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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Ancient Writings

There are literally thousands of incredible texts that have survived from the ancient world, which are etched onto copper, beautifully inscribed on papyrus, chipped onto tablets, and even written using the ink of ground down gold and precious stones. Here we feature many ancient writings, which have served to open a window onto the daily lives of our ancestors and enhanced the knowledge we hold about our ancient past.

One of the Sinaia lead plates. Source: Vatra Stră-Rumînă
2 April, 2022 - 22:47 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Sinaia Lead Plates: Dacian Treasure Trove or Impressive Fakes?

It was 1875 when 200 mysterious artifacts known as the Sinaia lead plates unexpectedly turned up at the Museum of Antiquities in Bucharest, Romania. They were all rectangular, apart from one, and...
The lead curse tablet found on Mount Ebal. Source: Michael C. Luddeni | Associates for Biblical Research (ABR)
26 March, 2022 - 17:47 Sahir

Curse Tablet Found on Mount Ebal Suggests Early Literacy Came to Israel

One of two mountains in the West Bank, Mount Ebal occupies a special place in the hearts and mythology of the Israelites, but not in the most positive light. In advance of the entry of the Jews into...
Scanning the Mali manuscripts, which are now under the protection of SAVAMA-DCI, who are digitizing the rescued artifacts. Source: Mali Magic / Google Arts & Culture
11 March, 2022 - 17:30 Sahir

Mali Manuscripts Rescued and Digitized to Celebrate the Malian Renaissance

Mali has recently been in the news for its decision to oust French troops from its territory. The French were originally summoned to prevent jihadists from taking control over Africa’s eighth-largest...
A rare Pictish stone discovered near the site of the Battle of Nechtansmere in Scotland. Source: University of Aberdeen
8 March, 2022 - 18:21 ashley cowie

Rare Pictish Stone Uncovered in Scotland’s Birthplace

Archaeologists in Scotland have unearthed a carved Pictish stone which might be associated with the formation of the nation in what has been dubbed “the find of a lifetime.” When describing the...
Pages from the 15th century medieval manuscript the Talbot Shrewsbury Book. Source: British Library / Public domain
18 February, 2022 - 13:59 Sahir

Lost Lovers and Heroes: 90% of Medieval Manuscripts Have Not Survived

A study comparing the survival of medieval manuscripts and tales from regions around Europe has arrived at some stark conclusions about the preservation of the medieval European past. A vast majority...
Literature’s first vampiress was called Carmilla. Source: Subbotina Anna / Adobe Stock
4 February, 2022 - 18:00 Aleksa Vučković

The Story of Carmilla: Literature’s First Vampire Was Actually a Woman

The novel Dracula , written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897, became a cult classic of horror literature throughout the world. It brought vampire legends to a wider audience and captivated...
Pictorial ostracon with a baboon and an ibis, the two sacred animals of Thoth, the god of wisdom, one of 18,000 pottery fragments unearthed at the ancient northern Egyptian city of Athribis. Source: Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
2 February, 2022 - 13:55 ashley cowie

18,000 Pottery Fragments Speak of Life in Ancient Athribis, Egypt

Archaeologists in Egypt have interpreted the text and images on 18,000 pottery fragments. Not only do they tell of ancient Athribis trading culture, but they also detail school punishments. The 18,...
Blue glowing ball lightning, a phenomenon that was reported in medieval times, with the earliest English reference now confirmed to be 450 years before the previous known mention in an English historical text. Source: sakkmesterke / Adobe Stock
29 January, 2022 - 00:53 Nathan Falde

English Benedictine Monk Describes Ball Lightning in 1195 AD Text!

A pair of academics from Durham University in the United Kingdom have discovered an 827-year-old reference to an unusual weather-related phenomenon in an obscure medieval English text. While...
Close up of the Liber Linteus. Source: Curious Expeditions / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
16 January, 2022 - 14:00 dhwty

The Liber Linteus: An Egyptian Mummy Wrapped in a Cryptic Message

In 1798, the French under Napoleon Bonaparte launched a military campaign in Egypt. Along with soldiers and military personnel, Napoleon brought a large number of scholars and scientists known as...
The Shepherds of Arcadia, by Nicolas Poussin, is reproduced on the Shepherd’s Monument, along with the Shugborough Inscription. Source: Public domain
14 January, 2022 - 14:00 mrreese

The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription

In the grounds of Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England, sits an 18th-century monument known as the Shepherd’s Monument. The monument contains a relief, depicting a copy of a Nicolas Poussin...
Example of Vai script, which researchers believe can provide insight into the development of writing. Source: British Library
13 January, 2022 - 14:00 ashley cowie

Vai Script Invented in the 1800s Sheds Light On the Development of Writing

An isolated African script is revealing secrets about the unknown evolutionary origins of handwriting and the development of writing. The Vai script was created just two centuries ago to solve the...
Archaeologist Ingeborg Hornkjøl unearthing an ancient stick with runic writing. Source: Tone Bergland / NIKU
12 January, 2022 - 17:42 ashley cowie

