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Image from an illuminated manuscript depicting a Byzantine siege of a citadel. A tactic of ancient biological warfare was to hurl infected dead bodies over city walls.

6 June, 2015 - 14:19 lizleafloor

The Devastating and Diabolical Ancient Origins of Biological Warfare

History paints a bleak picture of the devastating effects that disease, contamination, or poison can have on humans. But with those hard lessons came experience and knowledge, and mankind has...

6 June, 2015 - 02:55 dhwty

The Seven-Branched Sword: The Mystical Ceremonial Sword of Japan

The Isonokami Shrine is a Shinto shrine believed to have been built in 4 AD. Located in in the foothills of Tenri in Nara prefecture, Japan, this shrine is culturally significant for it houses...

Screenshot from the movie 300 on the Spartan War which used Helots in combat on many occasions.

5 June, 2015 - 21:31 dhwty

The Helots: Slave Warriors of Ancient Sparta

The ancient Greek city state of Sparta had a social hierarchy that was different from many of its neighbors. The top of the social pyramid was occupied by the two kings, whose powers were checked by...

Noblewoman buried with her husband’s heart - France

5 June, 2015 - 21:14 Robin Whitlock

Fully clothed body of 17th Century noblewoman buried with the heart of her husband unearthed in France

The well-preserved and fully clothed body of a French noblewoman, thought to be Louise de Quengo, has been discovered among 800 other graves in the city of Rennes in Brittany, North West France. The...

Chronicles from the Future: Paul Dienach

5 June, 2015 - 18:02 Achilleas Syrigos

Chronicles from the Future: Second Diary - July 21 to August 17, 1922

Note: Use the arrows at the bottom to navigate between the pages of the book. July 21 st 1922 The number of my evening solitude companions is dwindling. Maybe they’re right. There isn’t much left to...

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5 June, 2015 - 14:44 lizleafloor

Immense Full Moon Palace Excavated by Rare Collaborative Team from both North and South Korea

The ancient Manwoldae, a 10 th century royal palace, was built in what is now Kaesong, North Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. Historians and archaeologists from both North and South Korea are now...

‘The Elevation of the Great Elector into Olympus’. Ceiling painting (detail: Mercury), City Palace, Potsdam

5 June, 2015 - 02:37 Robin Whitlock

Two thousand year old Mercury figurine found in Yorkshire

A metal detector enthusiast has discovered a 2000-year old figurine depicting the Roman god Mercury in a field near Selby, Yorkshire, UK. It is the 1,000 th officially recorded archaeological find of...

An arm from a body in the cemetery of Ipswich friary

5 June, 2015 - 01:00 Mark Miller

Mutilated remains may be 14th century mob-attack victim, Richard de Holebrok

In February 1327, 84 angry people assaulted Richard de Holebrok of Tattingstone, tied him to a tree and cut off his right hand. Holebrok complained to the English authorities, but what he did to...

An unconscious naked man lying on a table being attacked by little demons armed with surgical instruments

4 June, 2015 - 21:51 Riley Winters

Devils, Demons, and Dangerous Creatures of the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum , also known as the False Hierarchy of Demons , is a great compendium from the 16 th century dictating the names of sixty-nine demons. The title itself indicates that the...

The scene depicts Hinguar and Hubba setting out to avenge their father, Lothbrok

3 June, 2015 - 23:53 ancient-origins

Viking beaters: Scots and Irish may have settled Iceland a century before Norsemen

Remarkably similar carvings and simple cross sculptures mark special sites or places once sacred, spanning a zone stretching from the Irish and Scottish coasts to Iceland. We can look to Skellig...

3 June, 2015 - 21:48 lizleafloor

Medical marijuana: Modern hunter-gatherers may use cannabis to treat intestinal infections

It has been found that the more cannabis that modern foraging tribes smoke, the less they are infected with parasitic intestinal worms. Scientists are trying to determine if ancient-hunter gatherers...

3 June, 2015 - 14:38 Robin Whitlock

Ancient Persian Cuneiform Contract and Artifacts Discovered in Bahrain Fort

A private contract written in Akkadian script on a clay tablet has been discovered among other artifacts in a fort in Bahrain. The discovery, reported in Trade Arabia , was found among a number of...

The Defense of the Sampo, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, shows Louhi in the form of a flying, winged creature. Created in 1895 by unknown artist.

3 June, 2015 - 03:44 Riley Winters

Loviatar: Finnish Goddess of Desolation, Death, and Decay

Known as the blind daughter in Finnish mythology, Loviatar is the goddess of death and disease. Born from the union of Tuoni, the god of death, and his underworld queen Tuonetar, Loviatar is...

3 June, 2015 - 00:42 Mark Miller

1,400-year-old medicinal treatise of Galen found hidden under hymns in ancient manuscript

A 6th century translation of a work of one of the most important ancient Greek doctors has been discovered in an animal-hide manuscript, hidden underneath text of 1,000-year-old hymns. A researcher...

The body of Shinnyokai Shonin, found in Oaminaka, Japan. He had practiced self-mummification.

2 June, 2015 - 21:49 Ken Jeremiah

Dying to Live Forever: The Reasons behind Self-Mummification

Sunada Tetsu (1768-1829) was arguably the most famous individual who successfully mummified himself. Early in life, he was not religiously inclined. He loved a prostitute in Akagawa, Tsuruoka’s...

This dragon head, unearthed at Xanadu, was attached to the end of a beam.

2 June, 2015 - 04:00 Mark Miller

Stunning dragon heads found at ancient summer palace of Xanadu

Archaeologists have found some stunning artifacts during excavations of the famed palace at Xanadu in Inner Mongolia, including three ceramic dragon heads. Xanadu became the summer palace of Kublai...

2 June, 2015 - 00:47 Bryan Hill

Adam’s Calendar: Oldest Megalithic Site in the World?

Adam’s Calendar is controversially suggested to be the oldest man-made structure in the world. Sometimes referred to as "African Stonehenge", it predates both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza...

Illustration for the Chronicles from the Future - Paul Deinach

1 June, 2015 - 20:12 Achilleas Syrigos

Chronicles from the Future: Second Diary, 3 years later - July 16 1922

SECOND DIARY *(the Diary when Dienach awakened from his second coma) THE AWAKENING Note: Use the arrows at the bottom to navigate between the pages of the book. July 16, 1922 The preparations for the...