10000 best r/artefactporn images on Pholder | A 15-foot-long dugout canoe discovered last fall in Wisconsin's Lake Mendota has been scanned with high-tech tools and dated to around 1,200 years ago [2987x2562]

A 15-foot-long dugout canoe discovered last fall in Wisconsin's Lake Mendota has been scanned with high-tech tools and dated to around 1,200 years ago [2987x2562]

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Dr Irving Finkel holding a 3770-year-old tablet, that tells the story of the god Enki speaking to the Sumerian king Atram-Hasis (the Noah figure in earlier versions of the flood story) and giving him instructions on how to build an ark which is described as a round 220 ft diameter coracle [672x900]

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A Viking era ring inscribed with the words 'for Allah', found in the grave of a woman who was buried 1200 years ago in Birka, 25 km west of modern-day Stockholm. The ring constitutes a unique material evidence of direct contact between the Vikings and the Abbasid Caliphate [2000x1357]

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A 2000-year-old Roman silver dagger, that was discovered by an archeology intern in 2019 in Germany, before and after nine months of careful restoration work [2154x2011]

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The Swedish warship Vasa. It sank in 1628 less than a mile into its maiden voyage and was recovered from the sea floor after 333 years almost completely intact. Now housed at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, is the world's best preserved 17th century ship [1994x2048]

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The Herculaneum papyri are more than 1800 papyri that were carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (79 CE), constituting the only surviving library from antiquity that exists in its entirety. Now using new x-ray technique, these scrolls are being read for the first time in millennia [3072x4352]

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Tea gown, France, ~1897. Owned by the Countess Greffulhe, who often chose clothing of a brilliant green color because it complemented her auburn hair. [683x1024]

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Believed to be 11,000 years old. Karahantepe (Near Gobeklitepe) Discovered yesterday. (1242x1558)

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Ukrainian soldiers dug trenches and discovered ancient amphoras dated to around 4-5 centuries BC. Artifacts were transferred to the Odessa Archaeological Museum. [640x853]

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Medieval ax with a preserved wooden handle discovered on the island of Ledniczka in Poland [800x1200]

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These stunning mosaics have just been unearthed under a vineyard in Italy, in the province of Verona, near the town of Negrar. They have been dated from 3rd to 4th Century [720x960]

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A new research revealed this year that this obsidian mirror used by Queen Elizabeth I’s famed political advisor and occultist John Dee to 'speak' with angels has Aztec origin. The mirror was crafted in Aztec Mexico more than 500 years ago and is now on display at the British Museum [1200x1787]

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An early example of a successful cranioplasty (Peru, ca. 400 CE). The patient survived, as evidenced by the well-healed in situ cranioplasty made from a gold inlay. Now on display at the Gold Museum of Peru and Weapons of the World in Lima [1200x1448]

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Amethyst grapes with jade leaves. China, Qing dynasty, 19th century [2640x2100]

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The Cosquer cave is a Palaeolithic decorated cave, located in France, that contains numerous cave drawings dating back as far as 27,000 years BP. The cave has more than 200 parietal figures and is also the only decorated cave whose entrance opens under the sea [2560x3253]

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9000 year old cave painting in Tassili cave Algeria . Depicting a shaman during psychedelic mushroom use. (890x 632)

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A 2000 year old Roman child's wooden sword found from the Vindolanda fort site in northern England. (1472x2047)

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Abuna Yemata Guh is a monolithic church located in the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is situated at a height of 2,580 metres (its entrance is highlighted by a red circle) and has to be climbed on foot to reach. It is notable for its wall paintings dating back to the 5th century [4312x2918]

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Robe and Axe of Giovanni Battista Bugatti, who was the official executioner for the Papal States from 1796 to 1864. During his tenure he executed 514 people. (540x853)

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Head of Dionysus, the god of wine, have been uncovered in an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Aizanoi, Turkey (1120x840)

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This 9000-year-old stone mask is the oldest mask in the world, and was found in the Judean Desert in Israel [3000x4000]

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The Punic cothon of Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia, as it would have appeared in the 3rd century BCE compared to today [1200x1690]

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Wonderful 2000 years-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, thought depicting his fourth wife Caesonia. [1916x1384]

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My 200 year old house was used as a hospital during the American Civil War. These were found in or around it by myself. (4032 ×3024)

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A 900-year-old church still standing in Wicklow, Ireland. (719x689)

