![]() | Two Roman statues were discovered after a Beit She’an resident took a stroll north of the ancient tell. A woman noticed the top of a head of one of the statues while walking around the ancient Biblical site, known in Roman times as Scythopolis. The resident and her husband alerted the authorities, which quickly arrived at the site and uncovered the statues. ![]() |
Sunday, 30 December 2018
Two Roman statues unearthed near Beit She’an
Saturday, 29 December 2018
The Likho
Labels:
The Likho
Wednesday, 26 December 2018
Tree of life is dying: Africa's ancient baobab
![]() | Africa's ancient trees of life are being killed by climate change. Researches found that nine of the oldest 13 baobab trees and five of the six biggest ones have partially or completely died in the past 12 years. The baobab tree is revered in Africa. Medicinal compounds are extracted from its leaves, while the fruit -rich in vitamin C -- is used for nourishment and the seeds yield oil. Three trees that were older than 2,000 years have all died in the past decade. ![]() |
Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Cool Ancients at Heritage
Heritage offers a remarkable array of coins from every available epoch in history, hailing from every corner of the globe.
Saturday, 15 December 2018
Egypt unveils spectacular tomb of ancient high priest
![]() | Archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a priest dating back more than 4,400 years in the pyramid complex of Saqqara south of Cairo. The tomb belongs to 'Wahtye' a high priest who served during the fifth dynasty reign of King Neferirkare. His tomb is decorated with scenes showing the royal priest alongside other members of his family.![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Tuesday, 11 December 2018
'Mudlark' almost threw Roman treasure back into the Thames
![]() | 'Mudlark' Alan Suttie almost threw a rare Roman lamp he found while walking on the Thames foreshore on his lunch break back into the river because he thought it was a fake. Now the artifact is going on display at the Museum of London along with other objects found by amateur treasure hunters. The oil lamp, which was made in north Africa in the 4th to 5th century AD, dates from the end of Roman rule in Britain and has been designated an item of national importance. The British Museum revealed the number of treasure discoveries made by the public has hit a record level for the second year running. | ![]() |

Saturday, 8 December 2018
Vault 'B' of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
![]() | All eyes are on the sealed 'vault B' of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, one of the richest shrines in the world, with a Supreme Court-appointed amicus curie to hasten the process of opening it. The 16th century temple shot to fame six years ago when one of its six vaults ('A') was found to contain ancient valuables estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore. ($20 billion) | ![]() |
![]() | The royal family and a section of devotees have opposed the opening of the sealed chamber on the grounds that such an action would “violate the sanctity of the temple”. They had earlier conducted an astrological ritual – devaprasnam – to perceive the mood of the deity, and informed the court that opening the vault amounted to violating the temple tradition in a manner that would invite divine wrath. Vault 'A' contained antique gold coins that alone weighed over 600 kg. Of the two lakh items documented by government officials, 600 were found embedded with gems. |
Wednesday, 5 December 2018
Ancient artifacts at Christie's
![]() | 27 antiquities were sold on 18 April 2018 in New York. Among the pieces is a rare statue of Sekhim-Ankh-Ptah who lived between 2389 and 2255 BC. A minister in the Pharaonic era, he was considered the supervisor of most of the property business at the time. The relic was expected to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million. | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
Tuesday, 4 December 2018
The Manticore
![]() | The manticore is a Persian legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. It has the head of a human, body of a lion and a tail of venomous spines similar to porcupine quills, while other depictions have it with the tail of a scorpion.![]() |
Labels:
The Manticore
Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia?
