Ancient Symbols

Harnessing ancient Celtic and Thracian techniques, the Gundestrup Cauldron offers a mesmerizing journey into Iron Age craftsmanship and mythology.

The object popularly called the Mask of Agamemnon is a gold funerary mask from Grave Circle A at Mycenae. Heinrich Schliemann uncovered it in 1876 and linked it to the legendary commander Agamemnon, but the name is not an archaeological identification. Discovery at Mycenae The mask was found with burials and rich grave goods in

Sutton Hoo is an early medieval burial site in Suffolk, England. Its best-known mound contained the imprint of a ship and a chamber filled with weapons, jewelry, silverware, vessels, and objects connected with royal ceremony. The 1939 excavation Landowner Edith Pretty asked archaeologist Basil Brown to investigate the mounds on her property. In 1939 he

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth bearing the faint front and back image of a man. It is preserved in Turin and venerated by many Christians as the burial cloth of Jesus, while its historical origin remains disputed. Documented history The first widely accepted documentary record places the cloth at Lirey in France

The Voynich Manuscript is an illustrated codex written in an unidentified script. It is held by Yale University’s Beinecke Library as MS 408. Its author, language, purpose, and place of production remain uncertain despite extensive study. What survives The manuscript contains drawings of plants, astronomical and astrological diagrams, bathing figures, circular cosmological designs, pharmaceutical containers,

The Terracotta Army is part of the vast mausoleum complex built for Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China. Thousands of clay soldiers, horses, and chariots were placed in pits near the central burial mound to represent an imperial force in the world of the dead. Discovery and construction Local farmers encountered

The Antikythera Mechanism is a geared bronze device recovered from an ancient shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera. Research shows that it modeled astronomical cycles and displayed calendrical information through a system of interlocking gears and dials. Discovery and date Divers recovered the wreck’s cargo in 1900 and 1901. The corroded fragments initially looked