A 2,000 year old metal spoon has been found on the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom. Dating from the Iron Age, it is believed that this bronze spoon may be something very unusual. It is thought that this is a so-called “divination spoon” used for telling the future. Only 28 such examples have
The 18th Dynasty of Egypt was the start of its last golden age as a superpower. Its founder, Ahmose I, rose to control the whole of the Nile, expelling the mysterious semitic Hyksos rulers in the north and freeing Egypt from their rule for the first time in generations. The pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty,
Christianity changed after its adoption as the state religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD. Inspired by centuries of Christian martyrs, asceticism became a prominent feature of its followers. Before the Romans adopted it, many emperors had elected to persecute the Christians within their territories, and martyrdom was a frequent end for the most
Archaeologists working in the Santa Croce area of Trento in northern Italy have found something exceptional beneath the city streets. An ancient necropolis has been discovered, some eight meters beneath the surface. Some 200 tombs have been discovered, as reported by the Provincia Autonoma di Trento. The tombs date to the early Iron Age, between
Brazil is famous for its Carnival season, an almost week-long party which unifies the country in a spirit of feasting, drinking, and of course dancing. This is traditionally held just before Lent, but a new study suggests it may have existed long before Christianity came to South America. The research, announced by the University of
A new study of a Zapotec site in Mexico may have finally revealed its purpose. A team using LiDAR to analyze the complex have revealed a large post-classical city. The site of Guiengola is well known to Mexican archaeologists. Built by the Zapotec, an indigenous pre-Columbian culture who lived in the Valley of Oaxaca in