Mike
I’ve always been fascinated by history—not just the big battles and famous names, but the everyday stuff people made, used, and lived with. The deeper I go, the more I realize: ancient societies weren’t as different from us as we like to think.
They had style, skill, and a serious eye for brilliant design. Whether it was a beautifully carved comb, an intricately detailed sword, or a goblet that looks like it belongs in a modern art museum, these artifacts prove that humans have always cared about form and function.
These stunning examples from history aren’t just cool—they’re reminders that creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation have been part of who we are for thousands of years.
1. A Viking era ring inscribed with the words ‘for Allah’, found in the grave of a woman who was buried 1200 years ago in Birka, 25 km west of modern-day Stockholm. The ring constitutes a unique material evidence of direct contact between the Vikings and the Abbasid Caliphate
2. The Swedish warship Vasa. It sank in 1628 less than a mile into its maiden voyage and was recovered from the sea floor after 333 years almost completely intact. Now housed at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, is the world’s best preserved 17th century ship.
3. Dr Irving Finkel holding a 3770-year-old tablet, that tells the story of the god Enki speaking to the Sumerian king Atram-Hasis (the Noah figure in earlier versions of the flood story) and giving him instructions on how to build an ark which is described as a round 220 ft diameter coracle.
4. 2300 years old Scythian woman’s boot preserved in the frozen ground of the Altai Mountains.
5. Wheelchair made for Holy Roman Empress Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, 1740.
6. These stunning mosaics have just been unearthed under a vineyard in Italy, in the province of Verona, near the town of Negrar. They have been dated from 3rd to 4th Century.
7. A 2000-year-old Roman silver dagger, that was discovered by an archeology intern in 2019 in Germany, before and after nine months of careful restoration work.
8. Abuna Yemata Guh is a monolithic church located in the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is situated at a height of 2,580 metres (its entrance is highlighted by a red circle) and has to be climbed on foot to reach. It is notable for its wall paintings dating back to the 5th century.
9. Tea gown, France, ~1897. Owned by the Countess Greffulhe, who often chose clothing of a brilliant green color because it complemented her auburn hair.
10. What the pyramid of Khafre looked like 4,500 years ago compared to today. The pyramids of Giza were originally covered with highly polished white limestones, with the capstones at the peak being covered in gold.
11. 9000 year old cave painting in Tassili cave Algeria . Depicting a shaman during psychedelic mushroom use.
12. X-ray scans of Carreño de Miranda’s 1681 portrait of the King Charles II of Spain reveal that the artist painted over an earlier portrait of the King when he was much younger.
13. The Ksar Draa in Timimoun, Algeria, is an ancient ruin that stands out in the middle of an ocean of dunes, and it’s history has been lost over the centuries. The only news related to it is that for a certain period of time it was occupied by the Jews of the Timimoun region.
14. The shaman of Bad Dürrenberg are the remains of a 25-35 year old woman, who was burried 8600 to 9000 year ago in Germany. Around her, were the remains of an extraordinary head-dress, made from the bones and teeth of different animals such as deer, wild boar, crane and turtle.
15. A gun hidden within a bible, made for Francesco Morozini, Doge of Venice (1619-1694). The owner of the bible could pull the silk bookmark to shoot while the book was still closed. Now on display at the Museo Correr in Venice.
16. Believed to be 11,000 years old. Karahantepe (Near Göbeklitepe)
17. An amateur treasure hunter with a metal detector turned up a Medieval, gold ring that was set with a sapphire stone in Sherwood Forest—haunt of the legendary (or real) Robin Hood. Experts have examined the ring and believe it may date to the 14 th century.
18. Detail of the Hercules armor of the Emperor Maximilian II of Austria. Made in 1555, it’s now on display at the Kunsthistorisches museum in Vienna.
19. A very well preserved 3,000-year-old bronze sword was recently discovered in the southern Bavarian town of Nördlingen in Germany.
20. A 17th century ottoman three-mast tent made of silk and gilded leather. Now on display at the Turkish Chamber in the Dresden Armoury.
21. The ceiling of the 2000 years old hypostyle hall of the temple of Hathor in Dendera, Egypt
22. One of the 4000-year-old well-preserved wagons unearthed in the Lchashen village in the vicinity of Lake Sevan. Made of oak, they are the oldest known wagons in the world. Now on display at the History Museum of Armenia.
23. A 900-year-old church still standing in Wicklow, Ireland.
24. A neon saleman’s sample case, cirka 1935.
25. The amber bear that my dad found in 1990. Dates back to the stoneage. Currently on display at the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen.
26. A tourist noticed a 1,700-year-old Roman sarcophagus that was being used as a table at a beach bar in Varna, Bulgaria.
27. Mourning clothes worn by count Magnus Brahe at the funeral of king Karl XIV Johan of Sweden in 1844.
28. Amethyst grapes with jade leaves. China, Qing dynasty, 19th century
29. Corinthian helmet from the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) found with the warrior’s skull inside.
30. The world’s oldest undeground station, Baker Street, England. 160 years apart.
31. A new research revealed this year that this obsidian mirror used by Queen Elizabeth I’s famed political advisor and occultist John Dee to ‘speak’ with angels has Aztec origin. The mirror was crafted in Aztec Mexico more than 500 years ago and is now on display at the British Museum.
32. The Cosquer cave is a Palaeolithic decorated cave, located in France, that contains numerous cave drawings dating back as far as 27,000 years BP. The cave has more than 200 parietal figures and is also the only decorated cave whose entrance opens under the sea.
33. A 15-foot-long dugout canoe discovered last fall in Wisconsin’s Lake Mendota has been scanned with high-tech tools and dated to around 1,200 years ago.
34. Head of Dionysus, the god of wine, have been uncovered in an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Aizanoi, Turkey.
35. Charlemagne’s Throne in Aachen. From then until 1531, it served as the coronation throne for thirty-one Kings of Germany.
