Hi all,

I've been experimenting with 3d models inspired by the designs on coins, and this time I went with one of my favorites, Julius Caesar’s Aeneas denarius. I added a coin holder to display my Aenas coin.

The reverse shows Aeneas escaping Troy while carrying his father Anchises on his shoulder. That little statue in his hand is the Palladium, a sacred statue of Athena. I tried to keep the pose close to the original, with some broken stonework underneath to complete the scene.

There’s also a nice bit of ancient family bragging behind the design 😂 Caesar’s family claimed descent from Aeneas through his son Iulus. Since Aeneas was the son of Venus, putting her on the front and him on the back was basically Caesar saying his family descended from a goddess.

These coins were struck around 47–46 BC to pay his troops during the African campaign. Always find it interesting how much history can fit on such a small piece of silver.

Pretty happy with how this one turned out, especially the tiny Athena! Let me know what you think :)

Is there a coin design or ancient representation you’d like to see turned into a 3D display? Drop a photo or the name of the coin below, I’m looking for ideas for the next one :)

The statue has disappeared forever.

Source: Jaussen & Savignac (1914, pl. XXXVI:1)

Someone said this is a Byzantine coin I goggle lens it and it said it's a mamluk coin, I bought this coin in a random place in Syria

(ALSO idk if this is the right subreddit)

I recently painted this 54mm white metal miniature of a Persian noble horse archer.

Mounted archers played an important role in Persian warfare for centuries. They combined mobility with ranged attacks, allowing cavalry to harass enemy formations while avoiding close combat. This style of warfare became especially famous under the Parthians, who perfected the tactic of shooting arrows while retreating known as the "Parthian shot."

Hope you like it!

We bought this exact replica of a Chinese TeraCotta Warrior on our trip to China about 20 years ago. This summer 2026 my nephew painted him to look like they did 3000 years ago. I made the weapon in my workshop. We really like it. A few pictures of the stages.

2,000 years ago, a bronze masterpiece immortalized a young girl playfully chasing a partridge.

The is one of two very similar sculptures depicting little girls chasing partridges. The works date to between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. Cast using the lost wax technique, both pieces stand out for their remarkable technical quality: the careful detailing of the hair and tunic which are full of movement, the eyes which still show traces of eye lashes made from thin metal sheets, and the bird's beautiful feathers.

It is highly unusual for ancient bronze sculptures to survive completely intact like this because bronze was a coveted metal. These pieces were looted from an archaeological site in southern Spain in 2007-08, illegally taken out of the country, and auctioned abroad in 2012. They were recovered by Spain's National Cultural Heritage Squad and returned to Spain on December 20, 2025. (My photo)

A Roman mosaic depicting many types of animals that were enchanted by Orpheus (in the upper right section) per Greek mythology. This dates to the 2nd century AD, was part of a bath house, and is behind protective glass in Perugia, Italy.

The Sabaean Great Wall of Awwam, also known as the Awwam Temple, is one of the oldest and most significant ancient religious sites in the MENA region, with its origins tracing back to the late second millennium BC, buried beneath the sands of the Arabian Peninsula.

Hi there, I've been considering getting a tattoo of the original cuneiform, of the 1st recorded joke.

"A dog walks in into a bar and said 'I can't see anything shall I open this one?"

I've been trying to look for it online but have yet to find a version of the text. Does anyone know where I may be able to find it?

(Mods if this is too off topic feel free to remove!)

Twisted body, striking neck vertebrae, unusual burial: a Neolithic skeleton found in Lower Bavaria puzzles experts. Who was the young person buried in a pit 7,000 years ago, and why was the body placed there so strangely?

The remains of a teenager, dating back approximately 7,000 years, have been discovered in Germany in an unusually twisted position, baffling archaeologists. They have yet to determine whether this was a deliberate burial method or if the body shifted within the burial plot over time.

The discovery was recorded during excavations at the Steigäcker IV site, in the village of Großköllnbach, Dingolfing-Landau district, Lower Bavaria (Germany). What made the skeleton so interesting to archaeologists was not only its age of approximately 7,000 years, but also its unusual burial position.

