Ancient History

Chilling Discoveries Not Suitable For All Viewers

December 2, 2022

Who doesn’t like looking at old things from the past? When we see interesting items from days gone by, we want to shout, in the words of Indiana Jones, “That belongs in a ...

The Incredible Discovery Of Royston Cave

November 30, 2022

Religious and secular relief carvings dating from circa 1310 include a sheela-na-gig figure, St. Katherine, and scenes from the life of Christ. (Homer Sykes/CORBIS/Corbis via Get...

The World's Oldest Bottle Of Wine: Getting Better With Age?

October 12, 2022

Bosca cellar wine cathedral in Canelli. (Renato Valterza/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) As the old saying goes, wine gets better with age. ...

The Fairy Cats Of Celtic Mythology

July 22, 2022

Stray cat In Thessaloniki. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images) We know that the Ancient Egyptians worshiped cats, and indeed, most domesticated cats walk around like they ex...

Who Discovered That The Earth Is Round?

July 6, 2022

A view of Earth from the Space Shuttle Discovery shows late afternoon sun on the Andes Mountains, with glare and heavy cloud illumination. (Bettmann/Getty Images) Saying the Ear...

Good Facts About Alexander The Great

June 8, 2022

Alexander Mosaic (detail), House of the Faun, Pompeii. (Unknown author/Wikimedia Commons) World's Greatest ConquerorThough perhaps not the greatest ruler, as many of his hard-won l...

History's Most Significant Piece Of Needlework

May 13, 2022

King Edward the Confessor enthroned and Harold Godwinson at Winchester as depicted in Scene 1 of the Bayeux Tapestry. (Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Gett...

Hell Hath No Fury Like Princess Olga Of Kiev

April 26, 2022

Saint Olga by Nikolay Bruni. (Russian Museum/Wikimedia Commons) In 945 C.E., a Drevlian convoy of diplomatic messengers arrived at the castle of Olga, the Grand Princess of...

Scathach: The Mythical Female Teacher Of The Greatest Celtic Warriors

March 9, 2022

Neist Point Lighthouse, Isle of Skye. (Juan Maria Coy Vergara/Getty Images) According to Celtic legends, Scathach was a great warrior, but where sh...

History Of New Year's: Why Is It January 1?

December 29, 2021

A view of fireworks by the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball during 2021 New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square on December 31, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/...

Did The Vikings Reach Ancient Mexico?

September 26, 2021

Steering oar at stern of Skidbladner, full size replica of the Gokstad ship at Brookpoint, Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland, U.K. (Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) ...

Ancient Pimple Poppers: Acne Treatments Through The Years

September 18, 2021

A painful and probably ineffective acne treatment , circa 1700: the cauterization with brandy. (Pierre Barbier/Roger Viollet via Getty Images) It might seem li...

Sunscreen Through The Ages

August 29, 2021

(Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) Today, we know how important it is to protect our skin from damaging and potentially cancer-causing UV rays, but commercial sunscre...

Who Was Attila The Hun?

August 27, 2021

Pope Leo I, Repulsing Attila, (detail), 1511-14. Vatican Museums and Galleries, Vatican City, Italy. (Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images) Attila the Hun was called the Scourge of God by man...

This Day In History: Herostratus And The Destruction Of The Temple Of Artemis, One Of The Seven W...

July 21, 2021

The Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, Turkey, 1933-1934. From Wonders of the Past, volume II, 1933-1934. (The Print Collecto...

Did The Hanging Gardens Even Exist? The Most Mysterious Wonder Of The Ancient World

June 11, 2021

Of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one of them, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, has remained elusive to archae...

Indian People Brought Marijuana to Jamaica And Named It Ganja

April 21, 2021

Bhang eaters before two huts, c. 1790. (San Diego Museum of Art/Wikimedia Commons) "Where does marijuana come from?" sounds like the kind of question one w...

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