This Week In History News, Feb. 18 – 24

Published February 23, 2018

Face of teenager who lived 9,000 years ago reconstructed, mystery deaths near ancient Greek "portal to hell" solved, ancient Roman boxing gloves unearthed.

Scientists Have Reconstructed The Face Of A 9,000-Year-Old Teenager

Dawn Teenager Face

Reuters Dawn, the 9,000-year-old teenager.

Guess teenagers were just as angsty 9,000 years ago.

Meet Dawn, a teenager from the Mesolithic period, which was around 7,000 B.C. Her face was reconstructed by scientists using a skull that was found in 1993.

Dig deeper here.

Archaeologists Solve Mystery Of Unexplained Deaths Near “Portal To Hell”

Entrance Portal To Hell

New York PostThe entrance to the portal to hell, in the ancient city of Hierapolis, in modern day Turkey.

In southern Turkey, there lies an ancient temple, dubbed the “Portal to Hell.” For years, there have been a series of unexplained deaths near the temple, as any beast that’s come in contact with it has dropped dead under mysterious circumstances.

Now, however, researchers have finally solved the mystery. It was not the breath of Hades, the mythological god of the underworld that felled the beasts, but a much more common phenomenon. Deadly concentrations of C02 gas were found near the entrance to the temple, which lies in the ancient city of Hierapolis.

Read more about the “Portal to Hell.”

Ancient Roman Boxing Gloves Discovered At Hadrian’s Wall

Ancient Boxing Gloves

The GuardianThe gloves, though not a matching set, are the first of their kind to be discovered.

A pair of ancient Roman boxing gloves thought to be the only surviving examples of their kind, have been discovered near Hadrian’s Wall in England.

The gloves more resemble padded knuckle guards than modern-day full-coverage boxing gloves, though they clearly did their jobs just as well. Made of thick leather and stuffed with natural material, they acted as shock absorbers for a closed fist.

Though they date back to 120 A.D., the gloves don’t show too much sign of their age; they still fit comfortably on a hand and the leather bears the imprint of an ancient set of knuckles.

See more here.

author
All That's Interesting
author
A New York-based publisher established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science to share stories that illuminate our world.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.