In medieval European history, justice wasn’t always a humane endeavor. In the drafty, stone-cold courtrooms, the legal system operated on a basis of intervention by divine power. Innocence was determined by miracles because the authorities and commoners believed with conviction that a higher power would intervene whenever an innocent person was put on trial.   But when the religious and political landscape of the 13th century started to shift, suddenly the bridge between the divine and justice was severed. With no miracles to determine cases, the authorities were left with little choice but to develop a more evidence-based judicial process. To meet the strict requirements of the new system, they began to determine innocence or guilt through torture.   How Early Medieval Courts Used Divine Miracles to Prove Innocence Water-ordeal; miniature from the Luzerner Schilling. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In medieval times, Europeans used supernatural ordeals to verify guilt or innocence. Called Trial by Ordeal, the rituals are believed to have begun in the early Middle Ages (476 AD to 1000 AD) as part of ancient Germanic tribal laws. They were also referred to as the Iudicium Dei or Judgment of God. Ordeals were used by judges when someone was accused of committing a crime, but other forms of proof were unavailable to legally satisfy the stringent requirements of proof. The tests were designed to manifest a miracle, as God was believed to supernaturally influence the laws of nature and protect the innocent, typically by preventing their wounds from becoming infected.   The judicial rituals relied heavily on local customs but were traditionally conducted in several distinct ways. During one of the trials known as the trial of hot iron, a judge would make the defendant walk nine feet while holding a heavy piece of iron heated in a fire. Immediately following the trial, the defendant’s hand was wrapped in linen. On the third day, the wound was examined. If the wound was healing cleanly, God had spoken, and the defendant went free. However, if the wound had become infected, a guilty verdict was reached, and punishment was administered as the judge saw fit.   In another trial referred to as the trial by cold water, judges would tie up the accused and plunge them into a consecrated pool, where they would either sink, which was viewed as being accepted by God and therefore innocent, or float, which was seen as being rejected by God, and so guilty. To ensure that the bodies of the accused could be recovered regardless of the result, all accused persons were lowered into the water using a rope attached to their torsos.   The 1215 Papal Decree That Accidentally Created a European Legal Crisis After being accused of adultery, Cunigunde of Luxembourg proved her innocence by walking over red-hot plowshares. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Until the early 13th century, the tests were staples of European judicial procedure. However, in 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council, the most significant ecumenical council of the Middle Ages, convened by Pope Innocent III in Rome, stripped away crucial religious backing by forbidding priests from blessing the rituals. This caused the system to collapse. The changes prompted European continental courts to develop new legal systems that eventually utilized torture to get confessions.   With no priests to bless “God’s judgment,” the Trial by Ordeal justice system faced a legal crisis as judges had no way of obtaining a conviction without irrefutable eyewitnesses or a confession. And so, lawmakers turned to Roman-canonical law and looked toward an increasingly codified approach known as the inquisitorial system, which was a formal legal inquiry conducted by authorities. Unlike the legal system from centuries prior, authorities were now obligated to investigate the case on their own.   This practice was a major development in European legal systems. Soon, authorities developed extremely strict requirements for convictions, meaning that defendants were only guilty if caught in the act by two reputable witnesses or if they confessed. Since murder and theft rarely happened around two reputable witnesses, judges needed a way to creatively fill in the blanks. How did the court make someone confess to something they may or may not have done? The answer lay in pain.   Inside the Highly Regulated World of European Inquisitorial Law 1607 edition printed in Venice. Source: Biblioteca Europea di Informazione e Cultura / Wikimedia Commons   By 1380, religious inquisitors consulted early copies of manuals like the Directorium Inquisitorum (1376) by the Catalan Inquisitor General Nicolau Aymerich, which detailed how and when someone should be punished. Without irrefutable evidence involving two eyewitnesses, judges could only torture someone if they had what was known as half-proof of their guilt or probatio semiplena. Catching someone with stolen goods or seeing a suspect fleeing the scene of a crime could fall under half-proof. Methods of torture were strictly limited to what was necessary to get a confession.   Medieval inquisitorial law was also highly regulated and dictated how long torture could be used and who needed to be in the room when the sessions occurred. Every statement and confession was recorded by an assistant whose sole job was to document the suspect’s testimony for legal reasons. Because these legally coerced statements were technically inadmissible due to their violent origins, victims were asked to repeat their “voluntary” confessions the next morning in front of a judge. Most courts limited torture sessions to one sitting.   