Ancient History

This patch of dirt was once a lush jungle that locals say was home to ancient spirits. Now, luxury villas, bars and restaurants are being built here instead to bring in foreign investors.

Heraldry was once used to tell armies apart on the battlefield. Today's modern re-enactments of medieval battles follow a rich European tradition — with a twist.

Have you ever wondered what the hook used to pull a brain through the nostrils of a person being mummified looks like? Or an actual mummified body, itself? Now's your chance to see both those things — and over 200 other ancient Egyptian artefacts, right here in Australia.

You could make the argument, as unpopular as it might be, that some colonial looters and their buyers did the world a favour by keeping precious works locked away. But that only flies if you now give them back, writes Virginia Trioli. 

Why do I find the more absurd fashion trends so beguiling? I think it's their very absurdity, and the alternative reality they promise, when all else is grim, writes Virginia Trioli.

There's been a flurry of excitement at the Australian Museum recently where the ancient artefacts of Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses II, have found a temporary new home.

Thermal baths, working class neighbourhoods and a headless statue are some gems archaeologists have uncovered in Rabat as excavation work continues.

Kangaroo Island, off mainland South Australia, has an Emu Bay but no emus after they died out — twice.

The dry expanses of south-eastern Türkiye, home to some of humanity's most ancient sites, have yielded fresh discoveries in the form of a stone phallus and a coloured boar.

The tomb, which would have been buried around 1200 BC, was found with several artefacts which indicate it was for a priest.

A new scientific technique identifies a body interred in an impressive 5,000-year-old tomb on Spain's Iberian peninsula as a woman, giving new insights into gender roles we know "preciously little about".

More than 2 million people are expected to complete the Hajj pilgrimage, an annual ritual Muslims have kept up over centuries. Here's how the tradition lives on, even through wars and plagues.

Tibetan Buddhists may face a future of duelling Dalai Lamas: one born in exile who will receive traditional religious training, the other a mouthpiece of the Communist Party, writes John Powers.

Experts believe people carried out religious ceremonies in the U-shaped temple after discovery a carving of an ancient cross symbol. 

Mummified animals dating from the Ptolemaic period and a palatial Old Kingdom structure are uncovered at the temple of Ramses II in the ancient city of Abydos in southern Egypt.

A new "Moai," one of the stone statues that adorn the postcards of Chile's tourist destination Easter Island, has been found buried in a dry lake.

Well-preserved murals and hundreds of objects are found in the tombs, which experts say may date back 2,000 years.

The discovery marks the second such monastery found in the UAE that dates back more than 1,400 years

The power of smell is undeniable, but the reasons why remain mysterious. To better understand how smell works, this expert traces the use of scents from ancient empires to today.

China is a communist and atheist state but religious belief and practice continue under the watchful eye of President Xi Jinping and the Party.

A United Nations report says China may have committed 'crimes against humanity' in its treatments of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The report also raises questions about China's relationship with religious freedom.

Meteor-watchers took in the sights from Turkey's Mount Nemrut while surrounded by statues of giant heads on the tomb of Antiochus.

More than 250 ancient Egyptian coffins and 150 statues are uncovered at a cemetery near Cairo. 

For decades scientists have speculated about various uses for hundreds of ancient conical vessels unearthed throughout the Middle East. Australian researchers believe at least one of them was a hand grenade.

A yogi influencer from Russia will be deported alongside her husband for posting images of herself posing naked on a centuries-old sacred tree.