Top 10 Weekly Articles

The best Ancient Origins articles for this week. Enjoy! [logo4fixed] View this email [in your browser]( [Top10Banner] [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [image?cs_ema...]( The Confusing Horned Helmets Depicted in the Oseberg Viking Age Tapestries [img3]( If you claim that Vikings did not use horned helmets, you are right. If you claim that Vikings used horned helmets, you may also be right. However, horned helmets were probably only used on very special occasions if we are to interpret images depicted on textiles found in the Oseberg Viking ship grave. Historians and archaeologists do agree that Vikings did not use horned helmets, and that this is a myth created, among others, by Richard Wagner’s opera “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (The Ring of Nibelung) that premiered in 1876... [Read more...]( Bust of Contention: Controversy erupts as the Younger Lady is dubbed Nefertiti—Part I [img3]( Few ancient Egyptian royals are capable of garnering as much attention, generating frenzy, and stoking controversy globally as the legendary beauty Queen Nefertiti can. Despite having been a powerful woman who is believed to have co-ruled with her husband, Akhenaten, before donning the role of Pharaoh after his death, she remains enigmatic. This iconic Amarna personage is instantly recognizable thanks to a magnificent bust of her that survived the ravages of time... [Read more...]( Priestess’ Tomb Discovered in Egypt, Protected by her Soul Feeding Monkey [secret-text]( A mysterious ancient tomb with “unusual and rare” wall paintings has been discovered in Egypt. Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany told BBC reporters the discovery of a 4,400-year-old tomb found during excavation work in Giza’s western cemetery “likely belonged to Hetpet, a priestess to Hathor, the goddess of fertility, who assisted women in childbirth.” Dr. Al-Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities told reporters yesterday that the tomb’s paintings depict “the goddess Hetpet observing different hunting and fishing scenes, a monkey collecting fruit…another dancing in front of an orchestra.” The tomb also contained a purification basin in which Dr Al-Waziri said are “engraved the name of the tomb’s owner and her titles,” as was reported by a report in The Times... [Read more...]( Predjama Castle: The Castle in a Cave that Housed a Slovenian Robin Hood [img3]( Once home to the Slovenian Robin Hood, Predjama Castle is a site rich in history. It is built into the mouth of a cave high up on a cliff and has a commanding view over the landscape. That position would have certainly helped a famed Slovenian knight when the army of the Holy Roman Emperor came knocking. Predjama Castle is a castle situated to the northwest of the town of Postojna, in the traditional Slovenian region of Inner Carniola. This castle, which is located in the... [Read more...]( [banner_0]( Satire or the First Science Fiction? Lucian of Samosata’s A True History [img3]( A True History (known in its original Greek as Alēthē diēgēmata , or in Latin as Vera Historia ) is a story written by Lucian of Samosata, an author of Syrian / Assyrian origin who lived during the 2 nd century AD. Lucian is famous for his satirical works, and ‘A True History’ may be read as a piece of satire. Alternatively, this piece of writing may be interpreted as a work of science fiction, and has sometimes been regarded to be the earliest known example of a work that can be placed within this genre... [Read more...]( Bayeux and Brexit: What the tapestry says about the UK’s shared European heritage [alchemical]( The Bayeux Tapestry is finally coming to England , or so the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has promised . There have long been calls to bring the work to England, such as for the Queen’s coronation in 1953 – but until now they have fallen on deaf ears. But why is this one historic artefact so important – and what does it tell us about the UK’s historic relationship with France just as the country is about the leave the European Union? The Bayeux Tapestry was probably commissioned by Odo, bishop of Bayeux and half-brother of William the Conqueror, to commemorate the Norman victory at Hastings in October 1066. Odo figures prominently in the work – and in one scene holds a club as he goes to fight for his brother... [Read more...]( Were Cannibal Leftovers Really Swallowed by an Ancient Hyena? [img3]( About 65,000 years ago, a large carnivore, probably a hyena, consumed someone’s face, new scientific data published this week has proven. And, according to the scientists who made this discovery, that face, might already have been consumed - by his family and friends. Two incisor teeth were discovered at a renowned archaeological site near the village of Marillac-le-Franc, in the west of France, where since 1967 archaeologists have recovered tens of thousands of Neanderthal and... [Read more...]( [banner]( Prophecy of the Popes: Are We Reaching the End of Days? [img3]( For thousands of years, people all over the ancient world claimed to have the powers of foresight. In 1143, The Prophecy of the Popes was created - listing the future attributes of the 112 pontiffs succeeding St. Peter. This 900-year-old prophecy predicted that Benedict XVI would be the 111th pope, therefore, if it is correct, the current Papal Conclave will bring about the end of the world. In 1595, a Benedictine monk named Arnold de Wyon published Lignum Vitae - in which he claimed to have... [Read more...]( 171,000-Year-Old Fire Forged Tool Discovered Beneath a Giant Elephant [infant-dna]( 171,000 years ago, in Tuscany, a set of ancient tools were crafted and forged with fire. Archaeologists in Florence, Italy, made an incredible discovery during construction work at Poggetti Vecchi. A paper published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), details the discovery of “fragmented wooden and stone tools, together with the fossilized bones of the straight-tusked elephant ( Paleoloxodon antiquus )…radiometrically dated to about 171,000 years old.” The team of archaeologists led by Bianca Maria Aranguren from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, told reporters at Haaretz this week that the wooden tools “were crafted from a heavy and dense wood known as boxwood ( Buxus sempervirens ).” With bulbous handles at one end and blunt points at the other, the tools are about a meter-long and are believed to have been digging implements... 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