In the heart of the Attica region in Greece, nestled among the majestic hills of Mount Hymettus, lies an enigmatic place that has witnessed the passage of time and the devotion of ancient peoples. The Cave of the Nympholyptos is an archaeological site of exceptional historical and cultural importance. Surrounded by myths and sculptures carved […]
Reliefs
The Mesopotamian Stele Showing the First Phalanx Formation in History
When we talk about a phalanx in a military context, we automatically think of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army, with its compact formation of armored infantrymen armed with long sarissas. These were arranged in 64 squares or syntagmas, 16 men across (each in a one-square-meter space) by as many in depth, forming a total of […]
Reliefs with Figures of Guardians, Celestial Ancestors, and Mythical Animals of the Kaanu’l Mayan Dynasty Found in Mexico
The recent archaeological discovery in the Dzibanché Archaeological Zone, Quintana Roo (Mexico), has provided new insights into the grandeur of the Kaanu’l dynasty, one of the most influential in the ancient Mayan civilization. Under the serpent emblem, known as “kaan” in the Mayan language, this powerful lineage ruled vast territories that today include parts of […]
Mysterious Relief of a Human Face Discovered in Granite in Kazakhstan
A team of archaeologists from the Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology has discovered a relief of a human face sculpted into a granite block and an impressive stele in the Zerenda district, located in the Akmola region of Kazakhstan. The discovery was initially reported by Mendibay Kopobayev, the director of the local museum in the […]
Female Figures Identified in Trajan’s Column, Previously Considered Male
In a recent article published in the American Journal of Archaeology, a group of researchers presented an innovative analysis of the representations in Trajan’s Column in Rome. The study, led by Elizabeth Wolfram Thill, Maryl B. Gensheimer, and Elizabeth M. Greene, proposes a significant revision in the identification of certain figures in the friezes of […]
Lebanon’s Amazing Site with Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Islamic and Colonial Stelae, Inscriptions and Dedications
The river Nahr al-Kalb (called Lykos in ancient times) originates near the town of Jeita and flows for only 31 kilometers before emptying into the Mediterranean about 30 kilometers north of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. It is not a particularly long river, and in summer, it is often nearly dry. However, the valley it […]
Researchers Analyze Balinese Temple Relief Depicting a Man Riding a Bicycle
Researchers from the Institute of Indonesian Studies have conducted a detailed study of a small stone relief located in the village of Singaraja, in the northern part of the Indonesian island of Bali. The relief is found in the complex of Pura Maduwe Karang, an important Hindu temple in the area dating back to the […]
The Extraordinary Tomb of the Haterii, a Roman Family who Adorned it with Reliefs of the Monuments they Built
Located next to the ancient Via Labicana, about 8.4 kilometers southeast of Rome, the Tomb of the Haterii is one of the most beautifully decorated tombs that have survived from the Roman Empire. Built between 100 and 120 AD, it offers a fascinating insight into funerary art and customs of the early imperial period. The […]
Reliefs at the Hittite Sanctuary of Yazılıkaya Could Depict a Lunar Calendar
Yazılıkaya is a site about 3,200 years old believed to have played a significant religious role in the ancient Hittite Empire. According to a new theory, the reliefs found at the site may have served as a calendar to mark days, synodic months, and solar years. Yazılıkaya, which means carved rock in Turkish, is a […]
The monumental rock relief excavated by the Hittites on Mount Sipylus more than 3,000 years ago
When he speaks of Laconia in the third book of his Description of Greece Pausanias comments that the inhabitants of Acriae boasted of having the oldest temple of the Mother Goddess in the Peloponnese. But immediately afterwards he mentions that the oldest image of that goddess is elsewhere: The people of Acriae say that this is the […]