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Borgund Stave Church (Eduardo/CC BY-SA 2.0), pentagram, Vitruvian man, and serpent
9 July, 2017 - 19:06 Harald Boehlke

The Viking Serpent: Serpent Worship, Sacred Geometry, and Secrets of the Celtic Church in Norway

Dan Brown wrote The Da Vinci Code, inspired by Henry Lincoln and his two co-authors’ The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail . The Norwegian researcher Harald Boehlke was inspired by the same book. Lincoln...
Underwater World (Public Domain) and ruins of the Palace of Sayil, Yucatan. (Rose Vekony/CC BY-SA 3.0); Deriv
29 June, 2017 - 22:57 Cliff Dunning

Atlantis Unearthed – Do Surprising Underwater Scans Show Lost Architecture on the Sea Floor?

In his poems of the Iliad, the Greek Philosopher Homer introduces us to the mythical city of Troy, which remained a curiosity to many until the late 1870s when Heinrich Schliemann, on a hunch, began...
Pietro Perugino's use of perspective in this fresco at the Sistine Chapel (1481–82) helped bring the Renaissance to Rome
27 June, 2017 - 22:53 Chris Morgan

Do Your Eyes Fool You? Ancient Vision and a New Reality — How to See and Draw Like the Ancients

From the beginning of time, those among us we now call artists have tried to capture in two dimensions what they saw of the real, three-dimensional world in which they lived. Almost from the very...
The Decalogue, The Keystone, and a 19th century plan of the Newark Earthworks, and Tawa, the sun spirit and creator in Hopi mythology.
8 June, 2017 - 13:58 Thomas O. Mills

Did David Wyrick Find the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail Near Newark, Ohio?

For 157 years, archaeologists, religious scholars, anthropologist, politicians, scientists, and historians—everyone except Native Americans—have tried to prove that the two stones and one small cup...
The Ridgeway in Grim's Ditch near Mongewel
4 June, 2017 - 19:06 Graham Phillips

What’s It Like to Travel the Oldest Road in the World? Think Dragon’s Blood and Neolithic Barrows

I have recently been following what may be the world’s oldest road. Remarkably, much of it still survives as an ancient track. Created around 5500 years ago, it predates the Egyptian pyramids by a...
Enlarged entrance to Carn Euny fogou.
30 May, 2017 - 18:50 Jim Willis

Caves and Portals: The Hidden World Beneath Us & Rites of Passage

To enter the famous European caves of Lascaux, Chauvet, Altamira, Pech Merle and many others is to enter another world. You are greeted by a whole menagerie of hauntingly beautiful representations of...
El Caracol Observatory at Chichen Itza (Wright Reading/CC BY-NC 2.0) and Composite 3D laser scan image of El Caracol from above
25 May, 2017 - 14:04 Cliff Dunning

Advanced Engineering Discovered at the Maya Observatory at Chichen Itza

In 1526, the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Montejo arrived on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and found most of the great Maya cities deeply eroded and unoccupied. Many generations removed from...
View of the “Cueva del Pirul”, one of the largest systems of interconnected caves to the East of the Pyramid of the Sun. One can notice the many rough pillars left to support the roof and a number of side passages branching out in different directions.
22 May, 2017 - 19:05 Marco M. Vigato

Descending into the Underworld of Teotihuacan: Labyrinthine Tunnels and Rivers of Mercury

Few of the modern visitors to Teotihuacan are aware of the vast and mysterious underworld of caves and man-made tunnels that extends under much of the ancient site and for miles around. The existence...
Image of the North America Nebula, an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb
16 May, 2017 - 23:10 Jim Willis

Northern Cross and the Birth of Shamanism: A Southeastern Mystery Story - Part II

Solving the Riddle of the Rock Piles: The first layers author Jim Willis and his wife removed from rock piles on their property seemed to consist of large stones piled on top of one another roughly...
Image of the North America Nebula, an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb (the tail of the swan and its brightest star)
16 May, 2017 - 14:09 Jim Willis

The Riddle of the Rock Piles—Effigies and Enigmas: A Southeastern Mystery Story – Part I

Southeastern United States: 2000 years ago | For hundreds of years, people had been accustomed to gathering in this special place near the great river at the sacred time of the winter solstice...
Deriv; The Adena Female. [Image copyrighted © by MARCIA K MOORE CIAMAR STUDIO. The use of which is prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained.
16 May, 2017 - 01:59 Jason and Sarah

A Portrait of an Adena Female and Women in Adena Society

The Adena Culture emerged in the Ohio River Valley sometime between 1400 and 800 BC, and persisted until around 300 AD. Adena raised earthen mounds ranging from just a few inches to nearly 70 feet...
Portrait attributed as Christopher Columbus (Public Domain) Deriv.
12 May, 2017 - 14:03 XpoKolon