Terrifying Tools and Psychological Tricks Used to Force Confessions The boots from James Mitchell in Scots Worthies. Source: Wikimedia Commons   When it came to interrogating the suspects immediately after the Trial by Ordeal era, European courts had specific legal ways of obtaining information through torture. Judges were told to begin uncooperative interviews with what they called the territio, which was a scary show-and-tell of torture tools. Basically, judges outlined exactly what would happen to the prisoner’s body. Psychological torture like this convinced many suspects to talk without experiencing actual pain. Short of a confession, authorities graduated to physical torture methods using devices like the thumbscrew and techniques such as the strappado, in which victims would be lifted into the air by way of a rope tied around their wrists while their hands were tied behind their backs.   Suspension like this would forcefully dislocate shoulders. Pain was typically increased by heavy weights tied to a victim’s ankles, or by progressing to more painful torture methods that used the Spanish boot – metal plates and wedges used to crush the shins and feet. Torture was gruesome, especially when it came to water torture, or toca. Suspects were physically tied down to benches while water was forced through a linen cloth into their throats. Tribunals used these methods to press suspects for confessions, as well as the names of potential co-conspirators.   How the Frenzy of Witch Trials Sent Execution Numbers Soaring Bamberg Cathedral. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Early modern judicial torture law reached new heights during witch trials. This was because when a person was accused of witchcraft, there was hardly any physical evidence on a judge’s investigative sheet for them to look at. Witchcraft was, at the time, categorized as a sin of the soul. As such, judges mostly needed confessions. To obtain these confessions, judges relied heavily on torture. As a result, tens of thousands of people, mostly women, were killed during Europe’s worst witch hunt.   During the 1620s, the Bamberg witch trials saw roughly 900 people executed in a single German city-state using what was called the Drudenhaus, basically a dedicated witch prison. Hundreds of miles away, thousands of people in the Basque region in Spain were forced to confess to flying to the Witches’ Sabbath on broomsticks and having sex with demons. Skeptical Inquisitors eventually halted trials after realizing that the confessions were coerced.   It is estimated that between 1450 and 1750, between 40,000 and 60,000 people were legally executed under these witchcraft statutes across Europe.   Why England Chose Crushing Stones Over Standard European Torture An engraving of the peine forte et dure inflicted on a prisoner (appearing in the “Malefactor’s register” of 1780). Source: Wikimedia Commons   Compared to continental European legal processes, English common law was accusatorial and relied on juries rather than the inquisitorial systems. The reliance on a jury, rather than an actively interrogating judge, meant there was very little structural incentive to torture suspects for confessions. Instead of torture, English judges employed a form of harsh judicial coercion: peine forte et dure or strong and forceful punishment. By law, a suspect’s trial could not begin until they entered a plea. Should a defendant choose to stand mute, no trial could take place. Without a trial, there could be no conviction, and without a conviction, the Crown was unable to legally confiscate the defendant’s family estate and holdings. At the time, when a person was convicted of a felony or high treason, their entire estate, both land and personal property, was seized. Their families also lost the right to inherit property.   Peine forte et dure was introduced to coerce suspects who refused to plead without abolishing the requirement of a voluntary plea. In essence, it was not considered a punishment for the alleged crime; rather, it was a penalty for refusing to allow the court to exercise its jurisdiction. Large stones were placed on a suspect’s chest, layer by layer, until they either chose to plead or were crushed to death. A disturbing number of the accused allowed themselves to be killed to avoid leaving their families destitute.   It was not until 1772 that peine forte et dure was outlawed. At that time, the default for refusing to plead was changed to a guilty plea, which was eventually changed to “not guilty” in 1827.   How Enlightenment Logic Finally Replaced Pain With Evidence Portrait of Cesare Beccaria by Eliseo Sala. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Eventually, logic and Enlightenment ideas caught up with early modern judicial processes. Among the main contributors to the change was Cesare Beccaria, an Italian jurist. He wrote a book in 1764 called On Crimes and Punishments (originally published in Italian as Dei delitti e delle pene), arguing that torture was not a reliable means of determining criminal guilt, and was merely a test of who could withstand the most pain. And so pain could not be used to reliably determine if someone was telling the truth or not.   Europeans eventually replaced their inefficient torture-based justice system with one requiring evidence. The change allowed judges to convict suspects using circumstantial evidence and rational thought. This legal shift was revolutionary because it moved the burden of proof away from supernatural events and forced confessions by tying judicial processes to evidence.

