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It's not how you play the game, but how the dice were made
Whether at a casino playing craps or engaging with family in a simple board game at home, rolling the dice introduces a bit of chance or "luck" into every game. We expect dice to be fair, where every...
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Becoming Beast: Marvel’s New Black Panther Movie Has a Surprising Medieval...
Black Panther looks to be another hit for Marvel. The film has been highly anticipated, not least because it is a milestone in cinema with a black lead superhero starring alongside a majority black...
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Avian Detectives Discover Vikings Dreamed on the Feathers of Giant Eagle Owls
Those legendary sea warriors who dominated the oceanic territories of the northern hemisphere between the 8th and 12th century, the Viking’s, rested their sea-weary heads on luxury pillows stuffed with...
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The Urine Wheel and Uroscopy: What Your Wee Could Tell a Medieval Doctor
In modern medicine, urine samples are routinely examined in laboratories to obtain clinical information about a patient. This procedure, known as urinalysis, developed from an older medical process...
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In Medieval Britain, If You Wanted to Get Ahead, You Had to Speak French
The study of modern languages in British secondary schools is in steep decline. The number of students taking French and German GCSE has more than halved in the last 16 years. But as the UK prepares to...
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1,000-Year-Old Norman Cathedral Ruins Unearthed Beneath Church in England
The foundations of a Norman cathedral have been found under just 3ft (90cm) of soil during excavations at St Albans Abbey, the oldest place of continuous Christian worship in England. They are dated to...
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Two Wolves Entwined: What did this Viking Ring Symbolize?
In the autumn of 2015, a unique Viking Age spiral ring with two wolf heads was found in Goa in Randaberg, Western Norway. Does the ring show Odin’s two wolves, Geri and Freki – or is it the Fenris...
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Mysterious medieval fortifications buried in Poland detected with advanced...
Archaeologists discovered evidence of unknown medieval fortifications which may indicate the presence of Hussite clashes near a small village in Poland. They found indications of the fort buried in...
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The Remote Irish Monastery Where Medieval Christianity Meets Fictional Jedi...
Star Wars is many things to many people: nostalgia-tinted staple of childhood memory, space opera extraordinaire, modern day merchandising behemoth. For every starry-eyed fan there is probably a giddy...
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Magic Mountains and Sea Serpents: the Secrets of Early Arctic Maps
What comes to mind when you think of the Arctic? Ice, I imagine, polar bears, a barren cold landscape. And most would assume that these associations have remained the same for a pretty long time, given...
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Archaeologists discover remains of medieval knight with extensive jousting...
A study of the bones of 700 people unearthed at Hereford Cathedral in England has shown that one may have been a medieval knight. Archaeologists noted many broken bones, some knitted, on the skeleton...
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One of the Largest Castles in Europe Was Born to Resist the Mongol Invasion
13th century Europe was under attack by the Mongols and the Kingdom of Hungary was right in the sights of the invaders. Something had to be done, and the creation of great fortified castles was seen as...
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The Incredible Medical Interventions of the Monks of Soutra Aisle
Soutra Aisle refers to a set of ruins in Scotland that were once part of a larger complex comprising a hospital and a friar. Excavations at Soutra Aisle have provided an extraordinary window into the...
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Medieval Chivalry Wasn’t Just Knights and Valor
Our popular ideas of the chivalric world are off base, according to historian Richard Kaeuper. The gallant knights on horseback and banners unfurling before exciting tournaments largely come from...
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Before They Were Divination Tools, Tarot Cards Were Playing Cards
In the English-speaking world, the word ‘tarot’ is most commonly associated with the occult and divination. It is one of the oldest forms of fortune telling, although its origins are somewhat obscure....
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Nearly 1,000 Years Old, the Bayeux Tapestry is An Epic Tale and Medieval...
The ancient Bayeux Tapestry, famous for its epic representation of medieval history, is a long, vividly embroidered cloth stretching hundreds of feet. Through exciting imagery it retells the events...
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Medieval Alemannic Warriors Welcomed Foreigners into their Fold
In 1962, an Alemannic burial site containing human skeletal remains was discovered in Niederstotzingen (Baden-Württemberg, Germany).Read moreSection: NewsHistory & Archaeology
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Hereford Mappa Mundi: Legendary Cities, Monstrous Races, and Curious Beasts...
Secreted away beneath the floor of an English cathedral was a large calfskin canvas featuring what, at first glance, appeared to be a map of the world. Once recovered and repaired, the map now known as...
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Medieval Science Fiction Existed – Here’s What it Looked Like
Science fiction may seem resolutely modern, but the genre could actually be considered hundreds of years old. There are the alien green “children of Woolpit”, who appeared in 12th-century Suffolk and...
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Eketorp Fort in Sweden
Stora Alvaret, home to the Eketorp Fort, is a barren limestone terrace found in the southern half of the island of Öland, Sweden. The area of this formation exceeds 100 square miles (260 square...
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