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Sylvia Rose
Nov 28, 20246 min read
Cobalt (Co): The Little Goblin Who Could
Cobalt is a silvery grey metal used across various fields, including science, medicine, and industry. It receives its name from the...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 13, 20246 min read
Pyrometallurgy: Ancient Processes of Modern Alchemy
Pyrometallurgy is the high-temperature processing of ores to extract and refine metals. It uses alchemical processes in a modern...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 11, 20246 min read
Copper (Cu) Effects on Human & Plant Health
Copper (Cu) and its warm golden red hue is part of humanity. It's one of the most important metals of alchemy , aids plant health and is...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 24, 20245 min read
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 22, 20245 min read
Antimony (Stibnite, Kohl) Ancient Metal of Science & Beauty
Antimony (Sb) from the ore stibnite, is one of the elements known by the ancients, a primary source of black powder kajal or kohl. With...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 6, 20243 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 6, 20244 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 1, 20243 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 21, 20246 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 20, 20245 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 19, 20245 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 25, 20247 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 21, 202410 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 20, 20248 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 19, 20246 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 9, 20245 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 8, 20246 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 29, 20248 min read
Honey Bees (Apidae): Nature & Myth
Honey bees create honey, beeswax and folklore. First domestication of the honeybee is c. 8000 BCE, in the Neolithic Age. At this time...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 15, 20244 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 12, 20246 min read
Stymphalian Birds & Greek Heroics
The Stymphalian birds are vicious flesh-eating birds in Greek mythology. They're believed to originate from the swamps of Stymphalia in...
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