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.

The Judean desert has numerous caves, which provided refuge for Jewish resistance to Roman rule. The Cave of Letters got its name from the recovered cache of documents related to the Bar Kochba Revolt Source: Pavel Bernshtam / Adobe Stock

3 November, 2022 - 21:18 Molly Dowdeswell

Cave of Letters: Probably the Most Important Cave For Ancient Jewish History

The Cave of Letters is quite literally a cave of secrets. Rediscovered by archaeologists in the 1960s, its contents told of uprisings as well as everyday life in ancient Israel. What at first...

30 October, 2022 - 17:50 Sahir

Perfectly Preserved Byzantine Business and Gastronomy District Discovered in Turkey

Archaeologists have uncovered a “sensational” find in Ephesus (also spelled Ephesos), an ancient Greek city which was destroyed suddenly in 614-15 AD, located in modern-day Turkey’s Izmir province...

North gate of the city of Resafa, site of Hisham's palace and court. Source: Dario Bajurin / Adobe Stock

17 October, 2022 - 18:40 Robbie Mitchell

Hisham’s Palace: Insight into Early Islamic Architecture

Hisham’s Palace, or Khirbat Al Mafjar, is an important early Islamic archaeological site, and one of the few surviving antiquities of the Roman and Byzantine eras in the West Bank area. Located just...

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

16 October, 2022 - 22:50 Robbie Mitchell

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...

An ancient burial mound in Poland, Tumuli in Wesiory (representational image). Artur Henryk / Adobe Stock

9 October, 2022 - 15:00 Sahir

Over 800 Ancient Monuments Found in Polish Forest with LiDAR!

One of the last primeval forests in Europe, Białowieża forest in Poland , is the subject of a fascinating new LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey. It has yielded a vast and incredible array of...

Drone photograph of the excavations of the royal hall unearthed at Rendlesham. Source: Suffolk County Council

5 October, 2022 - 18:51 Sahir

1,400-Year-Old Royal Hall of East Anglian Kings Unearthed in Suffolk

An ongoing community archaeology project in southeast Suffolk, known as Rendlesham Revealed , has uncovered a royal hall “of international importance” dating back 1,400 years. Termed the “Hall of the...

2 October, 2022 - 19:01 ashley cowie

Baby Slings Were a Thing 10,000 Years Ago, New Discovery Reveals

A team of archaeologists have studied the remains of a 10,000-year-old baby with high technology. Their new paper not only found signs of ritual burial, but it reveals that baby carriers, or baby...

Valley of the Tower of Tombs, ruins of ancient Palmyra in Syrian desert Source: Monik-a / Adobe Stock

30 September, 2022 - 01:53 Robbie Mitchell

Piecing Together the Lost Mitanni Empire

The Mitanni Empire was established in 1475 BC and was disestablished in 1260 BC. It was one of the biggest and most powerful nations of its time, and its influence spread far and wide. Yet you’ve...

Reconstructed face of a medieval woman from the 14th century, who was buried at Whithorn Priory, Galloway, Scotland. Source: Dr Chris Rynn / University of Dundee

28 September, 2022 - 14:52 Sahir

The Medieval Faces of Whithorn Priory’s Cold Case Project Revealed

A three-dimensional likeness of a young woman buried at Galloway, Scotland’s Whithorn Priory, laid to rest at one of Scotland’s earliest Christian sites centuries ago, is about to be revealed. The...

The Neolithic mass grave found at Vráble, western Slovakia. Source: Ivan Cheben, Slovak Academy of Sciences / Slovak Spectator

27 September, 2022 - 22:53 Sahir

Mass Grave Found in Vráble: Slovakia’s Stone Age Decapitated Victims

Archaeologists digging at a Neolithic settlement site in Vrable, western Slovakia have unearthed a mass grave containing the headless remains of around three dozen people. The Vráble site is one of...

Massive Medusa heads under Istanbul lend support to the legend of the Medusa sarcophagus. Source: Goinyk / Adobe Stock

26 September, 2022 - 14:55 Mark Brophy

Did a Sultan Find Medusa’s Sarcophagus in the Basilica Cistern?

Nestled beneath the winding streets of Istanbul, just 490 feet (149 meters) from the Hagia Sophia, lies an ancient cistern that may have been the final resting place of Medusa! The Basilica Cistern,...

: An artist’s depiction of what the 7,000-year-old Neolithic roundel structure found near Prague would have looked like.Source: Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences

25 September, 2022 - 18:59 Sahir

Mysterious Roundel Older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids Found in Czech Republic

A stunning Neolithic roundel structure that is older than Stonehenge has been announced by Czech Republic archaeologists. The remains of this mysterious roundel structure have been dated to...

