Decapitated, kneeling skeleton found in a pit in China linked to ancient ritual sacrifice
Category History
Coronavirus pandemic overwhelms ‘death care’ industry
Potter’s field on Hart Island in the Bronx, New York, has experienced an influx of burials during the coronavirus pandemic. (Shown here on April 9, 2020.) The coronavirus is not only controlling how we live, but increasingly what happens after…
Does an ancient street’s ‘solar alignment’ honor Roman emperor Octavian? Scholars disagree.
A team of scientists has found an alignment that occurs between the rising sun and a major street in Turin that was constructed around 28 B.C. Scientists in Turin, Italy, have discovered that a couple of days each year, the…
Deformed ‘alien’ skulls offer clues about life during the Roman Empire’s collapse
Artificially deformed skull of an adult woman. Permanent binding during childhood caused the elongation of the braincase and depressions in the bone. Over decades, dozens of artificially deformed “alien-like” skulls that are more than 1,000 years old have been unearthed…
This Week In History News, Apr. 5 – 11
Mysteries of ancient humans’ love for ostrich eggs unlocked, history of Nazi camp on British soil revealed, remains of prehistoric rainforest in Antarctica discovered.Bronze Age Humans Risked Death To Steal And Decorate Giant Ostrich Eggs British MuseumTwo ancient ostrich eggs…
4,200-year-old burial of Bronze Age chieftain discovered under UK skate park
Antarctic Explorer’s Century-Old Journal Describes ‘Perverted’ Penguins
Explorer George Murray Levick was both excited and shocked to discover the extreme sexual displays he saw among Antarctic penguins. Antarctic Heritage Trust/AFP/Getty ImagesGeorge Murray Levick became obsessed with studying the Adélie penguins during the expedition. In 1910, the daring…
Bones of one of England’s first saints, a 7th-century princess, found in church wall
Concealing the saint’s remains likely prevented them from being destroyed during the Reformation. Archaeologists have identified the bones of one England’s earliest saints. The remains were found hidden behind a church wall in the southern part of the country. Her…
Student discovers 5,000-year-old sword hidden in Venetian monastery
The sword was mistakenly thought to be medieval. It is now thought to come from eastern Anatolia and to be about 5000 years-old – one of the oldest swords ever found. A keen-eyed archaeology student made the find of a…
20 Amazing women in science and math
She wrote the world’s first computer program — in 1837. She discovered ancient sea monsters buried in her backyard. She cancelled the chemical tearing our ozone layer apart. You might not know their names or faces, but these pioneering women…
The True Story Of The Man In The Iron Mask
Even after his death, the government took great care to hide the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask. His clothes were promptly burned at dawn and his cell was immediately scraped and whitewashed. Wikimedia CommonsAn illustration of the Man…
Rare tile of mythical beast discovered in 14th-century cesspit
Archaeologists have discovered a 14th-century cesspit that underwent an extreme makeover over the centuries, transforming from a receptacle for human excrement into a fashionable cellar with a latrine. Since discovering the cesspool in London at the end of 2019, archaeologists…