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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Ancient Technology

Dating back thousands of years are numerous examples of ancient technology that leave us awe-struck at the knowledge and wisdom held by people of our past. They were the result of incredible advances in engineering and innovation as new, powerful civilizations emerged and came to dominate the ancient world. These advances stimulated societies to adopt new ways of living and governance, as well as new ways of understanding their world. However, many ancient technology mysteries were forgotten, lost to the pages of history, only to be re-invented millennia later. Here we feature ancient technology history and dozens of amazing artifacts that reflect the brilliance of ancient minds.

The Roman Colosseum’s architecture remains awe-inspiring today, with more still to be learned. Source: daliu / Adobe Stock

The Mind-Blowing Architecture and Engineering of Rome’s Colosseum

The Roman Colosseum is one of the most famous and impressive ancient sites still in existence today. Every year, millions of tourists flock to see it, and it has been dubbed one of the ‘New Seven...
Grave Naiskos of an Enthroned Woman With An Attendant dates from around 100BC. Source: Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program

8 Truly Puzzling Artworks Showing Ancient People Using Modern Tech!

How do we make sense of old and ancient artworks depicting laptops with USB ports, smartphones, spaceships, astronaut suits, and wrist watches? Historians say it is easy and that every one of these...
Part of the Novae Roman military camp. (Kleo73 / CC BY-SA 3.0) Insert: Ancient Roman fridge found at the site. Source: P. Dyczek / PAP

Ancient Fridge Unearthed at Roman Military Camp in Bulgaria Kept Food Cool

Polish archaeologists excavating a Roman military camp in Bulgaria expected to discover some coins; and they weren’t really surprised by the hoards of day-to-day tools and the expansive ancient water...
The UNESCO West-African Burkina Faso metallurgy site’s Tiwêga furnace, near Kaya. Source: Sébastien Moriset / © DSCPM/MCAT

Impressive Metalworking in Burkina Faso Goes Back 2,800 Years

One of the most fascinating World Heritage Sites is the Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso. Metallurgy in Burkina Faso was a common practice throughout this area of Africa that dates...
View of the Turtle Ship at Hallyeo National Marine Park in Tongyeong, South Korea. Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

The Turtle Ship: A Contender for the World’s First Armored Battleship

As a species, humanity has always been shockingly gifted at finding new ways to kill one another. As wars have raged over the millennia, armaments have had to evolve. This has led to some genuinely...
Ancient Roman refrigerator found at Novae Roman settlement, Bulgaria. Source: P. Dyczek / PAP

Archaeologists Unearth First Century Roman Refrigerator in Bulgaria

Over the last few decades, archaeologists from Bulgaria and Poland have been performing excavations at the site where the Roman legionary fortress of Novae once stood. The ruins of the fortress can...
The Pesse canoe, shown here, believed to be the world's oldest known boat, was made roughly 10,000 years ago in the Mesolithic period, from a Scots pine trunk, in the Netherlands region.

Europe’s Famous Mesolithic Pesse Canoe: Earth’s Oldest Known Boat

One of the most interesting artifact discoveries was the finding of the Pesse canoe in 1955. This unique boat is considered to be the oldest boat in existence and is estimated to be around 10,000...
Leonardo da Vinci’s weapons included a tank and a scythed chariot, drawings shown here. Source: janaka Dharmasena / Adobe Stock

Da Vinci’s Deadly Designs: The Wildest Weapons of the Renaissance Man

Although Leonardo da Vinci is predominantly remembered as a great artist, he was also a remarkable scientist and inventor. Many of his inventions were weird, some were wonderful, and more than a few...
An artist's illustration showing how a now-defunct arm of the Nile River known as the Khufu branch once reached the pyramids, which the Giza pyramid builders used to great advantage to move heavy construction materials according the recent PNAS pollen core study. Source: Alex Boersma / PNAS

How Egyptian Pyramid Builders Moved Construction Materials by Water

Regardless of how they were constructed, the Egyptian pyramids of the Giza Plateau represent one of mankind’s most astonishing engineering achievements. The logistical challenges of moving millions...
Chinese knife money. Source: sytilin / Adobe Stock

Chinese Knife Money: Making Markets feel Murderous?

The days of ‘cash as king’ are fading. Today, credit, debit, and digital currency have begun to slowly replace cash as the primary forms of payment, but it was not always so. For centuries, paper...
Glassblowing processs, with a ball of glass being heated by a kiln. Source: SvetlanaSF / Adobe Stock

Heat, Blow, and Roll: The History of Glassblowing

One of the most fascinating crafts in the art world is the practice of glassblowing. Glassblowing is the art of creating beautiful pieces of glassware by blowing air into semi-molten glass through a...
The Russian Compound excavation site in central Jerusalem and the Roman siege engine ballista stones found there, which were then used to plot the launch location of the projectiles. Source: Yoli Schwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority

Roman Siege Engines Tracked and Traced in Jerusalem

An Israeli archaeologist has been digging up and plotting the location of big roundish rocks in a specific area of ancient Jerusalem. But these are no building blocks, quite the opposite. They were...
Left; 1660 chart illustrating Tycho Brahe’s model of the universe Right; Portrait of Tycho Braha, Skokloster Castle, Source: Left; Public Domain, Right; Public Domain

Tycho the Psycho? Meet One of History’s Maddest Scientific Minds Ever!

