Sylvia Rose
Etch Carnelian Beads Like It's Indus Valley 2500 BCE
The Indus Valley Civilization of the Bronze Age is one of the earliest urban societies, famous for trade, inventiveness and extraordinary...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 225 min read
Antimony (Stibnite, Kohl) Ancient Metal of Science & Beauty
Antimony (stibnite, Sb) is one of the elements known by the ancients, a primary source of black powder kajal or kohl. With its silvery...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 63 min read
Ancient Traders & Buyers: Art of Testing Metals
Testing metals is a precise and varied process in the ancient world. It's a crucial skill in ensuring fair trade and preventing fraud....
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 64 min read
Metal Smelting & Metallurgy in the Ancient World
Smelting, the art of extracting metal from its ore through heating and extraction, has been a part of human civilization since c. 6000...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 13 min read
Science of Rust Earth Pigments & Colors
Rust is a complex chemical reaction from the interaction of iron, oxygen, and moisture. This common phenomenon produces striking colors...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 216 min read
Phosphorus, Uroscopy & Power of Pee
Urine has medical and practical applications though history. Renaissance alchemist Hennig Brand discovers phosphorus by boiling his...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 205 min read
Alchemy: Metallurgy, Myths & Magic
Alchemy has a lifelong relationship with the magic of metals and their multiple manifestations. Metal workers and later blacksmiths...
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Sylvia Rose
Jun 195 min read
Zosimos: First Golden Age of Alchemy
Zosimos of Panopolis or Zosimus Alchemista (Zosimus the Alchemist) is a Greek alchemist and Gnostic mystic. Born near today's Akhmim in...
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Sylvia Rose
May 257 min read
Cypriot Copper & Ancient Cyprus
The mining industry of Cyprus dates back to c. 4000 BCE, primarily focused on copper extraction. Cyprus derives its name from Kúpros, the...
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Sylvia Rose
May 2110 min read
Thrace - Tribal Mythology & Lore
Thrace, in the area of today's Bulgaria, has a cosmology going back thousands of years. Tribal mythology shares a Great Goddess and Storm...
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Sylvia Rose
May 208 min read
Thrace - Warfare, Slavery & Music
Thrace is an ancient region of Bulgaria bordering the Black Sea. In Neolithic and Chalcolithic times the seaport Varna and salt center...
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Sylvia Rose
May 196 min read
Vistula River: Early Tribes & Trade
The Vistula River is among the most important rivers of Europe. From its source in the Carpathian Mountains, the river travels north to...
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Sylvia Rose
May 95 min read
Electrum: Metal of Money & Myth
Electrum is a natural alloy of silver and gold . In the ancient world, electrum is a metal of superior value due to its hardness and...
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Sylvia Rose
May 86 min read
Enkomi: Bronze Age Trade of Cyprus
Enkomi is among the most important settlements of middle Bronze Age Cyprus. Originally it's situated on the east coast as a prime...
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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
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 115 min read
Black Pigments of Ancient Artisans
Black is among the first pigments in the palette of early humans. By Paleolithic times, black defines lines, shadows and meaning. Black...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 163 min read
Lukka: Bronze Age Warrior Sea People
The Bronze Age Lukka (Lugga) people occupy part of the glimmering Turquoise Coast in southern Turkey by the 3rd millennium BCE. Tribal...
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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 31, 20234 min read
Ancient Wild Predators - Eurasian Lion
The Eurasian Lion or European Lion features in the art and tales of ancient Greece and Mesopotamia. The lion is a symbol of strength,...
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