Archaeologists excavating a complicated triple burial at England’s Oakington Cambridgeshire site, which was used in the recent Nature study to determine the true impact of Anglo-Saxon migration on medieval eastern and southern England. Source: Nature

22 September, 2022 - 18:56 Sahir

Anglo-Saxon Migration Created a ‘European’ Medieval England

The history of the British Isles is marked by several phases of migration and multiple periods of monumental change, including invasions by the Romans, Vikings and the Normans, and mass migration by...

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.

21 September, 2022 - 18:58 Lex Leigh

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...

Pinned to the side of its cliff face is the Xuan Kong Si, also known as the Hanging Monastery of Mount Heng. (Public domain)

18 September, 2022 - 14:57 Cecilia Bogaard

15 Incredible Cliff Constructions from the Ancient World

Humans have created monumental constructions on cliff faces throughout the world. These striking architectural wonders have often times been inspired by the desire to come closer to the heavens or to...

Model reproduction of the Dispilio tablet at the prehistoric lakeside settlement of Dispilio in northern Greece. Source: Мико / CC BY-SA 4.0

16 September, 2022 - 22:55 johnblack

The Dispilio Tablet and the Real Origins of Writing

Conventional archaeology claims that writing was not invented until some time between 3000 and 4000 BC in Sumeria . However, the discovery of a far older artifact in northern Greece appears to...

This lower jaw tooth of an early human species, from roughly 1.8 million years ago, discovered at the Orozmani site in southern Georgia, provides more evidence that the first humans left Africa and wandered northeast. Source: Municipality Of Dmanisi

14 September, 2022 - 18:51 Sahir

Early Humans Out of Africa: 1.8 Myo Tooth Found in Orozmani, Georgia!

It was only a year ago, when the oldest hominin site outside Africa was discovered near the village of Kvemo Orozmani in southern Georgia. The 2021 Georgia discovery included stone tools and animal...

Dyfed Archaeological Trust diggers standing in front of the boxes of artifacts found at what is thought to be the medieval friary site in Haverfordwest, Wales. Source: Dyfed Archaeological Trust

13 September, 2022 - 18:58 Sahir

Unexplained Remains of Children Found Near Welsh Medieval Friary Site

A dig to find the location of a 600-year-old medieval friary in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, has resulted in the macabre discovery of countless human remains. So far, nearly 100 skeletons have been...

The medieval Bojnice castle in Slovakia is one of many real-life fairytale castles in Europe. Source: radu79 / Adobe Stock

12 September, 2022 - 14:51 Cecilia Bogaard

10 Real-life Fairytale Castles from Across Europe

The castles we see in movies and picture books were not just inspired by fantasy and imagination. In most cases they were based on real-life castles, many of which can be found in Europe. Evolving...

English Tourists in Campagna, one of many ancient tourist spots, by Carl Spitzweg. Source: Public domain

10 September, 2022 - 18:52 Lex Leigh

10 Tourist Spots That Ancient People Visited

Believe it or not, tourism has been around since the time of the Egyptians. Throughout history, ancient people used to travel not only for political and religious purposes, but also for leisure and...

A statue of a woman grieving the loss of a loved one at Staglieno Cemetery (mallorca78 / Adobe Stock)

10 September, 2022 - 14:54 Joanna Gillan

12 Hauntingly Beautiful Headstones of Staglieno Cemetery

There may be no other cemetery on earth that captures the emotion of love, loss and grief around death like Staglieno Cemetery in the Italian city of Genoa. With its stunningly life-like sculptures...

Fantasy image of a lost civilization underwater. Source: Максим Горбанев/ Adobe Stock

5 September, 2022 - 18:52 Lex Leigh

Nine Civilizations That Met Mysterious (and Unfortunate) Ends

One of the most fascinating subjects to study throughout history is the rise and fall of various civilizations. While in some cases we have an understanding of the evolution and downfall of these...

The largest ever dinosaur fossil in Europe, from a huge sauropod dinosaur, during excavations. Image: Photo courtesy of Instituto Dom Luiz / Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.

30 August, 2022 - 23:00 Sahir

Largest Ever Dinosaur Fossil Emerges from Portuguese Jurassic Backyard

The skeleton of a ginormous 82-foot (25-meter) long late-Jurassic dinosaur skeleton was found in central Portugal, which was accidentally unearthed in a man’s backyard in the city of Pombal back in...

Athens at sunset. Source: gatsi / Adobe Stock

19 August, 2022 - 01:59 Robbie Mitchell

Athens, Home of Democracy: From Antiquity to Modernity

We often think of ancient Athens as being the home of democracy, the place where it all started. And this is true. But the shocking truth is that Athens has spent the vast majority of its existence...

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