11 Things You May Not Know About Ancient Egypt — HISTORY Lists Ancient Egypt stood as one of the world’s most advanced civilizations for nearly 3,000 years and created a culture so rich that it has spawned its own field of study. But while Egyptian art, architecture and burial methods have become enduring objects of fascination, there is still a lot you probably don’t know about these famed builders of the pyramids. From the earliest recorded peace treaty to ancient board games, find out 11 surprising facts about the Gift of the Nile. Along with King Tut, perhaps no figure is more famously associated with ancient Egypt than Cleopatra VII. But while she was born in Alexandria, Cleopatra was actually part of a long line of Greek Macedonians originally descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s most trusted lieutenants. For over two centuries the Egyptians fought against the Hittite Empire for control of lands in modern day Syria. After a long day’s work along the Nile River, Egyptians often relaxed by playing board games.
World Digital Library Home 10 Ways We're All Picturing The Ancient World Incorrectly Thanks to countless books, movies, and trashy TV shows, most of us have a fairly firm mental image of the ancient world. Togas, feasting, gladiatorial combat . . . the standard stuff. Yet step back in time, and you’d be confronted with a world that confounded your expectations. Far from being a close approximation of the truth, our collective mental image of the ancient world may be nothing like reality at all. 10Ancient Britain Had African Citizens Although London is one of the most multicultural cities on Earth, it’s only been in the last century or so that minorities have become a familiar sight in Britain. In 2010, researchers at Reading University found evidence that Roman York had been home to individuals of North African descent. This multicultural history didn’t end with the fall of Rome. 9Neanderthals Were Seriously Intelligent “Neanderthal” is a synonym for “idiot,” a reminder that before we became kings of the planet, we first had to wipe out our stupider cousins. Take flour.
What Vikings really looked like The fine decoration of the Oseberg ship in Norway, which was buried in the year 834, provides clues to what Vikings looked like. Inside the ship were two women and the archaeologists believe the ship has served as a sarcophagus. (Photo: Annie Dalbéra) There’s no shortage of myths about the appearance of our notorious Viking ancestors. To find out more about these myths, ScienceNordic’s Danish partner site, videnskab.dk, asked its Facebook readers to list their favourite myths about what the Vikings looked like. We have picked out five myths from the resulting debate and asked researchers to help us confirm or bust these myths. Armed with this information, our graphic designer then took a shot at drawing some examples of our infamous forefathers, which you can see in our picture gallery. The five myths are: MYTH 1: Vikings were dirty and unkempt Unwashed, rough warriors with froth hanging out of the corners of the mouth. But that’s unlikely to be true: It wasn’t enough just to be clean.
Home of the Book Genome Project We haven't turned on user accounts yet, which will allow you to save preferences, bookshelves, and have customized suggestions as the tools learn more about your particular tastes. If you'd like us to let you know when we roll out user accounts, enter your e-mail address below, and we'll keep you posted. Today's uniquely unique title: What BookLamp Does: BookLamp.org is the home of the Book Genome Project. BookLamp's engine isn't influenced by advertising budgets or popularity bias. We Need Your Help: MAP: Imperial Russia By the middle of the 19th century, the Russian Empire comprised more than 15 percent of the Earth’s land mass spanning parts of three continents, Europe, Asia, and North America. The population of the empire included not only Russians, but also Ukrainians, Belarusians, Finns, Poles, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Germans, and many other ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Russians were proud of the empire and used various means to celebrate its scale and diversity. Presented here are two sets of cards, circa 1800-33 and 1856, in which each card corresponds to a particular province or other administrative subdivision of the empire. Each card contains the map and coat of arms of the province and provides additional information about geographic features, cities, people, and local costumes.