![]() | The Bible describes how Israelites built a gold-plated chest to house the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written and Aaron's rod. It is described as large, made of gold-plated wood and topped with two large, golden angels. The Ark makes a sudden disappearance from history after the Babylonian conquest in around 586 BC. ![]() |
![]() | Researchers believe "St. Mary’s of Zion church in Axum, Ethiopia, is the resting place either of an incredible replica of the biblical Ark of the Covenant, or, of the actual Ark of the Covenant itself." | ![]() |
Saturday, 1 December 2018
Ring bearing name of Pontius Pilate found
![]() | A 2,000-year-old bronze ring found near Bethlehem bears the name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who ordered Jesus Christ to be crucified. Pilate was prefect or governor of the Roman province of Judaea under the Emperor Tiberius when he presided at Christ’s trial and gave the order for his crucifixion. The ring was found 50 years ago during an archeological excavation at the site of a fortress built by King Herod, but was overlooked for decades | ![]() |
Thursday, 22 November 2018
Talos
![]() | In Greek mythology, Talos was a giant automaton made of bronze to protect Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders. He circled the island's shores three times daily. Talos threw rocks at any approaching ship to protect his island. The origin of Talos varies. Some accounts describe him as the last survivor of an ancient race of bronze men, but the more popular versions attribute his creation to Hephaestus, god of the forge. | ![]() |
![]() | Talos had one vein, which went from his neck to his ankle, bound shut by one bronze nail. The Argo, transporting Jason and the Argonauts, approached Crete after obtaining the Golden Fleece. Talos kept the Argo at bay by hurling great boulders. Talos was slain when Medea the sorceress either drove him mad with drugs, or deceived him into believing that she would make him immortal by removing the nail. He dislodged the nail, and "the ichor ran out of him like molten lead", killing him. | ![]() 5th-century BCE Greek vase depicts the death of Talos |
Talos makes an appearance in the 1963 motion picture "Jason and the Argonauts" thanks to stop-motion wizardry. The film, however, cast Jason as the automaton's slayer instead of Medea. |
Labels:
Talos
Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Wolf-Rayet star found in our galaxy
![]() | A massive triple-star system surrounded by dust could be a Wolf-Rayet star, capable of unleashing the greatest release of energy known ... a sustained gamma ray burst.(GRB) Some 8,000 light years from earth, the star system is the first discovered in our own galaxy. Lasting between a few thousandths of a second to a few hours, gamma ray bursts can release as much energy as our sun will release over its lifetime. Long-duration GRBs – longer than 2 seconds – are thought to be caused by the supernova explosions of rapidly-rotating Wolf-Rayet stars. | ![]() |
Friday, 16 November 2018
The History of Humanity in 19 minutes
Since 200,000 BCE, humanity has spread around globe and enacted huge change upon the planet. This video shows every year of that story, right from the beginning. |
Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Skeleton of pregnant woman found in Egypt
![]() | Archaeologists have found the remains of a woman who died towards the end of her pregnancy some 3500 years ago. The woman’s pelvis was fractured, and improper treatment likely killed her. Thought to be around 25 years old, the position of the fetus in her body suggested she had been due to give birth relatively soon. Researchers found beads made from the shells of ostrich eggs, as well as pottery and jars. The find was in Kom Ombo, which lies about 30 miles north of the southern city of Aswan. Pottery in the tomb resembled pots from Nubia. |
![]() | In 2005, Russian scientists unveiled the bones of a woman who died in childbirth 7,700 years ago. The grave was first discovered in 1997 in a Stone Age cemetery in Irkutsk. Foetal bones revealed that the woman, who was between 20 and 25 years old, died while giving birth to twins - the earliest known evidence of twins in the archaeological record. Researchers believe that one of the twins may have been in the breech position and was only partially delivered. The second twin appears to have got trapped behind the first and died in the womb. | ![]() Duplicate foetal bones |
Tuesday, 13 November 2018
Lost ancient city of Tenea found
![]() | Archaeologists have located the first tangible remains of a lost city that the ancient Greeks believed was first settled by Trojan captives of war after the sack of Troy. Finds included walls, marble or stone floors of buildings, household pottery, a bone gaming die and more than 200 coins dating to the 4th century B.C. Archaeologists discovered nine burials this year, finding gold, copper and bone jewelry, pottery and coins |
![]() | There are artifact rich cemeteries surrounding Tenea. In one, antiquities smugglers dug up two remarkable 6th century B.C. marble statues of young men in 2010 and tried to sell them for 10 million euros. Tenea survived the Roman destruction of neighboring Corinth in 146 B.C., and flourished under Roman rule. It appears to have been abandoned in the late 4th century A.D. | ![]() |
Thursday, 8 November 2018
Judaean Coins featured in Goldberg’s New York Sale
![]() Two extremely rare Year 4 shekels are featured | The collection of Shlomo Moussaieff, consisting of over 150 extremely rare Judaean and Judaean-related Roman coins will be auctioned in the New York Sale held by Goldbergs Auction from January 8-10. | ![]() |
![]() | The most well known Judaean-related Roman coin series is “Judaea Capta”, consisting of bronze, silver and gold coins celebrating the Roman victory over Judaea in 70 CE. | ![]() |
![]() | The most important Judaean-related Roman coin issued in between the two Jewish revolts against Rome features the Emperor Nerva (96-98 CE) | ![]() |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)