The majestic horses in the paintings of Johann Georg de Hamilton are a Baroque marvel. With graceful movements, robust hindquarters, and High School postures, they embody the strength and elegance of the breeds of that time. The depiction of intricately adorned and braided manes, muscular bodies, and expressive features gives these 18th-century portraits a unique,... Continue Reading →
This question arose during a discussion with Giuseppe Maresca, the revitalizer of the nearly extinct Neapolitan horse breed. For decades, Maresca has been searching not only for surviving Neapolitan horses but also for the oldest existing riding hall. It is undisputed that in the 15th/16th century, Italians laid the foundation for modern riding. Men like... Continue Reading →
The Big Bang theory is widely accepted among scientists and describes the origin and evolution of the universe. We know that the universe began as an infinitely small point that was hot and dense and has been expanding ever since. However, the Big Bang theory only explains what happened after the initial expansion of the... Continue Reading →
In recent years, the discoveries at the Suburban Villa of Civita Giuliana, known as Domus del Sauro Bardato (the House of the Saddled Horse), have captured the world's attention. This luxurious property from the time of Emperor Augustus is located just a few steps from the walls of ancient Pompeii, and 9 km away from... Continue Reading →
It seems, when a gladiator died, there were certain persons to profit... selling his blood.
The art of Ogham created a fascinating medieval alphabet system primarily used to transcribe early Irish and later Old Irish languages. This early form of communication has been discovered on roughly 400 surviving orthodox inscriptions, mostly in southern Munster, throughout Ireland and western Britain.
There is an unusual statue in Mexico that appears to be missing a finger. Although a replica of the statue located nearby shows the usual five fingers, it appears that the original statue was intentionally created with one finger missing.
In traditional Christian belief, God is referred to as "He" or "Father," which gives the impression that God is male. While most Christian theologians would try to argue that God is beyond human gender and is not limited by our categories of male and female, we still pray to ‘God father in heaven’. How much clearer can it get? Yet, once tehre was a female...
There have already been instances in history when technological and societal changes totally transformed our society. The breakdown of the Roman Empire and the Industrial Revolution cost millions of lives. The same will happen wih AI.
Originally carrots were not orange, as they are today. The coulour was chosen by breeders for a special reason. And its not because of the vitamines...
AI, such as ChatGPT, reproduces and multiplies in a quite dreadful manner inaccuracies and biases. This may soonaffect the public's knowledge of history.
The ancient Romans did not use toilet paper as we know it today. Instead, it was for a long time supposed that they used a sponge on a stick called a "tersorium" or a “xylospongium”, provided to clean themselves after using the toilet. But that may not be true.
If you were to travel back in time, you would see that already ancient Romans had a quite well functioning postal service.
Ancient populations venerated the Mother Goddess, as they realized that only reproduction ensures survival. Has our today's society something to learn from the past? And are we about to loose in the game of evolution?
While most people will be uncomfortable with the idea of being castrated, a new trend has emerged where individuals voluntarily choose to nullify their gender. Although this may seem like a recent development driven by modern social trends, the practice of castration has been around for centuries and has been used for various reasons. It... Continue Reading →
For at least 150 years, scientists have recognized that something unusual happened along the western coast of Crete and the surrounding shores of the Mediterranean. When Captain Thomas Pratt mapped the Aegean Sea in the 1850s, he noticed an ancient Roman harbor on an island that sat 6 meters above the sea level. Archaeologists have... Continue Reading →
As is well known, Cleopatra VII was the Queen of Egypt and the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Even today, the public is impressed by the story of how she used her charm and intelligence to seduce powerful men and secure her throne as pharaoh, especially Julius Caesar and, after him, Mark Antony. However,... Continue Reading →
You certainly saw the recent headlines in the press about the possible upcoming discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb. A good moment to debate the true location of that tomb. Despite extensive search, the place of the tomb of the famed Cleopatra remained until today a mystery. But we have quite reliable hints. Yet, these do not point to the place, in which one might be looking for it in this moment…
Ascets have gone to extremes in history. But was tehre indeed some benefit in ascetism?
Over the course of history strange events happened and they also included some persons to begin to eat glas and metal and to bend to inimaginable snake forms.
Humans have transformed their bodies in many strange ways throughout history. From body modifications such as tattoos, piercings, and scarification, to extreme bodybuilding, plastic surgery, and even the use of prosthetics, humans have found ways to alter their appearance and function in unique and sometimes unusual ways. While not everyone went as far as to remove the bridge of his nose, as Federico Montefeltro, many people modify their bodies for cultural or religious reasons, while others do it for personal expression or as a form of rebellion. here the most extreme...
There is ongoing debate on which date exactly the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD happened. Here are the pro and the con.
Six questions remain open about what happened when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. One of them is, if Pliny ever managed to safe some of the people from the coast. A shipwreck might give answers.
