Major archaeological finds in Egypt continue to be unearthed and this one involves an entire elite family burial tomb. Archaeologists have found a new ancient Egyptian pharaonic tomb, belonging to an important royal official, that is roughly 2,500 years old. 

Research on a 6,000-year-old skeleton has revealed the undeniable presence of the rare genetic disorder known as stone bone disease or osteopetrosis. 

Mankind’s ancient ancestors faced many challenges, for instance the need to be able to find drinkable water that did not show on the surface of the land. Many of these challenges were solved by way of the ancient practice of dowsing.

A new Lidl supermarket in Ireland is offering shoppers insights as to how the ancient Viking people lived in the city, by making an ancient Hiberno-Norse structure viewable through glass floor panels. 

The Panyer Boy is a mysterious relief found in London. As indicated by its name, the sculpture depicts a boy seating on what seems to be a basket. Additionally, there is a stone plaque with an inscription on it. 

The Cappadocia region in central Turkey has one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world. The deep valleys and soaring rock formations are dotted with numerous archaeological wonders. There are homes, chapels, tombs, temples, and entire subterranean cities harmoniously carved into the natural landforms and just waiting to be explored.

Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey. (ninelutsk /Adobe Stock)

Derinkuyu is Cappadocia’s most thoroughly excavated and explored underground city. Visitors can explore eight levels of rooms, tunnels, and passageways, reaching depths of over 280 feet (85.34 meters). Guided walking tours of Derinkuyu allow visitors to explore the remains of underground stables, cellars, storage rooms, churches, kitchens, wineries, wells, a prisoner holding area, and living areas, as well as peeking into the gigantic ventilation shafts left behind by the original creators centuries ago.

A movie PR team at Amazon have defaced a British monument to increase box-office takings for their new Borat film. The National Trust claims they willfully “defaced” the iconic English monument. The Cerne Abbas Giant is a 55-meter-high (180 ft) scheduled monument, a chalk hill figure located near the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England. Depicting a nude male figure with an erection, and another large club in its right hand, the giant’s outline is formed by shallow trenches cut into the hill side which are backfilled with light chalk rubble.

Managed by the National Trust, English folktales suggest the giant is a deeply-ancient Celtic fertility god with the power to make childless women pregnant. However, historians and archaeologists say the first written reference to the giant only dates to 1694 AD, and that the Giant must have been created in the seventeenth-century. Either way, the figure is an iconic monument of British heritage and this is why Amazon’s defacing of the monument has caused outrage within the National Trust.

“Let food be thy medicine.” – Hippocrates

You’d be surprised how your knowledge of natural healing medicines can benefit from the wisdom of our ancient ancestors. Herbal medicine has been in use since at least the Paleolithic period. Archaeologists working in northern Iraq, for example, found a selection of plant pollen from mallows, grape hyacinth, ephedra, yarrow, groundsel and knapweed, plants they believe were used 60,000 years ago by Neanderthals for medicinal purposes. But herbal medicine continued to evolve.

Much later, about 3000-5000 years ago, some of the first written records related to herbal medicine came into existence. These early medicinal herbal records were created by Sumerians and carefully describe the names of 250 plants and 12 recipes for remedies. One example suggests aloe leaf can be used as a laxative.

The Templar Tunnel is an underground passageway located in the city of Acre, in what is now Israel. This tunnel was built by the Knights Templar when the city was under the rule of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and served as a strategic passageway connecting the Templar palace to the port.