Temple of the inscriptions: Did you mean...?

Oracle Bones (also known as Dragon's Bones) were the shoulder blades of oxen or plastrons of turtles (the flat underside of the turtle's shell) which were used in the Shang Dynasty of China (c. 1600-1046 BCE) for divination. The symbols carved...

Jerusalem is a major holy city for the three Western traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It sits on spurs of bedrock between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea area. To the north and west, it tapers off to the Jezreel Valley...

The Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE) is considered ancient Egypt's Classical Age, during which it produced some of its greatest works of art and literature. Scholars remain divided on which dynasties constitute the Middle Kingdom, as some argue...

Abacus - a large slab placed above the column capital to support the architrave or an arch placed above it. Akroterion - a decorative piece added to the roof of a temple at the apex and corners, usually made of clay or bronze and often in...

Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1244-1208 BCE) was a king of the Assyrian Empire during the period known as the Middle Empire. He was the son of Shalmaneser I (reigned 1274-1245 BCE) who had completed the work of his father, Adad Nirari I, in...

The Sadducees were part of the upper-class aristocrats and provided much of the priesthood, categorized through the lineage of priestly houses. They served on the Sanhedrin, the city council that organized law courts and regulations, which...

Enki's Journey to Nippur (circa 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian origin myth explaining the creation of the temple at Eridu by the god Enki and how musical instruments were ordained for use in festivals in ancient Mesopotamia. The poem formed part...

Athens is mostly associated with its ancient past rather than its modern turbulent state of the latest two hundred years. While walking the centre of the luminous city, the visitor can easily observe both ends of Hellenic culture. The city...

Thanjavur (Tanjavur or Tanjore) is a temple site in the Tamil Nadu region of southern India. Thanjavur was the capital of the great Chola (Cola) king Rajaraja I, and it was he who commissioned the site's magnificent temple, the Brihadishvara...

A ziggurat is a form of monumental architecture originating in ancient Mesopotamia, which usually had a rectangular base and was built in a series of steps up to a flat platform upon which a temple was raised. The ziggurat was an artificial...