Enlarge / A 2, 700-year-old toilet seat made of stone revealed the poor sanitary conditions of a 7th-century Jerusalem luxury villa. (credit: Yoli Schwartz, The Israel Antiquities Authority) The particular wealthy, privileged elite of Jerusalem in the 7th century BCE were plagued by poor sanitary conditions and resulting parasitic intestinal diseases, according to a recent […]
Enlarge / Royal mummy of Amenhotep I, the second pharaoh of the 18th dynasty,, at Cairo Museum, Egypt. (credit: Patrick Landmann/Getty Images) Amenhotep I was an Egyptian pharaoh best known for building numerous temples and inspiring the formation of a funerary cult after his death. His mummy, first discovered in 1881, has never been opened, […]
Enlarge / A rare cuneiform tablet engraved with a portion of the ancient Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh will be returned to Iraq, per the US Department of Justice, along with 17, 000 other looted artifacts. (credit: U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) During the unrest in Iraq in April 2003, opportunistic looters stole some 15, […]