Religion

This mural—found on the east wall of the south transept in the Augsburg Cathedral—depicts the beheading of St. John the Baptist.

1,000-Year-Old Bavarian Frescoes Depict Life and Beheading of John the Baptist

The paintings, which adorn the Augsburg Cathedral in southern Germany, are among the oldest of their kind in northern Europe

Rome's Basilica dei Santi Apostoli has housed bones said to belong to St. James and St. Philip since the sixth century A.D.

Bones Venerated as St. James the Younger's Don't Belong to the Apostle, Study Suggests

Researchers dated the femur fragments to between 214 and 340 A.D.—at least 160 years after the saint's lifetime

All over New Orleans, thousands of "house floats" were decorated in lieu of parade floats amid the paradeless 2021 Mardi Gras celebrations.

A Mardi Gras Like No Other Seeks to Bring New Orleans Together—From a Distance

The carnival season holds the possibility for renewal during the Covid-19 pandemic

Researchers found the mummy at a temple in the ancient Egyptian city of Taposiris Magna.

Archaeologists in Egypt Discover Mummy With Gold Tongue

Ancient embalmers likely placed the tongue-shaped, gold foil amulet in the deceased's mouth to ensure they could speak in the afterlife

The color purple has long been associated with royalty. This wool fabric found in Israel dates to around 1,000 B.C.

'Royal Purple' Fabric Dated to Time of Biblical King David Found in Israel

Derived from the bodies of snails, the dye used on the wool fibers was extremely valuable in the ancient world

This month's picks include The Ravine, Four Lost Cities and The Three Mothers.

Civil Rights Icons' Mothers, Lost Ancient Cities and Other New Books to Read

These February releases elevate overlooked stories and offer insights on oft-discussed topics

A total of 380 testimonies are currently available online. The remaining 1,185 will be added later this year.

Hundreds of Holocaust Testimonies Translated, Digitized for the First Time

The Wiener Holocaust Library plans to upload its entire collection of survivor accounts by the end of the year

Researchers restored the mask before reburying it to protect against looters and erosion.

Human-Sized Maya Mask Found in Mexico

The stucco sculpture—dated to between 300 B.C. and 250 A.D.—probably depicts a deity or elite member of society

A screenshot of the new V&A; digital tool, which allows viewers to explore high-resolution scans of Raphael's cartoons for his Sistine Chapel tapestry sequence. Here, Jesus speaks to Simon in The Miraculous Draught of Fishes (Luke 5: 1-11).

New Online Tool Reveals Raphael's Sistine Chapel Cartoons in Stunning Detail

High-resolution scans from the V&A offer an unprecedented view of the Renaissance drawings, down to every last line and wrinkle

In full, the Greek text reads, “Christ born of Mary. This work of the most God-fearing and pious bishop [Theodo]sius and the miserable Th[omas] was built from the foundation.”

Inscription Offers Earliest Evidence of Christianity in Israel's Jezreel Valley

The fifth-century engraving, found repurposed in a Byzantine building's wall, references "Christ born of Mary"

Authorities recovered a copy (right) of Salvator Mundi from a Naples man's apartment. Attributed to the school of Leonardo, the work dates to around 1508–1513.

Stolen Copy of 'Salvator Mundi' Found Stashed in Naples Cupboard

The museum that owns the 16th-century painting hadn't even realized the work—attributed to the school of Leonardo—was missing

Prior to the Spanish forces' arrival, Aztec people tried to hide the bones of their victims by throwing them into wells.

After Aztecs Cannibalized Spanish Convoy, Conquistadors Retaliated by Killing Innocents

Archaeologists in Mexico discovered the remains of women and children targeted by Hernán Cortés' forces in 1520

Every mark in Robert McCurdy’s portraits, above: Untitled (The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso), is meticulously rendered from the baby hairs that frame his subjects’ temples to the crow’s feet that border their eyes.

Why Robert McCurdy's Photo-Realist Portraits Stop Viewers in Their Tracks

The key to these singular portraits of influential leaders of our time rests in the gaze and the exacting details of the clothing

Archaeologists have been excavating the site since 2017.

A Medieval Nun Led This Newly Unearthed Buddhist Monastery in Eastern India

The religious center, located on a hillside away from densely populated areas, may have had all-female or mixed-gender renunciates

After composing and transcribing music for my wedding day, Red Baraat was born. Dave Sharma leads the baraat (wedding procession) on dhol, as I walk with my mother, family, and friends. August 27, 2005.

Musician Sunny Jain Reflects on Jainism, Jazz and the Punjabi Dhol Drum

While the originations of the dhol are not known with complete certainty, what is known is that it is a sound that has migrated

This 1465 fresco by Domenico di Michelino depicts Dante, holding a copy of The Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to hell.

Follow Dante Into Purgatory With Online Exhibition of 'Divine Comedy' Drawings

The Uffizi Gallery's digital show features 88 illustrations by 16th-century artist Federico Zuccari

Evidence of human settlement on the Urla-Çeşme peninsula, where the temple was found, dates back to the late Neolithic period.

Archaeologists in Turkey Unearth 2,500-Year-Old Temple of Aphrodite

An inscription found at the site—dedicated to the Greek goddess of love and beauty—states, "This is the sacred area"

Father Reginald Foster celebrating his birthday in 2019

Father Reginald Foster Used Latin to Bring History Into the Present

Who speaks Latin these days? A surprisingly large number of people, thanks to the late friar, who died on Christmas Day at 81

The statue, which dates back to around 1348, likely depicts John de Belton, a priest who died of the Black Death.

Medieval Effigy Found Hidden Beneath English Church's Pipe Organ

The newly restored carving is the oldest alabaster effigy of a priest discovered in the U.K. to date

Workers building a visitors' tunnel at the modern Church of All Nations discovered the ancient mikveh, or ritual bath.

Researchers Unearth Ritual Bath Dated to Jesus's Time Near Garden of Gethsemane

The 2,000-year-old "mikveh" represents the first Second Temple–era archaeological evidence found at the site

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