The Madain Project

10/04/2025

Helicopter Hieroglyphs, Abydos, Egypt
The term "Helicopter Hieroglyphs" refers to a modern interpretation of a set of certain ancient Egyptian reliefs, found in the Temple of Seti I in Abydos, where some believe the hieroglyphs depict what resemble modern machines such as helicopters, submarines, war tanks and an aircraft. This theory, popularized by alternative history proponents, suggests that ancient Egyptians either had knowledge of advanced technologies or were visited by extraterrestrial beings who shared such knowledge.
The so-called "Helicopter Hieroglyphs" are actually a set of at least four ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs or symbols, depicting a helicopter, submarine or airship, war tank and an aircraft. They have been wrongly interpreted as an out-of-place artifact depicting a helicopter and other examples of advanced technology, in pseudo-scientific ancient astronaut circles.

06/04/2025

Ritual Purification Basin from the Temple of Ishtar
https://madainproject.com/assur
This ceremonial basin, originally carved from a single block of basalt, was discovered in a completely fragmented state. It once stood in the courtyard of the temple dedicated to the god Ashur. Each corner and side of the basin is adorned with depictions of water deities, each holding a jug from which water is shown flowing—descending from the heavens above to the earth below. Two priestly figures, possibly clad in fish-skin garments, are shown carrying small fluid-filled buckets, apparently performing a purification ritual directed toward the central water deity. The inner surface of the basin is undecorated, but its exterior is inscribed repeatedly with the name of King Sennacherib of Assyria. Both the imagery and the basin's placement strongly suggest it was used in cultic rites of purification. Originating from Ashur in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), the piece dates to the Neo-Assyrian period, during the reign of Sennacherib (704–681 BCE). It is now housed in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin.

12/03/2024

YARMUKIAN CULTURE (CIRCA 6500 BCE)
Before the Israelis and the Palestinians, before the Ottomans and the Umayyad Caliphate, before the Roman empire, before the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah, before the Canaannites, and even before the mighty Egyptians – there were the Yarmukians.
The Yarmukians, an 8,000-year-old Neolithic agricultural culture, marked the prehistoric era in what is now Israel. They are considered the first "origin" culture in this region, leaving a significant archaeological legacy. Utilizing ceramic pottery, the Yarmukians crafted vessels adorned with distinctive herringbone decorations incised in horizontal and diagonal lines, showcasing advanced craftsmanship.
Notably, the Yarmukians are recognized for their enigmatic "Mother Goddess" figurines, believed to be associated with a fertility cult. Discovered in the Neolithic village of Sha'ar Hagolan, these clay figurines date back 8,000 to 7,500 years. The figurines, found in dwellings at the site, exhibit a unique design with hips nearly four times the size of their bodies. The identical posture of these hand-sized, richly detailed figurines, with one hand on the chest and the other on wide hips, emphasizes aspects related to birth and motherhood.

09/03/2024

Tomb KV9: Tomb of Ramesses V and Ramesses VI
https://madainproject.com/kv9_(tomb_of_ramesses_v_and_ramesses_vi) .
The Tomb KV9 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings was originally constructed by Pharaoh Ramesses V. He was interred here, but his uncle, Ramesses VI, later reused the tomb as his own. The tomb is located in Wadi Biban el-Muluk, and is known since antiquity. Romans knew the tomb as the "tomb of Memnon" and the savants of the Napoleonic Expedition as "La Tomb de la Metempsychose".

Read more: https://madainproject.com/kv9_(tomb_of_ramesses_v_and_ramesses_vi)..Descent into the passage shaft of Tomb KV9 in the Valley of the Kings..The tom...

11/01/2024

ROYAL/RELIGIOUS TEMENOS OF UR
https://madainproject.com/temenos_of_ur
The Temenos of Ur (E-gish-shir-gal), was an enclosed area which consisted of the religious and royal building structures. Located a little to the north-west of the city center, it was enclosed by a great wall and its floor was raised above the level of the city; the wall line was so drawn as to include the ancient Ziggurat in its western angle, on the south-west running against the face of the old terrace, on the north-west leaving an interval of about thirty metres. The building of the terrace was necessarily the first step.

21/08/2023

Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace)
https://madainproject.com/altar_of_augustan_peace
The Altar of Augustan Peace (Ara Pacis Augustae) is an ancient Roman altar in Rome dedicated to the Pax Romana. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BCE to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hispania and Gaul and consecrated on January 30, 9 BCE in a ceremony that marked Augustus' return to Rome after his victories.

12/07/2023

Roman Forum of Pompeii
https://madainproject.com/roman_forum_of_pompeii
The Civic Forum of Pompeii served as the bustling heart of the city, encompassing essential public structures for city administration, dispensing justice, managing business affairs, conducting trade activities such as markets, and serving as the primary site for citizen worship.

16/04/2023

Ptolemaic Temple of Hathor (Deir el-Medina)
https://madainproject.com/ptolemaic_temple_of_hathor_(deir_el_medina)
The Hathor Temple is an ancient Egyptian Temple in the "workers' village-settlement" of Deir el-Medina. Built by Ptolemy IV Philopator, the Ptolemaic era temple is one of the largest structures in the workers' village of Deir el-Medina. It was dedicated to goddesses Hathor and Maat.

10/04/2023

Ishtar Gate: Discovering & Rebuilding
https://madainproject.com/ishtar_gate
A reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way was built at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin out of material excavated by Robert Koldewey and finished in the 1930s CE. It includes the inscription plaque. It stands 14 meters (46 feet) high and 30 meters (100 feet) wide.

12/03/2023

Mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II
Read more: https://madainproject.com/mortuary_temple_of_mentuhotep_ii
Also known as the Akh-sut-Amun (Ancient Egyptian: 3ḫ-swt-Jmn "Transfigured are the places of Amun"), the Mortuary Temple of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre, marks a break with the Old Kingdom tradition of pyramid complexes and foreshadows the Temples of Millions of Years of the New Kingdom. As such, Mentuhotep II's temple was certainly a major source of inspiration for the nearby, but 550-year later temple of Hatshepsut and the temple of Thutmose III.

10/03/2023

Tomb of the Diver (Paestum, Italy)
Read more: https://madainproject.com/paestum
The Tomb of the Diver, located in Paestum, is renowned for the enigmatic frescoes that adorn its walls. The origins of this tomb are also somewhat unclear, with scholars debating whether it was built by a Greek settlement occupying Poseidonia or by an ancient Italic tribe from a more southerly region of Italy. The tomb comprises five significant stone slabs, each of which features a fresco attributed to one of two artists. The four walls are decorated with scenes of a symposium, which is unusual for a burial context. The ceiling of the tomb is the primary mystery and gives the tomb its name: it depicts a solitary diver plunging into a pool of water. This image is unique to this tomb, and no other ancient Mediterranean artwork has similar imagery to the diver.

26/02/2023

Persepolis
Read more: https://madainproject.com/persepolis
Persepolis (تخت جمشید‎) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BCE). It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BCE.