Jessica Sullivan @SullivanCreates

✍🏼💭 Nabu (sometimes known as Tutu) was the Babylonian god of wisdom, learning, prophecy, scribes, and writing, also responsible for the abundant harvest and all growing things. 📝 Article by Joshua J. Mark.  📷 Photos ©️ by Osama S.M. Amin & The Trustees of the British Museum.

Such a charming piece: a small jar for perfumed oil or ointment (aryballos): c.640 BC from Corinth, now in the Louvre #owlishmonday

Gold oak leaf wreath diadem, Greece, 4th-3rd century BC from The Benaki Museum, Athens

I’m excited to share that I’ll be speaking at the Gaia Ancient Civilizations Conference in my home state of Colorado on August 1–2! I’ll be joining an incredible lineup of researchers and explorers whom I deeply admire to discuss the latest discoveries and ancient mysteries that are reshaping how we think about our past. It’s going to be an incredible weekend in the beautiful city of Boulder, Colorado. You can attend in person or online. Click on the link in my bio for tickets - I hope to see you there! #AncientCivCon #Gaia @yourmothergaia

In a dusty excavation pit in Iraq, archaeologists carefully uncovered an ancient treasure, a massive Lamassu statue. The winged, bull-bodied, human-headed creature that once guarded the Palace of Khorsabad had been resurrected after millennia of burial. With small knives and delicate brushes, they meticulously swept away each layer of dry clay, revealing the intricate details of the spiraling beard, feathered wings, and powerful body. Each carved line told a story of power, belief, and art of the magnificent Assyrian civilization. Emotions welled up in the hearts of the discoverers. There was awe at the beauty and grandeur of the statue, curiosity about the ancient past, and pride in the work of restoring cultural heritage. The Lamassu statue is not just a historical artifact, but also a symbol of the enduring vitality of cultural heritage, overcoming time and war to retell the story of a lost civilization.

The famous Stepped Well at Hampi in India has perfectly symmetrical steps descending to the bottom, creating an inverted pyramid appearance. Curiously, it was built from greenish-black schist, rather than the granite used for most of Hampi’s other monuments. It is one of the most impressive and interesting structures I’ve seen with my own eyes.

In Afghanistan's remote Bamiyan Valley, nestled among colossal sandstone cliffs, a silent and majestic figure has stood for centuries—the Bamiyan Buddha statues. Sculpted in the 6th century, these statues are not only monumental works of art but also symbols of peace and spirituality. This place has witnessed countless historical upheavals, from bustling Silk Roads to protracted wars. Travelers, monks, and locals alike have revered, preserved, and spread the positive values ​​embodied in these statues. Emotions are stirred when standing before these ruins, a reminder of the power of human ingenuity in creating and preserving cultural heritage. Although largely destroyed in 2001, the image of the Bamiyan Buddha statues lives on in people's minds, a reminder of the fragility of the past and the need to respect and understand cultural diversity. Visiting Bamiyan, tourists not only admire the majestic scenery but also feel the breath of history, the people, and unforgettable emotions.

A small dragon is hiding in the initial-word p anel at the beginning of Torah portion Pinchas (פִּינְחָס). #ParashahPictures BL Or 2696; Torah, megilot ṿe-hafṭarot ʿim perush Rash"i; 14th century; Germany; f.318v @BLMedieval

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Fine and dandy dudes at Dumbleton, #Gloucestershire, for #SundayStonework, from the #Romanesque corbel table. What happy chaps they are!

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It’s all starting today - a feast of mediaeval drama in the York Mystery Plays, four-year cycle. The city doing what it seems happiest doing - wattle and daub with Morris and hellfire. Today: The Story of Creation.

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#OTD, in 1350 AD, Manuel II Palailogos was born. After becoming emperor in 1391, aware of the rising Ottoman threat, Manuel embarked on veritable diplomatic offensive, visiting all major European courts, becoming the first Roman emperor in more than millennium who visited England. Unfortunately, all Manuel got were promises and some money, as the western rulers were busy with their own wars...

🏺 China Unearthed a 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Shouldn’t Exist Deep beneath the soil in China, archaeologists uncovered something that left even experts stunned — giant bronze masks with haunting eyes, strange golden objects, towering statues, and ritual items unlike anything ever seen before. The discovery was made at the ancient Sanxingdui site in 2021, and the artifacts are believed to belong to a lost civilization that existed more than 3,000 years ago. What makes this discovery so mysterious is that these objects do not match the style of ancient Chinese civilizations we know from history books. The masks have enormous eyes, sharp features, and almost supernatural expressions, making many people wonder who these people really were… and why their art looked so different from the rest of the ancient world. Some researchers believe Sanxingdui may have been the center of a powerful kingdom that vanished without explanation. Others think the strange masks and statues were connected to rituals, forgotten gods, or beliefs that disappeared thousands of years ago. Even today, nobody fully understands why these incredible treasures were buried underground. Imagine standing in front of a massive bronze face created by human hands over 3 millennia ago… staring back at you with wide, mysterious eyes as if guarding secrets from another age. The deeper archaeologists dig, the more questions appear. Who were the people of Sanxingdui? Why was their culture so advanced and so different? And what caused this ancient civilization to suddenly fade into history? Some discoveries rewrite history. This one may rewrite everything we thought we knew about the ancient world.

💥 The Archaeologist’s Notebook 📝 📰 STUNNING Iron Age Decorated Gold Foil Unearthed ⛏️ 📰 Mini Iron Age Chariot Shows Iberian-Italian Trade Links 🛍 📰 Biggest-Ever Dutch Roman Bathhouse 🏛 📰 Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton Skeleton Found? ⚔️ open.substack.com/pub/historyhit…

Christianity May Have Brought an End to a 1,700-Year-Old Mithras Temple in Türkiye arkeonews.net/christianity-m…

The rusting remains of the Soviet jet-powered experimental train stand as a striking relic of Cold War ambition. It symbolizes a bold but ultimately abandoned attempt to push the limits of high-speed rail using aviation technology.

You only get 10 minutes inside Queen Nefertari's tomb (KV66). Often called the most beautifully decorated tomb in Ancient Egypt, its walls tell her journey through the afterlife in stunning detail. It's so fragile that some experts believe it should be closed again.🏺 A true masterpiece of history. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Archaeology #History #Travel #RamsesII

29th June is the feast of St Peter and St Paul. München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 15902; "Orational of St. Erentrud"; end of 12th century; Salzburg; f.113v @bsb_muenchen

Bulford Neolithic Pits and Alignment: Nearly fifty Neolithic pits on a Bulford hilltop may hold the earliest deliberately built solstice alignment in the Stonehenge landscape,

To cool us down a little, here is a half-frosted Liddington Castle hillfort. (Not taken today...)

For #FontsonFriday: the wondrous Norman font at St Petroc's Church, Bodmin (Cornwall). 📸2016