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The pyramid of the Kushite queen Amanishakheto (~10 BC). Before and after Giuseppe Ferlini demolished it in 1830 in search of treasure. He is said to have severely damaged or destroyed at least 40 of the Nubian pyramids. [2769x933]

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One of the three Roman pools of Gafsa, in Tunisia, two of which are open. Built in the 2nd century BCE, they are about five meters deep and are fed by hot water springs [683x1024]

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Meymand is a very ancient village in Iran. It is believed to be a primary human residence in the Iranian Plateau, dating back to 12,000 years ago. Many of the residents live in the 350 hand-dug houses amid the rocks, some of which have been inhabited for as long as 3,000 years [960x1257]

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2000 year-old Roman face cream/lotion. Dating back to II AD. Object was found in the temple complex dedicated to Mars. It's world's oldest cosmetic face cream and it has finger marks in the lid. [1200x800]

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A ceramic jar filled with thousands of bronze coins unearthed at the site of a 15th-century samurai’s residence just north of Tokyo, Japan. (4096x2713)

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Khara-Khoto is an abandoned city in Inner Mongolia, China. Built in 1032, the city thrived under the rule of the Western Xia dynasty. It has been identified as the city of Etzina which appears in The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer who travelled through Asia between 1271-1295 [1080x708]

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One of the 4000-year-old well-preserved wagons unearthed in the Lchashen village in the vicinity of Lake Sevan. Made of oak, they are the oldest known wagons in the world. Now on display at the History Museum of Armenia [1600x1067]

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Head of a man with tight, curly hair. Egypt, 2nd century BC [1110x1380]

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Windcatchers in the skyline of the Old City of Yazd in Iran. Thought to have originated from Persia thousands of years ago, windcatchers are tall chimney-like structures whose purpose is to cool the interior of the building by harnessing the cool breezes and redirecting them downwards [1777x2003]

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Qasr Al-Farid meaning ‘the Lonely Castle’ is the largest rock-cut tomb at the archaeological site of Hegra, in Saudi Arabia. Nabataean Kingdom, 1st century CE [1080x1350] (there's a human for scale)

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A gun hidden within a bible, made for Francesco Morozini, Doge of Venice (1619-1694). The owner of the bible could pull the silk bookmark to shoot while the book was still closed. Now on display at the Museo Correr in Venice [811x705]

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A new chapter of the Epic of Gilgamesh is revealed when the fragment of Tablet V was finally recovered. It was written in Standard Babylonian and dates back to the Neo-Babylonian period (626-538 BC), according to researchers. [6016 x 4016] (more info in comment)

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The 2,300-year-old Grand Theatre of Ephesus, in Turkey, before and after excavation [1200x1500]

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The ceiling of the 2000 years old hypostyle hall of the temple of Hathor in Dendera, Egypt [1536x2048]

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A house plan made by Sumerians 5000 years ago. Ground plan of a residence in Umma with central courtyard, Ur III period. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin [1125x1057]

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Guarding the Palace, an Oil Painting by Ludwig Deutsch, 1888 [1234x2000]

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A Gold Bar with mint marks, recovered from the Spanish treasure ship 'Atocha' which sank in 1622. (1200x1600)

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The oldest surviving deck of 52 playing cards, made in the Netherlands (circa 1475 AD). Currently housed at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. [2048x1233]

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1100 years ago a young and bored Viking carved the outline of his right foot on the floorboards of the Gokstadt ship, which was discovered in 1880 in Norway [1024x1258]

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A newspaper ad from 1865 of an 18 year old man looking for a wife [605x1341]

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Crystal spearhead found in a 5,000-year-old megalithic tomb in Spain. The tomb had the remains of 25 individuals, several of whom had consumed a poisonous substance (922x705)

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In the small village of Nashtifan, Iran, some of the oldest windmills in the world still spin. Made of natural clay, straw, and wood, the windmills have been milling grain for flour for an estimated 1,000 years [800x476]

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The Ishtar Gate, built by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II in Mesopotamia in 575 BC, using blue lapis lazuli and dense asphalt bricks. It's now preserved in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin. Detail pic in comment. (598x896)

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Deer skulls with carved eyeholes dating to 11,000 years ago have been discovered at Star Carr Mesolithic archaeological site, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. [948x526]