To conclude the series on King John and the Magna Carta it is vital to review the whole, due to the extensive consequences that a short period in history had upon the future. Therefore, by, the autumn of 1216, King John's reign had become a desperate struggle for survival. The monarch who had once ruled an immense Angevin empire now faced rebellion within England, invasion from France, and the collapse of the authority he had spent years trying to preserve. His defeat was not the result of a single battle or one disastrous decision, but the culmination of military failures, political isolation, and a deepening loss of confidence among his subjects. Yet even as his kingdom appeared to be disintegrating, John remained determined to recover what he had lost. His final campaign would carry him across eastern England, through flooded landscapes and hostile territory, before illness brought his turbulent reign to an abrupt end.Terry Bailey explains.You can read part 1 on the cruel King who made his own enemies here, part 2 on losing an empire here, and part 3 on rebellion and Magna Carta here, part 4 on John striking back here, and part 5 on Magna Carta’s legacy here. The Battle of Bouvines. Source: Public domain, Bibliothèque nationale de France, available here.John's troubles had begun long before the rebellion of 1215. His loss of Normandy to Philip II of France in 1204 had shattered the prestige of the English crown and exposed the limitations of his military leadership. The failure to recover the duchy, followed by the disastrous defeat at Bouvines in 1214, left John politically weakened and financially exhausted. His attempts to raise further taxation and military resources only intensified resentment among the barons, while his conflict with the Church had damaged his legitimacy. By the time the rebels captured London in 1215, the king's authority had been reduced to a fragile combination of military force, royal tradition, and the loyalty of those who still believed that his rule could be preserved.The granting of Magna Carta at Runnymede in June 1215 offered the possibility of reconciliation, but John soon demonstrated that he regarded the charter as a constraint rather than a settlement. He appealed to Pope Innocent III, who condemned the agreement and released him from its obligations. The resulting breakdown in negotiations transformed political opposition into civil war. Rebel barons invited Prince Louis of France to claim the English throne, and in May 1216 Louis landed in England with an army. His arrival gave the rebellion a powerful new dimension, turning a dispute between the king and his nobles into an international struggle for the future of the English monarchy. Louis entered London and received the support of many barons who had lost faith in John. The king, meanwhile, attempted to regain control through a series of military campaigns. Although he succeeded in recovering some territory, his position remained precarious. The French-backed rebellion had established a rival center of authority, and the king's forces were increasingly dependent upon the loyalty of a smaller circle of supporters. John's reputation for cruelty and vindictiveness had also made it difficult for him to rebuild trust. His earlier treatment of political opponents, including the alleged starvation of Matilda de Braose and her son in Corfe Castle, had become part of a wider perception that the king was dangerous when challenged and unreliable when negotiating.In the summer of 1216, John continued to campaign against the rebels, seeking to restore royal authority before the French could consolidate their position. His movements took him through the Midlands and eastern England, where he attempted to secure castles, recover territory, and prevent the rebellion from spreading further. Yet the campaign was increasingly shaped by the practical difficulties of medieval warfare. Armies depended upon roads, bridges, river crossings, supply routes, and the availability of food. Heavy autumn rains could transform apparently familiar terrain into treacherous marshland, while the loss of baggage and supplies could weaken an army more effectively than a battlefield defeat.It was during this campaign that John's fortunes took one of their final and most dramatic turns. In October 1216, while travelling through the region of the Wash, the king's baggage train was caught by the incoming tide. The Wash was a dangerous area of tidal flats, shifting channels, and rapidly changing waters, and the loss