Religion

A woman wearing a burkini at the beach

France’s Top Court Overturns Burkini Ban

French swimmers may keep wearing what they please

This 2,000-year-old scroll is covered with mysterious words in Aramaic.

A Guide to Ancient Magic

In antiquity, love or revenge was just a spell away

One of the dig sites at Durrington Walls where researchers have uncovered a post that once held a large, prehistoric timber post.

The So-Called “Superhenge” Was Made of Wood, Not Stone

New research shows that the ancient structure was also taken down in a hurry

The remains of a teenage boy found near an altar dedicated to Zeus at Mt. Lykaion

Did the Ancient Greeks Engage in Human Sacrifice?

The remains uncovered at an altar to Zeus on Mount Lykaion may confirm legends about human sacrifice at the shrine

The cave is supported by six pillars hewn from the same rock.

Archaeologists Are Trying to Digitally Preserve an Ancient Cave Before It's Demolished

The 5th-century cave is in the way of an airport expansion

A cartoon from the magazine The Judge, where "Democracy" is portrayed as the devil overlooking Washington, D.C., and looks very much like Grover Cleveland.

Lucifer Has Long Had His Hands in Politics

Since the earliest days of Christianity, people have accused their political rivals of being in league with the Devil

Eleven Persian qanats are being preserved by Unesco.

Unesco Names New World Heritage Sites

Rock art, irrigation and education add to the organization's growing list of sites worthy of protection

A grave marker in Kingston's Hunt's Bay Cemetery carved with a skull and crossbones and Hebrew lettering

The Forgotten Jewish Pirates of Jamaica

Today, some tour operators and cultural historians are calling attention to the country's little-known Jewish heritage

The historical flag of Prague's Jewish community.

How Did the Six-Pointed Star Become Associated With Judaism?

The connection between the two goes back centuries

One of the most stunning features of Taiwan's Lukang Longshan Temple is its extravagant wood caisson ceiling.

Experience the Secrets of a Threatened Taiwanese Temple

New 3D reconstructions make it possible to look inside Lukang Longshan

"Sting Like a Bee" Muhammad Ali, 1979 Serigraph

Artwork by Muhammad Ali Is Going up For Auction

You could own a painting by the Louisville Lip

Brother Guy Consolmagno, a staff astronomer and the curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory

Guy Consolmangno, the Vatican’s Chief Astronomer, on Balancing Church With the Cosmos

The MIT graduate speaks to how he ended up studying the stars for the Catholic Church

Labyrinth of the Chartres Cathedral in France.

Walk the World's Most Meditative Labyrinths

History meets harmony on these time-worn paths

A diagram of Reynolds's gardens

Take a Closer Look at Mary Reynolds’s Innovative Celtic Gardens

The award-winning landscape designer bases her ideas on the four seasons, but with a regional twist

The Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava after it was decimated by a fire on Orthodox Easter.

A Historic Cathedral in New York City Goes up in Flames

The Cathedral of St. Sava caught fire just hours after the Orthodox congregation celebrated Easter

This 98-foot-long figure appears to represent an animal sticking out its tongue.

“New” 2,000-Year-Old Geoglyph Spotted in Peru

There’s always more to learn about the mysterious Nazca lines

Xian'er, the robot monk, with its creator, Buddhist monk Master Xianfan.

A Robot Monk Is Spreading Buddhist Teachings in China

An adorable robot serves up automated mantras

A print of Lake Suwa from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

Japanese Priests Collected Almost Seven Centuries of Climate Data

Historic records from "citizen scientists" in Japan and Finland give researchers centuries of data on ice conditions

A statue of Julian of Norwich at Norwich Cathedra. She is one of the first-known women writers in the English language.

For the First Time, See Two Early Medieval Books Written By Women On Display Together

The manuscripts detail the authors' experiences

For the first time in hundreds of years, some seders might include rice and beans.

For the First Time in 800 Years, Rice and Beans Are Kosher for Passover

The Jewish Conservative movement relaxes a 13th-century ban on rice, corn and beans during Passover

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