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Sphinx, Petra, Nabatean Kingdom, c. 30 AD. Carved from a limestone block, it depicts a Greek sphinx with the head of a woman, body of a lioness, and wings of an eagle. This combination of the strongest females of land and sky might symbolize the city, or the warrior goddess al-Lat.

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Sphinx, Petra, Nabatean Kingdom, c. 30 AD. Carved from a limestone block, it depicts a Greek sphinx with the head of a woman, body of a lioness, and wings of an eagle. This combination of the strongest females of land and sky might symbolize the city, or the warrior goddess al-Lat.

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Goddess of Hayyan, Nabatean Kingdom, 1st-2nd century AD, Jordan. This limestone carving is the most human-like example of an eye betyl found in Petra so far. The betyl is not a representation of the God or an idol, but a medium of the presence of the God so it can be venerated...

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Goddess of Hayyan, Nabatean Kingdom, 1st-2nd century AD, Jordan. This limestone carving is the most human-like example of an eye betyl found in Petra so far. The betyl is not a representation of the God or an idol, but a medium of the presence of the God so it can be venerated...

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The Treasury seen from the Siq, Petra, 1st Century AD. One of the most elaborate rock-cut tombs in the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom, as most of the surviving buildings and tombs in the city, the facade was carved out of the cliff. This was the first glimpse of Petra on arrival...

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The Treasury seen from the Siq, Petra, 1st Century AD. One of the most elaborate rock-cut tombs in the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom, as most of the surviving buildings and tombs in the city, the facade was carved out of the cliff. This was the first glimpse of Petra on arrival...

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A silver coin from the ancient city of Elis in Greece, depicting on the obverse an eagle's head facing left, below it a poplar leaf, and on the reverse an upright stylized winged lightning bolt in an olive wreath. Ca. 421-365 BCE, now housed at the Münzkabinett in Berlin

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A silver coin from the ancient city of Elis in Greece, depicting on the obverse an eagle's head facing left, below it a poplar leaf, and on the reverse an upright stylized winged lightning bolt in an olive wreath. Ca. 421-365 BCE, now housed at the Münzkabinett in Berlin

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A limestone Roman funerary stele depicting a seated woman with necklaces and earrings. From Athienou in Cyprus, end of 1st century CE, now housed at the Louvre museum in Paris

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A limestone Roman funerary stele depicting a seated woman with necklaces and earrings. From Athienou in Cyprus, end of 1st century CE, now housed at the Louvre museum in Paris

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Statue of a Molossian Dog; this Roman replica of a Greek original depicts one of the ancient world’s most versatile dog breeds, renowned for its exceptional strength as a fearsome war and hunting hound, as well as a dedicated guardian of property and livestock, c. 100 AD

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Statue of a Molossian Dog; this Roman replica of a Greek original depicts one of the ancient world’s most versatile dog breeds, renowned for its exceptional strength as a fearsome war and hunting hound, as well as a dedicated guardian of property and livestock, c. 100 AD

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Relief of a warrior, or of a War deity of Hatti, made of limestone. From the King's gate of ancient Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire; dated to 14th - 13th c BCE ca. The original piece at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara , a replica in situ

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Relief of a warrior, or of a War deity of Hatti, made of limestone. From the King's gate of ancient Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire; dated to 14th - 13th c BCE ca. The original piece at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara , a replica in situ

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Head from a statue of the goddess Hathor in the form of a cow. Egypt, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, ca 1450 BC. Calcite with lapis lazuli and rock crystal. Loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from the British Museum

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Head from a statue of the goddess Hathor in the form of a cow. Egypt, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, ca 1450 BC. Calcite with lapis lazuli and rock crystal. Loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from the British Museum

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The sand blasted façade of the Nabatean style family tomb of Sextius Florentinus, c. 130 CE. Petra, Jordan. A Roman governor of Arabia Petrea, he likely ruled for just three years before his death. The semi-circular tympanum depicts a woman with vines. Inside are eight graves...

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The sand blasted façade of the Nabatean style family tomb of Sextius Florentinus, c. 130 CE. Petra, Jordan. A Roman governor of Arabia Petrea, he likely ruled for just three years before his death. The semi-circular tympanum depicts a woman with vines. Inside are eight graves...

