The ancient fortress site of Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) in western Bolivia is still revealing secrets thousands of years after its peak as capital of an empire, and home to one of the most important...
Some of the world’s greatest archaeological discoveries have been uncovered by chance. The terracotta warriors, for instance, were first discovered in 1974 by Chinese farmers who were digging for a...
The remains of a woman who died around the late 12 th or early 13 th century were excavated under the foundation a Welsh church that has been converted into a museum. The church was built over an...
Sadly, the fate of civilians in war has often been harsh, perhaps even more so in the past. Men would invariably be killed, and children were often sold into slavery. As for the women, they might be...
Many centuries ago on the border of Belize and Guatemala, Maya people built a large city surrounded by a cultivated jungle garden that was home to around 20,000 people, which archaeologists call El...
Queen Tin Hinan is renowned in Tuareg history as a fourth century matriarch of great prestige – named “Mother of Us All”. Her monumental tomb was located in 1925 in the Sahara desert, but dramatic...
Associations between unseen forces in space and terrific cataclysms on Earth are being made by scientists who hypothesize that dark matter might be behind ancient mass dinosaur extinctions, and may...
A new look into a Thracian temple buried beneath Roman baths is challenging what researchers once thought about the worship of deities in the ancient city of Odessus, now the Bulgarian Black Sea city...
Caves play an important role in the story of humanity. In addition to providing shelter for our earliest ancestors, caves were also often considered to be mystical and magical realms. For some...
In the 1940s, the U.S. Army was experimenting with the possibility of infiltrating enemy territory by dropping soldiers with parachutes from aeroplanes. According to one account, on the night before...
Excavations at a medieval port and fortress in Bulgaria have led archaeologists to discover several artifacts of significance. A lead vessel containing ashes from the alleged grave of John the...
A 4,200-year-old skeleton that shows signs of deterioration from cancer is the earliest known case of breast cancer, according to the Spanish anthropologists who uncovered her remains in a necropolis...
Researchers excavating an eroded basin in Hebei province, China, claim to have made a remarkable discovery - a two-million-year-old ‘playground’ of ancient hominids complete with stone artifacts...
One of the more political Icelandic sagas, the tale of Hænsna-Þórir remains an interesting view into the legal proceedings of Iceland in the ninth century. The legal conflict woven throughout the...
The prevailing theory among archaeologists holds that prehistoric people settled down as they began to grow crops and manage livestock and then built progressively more advanced civilizations with...
Throughout its 2,500-year history, the ancient ruins of the Acropolis in Greece managed to survive many earthquakes where other, more modern constructions have fallen. How is this possible? Experts...
Arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus made an extraordinary accusation that infuriated the priests and scribes of the holy city: “Every secret you’ve kept will become known. What you have whispered in hidden...
The modern Western world is familiar with the concept of wishing wells, or bodies of water in which currency, most commonly in the form of coin, is tossed with the intention of making a wish. Some...
On March 21, residents of three indigenous communities in Saraguro, a remote Andean municipality in Ecuador, celebrated the Pawkar Raymi (ceremony of blossoming) to honor the Pachamama (Mother Earth...
Poisons are ubiquitous in the plant and animal world – some snakes and frogs are venomous, and various trees and plants are lethally toxic. This was well-known by our ancient ancestors, and they...
The fabled paradise island of Tír na nÓg is said to be located off of the west coast of Ireland. Tír na nÓg is known as the land of perpetual youth. It is also named the Island of the Living, the...
Nowruz, known as the Persian new year, is one of the most ancient celebrations in history and has been celebrated for around 4000 years in what is now Iran and in the extended cultural area known as...
Every fifth of November, people across the United Kingdom celebrate Guy Fawkes Night (also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night, and Firework Night). Every November, cities and towns across the...
Standing next to Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament in the heart of London is a giant bronze statue of a woman with her two daughters on a chariot. This was Boudicca, the queen of the...