Rare Runic Writing Unearthed in Norway

In December 2021, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) announced that rare runic writing has been discovered in Oslo carved into the faces of a stick and a large animal bone...
The bronze plate pieces of the Roman military diploma found in the ancient Anatolian city of Perre or modern-day Adiyaman, Turkey. Source: Anadolu Agency
4 January, 2022 - 18:00 Sahir

1,898-year-old Roman Military Diploma Gives Citizenship Rights

Archaeologists have found an ancient Roman military diploma dating to 123 AD in Turkey’s ancient city of Perre (modern day Adiyaman). The latest round of excavations, which have been carried out...
Birch bark letter no. 1144 from the 12th century excavation layer. Source: Institute of Archaeology RAS
29 December, 2021 - 01:00 aprilholloway

Birch Bark Letters Found in Russia are an Ancient Time Capsule

Researchers excavating an estate dating back to the 12th and 15th century, have discovered a complete birch bark letter in the historic city center of Veliky Novgorod in north-western Russia. The...
Depiction of the Sea People during naval battle with Egyptians as depicted on the temple of Ramses III in Medinet Abu, Egypt. Source: AlternatHistory
24 December, 2021 - 14:00 Doug Mears

Ramses III Verses the Sea People & the End of the Bronze Age

The end of the 3,000-year-long Bronze Age was one of the most violent periods in history. Hittites and Egypt are usually cited as the last remaining major powers until a recently translated stone...
According to the ancient text, Judas used a kiss to identify Jesus due to his abilities as a shapeshifter. Source: The Morgan Library & Museum
16 December, 2021 - 17:22 aprilholloway

The Ancient Text That Describes Jesus as a Shapeshifter

It was in March 2013 when reports flooded the headlines about a newly deciphered Egyptian text, dating back almost 1,200 years, which controversially described Jesus as having the ability to change...
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...
Anastasiia Stupko-Lubczynska documenting reliefs in the Chapel of Hatshepsut. Source: Agnieszka Makowska / Antiquity Publications Ltd
16 November, 2021 - 23:03 Sahir

Chapel of Hatshepsut Reliefs Uncover Master-Apprentice Relationship

Scientists have published fascinating new research into the reliefs found within the Chapel of Hatshepsut, an ode to the 5th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty who ruled between 1479 and 1458. Each of these...
Selection of the Persian clay tablets that were reevaluated in the study. Source: ILNA
12 November, 2021 - 13:57 ashley cowie

Clay Tablets Reveal Persians Paid with Silver Coins… But is it News?

A new research paper claims to reveal new facts about the ancient Persian (Achaemenid) Empire. While headlines tell of the 33 Achaemenid clay tablets determining that Persian laborers were paid wages...
Detail; Byzantine Alexander Romance, Venice, 14th century.
4 November, 2021 - 13:02 David Grant

Fact or Fiction? The Obscure Origins of the Greek Alexander Romance

The Greek Alexander Romance , often referred to as a ‘pseudo-Callisthenes’ production, is in one form or another one of the most influential and widely read books of all time; it has birthed a whole...
Deriv; Hawaiian Tiki carvings and Easter Island statues with Rongorongo script
6 October, 2021 - 01:56 Clyde Winters

Was there a Common Writing System used by Pacific Islanders?

In 2016 two tourists found engraved petroglyphs on a Hawaiian Beach. This was an important find because it suggested that the ancient Polynesians had a common writing system which was used from...
Image portraying North America discovered by a Viking ship. A 14th-century Latin text now proves the Vikings knew about North America. Source: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock
4 October, 2021 - 18:39 Nathan Falde

Pre-Columbian Latin Text Proves Early Knowledge of the Americas

The accepted mainstream story has long been that no one in southern or western Europe knew anything about the Americas before the discoveries associated with the voyages of Columbus. But a new...
Cuneiform tablet from Van fortress, Turkey Source: Konstantin / Adobe Stock
21 September, 2021 - 14:49 ashley cowie

AI Model Is Solving 4,500-Year-Old Cuneiform Translation Mysteries

Archaeologists just got infinitely smarter. AI is now successfully predicting lost passages of ancient texts, meaning 4,500-year-old cuneiform tablets, with missing sections, can now read. A deep-...
10th Century Astronomical Text of Abd-al Rahman al-Sufi Unveiled
17 September, 2021 - 22:55 Sahir

10th Century Astronomical Text of Abd-al Rahman al-Sufi Unveiled

The “suwar al-kawakib" or the Book of Fixed Stars is a 10th century astronomical Arabic text, authored by the famed scholar Abd-al Rahman al-Sufi in the year 964 AD. It was produced by the powerful...

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