Ancient Places

Ancient places can be found all over the world. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and visiting such ancient places in the world can be an unforgettable experience.

Science is constantly discovering new archaeological places and uncovering more evidence into what we once thought we knew about our history, therefore offering new pieces to the ever changing puzzle of humanity’s past and altering how we interpret it. This section will present the most interesting archaeological sites all over the world, as well as new discoveries of ancient places that are worth paying a visit.

This spectacular, large Navulá-type monochrome vessel, used in pre-Hispanic Maya rituals, was complete but for one of its two handles. Source: INAH

14 December, 2021 - 17:41 Sahir

Yucatán Cave Was Used For Pre-Hispanic Maya Rituals

A recent pottery find dating to the Late Postclassic Maya period by archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Chemuyil town of Mexico’s Quintana Roo state shows...

Baltinglass Stones – connected to Turkey’s Gobkeli Tepe?

14 December, 2021 - 15:18 David Halpin

Baltinglass Hill: Ireland’s Forgotten Gobekli Tepi?

Resting high upon the hills of Wicklow lies buried one of the most remarkable Neolithic sites in all of Europe. Strangely, even today many people are unaware of its existence. Baltinglass Hill is one...

The rare medieval falconry figurine found in an ancient land fill site uncovered in the Old Town of Norway, Oslo. Source: NIKU

13 December, 2021 - 21:57 Nathan Falde

Rare 13th-century Falconry Figurine Miraculously Found in Oslo

A Norwegian archaeologist digging in the frozen ground at a medieval excavation site in Oslo found something extremely rare and most unexpected. While sorting through a waste layer left behind by...

Though we do not have many images of Pemulwuy, the prominent Australian Aboriginal rebel leader of the late 18th century, we know he was strong like this man at an Aboriginal culture show in Queensland. Source: Rafael Ben-Ari / Adobe Stock

10 December, 2021 - 21:58 dhwty

Pemulwuy: Prominent Aboriginal Rebel Leader Murdered in 1802 AD

Pemulwuy was an Aboriginal Australian who lived during the 18 th century. This was the period when the Europeans began to colonize Australia. The arrival of the Europeans in Australia had a profound...

This handmade historical illustration shows Neo-Assyrian riders wearing their distinctive leather armor in ancient Mesopotamia. Source: Lunstream / Adobe Stock

10 December, 2021 - 13:58 Nathan Falde

2,600-Year-Old Leather Armor Found In China Was Made By Neo-Assyrians

An international team of archaeologists and historians has completed an extensive analysis of a rare leather armor waistcoat recovered from the grave of an ancient horse-riding soldier in Northwest...

We have remains of Tibetan Plateau Denisovans, who lived for long periods in this landscape. But now we know that they passed their high-altitude adaptability genes on to Tibetans and other peoples that ultimately settled in the Himalayas. Source: zah108 / Adobe Stock

9 December, 2021 - 22:20 Sahir

Tibetan Plateau Denisovans Gave Modern Tibetans Altitude Superpowers

Little is known about our extinct archaic hominin cousins, the Denisovans, who populated Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, due to limited DNA fragments and evidence. This makes...

A reconstruction of Blair Atholl Man’s face. Source: Christopher Rynn and Hayley Fisher / Perth Museum & Art Gallery

9 December, 2021 - 17:59 Sahir

Scotland’s Blair Atholl Man Was Actually From the West, Says Study

People migrated long distances in early medieval Scotland, concluded a new study on the Blair Atholl Man published in the Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal . The study reveals that he was not...

The man’s skull with golden tongue clearly visible was discovered during excavations at Oxyrhynchus. Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

8 December, 2021 - 21:57 ashley cowie

Two Oxyrhynchus Mummies Discovered with Golden Tongues

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said on Sunday that two 26th Dynasty tombs were excavated at El-Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) archaeological site in the Upper Egypt governorate of Minya...

The complete large straw-tempered Egyptian beer jars from Hierakonpolis in the background. The recent research study suggests the contents of these big jars would have been decanted into smaller, finer beakers, like the three shown in this image. Source: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

8 December, 2021 - 00:57 Sahir

Porridge-like Egyptian Beer Was Used 5,800 Years Ago in Rituals

New research published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology has revealed that Egyptian beer was produced and consumed as a staple as well as for ritual purposes as far back as 5,800 years...

The Binnenhof, or “Inner Court”, is still the beating heart of the Dutch parliament. Recently, more and more medieval material has been discovered underneath these buildings. Source: Public domain

7 December, 2021 - 17:57 Simon Duits

Medieval Walls Discovered Underneath Dutch Parliament

Archaeologists stumbled upon medieval material underneath the Dutch parliament building last week. The area is being prepared for a major renovation that’s long overdue. Fortunately, as a matter of...

Anachronistic painting by Piero della Francesca of the Battle of Nineveh (627) between Heraclius' Byzantine army and the Sasanians under Khosrow II, which was pretty much the end of the Byzantine–Sasanian War. Source: Piero della Francesca / Public domain

7 December, 2021 - 13:57 dhwty

The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 AD and the Rise of the Muslims

The Byzantines and Sasanians were rival powers who fought each other for supremacy in the Middle East. Although the conflict between the two powers began during the 6th century AD, it is in fact a...

