Ancient Places

Ancient places can be found all over the world. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and visiting such ancient places in the world can be an unforgettable experience.

Science is constantly discovering new archaeological places and uncovering more evidence into what we once thought we knew about our history, therefore offering new pieces to the ever changing puzzle of humanity’s past and altering how we interpret it. This section will present the most interesting archaeological sites all over the world, as well as new discoveries of ancient places that are worth paying a visit.

The true and final resting place of Emperor Wen of Han has been affirmed and his actual tomb is enormous! Source: Screenshot / CGTN

20 December, 2021 - 18:00 Sahir

For Centuries Pilgrims Visited the Wrong Tomb of China’s Emperor Wen

Liu Heng, better known in history as Emperor Wen of Han, ruled the Western Han dynasty from 180 BC to 157 BC, and was associated with a stable and prosperous reign, after a tumultuous period in...

Saint Oswald's Church, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England, dedicated to King Oswald of Northumbria, who became a saint. Source: Peter / Adobe Stock

20 December, 2021 - 14:01 Aleksa Vučković

King and Saint: King Oswald of Northumbria and His Lost Throne Quest

Much of English history was defined by critical wars, conflicts, and invasions. However, not everything was drenched in chaos and bloodshed. Throughout the ages, powerful rulers were there to keep...

Representational image of an underwater temple. Source: Vitalis Arnoldus / Adobe Stock

19 December, 2021 - 22:00 Sahir

Have Researchers Found Fabled Temple of Hercules Gaditanus in Cadiz?

A famous temple of the Phoenician-Punic deity Melqart, located near the ancient city of Gadir (now Cádiz), became a temple dedicated to Hercules Gaditanus under the Romans. Now experts believe they’...

The Chinese first emperor’s tomb was protected by the famed Terracotta Warriors. Source: Carlos Adampol Galindo / CC BY-SA 2.0

19 December, 2021 - 17:56 Sahir

Cosmic Rays Could Finally Reveal Structure of Mysterious Tomb of China’s First Emperor

For over two millennia, the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang have been locked away, with scientists and historians the world over desperate to catch a glimpse of what really lies within...

In China the Longyou Caves are known as the ninth wonder of the ancient world. Source: Zhangzhugang / CC BY-SA 4.0

18 December, 2021 - 17:57 aprilholloway

Ten Enduring Mysteries of China’s Longyou Caves

Located near the village of Shiyan Beicun in Zhejiang province, China, lie the Longyou Caves - an extensive, magnificent and rare ancient underground world considered in China to be “the ninth wonder...

The unicorn ring found by a metal detectorist in 2018 near Thornton, Buckinghamshire, England Source: Hanson Auctioneers

18 December, 2021 - 14:00 ashley cowie

Detectorist’s 2018 Unicorn Ring Sold, But Provenance Questions Remain

A 400-year-old gold signet unicorn ring has just sold at auction for 26,470 dollars (23,550 euros). Everyone is talking about the ring’s value and its association with a noble family linked to...

The Zone of Silence in northern Mexico. Source: Cryptocône / CC BY-SA 3.0

18 December, 2021 - 01:00 aprilholloway

The Zone of Silence – The Bizarre Bermuda Triangle of Northern Mexico

Within the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve, in a place known as the Trino Vertex, lies a patch of desert which has garnered a reputation for strange occurrences. Known as la Zona del SIlencio , or the Zone...

These Ethiopian megaliths in the Gedeo Sakaro Sodo area, photographed in 2014, have been dated to 1,000 years older than previously believed and everyone’s amazed! Source: Ashenafi Zena / Washington State University

17 December, 2021 - 17:56 Sahir

Phallic Ethiopian Megaliths Are 1000 Years Older Than Believed

Ethiopia’s Gedeo zone has the largest concentration of stone stelae in Africa. A new study published in the Journal of African Archaeology has pushed back the dates of megalithic stelae dotting the...

Now we know that Neanderthals, like this one who seems to kill wildlife and burn forests, altered ecosystems. More and more the differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens are disappearing or getting blurred. Source: regis allouet / Adobe Stock

17 December, 2021 - 13:59 Nathan Falde

“German” Neanderthals Altered Ecosystem 125,000 Years Ago, Study Shows

Archaeologists from Leiden University in the Netherlands have released the results of a study that proves Neanderthals altered ecosystems in significant ways. The evidence was found in a spot...

The runic inscription on one side of the gold medieval cross found by metal detectorists on the Tweed River near Berwick in the county of Northumbria, England spells a name that is entirely unique. Source: The History Blog

16 December, 2021 - 21:55 Nathan Falde

Small Gold Medieval Cross Found in England Linked to Mysterious Eadruf

An unusual item unearthed by metal detectorists in 2020 in northeast England is puzzling scholars. In this case it is not the archaeologists who are puzzled, but linguistic experts who study the...

It was here in the Arma Vierana cave in northern Italy where the Mesolithic infant and her shell beads were found by the research team. Source: Jamie Hodgkins / University of Colorado Denver

15 December, 2021 - 13:57 Nathan Falde

10,000-Year-Old Mesolithic Burial Showed Special Reverence For Infant Girl

Archaeologists and paleoanthropologists exploring a cave in Italy excavated parts of a skeleton that belonged to an infant girl who died approximately 10,000 years ago, in the early Mesolithic period...

