Religious History

Student researchers analyzed this leaf from a Book of Hours (left), a devotional Christian manuscript that dates to the 15th century. The students found traces of French cursive writing beneath the visible text (right). The cursive was likely scraped away to make the parchment reusable for the illuminated Gothic script.

College Sophomores Discover Hidden Text in Medieval Manuscript

Students at Rochester Institute of Technology used a self-developed UV imaging system to assess a 15th-century religious document

Routine sewage work in Athens unearthed a bust of Hermes, the Greek god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves and travel.

Ancient Bust of Greek God Hermes Found During Work on Athens' Sewage System

The well-preserved sculpture, which dates to around 300 B.C., was once used as a street marker

The researchers found a statuette of a woman holding a musical instrument that appears to be a drum.

Archaeologists in Golan Heights Unearth Fort Dated to Time of Biblical King David

Researchers say the newly discovered site was probably part of the enigmatic Kingdom of Geshur

The Sistine Hall, originally constructed as part of the Vatican Library

Vatican Library Enlists Artificial Intelligence to Protect Its Digitized Treasures

The archive employs A.I. modeled on the human immune system to guard offerings including a rare manuscript of the "Aeneid"

Albrecht Dürer, Heksen (Witches), 1497 (left) and Albrecht Dürer, De fire hekse (The Four Witches), 1497 (right)

The Little-Known Story of 16th- to 18th-Century Nordic Witch Trials

An art exhibition in Copenhagen and a museum in Ribe revisit witchcraft's legacy in Denmark and neighboring countries

A brightly-colored page in the Codex Borgia, one of the artifacts requested by Mexico's president

Mexico Seeks Apology for Catholic Church's Role in the Spanish Conquest

In a letter to Pope Francis, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also requested the temporary return of a number of artifacts

Archaeologists found the remains of cabins, broken clay tobacco pipes, ceramic cups and other artifacts.

Maryland Archaeologists Unearth Jesuit Plantation's 18th-Century Slave Quarters

Researchers are working with the descendants of enslaved people seeking to document their family histories

Art historians used clues in the paintings' artistic techniques to estimate their age.

These Newly Discovered Buddhist Temple Paintings May Be Among Japan's Oldest

Art historians used infrared photography to identify images that could date to around 685 A.D.

David Copperfield has sold more tickets than any other solo performer in history.

How Harry Houdini and David Copperfield's Jewish Heritage Shaped Their Craft

The illusionists join Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Steven Spielberg in the National Museum of American Jewish History's hall of fame

The llamas were preserved through natural mummification, leaving their colorful decorations intact.

Sacrificed Llamas Found in Peru Were Likely a Gift From the Inca

The elaborately decorated animals were probably buried alive alongside similarly adorned guinea pigs

Archaeologists unearthed the friary's ruins beneath the site of a demolished parking garage.

Long-Lost Medieval Monastery Discovered Beneath Parking Garage in England

Carmelite friars established Whitefriars in 1270, but the religious site was destroyed during the Protestant Reformation

A digital reconstruction of the newly unearthed Norse godhouse

Ruins of Eighth-Century Pagan Temple Found in Norway

The structure—built to honor Norse gods like Thor and Odin—is the first of its kind discovered in the country

The second permanent First Baptist Church structure on South Nassau Street in Williamsburg was dedicated in 1856.

Archaeologists Unearth Foundations of One of the Nation's Oldest Black Churches

A dig in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg revealed sections of the First Baptist Church, which was founded in 1776

Dionysus is the Greco-Roman god of wine, ecstasy and theater.

Archaeologists in Turkey Unearth 2,400-Year-Old Dionysus Mask

The terracotta likeness was likely used in rituals associated with winemaking

Jerzy Kalina's Poisoned Well is on view at the National Museum in Warsaw.

Why a New Sculpture of Pope John Paul II Is So Controversial

Artist Jerzy Kalina says his "strongman" is a call to resist "multiplying forms of red revolution"

Archaeologists unearthed shards of pottery, wine jugs, floor tiles and traces of crops, among other artifacts.

Sourdough Bread Oven, 'Air Freshener' Found at Medieval Irish Monastery

During the 13th century, French monks created a Cistercian community at Beamore in County Meath

Towers of the Stadtkirsche rise above Wittenberg, Germany. Much of the church was demolished and replaced in 1522, but the “Judensau” has remained despite controversy.

Germany May Have Banished Nazism, but Its Medieval Anti-Semitism Is Still in Plain Sight

In the city where Martin Luther revolutionized Christianity, a vile, 700-year-old sculpture openly denigrates Jews. Why is it still there?

The Knights Templar constructed the Saint Stanislaus chapel in the Polish village of Chwarszczany during the 13th century.

Crypts, Tunnel Discovered Beneath Knights Templar Chapel in Poland

Last fall, an archaeological investigation revealed tantalizing structures hidden below the 13th-century building

Fragment of a 1,400-year-old chalice found near Hadrian's Wall in northern England

Britain's Oldest Example of Christian Graffiti Found Near Hadrian's Wall

Researchers at Vindolanda unearthed a 1,400-year-old lead chalice covered in religious symbols

El Greco, The Assumption of the Virgin, 1577–79

A History of El Greco's Masterful—and Often Litigious—Artistic Career

A 57-work retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago charts the evolution of the 16th-century painter's distinctive style

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