Two Roman statues unearthed near Beit She’an

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.

Such artifacts are usually placed near or inside burial caves, and are intended to be a likeness of the deceased. They date to the late Roman-early Byzantine period (third to fourth centuries CE). Similar sculptures have been found in the past near the region of Beit She’an, which sits at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and Jezreel Valley. Heavy winter rains bring such finds to the surface.

The Likho

Likho is an embodiment of evil fate and misfortune in Slavic mythology. A creature with one eye, it is often depicted as an old, skinny woman in black or as an evil male goblin. In ancient times, the likho was believed to be a servant of Death. During pre-Christian times villages would conduct a ritual during times of epidemic and burn an effigy of Likho. Likho was supposed to come and eat a person. This was used to scare small children. Likho is a noun meaning bad luck in modern Russian.

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.

Cool Ancients at Heritage

Heritage offers a remarkable array of coins from every available epoch in history, hailing from every corner of the globe.

Ancients: ZEUGITANA. Carthage. Ca. 320-270 BC. EL stater NGC Choice XF ★ 5/5 - 4/5 Ancients: THRACIAN KINGDOM. Lysimachus (305-281 BC). AR tetradrachm. NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5 Ancients: JUDAEA. Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-135 AD). AR zuz. NGC MS 5/5 - 4/5

German East Africa: German Colony. Wilhelm II Proof Rupie 1905-J PR65 PCGS

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.

Pharaoh Neferefre

'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.

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.

See ----->The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

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.

$123k

Over-sized Roman Marble head of a God. 2ND CENTURY A.D. USD $396,000

Egyptian ganodioite saced bull. LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.

Egyptian monumental head of NECTANEBO II, 360-343 B.C. USD 732,000

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. The manticore or mantyger first appeared in English heraldry in c.1470, as a badge of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings.

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."

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

One of the New Testament’s most infamous characters, Pontius Pilate ruled Judaea from around AD 26-36. According to accounts in the New Testament, he was reluctant to condemn Christ to death and washed his hands to symbolise that he abdicated responsibility for the crucifixion.

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

Mummies stacked together at the site of tomb TT2

Carved wooden statues and funerary figurines called “Ushabtis” made of wood, faience and clay.

Aureus with image of Augustus

In 2016 an Israeli woman hiking in the Galilee discovered an impossibly rare gold coin - only the second such coin known. The coin, dating to the year 107 CE, bears the image of the Roman Emperor Augustus, and was unearthed in northern Israel.

On the reverse are symbols of the Roman legions next to the name of the ruler Trajan, and on the obverse – instead of an image of the emperor Trajan, as was usually the case, there is the portrait of the emperor “Augustus Deified”. The coin is part of a series of coins minted by Trajan in tribute to the emperors that preceded him. The only other example known is in the British Museum.

Trajan's Column with a statue of St. Peter installed on top in Rome.

Trajan lead the empire to attain its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death.

Historical sources say Roman soldiers were paid a high salary of three gold coins, the equivalent of 75 silver coins, each month. Due to their high monetary value, soldiers were unable to buy goods in the market as the merchants couldn't provide change. Bronze and silver coins of Trajan are common, but his gold coins are extremely rare. Trajan was Roman emperor from 98 AD until his death in 117 AD. Officially declared by the Senate optimus princeps (the best ruler), Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman history.

Trajan's Uniformed Army, frieze on Trajan's Column

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.

He unearthed the £3.2 million ancient gold and silver haul in the summer of 2009.

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.

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.