Artifacts unearthed during excavations at the Library House in Pompeii point to work being done painting frescos at the time of the volcanic eruption. Source: Pompeii Archaeological Park

14 December, 2021 - 22:40 Sahir

Evidence of Fresco Painting Uncovered at Library House in Pompeii

Recent restoration work in ancient Pompeii has uncovered evidence that work was being carried out at the Library House, or Casa della Biblioteca , when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, reports...

This spectacular, large Navulá-type monochrome vessel, used in pre-Hispanic Maya rituals, was complete but for one of its two handles. Source: INAH

14 December, 2021 - 17:41 Sahir

Yucatán Cave Was Used For Pre-Hispanic Maya Rituals

A recent pottery find dating to the Late Postclassic Maya period by archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Chemuyil town of Mexico’s Quintana Roo state shows...

Baltinglass Stones – connected to Turkey’s Gobkeli Tepe?

14 December, 2021 - 15:18 David Halpin

Baltinglass Hill: Ireland’s Forgotten Gobekli Tepi?

Resting high upon the hills of Wicklow lies buried one of the most remarkable Neolithic sites in all of Europe. Strangely, even today many people are unaware of its existence. Baltinglass Hill is one...

The rare medieval falconry figurine found in an ancient land fill site uncovered in the Old Town of Norway, Oslo. Source: NIKU

13 December, 2021 - 21:57 Nathan Falde

Rare 13th-century Falconry Figurine Miraculously Found in Oslo

A Norwegian archaeologist digging in the frozen ground at a medieval excavation site in Oslo found something extremely rare and most unexpected. While sorting through a waste layer left behind by...

Though we do not have many images of Pemulwuy, the prominent Australian Aboriginal rebel leader of the late 18th century, we know he was strong like this man at an Aboriginal culture show in Queensland. Source: Rafael Ben-Ari / Adobe Stock

10 December, 2021 - 21:58 dhwty

Pemulwuy: Prominent Aboriginal Rebel Leader Murdered in 1802 AD

Pemulwuy was an Aboriginal Australian who lived during the 18 th century. This was the period when the Europeans began to colonize Australia. The arrival of the Europeans in Australia had a profound...

This handmade historical illustration shows Neo-Assyrian riders wearing their distinctive leather armor in ancient Mesopotamia. Source: Lunstream / Adobe Stock

10 December, 2021 - 13:58 Nathan Falde

2,600-Year-Old Leather Armor Found In China Was Made By Neo-Assyrians

An international team of archaeologists and historians has completed an extensive analysis of a rare leather armor waistcoat recovered from the grave of an ancient horse-riding soldier in Northwest...

We have remains of Tibetan Plateau Denisovans, who lived for long periods in this landscape. But now we know that they passed their high-altitude adaptability genes on to Tibetans and other peoples that ultimately settled in the Himalayas. Source: zah108 / Adobe Stock

9 December, 2021 - 22:20 Sahir

Tibetan Plateau Denisovans Gave Modern Tibetans Altitude Superpowers

Little is known about our extinct archaic hominin cousins, the Denisovans, who populated Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, due to limited DNA fragments and evidence. This makes...

A reconstruction of Blair Atholl Man’s face. Source: Christopher Rynn and Hayley Fisher / Perth Museum & Art Gallery

9 December, 2021 - 17:59 Sahir

Scotland’s Blair Atholl Man Was Actually From the West, Says Study

People migrated long distances in early medieval Scotland, concluded a new study on the Blair Atholl Man published in the Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal . The study reveals that he was not...

The man’s skull with golden tongue clearly visible was discovered during excavations at Oxyrhynchus. Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

8 December, 2021 - 21:57 ashley cowie

Two Oxyrhynchus Mummies Discovered with Golden Tongues

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said on Sunday that two 26th Dynasty tombs were excavated at El-Bahnasa (Oxyrhynchus) archaeological site in the Upper Egypt governorate of Minya...

The complete large straw-tempered Egyptian beer jars from Hierakonpolis in the background. The recent research study suggests the contents of these big jars would have been decanted into smaller, finer beakers, like the three shown in this image. Source: Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

8 December, 2021 - 00:57 Sahir

Porridge-like Egyptian Beer Was Used 5,800 Years Ago in Rituals

New research published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology has revealed that Egyptian beer was produced and consumed as a staple as well as for ritual purposes as far back as 5,800 years...

The Binnenhof, or “Inner Court”, is still the beating heart of the Dutch parliament. Recently, more and more medieval material has been discovered underneath these buildings. Source: Public domain

7 December, 2021 - 17:57 Simon Duits

Medieval Walls Discovered Underneath Dutch Parliament

Archaeologists stumbled upon medieval material underneath the Dutch parliament building last week. The area is being prepared for a major renovation that’s long overdue. Fortunately, as a matter of...

Anachronistic painting by Piero della Francesca of the Battle of Nineveh (627) between Heraclius' Byzantine army and the Sasanians under Khosrow II, which was pretty much the end of the Byzantine–Sasanian War. Source: Piero della Francesca / Public domain

7 December, 2021 - 13:57 dhwty

The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 AD and the Rise of the Muslims

The Byzantines and Sasanians were rival powers who fought each other for supremacy in the Middle East. Although the conflict between the two powers began during the 6th century AD, it is in fact a...

Tongan warriors or Tongan athletes getting ready to play kasivaki underwater rugby in Tonga. Source: Tonga Rugby Union

6 December, 2021 - 17:57 Caleb Strom

Kasivaki: An Ancient Tongan Game That Was More Than Underwater Rugby

When most people think of the sport rugby, Tonga is not at the top of the list of competitors. But the island nation of the south Pacific appears to have had its own ancient version of the game with...

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