of men, horses, and supplies was a serious blow to the royal expedition. Although later accounts have sometimes presented the event as a spectacular catastrophe, the precise details remain uncertain. What is clear is that John's army suffered a damaging loss, and the incident contributed to the collapse of his already fragile campaign.The king continued southward, but his health was deteriorating. Medieval chroniclers describe him as suffering from a severe illness, sometimes associated with dysentery or another gastrointestinal disease. The exact diagnosis cannot be established with certainty, but the illness was serious enough to prevent him from continuing his military operations. John was taken to Newark Castle, where he died on the night of the 18th or 19th of October 1216, aged approximately forty-eight. His death brought an end to one of the most troubled reigns in English history, but it did not bring an immediate end to the conflict that had consumed his kingdom.John was buried at Worcester Cathedral, where his tomb remains a reminder of the man whose reign had brought England to the brink of political collapse. His final resting place was significant, for Worcester lay within the heart of the kingdom he had struggled to preserve. The king's burial was conducted with the dignity appropriate to his position, but his death left the monarchy in a vulnerable state. His heir, Henry III, was only nine years old, and the survival of the royal government depended upon the ability of his supporters to prevent the French-backed rebellion from succeeding.The responsibility for defending the young king fell largely upon William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, one of the most respected and capable nobles of the age. Marshal had served under several English kings and possessed the military experience, political authority, and personal reputation necessary to unite the royalist cause. Unlike John, he was able to present the monarchy as a source of stability rather than fear. In November 1216, Henry III was crowned at Gloucester Cathedral, and Marshal assumed the role of regent. His leadership marked a decisive change in the fortunes of the royal government.Marshal and his allies understood that the survival of the monarchy required more than military victory. They needed to recover the loyalty of the barons, reassure the Church, and present Henry III as a legitimate and comparatively innocent alternative to the unpopular John. Magna Carta was therefore reissued in 1216, with certain clauses omitted or modified, but with its central principles preserved. The charter could now be used not as a symbol of rebellion against the crown, but as a means of restoring confidence in the monarchy. This was a crucial political achievement, for it allowed the royalists to claim that they were defending lawful government rather than merely continuing John's policies.The military struggle continued into 1217. Louis of France still claimed the English throne, and his supporters remained active in the south and east of the country. However, the royalist cause gradually strengthened. Marshal's forces won important victories, including the naval Battle of Sandwich in August 1217, which helped cut Louis off from further French reinforcements and supplies. The defeat of the French fleet was followed by the Treaty of Lambeth, under which Louis abandoned his claim to the English crown and returned to France. The civil war was effectively brought to an end, and the monarchy of Henry III survived.The contrast between John's final years and the recovery achieved under William Marshal is striking. John had attempted to preserve royal authority through coercion, financial pressure, and military force, but his methods had alienated many of the very people upon whom his government depended. Marshal, by contrast, recognized that the monarchy could survive only by rebuilding trust and presenting itself as a lawful institution. The success of the royalists was therefore not simply a military victory; it was a political restoration that helped ensure the continuity of the English crown.John's historical reputation has remained deeply controversial. Medieval chroniclers portrayed him as cruel, treacherous, and incompetent, and later historians often repeated these judgements. His loss of Normandy, his conflict with the Church, his treatment of political opponents, and his failure to maintain the loyalty of his barons all contributed to the image of a king whose reign was defined by