Each ring of the tree is unique, as its width depends on how rainy the year was when the ring was formed. This is the dendrochronological research method based on the study of such annual rings. By comparing fingerprint databases of trees growing in different parts of the world, we can look at the climate of the past, bygone ecosystems
Many amazing defensive structures in Russia have not survived to this day. But we can see them in old engravings, paintings and even photos
Djoser's pyramid represents a great leap forward in the history of architecture and engineering. Entangled in hundreds of labyrinthine passages and structures built several thousand years ago, this prehistoric monument exactly a year ago once again opened its "arms" for tourists from all over the world
In ancient times, the bow was the most popular weapon. Accordingly, the skill of handling it was considered a real martial art, highly revered for thousands of years. Archers were infantry, cavalry, and chariot riders. During the battle, it was a powerful, almost invincible military force
Almost 30 years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and society is still divided. Despite the impressive time frame, we still fail to "marry" our past. In all this ideological madness, a huge number of myths are created. Today we will talk about the police. Find out who they were in the Russian empire and why they got it in 1917
All cultures have found evidence of the use of perfume for various purposes: for religious rituals, in medicine, as a means of beauty or a way of seduction
Vitaly von Lange is one of the best detectives of the early 20th century. He could change into a woman when the business required it, or transform into a beggar in a shelter on a lousy mattress
There are two lost cities of the Incas in Peru: Machu Picchu and Choquequirao. If the whole world knows about the first settlement of the ancient tribe, then the "Golden Cradle" is not so popular. Although it was this city that at one time was a shelter for those who organized resistance to the Spanish conquerors
In the Middle Ages, alchemists made a colossal contribution to the study of elements, substances and variants of their interaction
"Towers of Silence" is the name of the Zoroastrian burial complexes that has taken root in Western literature: they really look like massive towers crowning hills in the middle of the desert. In Iran, these cylindrical structures without a roof are called more simply, "dakhma", which can be translated as "grave", the final resting place
If you look at films of the historical genre, then the battles that took place in the Ancient World look very spectacular, bright. They were conducted harmoniously, all the actions of the soldiers were perfected and thought out. Infantrymen in armor and with protection in the form of shields in a dense, continuous layer attacked the enemy. Swords and spears were put forward. After that, the battle began
The creation of book hiding places has been practiced for several centuries. We present the most interesting facts and examples
Temples, erected in the XIII century. BC, in the middle of the XX century they had every chance of being under water, and today people could see this beauty only on the pages of history textbooks
“What does it cost us to build a house?”, Or how to build a fortification worthy of a feudal lord? Let's talk about the intricacies of building castles and talk about what mistakes should be avoided by those who decide to take this serious step
Switzerland is a small state in the central part of Europe. Oddly enough, but over the past two hundred years, the Swiss have never participated in wars or serious conflicts. What is the reason that no one has attacked the country during all this time?
