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A mosaic uncovered at the site of Hippos near the Sea of Galilee contains a message indicating that the city's ancient residents took extra special care of their senior citizens, according to Israel National News. Hippos belonged to the Decapolis, a group of 10 Hellenistic cities in the southern Levant, but became a major Christian center during the Byzantine period, serving as the bishop's seat and boasting at least seven churches. Archaeologists discovered the colorful mosaic near the entrance to a late fourth- or early fifth-century a.d. building near the ancient forum. It is decorated with images of Egyptian geese,...

As much of the world descended into the Dark Ages after the fall of Rome, one civilization shone brilliantly: the Byzantine Empire... Season 1, Episode 11. Engineering An Empire: The Great Walls of Constantinople (S1, E11) | 44:47 History | 14.8M subscribers | 352,819 views | August 31, 2023

Vox News Albania reports that Kosovan Minister of Culture Hajrulla Çeku announced that a team of archaeologists uncovered a rare mosaic inscription linked with the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (reigned a.d. 527–565) at the site of Ulpiana. This find comes two years after the discovery of another inscription from the same time period. Ulpiana was a major urban center in the Roman province of Dardania and flourished from the first to the sixth century a.d. The city was flattened by an earthquake around a.d. 518 but was rebuilt by Justinian, a native of the area, during his reign. The first...

When the Bedale hoard was first discovered by metal detectorists in 2012, it was immediately recognized as one of the most significant assemblages of Viking-era silver objects and jewelry that had ever been found in England. Dating to the late ninth or early tenth century, the collection consists of 29 silver ingots and several elaborate neck rings, among other items. According to a statement released by the University of Oxford, a recent study of the origins of the Bedale silver is shedding new light on the international scope and far-reaching extent of Viking trade. Researchers led by Oxford archaeologist Jane...

Turkish authorities have released footage showing a man attempting to set fire to the interior of Hagia Sophia, the 1,500-year-old Byzantine landmark in Turkey. Security guards at the historic site quickly intervened and stopped the arson attempt, preventing any major damage. The incident took place on July 11 but the video was only made public now, drawing renewed attention to Hagia Sophia’s Byzantine heritage The man tried to ignite the Bible behind the lectern According to a police statement, the suspect wore a red cap and partially covered his face as he ignited a Bible near a column behind several...

A burial in southeastern Turkey revealed a 35‑square‑meter mosaic with a Greek inscription, marking one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in the region. While preparing a grave in the rural Özbilek neighborhood of Diyarbakır’s Ergani district, locals uncovered the mosaic, which experts believe dates to the late Roman or early Byzantine period. Discovery made during a routine burial The find features elaborate geometric patterns and two striking elements: a six-line inscription in ancient Greek and a Star of David enclosing a Christian cross. Museum officials say this combination of Jewish and Christian iconography is exceptionally rare and could shed...

The ancient city of Tripolis, near the town of Baldun, is one of the best-preserved ancient sites in western Anatolia. Over the past 13 years, archaeologists from Pamukkale University have been investigating the city, and have uncovered numerous Roman and Byzantine era ruins, including monumental fountains, a 1,500-year-old church, and colorful mosaics. Türkiye Today reports that the team recently uncovered a luxurious 1,600-year-old villa that is one of the most significant properties yet uncovered. Spreading across 16,000 square feet, the opulent residence contains vibrant frescoes, spacious halls, and a large colonnaded inner courtyard. The highlight of the sprawling estate was...

Anadolu Agency reports that excavations at the site of Olympos in the current-day region of Antalya revealed new evidence that attests to the site's early Christian history. Inside a building known as Church No. 1, the team uncovered mosaic floors featuring geometric patterns, floral motifs, and Greek inscriptions, some of which bear the names of individuals who are believed to be among the church's early benefactors. "These finds confirm Olympos as one of the richest ancient cities in the Lycia region in terms of mosaic flooring," said excavation director Gökçen Kurtuluş Öztaşkın. Another inscription near the structure's entrance reads, "Only...

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have unearthed parts of a Roman and Byzantine settlement just outside the modern city of Kiryat Gat. The researchers believe the settlement was founded in the first century b.c. and flourished for more than 600 years, thanks to its location along an important road connecting the Judean Mountains with the coastal plain. The settlement seems to have been especially prosperous during the fifth and sixth centuries a.d., based on evidence of an extensive building campaign as well as distinctive types of pottery, coins, and decorative marbles found at the site. Also dating to this...

One of the most spectacular Byzantine mosaics ever discovered in Israel was finally revealed to the public for the first time, according to a statement released by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The so-called Be'er Shema (Birsama) mosaic was first uncovered three decades ago near Khirbat Be'er Shema in the western Negev, but spent years undergoing intensive conservation and preservation work. "Over the ensuing years since its discovery, the mosaic floor's state of conservation deteriorated," said IAA's Ami Shahar. "Upon completion of our expert team's intensive efforts, the results enable the public to view and appreciate a spectacular 1,600-year-old work...

