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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Ancient Writings

There are literally thousands of incredible texts that have survived from the ancient world, which are etched onto copper, beautifully inscribed on papyrus, chipped onto tablets, and even written using the ink of ground down gold and precious stones. Here we feature many ancient writings, which have served to open a window onto the daily lives of our ancestors and enhanced the knowledge we hold about our ancient past.

Tabula Cortonensis: A 2,200-year-old Tablet with a Bronze Key to Understanding the Etruscan World

Tabula Cortonensis: A 2,200-year-old Tablet with a Bronze Key to Understanding the Etruscan World

2,200 years ago, a pair of skilled Etruscan hands crafted a tablet that became a key to the language of this remarkable civilization. This unique bronze artifact is known as the Tabula Cortonensis...
Inscribed Curse on the Sarcophagus of King Ahiram Displays Earliest Use of Phoenician Alphabet

Inscribed Curse on the Sarcophagus of King Ahiram Displays Earliest Use of Phoenician Alphabet

The Sarcophagus of King Ahiram (spelled also as Ahirom) is an incredible monument that was unearthed in Lebanon. As its name suggests, the sarcophagus belonged to a king by the name of Ahiram, who...
Hidden in the Glyphs: Deciphering Bilingual Mayan-Olmec Text

Hidden in the Glyphs: Deciphering Bilingual Mayan-Olmec Text

In my book, Olmec Language and Literature , I explain how I deciphered the Olmec language. One of the most important documents used in my research was a Bi-lingual Mayan-Olmec text inscribed on a...

Song of Seikilos: Oldest Known Musical Composition Lay Hidden on a Flower Stand in Turkish Garden

The Song of Seikilos is the oldest complete surviving music composition in the world engraved in a marble stele that served as a flower stand. The beautiful composition, also known as the ‘Seikilos...
Aerial view of Thebes' Ramesseum, showing pylons and secondary buildings and the Medical Papyri.

Revealing the Ramesseum Medical Papyri and Other Remarkable Finds from the Temple of Ramesses II

The mortuary temple of Ramesses II is one of the most magnificent temples in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt. It was discovered by Jean-Francois Champollion, the same man who deciphered the...
Galdrabok, The Medieval Grimoire That Sheds Light on the Occult Practices of Iceland

Galdrabok, The Medieval Grimoire That Sheds Light on the Occult Practices of Iceland

Perhaps not as well-known as other grimoires, the Galdrabok , an Icelandic ‘book of magic’, is one of the most important surviving documents for the practices and understanding of occult practices in...
Star Maps and the Secrets of Senenmut: Astronomical Ceilings and the Hopi Vision of Earth

Star Maps and the Secrets of Senenmut: Astronomical Ceilings and the Hopi Vision of Earth

The builders of the pyramid complex in Egypt had a very good astronomer. We call him Senenmut (the Mother’s Brother, or the Uncle). Today, our astronomers are so good that they build computer...
Does the Ipuwer Papyrus Provide Evidence for the Events of the Exodus?

Does the Ipuwer Papyrus Provide Evidence for the Events of the Exodus?

The Ipuwer papyrus, also known as the ‘Admonitions of Ipuwer’, is a controversial text that describes starvation, drought, death, and violent upheavals in ancient Egypt, with some maintaining that it...
Behistun Inscription, The Rosetta Stone of Persia

Behistun Inscription, The Rosetta Stone of Persia

The Behistun Inscription is an engraving located on the cliff of Mount Behistun (said to have had the meaning of ‘place where the gods dwell’ in antiquity). This inscription was written in three...
The Westcar Papyrus and the Miracle Stories of the Old Kingdom

The Westcar Papyrus and the Miracle Stories of the Old Kingdom

The Westcar Papyrus has afforded us the earliest series of wonder tales known to exist in the world; but it has also yielded the hint of a sudden revolution in Egyptian history. So writes James...
Words from the Ancient Past: The Sogdian Ancient Letters

Words from the Ancient Past: The Sogdian Ancient Letters

The Sogdians were a people of Iranian origin who lived in the fertile valleys of Central Asia between the sixth century BC and tenth century AD. The secret to the Sogdians’ success was their knack...
Prince Akinidad of Kush and the One Eyed Kandake in the Meroite-Roman War

Prince Akinidad of Kush and the One Eyed Kandake in the Meroite-Roman War

Strabo in his Geography (17 1.54) talks about the “one eyed Kandake” who fought the Romans. Between 30 BC and 22 BC the Romans and Meroites were at war. Meroitic-Kush never became part of the Roman...
Was Tamana a Universal Civilization of Mankind Before the Great Flood?

