All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

Voyage

The foodstuffs found on the obsidian blades at Anakena in Rapa Nui suggest the islanders made the voyage to South America and returned. Source: F.C.G. / Adobe Stock.

Rapa Nui Obsidian Discovery: Did the Islanders sail to America?

It has long been thought that the people of Rapa Nui (popularly called Easter Island) lived a largely isolated existence, cut off from other lands by the vast and treacherous ocean. However a new...
Bow of the Polynesian Hokulea. Source: lameeks / Adobe Stock.

Modern Polynesians Recreate Ancient Voyage With No Tech (Video)

Embarking on a voyage that bridges time and tradition, modern-day adventurers pay homage to the ancient Polynesian voyagers who first discovered the remote Hawaiian islands . Guided by the celestial...
Ancient voyages set off to discover new realities. Source: XaMaps/Adobe Stock

8 Ancient Voyages That Changed the World

Throughout human history, the call of the unknown has driven explorers to embark on daring voyages into uncharted waters. These intrepid explorers have braved treacherous seas, and unknown dangers,...
The landing of Columbus at the Island of Guanahaní, West Indies by John Vanderlyn, which was a success because the fake captain’s log kept the crew’s confidence up and prevented a mutiny. Source: John Vanderlyn / Public domain

The Deception of Christopher Columbus and his Secret Captain’s Log

Christopher Columbus may be among the most important (if controversial) historical figures to ever live. The legacy of his voyage had resounding impacts that reverberated all the way around the globe...
Curse of the Buried Pearl: Tomb Curses, Spirits and the Hunt for Ancient Treasures – Part I

Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures – Part I

In economics one hears talk of “the curse of oil” – and one might say wherever there is buried treasure there will be a curse, hyper-real or real. The most famous of all curses is of course that...
Boat on the Aegean Sea at night in Santorini, Greece - Poseidon

The Realm of Poseidon: A Mythical Voyage Around the Aegean

Poseidon the great god I begin to sing, he who moves the earth and the desolate sea… You are dark-haired you are blessed you have a kind heart. Help those who sail upon The sea In ships. ~Homeric...
Mayflower II, a replica of the famous Mayflower ship

Trailing the Mayflower - The Iconic Ship of a Pilgrim Voyage to the New World

One of the most famous voyages from England to Virginia was on the Mayflower. This ship became the symbol of the search for a new life and pilgrimage to the New World in the 17th century. 2020 marks...
The Viking Discovery of Iceland

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

The Vikings’ next step out into the Atlantic – the discovery and settlement of Iceland – is one of the best documented events of the Viking Age. Medieval Icelanders were fascinated by genealogy, not...
Voyage Compass

Who Reached America First? Hint: NOT Columbus!

Even today, many people still believe that Christopher Columbus was the person who “discovered” America when he landed there in 1492. That belief overlooks the fact that indigenous people had already...
Viking longship replicas at Catoira, Galicia. Did the Vikings also make it to Madeira?  Source: CC BY-SA 4.0

Mice Remains Indicate a Viking Visit to Madeira

In a recent article on the Vikings in South America , it was indicated how scientists had put forward an untenable theory to account for the presence in Chile of the Bundsö dogs from Denmark before...
Ancient Mariners: Transoceanic Voyages Before the Europeans

Ancient Mariners: Transoceanic Voyages Before the Europeans

The idea that humans have been completing transoceanic voyages - traveling the earth via our oceans - before Europeans set sail is, in many people's eyes, an accepted conclusion. Yet it is still...
The Age of Discovery was a time when European explorers journeyed across the world. Source: oleskalashnik/Adobe Stock

The Age of Discovery: A New World Dawns

The Age of Discovery (also known as the Age of Exploration) refers to an exciting era in European history when a number of extensive overseas voyages took place. This period lasted roughly from the...
Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan and his ship Trinidad on postage stamp

500 Years Ago Today Magellan and Elcano Set Sail to Conquer the World

On August 10, 1519, King Charles of Spain watched naval officers Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano set sail to the ‘Spice Islands’, now the Maluku Islands in Indonesia. 239 brave men...
Journey to remote Antarctica aboard the Sea Adventurer.

Antarctica's Ancient Origins Update – Part Two: Did Early Voyagers Leave Evidence?

Read Part 1 Tracing a Possible Route for the Voyagers Sailing southwards along the eastern seaboards of Australia and Tasmania, the voyagers would round the east coast of Antarctica and, initially,...
Exhibit in the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Saint Brendan and His Epic Voyage: Was the Irish Saint the First European in the New World?

Saint Brendan (also referred to by his various epithets ‘the Navigator’, ‘the Voyager’, ‘the Anchorite’, and ‘the Bold’) was an Irish saint who lived between the 5th and 6th centuries AD known for...
Piles of clamshells (Schvin/CC BY 2.0), background: men in a Curragh, a skin boat (WilliamMurphy/CC BY-SA 2.0);Deriv.

Seafarers and Shell Rings: Strange Formations on the American Coast a Hallmark of Faraway Visitors?

Just south of Awendaw, South Carolina, in the Francis Marion National Forest, is an example of a type of architectural artifact that still baffles archaeologists. For every explanation someone offers...
Antarctica.

Mysterious Map Emerges at the Dawn of the Egyptian Civilization and Depicts Antarctica Without Ice – Who Made it?

On a chilly winter day in 1929, Halil Edhem, the Director of Turkey's National Museum, was hunched over his solitary task of classifying documents. He pulled towards him a map drawn on Roe deer skin...
Portrait attributed as Christopher Columbus (Public Domain) Deriv.

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...
Ancient Travels to the Americas or a Modern Forgery? Who Made the Bat Creek Inscription?

Ancient Travels to the Americas or a Modern Forgery? Who Made the Bat Creek Inscription?

The Bat Creek stone was discovered in a small mound near Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The archaeologists who dug it up in 1889 discovered a small stone tablet engraved with several mysterious...
End of the Enigmatic Christopher Columbus:  A Man at Last Emerges to Eradicate the Myth

End of the Enigmatic Christopher Columbus: A Man at Last Emerges to Eradicate the Myth

History is a record of the past – sculptured by omissions, interlarded with distortions, brazen lies and innocent befuddlement – forming an amalgam that's often stubbornly resistant to analysis. For...
Bird's eye panorama of Manhattan in 1873. The Brooklyn Bridge was under construction from 1870 until 1883.

A Brief History of a Dutch Island - Manhattan

Today, Manhattan is one of the iconic locations of the United States of America. It is also the place where New York was born. However, the origins of Manhattan are often forgotten these days. Modern...
Zheng He: Famous Chinese Explorer

Zheng He: Famous Chinese Explorer Who Added Wealth and Power to the Ming Dynasty

Zheng He (also known as Cheng Ho) is one of the most famous admirals in Chinese history, and is best known for his treasure voyages. These voyages served to project the power and the wealth of the...
A reenactor dresses as a medieval pilgrim.

Would you take a Medieval Journey? Man recreates Pilgrimage across England with period supplies only

Many speak of observing the Christmas holidays with a return to more traditional or spiritual celebrations, but one man is taking that to heart by going on a medieval pilgrimage across England. He is...
[Left], Photo of the Vulture Stone of Göbekli Tepe. (Alistair Coombs). [Right], Archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.

The Vulture Stone of Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Pictogram?

A report in the Hürriet Daily News published in July of this year announced that the world’s earliest pictogram had been discovered at the archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe, Southeast Turkey. It...

Pages