Ludwig Bechstein was a German writer, well-known for his collection of tales in the German Saga Book. It was first published in 1853 and contains over 500 German folk tales, legends, and sagas that Bechstein collected from various sources. Many of them have a verifiable background. Two of the most well-known tales in the collection... Continue Reading →
As most will know, Virgil (70-19 BCE) was a Roman poet reputed for his wonderful Bucolica, the enchanting Georgica and the Roman national epic, the Aeneid. While he is today only acknowledged as a singer of nature and heroes, in old times and especially in the Middle Ages he was above all considered a magician with a reputation for possessing a special knowledge of the mystical and the occult.
What became of one of the most holy relics of Christ - the veil with the imprint of his face, the Mandylion?
Sometimes nature plays strange tricks on its creations. Mutations, deformations, and peculiarities are the raw materials of which evolution is made. However, humans have often attributed miraculous powers to these deformations. For example, horses with cloven hooves were placed close to unicorns, and six-fingered humans were deemed as having the makings of saints. Even the... Continue Reading →
When did the chase for treasure change into archaeological research?
"Noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" were the ideals proclaimed by J. J. Winckelmann as the beauty gospel of Greek art in his first publication on the subject in 1755. Today, however, it is generally accepted that sculpture in ancient Greece, and even in ancient Rome, was not quite as "simple" as previously supposed. Sculptures were... Continue Reading →
The best Christmas Market in the World lies in Dresden.
To this day, Naples is characterized by thousands of years old rites and cults of Greek, Roman, and Christian origin mixed with traditions and legends. One particularly bizarre ritual is the cult of the Anime Pezzentelle, which involves venerating the souls in purgatory by tending to skulls. While the region has always had a tradition... Continue Reading →
In many ancient cultures, it was customary to make sacrifices to the earth or the gods. Today, we know that the ancient Germanic peoples offered sacrifices, especially in lakes, crevices in the earth, and bogs. Broken weapons, valuable musical instruments, and even human beings have been found. The low-oxygen environment and the presence of tannic... Continue Reading →
The idea of sacrificing people, including children, on a large scale, tearing out their hearts, skinning them, and bathing in their blood in public on a daily basis is incomprehensible from today's point of view. However, this is exactly what many Latin American peoples did in pre-Columbian times. They sacrificed captives, slaves, and sometimes their... Continue Reading →
In Antigua Guatemala, the former capital of Guatemala, there are numerous ruins of Spanish colonial buildings. The magnificent churches, in particular, still attract visitors today. One of them is particularly fascinating due to its peculiar structure and goosebump-inducing history: the Church and Convent of the Capuchin Nuns. The convent was consecrated in 1736 and originally... Continue Reading →
If you drive along the coast in the north of Naples, you will see it dominated by factories, sunny beaches and crowded streets. In between, however, there are ancient brick walls, you see grottos in the tuff on the beach and the outlines of sunken structures appear in the azure water. Involuntarily, you ask yourself:... Continue Reading →
Despite their significant historical importance, the general public is hardly aware of the Nemi ships and their history. The reason for this is obvious: they no longer exist. However, their story is fascinating. These two ancient ceremonial boats were massive constructions that Emperor Caligula had built to honor the goddess Diana during his brief reign... Continue Reading →
The most famous Villa of the World lies still under the Lava of the Vesuvius. Who did die in its ruins?
Have you ever wondered why the famous Castel del Monte has eight corners? here is why.
They exist, the bottlenecks of the world, the places where everyone passes through and which everyone knows. Today you would list Frankfurt Airport, Heathrow and Miami, in the past it was the Azores, Goree in Senegal, Madagascar or the Cape of Good Hope.
There are strange places in the middle of the sea that lurk in front of the sailor like trapdoors in front of the wanderer. The Abrolohos Reef in Australia, the Goodwin Sands off England, the Skerki Banks off Tunis, the Bassa do Indias near Mozambique and Chinchorro Banks off Yucatan are just a few of... Continue Reading →
Who invented the wheel?
Increasingly globalized and interconnected world, it is interesting to ask the question - when did all this actually start? When did humanity first produce standardized consumer goods, created with standardized materials, ... When did we set out on the road to modernity?
Certain words in our language still show our seafaring history.
For humans and animals, the Yucatan context has always meant that they had to search for water underground or use broken Cenotes as wells.
Great events are known to cast their shadows, even if sometimes they cast them behind. Whether the Emperor Nero was really the one who burned Rome in 64 A.D. or whether it burned due to carelessness is difficult to determine today, but it is clear that this event had consequences. Among others it resulted in... Continue Reading →
The history of the world is often based on coincidences, but sometimes human beings have a hand in them, and this is specifically true at sea.
In August of last year, I found myself standing in a grotto, its walls grey and damp, adorned with stalactites. The flickering light from our headlamps created an eerie atmosphere as I struggled to keep my footing on the ancient steps of a sunken amphitheatre enclosed by tuff as hard as stone. Amidst the lava,... Continue Reading →
The Corona pandemic might not have only negative effects. It taught us to better telework, and might improve our lifebalance and the wellbeing of our world.
The story of a mysterious haunted lion statue in Venice leads to the traces of a peculiar theft of art.
La Isabela, the first European settlement in the Americas, is threatened by erosion and decay.
Archaeology Mysteries 