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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

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Teotihuacan, Mexico.

A Unique Mesoamerican City: How the Urban Design of Teotihuacan was Lost and Found

Name one civilization located in the Americas that pre-dates the arrival of Europeans. You probably replied with the Aztecs, the Inca or perhaps the Maya. A new paper, published in De Gruyter's open...
Detail; The entry of Sultan Mehmed II into Constantinople, painting by Fausto Zonaro (1854-1929)

Orban’s Colossal Cannon: Holding a Tiger by the Tail – Part II

Sultan Mehmed II was so pleased with Orban’s massive, destructive cannon that he wanted another twice its size! Orban headed back to his foundry in Edirne (Adrianople) acquiring more timber and...
Modern painting of Mehmed and the Ottoman Army approaching Constantinople with a giant bombard, by Fausto Zonaro

Orban: The Man Whose Cannon Brought Down the Walls of Constantinople – Part I

For 53 days, starting on Friday, 6 April, the forces of the Ottoman Empire shook what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire (known as Byzantium, or the Byzantine Empire ) until they were able to...
Ruin of a second-century public toilet in Roman Ostia.

Rats, Exploding Toilet Seats and Demons of the Deep: The Hazards of Roman Sewers

I have spent an awful lot of time in Roman sewers – enough to earn me the nickname Queen of Latrines from my friends. The Etruscans laid the first underground sewers in the city of Rome around 500 BC...
Leptis Magna to the east of Khoms

Three ancient cities to rival London, Paris and New York

London, Paris and New York are global cities: modern hubs for travel, technology and trade, their names and images echo around the globe, capturing our imaginations with their distinctive histories,...
The ancient city of Teotihuacan, Mexico

Social Networks and Mathematical Patterns Behind Human Cities, both Modern and Ancient

The 15 th century city Tenochtitlán was once a bustling hub - the religious center and capital of the Aztec civilization, and the most complex society in Mesoamerica. Big cities today are sometimes...