disaster. Yet modern historians have also sought to place John within the difficult circumstances of his age. He inherited a vast and expensive empire, faced a formidable French monarchy, and ruled during a period when the relationship between the crown and the nobility was undergoing profound change.Nevertheless, the argument that John was merely the victim of circumstances is difficult to sustain. His decisions repeatedly intensified the problems he faced. His financial demands were often excessive, his treatment of opponents could be ruthless, and his willingness to abandon agreements undermined confidence in his word. His failure to recognize the political consequences of his actions was particularly damaging. A medieval king could not rule by force alone; he required the cooperation of nobles, the support of the Church, and the belief that his government possessed legitimacy. John's inability to maintain that balance was one of the principal causes of his downfall.The significance of John's reign, however, extends far beyond the story of his personal failures. His defeat helped create the circumstances in which Magna Carta survived and acquired lasting importance. Although the charter was not originally intended to establish modern democracy or universal equality, it introduced principles that would become increasingly influential in the development of constitutional government. The idea that the king was subject to law, that taxation required limits, and that certain rights could not be arbitrarily violated would gradually become central to the English political tradition.The events of 1215 and 1216 also demonstrated that royal power was not absolute. John's attempt to overturn Magna Carta ultimately failed because the political forces opposing him were too strong and because his own actions had weakened the authority of the crown. The charter's survival was therefore not simply the result of a document being preserved; it was the consequence of a political struggle in which the monarchy was forced to acknowledge that it could not govern without restraint.In the centuries that followed, Magna Carta would be reissued, interpreted, and transformed. Its language would influence the development of Parliament, the rule of law, and the principle that government must operate within established legal boundaries. Later generations would look back to the events of John's reign as an important stage in the long evolution of constitutional government. The charter's influence would eventually extend beyond England, contributing to political thought in Britain, the American colonies, and the wider world.King John's reign therefore presents a paradox. He is remembered as one of England's most unsuccessful monarchs, yet the political crisis that he helped create produced one of the most enduring constitutional documents in history. His military defeats, political isolation, and personal failures weakened the authority of the crown, but they also forced the monarchy to confront limits that would become increasingly difficult to ignore. In this sense, John's legacy was not one of triumph, but of unintended consequence.The king who had attempted to preserve absolute royal authority ultimately helped strengthen the principle that even a monarch must be governed by law. His death at Newark in October 1216 ended a reign marked by war, suspicion, and rebellion, but it also opened the way for a new political settlement under Henry III. Through the efforts of William Marshal and the survival of Magna Carta, England emerged from the crisis with a monarchy that had been weakened, but not destroyed, and with a constitutional tradition that would continue to develop for centuries.John's story is therefore not simply the story of a failed king. It is the story of how military defeat, political misjudgment, and personal ambition can combine to transform the relationship between ruler and ruled. His reign demonstrated the dangers of power without restraint, while the survival of Magna Carta revealed the enduring strength of the principle that government must be subject to law. In the final analysis, King John's greatest historical significance lies not in what he intended to achieve, but in the constitutional legacy that emerged from his failure. Enjoyed the piece?Join thousands of history readers getting occasional updates on new blog posts, books, and video releases — plus a free history book to get you started.Join History Is Now here Now, read Terry’s series on King Kenry VIII and his wives here.