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A large Neo-Assyrian lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Babylon in Iraq, and dated to the reign of the king Esarhaddon , depicting the storm god Adad, standing on a stylized pedestal, with bolts of lightning in his hands, and a lion-dragon on a leash lying at his feet

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A large Neo-Assyrian lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Babylon in Iraq, and dated to the reign of the king Esarhaddon , depicting the storm god Adad, standing on a stylized pedestal, with bolts of lightning in his hands, and a lion-dragon on a leash lying at his feet

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Amethyst Intaglio from Ancient Rome, c.25 BCE: this ringstone measures just 2cm tall, and it's engraved with a portrait of the Greek orator, Demosthenes; the artist's name, Dioskourides, is also inscribed along the right side

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Amethyst Intaglio from Ancient Rome, c.25 BCE: this ringstone measures just 2cm tall, and it's engraved with a portrait of the Greek orator, Demosthenes; the artist's name, Dioskourides, is also inscribed along the right side

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The Ingá Stone, in Brazil, is a large rock famous for its mysterious petroglyphs, carved into its surface. The carvings cover an area of 46 m long and 3.8 m high, featuring representations of animals, fruits, and astronomical features like the constellation Orion and the Milky Way

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The Ingá Stone, in Brazil, is a large rock famous for its mysterious petroglyphs, carved into its surface. The carvings cover an area of 46 m long and 3.8 m high, featuring representations of animals, fruits, and astronomical features like the constellation Orion and the Milky Way

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A 6,900-year-old female tomb from the early Neolithic period at Cys-la-Commune in France. The woman was buried with 2 stone bracelets, a necklace made of more than 350 small discoid limestone beads and 8 large tubular spondyl beads, and 2 spondyl valves at the waist

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A 6,900-year-old female tomb from the early Neolithic period at Cys-la-Commune in France. The woman was buried with 2 stone bracelets, a necklace made of more than 350 small discoid limestone beads and 8 large tubular spondyl beads, and 2 spondyl valves at the waist

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1st Century AD, Gold Bracelet , from Pompeii. It depicts a two-headed snake with glass eyes holding a medallion of the goddess Dian.

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1st Century AD, Gold Bracelet , from Pompeii. It depicts a two-headed snake with glass eyes holding a medallion of the goddess Dian.

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The Ancient City of Hegra, in the Arabian Desert, c.50 CE: this rock-hewn city was built by the Nabataeans, and it originally served as a center for international trade, but it was later transformed into a necropolis with more than 100 monumental tombs

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The Ancient City of Hegra, in the Arabian Desert, c.50 CE: this rock-hewn city was built by the Nabataeans, and it originally served as a center for international trade, but it was later transformed into a necropolis with more than 100 monumental tombs

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This skull was preserved in a Danish bog for 5000 years, with the murder weapon beside it. The man was struck 8 times in the head with this wooden club, and analysis showed that his DNA differed from that of the local Danish population, indicating that he grew up somewhere else

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This skull was preserved in a Danish bog for 5000 years, with the murder weapon beside it. The man was struck 8 times in the head with this wooden club, and analysis showed that his DNA differed from that of the local Danish population, indicating that he grew up somewhere else

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Mosaic panel with a Latin epitaph stating that F.V. Dion planted four thousand olive trees during his eighty-year lifetime. Christian symbols in top section. Enfidha, Tunisia, late 4th-early 6th c AD. Limestone tesserae. Loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Musée d'Enfidha

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Mosaic panel with a Latin epitaph stating that F.V. Dion planted four thousand olive trees during his eighty-year lifetime. Christian symbols in top section. Enfidha, Tunisia, late 4th-early 6th c AD. Limestone tesserae. Loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Musée d'Enfidha

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An ancient Greek drachm from Knossos, in Crete, depicting the goddess Hera on one side and a labyrinth on the other, representing the city's identity and its connection to the famous myth of the Minotaur

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An ancient Greek drachm from Knossos, in Crete, depicting the goddess Hera on one side and a labyrinth on the other, representing the city's identity and its connection to the famous myth of the Minotaur

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The Warrior's Grave at Doigahama, in Japan, of a Yayoi period man who had 15 stone arrowheads driven into bones from chest to waist. It is believed that he was struck at point-blank range and speculated that he was a warrior who fought to protect the village at Doigahama

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The Warrior's Grave at Doigahama, in Japan, of a Yayoi period man who had 15 stone arrowheads driven into bones from chest to waist. It is believed that he was struck at point-blank range and speculated that he was a warrior who fought to protect the village at Doigahama

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Closer look of one of the chamber portals behind the columns with Corinthian capitals of the Treasury in Petra, Nabatean Kingdom, 1st c. AD. Jordan. 2,000 years after it was shaped, much of the exquisite detail of the carvings that adorn both the capitals and the portal survives.

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Closer look of one of the chamber portals behind the columns with Corinthian capitals of the Treasury in Petra, Nabatean Kingdom, 1st c. AD. Jordan. 2,000 years after it was shaped, much of the exquisite detail of the carvings that adorn both the capitals and the portal survives.

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