History & Archaeology

New look at a historical riddle

The rescue team found only the tattered tent, some skis and nine bodies. (Image: Djatlov Memorial Foundation) 62 years ago, a ski expedition set...

Misappropriated gravestones discovered

Gravestones once built into a wall: traces of the long and important history of the Jews in Mainz. Image: MWWK / Piel) Archaeologists have...

Guano as a fertilizer for the Atacama

Sea bird guano on a coastal island off Peru. (Image: LisaStrachan / iStock The Atacama Desert in western South America is one of the...

AT THEN podcast, episode eleven: Dictator Marcos leaves the Philippines

At the end of February 1986 the long-time dictator Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines - he had not only lost large parts of the...

Buried adorned with elk teeth

A total of 90 elk teeth were discovered in a dead person from the burial ground on the island of Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov. ...

Why Japan’s wine production stopped before it really started

Winemaking had an extremely short history in Japan. (Image: Tsuguharu Inaba) In Edo Period Japan, wine was only produced for five years - and...

Possibly the oldest representation of animals in the world

Image of a Sulawesi pustular pig in the Leang Tedongnge cave. (Image: Maxime Aubert) Indonesia is known for its ancient cave paintings. Now...

Shipwrecked ivory reveals secrets

The precious cargo of the 16th century ship "Bom Jesus" also included over 100 elephant tusks. (Image: National Museum of Namibia) Where did the...

Ritual bath discovered from the time of Christ

Levels of the ritual bath in Gethsemane. (Image: Yaniv Berman / Israel Antiquities Authority) The Garden of Gethsemane at the gates of Jerusalem is...

Tracking down historical fake news

Vinícius Freitas searches libraries and archives for images that show alleged Jewish host sacrifices and ritual murders. (Image: University of Würzburg) A research project...

Antique snack bar reveals the Romans’ fast food preferences

View of the counter of the antique food stand. (Image: Parco archeologico di Pompei) Even in Roman times, people satisfied their hunger at food...

Baboons indicate the legendary land of Punt

Apparently baboons were introduced into Egypt from a region northwest of the Horn of Africa during the New Kingdom period - presumably this was...

DAMALS podcast, episode ten: the almost never-ending story of the Eurotunnel

On January 20, 1986, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President François Mitterand announced the construction of a tunnel under the English Channel....

Board games – popular 400 years ago

Chess pieces from the Augsburg Art Cabinet. (Image: Greger Sundin) Whether on holidays or to pass the time in lockdown: board games are a...

Ancient DNA reveals prehistory of the Caribbean

Early exchange in the Bahama Archipelago (Image: Merald Clark / SIBA) The first humans began to settle on the Caribbean islands around 6,000 years ago....

Christmas tree decorations as a mirror of the zeitgeist

Christmas decorated tree at the end of the 19th century. (Image: cu / iStock) Whether golden balls, tinsel or edible delicacies: the decorations on...

THEN Podcast, Episode Nine: The Rise and Fall of Numider Jugurtha

In the fight for the throne of Numidia, Prince Jugurtha (around 160-104 BC) ignored all directives and admonitions from Rome for a long time...

Discovered early medieval wall paintings

Drawing on the west wall of the south transept in the Augsburg High Cathedral: Entombment of John the Baptist in the foreground the open...

Phoenician fortifications discovered in Spain

Exposed part of the fortification trench (Image: INAPH) Around 3,000 years ago, the Phoenicians' shipping routes and trading bases reached as far as the Iberian...

5000 year old “place name sign” identified

The inscription made of four hieroglyphs, carved in stone (Image: Ludwig Morenz) "Domain of the Horus King Scorpio": Experts have identified a rock inscription near...

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