All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

Latest News

All the latest news on finds, advancements, and research in archaeology and ancient history, from the No 1 Ancient History website in the world

News

Medieval stargazers. People have been fascinated by the stars and their possible influence over our lives, long before and after the time of Babylonian astrology.

Complex Astronomical and Astrological Systems Detailed on Ancient Assyrian Tablets

Archaeologists studying a group of five unique stone tablets dating to the first millennium in Babylonia and Assyria have announced that they reveal a hitherto unknown level of astronomical...
A scene from The Ballad of Narayama

Ubasute: Is the Ancient Tradition of Dumping the Elderly in a Forest Encouraging Modern Murder?

Ubasute is an ancient practice from Japanese folklore in which a sick or elderly relative is dumped in a remote place to die. Although ubasute is attested in a number of Japanese legends , it is...
Osiris, Egyptian God of the Underworld

The Outstanding Story of Osiris: His Myth, Symbols, and Significance in Ancient Egypt

Osiris, the green-skinned god of the underworld, lord of the afterlife and judge of the dead, is one of the best-known gods from ancient Egypt. His story provided his followers with reassurance for...
Ancient ruins on High Island

Uninhabited Irish Island Complete with Ancient Ruins Is Up for Sale

The West Coast of Ireland has some of the finest scenery in the British Isles and indeed Western Europe. Its many islands such as Achill are renowned for their wild beauty. If you have ever dreamed...
Crucifixion

The Bizarre Crucifixion of Margaretta Peter: The Short Life of a Prodigy and Devoted Christian

Margaretta Peter was a Swiss woman who lived during the 19 th century. As a child, Margaretta was considered to have been a prodigy and was particularly noted for her religious zeal. As she grew up,...
Nineteenth-century painting depicting the Athenian politician Pericles delivering his famous funeral oration in front of the Assembly

The Ins and Outs and 'Idiots' of Greek Democracy

Greece, or more specifically the city state of Athens , is considered to be the birthplace of democracy. Athenian democracy is well-documented and served as a model for the democracies of other Greek...
Throne Hall of Dongola, Sudan

Throne Hall of Dongola: Hidden Christian Beginnings Revealed in the Walls of the Oldest Preserved Mosque in Sudan

Relatively little is known of Sudan beyond the borders of Africa even though it is a country which has been home to significant civilizations and has many fascinating archaeological sites. One of the...
Many Darkhads rely on herding for a living.

The Darkhad: Guardians of The Soul of Genghis Khan

The Darkhad are a Mongol tribe who live in northern Mongolia. In particular, this tribe is found in the Ulaan-Uul, Renchinlkhumbe, Tsagaannuur, and Bayanzurkh sums (the equivalent of a district) of...
Foxes and dogs were domesticated in antiquity.

Dogs and Foxes Were Domesticated By Bronze Age Humans

Science Daily In the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, between the third and second millennium BC, a widespread funeral practice consisted in burying humans with animals. Scientists have discovered...
 Ancient Gods (Public Domain/ Deriv)

Ancient Gods and Paradigm Shifts Towards the Omega Point

Despite the global confusion and political unrest apparent throughout the world today, humankind might very well be on the brink of a paradigm shift in human consciousness. Indeed, the unrest may...
The remains of the largest Neolithic hall found in Britain, which was discovered in Carnoustie, Angus.

Giant Halls Found at Neolithic Settlement Were the Largest Homes In Britain

An ancient settlement has been discovered in the sandy soil of Carnoustie in Angus, Scotland, and now has been found to include of two of the largest halls in the land for the time. People would have...
Nsangwini Bird Men.

Trance Rock Art of Nsangwini - Communing With the Spirits

The San, often known as Bushmen or Khoisan, are people with an ancient culture and they have been living in Southern Africa for millennia. In Swaziland, officially known as the Kingdom of Eswatini,...
This deviant burial is a Medieval murder mystery.

