We bring you all the latest historical news and archaeological discoveries relating to ancient human history. Read more history news from around the world here at Ancient Origins.
For as long as humans have prayed, water has been a focus of divine adoration. Even the sight of water can spark wonder, terror and joy depending on whether it's a bubbling spring, the destructive...
2022 is shaping up to be a big year for colonial era discoveries in Central and South America. Only in May Ancient Origins covered the story of archaeologists studying “42 syphilis-ridden colonial...
A most peculiar medieval feature of Nottingham Old Market Square has been recreated using a new augmented reality (AR) app. Nottingham Market Wall divided the center of the city for almost 700 years...
An international team of archaeologists, anthropologists, and marine scientists has just published a landmark article in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology that details their research into...
A young Norwegian woman was browsing online for jewelry earlier this week, when she bought a jumbled collection of costume jewelry in an online auction. Upon receiving her purchase, she spotted a...
Archaeologists in Poland have been studying the mummy of a 2,000-year-old Egyptian woman who died young and evidence suggests she died from nose cancer. Scientists suspect this mummy could provide...
An 8,000-year-old "Mother Goddess" figurine has been uncovered at a Neolithic site in Israel. Why then, does she have “coffee-shaped” eyes? Located at the foot of the Golan Heights in the Jordan...
An extraordinary incident has helped archaeologists in Ukraine gain fresh insights into how Celtic culture influenced development in the lands of their country more than 2,000 years ago. The event in...
The Gezer fire that broke out on Monday in Israel’s Biblical Tel Gezer National Park was fierce and swift. Initial reports of the fire at Gezer “proclaimed” widespread damage to this protected and...
During the Late Stone Age, our prehistoric ancestors regularly constructed and presumably wore pendants covered with symbolic images. These pendants were often made out of animal bones and teeth, but...
Archaeologists and restorers working Mexico’s Palenque Palace have not only discovered a new entrance to the complex, but evidence that the roofs were painted red. Located within the Archaeological...
A perfectly preserved Peruvian Chimu culture sculpture in the form of an intriguing wooden figure, has been found at a ceremonial center near Chan Chan, Trujillo in northern Peru. Dated between 850...
The mayor of the Mexican town of San Pedro Huamelula, in the state of Oaxaca, has just done something pretty extraordinary. In a special wedding ceremony steeped in deep traditional beliefs, Mayor...
China loses it on a new national fad. Chinese museum authorities have turned its most recognized cultural artifact into an “ugly” flying horse toy. To begin with let’s look at the word “fad.” It...
A team of 65 Bournemouth University archaeology students exploring an Iron Age site in Dorset County in southwest England have been credited with a significant discovery. While digging at a location...
A vampire slaying kit has been sold for five times more than expected at an auction in Derbyshire, England. The sale of this bizarre box of artifacts, once believed to help guard against vampires,...
2,000-year-old frescoes dating back to the time of Emperor Hadrian will be on public display at the site of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. The frescoes, which belong to different time periods and...
A 5.5-inch-long pregnant Hermann’s tortoise was another casualty at Pompeii, but this time it was a different kind of natural disaster that caused death. It was an earthquake rather than the famous...
The lost tomb of the 10th century Viking King, Harald Bluetooth, has “probably” been identified “again.” When Old King Gorm died around 935 AD, the new Viking ruler of Denmark and Norway became...
The Roman empire has historically been associated with wine and winemaking. Now more about just how they produced the beverage that was consumed by practically all in the nation, rich or poor, has...
Archaeologists exploring Lindisfarne, an island known for its rich religious history - including the first Viking invasion - have recovered the oldest prayer beads ever found in England. While...
While carrying out routine field work in the Burren lowlands of County Galway in Ireland, field archaeologist Michael Gibbons discovered a Bronze Age fortress that may be almost 3,200 years old. The...
The ancient city of Kelenderis on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey is the site of the Greek Celenderis, a port and fortress in ancient Cilicia and later Isauria. From here, a furnace for commercial...
The analysis of over 2,500 Aramaic inscriptions in Palmyra in south-central Syria has helped solve a 100-year-old mystery. Two hundred texts, dated mainly to the 2nd and 3rd century AD have been...
