In 2016, Christie’s sold the Greek vase depicted above—a red-figure bell krater used for mixing wine with water—to a buyer in London for $220,000. It dates from 410 BC. For a mythology buff, what a...
A team of scientists including researchers from Washington State University has shown for the first time that nicotine residue can be extracted from plaque, also known as "dental calculus," on the...
A tiny ceramic slab dated to around 6000 BC with “written signs” has been discovered by archaeologists at a prehistoric settlement near the town of Nova Zagora in Southeast Bulgaria. And, they...
A 30,000-year-old carving of a voluptuous naked woman known as the “Venus of Willendorf” statuette, has been censored by Facebook as “dangerous pornography”. Discovered in the early 20th century near...
The Silk Road is arguably the most famous long-distance trade route in the ancient world. This trade route connected Europe in the West with China in the East, and allowed the exchange of goods,...
There is a well-known Norse myth which tells of how the Vanir Freyr fell in love with the giantess Gerd, wooed her, and eventually convinced her to marry him. She was not any easy catch - many...
Viking raids may have been a common factor in the life of a 9th century Anglo Saxon, but there was something terrifyingly distinct when an army emerged seeking revenge. The Great Heathen Army would...
The Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno is a well-known burial site located in the Italian city of Genoa, which is considered one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the whole of Europe. It is famous...
Gold has always captured the imagination of mankind. Long before it acquired any monetary value and became a source of greed, gold was valued for its spiritual connotation. By 2000 BC the Muisca...
A rare 700-year-old bronze ring bearing a tiny image of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of pilgrims and travelers, was dug up in a routine weeding exercise in northern Israel. Gardener Dekel Ben-Shitrit...
Sweet dreams or nightmares – are we scaring our children to sleep? Have you ever thought about the lyrics sung in lullabies? Although it’s proven that lullabies help babies get to sleep, if you pay...
History books are peppered with stories of medieval European Alchemists attempting to turn base metals into gold and to produce elixirs of immortality. However, there was one disastrous alchemical...
As the Bronze Age grew old, some of its oral traditions were recorded by poets with gods in their quills and drugs in their gardens. The Odyssey and the Vedas include verses still recited today that...
Today, Jerash is a relatively unimposing town in the modern-day country of Jordan but its expansive and majestic ancient ruins reveal its glorious past. Even beneath its existing ruins lies a history...
(Read Part I) Trouble brewed on the horizon when Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten in Regnal Year 5 in honor of his “father” the Aten, and abandoned Thebes (Waset) to occupy a desolate...
The fifth year of Pharaoh Akhenaten’s reign was to prove a watershed moment in ancient Egyptian history. In a bid to break free from the shackles of the influential Amun-Ra priesthood, the ruler...
An ancient Egyptian burial ground has been unearthed containing the ritually buried remains of a sacred priest of the moon god Thoth. Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry, Kaled El-Enany, announced on...
The Lost Continent of Lemuria or Mu, (used interchangeably) has long lived under the shadow of its more well-known relation, Atlantis. Therefore, it may come as a surprise that for a brief moment in...
Even the best read of us sometimes come up against a word which needs a quick check in the dictionary, and Spagyric is one of those words. To discover the origins and magical meaning of this ancient...
In a realm of nine worlds, one might assume that the gods would be satisfied with one. One world where they could live away from humans and watch over their antics as one might watch a TV show. In...
It is a mistake to think there wasn’t international travel during Jesus’ time. As this map of ancient merchant routes shows, the known world was linked by land and sea. Perhaps with some helpful...
During the Middle Ages, Sahara outposts often found themselves filled with travelers, traders, and pilgrims passing through with their differing tasks. The pilgrims in particular interest us here, as...
Curse tablets in the ancient world are like Facebook posts today—they were everywhere, created by almost everyone, and can still be found in the strangest of places. They could be broadly vague or...
The Ramanathaswamy Temple is regarded as one of the holiest Hindu temples in India. This sacred site is located on Rameswaram Island, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu between mainland India...
