![]() | 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
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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.![]() |
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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. | ![]() |
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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.![]() |
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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 | ![]() |
Monday, 26 November 2018
Egypt cracks 3,000-year-old sarcophagus
Authorities in Egypt cracked open a newly discovered sarcophagus to unveil a more than 3,000-year-old female mummy, still perfectly preserved. The first of the two new mummies holds the remains of a priest who would have been responsible for embalming the pharaohs. The female mummy dates from the time of Tutankhamun and Ramses II | ![]() |
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Friday, 23 November 2018
Staffordshire Hoard Roman helmet recreated
![]() | Many of the fragments found in the famous Staffordshire Hoard come from the high-status helmet and experts have painstakingly spent the last 18 months reconstructing it for display. Thousands of 1,300 years old fragments were studied in a bid to build a picture of the original helmet. | ![]() |
![]() | It was almost a decade ago when one man and his metal detector uncovered the world's largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork. Terry Herbert struck the treasure of several lifetimes near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield. ![]() | ![]() |
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. |
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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. | ![]() |
Saturday, 17 November 2018
Skull Elongation of the Paracas
![]() | The Paracas people living on the coast of what is now Peru between 1000BC and 100AD developed a complex and advanced civilization. Some of their practices however would be considered bizarre and sinister today. Chief among them is the practice of skull elongation. Deformation of the skull began shortly after birth and would continue for years until the desired effect was achieved. | ![]() |
![]() | It's believed the practice was a way to mark those of noble birth versus those of lower class. Evidence for this is seen among the royalty of the Inca Empire, who all had elongated skulls. The Paracas remain mysterious. DNA testing of 19 Paracas skulls indicates that these people migrated from Eurasia. | ![]() |
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