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. |
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 | ![]() |
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