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The Ancient Yew Forest of Kingley Vale

Tucked between Stoke Down and Bow Hill, near the village of West Stoke about three miles north west of Chichester, in West Sussex in southern England, is Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. Established in 1952, it was one of the first National Nature Reserves to be opened in Britain. The reserve covers an area of 160 hectares, including one of the finest yew forests in western Europe. Some of the trees here are as much as 1,000 years old, their trunks contorted by age and countless storms into incredibly bizarre shapes. Giant side branches swirl into the soil like snakes, where they made secondary roots. From these young trees have arisen. The ground under these trees is so dark that no vegetation of any kind, not even grass, grow.

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Photo credit: Katariina Järvinen/Flickr

It’s hard to say how old the yews are at Kingley Vale. Yews typically have lifespans between 400 and 600 years, but some specimens can live longer. The age of yews is notoriously difficult to determine because as the trees age, their trunks becomes hollow which makes ring counting and carbon dating impossible as there is hardly any old wood left. Added to this, yews have this unusual ability to arrest their growth for centuries on end if conditions are unfavorable, until the environment becomes favorable again which reawakens the tree, and it starts growing again. During these years, the tree stops adding tree rings and girth to its trunk. Determining the age of yews is, hence, mostly guesswork. There are claims as high as 5,000–9,500 years, but these values are unrealistic.

According to local legend the yews at Kingley Vale were planted as a memorial for a battle fought between the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons in the year 859, but some sources claim the trees are two thousand years old.

Nevertheless, the survival of the Kingley Vale yews is remarkable because most ancient yew trees across Europe were felled after the 14th century when English bowmen started preferring staves to be made from straight-grained yew wood, which is reputedly the hardest coniferous timber in the world. This wood was imported by royal decree with barrels of wine from Portugal and Spain.

Kingley Vale is one of the few major groves of yews remaining today.

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Photo credit: Katariina Järvinen/Flickr

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Photo credit: Katariina Järvinen/Flickr

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Photo credit: Tom Hickmore/Flickr

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Photo credit: Natural England/Flickr

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Photo credit: debs-eye/Flickr

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Photo credit: debs-eye/Flickr

Sources: Wikipedia / The Guardian / www.infobritain.co.uk / www.indigogroup.co.uk

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The Ancient Greek Mosaics of Paphos

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The ancient city of Paphos in Cyprus, was once the capital of the island during the Greco-Roman period (3rd century BC to 3rd century AD). In those days, the city had some of the finest villas in the Eastern Mediterranean belonging to Roman governors and rich noblemen. The floors of these villas were adorned with beautiful mosaic art depicting scenes from ancient Greek mythology, with representations of Greek gods, goddesses and heroes, as well as activities of everyday life. The mosaics are made from small cubes of marble and stone which were called tesserae and glass paste was used to broaden the range of color that was available in those days. Many of these villas and their mosaic floors were discovered only during the past fifty years during archeological excavation. Many of these sites are still being excavated today.

The mosaics can be seen on mainly four houses — the House of Dionysus, the House of Orpheus, the House of Aion, and the House of Theseus. The houses are named after the subject of mosaics found there.

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Photo credit: David Haberthür/Flickr

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25 Facts About Ancient Egyptian Gods That You Probably Didn’t Know

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Ancient Egyptians were some of the most religious people to inhabit the Earth. Because their knowledge was only a sliver of what we know today, they feared many things and had a strong belief in the supernatural. From this belief sprang a host of Ancient Egyptian gods. If there was a situation or a place which could have its own god, more likely than not there was one. While most of the deities were local presences, some such as Ra, Osiris, and Thoth were elevated to a national stage.

In this list, we’ve dug up – well, not literally; we’ll leave that for the archaeologists and grave robbers – these fascinating facts about the Ancient Egyptian gods and religious systems. Religion in Ancient Egypt wasn’t so different from religion today with its focus on doing good and earning a place in the afterlife. Though it may seem complex and extensive, the religion was rather flexible, evolving based on the personal practices of the ruling Pharaoh. Egyptian gods often had both human and animistic traits, making them quite memorable and recognizable. Find out some of the amazing things we know about the Ancient Egyptians in this list of 25 Facts About Ancient Egyptian Gods That You Probably Didn’t Know.

Cover Image CC via Insights Unspoken via Flickr

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The Ancient Aqueducts of Nazca Desert

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Dotting the landscape across the dry valleys of southern Peru, near the city of Nazca, an area famous for the mysterious Nazca lines, are large spiraling, rock-lined holes that lead to an underground network of ancient aqueducts. These aqueducts form part of a sophisticated hydraulic system containing trenches, tunnels and wells —known collectively as puquios— that bring water from underground aquifers up to the surface for domestic and agricultural use. Although their age is still debated, the puquios are thought to have been constructed by the same people who created the Nazca geoglyphs. Many of these are still used by the inhabitants of the valley.

The most visible part of the system are the spiraling, funnel-shaped holes called ojos. On the surface of the ground, the opening of the conical ojos can be as wide as 15 meters. At the bottom they are about a meter or two across. Aside from providing access to the water in the tunnels, they also served as entrances to the tunnels for cleaning and maintenance, a task that continues up to the present day. The wells also let wind into the canals and force the water through the system.

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Top 10 Ancient Greek Artifacts

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Ancient Greece was one of the civilizations that have left the biggest cultural impact on history. Whether we’re talking about their extensive mythology, the art forms, or the political innovations, there’s no denying the greatness of the Greeks. Fortunately, the physical evidence of their genius has resisted the trials of time and there are many incredible ancient Greek artifacts that are now exhibited on the shelves of many important museums around the world.