Tycho Brahe, the 16th century Danish astronomer, alchemist, astrologist, and scientist (1546-1601) was a force to be reckoned with – the true epitome of the brilliant, mad scientist. In the backdrop...
This Chinese knife coinage from the Eastern Zhou dynasty was used in the remarkable Chinese bronze alloy analysis study that finally revealed the hidden alloy formulas. Source: Lui et al / Antiquity Publications Ltd

Innovative Study Reveals the Genius of Ancient Chinese Bronze Makers

After decades of effort by scientists and historians around the world, a pair of researchers from the United Kingdom have finally identified the mystery ingredients used by Chinese metallurgists in...
Majestic sunrise at Castlerigg Stone Circle in the Lake District, one of many sites located on ley lines. Source: Danoz/Adobe Stock

Ley Hunters: Were Bronze Age Britons Really Following Ley Lines?

Google Earth is an amazingly useful tool for investigators to explore the sacred landscapes of prehistoric Britain. For sure, its accuracy cannot be denied. Indeed, one can even survey and measure...
The Nimrud lens. Source: The British Museum / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Is the Assyrian Nimrud Lens the Oldest Telescope in the World?

The Nimrud lens is a 3,000-year-old piece of rock crystal unearthed by Sir John Layard in 1850 at the Assyrian palace of Nimrud, in modern-day Iraq. Since its discovery over a century ago, scientists...
Viking Longboat 'Hugin', Ramsgate. Source: Peter Lelliott / (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Viking Ships: More than Fearsome Weapons of the Open Seas

Few things struck fear into the hearts of medieval people more than the sight of a fleet of Viking ships sailing up the coast of their homelands. The Viking ship is iconic for its unique style,...
Therapist giving acupuncture to a woman. Source:  juripozzi / Adobe Stock

The Evolution of Acupuncture: From Ancient China to Worldwide Recognition

It is commonly believed that acupuncture played a key role in China’s medical history and is often seen as an integral part of China’s traditional health care, at least in the west. However, was this...
The waterway wonders of China’s Grand Canal are both picturesque and ancient in some sections but also super modern and unattractive in others. This part of the canal is in the ancient, preserved section of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China. Source: gui yong nian / Adobe Stock

The 2500-year-old Genius of China’s Grand Canal System

Ancient China is known for its famous dynasties, rich culture, and some of the first “advanced” technological innovations in the world. One of the best-known works created in ancient China is China’s...
Alatri acropolis cyclopean wall by the Porta Maggiorre. Source: Laura Tabone

The Cyclopean Problem: Who Built Italy’s Astounding Ancient Walls?

Megalithic cyclopean masonry is found in many parts of Italy, including Lazio , Abruzzo, Campania, Umbria, Tuscany and Molise. This type of masonry involves fitting together huge differently shaped...
Demonstration of Buddhist Bronze Mirror reflecting its image at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Source: Rob Deslongchamps/Cincinnati Art Museum

Magic Mirror With Hidden Image Discovered At Cincinnati Museum

Hiding in plain sight – in the storage of Cincinnati Art Museum’s East Asian art collection, a seemingly unremarkable bronze mirror from the 15th and 16th century China. Part of a vast collection of...
Wood burning, human fire use could date back a million years. Source: nikkytok/Adobe Stock

Human Fire Use Over A Million Years Ago Seems More Likely

There is no smoke without a fire, or so they say, and a group of scientists are applying this thinking to develop new methods to seek out when and where the earliest fire use was. And they have come...
The history of Egypt is very much the history of ancient Egyptian weapons and how they evolved. Here Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II charges his war chariot into battle against the Nubians in south Egypt. Source: Ahmed88z / CC BY-SA 4.0

Ancient Egyptian Weapons: The Evolution of Warfare

Anyone interested in the history of warfare or weaponry should make sure to look at ancient Egyptian weapons and how the Egyptian armies utilized their technological superiority. Whilst most famous...
Britain’s Earliest Humans Found In the Suburbs of Canterbury

Britain’s Earliest Humans Found In the Suburbs of Canterbury

Hunter's tools excavated in England over a century ago have been dated to, wait for it, between 560,000 and 620,000 years ago! These latest discoveries made on the outskirts of Canterbury confirm the...

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