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Before and after the excavation and restoration of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, built approximately 4000 years ago by King Ur-Nammu of the Neo-Sumerian Empire, in dedication to the Moon God, Nanna. [2048 x 2870]

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Michelangelo's Moses is a marble sculpture made in 1513–15. One of the many details of this masterpiece is one very small muscle in the forearms that contracts only when lifting the pinky, otherwise it is invisible. Moses is lifting the pinky, therefore that tiny muscle is contracted [6293x4127]

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The 3,200-year-old tomb of Queen Nefertari, also called the Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt. The paintings, which are found on almost every available surface in the tomb, are considered to be the best preserved and most eloquent decorations of any Egyptian burial site [1080x1144]

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A Victorian archery outfit belonging to Mrs Fanny Giveen. C. 1855, now part of the collection of the Museum of London [823x1062]

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A 2,300 year-old Scythian woman's elegant boot, preserved in the frozen ground of the Altai Mountains. (640x385)

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A Roman mosaic depicting a fish. 1st century CE, now housed at the State Historical Museum in Moscow [894x644]

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In 1998, a 436 year old heartbreaking Korean love letter written by a pregnant widow was found laying on the chest of her deceased husband, father of her unborn child, in an ancient tomb in Andong City, South Korea (Translation in the comments) [800x865]

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A Roman gold snake bracelet found on the arm of a woman who was killed by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 CE near Pompeii, inscribed on the inside 'DOMINVS SVAE ANCILLAE' which means From a master to his slave girl. [720x549]

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The Sacred City of Caral in peru. At almost 5000 years old, it's the oldest city in the Americas and predates even the great Pyramids of Egypt. It includes 6 pyramids, the largest of which measures 150x160 meters, 2 sunken ceremonial plazas, residential districts and an irrigation system [1200x1702]

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Then we will fight in the shade - actual arrowheads from the Battle of Thermopylae [3024 x 4032]

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2300 years old Scythian woman's boot preserved in the frozen ground of the Altai Mountains[750x451]

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Stockings, 1830, cotton/silk [1349 x 1981]

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In 1965, excavations in Mezhyrich, Ukraine, revealed the presence of 4 huts, made up of a total of 149 mammoth bones. These dwellings, which are about 15,000 years old, are some of the oldest shelters known to have been constructed by pre-historic man [1024x627]

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The Bison Licking Insect Bite is a carved and engraved fragment of a spear-thrower made of reindeer antler, depicting the now extinct steppe bison. It was created sometime between 20,000 and 12,000 ago and was found at Abri de la Madeleine in France [3222x4382]

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Nubian pyramids in Sudan, built from the 700s BC onwards, not as well known as Egypt's pyramids but still amazing (1356x668)

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One of the first photos taken of Tutankhamun's tomb when it was opened. (1600X1200)

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A 1800 year old octopus mosaic on the floor of a Roman bath. (2798X1873)

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Ancient Greek helmets on display at the Altes Museum in Berlin [1624x968]

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Two baby boys, whose bodies were covered in red ochre and buried under a mammoth bone about 31,000 years ago in what is now northeastern Austria, are the earliest known identical twins [710x886]

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A 600-year-old medieval hat from Lappvattnet. The hat, which is made of sheep's wool, was preserved in a bog. Now housed at the Vasterbottens museum in Sweden [619x587]

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Leonardo’s hidden masterpiece is likely concealed behind this wall, in the room where his feud with Michelangelo came to a head (OC, Info in comments) [6000x4000]

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An 8,000-year-old marble figurine of a voluptuous woman was unearthed in 2016 in the Neolithic urban settlement of Catalhoyuk in central Turkey. The figurine is 17 centimeters long, 11 centimeters wide and weighs one kilo [1200x695]

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Roman chariot unearthed 'almost intact' near Pompeii [768x512]

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The Rape of Proserpina is a large Baroque marble sculptural group by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, executed between 1621 and 1622. Bernini was only 23 years old at its completion. Now on display at the Galleria Borghese in Rome [1242x1215]

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A book which was part of the evidence Henry VIII and his lawyers gathered in the 1530s to help win an annulment from Catherine of Aragon and ultimately to break with Rome, was found in 2015 on the shelves of the library at Lanhydrock, a National Trust mansion in Cornwall [3000x3796]

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Detail from the unswept floor mosaic made by Heraclitus, showing a mouse eating a walnut. 2nd century CE, now on display at the Vatican Museums [800x600]

