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Artifacts

There are undoubtedly millions of ancient artifacts from the past that have served to shed light on the lives of our ancestors from many millennia ago. But some ancient mystical artifacts stand out for their uniqueness, their intrigue, or their ability to expand our knowledge about previously unknown aspects of our history. Here we feature many such ancient history artifacts, from amazing examples of ancient technology, to artistic masterpieces, unexplained objects, ancient texts, and mysterious artifacts that shed light on the daily lives of our ancestors.

AI illustration of prehistoric tribe using their spears. Source: de Art/ Adobe Stock
13 February, 2024 - 23:54 Robbie Mitchell

Weapons of the Stone Age - How Throwing Evolved in Ancient Man (Video)

Ancient humans , in their quest for survival, honed their skills in weaponry, evolving from rudimentary tools to sophisticated arms. One pivotal development was the utilization of throwing rocks, or...
Advanced Ancient Inventions. Source: danflcreativo/Adobe Stock, Public Domain, Public Domain, NearEMPTiness/ CC BY-SA 3.0)
11 February, 2024 - 21:41 ancient origins

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

By Tara MacIsaac , Epoch Times We’ve lost the secret to making some of history’s most useful inventions, and for all of our ingenuity and discoveries, our ancestors of thousands of years ago are...
Outside; Virgin Mary and Skull rosary bead, the star of the PAS 2022 Annual report launch. Center; Source: Portable Antiquities Scheme
11 February, 2024 - 16:37 Gary Manners

UK Declared a Land Full of Hidden Treasure By British Museum

While Caroline Nunneley was exploring the Thames' shores in London, meticulously searching the mud on all fours for archaeological treasures, she encountered an unexpected find: a small, intricately...
Rongorongo Tablet D engraved with the undeciphered script. Source: (© Museum Archives of the Congregazione dei Sacri Cuori di Gesu e Maria, 3D model Produced by ERC INSCRIBE Project, based at the University of Bologna)
10 February, 2024 - 21:47 Nathan Falde

Undeciphered Rongorongo Script Found on Easter Island Predates European Contact

There has long been an air of mystery and intrigue surrounding a set of wooden tablets with writing on them found on the tiny, remote South Pacific island of Rapa Nui (more commonly known as Easter...
Scene on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Source: British Museum
10 February, 2024 - 16:53 Patrick Fresne

Does the Iconic Plate on the Gundestrup Cauldron Depict an Ancient Poem?

Amid the vivid imagery adorning the plates of the Gundestrup Cauldron lies an enigma that has captivated successive generations of scholars. The question lingers: What lies behind these scenes, so...
The project team at the start of work at the end of 2018 in the University Library's manuscript collection with (from left) Markéta Preininger, Korshi Dosoo and Edward O. D. Love. Source: Gunnar Bartsch / Universität Würzburg
9 February, 2024 - 13:25 ashley cowie

Translated Egyptian Magical Texts Map Human Emotions

After five years of research two German scientists have published translations of a collection of Egyptian magical texts. Cutting through the love spells, curses and protection rituals, this work...
Excavations of a city wall belonging to the ancient city of Gan which existed near the modern-day city of Puyang in China. It was here that the bone slips were uncovered. Source: China News Service
8 February, 2024 - 21:49 Nathan Falde

Bone Slips Excavated in Central China Linked to Ancient Fortune-Telling

During excavations at a 2,500-year-old archaeological site in Puyang, China, a set of 10 polished and painted bone slips or sticks were unearthed, all of which were inscribed with an ancient Chinese...
The bone, black henbane seeds and tar plug used to keep it sealed. Source: BIAC Consult
8 February, 2024 - 00:00 Nathan Falde

For Pain or Pleasure? Poisonous Plant Henbane Used by the Romans

While digging at the site of a rural, first-century AD Roman settlement in Houten-Castellum in the Netherlands, archaeologists uncovered a most unusual artifact. Inside a hollowed-out animal bone,...
Replicas of the Treasure of Villena. Source: Public Domain
7 February, 2024 - 16:52 Sahir

Treasure of Villena Reveals Traces of Extraterrestrial Iron!

A dazzling Bronze Age hoard, discovered 60 years ago in Spain, referred to as the Treasure of Villena, and dating back to the period between 2200 and 750 BC, has now been found to possess ‘extra-...
Left; One of the Herculaneum scrolls that are being deciphered. Right; Text from the Herculaneum scroll Source: Vesuvius Challenge
6 February, 2024 - 21:15 ashley cowie

AI Tool Deciphers Herculaneum Scroll, and It’s All About Pleasure!

A team of student researchers have combined 3D-mapping and AI to decipher a Greek scroll that was encased in ash during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The philosophical musing reveals Greek...
Archaeologists at Déri Museum made a significant discovery: a fully intact lamellar armor was unearthed from a solitary Early Avar warrior burial, near the border of Ebes, Hungary. Source: Déri Museum/Hungarian Museums
6 February, 2024 - 16:26 Sahir

7th Century Armored Avar Warrior Buried with Horse Uncovered in Hungary

Archaeologists from the Déri Museum have unveiled an exciting find: the burial of an Avar warrior accompanied by a fully intact ‘lamellar’ armor set within a solitary early Avar tomb. This discovery...
The Roman funerary bed during excavations in London and a reconstruction of the bed. Source: MOLA
5 February, 2024 - 21:56 ashley cowie

“Flat-Packed” Roman Funerary Bed Found in London

In 2019 I wrote a news article on Ancient Origins about the UK’s first “flat-pack” medieval home. Now, archaeologists in London have announced their discovery of an incredibly well-made, and...
1700, Cellarius Map of Asia, Europe and Africa according to Strabo. (Right) Drawing of Strabo. Source: PicturePast/Adobe Stock, Public Domain
1 February, 2024 - 13:44 Robbie Mitchell

