The mighty Vasa galleon

 In 1626 king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden decided to built "Vasa", a warship that Baltic sea have never seen before. He was very focused on his naval forces, believing that war success depends on the strength of his ships. After more than two years of construction, Henrik Hybertsson reported that the ship is ready.Gustavus was all the time involved in construction, asking for many changes...

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1000 years ago some Viking lost in the lake his chest...

 In 1936 Hugo Kraft was ploughing his field when found a strange encircled by an iron chain chest. It contained the largest collection of tools of this date so far found: iron working and carpenter's tools, raw materials, un-finished products. His field was located on a drained lake. During the Viking Age, the area where Mästermyr mire is located used to be a lake. The mire was drained in...

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Amazing staircase of Chantilly Castle

 Located 40 kilometres north of Paris, in the Picardy region of France, this small town looks like it belongs to a fairytale. The Jewel in the crown of Domaine de Chantilly is the stunning 16th century Chateau, built for Anne de Montmorecy, and is undoubtedly one of the most astonishing French chateau venues near Paris.  It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed...

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Amazing historical artifacts #1

 Coin (silver) from Syracuse, Greece around 466 BCEA pair of intricately cut shoes that were found on a bog body from over 2,300 years agoHelmet made by Milanese armorer Filippo Negroli; 1543Corsican vendetta knife with floral detail. The blade reads: “Che la mia ferita sia mortale" - or roughly: “may all your wounds be mortal”. 19th centuryAncient sense of humor: Greek lead sling bullet, inscribed...

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Chinese gold sword

 In Ancient China, gold and silver were not the prestigious materials they were in the West. Jade and bronze were more highly prized. Gold was used for decorative purposes, as inlay or coating on bronze or lacquer, and only very rarely for vessels or other independent objects.However, in the Eastern Zhou period(771-221 BC) gold began to be increasingly used on a larger scale, though goldworking...

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Scythian golden comb

Scythian golden comb with a battle scene, discovered in Solokha Tumulus, Dnieper region, Ukraine - Late 5th-early 4th century BCThe art of the Scythians combined Eastern elements with influences from the Hellenic ancient states on the northern Black Sea coast. The combination gave the art an exquisite and unique quality.The center of Scythian art can be considered Panticapaeum, the capital of the...

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Kawari Kabuto(Exotic Helmet) - Japan

 Kawari Kabuto(Exotic Helmet) - Japan, Momoyama period, 16th centuryKabuto is a type of helmet first used by ancient Japanese warriors, and in later periods, they became an important part of the traditional Japanese armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan.This kawari kabuto is a type of exotic helmet cotaining a zunari (head-shaped) three plate iron of 'yaro-to' (rough...

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Memento mori ring

 Memento Mori Swivel Ring - England, 16th centuryDesigns of death in jewellery and art are constantly evolving. Symbolism is the core of identity in a culture, being the basic interpretations of value. When there are times of turmoil, the fact of death becomes more immediate in designs, which this memento mori ring displays in its values.The concept of death being a factor that can happen at...

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Fox in a monk costume. 1530, Denmark

Satire on the clergy was well known in the Middle Ages. But the small approx. 6 cm. tall ivory figure of a fox in a monk's robe and with a rosary in his paws belongs well in the anti-Catholic propaganda around the Reformation. Found in Copenhagen, Denmark. Might be also connected to Reynard the Fox (a medieval collection of stories in which all people are animals, from Central Europe, about a...

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Tooth worms as Hell’s Demon’, 18th century depiction

 Tooth worms have a long history, first appearing in a Sumerian text around 5,000 BC. References to tooth worms can be found in China, Egypt and India long before the belief finally takes root (pun intended) into Western Europe in the 8th century. Treatment of tooth worms varied depending on the severity of the patient’s pain. Often, practitioners would try to ‘smoke’ the worm out by heating...

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Roman lead pipes in Bath

 In southwestern England there is a natural site that was once ruled by an Iron Age people known as the Dobunni. Here is found the only hot water springs in England, bringing mineral-laden water from the depths of the earth.When the Roman Legion arrived here in A.D. 43 they immediately recognized the significance of the site. After a regional revolt was forcefully put down in A.D. 60, the Romans...

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