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The Kiss, a 12,000-year-old rock painting at Pedra Furada in Brazil [640x428]

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The Surrender Flag of the Confederacy: a white linen dish towel, flown by Robert E. Lee's forces to surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House, 1865. Appomattox Court House was the last major battle of the American Civil War. [1828x3376]

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The Kiss of Death is a marble sculpture made in 1930 and found in Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona. It depicts death, in the form of a winged skeleton, planting a kiss on the forehead of a young man [1341x2000]

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The sorceress kit, a bizzare collection of about 100 trinkets found buried inside a box, in the garden of a house in Pompeii, believed to be a fortune teller's tool kit[1126x759]

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Freshly excavated 2000 yr old Terracotta Warriors still showing original color before rapid deterioration. Picture taken in 1974. [540x720]

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An aerial photo of the Sasanian circular city of Gor, in Iran, and a reconstruction of the city as it may have appeared in its heyday. Gor was the new capital city of Ardashir I (180-242 CE), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, and had a perfect circular plan of 1,950 m diameter [1015x1775]

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The exquisitely preserved green damask dress in Burgundian style worn by Mary of Habsburg on her marriage to Louis II of Hungary in 1522, one of few dresses to survive from that century - Hungarian National Museum [600x866]

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Close-up of the 4500-year-old statue of Kaaper, an ancient Egyptian scribe and priest who lived between the late 4th Dynasty-early 5th Dynasty. The statue is made of sycamore wood and the eyes were made using rock crystal and small copper plates. Egyptian Museum, Cairo [2099x2799]

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Inside the colorful and perfectly preserved 3225-year-old tomb of the sculptor Nakhtamun (TT 335) located in Deir el-Medina, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor [1080x1350]

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The 42000-year-old remains of Mungo Man in Australia. The man was carefully buried on his back with his hands crossed in his lap, and sprinkled with red ochre, the earliest known example of such sophisticated and artistic burial practice. Next to the body were the remains of fire [1154x2631]

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Bootmakers' Tower in Romania 🇷🇴 The building was built in 1681 and it has a beautiful baroque architectural influence. (750x1000)

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The stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over 300 petrospheres, made between 600 and 1500 CE, that are commonly attributed to the extinct Diquis culture. The spheres range in size from a few centimetres to over 2 metres in diameter, and weigh up to 15 tons [2048x3067]

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In 2013, a 900-year-old crypt was uncovered in Old Dongola, in modern-day Sudan, containing 7 naturally mummified bodies and walls covered with religious inscriptions written in Greek and Sahidic Coptic. One of the mummies is believed to be that of Archbishop Georgios [1500x1496]

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A 2,300-year-old ancient Greek gold wreath worth £100,000, kept for decades in a tatty box of old newspapers under bed by owner who had no idea what it was. The wreath was put on sale at Duke’s of Dorchester auction house in 2016 [1300x2537]

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Gold glass medallion portrait from the late roman empire(3rd-4th century AD), depicting a family from Alexandria[1407x1438]

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A Roman mosaic uncovered in the streets of Stari Grad, on the island of Hvar in Croatia. (850X1133)

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2000 year old mosaics submerged by the Euphrates river in Zeugma, Turkey (811X997)

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Ancient Roman faucets from Pompeii, 1st century BCE-1st century CE [1600x1200]

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Breastplate Armor of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, 1549. (1220x1920)

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The dwarf Djeho depicted in life size on the lid of his granite sarcophagus. He was 120 cm tall. Hieroglyphic inscriptions indicate that he belonged to the household of a high official. 346-345 BC. (720X960)

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A statue of Anubis in Tut Ankh Amun's tomb, taken during Carter expedition (1922) [976x1100]

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A 2000-year-old Thracian chariot with horse skeletons found in the village of Karanovo, Bulgaria, in 2008 [1999x1291]

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The 3270-year-old Hove amber cup discovered in a great round barrow mound that was crudely excavated in 1856 in Hove, England. The cup is made from a single piece of amber from northern Europe, suggesting trade links between England and the Baltic. Hove Museum and Art Gallery [928x857]

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British archaeologist Leonard Woolley and his wife Catherine at the moment of the discovery of pottery pipes that were used as a sewage and rainwater network in what is considered the first water drainage system in history before about 4000 BC. Ur (Mesopotamia) in 1930. [736x467]

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