Street cleaners in pre-revolutionary Russia and the early Soviet Union are not exactly the profession to which people born in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries are accustomed. Descriptions of "old school" janitors are now and then found in classical Russian literature and Soviet works
Soviet underground entrepreneurs quickly grew rich in the production of scarce goods. Both the bandits and the OBKhSS were interested in their money
It is known from historical and religious documents that at the beginning of our era Judea was just a province of the powerful Roman Empire. Nevertheless, even the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, when judging Jesus Christ, listened to the Jewish high priests and the crowd
Impostors are by no means a Russian invention. In all countries and at all times there were enough of those who wanted to achieve power and wealth, using a false name
The medieval battle is not a subject for divination on a chamomile, especially when it comes to an event that still causes controversy among historians to this day
To date, written sources are the most informative of all that ancient man ever left behind. And if in most cases the finds of the next text or inscription can only confirm the information already known to researchers, then some of them are able to help see previously unknown details in the life and activities of people of the past
The culture of the ancient Germans, which formed on the territories of insular and continental Europe, begins to be mentioned by the Greeks in the 1st century BC
For many years, scientists around the world have been struggling with an insoluble riddle, which was thrown to researchers by one of the oldest and most durable civilizations in the world. The fact is that many Egyptian statues have no noses. A careful study of this issue by experts has shown that this is by no means an accidental phenomenon
Why did man invent agriculture, the basis of his civilization? Initially, there were no advantages in agriculture, but there were many disadvantages. It is also unclear why the transition was made only ten thousand years ago, although our species has existed for a third of a million years
Along with the emergence of trade relations in human society, all kinds of deceivers and swindlers began to appear in it. Moreover, the dishonest ones were
The history of Europe knows many different instruments of torture and death machines. However, the guillotine ousted the rest of the deadly rivals for a long time. Here are 10 facts about what role the guillotine played in the early days of the French Revolution and what role it plays today
One evening my daughter came up to me with a request to show on a map where and which ocean is on our planet, and since I don't have a printed physical map of the world at home, I opened a Google electronic map on my computer, switched it to satellite view and I began to explain everything to her on the sly. When I came from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and brought it closer to show my daughter better, it seemed to shock me and I suddenly saw what anyone on our planet sees, but perfect
The auto industry in the Soviet Union has always been like a lame horse: the lag behind world trends in this area was great. On the one hand, this is strange, because our engineering staff has always been first-class. On the other hand, the capitalists' auto industry was commanded by the market, but we didn’t have a market as such: most of the cars were sold to state organizations
The oldest street in Moscow, a chandelier remelted from church silver stolen by the French and ancient frescoes that have been hidden for several centuries. What should you ask a tour guide in the Kremlin about if he does not tell you about it?
The Narva Gate is a unique example of triumphal architecture not only in St. Petersburg, but throughout the world. The arch depicts both the heroes of Borodin and the heroes of Stalingrad
A medieval castle is such a large-scale structure, combined with infrastructure into a huge autonomous complex that, in fact, it is like a city-state. However, such a large building was quite difficult to maintain, given the resources and technologies available to mankind at that time
At the beginning of the twentieth century, several projects of "ideal cities" began to be implemented in Russia - near Moscow, Riga and Warsaw. Basically, they relied on the ideas of the English urbanist Howard, his "garden city". The population of such a city, which grew up in an open field, should not exceed 32 thousand people
While studying Valerian Kiprianov's book "The Picturesque History of Russian Architecture", I noticed that he did not mention Russian architects, or rather architects, as they were called earlier. , were, but were foreigners invited for the construction?
Since the Stone Age, people have settled along the banks of reservoirs from Kamchatka to the Crimea. Under the forests of the Smolensk region lie dwellings made of mammoth bones, in the steppes of the Southern Urals there are scattered traces of the inhabitants of the ancient Country of Cities, and the salt marshes of the Astrakhan region hide the capital of the Golden Horde
Who of us did not want to understand how much the pre-revolutionary worker or archers actually received under Peter I?
Statistics from the beginning of the twentieth century and our time show that the average salaries of urban residents in Russia have not changed so much
The history of the Shlisselburg fortress - a short synopsis of the history of Russia
To whom the inhabitants of the Nazca desert intended their gigantic drawings, which are visible only from a bird's eye view, is not known for certain. One thing is clear - unlike those spectators "from above", modern archaeologists manage to read much more mysterious and meaningful signs of the past. All the same look from heaven
For centuries, European students have been reading the ancient myths of Hercules and Odysseus, amazed at the exploits of the ancient heroes. Christians knew the story of the Old Testament strongman Samson, who tore lions to pieces with his bare hands. Artists wrote hundreds of canvases about these heroes, sculptors sculpted dozens of statues, but no one knew that both the biblical and ancient heroes go back to the same character
For two centuries of research, scientists not only discovered new types of dinosaurs, but also clarified information about already known ones: new finds appeared, methods of their analysis were improved, and at the same time, paleontologists had new ideas and interpretations. Therefore, our ideas about how these animals looked also changed - sometimes beyond recognition