect Phoenician Settlement Excavated in Spain

Archaeologists working at a in the Alicante province of Spain have just discovered a large moat. This emphasizes the defensive actions taken by the settlers against the hostility they faced when they...
The Lady of Baza, a famous example of Iberian sculpture by the Bastetani, has long been a source of contention. Source: Juan Aunión / Adobe Stock

The Lady of Baza and the Battle to Take Her Home

The Lady of Baza, a statue unearthed in Baza, has long been a subject of contention. Discovered in 1971, it was swiftly removed and taken to Madrid where it has been kept at the National Museum of...
Analysis of the Cova Foradada Skull has revealed the story of the ancient incident. Source: Rovira i Virgili University (URV)

Solved: The 4000-Year-Old Murder Mystery Of The Cova Foradada Skull

A murder that took place over 4,000 years ago in Spain’s Cova Foradada Cave has been “solved.” Archaeologists investigating the scene of the brutal murder in the Spanish cave have now used high-tech...
The Fake Hercules Sarcophagus of Tarragona Spain - And The Real Ones

The Fake Hercules Sarcophagus of Tarragona Spain - And The Real Ones

Some artifacts, even when they were discovered a long time ago are hard to authenticate and some certainly are fakes. The Hercules Sarcophagus is one such artifact, widely regarded to be a hoax. This...
Hidden Medieval Portrait Discovered in a Famous Spanish Cathedral

Hidden Medieval Portrait Discovered in a Famous Spanish Cathedral

Imagine finding a selfie carved in stone in the high darkness of a medieval church! While working in one of the most famous churches in Europe, a British art historian discovered exactly that. She...
The stele dubbed by some as the “astronaut of Casar” is exhibited in the Caceres Museum, Caceres, Spain.      Source: Left; Alberto del Barrio Herrero / CC BY-SA 2.0, Right; verpueblos

The Astronaut of Casar Is An Unsolved Mystery, But Can We Explain It?

Some artifacts seem to be easy to misunderstand or are not well understood at all and this leads to wild theories. One of the biggest curiosities on display at the Caceres Museum in Caceres, Spain is...
Missing Stone Inscription Holds Key to Almazán Skeletons Enigma

Missing Stone Inscription Holds Key to Almazán Skeletons Enigma

Archaeologists in Almazán Spain are boxed into a corner with a double-edged mystery in which a missing carved stone holds the answer to why eleven bodies were buried beneath a massive medieval...
Tiermes: Spain’s Ancient City Beset By Drama and Conflict

Tiermes: Spain’s Ancient City Beset By Drama and Conflict

The culture of the Iberian Peninsula has always been complex and multifaceted. Traces of many previous civilizations are ubiquitous in the archaeological record. One example of this is the...
Who Were the Ancient People that Built the Remarkable Megalithic Tombs of Malaga?

Who Were the Ancient People that Built the Remarkable Megalithic Tombs of Malaga?

Thousands of years ago, a series of megalithic tombs were built in the breathtaking landscape of Malaga in Spain. The magnificence of the constructions attracts thousands of tourists every year. The...
Troglodyte structures in Setenil de las Bodegas in Cadiz Province, Spain.

Setenil de las Bodegas: Troglodyte Buildings in a Quaint Spanish Town

Setenil de las Bodegas is a town located in Cádiz, a province in the southern part of Spain. The current town dates back to the 15th century AD, when the Moors who occupied it were expelled during...
Roman shipwreck artifacts found in the Spanish fish shop.     Source: Civil Guard

Illegal Roman Shipwreck Artifacts Found in a Spanish Fish Shop

During a recent routine inspection of a seafood store, Spanish authorities came across a number of important historical artifacts that date to the Roman Empire . They found over a dozen storage...
Cordoba, Spain Skyline         Source: SeanPavonePhoto/ Adobe Stock

The Roman Bridge of Cordoba that Transported Armies, and Spans Time

Ancient structures often tell us a great deal about the history of a region or country. They reveal what materials were available, the culture and beliefs of the people, and which nations, if any,...
Representational image of Moors in Spain.   Source: Théodore Chassériau / Public domain

Deciphering the Truth Behind the Moors in Spain

Al-Andalus is the name given to the Iberian Peninsula when it was under Muslim rule. Islam arrived in that region with the arrival of the Moors during the 8 th century AD, and succeeded in conquering...
Statue of the Irish hero Red Hugh O’Donnell. Source: rgmcfadden / CC BY-NC 2.0.

Skeleton Of Irish Hero, Red Hugh O’Donnell, To Be Exhumed In Spain

Spanish archaeologists are preparing to dig beneath the remains of an ancient chapel in Valladolid looking specifically for the remains of the Irish hero, Red Hugh O’Donnell. Beginning this Monday a...
A psychic’s claim to be the daughter of Salvador Dalí has been disproven. Source: korionov / Adobe Stock.

DNA Test Disproves Woman’s Claim to be Salvador Dalí’s Daughter

A long-running legal case involving Salvador Dalí, one of the 20th century’s greatest painters, may have finally come to an end. A woman who had filed a paternity suit against the estate of the...
Representation of Hannibal and the Carthaginians before battle.       Source: Iuliia KOVALOVA / Adobe stock

New Site Identified For Battlefield Of Hannibal’s First Great Victory

Archaeologists in Spain have discovered the lost battlefield where the legendary Hannibal won his first great victory before his march on Rome. Hannibal was the famous Carthaginian statesman and...
Mission Concepcion in San Antonio, Texas, USA         Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Adobe Stock

Pride of Texas, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park

Texas in the USA is distinctive with a unique history. This American state was once part of the Spanish Empire and the San Antonio Missions and Catholic churches were built by Spanish religious...
Working tables of palaeontologists in a science museum, Spain.        Source: Joaquin Corbalan / Adobe Stock

A Site of Archaeological Treasure and Murder at Atapuerca, Spain

The Atapuerca archaeological site is one of the most important in Europe, if not the world as it has provided a great many relics and remains related to some of the earliest hominids yet found...
El Cid's crucifix, Cristo de las Batallas. (Garciadelosbarros / CC BY-SA 4.0)       Right: Representation of a knight. (Marla / Adobe stock)

Ancient Letter Reveals Clues to Spanish Warlord’s Battle Crucifix

A Spanish professor has established that a historic crucifix in a Christian cathedral was owned by one of medieval Europe’s greatest warriors. Based on documentary evidence, the professor has proven...
Remains of the Roman toy dog reveal its tiny stature and a healthy diet similar to its owners. Source: Martínez Sánchez / University of Granada

Ancient Remains Reveal the Romans Had ‘Toy Dogs’ Too

Research in Spain reveals that the Romans loved miniature or toy dogs. In antiquity, many members of the elite had pampered pets. Just as today, many celebrities have ‘toy dogs’ such as chihuahuas...
Individual XVIII teeth from la Sima de los Huesos, Atapuerca. Source: M. Modesto-Mata / CENIEH

Atapuerca Hominids Grew Much Quicker Than Modern Humans

Scientists have proven that tooth enamel developed much quicker in ‘other’ hominids groups. Fossilized bones and teeth tell scientists when organisms lived, and morphological differences provide...
Panel 2, graphic unit 3, which has been affected by calcite formations and humidity   Source: Blanca Ochoa et al. / Antiquity Publishers Ltd

40,000-Year-Old Cave Art Fills Basque Country Void

New cave paintings discovered in northern Spain date back 40,000 years and demonstrating two distinct artistic styles. According to a new paper published by lead author Blanca Ochoa, in journal...

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