Phoenicians build pontoon bridges for Xerxes I of Persia during the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC (1915 drawing by A. C. Weatherstone).

Ancient DNA Unveils the Cosmopolitan Heart of the Phoenician-Punic Civilization

Imagine a bustling port in ancient Carthage, circa 600 BCE, where Phoenician sailors unload fragrant cedarwood from Lebanon, North African potters shape intricate ostrich-egg urns, and Sicilian merchants barter for shimmering Aegean textiles. This was the Punic world—a dazzling crossroads of cultures, united not by conquest but by the restless tides of trade and human

Mérida amphitheatre, Spain; mural of beast hunt, showing a venator (or bestiarius) and lioness.  [Public Domain]

A Lion’s Jaws in Roman Britain: Skeleton Reveals Gladiator’s Fatal Arena Battle

In the shadow of York’s ancient walls, where Roman Eboracum once thrived, a skeleton lay buried for over 1,700 years, its bones whispering a tale of blood, sand, and a lion’s roar. Archaeologists recently uncovered this relic of a man, aged 26 to 35, whose pelvis bore unmistakable bite marks from a large cat—likely a

Dionysus, a god of resurrection in the same vein as Jesus and the thirteenth of the twelve gods of Olympus. Source: Carole Raddato / CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Gods of Greece, the Autocrats of the Ancient World (Part Four)

We’re almost at the end of the list of the twelve Olympian gods of ancient Greece. We’ve covered almost all the famous ones by now, but in the ones that remain we see perhaps a gap in between what the Greeks saw as important, and what we see as important today. We have covered the

The silver artifacts recovered were far from any known Dacian presence. So, what were they doing here? Source: Breaza Mures Municipality.

Dacian Treasure Horde found in Romania May Hint at Lost Enclave

Two amateur metal detectorists have found something unexpected in the commune of Breaza in Mureș County, in the heart of Romania. A Dacian treasure trove of silver artifacts has been found, dating back some two thousand years. The Dacians were skilled metalworkers and this new discovery does not disappoint. The horde, found by detectorists Dionisie-Aurel

Combat between mounted Christian Knights and the Islamic Seljuks in the Second Crusade. Source: Unknown Author / Public Domain.

The Crusades: Four Hundred Years of War (Part One)

The Crusades are perhaps the defining idea of medieval Europe. Over more than four centuries they redefined its history, set it on a new course with a common, foreign enemy against whom the Christian countries could find common cause. They changed Europe forever. Countries rose and fell in the shadow of these religious wars, Christian

The skeleton of an actual dire wolf from the La Brea Tar Pits, very different from whatever these new “dire wolves” are. Source: Jonathan Chen / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Did They Really Resurrect the Dire Wolf? Not Exactly…

Recently the papers have been filled with news about a creature brought back to life out of ancient history. The “Dire Wolf” was an enormous canine carnivore found in the Americas from about 125,000 years ago, dying out only 10,000 years before the present day. Firstly, let’s get some misapprehensions about this ancient creature out

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