A multidisciplinary team in Israel believe that they have brewed ancient beers similar to those once drunk by Biblical characters such as David and Goliath . They were able to extract yeast, a key...
A fascinating new study published in the journal Vegetation History and Archaeobotany , on May 14, details the work of a team of researchers from the University of Vermont who present their evidence...
Why would an ancient, folkloric, but non-Biblical, character such as a mermaid find its way into so many medieval European churches? And can such mermaid imagery and symbology be correlated with the...
Within the varied teachings of the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah there is a minor tradition known as Practical Kabbalah (Kabbalah Ma’asit). This branch concerns itself with the use of...
New research suggests that the Eastern United States’ forests have been transformed more by Native American intentional forest fires in the past than by current climate change. But the ‘fire-adapted...
The Andean nation of Peru has been the home of many important pre-Columbian societies. But their origins and development still holds many questions. Now a number of ceramic pieces are throwing light...
The Samurai class was officially dissolved over 150 years ago. Nonetheless, the warriors’ elaborate armor is still recognized globally as an iconic emblem of Japanese military strength and virtue...
Masks are one of the few things on the earth that connect all of humanity throughout time. We have created ritual masks since our very beginnings in order to disguise, protect, or entertain. They...
The fascinating story of the origins of a component in Tutankhamun ’s scarab brooch has been furthered this week. It has been established that some of the material found in that brooch was result of...
Spectacular things were happening in Mesopotamia in the period we call the Early Bronze Age, particularly in the southern part of it, commonly called Babylonia. It was here that the wealthy,...
This weekend the ‘World Championship in Medieval Combat’ was held in the Ukraine where hundreds of warriors clanking around in armor , swinging swords and axes, in a scene reminiscent of an episode...
First century AD Roman statesman and orator, Cicero’s claim that he had found Archimedes’ tomb may be refuted. In Greek mythology Ciane is a freshwater nymph, who tried to save Persephone from being...
New discoveries made at the Klasies River Cave in South Africa's southern Cape, where charred food remains from hearths were found, provide the first archaeological evidence that anatomically modern...
The Andean nation of Bolivia has been home to a number of remarkable cultures, and as a result many archaeological sites remain in the country. The Fuerte de Samaipata site has been recognized as...
Historian Bernard Jones has spent more than three decades researching the ‘Story of Troy’ and he maintains that Homer’s Iliad is the greatest reference work on the Bronze Age world. Homer describes...
The Sumerian civilization (known also as Sumer) was one of the earliest civilizations in the world. This ancient civilization emerged in the region of southern Mesopotamia (modern day southern Iraq...
This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead...
History can tell us a lot about the Crusades , the series of religious wars fought between 1095 and 1291, in which Christian invaders tried to claim the Near East. But the DNA of nine 13th century...
In Egypt, security sources have announced a suspected bomb attack on a tourist bus near the world-famous Giza pyramids . Initial reports indicate that 16 people were hurt in the attack, but that...
The Epic of Gilgamesh is regarded as one of mankind’s greatest literary and historical works. Many authors have studied the text in an effort to explain the nature of Gilgamesh’s tyranny and his...
The Vikings used many symbols in accordance to Norse mythology. Such symbols were widely used in Viking society and they represented elements of their beliefs and myths. There are even some Viking...
In Norse mythology, Skaði (also anglicized as Skadi, Skade, or Skathi) is a giantess and goddess. She is most often associated with winter. Apart from that, Skaði is also connected with hunting,...
Storytellers have been telling tales of ancient demons wreaking havoc on humanity since the beginning of time. By the Middle Ages people were so fascinated with and afraid of these supernatural...
For a people from whom one 41,000 year old finger bone fossil from a nine year old girl, along with a bracelet she wore, were (until recently) the only authenticated known artifacts, the mysterious...