Strabo's Geographica: A Grand Tour of the Ancient World

Strabo, a prominent Greek geographer, historian, and philosopher born around 64 BC, left an undeniable mark on ancient geography with his magnum opus, " Geographica ." This monumental work,...
Undated photo of a mosaic jade mask discovered inside an ancient Maya tomb dating back 1,700 years in Chochkitam, Guatemala, near the borders of what are now Mexico and Belize, on July 1, 2022. Source: Francisco Estrada-Belli/Tulane University
31 January, 2024 - 13:44 Sahir

Haunting Jade Mask and Inscribed Bones Unearthed In Guatemala

An ancient Maya tomb, dating back 1,700 years, has been uncovered at the site of Chochkitam in Guatemala, near the border of modern-day Mexico and Belize. This looted, pyramid tomb revealed an...
Between 34,000 and 24,000 years ago, diverse European cultures from the Gravettian period utilized marine shells, teeth, beads, and other ornaments for personal adornment, shown here. Source: J. Baker, et al/Nature
30 January, 2024 - 16:47 Sahir

Prehistoric Jewelry Unveils 9 Distinct Paleolithic European Cultures

A fascinating new study has explored the cultural behavior of prehistoric humans in Europe from tens of thousands of years ago, and learnt that our ancestors adorned themselves with a diverse array...
Left; Bronze metalwork deposited at Papowo Biskupie. Right; Hypothetical reconstruction of the necklace recovered from Papowo Biskupie worn by a model in traditional clothing. Source: A. Piasecka/ Antiquity Publications Ltd
29 January, 2024 - 16:52 Sahir

Dried Lakebed Site Reveals Game Changing Bronze Age Jewelry of Chełmno Culture

Archaeologists in Poland have unearthed a trove of over 550 pieces of Bronze Age jewelry believed to have been part of an ancient burial ceremony. Discovered at the Papowo Biskupie site, which was...
Landscape of Rancho Quemado, where the Treasure Cave is located with, inset, the atlatl and two wooden darts, found in Treasure Cave, Querétaro, Mexico Source: Jesús E. Medina V./ INAH
29 January, 2024 - 14:00 ancient-origins

Hunting Instruments Dating Back 1,900 Years Discovered in Mexican Cave

In a small gallery of the Cueva del Tesoro, in Cadereyta de Montes, Querétaro, authorities have recovered one of the few sets of hunting tools from pre-Hispanic times discovered so far in Mexico. It...
Detail of the Wallace sword on display inside William Wallace monument. Source: Public Domain
26 January, 2024 - 17:00 Kerry Sullivan

Was the Wallace Sword Truly Wielded by the Famous Scottish ‘Braveheart’?

Many times, evidence of fantastic finds vanishes, leaving behind only legends (think the Tulli Papyrus or Robin Hood’s Hideout). However, sometimes, fabulous artifacts from history manage to survive...
Representation of Nuestra Señora de Atocha galleon generated by AI. Source: FrankBoston/Adobe Stock
24 January, 2024 - 16:58 ashley cowie

Treasures of Nuestra Señora de Atocha $1Billion Cargo Displayed In New York

In September 1622, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha treasure ship sunk near the Florida Keys. Now, its $1.1billion cargo of plundered indigenous treasures, including a stunning Colombian emerald crucifix...
A close up of the woman buried with neck rings at the 1000-year-old burial site found near Kyiv, Ukraine. Source: Courtesy of Vyacheslav Baranov/National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
23 January, 2024 - 23:50 Gary Manners

Bizarrely Adorned Ancient Burials Found In Ukraine

A recently unearthed cemetery in Ukraine, dating back 1,000 years, has yielded an array of fascinating finds, including weapons, jewelry, and, unusually, buckets positioned around the feet of some of...
Conservator Bethan Bryan with the Roman arm guard. Source: Duncan McGlynn / National Museums Scotland
22 January, 2024 - 23:56 ashley cowie

“Absolutely Amazing” Roman Arm Guard Pieced Together After 1,800 Years

Over 100 years ago, a Scot unearthed over 100 fragments of metal which he thought comprised a Roman chest guard. Now, National Museums Scotland have reconstructed the artifact and discovered that it...
The Parthenon Centaur displayed in the National Museum in Copenhagen. Source: Courtesy of The National Museum of Denmark/Heritage Science Journal
22 January, 2024 - 16:54 ancient origins

Despite Intensive Scientific Analyses, Parthenon Marble Stain Remains a Mystery

For almost 200 years, archaeologists have been puzzled by a mysterious brown stain on the ancient Greek Parthenon temple in Greece. Now, researchers have conducted new scientific analyses, and their...
Images of Mysterious Rock Art. Source: JSirlin/Adobe Stock; ©John Wombell; ©Salima Ikram; ©Amit Bhardwaj/Times of India; Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland
21 January, 2024 - 17:00 Joanna Gillan

Ten Mysterious Rock Art Examples from the Ancient World

Rock paintings and engravings are among the world’s oldest continuously practiced art form and are as diverse as the wide-ranging cultures and civilizations that have produced them. Depictions of...
Various shots of the mosaic now confirmed dated to the 5th century at Chedworth Roman Villa. Source: Stephen Haywood/Ian Shaw/ © National Trust Images
20 January, 2024 - 16:53 Sahir

Roman Mosaic Date Brightens Up Britain’s Dark Ages in More Ways Than One

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it’s popularly believed that its fall to ‘barbaric’ forces by the beginning of the 5th century, plunged all of Europe into a ‘Dark Age’, where towns and villas...

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