All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

Europe

Ancient places can be found all over Europe. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and open up a window on European history. Visiting such ancient places in Europe 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 Europe, as well as new discoveries of ancient places that are worth paying a visit.

Cropped section of the cover of The Giants of Stonehenge and Ancient Britain by Hugh Newman and Jim Vieira. Source: Author provided.

Top Ten Giant Discoveries in Ancient Britain

Did giants ever really exist in the British Isles? Can legends of giants building Stonehenge really be true? Why does the establishment deny that giants of Great Britain ever existed? Here is a...
Remains of the wooden wharfs of the French medieval port being excavated at the base of Chateau Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, Vendée, France.		Source: Emmanuelle Collado / Inrap

Surprise 10th Century Medieval Port Discovered In Western France

Archaeologists in western France have been up to their elbows excavating enormous oak ship timbers at a “surprise” 10th-century medieval port, where evidence of wine production, fishing trade, and...
Statue of Romulus and Remus suckling on a she wolf. Their famous story was one of attempted Roman infanticide but were saved by the she wolf, now a major symbol of the Roman Empire. 						Source: borzywoj / Adobe Stock

Does Roman Infanticide Explain the Mass Infant Burial Discovered in England?

Between 43 AD and 410 AD, huge swathes of Britain were under the control of the Roman Empire and funerary practices were mostly Christian, but also included the practice of Roman infanticide...
Ancient Olympia Source: Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Hellenic Republic

Microsoft AI Recreates Ancient Greece’s Olympia as it Stood 2,000 Years Ago

Ancient Olympia has been recreated by Microsoft. This means that from the comfort of your own armchair, you can login, and take a spectacular augmented reality 3d tour of this iconic ancient site...
Capuchin Catacombs and the 'Sleeping Beauty' mummy

The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo and Their Most Famous Mummy

Human beings have always had a fascination with death. In some cultures, the dead are never left alone, but continue to interact with the living. For instance, some set up ancestor cults to...
The ‘slave room’ found in Villa Civita Giuliana in Pompeii. Source: Pompeii Archaeological Park

Horrific Slave Room Discovered in Pompeii’s Civita Giuliana

A well-preserved slave room has been discovered at Villa Civita Giuliana , a wealthy suburb of Pompeii located about 700 meters (2296.59 ft.) northwest of the city walls. This large and exuberant...
The La Tene culture Laténium landing stage in Hauterive on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland.		Source: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / CC BY 2.0

How the Great La Tene Culture Changed Iron Age Europe

Speaking of the Iron Age, most people first think of wild barbarian tribes wielding their crude swords and tools made from iron. But the truth is often very far from this. This important age in world...
Balaam and the Angel, who is said to be the evil angel or Jewish Satan Mastema, by the painter Gustav Jaeger. 		Source: Gustav Jäger/ Public domain

The Jewish Satan Mastema and the Cosmic War Against God

The earliest Jewish accounts did not have a clear Satan figure, but one of the earliest to be named was Mastema. Mastema is portrayed as the adversary of God. Mastema has his origin in the Jewish...
Bran Castle in central Romania has a long history and relates to Count Dracula too!		Source: Dobre Cezar / CC BY-SA 3.0 RO

Bran Castle, Better Known As Dracula’s Castle, Has A Long History!

Bran Castle is a medieval castle located in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. The castle was built during the 14th century, though an earlier fortification stood in the area during the preceding...
Pazzi chapel, Santa Croce Florence, stills stands, but after the Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici family, the Pazzis were banished and had to change their name. 		Source: adisa / Adobe Stock

The Pazzi Conspiracy: How A Florentine Family Failed And Was Banished

The Pazzi Conspiracy was a plot during the 15th century to overthrow the Medici family, who controlled Florence at the time. The conspirators, led by the Pazzi family, aimed to achieve their goal by...
Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, marries Agilulf, duke of Turin, in a painting by Fratelli Zavattari. Source: Fratelli Zavattari / Public domain

The Lombards: The “Barbaric” Germanic Warriors Who Changed Italy

As the Roman Empire crumbled, the history of the ancient world was undoubtedly marked and shaped by more than one powerful Germanic tribe. From their oldest roots, they developed into iconic ethnic...
Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle, is a Gothic-Renaissance castle in Hunedoara, Romania. Photo source: Adrianstanica.ro / CC BY-SA 4.0