Was Tamana a Universal Civilization of Mankind Before the Great Flood?

Was there once a Universal World Culture? A researcher in Hawaii, Dr. Vomos-Toth Bator argued there was such a culture, and he presented over 1,000,000 place names from around the world to prove his...
Roasted Swan for Dinner? Oldest English Cookbook Reveals 200 Meals Fit for a King

Roasted Swan for Dinner? Oldest English Cookbook Reveals 200 Meals Fit for a King

Created in September 1387, The Forme of Cury is the oldest written cookbook in the English language. The manuscript was commissioned by King Richard II of England, best known for his deposition in...
Was Bolivia-Peru the Sunset Land of the Sumerians?

Was Bolivia-Peru the Sunset Land of the Sumerians?

In an article on the Fuente Magna Bowl , April Holloway highlighted the evidence of Sumerian writing in South America. The Fuente Magna Bowl and Pokotia monument indicate that Sumerians may have...
The Valley of the Kings and the Hopi: Constellations Send Ancient Messages

The Valley of the Kings and the Hopi: Constellations Send Ancient Messages

The thread of the constellations was very important to the builders of the pyramid complex. They went to great lengths to create them; carve them into solid stone and place them in the roof of the...
Secrets of Ancient Scroll of En-Gedi are Digitally Unraveled

Secrets of Ancient Scroll of En-Gedi are Digitally Unraveled

University of Kentucky Professor Brent Seales and his team have further unlocked writings in the ancient En-Gedi scroll -- the first severely damaged, ink-based scroll to be unrolled and identified...
Hidden in the Hieroglyphs: Is Ancient Egyptian a Lost Language?

Hidden in the Hieroglyphs: Is Ancient Egyptian a Lost Language?

The ancient Egyptian language is not just one set of symbols which people find on papyri bookmarks at museums. It's a complicated system of symbols which changed over time. Moreover, the words found...
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: The Largest Cache of Early Christian Manuscripts Discovered to Date

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: The Largest Cache of Early Christian Manuscripts Discovered to Date

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of texts that were discovered at Oxyrhynchus (known today as el-Bahnasa), a site located in Upper Egypt. This group of documents is seen as one of the most...
13th Century Maya Codex, Long Shrouded in Controversy, Proves Genuine

13th Century Maya Codex, Long Shrouded in Controversy, Proves Genuine

Brown University’s Stephen Houston and a team of leading researchers in anthropology and Maya archeology methodically verify the authenticity of the oldest known manuscript in ancient America...
Surya Siddhanta: The Startlingly Accurate Astronomy Book of the 1st Millennium BC

Surya Siddhanta: The Startlingly Accurate Astronomy Book of the 1st Millennium BC

Many people know the deeds of Ravana, the captor of Sita in the Indian Epic the Ramayana; however, less well known are the incredible accomplishments of his father-in-law, King Maya. According to...
Translation of 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Will Reveals Family Disputes Similar to Today

Translation of 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Will Reveals Family Disputes Similar to Today

Unlike ancient Latin and Greek texts, Egyptian hieroglyphs have been mostly inaccessible for the average ancient history enthusiast. But this is beginning to change with a collection of texts that...
Deriv; Left, Roman legionnaire reenactor in period gear. Right, Jabbaren rock painting (Via author)

The Giant of Algeria: Iconographic Evidence of Roman Expeditions in the Sahara

There are thousands of rock engravings at the dramatic rocky landscape of Jabbaren, Algeria. Jabbaren is an archaeological site in the Tassili N'ajjer National Park in Algeria with some of the most...
The book of deer

The Ancient Book of Deer, Oldest Known Gaelic Text in Existence

Currently housed at the University of Cambridge Library, the historic Book of Deer is said to have been discovered by the University's librarian, Henry Bradshaw, around 1860. It is said to be the...

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