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.
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...
A diver in Israel has discovered a rare 900-year-old Crusader sword among a collection of ancient artifacts. This massive weapon, that was once welded by a legendary Crusader knight , was found not...
What is believed to be the world’s oldest depiction of a ghost has recently been found on a Babylonian tablet, neglected in the vaults of the British Museum in London since its acquisition in the...
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...
Tiwanaku – one of the largest Pre-Columbian settlements and archaeological sites, located in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, has hotly debated origins. Even its name, or what would have been...
The German aristocrat Anne of Cleves was the fourth of Henry VIII’s six wives , marrying the king on January 6, 1540. Before Anne ever set foot on English soil, Henry dispatched his court artist, the...
Excavations at an Ice Age hunter-gatherer camp in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert have revealed the oldest known evidence of tobacco use found so far. The discovery took place at the Wishbone site and...
In the shallow coastal waters along the eastern shore of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, low tide brings a remarkable sight. When the tides are out and the tidelands of Comox Bay are revealed,...
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...
Russia’s Pegtymel petroglyphs, 2,000-year-old artworks found in a remote area of Arctic Russia, have been revealed to show scenes of hunting, and ritual hallucinogenic mushroom use. The telling...
Two Bavarian graves unearthed during excavations in the southern German town of Deiningen have generated exceptional interest among archaeologists. The two graves were in excellent condition when...
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...
A pair of 5,000-year-old Egyptian sphinx statues have sold for just under £200,000 ($270000) at auction. The owner was “shocked” having paid only £300 ($407) for the “garden ornaments”. Sphinxes are...
The largest and most advanced wine production facility in the Byzantine world was constructed in fourth or fifth century Palestine, specifically in the city of Yavne near Israel’s Mediterranean coast...
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...
Among their many talents, the ancient Romans were pioneers in the art of concrete making and construction. The quality of Roman concrete used to build their aqueducts, tombs, bath houses, piers,...
Homer’s Iliad , a classical ancient Greek tale from the 8th century BC, contains a brief, 6-line description of the famous 2,800-year-old Nestor’s Cup, which was the subject of a great deal of...
Until now it was believed that the Azores island group was discovered by Portuguese sailors in the 15th century. However, a new study shows Norse explorers had brought animals to the islands 700...
The Vikings are it again! The much-feared Norse seafarers and pirates who terrorized Europe between the 8th and 11th centuries are still causing trouble today. In the town of Kirkcudbright in the...
An innovative and groundbreaking digital archaeology tool will give members of the public an opportunity to explore thousands of archaeological sites all around England, visually and by reading...
A new study in PLOS ONE demonstrates how ancient humans in the Middle East crafted and used sophisticated fishing tackle as early as 10,000 BC. With these fishing tools, they hunted for ancient...
Hoping, perhaps, to lay their hands on something comparable to the famed Elmali Treasures, looters used explosives to break through the entrance of a 2,500-year-old Lycian rock-cut tomb in the Elmali...
Easter Island is best known for its gigantic stone monumental statues . But it has produced a number of other intriguing artifacts, including wooden rongorongo tablets and other items inscribed with...
A 17-centimeter (6.7 inch) tall Roman Venus figurine has been discovered by archaeologists in the city of Gloucester, England. This 1,800-year-old find has created considerable excitement in the...
