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A Beginner's Guide to the Afterlife

The snow-laden, misty entrance of Iceland's Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge resembles the entrance to Helheim, the realm of the dead who did not make it into Valhalla.

Viking Hell Is Just as Metal as You'd Expect

Judged unworthy of Valhalla? Welcome to Helheim.

Nicky Nielsen August 8, 2024

Bali's Massive Stone Sarcophagi Included Global Grave Goods

Mirrors from China, glass beads from Roman Egypt, and other treasures from far-flung places accompanied ancient Balinese elites to the afterworld.

Nicky Nielsen June 5, 2024

Remains of whalers' wooden coffins and gravestones at Smeerenburg, in the northwest region of the Svalbard Archipelago.

Svalbard's Lonely Whaler Graves Included Burial Kits With Pieces of Distant Homes

For centuries, the cruel industry decimated entire whale species—and claimed countless human lives. Whalers arrived prepared for their own deaths.

Nicky Nielsen April 17, 2024

An overhead view of modern excavations at Tell el-Retaba, an ancient fortress that was part of Egypt's Ways of Horus military route. Teams digging here have unearthed human remains interred in ceramic jars, or pots.

In Ancient Egypt, Jar Burials May Have Helped the Dead Be Reborn in the Afterlife

First found at the ancient fortress of Tell el-Retaba, child burials in ceramic jars perplexed early archaeologists.

Nicky Nielsen March 6, 2024

An Arctic tern in flight; the seabirds were a critical source of food for the Beothuk people of Newfoundland, and also likely inspired some of their funerary traditions.

In Newfoundland, a Bird Spirit May Have Guided a Lost Culture's Dead

For centuries, the Beothuk people relied on seabirds to survive—and likely to find their way to the afterlife.

Nicky Nielsen February 7, 2024

A detail from a third-century mosaic depicting two gladiators in combat from the House of Gladiators on Cyprus.

The Surprising Roots of Ancient Rome's Gladiator Fights

The quintessential Roman spectacle, originally a way to honor the dead, was not Roman in origin.

Nicky Nielsen January 9, 2024