Sylvia Rose
Curonian Freshwater Baltic Sea Lagoon
Curonian Lagoon is a freshwater body beside the Baltic Sea at western Lithuania, separated from the sea by the narrow Curonian Spit....
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Sylvia Rose
May 107 min read
Baltic Ancient Mythology & Folklore
Baltic mythology has a faraway ancestor in Proto-Indo-European mythology. Lore of the Baltic region has deep roots, reflecting the fierce...
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Sylvia Rose
May 45 min read
Opium Poppy (Papaver somnifum)
Opium poppy (Papaver somnifum) is the common source of opium and derivatives such as morphine or heroin. All poppies produce the narcotic...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 154 min read
Alum: Tanning, Dye & Beauty Salts
Alum is an ingredient in processes such as dyeing fabric, tanning hides and water purification. Alum is ubiquitous in ancient and...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 144 min read
Tanning Hides - Ancient Techniques
Tanning hides is practiced in the ancient world since c. 7000 BCE, in the Indus Valley site of Mehgarh. By 2500 BCE, Sumerians of...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 45 min read
Mugwort (Wormwood) Herbal Lore
Mugworts are used in folk medicine of India, China, Europe, America and other regions. A member of the Artemisia genus, mugwort is also...
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Sylvia Rose
Mar 236 min read
Elp: Bronze Age Militant Cattle Culture
The Elp culture spreads through the Netherlands, Northern Germania and just south of the Baltic coast. Bronze and Iron Age cattle people,...
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Sylvia Rose
Mar 157 min read
Verdigris: Creation of Coveted Blue Green Pigment
Verdigris is the green rust or patina on copper, created as the metal reacts with oxygen in the environment. Copper corrodes green to...
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Sylvia Rose
Mar 14 min read
Woad, the People's Blue: Ancient Pigments
Woad ( Isatis tinctoria ) is a plant yielding a blue pigment used in dyes, paint and medicine. A member of the mustard family, it's also...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 104 min read
Salt Trade - the Most Precious Mineral
Salt is an essential mineral of life. In food it stimulates taste and is among the oldest preservation methods. Part of the human taste...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 19, 20235 min read
Cinnamon - Spice Trade of Ancients
Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum ) is the oldest known spice in the world. The fragrant bark comes into popular use by c. 2000 BCE, when Egyptians...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 28, 20232 min read
Ornithomancy - Prophecy by the Birds
Ornithomancy or augury is first recorded during the Hittite Empire (c. 1450 - 1180). From ancient Greek "take omens from the flight and...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 15, 20234 min read
Volcanic Wipeout - 1600 BCE Eruption of Thera
In the mid Bronze Age the Minoan Greeks come under fire in more ways than one. A series of volcanic eruptions by the Cyclades island of...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 6, 20235 min read
Before the Vikings - Early Northern Cultures
In the European Bronze Age, the North is a wild place, populated by nomadic tribes, great bears and endless nights. Brilliant fires blaze...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 30, 20234 min read
Cult of the Bull - Prehistoric Aurochs
A prehistoric species of cattle, Aurochs (Bos primigenius) rules Europe and much of Asia in the ancient world. The last known Aurochs is...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 26, 20234 min read
Amber Trade - Bronze Age on the Baltic
During the late Bronze Age 2000 - 1200 BCE and after, the Amber Roads form passage for trade, merchants, craftspeople, criminals,...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 26, 20233 min read
Phosphorus: Element of Fatal Fascination
Phosphorus is the first element not known since ancient times. This glowing substance is discovered by German alchemist Hennig Brand in...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 25, 20234 min read
Spiritual Alchemy - Attuning the Self
Spiritual alchemy is a set of methods using mental processes, colors, phases, archetypes, integration, practical application and...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 23, 20235 min read
Baltic Amber - Gold of the North
Baltic amber is among the most prized trade items for millennia. The European amber trade starts in Sicily, with exports to other...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 23, 20234 min read
Weapons & Warfare of Bronze Age Europe 1
The Bronzing of Europe introduces new tools and weapons, harder than copper and less brittle than stone. Bronze is made with about 88%...
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