History & Archaeology

This map of the Holy Land still shapes us today

Christopher Froschauer's 1525 Old Testament, opened to the page with Lucas Cranach the Elder's map of the Holy Land, in the Wren Library, Trinity...

What did Christmas presents look like in the Middle Ages?

In the run-up to Christmas, people in medieval London imported, among other things, numerous Jesus figures. © Unsplash Anyone who wants to give presents to...

Where did the marble slab on Otto the Great’s tomb come from?

The representative cover plate removed from the stone box and examined by specialists to determine the origin of ancient marble. © Andrea Hörentrup /...

A shaman from Bad Dürrenberg wore a feather headdress

Artistic reconstruction of the regalia of the shaman of Bad Dürrenberg with feather headdress. © Karol Schauer/State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt About...

Early humans made fire 400,000 years ago

Early humans may have learned to make fire as early as 400,000 years ago. © Craig Williams/The Trustees of the British Museum The ability to...

Upside down world

Roman society was characterized by a very pronounced hierarchy. Everything had its own place: rich and poor, above and below. But once a year...

Beer – a gift from the gods

Strict, dignified, sublime - this is how the ancient Egyptians usually appear in their paintings, reliefs and portraits. They were also able to celebrate...

Merry Christmas!

Charles Dickens' “Christmas Carol” is one of his most popular stories worldwide. With this work, Dickens did not provide a pure portrait of the...

A Greek woman sculpture in the Etruscan city of Vulci

Head of the female statue discovered in the Etruscan city of Vulci at the site. © Mariachiara Franceschini The city of Vulci in central Italy...

Mysterious Stone of Destiny

On December 25, 1950, four students from Glasgow stole the “Stone of Destiny” from Westminster Abbey. Supposedly the stone once played an important role...

In the beginning there was the jam

View of an early modern kitchen (painting by Georg Flegel and Marten van Valckenborch, around 1600). akg images A new study shows how fruit cooked with...

Roman private bath discovered on the Rhine

The exposed building. © Canton of Aargau, Cantonal Archaeology Archaeologists have excavated an ancient bath complex in Switzerland. It once belonged to a Roman estate,...

Window to the diversity of Europe

At the Museum of European Cultures in Berlin, you can wander through Europe in all its diversity - from the sun-drenched south of Sicily...

A life for city, church and empire

1000 years ago, Burchard von Worms (around 965–1025), one of the most important scholars of high medieval canon law, died. But the work of...

Propaganda instead of frontline action

As a specialist in “internal advertising” in a defense company, many an advertising specialist was able to avoid being drafted during the Second World...

Neanderthals practiced selective cannibalism

These Neanderthal bone fragments from Goyet Cave bear traces of cannibalism. © Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences / Scientific Reports Not only did the...

Heroes of the Arena

From the beginning of the Roman Republic to the end of Late Antiquity, there was hardly a greater pleasure for the Romans and most...

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