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Mysterious Lunitsa Pendant Found in Pskov Revives Debate Over Pagan Talismans
A crescent-shaped pendant unearthed in the Russian city of Pskov may once have been worn as more than jewellery. Known as a lunitsa, the small ornament belongs to a tradition often associated with protection, the moon and female dress—but its history is far less straightforward than the familiar label “Slavic pagan amulet” suggests. The pendant…
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Gilded Religious Figure Found Near Medieval Church in Hungary
Archaeologists have begun excavating the remains of a medieval church near Kiskunlacháza, Hungary, years after traces of the building were first identified during field surveys. The site came to attention when museum volunteers walking near the Dömsöd–Arapasztó channel found human skull fragments brought to the surface by plowing. Stones and construction debris scattered across the…
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2,700-Year-Old Seal from Southern Israel Reveals Astral Symbols in Iron Age Judah
A small stone seal found at ancient Yavne in southern Israel is giving archaeologists a closer look at the religious and symbolic world of Iron Age Judah, where images of the moon, stars, and planets circulated alongside local traditions and the influence of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The seal was uncovered in Area U of the…
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A Tiny Badge Lost in a Finnish Field Belongs to One of the Rarest Medieval Pilgrimage Finds
A medieval pilgrim badge found in a field in South-West Finland has been identified as part of one of the rarest known groups of devotional objects from the Baltic world. Only six or seven comparable Livonian badges are known from Europe, which makes the worn pewter fragment from Masku far more important than its small…
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2,700-Year-Old Cult Stone Found in Assyrian-Destroyed Mansion Reopens Debate over Hezekiah’s Reform
A massive 2,700-year-old cult stone found inside an Assyrian-destroyed mansion at Tel ‘Eton is adding new weight to the debate over Hezekiah’s Reform, while also showing how religious life may have reached beyond temples and into the homes of Iron Age Judah. The stone, about 1.4 meters high and weighing roughly 750 kilograms, was discovered…
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Archaeologists Uncover Lost Desert Pilgrimage Hub on Route to Mount Sinai
Archaeologists working in the Negev Desert have brought new clarity to a long-overlooked settlement. At the ancient site of Nessana, emerging evidence suggests the town once stood at a critical point along the pilgrimage routes connecting the Holy Land to Mount Sinai—positioned not deep within the desert, but at its edge, where movement, survival, and…
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Earthquake-Sealed Byzantine Baptistery Unearthed Near the Sea of Galilee Reveals Rare Dual Ritual System
A Byzantine baptistery unearthed near the Sea of Galilee is offering a rare glimpse into early Christian ritual practices, after remaining sealed for more than a thousand years beneath the ruins of an earthquake-destroyed cathedral. At the ancient city of Hippos, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, archaeologists have uncovered a remarkably preserved Byzantine baptistery complex—one…
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Could This Be Serbia’s Only Surviving Pre-Christian Slavic Idol?
In a museum collection in eastern Serbia stands a sandstone figure nearly as tall as a human being. Its face is spare, almost abstract. A rectangular cap crowns the head. One arm bends at the elbow, the other falls stiffly along the body. No inscription. No ornament. Just presence. The sculpture, measuring 171 centimeters in…
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Beneath Roman Farmland, a 1,700-Year-Old Episcopal Power Complex Emerges at Ostia Antica
Just centimeters below plowed earth on the outskirts of Rome, archaeologists have uncovered a discovery that quietly redraws the map of early Christian power: a monumental church complex and an opulent bishop’s palace dating to the fourth century. The excavation, led by the University of Bonn in cooperation with German and Italian institutions, is revealing…