Tongan warriors or Tongan athletes getting ready to play kasivaki underwater rugby in Tonga. Source: Tonga Rugby Union

6 December, 2021 - 17:57 Caleb Strom

Kasivaki: An Ancient Tongan Game That Was More Than Underwater Rugby

When most people think of the sport rugby, Tonga is not at the top of the list of competitors. But the island nation of the south Pacific appears to have had its own ancient version of the game with...

Agape Table at the St. Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat, Malta. Source: etfoto / Adobe Stock

5 December, 2021 - 21:57 Laura Tabone

The Mysterious Agape Tables: A Unique Feature of the Maltese Catacombs

The ancient man-made subterranean catacombs of Malta, make up an artificial tunnel system first built in prehistoric times. This vast network of tunnels connects temples, dwellings, sanctuaries and...

The Pillar of Eliseg is just one monument that bears witness to the Romanitas of early medieval Wales. Source: Public domain

4 December, 2021 - 13:57 Meagan Dickerson

Romanitas in Early Medieval Wales: The Evidence of Latin Standing Stones

There are very few texts that survive from early medieval Wales, an era spanning the moment when the Romans left Wales until the Normans arrived. This is one of the reasons that historians have...

Excavated remains of the last fugitive at Herculaneum archaeological park. Source: Parco Archeologico di Ercolano

3 December, 2021 - 21:57 Sahir

Heat from Mount Vesuvius Eruption as Deadly as Hiroshima Atomic Bomb

Archaeologists continue to excavate in search of remains left behind after the 79 AD Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption which decimated the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy. Now, an...

Figurine head found at the Aztec altar site at Garibaldi Plaza, Mexico City, which is a representation of the Aztec goddess Cihuacóatl. Source: Mauricio Marat / INAH

3 December, 2021 - 17:57 ashley cowie

Post-Conquest Aztec Altar With A Burned Human Unearthed In Mexico City

Archaeologists in Mexico have excavated a 16th-century Aztec altar surrounded by sacred artifacts. While abstract trinkets and incense burners reflected the structure of the cosmos, a giant clay jar...

Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge builders ate Neolithic mince pies. Source: English Heritage

2 December, 2021 - 17:57 ashley cowie

‘Neolithic Mince Pies’ Were Eaten by Stonehenge’s Builders

Just 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Stonehenge in England, Durrington Walls is a huge Neolithic settlement and henge site. Located within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, excavations back in 2004...

Dromoland Castle is just one of our ten recommended medieval castle vacations. Source: Dromoland Castle Hotel & Country Club

1 December, 2021 - 17:57 Aleksa Vučković

A Truly Historic Rest: 10 Unforgettable Medieval Castle Vacations

Any enthusiastic lover of history undoubtedly dreams of that perfect castle vacation filled with ancient stories and thrilling historic sights. Alas, holidays don’t always turn out quite as planned...

In summer Tunisia's Chott el Djerid salt lake is almost entirely dried up, as seen in this photo from May 2021, but many believe that beneath this sand lies the remains of Tunisian Atlantis. Source: Kais photographies / CC BY-SA 4.0

30 November, 2021 - 21:57 Aleksa Vučković

The Theory of the Tunisian Atlantis - Beneath the Sands of Africa!

Ever since the age of the classical antiquity, there was a widespread myth of the fabled, sunken city of Atlantis. A true ancient metropolis that was in many ways the epitome of advanced civilization...

The altar of the Ateshgah Baku fire temple in the capital of Azerbaijan. Source: vadim.nefedov / Adobe Stock

30 November, 2021 - 00:57 dhwty

The Ateshgah Baku Fire Temple: Built On an Azerbaijan Natural Gas Vent

The Ateshgah Baku fire temple, located in the capital of Azerbaijan, was built over a natural gas vent, and constructed between the late 17th and early 18th centuries AD. There is evidence, however,...

Adi Shankara, 788-820 AD, founder of the Advaita Vedanta, the oldest extant sub-school of Vedānta, a tradition of interpretation of the Upanishads, by Raja Ravi Varma. Source: Raja Ravi Varma / Public domain

29 November, 2021 - 21:57 dhwty

India’s Vedic Sanskrit Upanishads: Foundation of Religions and Karma!

The Upanishads are a genre of texts that form the final and last section of the Vedas. The Upanishads were composed orally in Sanskrit, and the earliest surviving ones dating to the 1st millennium BC...

The Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan and the Pyramids in the background, Cairo, Egypt. Source: AlexAnton / Adobe Stock

29 November, 2021 - 17:57 Aleksa Vučković

10 Must See Ancient Cities to Add to Your Bucket List

Everyone ought to have a bucket list and for passionate history buffs, that list invariably includes visiting ancient cities. While reading about them in history books, or in news reports about...

The 800-year-old Peruvian rope-bound mummy in the fetal position as it was found. Source: UNMSM

28 November, 2021 - 21:57 Sahir

Archaeologists Discover 800-year-old Rope-bound Mummy in Peru

A preserved rope-bound mummy, estimated to be at least 800 years old, has been discovered in an underground tomb by archaeologists on Peru’s central coast. The mummified remains, which are in...

Wandjina rock art

27 November, 2021 - 22:00 Joanna Gillan

The Mysterious Aboriginal Rock Art of the Wandjina Sky Beings

One of the most intriguing and perplexing legends of the Australian Aboriginal people is that of the Wandjinas, the supreme spirit beings and creators of the land and people. The land of the Wandjina...

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