Renaissance-Gothic Corvin Castle: One of the Seven Wonders of Romania

Corvin Castle is a castle in Hnedoara, a city in Transylvania, Romania. The castle dates to the 15th century and was built in the Renaissance-Gothic style. The builder of Corvin Castle was John...
Dunnideer Hill in Scotland. Source: Scott K Marshall / Adobe Stock

Data Testing Julian Cope’s Dunnideer Hill Alignments Theory

In his popular guidebook to British prehistoric monuments, The Modern Antiquaria n, rock musician and poet Julian Cope proposed that a distinctive Aberdeenshire hill in Scotland , the 264 meter (866...
A female ghost (Public Domain) and Stirling Castle

Female Phantoms of Stirling Castle: Ghostly Encounters with a Handmaiden and Her Queen

Approaching Stirling Castle in the day time is rather daunting. Filled with the scent of ancient dust, damp stone, and dew-covered grass, the palace exudes magic from the moment one steps inside its...
Craco, Italy

Craco: The Abandoned Medieval Ghost Town of Italy

For nearly fifty years, the town of Craco in southern Italy has stood uninhabited. Here, dark windows look out at potential travelers like empty eye sockets and the streets and buildings of this...
An aerial view of the Latvian shipwreck as it was found in deep beach sand near the country’s capital, Riga.		Source: Rigas Brivosta

Mysterious 40 Foot Latvian Shipwreck Unearthed On the Beach Near Riga

A 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) Latvian shipwreck has been found on a beach near the country’s capital, Riga. Might this be the ghostly remains of a lost British Royal Navy warship? Or perhaps, it’s a...
The rock slab at Trachilos, Crete, where the 6-million-year-old hominin Crete footprints were first discovered in 2002.	Source: Olaf Tausch / CC BY 3.0

Cretan Footprints Challenge Darwin’s Out of Africa Theory, Says Study

The evolution of human bipedalism is supposed to be 4 million years old, beginning with primates, which caused the separation of the first hominids from the rest of the four-legged apes. Walking on...
The Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 AD claimed countless lives including a man who almost made it to the beach at Herculaneum. 		Source: James Steidl / Adobe Stock

Mutilated Remains of a Man Trying to Escape Vesuvius Eruption Found

Mount Vesuvius occupies a very special place in the fables and tales of not just the Neapolitans of the southwestern Italy, but also in accounts written by the Greeks and Romans. The Romans saw...
Hallstatt, an idyllic lakeside town that was oblivious of its grandiose history as the birthplace of the Hallstatt culture until 1846.          Source: janoka82 / Adobe Stock

The Powerful Hallstatt Culture: Foundation of the Proto-Celtic World

The European Bronze Age was the cradle of many world-changing cultures and civilizations. As it shifted towards the new and revolutionary Iron Age , it saw the emergence of the famed Hallstatt...
According to the latest study, the Iron Age diet of Europeans was rich in grains, fermented blue cheese, and beer. 		Source: wideonet / Adobe Stock

The Iron Age Diet: Lots Of Blue Cheese and Beer, Poop Study Shows

Research on poop samples, or palaeofaeces, preserved in the underground salt mines of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hallstatt in Austria has revealed startling new facts about the Iron Age diet...
The Doge’s Palace in Saint Mark’s Square, Venice. Source: Mapics / Adobe Stock.

The Republic of Venice, The Greatest Jewel of the Mediterranean?

To visit Venice is a dream of every passionate traveler. The city, crisscrossed with channels and marvelous relics of art and culture, is one of Italy’s most sought-after tourist destinations. But...
View of the Romanelli Cave in Italy. 	Source: Sigari et. al. / Antiquity Publications Ltd

New Stone Age Rock Art Discovered at Romanelli Cave

Expert researchers with an interest in ancient European rock art have just completed an exhaustive study of Romanelli Cave, an impressively decorated rock art site located on the southeastern tip of...
: England’s Althorp House, Lady Diana’s family home, is the center of a huge estate on which archaeologists discovered a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal camp.		Source: Steve Daniels / The rear of Althorp House / CC BY-SA 2.0

Neanderthal Camp Discovered at Princess Diana’s Althorp House Estate

At Althorp House, the stately home on the late Princess Diana’s family estate northwest of central London, excavations have led archaeologists to suspect that its known history may be predated by...
Derbent: Contested Ancient City Stronghold on the Silk Road

Derbent: Contested Ancient City Stronghold on the Silk Road

Nestled between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, the Russian city of Derbent and its famed citadel tells the story of ancient power struggles to control the Silk Road trade route which...

Pages