The skeleton lay in a strangely twisted position, while the deformities in the cervical spine further puzzled researchers about the cause. During five weeks of surveying, the excavation team documented numerous traces of an ancient settlement. An initially unnoticed discolored area was later identified as containing human remains.

According to Dr. Florian Eibl, the archaeologist in charge of the area, the anomaly lies in the burial posture. People of the Linear Pottery culture, one of the earliest agricultural cultures in Central Europe, were typically buried lying on their side with their legs bent, similar to a sleeping position.

However, the skeleton at Großköllnbach was in a different position. The right leg was sharply bent, while the left leg was pointing outward, giving the overall skeleton an unusual twisted appearance. The shape of the burial pit may be part of the explanation.

The bottom of the pit is not flat but slopes steeply. According to archaeologists, the body may have slipped after being placed in the pit, causing some bones to shift or become compressed into the soft clay.

Near the funerary enclosures at Abydos, archaeologists found a row of 14 wooden boats buried in mudbrick-lined pits, dated to the very beginning of Egyptian history, around 3000 BC. They were real, full-size vessels, not models.

The standard reading is that they were meant to carry the king in the afterlife. What I find strange is the logic behind it: a state that invests in a buried fleet for a dead king was clearly willing to spend anything on him. And a few hundred metres away, hundreds of subsidiary graves were dug for his household.

Does the boat burial make the retainer burials more or less surprising to you? I would love to hear how others read the connection.

Disclosure: I made a documentary video covering this evidence, in case anyone wants the visuals: https://youtu.be/hDW3GkemMaA

Archaeologists at Nanzuo in northwest China found something unusual. Parts of a large palace complex appear to have been deliberately filled in with packed earth about 5,000 years ago.

Some of the wooden building materials seem to have been removed first, and there’s no clear sign that the palace was destroyed in an attack.

Later, people built over the buried structures.

Why would they bury a palace instead of simply tearing it down?

Source: Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, via Arkeonews

https://arkeonews.net/deliberately-buried-palace-discovered-in-a-5000-year-old-capital

The legend of Alexander the Great began when he was still a young prince. One of its most famous stories is the taming of Bucephalus, the horse who would become his trusted companion.

According to the ancient biographer Plutarch, when the magnificent horse was presented to King Philip II of Macedon, none of the king’s attendants could tame him. Just as Philip was about to send the horse away, Alexander stepped forward and accepted the challenge. By observing that Bucephalus was frightened by his own shadow, Alexander turned him towards the sun, calmed him, and successfully mounted him.

The episode offers an early glimpse of the intelligence, confidence, and powers of observation that would become hallmarks of Alexander’s leadership. Ancient writers described Bucephalus as an unusually large and noble horse who was especially attached to Alexander.

Another intriguing legend connects Bucephalus to the man-eating Mares of Diomedes, captured by Heracles during his Twelve Labours. Although this supposed ancestry cannot be established historically, it adds another fascinating layer to the horse’s legend.

Bucephalus accompanied Alexander during his campaigns in Asia and became a symbol of their extraordinary bond. After the horse’s death during the Indian campaign, Alexander reportedly founded a city in his memory. Ancient sources disagree, however, on whether Bucephalus died from battle wounds or from old age and exhaustion.

I’ve explored the story of Bucephalus, his legendary origins, his connection to Alexander’s military campaigns, and the mystery surrounding his death in my latest article.

Read the full article by clicking on the link in this post. I’d love to hear your thoughts and any interesting historical details you think deserve more attention!

2 ancient Roman river patrol boats dated to 100-110 AD that had a sail but were also rowed. They were found nearby and are on display Kelten- & Römermuseum Manching in Manching, Germany.

Im taking part in an oxford debate next week and the topic is whether the peloponesian war was unavoidable or not. I watched quite a lot of videos on yt, but still want to know more, and perhaps do a little arguing. The opposite team will be covering the side of "it WAS unavoidable" so if anyone shares this view id love to talk to you. Thanks