The Dilmun Burial Mounds in Bahrain stand as poignant testaments to ancient civilizations and their reverence for the afterlife. Built between 2200 and 1750 B.C., these burial sites offer a glimpse into the beliefs and customs of the Dilmun civilization, which flourished in the region during the Bronze Age.  In total, there are 11,774 burial mounds...

In the serene churchyard of St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, in the village of Friston on England's south coast is a small but poignant wooden cross. Its unpretentious, unadorned, design is simple yet striking, for it's boldly inscribed with the phrase "Washed Ashore," an indicator of the tragic story of the grave's occupant.  The story behind the...

Nebraskans know how to throw a party, and the weirder and more wondrous, the better. After all, this is where locals utilize steel water tanks for river floating, and an automotive replica of England’s Stonehenge rises from the plains. In fact, Nebraska’s wide-open landscape invites innovation – perhaps that’s why there’s so much of it. Whether it’s...

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE MAY 4, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. I’ve had strawberries on my mind lately. We just wrapped up “Rites of Spring,” a week where Atlas Obscura explores how people around the world celebrate the end of winter. I wrote about the custom of strawberry parties, a 19th-century...

The fertile fields of the Wabash River Valley in western Indiana are home to geological treasures. In the farming community of Williamsport, visitors can find the tallest waterfall in Indiana. Fall Creek, a short tributary of the Wabash River, feeds Williamsport Falls. Williamsport was founded in 1828 around the creek, and today, the waterfall marks...

From 1934 to 1962, Kamakura was known for its summer carnival. It was a huge event launched by a group of local writers and artists, inspired by a carnival that playwright Masao Kume saw in Nice, France. Though it was put on an eight-year hiatus during and after World War II, the carnival grew bigger and bigger each year. It took the city by storm...