Stabbed in the Back and Buried Face-Down: A Deviant Medieval Burial Found in Sicily

Researchers have announced a grisly find in Sicily, Italy. They have discovered a bizarre 1000-year-old Medieval grave. It contained the skeleton of a man who met a violent death and was buried face-...
Page 632 of "Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1895" disks cut from sherds of stoneware from the South Appalachian region.

Pottery Reveals America's First Social Media

By Jacob Lulewicz / Science Daily Scientists have recently studied pottery produced by people living across southern Appalachia between 800 and 1650 AD. The unique symbols were stamped onto the...
Group of Neanderthal hunting a bison. New research confirms meat was a major part of the Neanderthal diet.

Neanderthals Definitely Had a Meat-Based Diet: Claims of Plant and Cannibal Diet Refuted

Neanderthals' diets are highly debated: they are traditionally considered carnivores and hunters of large mammals, but this hypothesis has recently been challenged by numerous pieces of evidence of...
"Ladies in Blue" fresco at Knossos Palace, Minoan archaeological site in Crete, Greece.

Controversy Over the Ladies in Blue: Is Most Famous Fresco of the Minoans Just a Modern Interpretation?

The Ladies in Blue is the name given to a fresco from the Palace of Knossos on the island of Crete. This fresco (or rather, fragments of it) was discovered during the excavation of the site by the...
First Genetic Proof of a Viking Age Warrior Woman is Identified from an Iconic Swedish Grave

Researchers Confirm Disputed Viking Warrior Was a Female Because Some Just Won’t Accept It

“Then the high-born lady saw them play the wounding game , she resolved on a hard course and flung off her cloak; she took a naked sword and fought for her kinsmen's lives , she was handy at fighting...
UNESCO World Heritage Obelisk of Axum.

The Axum Stelae: Multi-Story Buildings of Antiquity?

For those of you already familiar with the remarkable monoliths which stand in Axum, Ethiopia, you will no doubt be aware of their uncanny resemblance to modern tower block apartment buildings. Along...
The curious Burton Stone (upside down).

Solving the Mystery of the Burton Stone

In the affluent London suburb of Twickenham sits the Orleans House Gallery and among its vast collection of artwork and artifacts is a very mysterious piece of inscribed ‘meteorit’ once owned by the...
Muhammad and Abu Bakr flee Mecca, as depicted in ‘The Outline of History’

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Spreading Islam from Mecca to Medina

The Prophet Muhammad is often called the founder of Islam, but he is also something of a mystery because there is little concrete biographical information about his life in the Qu’ran. To learn more...
Excavation of two quarries in Wales by a UCL-led team of archaeologists and geologists has confirmed they are sources of Stonehenge's 'bluestones'– and shed light on how they were quarried and transported.

The Where, When and How of Quarrying Stonehenge 'Bluestones' Is Revealed in New Report

Geologists have long known that 42 of Stonehenge's smaller stones, known as 'bluestones', came from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. Now a new study published in Antiquity pinpoints...
‘Alexander of Macedon trusts the doctor Philip’ (1870s) by Henryk Siemiradzki. Alexander is drinking a draught prepared by his trusted physician Philip after suffering from a severe fever. Humoral theory was used to cure illnesses, from fever to cancer, in ancient Greece.

Bile, Cauterization, and Exercise: Cancer Treatment Was a Very Different Story in Ancient Greece

Cancer has existed since before the dawn of civilization. By the time of the ancient Greeks, cancer as a disease was already diagnosed by physicians, along with recommendations for its treatment. But...
Duk Duk dancers; the Duk Duk - secret society of men, 1913.

The Duk Duk: An Ancient Secret Society of Possessed Executioners

The Duk Duk is a secret society of the Tolai people in Papua New Guinea. This ancient secret sect has played an important social role for centuries and continues to operate today, although with a...
The Inca tomb found at Mata Indio archaeological site.

Incan Tomb Containing Elite Person and Sacrificed Children Unearthed in Peru

Archaeologists have announced that they have made an important discovery that will add to our knowledge of Inca society and culture in a remote area of northern Peru. They have found a tomb of a...

Pages