top of page
Sylvia Rose
May 5, 20245 min read
Destiny & Death: Fate in the Ancient World
Fate and destiny are integral concepts common to all cultures. For ancient people including Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Europeans and...
24 views
Sylvia Rose
May 2, 20242 min read
Sacred Cave Trapeza (Kronion), Crete
The Sacred Cave Trapeza (Kronion) is a Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual site on the island of Crete in Greece. During the Minoan era it's...
12 views
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...
34 views
Sylvia Rose
Apr 20, 20246 min read
Lake Van: Fate of a Primeval Soda Salt Lake
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey. A saline soda lake, it's fed by numerous mountain streams. Van lacks a water outlet, making it...
34 views
Sylvia Rose
Apr 19, 20247 min read
Mt Nemrut Volcano: Nature & Lore
Mount Nemrut is a dormant volcano in Van province of east Turkey, near Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. Nemrut is named for the...
19 views
Sylvia Rose
Apr 1, 20245 min read
Cyprus: Prehistoric Humans & Pygmy Hippos
Cyprus enters the Neolithic age armed with hundreds of years of history. Humans arrive on the island in the Paleolithic period, which...
34 views
Sylvia Rose
Apr 1, 20245 min read
Suppiluliuma II: the Last Hittite King
Šuppiluliuma II is the last King of the Hittites. As every end marks a beginning, Suppiluliuma II is also credited with the first naval...
16 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 31, 20245 min read
Ammurapi - The Last King of Ugarit
Ammurapi is the last ruler and king of the Syrian Bronze Age city of Ugarit. He's a contemporary of Hittite King Suppiluliuma II, the...
19 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 30, 20244 min read
Anat - War Goddess of Ancient Ugarit
Anat is a war goddess and deity of the hunt in ancient Ugarit, Ḫanat and Tanis. In the Baal Cycle she's an ally to the God Baal, battling...
16 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 30, 20244 min read
Pentagram: Drudenfuß, Five Point Star
The pentagram or Drudenfuß (Drude's Foot) is a protective sign or talisman with the power to repel malevolent magic associated with...
32 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 28, 20244 min read
Baal Cycle - Myths of Ba'al Hadad
Baal (Ba'al) is a fertility god and storm deity known by 2330 BCE. As Ba'al Hadad, his exploits form the Baal Cycle of texts. In Syria...
24 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 27, 20245 min read
Baal (Ba'al): Storm God & Love Demon
Baal (Ba'al) is a Bronze Age Canaanite deity whose worship centers on the Levant and the industrious coastal city of Ugarit, north Syria....
17 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 26, 20243 min read
Ib the Heart: Book of the Dead Egypt
Ib ( jb ) is the ancient Egyptian heart, the center of intelligence and existence in a body. It's also called qaib or qa-ib referring to...
24 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 23, 20246 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,...
18 views
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...
68 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 14, 20244 min read
Spelt Wheat - Bronze Age Grain Crops
Spelt (Triticum spelta) is the hardy hybrid of a domestic wheat and a type of wild goat-grass (Aegilops taschii). First evidence of...
14 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 14, 20245 min read
Emmer Wheat - First Domestic Crops
Emmer wheat (hulled wheat) is one of the first grain crops, along with einkorn wheat. Initially domesticated in the near East, emmer...
33 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 13, 20245 min read
Orpiment - Painter's Golden Poison
Orpiment is a golden orange or yellow arsenic sulfide mineral. Found in volcanic fumaroles, low-temperature hydrothermal veins, and hot...
50 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 12, 20246 min read
Terrazzo Floors & Neolithic Masons
Terrazzo is among the earliest building techniques of humans, dating to 9500 BCE. Terrazzo is an aggregate of crushed stone with a binder...
37 views
Sylvia Rose
Mar 12, 20244 min read
Lammašaga: Sumerian Angel Goddess
Lammašaga (Lammasaga) is an ancient Sumerian goddess, and sukkal of the medicine goddess Bau. Belonging to a class of guardian deities or...
25 views
bottom of page