Haaretz reports that archaeologists uncovered rare and somewhat perplexing figurines from two 1,500-year-old Christian burials at the site of Tel Malhata in the Negev Desert. The discovery was made during salvage excavations on the grounds of the Nevatim airbase, where previous archaeological work has revealed a rich history of human occupation from the Bronze Age through the Byzantine period. During the latest excavations, teams located some 155 tombs, but two burials contained objects different from anything else found at the site -- bone and wooden figurines with facial features resembling Africans. Two of them were carved from ebony, a rare...

Archaeologists believe they have rediscovered the lost Byzantine city of Tharais in southern Jordan, according to a Türkiye Today report. The settlement is thought to have been an important religious and trading center along the Roman and Byzantine road network connecting Zoar to central Jordan. The city appears on the famous sixth-century a.d. Madaba Mosaic Map, the oldest surviving map of the Middle East, but its exact location has remained a mystery. Over the past several years, an archaeological project has reexamined historical documents and inscriptions, while conducting field surveys outside of the modern town of El-'Iraq near the southeastern...

A sixth-century "mini" ice age may have been "the straw that broke the camel's back" that led to the final disintegration of the Western Roman Empire, a new study claims...By studying rocks carried by icebergs from Greenland all the way to Iceland's west coast, a team of researchers has uncovered what they believe is more evidence for the severity of this mini ice age. Their findings, published April 8 in the journal Geology, point to the prolonged cooling being a key factor in the eventual decline of the Western Roman Empire — although not all historians agree...Economic crisis, government corruption,...

He had no doubts at first, but slowly they emerged. He was struck, he says, by the fact that the first coins bearing Muhammad’s name did not appear until the late 7th century — six decades after the religion did. He traded ideas with some scholars in Saarbrücken who in recent years have been pushing the idea of Muhammad’s nonexistence. They claim that “Muhammad” wasn’t the name of a person but a title, and that Islam began as a Christian heresy. Prof. Kalisch didn’t buy all of this. Contributing last year to a book on Islam, he weighed the odds...

Built as Byzantium around 657 BC and then renamed Constantinople in the 4th century CE after Constantine the Great made the city his capital, the city of Istanbul officially received its present name on this day in 1930. Surprisingly, the capital of the Byzantine Empire was not renamed after the Ottomans captured it in 1453. Variations of “Constantinople” continued to be used by the Turkish-speaking conquerors long after they took control of the city. “It’s a fact that the Ottomans called Istanbul ‘Kostantiniyye,’ among other names, in thousands of their official documents,” said Christoph Herzog, chair of Turkish studies at...

As part of the series of tapestries by Peter Paul Rubens on the life of Constantine, we find a vignette from the early life of the first Christian Roman emperor showing him slaying a lion with an audience of Roman soldiers looking on. This is an odd anecdote from the life of Constantine and one that is not commonly known. Was it based on an actual event? Or was it one of those medieval interpolations meant to enhance the reputation of an ancient hero as a courageous and powerful hero? Let's take a look at the ancient sources. We know...

This video explores how books were published and distributed in ancient Rome. Why the Romans Stopped Reading Books | 10:25 toldinstone | 555K subscribers | 71,742 views | March 21, 2025 Chapters0:00 Introduction0:30 Literacy and texts1:19 Libraries2:09 Scrolls and codices3:13 Bookstores and booksellers4:07 Helix5:13 Publication6:17 Luxury and vintage books7:14 Bestsellers8:10 The end of the book trade

In the article dedicated to the Mardaites, the Christian highlanders who maintained their autonomy between Byzantium and the Caliphate, we mentioned the Akritai (or Akritoi), a group of light infantry soldiers who guarded the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire...they were recruited from the region's peasants, provided they were of Hellenic origin; Armenians were also included... These were free men who, as mentioned earlier, cultivated the farms granted to them... An alternative view identifies them more as landowners rather than laborers, meaning they did not personally work the land but had workers for that purpose. Some even amassed large estates...

The Bulgars were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that some believe can be traced back to Central Asia. ... The main Bulgar tribes were first united under one ruler, Khan Kubrat of the Dulo clan, between 630 and 635 AD. ... Not long after his death...Kubrat’s five sons separated and settled in various parts of Europe. The eldest son, Batbayan, remained in his homeland and ultimately became a vassal of the rival Khazar tribes. The second son, Kotrag, migrated to Volga (part of Russia) and founded his own country, Volga Bulgaria. Most importantly for us, the third brother, Asparuh, led his...

During excavations at the Khirbat el-Masani site, a Byzantine monastery dated between the 4th and 7th centuries, several tombs were uncovered. Among them, one stood out in particular: a burial where the individual had been wrapped in chains, an ascetic practice symbolizing the sacrifice of the body and detachment from the material world. Traditionally, this type of penance has been associated with male anchorites, leading archaeologists to assume that the remains belonged to a man. However, the poor preservation of the bones prevented a conclusive osteological determination of the individual's sex.Faced with the inability to rely on traditional osteological methods,...