All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

name

‘Scorpion King’s Domain’: The Oldest Place Name Sign in the World

‘Scorpion King’s Domain’: The Oldest Place Name Sign in the World

The oldest place name sign in the world has been found in Egypt. The inscription, which was etched into a rock in Wadi el Malik east of Aswan, dates back to the late fourth millennium BC. It names...
The Viking runestone was discovered by a farmer in southern Sweden when plowing his field. 	Source: Ingemar Lundgren / Västervik Museum

Runestone Discovered in Sweden Provides Window Into Viking Past

While plowing a field on his family farm in Småland, southern Sweden , Lennart Larsson came across a large stone. Larsson put the stone, which is 6 feet high (2 m) and 3 feet wide (1 m), to one side...
Crazy Viking face (khosrork / Adobe Stock)

Eight Harsh But Hilarious Viking Nick Names and How They Came About

Before surnames became commonplace, a method was needed to differentiate between two or more people with the same name. Many surnames in the English language today are a result of this - John Smith,...
Two actors from the History Channel series “Vikings.”

Survey Shows About Half of Brits Wish They Were Descended from Vikings…and Many Probably Are!

If you’re from the British Isles, do you ever wonder if you’re a descendant of the marauding Vikings known sometimes to rape and pillage far from home and other times to set up settlements and...
King Arthur monument in Tintagel, Cornwall.(left), Excalibur in Brocéliande Forest, Brittany, France.(right)

Has the King Arthur Gene Been Traced?

If stories of King Arthur and his knights are based on real people their DNA markers should still be with us today. New DNA research has perhaps found the King Arthur gene. The Genetic Lead R1b-L513...
Illustrations to Dante's "Divine Comedy" - "Minos" by William Blake.

In Search of the Mythical King Minos, Did the Legendary Ruler Really Exist?

When we think of Minos, two images immediately come to mind: (1) the legendary and cruel tyrant of Crete who demanded the tribute of Athenian youths to feed to the Minotaur in the Labyrinth and (2) a...
Yeti.

The Common Western Depiction of the Yeti is Wrong

In the folklore of Nepal, the Yeti is an ape-like being that is taller than a human. It is said to live in the Himalayan region of Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. The people of that region use the names...
Artist’s interpretation of activity in and around Lake Titicaca

For a Metal or Forgotten Parents: The Mysterious Origins of Lake Titicaca’s Name

Value, status, memory, family… These are ideals encompassed in names. Across cultures, the naming of persons and places hold varying levels of significance. The Norse named their swords; the Scottish...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Heidi Kontkanen, Dave Rudin, and Dmitry Denisenkov); Deriv.

Was Tutankhamun’s Coronation Delayed? Making sense of the Ascendance of Pharaoh Aye

One of ancient Egypt’s best-kept secrets is the identity of the mysterious Amarna Period royal, Smenkhkare. Who, after all, was he or she? Scholars have offered a bouquet of possible candidates...
A photo of the Kushim Tablet.

Leaving A Mark in History: The Oldest Known Named Person

The oldest named person that we know belongs to an individual from Sumer, one of the earliest urban civilisations in southern Mesopotamia, in present day Iraq. A person’s name is an integral part of...