History & Archaeology

The Pope’s daughter

For centuries, Lucrezia Borgia (1480–1519) was decried as a poisoner and blood abuser. In fact, she was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI. (official...

Modern times behind old walls

With its magnificent Renaissance facade, the Old Town Hall characterizes the Leipzig market square. Spread over two floors, it invites you to discover the...

The Countess and Capital

The Swedish Countess Christina Piper was a merchant's daughter, an influential politician's wife, a socialite and, above all, a businesswoman. A forward-looking investment strategy...

Earliest evidence of prehistoric wooden tools

This wooden digging stick is 430,000 years old, making it the oldest wooden tool in the world to date. © Katerina Harvati, Dimitris Michailidis...

Eilsleben: New insights into the first farmers in Central Germany

Example of a ceramic vessel from the Linear Ceramic Culture. Halle (Saale), State Museum of Prehistory, Great Kumpf, location: Eilsleben. © Dguendel/CC by 3.0...

Roman marching camps discovered in northern Germania

Roman coins from the marching camps recovered using metal probes. They were coined under the emperors Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD), Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD)...

Plague mass grave discovered near Erfurt

This depiction of death on a winged lion dates from the plague era in the mid-14th century in Erfurt. © Klassik-Stiftung Weimar The “Black Death”...

On the trail of the Walbeck-Weferlingen concentration camp subcamp

Archaeologists work on the uncovered remains of a barrack of the former Walbeck-Weferlingen concentration camp subcamp. © State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology...

The splendor of chivalry

Within a few decades, the Burgundians had risen to the ranks of the most important European powers - but they were labeled as upstarts....

Burgundy becomes a party to the war

Since the early 15th century, Burgundy not only played an independent role in the Hundred Years' War between France and England (1337–1453), but was...

New insights into human ancestry

773,000 year old jawbone of an early human from Morocco. © Hamza Mehimdate/Program Préhistoire de Casablanca Who was the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens,...

Hunting with poison arrows existed 60,000 years ago

60,000 year old stone arrowhead from South Africa. Remains of a potent plant poison were detected on it. © Marlize Lombard Hunting with arrows soaked...

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...

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