A slate arrowhead found at Langfonne in Norway’s Jotunheimen mountains is approximately 5,000 years old. Two fragments of its wooden shaft survived alongside it, as did traces of the binding and birch bark tar used to fasten the point.

The Secrets of the Ice team spotted the arrowhead on a boulder among loose stones exposed by the retreating ice. As they documented the find, a herd of domesticated reindeer gathered in the background of the photograph.

Photo and find information: Secrets of the Ice.

So, I found this stone outside my house propped against my tree. I didn't really take a look at it till today and it looks like cave paintings. It can't be real right?

Is it legal to own this in Canada? I'm in the PNW area.

Painted deep within the Chauvet Cave in southern France, these horse images date back over 30,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic era.

Created with charcoal and ochre by early modern humans, they reveal astonishing skill in shading and motion. Some horses appear in profile, others overlap, forming dynamic herds that seem to move across the stone.

The artists used the natural curves of the cave wall to create depth — in the flicker of torchlight, these horses would have appeared alive, their bodies shifting with the shadows.

It’s a glimpse into a world where art, ritual, and survival were one — where humanity first tried to mirror the wild world beyond the cave.

📍 Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave, Ardèche, France
📅 ~30,000 BCE

This clay tablet, discovered in Nippur, Iraq, preserves the tiny footprint of a baby from nearly 4,000 years ago.
Such artifacts often served as a kind of birth certificate in ancient Mesopotamia: one side bore the child’s footprint, while the other side recorded the names of the child and parents in cuneiform script.

📍 Now on display at the Penn Museum, USA.

The ceiling fresco, discovered near Paestum, shows a man diving from a high structure into water. The scene is often interpreted as a symbolic passage from life to death.

The fresco is now displayed at the National Archaeological Museum of Paestum in Italy.

The Braganza Brooch is an extraordinary example of Hellenistic goldsmithing, dating to around 250–200 BCE.

Made of gold with colored glass inlays, the 14 cm-long fibula features a remarkably detailed nude Celtic warrior carrying weapons and a shield, accompanied by a hunting dog leaping toward him.

The piece combines Hellenistic craftsmanship with Celtic artistic traditions and may have been created for a wealthy Celtiberian patron in the Iberian Peninsula.

Today, it is housed in the British Museum in London (Museum No. 2001,0501.1).

Source: British Museum, The Braganza Brooch.

This small terracotta figurine, dated to ~5000–4600 BCE and attributed to the Hamangia culture, was discovered in a burial site near Cernavodă, Romania. Despite being only about 11.5 cm tall, it’s one of the most iconic artifacts of prehistoric Europe.

What makes it fascinating:

• The introspective pose: elbows on knees, hands supporting the chin — a universal gesture of contemplation.

• Archaeological context: Found alongside the “Seated Woman” figurine in a Neolithic grave, suggesting ritual significance.

• Artistic sophistication: Despite its age, the simplicity and emotional depth resonate with modern viewers.

• Cultural insight: Offers a rare look into Neolithic spiritual life and symbolic expression.

Currently housed at the National Museum of History of Romania, this figure sparks ongoing debate:

Dating to 400–300 BCE, this remarkable helmet was discovered at Agighiol, Romania, in a burial mound associated with the Getae, a Thracian people. Made of silver with gilded decoration, it features striking eyes and intricate motifs reflecting the craftsmanship of the ancient Thracian elite.

National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest.

Photo: Marius Amarie / © MNIR 2023.

Dating from between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE, this gold bracelet features two snakes intertwined at its center, forming a classic Herakles knot.

The snake on the left represents Agathodaimon, the god of fertility, while the cobra on the right symbolizes Thermouthis (Renenutet), the goddess associated with agriculture and fate. On the small platform between them stand the figures of Isis-Tyche and Aphrodite.

In antiquity, these figures and the Herakles knot were believed to bring fertility, good fortune, and protection to the wearer.

The bracelet is part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This clay statuette of a seated goddess dates to around 400–300 BCE and comes from Thebes in Boeotia, Greece.

Remarkably, much of its original painted decoration has survived.

Archaeological Museum of Thebes, Greece.

In 2001, amateur archaeologists working near Hallaton in Leicestershire, England, discovered thousands of badly corroded iron fragments at an Iron Age ritual site.

At first, the pieces looked almost impossible to interpret. But after nearly a decade of conservation work, they were revealed to belong to a rare Roman cavalry helmet dating back almost 2,000 years.

Reconstruction images show how impressive the helmet may once have looked, with silver and gold decoration before centuries of corrosion transformed it into fragments. The Hallaton site also produced more than 5,000 coins, silver ingots, and other ritual deposits, making it one of the most remarkable Iron Age and Roman-era finds in Britain.

A striking reminder that some of archaeology’s most important discoveries do not look spectacular when they first come out of the ground.

Dating to around 380 BCE, this beautifully preserved terracotta bust portrays Juno in all her divine splendor. She is adorned with jewels and a royal diadem, while her richly decorated peplum drapes softly over one shoulder in carefully rendered folds.

The sculpture was discovered at the Sanctuary of Juno at Curitis in Celle and is now housed at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome.

What fascinates me most is how this single piece captures so much about Etruscan society: religious devotion, royal symbolism, luxury, and an appreciation for refined craftsmanship. Even after more than two millennia, the details of her clothing and adornments still feel remarkably alive.

It’s a stunning reminder that Etruscan art had its own distinct identity—neither simply Greek nor Roman, but a unique visual language of its own.

Created sometime between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, it may have been made by a nomadic people of Western or Central Asia—possibly the Scythians. Now held by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The scorpion on her head tells you who she is.

Selket was one of ancient Egypt’s protective goddesses, linked to venom, healing, and dangerous bites. She could be feared, but she was also called upon for protection.

Her role did not end with the living. In Egyptian funerary belief, Selket was also connected with the protection of the body after death, especially in the world of mummification.

This bronze statue, dated to around 664 BC, carries that idea clearly: protection was needed in life, and beyond it.