The carved stone block is about the size of an occasional table. It has held its secrets for two millenniums. Whoever engraved its enigmatic symbols was apparently depicting the ancient Jewish temples. But what makes the stone such a rare… Continue Reading
emirates247.com reports that the Saudi religious police force has been training its members to be able to detect and fight magical workings. Magic is officially against the law in Saudi Arabia and onvicted sorcerers have been executed. So…y’all might wanna… Continue Reading
A medieval sword inscribed with a mysterious message is stumping researchers and causing a stir among armchair historians. The 13th-century weapon was found in the River Witham in Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom, in 1825. It now belongs to the… Continue Reading
Hyperallergic.com reports that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has taken a unprecedented move that seems totally obvious — in hindsight (we’ve never seen a report of any other institution endeavoring such a project). They’re restoring the color that (likely) originally… Continue Reading
A person with a metal detector has discovered a 1,800-year-old copper brooch, engraved with the letters “RMA,” on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. It contains wordplay that is, quite literally, “lovely,” scientists have found. http://www.livescience.com/53663-ancient-roman-brooch-contains-lovely-palindrome.html
. The Herculaneum papyri survived only because all the moisture was seared out of them—uncharred papyrus scrolls in non-desert climates have long since rotted away. In each scroll, the tightly wrapped layers of the fibrous pith of the papyrus plant… Continue Reading
Archaeologists in Croatia announced their discovery of a 3,500-year-old sunken town in Adriatic Sea near Zadar, a southern coastal city. The ancient settlement and port was found in the sea between the islands of Ricula and Galesnjak in the Pasman… Continue Reading
Soror Amy brought this online interactive adventure the explores the painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Jheronimus Bosch to our attention. The site states: “This interactive documentary is an audio and video rich online experience for which you need to… Continue Reading
The Mindscape of Alan Moore is a 2005 documentary film which chronicles the life and work of Alan Moore. In it, he details his startling and profound worldview. In the course of the documentary Moore states: “There is some confusion… Continue Reading
A dictionary of the extinct language of ancient Mesopotamia has been completed after 90 years of work. Assyrian and Babylonian – dialects of the language collectively known as Akkadian – have not been spoken for almost 2,000 years. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13715296