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Part of the extensive East Bay Wall network. Source: Chris/Adobe Stock

Unravelling the Mystery Behind the East Bay Walls: Who Really Made Them and Why?

In the hills around East Bay and elsewhere near San Francisco, there is a series of stone walls that extend discontinuously for miles. The walls are about 3-4 feet (a meter or so) high in most places...
Aerial view of the 5,500-year-old gate at Tel Erani, Israel. Credit: Emil Aladjem / Israel Antiquities Authority.

Defensive City Gate Unearthed in Israel Dating Back 5,500 Years

An ancient monumental city gate , at least 5,500 years old, has been discovered at Tel Erani in southern Israel, making it Israel’s oldest gate by centuries! The stone gate structure was built from...
Section of the impressive walls of Dubrovnik. Source: Siegfried Schnepf / Adobe Stock

The Unbreakable Barrier: Dubrovnik's Walls Through the Ages

Nestled along the rugged Adriatic coast, the walled city of Dubrovnik in Croatia has long been a cultural and economic hub in the region. However, this picturesque city has also seen its fair share...
The small fortlet shown in a digitally generated image here, was located along the Antonine Wall in Scotland.  	Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Lost Roman Fortlet Rediscovered Near Scotland’s Clydebank

Behold! A wondrous discovery has been made in West Dunbartonshire in Scotland. Amidst the rugged Scottish terrain, a lost Roman ‘fortlet’ has been identified on the mighty Antonine Wall, that stood...
Surrounding moat at the entrance of Cardiff Castle in Cardiff in Wales. Source: Roman Babakin/AdobeStock

9 Myths About Medieval Moats and the Truth Behind Them

Medieval moats have long been shrouded in mystery and misinformation, with tales of alligators and impenetrable walls. But the truth about these ancient structures is far more fascinating and complex...
The mystery handprint was discovered on an ancient moat wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Source: Yuli Schwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority

Mystery Ancient Handprint Discovered in Jerusalem, the City of God

A mysterious carved handprint has been discovered in Jerusalem. But, was it created by a defending Muslim, a terrified Jew, an attacking European knight, or is it just a long-forgotten local prank?...
Alatri acropolis cyclopean wall by the Porta Maggiorre. Source: Laura Tabone

The Cyclopean Problem: Who Built Italy’s Astounding Ancient Walls?

Megalithic cyclopean masonry is found in many parts of Italy, including Lazio , Abruzzo, Campania, Umbria, Tuscany and Molise. This type of masonry involves fitting together huge differently shaped...
The new Nottingham Market Wall augmented reality Android app, recreated using old maps, creates this ancient breast-high wall that kept the city’s French Normans and non-French Anglo-Saxons separated for nearly 700 years! Source: NTU

Nottingham Market Wall That Split the City Brought Back to Life With AR

A most peculiar medieval feature of Nottingham Old Market Square has been recreated using a new augmented reality (AR) app. Nottingham Market Wall divided the center of the city for almost 700 years...
The entrance of Mehmed II into Constantinople in 1453 AD, by Benjamin-Constant. Source: Public domain

Did Constantinople Fall Because Someone Forgot to Lock the Gate?

For over 1,000 years, Constantinople held out against a never-ending stream of failed attacks. Capital of the Byzantine Empire, a.k.a. the Eastern Roman Empire , it was famed for its heavily...
Great Wall of China stretching forever into the distance (MICHEL / Adobe Stock)

Ancient Frontiers: Boundary, Defensive And Offensive Walls

Long before great city walls were raised, 10,000 years ago, early hunter-gather-fishers as well as emerging farmers, built the settlement of Jericho (West Bank, Palestine) using adobe mud bricks,...
Reconstruction to the front left garden area of Frewin Hall has revealed Oxford’s lost college, St. Mary’s College, destroyed by King Henry VIII’s dissolution policies.		Source: Simon Gannon / Oxford Mail

“Lost College” of Oxford University Found In Reconstruction Project

Oxford University’s “lost Augustinian college,” i.e., medieval St. Mary’s College, which existed for 106 years in the days of the Tudors (1485-1603). The ancient outlines of the lost college of...

The Walls of Benin: Four Times Longer Than The Great Wall of China!

