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Sylvia Rose
Sep 14, 20244 min read
Diplosis: Gold Doubling & Multiplication in Alchemy
Displosis is the ancient practice of doubling gold. It's considered to be a skill of alchemists and early metal workers as well. If done...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 13, 20245 min read
Zinc (Zn): Essential Metal in Alchemy & Medicine
Zinc (Zn) is an essential metal of life and one of the four components in the Tetrasomia of Maria in alchemy. The 30th element on the...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 12, 20243 min read
Galls & Gall Nuts: Black Ink, Dye, Medicine
Galls and gall nuts are growths on plants, particularly oak trees, used for a number of purposes throughout history. They form due to...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 8, 20246 min read
Almadén Mines: Ancient Mercury Extraction
The Almadén Mines in central Spain have an infamous past driven by profit and greed. The deadly history of ancient Almadén revolves...
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Sylvia Rose
Sep 6, 20243 min read
Turmeric (Curcuma longa): Ancient Uses & Medicine
A vibrant golden spice, turmeric captivates kingdoms, heals the sick and rules the routes of the spice trade. The humble root has a long...
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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
Aug 11, 20243 min read
Alchemy: Ancient Purification of Tin
Tin purification is important to various alchemical practices, and a fundamental step in many recipes and formulas. In alchemy purified...
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Sylvia Rose
Aug 3, 20247 min read
Glass & Arts of Ancient Glass Making
Glass production is known before the Bronze Age. Early glassmakers in Egypt and the ancient Near East produce colored beads and later...
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Sylvia Rose
May 4, 20245 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 14, 20245 min read
Pistachio: Turpentine, Resin & Nuts
Pistacia is a shrub or tree prized for food , resin, tannins, oils and natural turpentine for thousands of years in the Mediterranean...
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Sylvia Rose
Apr 5, 20246 min read
Ancient Grains: Wheat, Barley, Millet, Rice
Wheat, barley, millet and rice are four of the ancient grains, going back to the Neolithic agrarian revolution c. 10,000 BCE. Ancient...
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Sylvia Rose
Mar 15, 20247 min read
Verdigris: Coveted Blue Green Copper 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
Dec 20, 20234 min read
Giant Cinnamon Birds of Arabia
Cinnamon birds appear in folklore of Eurasia shortly after Arab merchants begin trading with ancient lands to the north. Cinnamon enjoys...
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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
Dec 17, 20233 min read
Nigella Sativa: Black Seed of Healers
Nigella sativa or kalonji is a blackseed plant with healing properties. Use in cooking and folk medicine is documented by the 2nd...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 15, 20233 min read
Carnelian - Sunny Gems of the Ancient World
Carnelian (early: cornelean ) is already used in the Stone Age to make beads. Pebbles of the reddish orange gemstone might be polished by...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 13, 20234 min read
Jade - Jadeite, Nephrite & Jade Roads
Nephrite jade is the foremost commodity to travel along the Pacific Coasts of the East. The seaway route is the original Jade Road named...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 8, 20234 min read
Myrrh - Mystique, Death & Divinity
Myrrh ( Commiphora sp) has a history older than humankind. Deeply connected to death, healing and the divine, myrrh is a smoky, strongly...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 6, 20234 min read
Bronze Age Ancients - Catacomb Culture
With the favored practice of naming early civilizations after their grave types, here is the Catacomb culture. The progressive and...
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Sylvia Rose
Oct 31, 20233 min read
Kanesh (Kultepe): Kārum City of Trade
The ancient town of Kültepe (Kultepe, Kanesh, Kaneš), where the earliest writing originates, rises to a prosperous trade city and kārum ...
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