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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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The drum is one of the earliest methods of ancient communication.  Source: zolotareva_elina / Adobe Stock

The Evolution of Ancient Communication Methods

Throughout history, communication wasn’t as effortless as it is today. In today’s world, you can connect with people in every part of the world within seconds and access an almost infinite amount of...
First Canaanite writing scratched onto an ivory comb. Source: Dafna Gazit/Israel Antiquities Authority

Oldest Written Sentence Found Inscribed on Ancient Head-Lice Comb

One would expect the oldest written words found during archaeological excavations to be carved into the face of a stone tablet, or perhaps into the surface of an ancient stone monument. But they can...
Archaeologists have deciphered what could be the origins of the Latin alphabet in graffiti found at the Temple of Hathor near the Serâbît el-Khâdim mines. Serâbît el-Khâdim in the background and the evolution of the letter “A” in the foreground. Source: Einsamer Schütze / CC BY-SA 3.0 & Till Nikolaus von Heiseler / CC BY 4.0

From an Ox to an “A”: The Ancient Egyptian Origins of the Latin Alphabet

As crazy as it sounds, it’s now well attested that the letter “A” started out its evolution as the Egyptian hieroglyph for an ox. But its truly mind-blowing transformation came when turquoise miners...
Ancient Alphabetic Script Found in Israel Fills Gap in Historic Record

Ancient Alphabetic Script Found in Israel Fills Gap in Historic Record

A team of Austrian and Israeli archaeologists working the fertile ground of the famed Tel Lachish site in central Israel made a discovery that has altered existing theories about how the first...
Ogham sticks

The Celtic Ogham: An Ancient Tree Alphabet that May Disappear Before Showing its Roots

In secluded fields, on the walls of churches, and beneath construction sites, stones have been found with intricate markings that rise from the lower left up to the center and then down to the lower...
Phoenician stone sculpture (disq / Adobe Stock)

The Phoenicians: Mysterious Merchant Mariners Whose Inventions Impacted the World Forever

The Phoenicians were an ancient people who once ruled the Mediterranean. Despite little being known about them as very few of their inscriptions have survived, their legacy has had an enormous impact...
Top of Statue of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Cyril and Methodius - Spiritual Fathers of Slavic Civilization

In many ways, Eastern Europe owes its cultural and religious shape to the two missionary brothers, Saint Cyril (827-869 AD) and Saint Methodius (826-884 AD). These two brothers were sent as...
One side of the ancient alphabet primer.

Ancient Language Learning: This May be the Oldest Example of Not One, But Two Alphabet Primers

A studious ancient Egyptian may have been trying his hand at learning not one, but two different languages some 3,400 years ago. New research on a limestone tablet found near Luxor suggests that it...
Museum diorama depicting scholars from the Joseon Dynasty (Public Domain), and script from the Hunmin Jeongeum Eonhae

What Happens if Scholars Rule a Kingdom? How Korea’s Kingdom of Joseon Lived Up to its Legendary Namesake

By the 14th century, the foundations of Korea’s Goryeo Dynasty (918 -1392 CE) started to collapse from years of war and de facto occupation from the Mongol Empire. The royal court in Goryeo was at...
An example of the Proto-Sinaitic script.

The A to Z of Alphabet Origins and the Most Ancient Written Languages

Writing is traditionally regarded as one of the requirements for a society to be considered as a civilization. Various writing systems have been invented by the great civilizations of the world, one...
Phoenicians: Creating what is now known as the Alphabet

Phoenicians: Creating what is now known as the Alphabet

A-B-C-D-E-F-G ... This famous sequence of letters known to much of the world dates back to the 16th century BC. A fairly small group of traders and merchants known as the Phoenicians created the...
On the Origins of the Runes - Symbols, Mysteries and Magico-religious Concepts

On the Origins of the Runes - Symbols, Mysteries and Magico-religious Concepts

One of the most shrouded mysteries of the rune alphabet is its early history. As a matter of fact, no-one really knows how the Elder Futhark came to be. We know that the runes exist and were used by...
Tablet 343: Letter from Octavius to Candidus concerning supplies of wheat, hides and sinews.

Easy as Alep, Bet, Gimel? Cambridge Research Explores Social Context of Ancient Writing

A new University of Cambridge research project is set to shed light on the history of writing in the ancient world, and explore the long-lasting relationship between society and writing that persists...
Detail of the runic inscription found on the 6th- or 7th-century Björketorp Runestone located in Blekinge, Sweden

Discover the Hidden Roots of the Runes

A long time ago, runes were used by the Shamans of Scandinavia and the word “rune” at its origin made reference to mystery. Runes were used as protective symbols and were carved in wood, bone, or...
The hieroglyph at the top middle with the seven arms and a dome radiating from a post is the symbol for the regent Queen Neith-Hotep. It was previously thought that she was King Narmer’s wife and not a sovereign in her own right.

Discovery of 5,000-year-old Hieroglyphs Change the Story of a Queen, a Pharaoh, and an Ancient City

Miners carved Egyptian hieroglyphs and drawings into the rock of the Sinai Desert 5,000 years ago as a way of marking the area as owned by Egypt, a researcher says. The people carving the symbols...
The world’s first-known abecedary in ancient Egyptian hieratic script has been deciphered by a Dutch Egyptologist.

Scholar deciphers oldest known alphabet primer, in ancient Egyptian

A Dutch Egyptologist recently deciphered the oldest known abecedary or alphabet-like primer on a 3,500-year-old shard of pottery from an Egyptian tomb excavated 20 years ago. The earliest alphabets...
Kharga Oasis Rock

Could Kharga Oasis Rock Panel Represent Zodiacal Constellations?

Two weeks ago, Egyptologist Salima Ikram announced the discovery of a very unusual rock panel in the Kharga Oasis, 175 kilometres west of Luxor in Egypt. While the date of the panel is still...
Kharga Oasis spider rock art

Kharga Oasis spider rock art may be astronomical writing

Last week we reported on the discovery of a very unusual rock panel in the Kharga Oasis, 175 kilometres west of Luxor in Egypt, which Egyptologist Salima Ikram claimed was a depiction of spiders...