Marble seats of honor from the Theatre of the Amphiareion of Oropos, Greece, 1st century BCE
The Amphiareion is a sanctuary dedicated to Oropos, the hero of the Seven Against Thebes. It is one of the few sanctuaries in his honor known to date, and it consisted of a theater, a temple, a stoa, and baths. The sanctuary was designated for those seeking medical treatment. There was also an oracle. The sanctuary is known to have been in use from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD. Today, the well-preserved ruins of the entire sanctuary can be found in a small, secluded archaeological park.
The Amphiareion is a sanctuary dedicated to Oropos, the hero of the Seven Against Thebes. It is one of the few sanctuaries in his honor known to date, and it consisted of a theater, a temple, a stoa, and baths. The sanctuary was designated for those seeking medical treatment. There was also an oracle. The sanctuary is known to have been in use from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD. Today, the well-preserved ruins of the entire sanctuary can be found in a small, secluded archaeological park.
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A primitive baby stroller. 1920s.
The Rök Runestone
Standing in Östergötland, Sweden, the Rök Runestone is one of the most famous runestones from the Viking Age. Erected around the early 9th century, it contains one of the longest known runic inscriptions, carved across several sides of the stone.
For more than a century, scholars believed the inscription told a story of heroes, kings, battles and vengeance, with one passage traditionally interpreted as referring to the Gothic king Theodoric the Great.
This interpretation helped shape the popular image of the Viking Age as a world centred around warfare, honour and heroic deeds.
However, modern research has challenged much of this traditional reading. Linguists have argued that the inscription may instead be a series of riddles about the sun, daylight, runes and the act of writing itself. Even the supposed reference to Theodoric may have resulted from an earlier misinterpretation.
More recent research has gone further, suggesting that the inscription could reflect fears surrounding darkness, death and catastrophic environmental changes that affected Scandinavia after the dramatic climate event of AD 536.
Whatever its exact meaning, the Rök Stone shows just how much can remain uncertain in a text carved more than 1,200 years ago.
Standing in Östergötland, Sweden, the Rök Runestone is one of the most famous runestones from the Viking Age. Erected around the early 9th century, it contains one of the longest known runic inscriptions, carved across several sides of the stone.
For more than a century, scholars believed the inscription told a story of heroes, kings, battles and vengeance, with one passage traditionally interpreted as referring to the Gothic king Theodoric the Great.
This interpretation helped shape the popular image of the Viking Age as a world centred around warfare, honour and heroic deeds.
However, modern research has challenged much of this traditional reading. Linguists have argued that the inscription may instead be a series of riddles about the sun, daylight, runes and the act of writing itself. Even the supposed reference to Theodoric may have resulted from an earlier misinterpretation.
More recent research has gone further, suggesting that the inscription could reflect fears surrounding darkness, death and catastrophic environmental changes that affected Scandinavia after the dramatic climate event of AD 536.
Whatever its exact meaning, the Rök Stone shows just how much can remain uncertain in a text carved more than 1,200 years ago.
Queen Marie Antoinette's hair in a golden locket
📸 British museum
📸 British museum
What did it mean to be Celtic
Being Celtic was a way of seeing and feeling, of interpreting and inhabiting the world. The Celtic domain wasn’t simply a physical landscape spanning Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other regions on the Atlantic rim—it was a dream-space, a kingdom of the imagination with a coherency, a taste all its own, «room to roam» as the George MacDonald poem said. And this dream-space was inside me too. I was beginning to move at its speed and become a conscious participant in its quicksilver drama.
— Mike Scott. Adventures of a Waterboy.
Being Celtic was a way of seeing and feeling, of interpreting and inhabiting the world. The Celtic domain wasn’t simply a physical landscape spanning Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other regions on the Atlantic rim—it was a dream-space, a kingdom of the imagination with a coherency, a taste all its own, «room to roam» as the George MacDonald poem said. And this dream-space was inside me too. I was beginning to move at its speed and become a conscious participant in its quicksilver drama.
— Mike Scott. Adventures of a Waterboy.
The Hunterston Brooch — A Celtic Masterpiece with a Viking Connection
Dating back to around 700 AD, the Hunterston Brooch is one of the finest surviving examples of early medieval craftsmanship in the British Isles.
Made from silver and gold, adorned with intricate gold filigree and amber settings, this remarkable 12.2 cm brooch combines Celtic and Anglo-Saxon artistic traditions. Its elaborate decoration also incorporates Christian symbolism, possibly concealing deeper religious meanings within its intricate patterns.
But the brooch has another story to tell.
Several centuries after its creation, probably around the 10th century, someone added an inscription in Scandinavian runes to its reverse:
“Melbrigda owns this brooch.”
This simple inscription reveals that the jewel eventually found its way into the hands of someone from the Norse-speaking world, offering a fascinating glimpse into the cultural interaction between the Viking settlers and the native populations of Scotland and Ireland.
Discovered at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland, during the 19th century, the brooch is now preserved at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
A remarkable object that survived centuries, changing hands between cultures while carrying traces of both its Christian origins and its Viking past.
📸 National Museum of Scotland, Edimburg
Dating back to around 700 AD, the Hunterston Brooch is one of the finest surviving examples of early medieval craftsmanship in the British Isles.
Made from silver and gold, adorned with intricate gold filigree and amber settings, this remarkable 12.2 cm brooch combines Celtic and Anglo-Saxon artistic traditions. Its elaborate decoration also incorporates Christian symbolism, possibly concealing deeper religious meanings within its intricate patterns.
But the brooch has another story to tell.
Several centuries after its creation, probably around the 10th century, someone added an inscription in Scandinavian runes to its reverse:
“Melbrigda owns this brooch.”
This simple inscription reveals that the jewel eventually found its way into the hands of someone from the Norse-speaking world, offering a fascinating glimpse into the cultural interaction between the Viking settlers and the native populations of Scotland and Ireland.
Discovered at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland, during the 19th century, the brooch is now preserved at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
A remarkable object that survived centuries, changing hands between cultures while carrying traces of both its Christian origins and its Viking past.
📸 National Museum of Scotland, Edimburg