  Many wonders of ancient Egyptian civilization remain standing after more than three millennia. They tell the story of a sophisticated civilization that captures the modern imagination. The Nile Valley’s monumental architecture attracts millions of international tourists each year. From temples to tombs, if you visit Egypt today, these 15 ancient monuments should be on your must-see list!   1. The Great Pyramids of Giza Aerial view of Giza pyramids and Cairo cityscape   The Great Pyramid of Giza rises from the desert to astound visiting travelers. The Great Pyramid is the largest of the three pyramids on the Giza plateau, constructed by Khufu (known as Cheops by the Greeks) in c. 2566 BC during the 4th Dynasty. The 139-meter-tall pyramid took over twenty years to complete. An estimated 100,000 skilled craftsmen were employed, and the project used more than 2.3 million stone blocks. It was counted among the Seven Wonders of the World, and is the only one still standing.   The second Pyramid was built by Khufu’s son Khafre and stands 136 meters tall. It looks to be the largest of the three but was built at a higher elevation. The third and smallest pyramid (65 meters) was constructed by Menkaure and completed around 2510 BC. All were built as funerary monuments for the pharaohs, and were believed to transport them into the afterlife to live among the gods.   2. The Great Sphinx, Giza The Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Khafre   The Great Sphinx at Giza is Ancient Egypt’s most unique monument. It is speculated that the 4th Dynasty Pharaoh Khafre built the mythical creature from a massive rock by adding his face and giving it the body of a lion, as the Sphinx lies close to his valley temple complex and the causeway leading to his Pyramid. Facing the sun, it was meant to ward off evil spirits and protect the pyramids.   It was rumored that Napoleon‘s soldiers blew off the Sphinx’s nose with their muskets. It is more likely that it was removed by Muslims in the late 1300’s who defaced the stone to stop local farmers from giving offerings to the statue.   3. Abu Simbel Temple of Queen Nefertari at Abu Simbel, 1264 BC. Source: University of Wisconsin   The mighty Abu Simbel temple was carved directly into rock by Ramesses the Great at the peak of the 19th Dynasty in the 13th century BC as a reminder to Ancient Egypt’s Nubian territory that he was to be worshipped as a living god.   Four 20-meter-tall Colossal statues of Rameses II dominate the small entrance to the Great Temple. Inside, hieroglyphs describe his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. The Great Temple is dedicated to Rameses alongside the gods Ra-Harakhty, Amun Ra, and Ptah. The Small Temple is dedicated to his wife Queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. The facade features six standing 10-meter-tall statues, four of Ramesses and two of Nefertari.   The construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s created Lake Nasser, which threatened to submerge both temples. Therefore, between 1964 and 1968, a massive international UNESCO effort moved the temples 200 meters back and 65 meters higher up the mountain, and reassembled them inside two massive artificial concrete domes to recreate their original cliff setting.   4. The Colossi of Memnon The Colossi of Memnon, Luxor   The Colossi of Memnon are two 20-meter-tall representations of pharaoh Amenhotep III, called Memnon by the Greeks in honor of the hero of the Trojan War. Built around 1350 BC, the sitting statues were part of his lost mortuary temple in the Theban Necropolis on the east bank of the Nile at Luxor. Over the past few decades, excavations of the grounds behind the statues have uncovered dozens of previously buried royal statues, lion-headed figures of the goddess Sekhmet, and additional fallen colossi.   The statues were carved from single blocks of quartzite sandstone quarried near modern-day Cairo and transported over 400 miles overland to Luxor, rather than floated down the Nile. The Colossi’s stones have been restored numerous times over the centuries, including by Roman Emperor Septimius Severus.   5. The Valley of The Kings The tomb of Ramses IV in the Valley of the Kings. Source: Matador Network   The Valley of the Kings lies on the Nile’s west bank near Luxor and is the cemetery for the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom (1539 – 1075 BC). Many different tombs of the elite from this period have been discovered in the desert valley, ranging in size from single coffins to elaborate underground tombs housing entire families on their journey to the afterlife.   The most famous tomb from the Valley of the Kings is that of the boy King Tutankhamun, found intact by British archeologist Howard Carter in 1922. Later pharaohs such as Horemheb and Ramesses II (both buried close by) tried to have Tutankhamun removed from Egypt’s histories, which meant robbers and adventurers were unable to disturb his tomb for almost 3,500 years.   6. Temple of Edfu Temple of Edfu   The Temple of Edfu was built during the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the period from the death of Alexander the Great to Cleopatra, after whose death Egypt became part of the Roman Empire. Edfu is dedicated to Horus, the god of kings and the sky, and his consort Hathor.   