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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.

High relief of standing dromedary on sandstone spur at center of image.
14 February, 2018 - 01:41 ancient-origins

Rock art: Life-sized Sculptures of Dromedaries Found in Saudi Arabia

At a remarkable site in northwest Saudi Arabia, a CNRS archaeologist and colleagues from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) have discovered camelid sculptures unlike any...
A photo of the Solovetsky Monastery
13 February, 2018 - 13:41 dhwty

The Tragic Fall of Solovetsky Monastery: From Religious Order to Labor Camp

Located on the Solovetsky Islands of Russia’s White Sea, the Solovetsky Monastery is a fortified monastic complex that dates back to the 15 th century. Initially, the monastery was home to a small...
The gold hair rings found at Sculptor's Cave near Covesea, Moray.
9 February, 2018 - 18:58 ashley cowie

Children of Gold Uncovered in Pictish Death Cave

Golden rings discovered in a sea cave once adorned a dead child in a bizarre ancient funerary ritual, in Scotland. We might expect to read such a headline in a Peruvian or Chinese archaeological...
The highly-decorated tomb is built in a distinctive ‘L’ shape
5 February, 2018 - 18:32 ashley cowie

Priestess’ Tomb Discovered in Egypt, Protected by her Soul Feeding Monkey

A mysterious ancient tomb with “unusual and rare” wall paintings has been discovered in Egypt. Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany told BBC reporters the discovery of a 4,400-year-old tomb found...
Predjama Castle.
5 February, 2018 - 14:02 dhwty

Predjama Castle: The Castle in a Cave that Housed a Slovenian Robin Hood

Once home to the Slovenian Robin Hood, Predjama Castle is a site rich in history. It is built into the mouth of a cave high up on a cliff and has a commanding view over the landscape. That position...
Left: The temple of Ain Dara before. Right: The temple after its recent destruction.
1 February, 2018 - 18:49 aprilholloway

3,000-Year-Old Ain Dara Temple in Syria Reduced to Rubble by Turkish Airstrikes

The Syro-Hittite temple of Ain Dara built in the 1 st millennium BC boasted intricate stone sculptures of lions and sphinxes, elaborately decorated walls with geometric designs, floral patterns,...
Image shows the level of damage caused by the truck driving into the protected archaeological site.
31 January, 2018 - 18:51 aprilholloway

Driver Plows Truck into 2,000-Year-Old Nazca Lines Causing Irreversible Damage

In a shocking example of destruction of a fragile archaeological site, a truck driver has been charged with careless driving and entering a prohibited zone after he accidentally drove his truck over...
The Valle dei Mulini.
31 January, 2018 - 02:00 dhwty

The Ruins of Valle dei Mulini: Abandoned by Humans, Reclaimed by Nature

Ruins of old mills dot the landscape of the Valle dei Mulini (‘Valley of the Mills’). Their crumbled walls are the remains of abandoned structures which once filled the valley with human life. Now,...
Inbuilt rock house of Monsanto, Portugal.
30 January, 2018 - 18:59 Riley Winters

Monsanto: The Thriving Medieval Town Built Around Giant Boulders

In most parts of Europe, the medieval period ended around the fourteenth century, right around the time Giotto introduced perspective into the art of pre-Renaissance Italy. Yet for the twelfth...
Zoe Wanamaker in TV series ‘Britannia’.
30 January, 2018 - 13:59 ancient-origins

Britannia, Druids and the Surprisingly Modern Origins of Myths

The new TV series Britannia, which has won plaudits as heralding a new generation of British folk-horror, is clearly not intended to be strictly historical. Instead director Jez Butterworth gives us...
A view inside the painted village of Tiébélé in Burkina Faso.
28 January, 2018 - 13:57 dhwty

Cultural Identity Painted on the Walls in This One-of-a-Kind Village

Crocodiles and snakes wind their ways across the walls. The creatures swim in a sea of stars, moons and geometric designs... Traditional art and architecture are alive in the village of Tiébélé in...
Path entrance to Machu Picchu. The bridge can be removed to prevent access by enemies.
26 January, 2018 - 18:46 ML Childs

The Secret Bridge to Peru’s Most Legendary City, Machu Picchu

“A devoted professor of archeology who suddenly finds himself in the far reaches of the earth trying to uncover some of the worlds’ oldest and most precious artifacts” certainly sounds like something...
Bird's-eye view of Mauritius Square
26 January, 2018 - 01:57 Ingvar nord

Mauritius Square, Ukraine: What is this Giant Crab-like Earthworks?

