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Monomachos Crown: The 1,000-year-old crown honoring 'the one who fights alone' found by a farmer in a fieldOne of only three surviving Byzantine crowns, it depicts a man and two sisters who jointly ruled the empire in the 11th century.
archaeology -
Assyrian swimmers: 2,900-year-old carving of soldiers using inflatable goat skins to cross a riverA carved panel found at Nimrud depicts Assyrian soldiers swimming across a river and using inflatable goat skins as floaties.
7 Commentsmiddle-east -
Tarkhan Dress: World's oldest known outfit was worn to an ancient Egyptian funeral 5,000 years agoThe world's oldest known dress is a simple V-necked garment that was overlooked as rags for decades.
12 Commentsancient-egyptians -
Sun Chariot: An ornate Bronze Age treasure that may have featured in an ancient Nordic religious ceremonyThis gold-covered bronze object may depict a "divine" horse pulling the sun behind it.
archaeology -
Prosciutto di Portici: A portable sundial that looks like a pork leg — and it was likely owned by Julius Caesar's father-in-law before Mount Vesuvius eruptedThis small bronze sundial was a portable way of telling time, but it may have made you hungry.
romans -
Ram in the Thicket: A 4,500-year-old gold statue from the royal cemetery at UrThis statue covered in gold leaf and semiprecious stones may have been used in ancient Mesopotamian sunrise rituals.
4 Commentsmiddle-east -
Oseberg tapestry: Viking Age artwork from a boat burial that may depict the Norse tree of lifeThis tapestry also contains one of the only known depictions of a horned Viking helmet.
vikings -
Hatnefer's heart scarab: An exquisite ancient Egyptian gold necklace inscribed with the Book of the DeadA scarab beetle set in gold shows that ancient Egyptians thought the heart was the most important organ in the human body.
4 Commentsancient-egyptians -
Hårby Valkyrie: A 1,200-year-old gold Viking Age woman sporting a sword, shield and ponytailThis tiny figurine may represent a mythical warrior maiden who assisted Odin, the Norse god of war.
vikings