Edfu fell into disuse as a temple during the latter stages of the 4th century AD due to the rise of Christianity and the outlawing of pagan worship at the end of that century. The hypostyle hall was badly burnt by arson, and many reliefs were defaced. Edfu was eventually built over by villagers and nearly buried. By the late 18th century, when European explorers first documented the area, the temple was almost entirely subterranean. Only the very tops of the 36-meter-tall entrance pylons peeped out above the village floor. Excavations began in the 1860s.   7. The Step Pyramid of Djoser The Step Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara   The Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara was the very first pyramid built by the Ancient Egyptians. Standing nearly 62 meters tall, it was the earliest large monument built with stone, an architectural feat different in scope from the mud-brick construction of earlier mastaba royal tombs.   The Step Pyramid was originally a mastaba tomb, an underground burial chamber with ground-level rooms above to store gifts and offerings to the pharaoh. Djoser’s Royal Architect Imhotep built on the mastaba to make the Step Pyramid look like a giant staircase, so the spirit of his king could get closer to the sun during his journey in the afterlife.   8. Luxor Temple Luxor Temple Entrance, Luxor   The Luxor Temple was built around 1400 BC and was used by New Kingdom pharaohs to celebrate the Opet festival, during which the pharaoh was ritually reborn. The core of the sanctuary was built by Amenhotep III. It was later expanded with a monumental pylon and courtyard by Ramesses II, with additional reliefs and chambers added by Tutankhamun, Horemheb, and even Alexander the Great.   Notable monuments within Luxor Temple include the Colonnade of Amenhotep III, the Great Court of Ramesses II, the First Pylon, and the Standing Statue of Ramesses II. Ramesses II also erected two 25-meter red granite obelisks at the main entrance gateway. One still stands in Luxor today, while the other was transferred to France in 1833 and now stands at the center of the Place de la Concorde in Paris.   9. The Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid of Sneferu Red Pyramid at Dashur. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Sneferu was the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt’s 4th Dynasty and the father of the pyramid builder Khufu. He ruled for approximately 50 years, which allowed him to build three pyramids, two of which are at Dahshur.   The Bent Pyramid got its name because architects realized they were building the pyramid too steeply and had to change the angle. Halfway up the sides, the pyramid changes shape, making it look bent. It was made of large limestone blocks and rendered with better quality smooth limestone that can still be seen on the outer walls.   His second pyramid at Dashur is called Red Pyramid because the limestone’s oxidation gives it a noticeable reddish color. It was originally covered with white limestone, but because the structure was a perfect pyramid, the sides were flat enough for robbers to walk along the surface easily and steal the white stone, leaving only the red behind.   10. The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut   The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut was constructed in the 18th Dynasty and can be found close to The Valley of The Kings on the West Bank of the Nile, below the rugged cliff face at Deir el Bahari. The mortuary temple of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC) was designed for her by Royal Architect Senenmut and dedicated to the god Amun.   The temple features three massive, stacked terraces connected by long central ramps. The linear, colonnaded design creates a visual harmony between the built structure and the natural rock face behind it. Wall carvings on the middle terrace detail a historic, peaceful trading voyage to the mysterious Land of Punt. The reliefs vividly depict imported items, including frankincense, gold, ivory, exotic animals, and living myrrh trees.   11. Karnak Temple Hypostyle Hall, Karnak Temple, Luxor   Karnak was the central site of worship for Amun-Ra and is one of the most holy places in Egypt. The complex was a center for festivals in the city of Thebes (now Luxor). Covering over 20 acres, the temple complex was built on, added to, and changed over the more than 2,000 years of continuous use. Rebel king Akhenaten even built a temple to Aten at Karnak; however was torn down.   The heart of the complex features a grid of 134 massive sandstone columns standing up to 21 meters high. The main west entrance features an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, each cradling a small statue of Ramesses II between its paws.   12. Temple of Philae Temple of Isis (or Temple of Philae) in the ancient city of Aswan, Egypt, with a woman sitting admiring the walls.   