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churches

Found: Very Old Peacock Graffiti Left Behind by Religious Pilgrims

Peacocks represented eternal life to early Christians.
Sarah Laskow November 23, 2016
A canal in Rotterdam, showing the Pilgrim Fathers church in the distance.
churches

The Centuries-Old Netherlands Church Celebrating American Thanksgiving

The Pilgrim Fathers' Church has a long history.
Menachem Wecker November 23, 2016
Corpus Hermeticum: first edition, by Marsilio Ficino, 1471 CE, at the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Amsterdam.
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica (Ritman Library)

This impressive collection of rare books on ancient mysticism inspired author Dan Brown.
Crosses come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and material.
Grabarka, Poland

Holy Mountain of Grabarka

Crosses of all shapes, sizes and colors litter the mountain, the site of a huge yearly Orthodox pilgrimage.
The dentures were found in the tomb of a powerful family.
churches

Found: Centuries-Old Dentures Made From Real Teeth

They were worn by someone very rich.
Sarah Laskow November 22, 2016
Statue of Shiva (painted gold in 2012)
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Koneswaram Temple

An ancient temple to the Hindu god Shiva surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery.
A votive offering of two hands.
sculptures

Why Did Ancient Italians Bury Thousands of Clay Body Parts?

Feet, hands, eyes, ears, arms, legs, uteri, heads...thousands upon thousands of body parts.
Sarah Laskow November 18, 2016
The famous facade and portal to the church.
Lisbon, Portugal

Jerónimos Monastery

Elaborately carved to showcase the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.
sacred spaces

Watch a Celebration of the Cult of 'Saint Death'

"The skinny lady," a skeleton in fancy dress, is an unconventional usher into the afterlife.
Molly McBride Jacobson November 16, 2016
The derelict entrance to House of David Park. A sign below says "If I don't know u back off."
Benton Harbor, Michigan

House of David

The remains of a religious colony, its amusement park, zoo, and baseball empire.
The image is pressed into the metal downspout
Bydgoszcz, Poland

The Secret Polish Eagle on Fara Church

This symbol of Polish heritage survived the occupation during World War II, hidden in plain sight.
To help preserve the meridian line—but also to draw more attention to it—the church has roped the line off from the feet of daily visitors. Just visible here, in a plaque in the marble floor, are the zodiac signs of Pisces and Scorpio. Both appear near the spring and autumn equinoxes, respectively.
churches

Why Catholics Built Secret Astronomical Features Into Churches to Help Save Souls

After centuries of war, Catholicism and science reconciled over meridian lines.
Geoff Manaugh November 15, 2016
The Interior
Athens, Greece

Little Metropolis Church

This gem is often wrongly overshadowed by the larger, newer Metropolis church in Athens.
The outside reads: "To Mary, Protector of Beaujolais."
Saint-Lager, France

Our Lady of the Grapes

A gothic church dedicated to the love of wine.
The ex-votos extend all the way up the arches.
Paris, France

Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires

A 400-year-old church covered floor to ceiling in ex-voto offerings from the faithful.
Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Slemish Mountain

A brisk climb up this solitary peak leads to the origin story of a towering figure in Irish history.
Ponte Nossa, Italy

Crocodile at the Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime Immacolate

This church, better known for its weeping portrait of the Virgin Mary, also houses the world's oldest existing piece of taxidermy.
Scribes often penned dramatic curses at the beginning or end of books in the Middle Ages.
libraries

Protect Your Library the Medieval Way, With Horrifying Book Curses

Medieval scribes protected their work by threatening death—or worse.
Sarah Laskow November 9, 2016