The Kingdom of Benin was an important African kingdom that flourished between the 13th and 19th centuries AD. Benin was located in the southwestern part of modern-day Nigeria, with Benin City as its...
The Binnenhof, or “Inner Court”, is still the beating heart of the Dutch parliament. Recently, more and more medieval material has been discovered underneath these buildings. Source: Public domain

Medieval Walls Discovered Underneath Dutch Parliament

Archaeologists stumbled upon medieval material underneath the Dutch parliament building last week. The area is being prepared for a major renovation that’s long overdue. Fortunately, as a matter of...
Gorgan Wall Work Reveals Minutiae of 7th Century Sasanian Empire

Gorgan Wall Work Reveals Minutiae of 7th Century Sasanian Empire

Excavations have been ongoing on at the Sasanian Empire’s Great Wall of Gorgan, a 125-mile (200-kilometer) long defensive fortification built across Golestan Province in northern Iran in the fifth...
A stretch of the ancient walls of Seville are still visible along calle Resolana, between the Gate of Macarena and the Gate of Córdob

The Walls of Seville: Roman Defenses With A Very Moorish Upgrade

Over the course of its history, Seville has been surrounded by walls. Starting out in Roman times, they have been continually reformed and rebuilt, expanding as the city grew over time. If you visit...
Major British Project to Reveal Secrets of Historic York City Walls

Major British Project to Reveal Secrets of Historic York City Walls

A major excavation has been announced to investigate the famous city walls of York. The city walls are considered some of the finest in all of the British Isles if not Europe. These walls have played...
Ten Things the Ancients Did Better than Us

Ten Things the Ancients Did Better than Us

Just a couple of decades ago, the people of ancient civilizations were viewed as simple, primitive people. However, numerous discoveries since then have revealed a number of surprising facts about...
Various Roman catapult (ballista) rocks found along the Pilgrim's Road in the City of David, Jerusalem.           Source: Clara Amit / IAA

Man Fearing Coronavirus Apocalypse Returns Stolen Ballista

The COVID-19 or coronavirus outbreak has shaken many around the world. In Israel, a man with a guilty conscience, who fears the virus could result in the end of the world, gave back a Roman catapult...
Roman wall in Chester, England. Before: Peter / Adobe Stock. After: Chester Live

Ancient Roman Walls Damaged During Luxury Hotel Construction

Private developers building luxury hotel apartments in England are being taken to task for their part in the collapse of an ancient Roman City wall in Chester, an iconic feature of the city. The...
Kuelap, Peru - Ancient Fortress of the Cloud Warriors

Kuelap, Peru - Ancient Fortress of the Cloud Warriors

Built by the Chachapoyas, the fortified citadel of Kuelap was home to the Warriors of the Cloud in Peru before they were conquered by invaders. Massive stone walls and hundreds of ruins stand as a...
The design experiment created by MIT scientists Credit: Brandon Clifford & Johanna Lobdell in collaboration with Davide Zampini

Is this How Ancient Megalithic Structures Were Made? MIT Scientist Move 25-Ton Blocks by Hand!

Ancient cultures in Peru, China and Egypt, to name only a few; quarried, lifted, transported and crafted vast megaliths, some weighing several hundred tons. Until now, theories as to how these stones...
Some of the many paintings inside the Laas Geel caves, near Hargeisa in Somaliland, Somalia.

Laas Geel Complex and The Magnificent Ancient Rock Art of Somaliland

Thousands of years ago, humans from the Neolithic age, decorated the walls of rock shelters with paintings of animals and humans at a site called Laas Geel in Somaliland. Their work would last 5,000...
Google Earth image of manmade stone structures in Saudi Arabia

Mysterious Manmade Stone Structures Detected in the Remote Landscape of Saudi Arabia

Deep in the heart of Saudi Arabia, 400 peculiar stone structures have been found, dating back thousands of years ago. These stone features were discovered by archaeologists with the use of satellite...
Bayron Temple, the most notable temple in Angkor Thom

Walking in Shadows of Serenity: The Great Sacred City of Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom (which means ‘Great City’) was the last capital of the mighty Khmer Empire, which was based in modern day Cambodia. This typically intricately decorated Khmer city, which is located in...

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