Christopher Columbus: Master Double Agent and Portugal’s 007

Henry IV of Spain – known as "The Impotent" for his weakness, both on the throne and (allegedly) in the marriage chamber – died in 1474. A long and inconclusive war of succession ensued, pitting...
Left side view of the Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan.
14 April, 2017 - 23:01 Cliff Dunning

Uncovering Ancient Pyramid Science at Teotihuacan, Where Men Become Gods

Teotihuacan’s Lost Kings , a television special, took an hour long look at the great city, its inhabitants, and the excavation of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, (also known as the Feathered Serpent...
Detail; Byzantine Alexander Romance, Venice, 14th century.
8 April, 2017 - 14:02 David Grant

Fact or Fiction? The Obscure Origins of the Greek Alexander Romance

The Greek Alexander Romance , often referred to as a ‘pseudo-Callisthenes’ production, is in one form or another one of the most influential and widely read books of all time; it has birthed a whole...
Cloaked man; Deriv
7 April, 2017 - 13:58 Graham Phillips

Merlin: Warrior & Poet. Two Historical Figures that Inspired the Legend

It’s only a few weeks now until the movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword hits the big screen. It will be particularly interesting to see how it portrays Merlin, the royal puppet master in the...
Terra Cotta Soldiers (CC BY 2.0), and Qin Shi Huang in a 19th century portrait (Public Domain);Deriv.
2 April, 2017 - 14:06 David G. Jones

The King Who Made War Illegal! Challenging the Official History of The Art of War and the Terra Cotta Army–Part II

Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of a unified China. His remarkable success in ending 200 years of war and founding the empire through peaceful means had followed a methodology fully articulated...

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Top New Stories

Alexander on his deathbed, surrounded by mourners, and dictating his will to his notary, Unknown Flemish artist
The Cold Case of Alexander the Great: Have Toxicologists Finally Explained His Untimely Death?
It might be a surprise to learn that Alexander the Great was only 32 when he died in Babylon in June 323 BC. In a short period of 12 years as ruler he managed to create an empire stretching from modern Albania to Pakistan. As much as we know of his achievements as a fearsome general, we still have no conclusive cause of his untimely and unexpected death.
LIDAR Reveals 2,000-Year-Old Dwellings of Earliest Occupants of an Iron Age Hill Fort
East African Invasions in South America: Tracing Cultural Clues and Artifacts Left by Early Travelers
Race to Recover Elaborate Ancient Roman Mosaics Unearthed in France
The Enigmatic and Undeciphered Voynich Manuscript Unlikely to be a Hoax
Ancient Roman Sarcophagus of Great Archaeological Value Discovered in Central London

Myths & Legends

Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin
When, lo! as they reached the mountain-side, A wondrous portal opened wide, As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed; And the Piper advanced and the children followed, And when all were in to the very last, The door in the mountain-side shut fast.
The Native American Legend of the Sleeping Giant and the Whiteman
The Seductive Sirens of Greek Mythology: How the Heroes Resisted Temptation
The Nurturing Goddess Ninsun: Worshipped by Ancient Mesopotamians and the Mother of Gilgamesh
English Nursery Rhymes with Unexpected and Sometimes Disturbing Historical Origins
The symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000-year-old history

Ancient Technology

The Norimitsu Odachi.
Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword?
The Norimitsu Odachi is a huge sword from Japan. It is so large, in fact, that it was said to have been wielded by a giant. Apart from the basic knowledge of it having been forged in the 15th century AD, measuring 3.77 meters (12.37 ft.) in length, and weighing as much as 14.5 kg (31.97 lbs.), this impressive sword is shrouded in mystery.
Ancient Magic: The Illusions Created in Temples by Amazing Inventions
Could the Egyptian Ankh Symbol Be Spawned of the Viscera of Bulls?
Five da Vinci inventions that could have revolutionized the history of technology
The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 3: Science in Antiquity
The Solution to the 5,500-year-old Mesopotamian Clay Ball Enigma

Ancient Places

Buckland Rings - artist's impression from gates
LIDAR Reveals 2,000-Year-Old Dwellings of Earliest Occupants of an Iron Age Hill Fort
A team of archaeologists has detected a conurbation of houses at a hill fort that once hosted some of the earliest occupants of a New Forest town, an area of southern England which includes one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Britain.
Did David Wyrick Find the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail Near Newark, Ohio?
Mysterious Underwater Ruins in Turkish Lake Found To Be A 1,600-Year-Old Basilica
The Sacred Ghost Town of Ani, City of 1001 Churches: Deserted By Man, Destroyed By Nature
The Exceptional Underwater City of Cuba: A New Theory on its Origins – Part I
The tragedy of Queen Ankhesenamun, sister and wife of Tutankhamun

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At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exists countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe.

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By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. 

Ancient Image Galleries

View from the Castle Gate (Burgtor). (Public Domain)
Door surrounded by roots of Tetrameles nudiflora in the Khmer temple of Ta Phrom, Angkor temple complex, located today in Cambodia. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Cable car in the Xihai (West Sea) Grand Canyon (CC BY-SA 4.0)