Category Archives: Public Life

Fact or Fiction? Ancient Scary Turnips

Fact or Fiction curly and roundPumpkins in North America are ubiquitous this time of year, and they are no more evident than on Halloween, when they are on display carved with frightening faces to ward off evil spirits. But did you know that in the Middle Ages in Europe, as a pagan vestige against the growing wave of Christianity, hideously carved turnips were the vegetable of choice to spook the spirits?

Fact or Fiction?

Scroll down for the answer!

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FACT! As the conversion to Christianity took root in the Middle Ages, pagan influences remained, which was the case with Halloween. It was believed that spirits roamed freely on this fateful night. Turnips were carved in the form of demons to keep evil spirits away. Since the pumpkin was more abundant in America, it became the much more colorful and rotund symbol of nefarious spirits as the Halloween tradition crossed the pond.

Click here to learn more about historic Halloween traditions and to read a scary story about a ghost hunter.

Author PJ Hodge Presents “The Viaduct (A Ghost Story)”

viaductIt’s that time of year again that with frissons of delight we delve into the dark world of ghosts and goblins. And again we turn to author P J Hodge as he takes us on a tale of trauma and memory in the English countryside. His stories often draw from ancient themes that transcend time and culture, where the dimensions of existence blur between this world and what lies beyond. Continue reading

Call for Entries for 2016 LegacyQuest International Children’s Film and Video Festival

Letter of Intent Deadline- December 11, 2015

Final Entry Submission Deadline- February 26, 2016

View our invitational video below and scroll down for details about the festival and how your students can get involved!


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Strata: Portraits of Humanity, Episode 11, “James Madison Slave Quarters,” “Iron Age Mirror” and “HMS Fowey Shipwreck”

StrataImage-webThree new features in the video news-magazine series Strata:  Portraits of Humanity, produced by AntiquityNOW’s partner, Archaeological Legacy Institute, examine how the past continues to inspire us today.

“James Madison Slave Quarters” looks at the reconstruction of the South Yard, the slave quarters at the fourth U.S. president’s mansion, which marks the beginning of a new chapter at Montpelier and the history that unfolds.  “Iron Age Mirror” depicts a beautiful mirror found by a metal detectorist in Oxfordshire, UK. It is a remarkable piece of craftmanship used more than 2,000 years ago.  “HMS Fowey Shipwreck” reveals the story of the British frigate that struck a coral reef and sank in 1748, coming to rest within the boundaries of Biscayne National Park.  The National Park Service conducted underwater excavations on the site. Continue reading

It’s Back to School! AntiquityNOW Celebrates Teachers Through the Ages

It’s that time again! Teachers around the world have been hard at work preparing curricula, decorating classrooms, and making sure their students have all the tools they need to learn and grow through the coming school year. In honor of these soldiers for education, we want to take a moment to celebrate educators through the millennia, and recognize those who have dedicated their lives to teach and inspire.

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Khaled al-Asaad and the Price of Memory

AN Forum

The murder by ISIS of Khaled al-Asaad, 82, a renowned Syrian archaeologist and scholar, was a heinous act. His death is a blow to Syria and the world’s cultural heritage.

Tadmor, Syria: the scene of the theater of Palmyra

Tadmor, Syria: the scene of the theater of Palmyra

What possesses a person to cleave so to an ideal that he would give up his own life? As social media spread the details of Asaad’s death, there was sincere horror and disgust at the price of his refusal to disclose where Palmyra’s antiquities had been hidden. Asaad, with more than 50 years as head of antiquities in Palmyra, along with other officials, had spirited away many of the artifacts that undoubtedly would have ended up being sold on the black market, fetching the high prices that fuel ISIS’ activities. Continue reading

Summer Reading Recap: Greece

Parthenon-2008_entzerrtFor those of you returning to school this September, today we’re bringing you up to speed on ancient Greece. Make sure you’re the first one to raise your hand this year when the teacher says, “Where is the birthplace of Western philosophy?” Continue reading

Strata: Portraits of Humanity, Episode 9, “Hunting Mountain Picassos” and “Sub Rosa: Tyntesfield”

StrataImage-web“Hunting Mountain Picassos” and “Sub Rosa: Tyntesfield” are the next episodes in the video news-magazine series Strata:  Portraits of Humanity, produced by AntiquityNOW’s partner, Archaeological Legacy Institute.

People have been chronicling their existence in pictorial designs for millennia. “Hunting the Mountain Picassos” captures the unique art of Basque shepherds over the last century who have created arborglyphs—pictures carved into the barks of aspen trees in Nevada. For more than half-a-century, Jean and Phillip Earl of Reno, Nevada, have used clues from old maps, letters and books to hunt for and document these remarkable pictures. In “Sub Rosa: Tyntesfield,” UK archaeology student Rebecca Kellawan journeys to uncover the use of a crumbling, abandoned US World War II base located on the grounds of a beautiful Victorian estate.  What is uncovered leads to even more intriguing questions of racial and national tensions in the era and recasts the look of patriotism. Continue reading

The Slavery Project Part 3: In the Eye of the Beholder

La_Rochelle_slave_ship_Le_Saphir_1741As we discussed in Parts 1 and 2 of In the Eye of the Beholder, The Slavery Project (TSP) is an ongoing, interactive series of modules that incorporates lesson plans along select historical plot lines detailing slavery in a particular society during a specific period.  TSP is designed to provide students an immersive experience where a culture is explored according to the social, cultural, political and economic conditions of the time. Continue reading