A Year on the Medieval Farm What did medieval peasants do on a farm? Some documents from the period offer insights into the agricultural activities throughout the year. One of these works was the Liber ruralium commodorum, written by Pietro de’ Crescenzi around 1304-09. This treatise about agriculture offered advice on all kinds of things to be done on the medieval farm, ranging from beekeeping to winemaking, and includes a chapter detailing a monthly calendar of tasks. This work became very popular in the later Middle Ages, with numerous manuscripts and print versions coming out. Each spring would see the medieval farmers plant their fields and prepare their own gardens, as well as collect the wool from sheep. As the autumn moved into winter, work on the farm decreased but some of the outstanding chores could including repairing buildings, gathering firewood and bringing the animals in from the fields. Some of our other stories about medieval agriculture: A Medieval How-to Book for Shepherds Want more medieval?
Europe by bike – in 1933 Evening spent in Ostend has cheered me up completely. We have found most aristocratic digs with lift which only charges 25 francs for b & b – a marked contrast to a café on the Promenade, where they rushed [charged] us 8d for a ham sandwich! Ostend (Photo: Getty) August 2 Spending the night at a funny café/restaurant in Waterloo – only two doors up from where Wellington lodged the night before battle! I’ve never seen such flat roads as in Belgium. August 3 Have settled in Cologne. The journey was eventful. Hilter attends a rally just days before Marion and her father arrived in the country (Photo: Getty) August 4 We have really begun to see Germany today. We went several miles this afternoon with a most interesting individual: a school kid of 16, who was going on a six-week biking expedition with the sum of 20 marks (£1). Got kicked out of Cologne Cathedral this morning because I had shorts on. A cyclist beside the Rhine (Photo: Getty) August 5 August 6 August 7 August 8 August 9 August 11 August 12
The First Women Warriors on Horseback | HORSE NATION Scythian women were kicking butt and taking names from the 7th century BC to the 2nd century AD. Source: CAIS The Scythians migrated from central Asia to southern Russia, centering over the present day Crimean peninsula, in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. The tribe was artistic, violent, and comprised entirely of excellent horse riders. They were among the earliest people to master horseback riding, a tactical advantage that astonished and overwhelmed their neighbors. Ancient Worlds reports, “The most perfectly preserved horse found at Pazyryk is a 12-15 year old thoroughbred-type dun mare of about 13 hands high, which would be about average height for Scythian horses. Scythians utilized simple saddles consisting of felt, hair and leather. Source: State Hermitage Museum They also created elaborate head dresses for their horses. But that’s not even the coolest part, folks. Source: Siberian Times The Ice Maiden wasn’t a warrior, though. Source: Message to Eagle Go Riding!
How the Chicken Conquered the World | History & Archaeology The chickens that saved Western civilization were discovered, according to legend, by the side of a road in Greece in the first decade of the fifth century B.C. The Athenian general Themistocles, on his way to confront the invading Persian forces, stopped to watch two cocks fighting and summoned his troops, saying: “Behold, these do not fight for their household gods, for the monuments of their ancestors, for glory, for liberty or the safety of their children, but only because one will not give way to the other.” The tale does not describe what happened to the loser, nor explain why the soldiers found this display of instinctive aggression inspirational rather than pointless and depressing. Chicken is the ubiquitous food of our era, crossing multiple cultural boundaries with ease. How did the chicken achieve such cultural and culinary dominance? The fact is that the male of the species can be quite a fierce animal, especially when bred and trained for fighting.
20 Extremely Romantic Quotes You Should Say To Your Love Get ready for some serious swooning. These are some of the most romantic lines we have ever read in YA lit. Have one to add? Share it with us in the comments below! “No matter what has happened. ––Defiance by C.J. “I wanted to tell you that wherever I am, whatever happens, I’ll always think of you, and the time we spent together, as my happiest time. ––Boundless by Cynthia Hand “And in her smile I see something more beautiful than the stars.” ––Across the Universe by Beth Revis “It’s one thing to fall in love. ––Every Day by David Levithan “I love you the way a drowning man loves air. ––The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson “I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. ––The Fault in Our Stars by John Green “I never loved you any more than I do, right this second. ––Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl “Sometimes I can’t see myself when I’m with you. ––Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson “I love you.