Ancient Civilizations

Pompeii Fixed Potholes With Molten Iron

A new study suggests the Romans knew how to melt iron and used it to fill in wheel ruts and cavities on their stone streets

Large ant colonies with tens or hundreds of thousands of members engage in all-out war with other colonies as they compete for resources.

When It Comes to Waging War, Ants and Humans Have a Lot in Common

In both humans and social insects, the capacity to engage in total war seems to hinge on population numbers

1,000-Year-Old Pouch From Bolivia Contains Traces of Five Mind-Altering Drugs

The ingredients include coca leaves and two compounds used in modern ayahuasca rituals

The board was likely used in the bath house at Vindolanda, one of 14 forts along Hadrian's Wall, but was repurposed as a floor stone in the adjacent building after it was broken.

Archaeologists Uncover an Ancient Roman Game Board at Hadrian's Wall

The cracked stone board was likely used to play ludus latrunculorum, Rome's favorite game

Beer Fueled Diplomacy in This Ancient Empire

Analysis shows a brewery at a Wari outpost in the mountains of southern Peru strengthened bonds with friends and neighbors

Faithfuls kneel on the new restored Holy Stair (Scala Santa) at San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome.

For the First Time in 300 Years, Pilgrims Can Climb These Holy Marble Steps

Worshippers can kneel up the 28 steps some believe Jesus ascended to receive his death sentence

Experts believe the Neolithic dog is the first canine to undergo forensic facial reconstruction

Thanks to Facial Reconstruction, You Can Now Look Into the Eyes of a Neolithic Dog

The collie-sized canine was buried in a cavernous tomb on Scotland’s Orkney Islands around 2,500 B.C.

Computer Analysis Says 'Beowulf' Is the Work of a Single Author

Academics have argued about the origins of the Old English epic for two centuries

A recently uncovered thermopolia in the ruins of Pompeii.

Recently Uncovered Thermopolium Reminds Us That Romans Loved Fast Food as Much as We Do

Similar snack counters dug up throughout Pompeii were once destinations for on-the-go Romans looking for a quick bite

A new study looks at the role “pro-social” religions play in fostering large-scale societies

Which Came First, Vengeful Gods or Complex Civilizations?

A new study pushes back against the hypothesis that moralizing gods were necessary to keep large societies civil

A 2,325-year-old bog butter weighing almost 30 pounds, alongside the keg it was found in.

Bronze Age Irish ‘Bog Butter’ Is Actually Made From Dairy, Study Finds

It previously was not clear whether the strange swampy snack originated from milk or animal fats

The bluestone quarry at Carn Goedog.

Secrets of Stonehenge Found in Quarries 180 Miles Away

Archaeologists believe the builders popped out "ready-made" bluestones at a quarry in Wales and dragged them overland to Salisbury

Researchers examine porcelain from the Java Sea Ship wreck using their "ray gun."

How an 'X-Ray Gun' Is Telling Us More About the Java Sea Shipwreck

Researchers used X-ray fluorescence to find the origins of porcelain recovered from the vessel to help pinpoint which port the ship first departed from

Was Alexander the Great Pronounced Dead Prematurely?

A new theory suggests he was only paralyzed when he was declared dead, but it's impossible to prove he had Guillain-Barré Syndrome with the existing facts

Mansa Musa as seen in the Catalan Atlas.

New Exhibition Highlights Story of the Richest Man Who Ever Lived

Read about Mansa Musa, emperor of Mali, who once disrupted Egypt's economy just by passing through

Oops: 4,500-Year-Old Stone Circle Turns Out to Be 1990s Replica

Discovered in Scotland last November, the recumbent circle was made by a local farmer interested in the ancient monuments

Easter Island Statues May Have Marked Sources of Fresh Water

A spatial analysis of the island's moai and ahu seem to line up with ancient wells and coastal freshwater seeps

Egyptian Schoolboy's 1,800-Year-Old Lesson to Go on Display

The British Library took the exercise out of storage as part of an upcoming exhibition on the history of writing

What Llama-Poop-Eating Mites Tell Us About the Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire

Lake-dwelling mite populations boomed at the height of the Andean civilization but dropped following the arrival of Spanish conquistadors

In this 2018 photo provided by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH, a skull-like stone carving and a stone trunk depicting the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse, are stored after being excavated from the Ndachjian–Tehuacan archaeological site in Tehuacan, Puebla state, where archaeologists have discovered the first temple dedicated to the deity.

Archaeologists Find First-Known Temple of ‘Flayed Lord’ in Mexico

While the rituals associated with the site may not be entirely clear, identifying the ruins of a temple to the deity Xipe Tóte is an important discovery

Page 29 of 44