Egyptian Heart Scarabs Asked the Dead Person’s Heart to Stay Silent
Egyptian heart scarabs carried spells for the final judgment. Four museum objects reveal their inscriptions, personal names and differences from ordinary scarabs.
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Ivan Petricevic
Ivan Petricevic is an investigative journalist and researcher with more than a decade of experience covering ancient history, UAP phenomena, space, and science. He writes about space, science, and history for Večernji list and has appeared as an expert on Discovery Channel and History Channel. He founded Curiosmos, where he reports from primary sources, archaeological research, and field investigations.
Caral’s Stone-Filled Fibre Bags Showed a Rolling Effect in Earthquake Tests
Caral’s shicras were stone-filled fibre bags. Explore their construction role, a 2013 shaking-table study and the questions it leaves for archaeology.
Polyphemus Found a Home in Sicily’s Volcanic Landscape
Could volcanoes have shaped Polyphemus’s story? Compare the Odyssey, later Sicilian accounts and the volcanic history of the Cyclops Islands.
Walpurgis Night Brings Witches to the Harz and Spring Bonfires to Sweden
Explore Walpurgis Night through Harz witch traditions, Swedish bonfires, museum records and the real shadow phenomenon called the Brocken spectre.
Viking Thor’s Hammers Turned Up in Graves, Settlements and Hoards
An inscribed Danish pendant names itself as a hammer. Comparing it with Swedish graves, a settlement ring and a casting mould reveals several uses of Thor’s symbol.
Brigid’s Crosses: From Irish Doorways to the Television Screen
Brigid’s crosses appear in folklore accounts and museum collections. Explore household protection, regional designs and the influence of television.
The Story Behind Shiva’s Dance at CERN
Why is a Shiva statue at CERN? Explore the documented Indian gift, Nataraja’s symbols and Fritjof Capra’s comparison with particle physics.
Sky Woman and Turtle Island: How a Handful of Earth Became a World
Sky Woman and Turtle Island take shape through animals, soil and family relationships. Named Oneida tellings reveal details often lost in a single summary.
Yatagarasu: Japan’s Three-Legged Crow Has a History Beyond the Football Badge
Follow Yatagarasu from Japan’s guiding-bird legend to shrine talismans and football, including when the three-legged image entered the tradition.
An Ibis, a Baboon and the Moon: The Two Animal Forms of Thoth
Thoth appeared as an ibis and a baboon. Museum objects reveal their shared roles, lunar attributes and the details that complicate simple explanations.
Inside Osun-Osogbo, the Yoruba Forest of Shrines and Sacred Art
Osun-Osogbo brings Yoruba worship, a protected forest and monumental modern art together. Its makers and conservation records reveal a living sacred place.
Krampus: How the Horned Companion of Saint Nicholas Became a Winter Star
Trace Krampus through Alpine winter customs, museum objects and historical records, and explore why the horned figure keeps changing while retaining his appeal.
Cosmic Strings Could Bend Time Into a Loop—If the Universe Allows It
Cosmic strings feature in a mathematical time-travel proposal. Explore Gott’s solution, its physical obstacles and the gravitational-wave searches for the strings themselves.
Ponce de León’s Fountain of Youth Story Came After His Death
The Fountain of Youth became attached to Ponce de León in accounts printed after his death. Oviedo’s own passages reveal the chronicler’s hostile portrayal.
Ogopogo’s Story Runs Deeper Than a Shape on Okanagan Lake
Explore Ogopogo sightings, the Syilx water spirit nx̌aʔx̌ʔitkʷ, and the observations that could help investigate an unexplained shape on Okanagan Lake.
The Golden Fleece May Preserve a Memory of Gold Gathering in Colchis
Ancient accounts connect the Golden Fleece with gold caught in sheepskins. We examine Strabo, the river-mining mechanism and the original geological study.
Could Alien Technology Leave Traces in the Moon’s Dust?
A 2026 proposal asks whether fragments of distant technology could survive in lunar soil. Finding them would require far more than an unusual grain.
The Menehune Fishpond Puts a Hawaiian Legend Into Stone
Alakoko’s wall links a Hawaiian Menehune legend with ingenious aquaculture. Its sediment, sluice gates and restoration reveal how the fishpond works.
Jacques de Molay’s Last Words and the Making of the Templars’ Curse
A near-contemporary chronicle records a warning at the Templar master’s execution. Reading it reveals a story more complicated than the familiar curse.
Why Aristotle Gave the Heavens a Fifth Element
Aristotle’s aether began with a question about motion. Its later history shows how the same name could describe very different ideas about space.
Bohol’s Chocolate Hills Rose from an Ancient Sea—and Gathered Legends of Giants
Bohol’s Chocolate Hills inspired legends of giants and grief. Their limestone preserves a marine past, while erosion and groundwater explain the repeated cones.
The Wolfsegg Iron Was a Scientific Puzzle Before It Became an Ancient Artifact Story
An 1886 report called the Wolfsegg Iron a meteorite. That early account helps explain how a strange object from lignite became the Salzburg Cube mystery.
Two Hairs in an Old Book Helped Identify Copernicus’s Missing Grave
Copernicus’s grave was identified through archaeology and DNA from hairs found in an old book. The original study shows both the strength and the limits of the match.
The Dorchester Vessel’s Mystery Starts With an 1852 Blast
The earliest account describes a decorated metal vessel found in two pieces. Its claim about ancient rock deserves a closer look at the discovery itself.