Located on Agilkia Island near Aswan, the Temple of Philae is an island sanctuary dedicated to Isis built during the Ptolemaic and early Roman periods to be the focus of her worship across the Mediterranean. One of its most iconic structures is an open-air pavilion surrounded by 14 massive columns. The main courtyard holds a shrine celebrating the divine birth of Horus by Isis.   Philae was one of the very last active pagan temples in Egypt, remaining open until the Christian Byzantine Emperor Justinian forcibly shut it down around AD 537. The temple walls bear the Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, carved on August 24, AD 394, which is recognized by historians as the last known ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription ever written.   13. Dendara Temple Relief from the temple of Hathor at Dendara showing Osiris on a sun barge, Nephthys sat behind him, and Isis in front, Ptolemaic Egypt, c. 305 BC. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Located on the west bank of the Nile in Qena, the Dendera Temple Complex is one of Egypt’s best-preserved ancient sanctuaries, renowned for its vivid ceiling colors and astronomical reliefs. The main temple honors Hathor and features 24 massive columns topped with four-sided carved capitals depicting Hathor with bovine ears.   Extensive cleaning projects over recent years removed centuries of black soot and grime, revealing stunningly vibrant, original blue and green ceiling frescoes depicting the sky goddess Nut, constellations, and solar barques. The temple was the original home of a famous circular bas-relief sky map carved into a rooftop chapel ceiling. In 1821, French excavators removed the original stone slab and sent it to Paris, where it remains on display in the Louvre.   14. Temple of Kom Ombo Temple at Kom Ombo. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Perched on a high promontory overlooking a bend in the Nile between Edfu and Aswan, the Temple of Kom Ombo is a rare double temple with the southern half dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek and the northern half to the medicine god Haroeris.   Because the riverbanks here were once infested with wild Nile crocodiles, the Egyptians worshipped them as physical manifestations of Sobek. Archaeologists unearthed hundreds of mummified crocodiles nearby. On an outer enclosure wall, a famous bas-relief depicts a set of specialized medical instruments, including scalpels, forceps, bone saws, suction cups, and a birthing chair. Many historians view this as evidence of advanced ancient Egyptian surgical practices or medical pilgrimage rituals.   15. Temple of Seti I Interior of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos. Source: World Monuments Fund   Located at Abydos, one of Egypt’s oldest sacred sites, the Temple of Seti I (c. 1290–1279 BC) is renowned for housing some of the finest, most delicate raised relief carvings in ancient Egyptian art. The temple features several parallel chapels dedicated to Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, and the deified Seti.   The temple also contains the Abydos King List. A long carved corridor features the sequential cartouches of 76 pharaohs from Menes to Seti I, intentionally omitting controversial rulers like Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Hatshepsut.

An excavation in the city of Troyes in northeastern France has unearthed three burials from Late Antiquity with well-preserved grave goods, including intact glass vessels. The fine glassware is an extremely rare find in the area. A team from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) excavated the site on the bank of the Vienne River prior to construction of a new housing development. They found the remains of a post-built settlement from early antiquity (1st century A.D.) that was protected by a sturdy ditched wall. A large palisade divided the settlement, and most of the 300 domestic structures unearthed were on the east side. There’s evidence of a second phase of construction in which masonry buildings were raised next to the post-built ones. Tegulae, roof tiles, and hypocaust tile pillars confirm masonry construction of urban buildings, and judging from the profusion of metal artifacts like coins, fibulae and furniture fittings, the town was well-populated and prosperous. The three burials were discovered outside the ditched perimeter of the settlement. They date to the late 3rd or early 4th century A.D. They were dug very closely together and contain the skeletal remains of an adult woman, a child and a second adult whose bones are too degraded to determine their sex. Archaeologists believe it was a family grouping. One of the adults was buried with glass vessels around their head. Two of the vessels are cylindrical and with thin glass walls. An intact pot-bellied amphora was found at the feet of the deceased. It was locally made and of good quality. The site appears to have been abandoned after Late Antiquity, although the excavation did uncover a small group of huts from the turn of the 11th/12th century just to the north of the ancient town. There was a well and a silo, so it seems to have been a small community, although it’s not possible to tell from the sparse artifacts how long it was inhabited.

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