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Italian Culture: Rome panoramic, Vatican City

Italian Culture: Facts, customs & traditions

By Kim Ann Zimmermann, Jonathan Gordon published

REFERENCE Italian culture goes back to the ancient, had a massive impact on the Renaissance and is represented in the world today by its art, fashion and popular food.

REFERENCE
A depiction of the Library of Alexandria made in 1876

The rise and fall of the Great Library of Alexandria

By Tom Garlinghouse published

Reference The Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt was the most important repository of knowledge in the ancient world.

Reference
The funerary avenues (part of one shown here) date back around 4,500 years in Saudi Arabia.

Vast 4,500-year-old network of 'funerary avenues' discovered in Saudi Arabia

By Owen Jarus published

Archaeologists in Saudi Arabia have discovered 4,500-year-old "funerary avenues" alongside thousands of pendant-shaped tombs.

Illustration of Isaac Newton’s universal law of gravitation.

What is a law in science?

By Alina Bradford, Ashley Hamer published

A scientific law is the description of an observed phenomenon. It doesn't explain why the phenomenon exists or what causes it.

Messina Cathedral Astronomical clock on clock tower, Italy.

Keeping time: The origin of B.C. and A.D.

By Robert Coolman, Owen Jarus published

The use of "anno domini" and "before Christ" to mark time began in the early days of Christianity, when clerics needed to know when Easter would fall.

The animal bones at Umm el-Marra were thought to be from kungas because their teeth had marks from bit harnesses and wear patterns that showed they had been fed, rather than left to graze.

1st bioengineered hybrid animals discovered — in ancient Mesopotamia

By Tom Metcalfe published

Mesopotamians were using hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to pull their war wagons 4,500 years ago, scientists have found.

A reconstruction of the Omo I skull discovered in 1967.

Modern humans lived in eastern Africa 38,000 years earlier than thought

By Ben Turner published

The new date estimate makes the remains the oldest uncontested Homo sapiens in Africa.

A selection of the 41 Celtic coins discovered in Brandenburg, Germany.

2,000-year-old Celtic hoard of gold 'rainbow cups' discovered in Germany

By Laura Geggel published

A volunteer archaeologist discovered a stash of 41 "rainbow cup" Celtic coins dating to 2,000 years ago in Germany.

Michelangelo's David Masterpiece.

The Renaissance: The 'Rebirth' of science & culture

By Owen Jarus, Jessie Szalay published

The Renaissance was a period of "rebirth" in arts, science and European society. It was a time of transition from the ancient world to the modern.

A European badger (Meles meles).

Hungry badger accidentally unearths hundreds of ancient Roman coins in Spain

By Harry Baker published

A badger forced to scavenge for food by a snowstrom has uncovered a stash of 209 Roman coins in a cave in Spain.

The Yanghai burial in northwest China, with the leather scale armor circled in red.

Rare 'bionic' armor discovered in 2,500-year-old China burial

By Laura Geggel published

Archaeologists in China have discovered a rare 2,500-year-old piece of military equipment; an intricately-fashioned leather-scale armor that resembles the scales of a fish.

The skeleton of a man killed in a tsunami after the eruption of the Thera volcano is the first found in its archaeological context.

Remains of a man and dog trying to escape ancient tsunami found on Aegean coast

By Tom Metcalfe published

Archaeologists have unearthed the bones of a young man and a dog killed by an ancient tsunami along the Aegean coast.

The canine figurine may have been a decorative structure for a tomb's rooftop.

Ancient dog-headed statue found during Roman road excavation

By Mindy Weisberger published

During an archaeological inspection of a waterway project site in Rome, archaeologists found ancient funerary relics, including a terracotta statue with a dog's head.

The two Viksø helmets were found in pieces a bog in eastern Denmark in 1942. Archaeologists think they were deliberately deposited there as religious offerings.

Horned 'Viking' helmets were actually from a different civilization, archaeologists say

By Tom Metcalfe published

Two spectacular horned helmets may have inspired the myth that more than 1,500 years later, Vikings wore bulls' horns on their helmets.

Winston Churchill pictured in April 1939

Winston Churchill: Quotations, wartime service and family

By Michael E. Haskew published

Reference Winston Churchill experienced triumph and utter defeat during his political career and guided Great Britain through turbulent times.

Reference
Child mummies in the Capuchin Catacombs

Child mummies in Sicily's Capuchin Catacombs to be X-rayed

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Very little is known about the identities of these child mummies.

A recreation of human ancestors.

10 fascinating findings about our human ancestors from 2021

By Laura Geggel published

Here's 10 discoveries we made about human evolution over the last year.

The mummy — the remains of a male between 18 and 22 years old — was found buried in a fetal position in a tomb at the site of Cajamarquilla in Peru.

1,000-year-old mummy in fetal position found in underground tomb in Peru

By Owen Jarus published

Archaeologists have unearthed a mummy lying in a fetal position and bound by rope in Cajamarquilla, Peru.

This image shows part of Egypt's 'lost golden city.'

5 archaeological 'digs' to watch in 2022

By Owen Jarus published

Archaeological predictions for the new year include: discoveries from Egypt's "lost golden city," new finds from Qumran and evidence that may shed light on what life was like 11,000 years ago.

An X-ray image of the viking sword reveals an ornate hilt with a honeycomb-like design.

10 stunning swords and other ancient weapons uncovered in 2021

By Harry Baker published

Here is a list of the top 10 sword and ancient weapon stories of 2021.