There is a huge, mysterious structure near the village of Mezhirichi in Ukraine. It has an unusual shape (some suggest it looks like a giant crab or spider) which is visible in images actually taken...
Tombeau de la chretienne, Tipasa. (tomb of the Christian Woman – an alternate name of the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania).
25 January, 2018 - 13:58 dhwty

The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania: Deadly Wasps Once Prevented its Destruction

In almost any culture, an ancient royal couple would have been expected to have provided themselves with a superior, monumental, or otherwise unique final resting place. Such was the case with Juba...
The Waitomo Glowworm Cave, New Zealand
21 January, 2018 - 18:54 dhwty

Living Lights: Majestic Glowworm Cave of Waitomo is Like a Starry Night

The Waitomo Glowworm Cave is a magnificent subterranean cave system in Waitomo, New Zealand, which as its name suggests, is renowned for its glowworm population. The glowworms, sometimes referred to...
reation of Adam and deluge
20 January, 2018 - 22:50 Brad Yoon

A Blessed Event - A Doomed People. Questioning the Creation of the World: Part II

The famously disastrous Genesis flood was merely a local flood, argue critics of the literal interpretation of the Bible. Fundamentalists contest that the flood was indeed global. What is the truth...
Creation of Adam and deluge
20 January, 2018 - 13:53 Brad Yoon

Beneath a Celestial Dome, A Land Unlike Any Other in the History of Earth. Questioning the Global Flood: Part I

Critics of the literal interpretation of the Bible have argued that the Genesis flood was a local flood. This interpretation has been vehemently opposed by Biblical literalists and fundamentalists,...
A depiction of a tree of life or axis mundi.
19 January, 2018 - 22:52 dhwty

The Axis Mundi: Sacred Sites Where Heaven Meets Earth

What do Mount Fuji in Japanese culture, the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, Mecca in Islam, and the Black Hills for the Sioux all have in common? They are all examples of a belief in the axis...
Face of the coffin in which the mummy of Ramesses II was found. (Credit: Petra Lether, designed by Anand Balaji)
18 January, 2018 - 19:01 anand balaji

Living God in a Wooden Box: In Whose Coffin was Ramesses II Buried?

Usermaatre Setepenre Ramesses II, the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty, was one of ancient Egypt’s longest-reigning monarchs. In an astonishing sixty-seven regnal years – the glory days of...
Caves of Loltun, Mexico
16 January, 2018 - 19:00 ML Childs

Loltun Cave Art and Precious Clues to the Lost Mayan Civilization

There is a kid’s poem written by Jean Marzollo that begins: “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” It goes on speak about the challenges and wonders of Columbus’s voyage to...
A woman sits in an underground hotel room in Coober Pedy
13 January, 2018 - 21:23 dhwty

80 Percent of This Town in Australia Lives Underground!

In the remote South Australian desert, where temperatures are known to reach 125 °F / 51 °C in the shade, lies a town named Coober Pedy (literally ‘white man’s hole’), where residents have dug...
Santu Antine.
12 January, 2018 - 13:58 dhwty

Santu Antine, Sardinia: A Megalithic House Built for a King?

A mysterious civilization built megalithic structures across the island of Sardinia in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The buildings are now known as nuraghes – and the impressive nuraghe called Santu...
Three of the mummies Leymebamba at the museum.
11 January, 2018 - 19:00 dhwty

Peruvian Necropolis Destroyed by Looters and Tourists is Preserved by Salvage Archaeology

The Laguna de los Condores (aptly known also as the Laguna de las Momias) is an archaeological site where a great number of mummies were found. This site is located in Leymebamba, in the northern...
The ruins of the Ma’rib Dam.
7 January, 2018 - 14:02 dhwty

The Ma’rib Dam: An Engineering Wonder of the Ancient World… Torn Apart by Rats?

The Ma’rib Dam is an engineering marvel of the ancient world that is located in central Yemen. This dam is easily one of the finest examples of masonry architecture in the Arabian Peninsula. Local...

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