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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.

A land purchase document which is a square brick with writing that can be seen on the front, most of which is blurred. From the upper right, only part of the words "Wang Village, Yuanqu County, Jiangzhou, Jiangzhou, South East Road, Dajin Kingdom... Name of Gongcao... Mingchang..." and other parts of the text can be discerned. (Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology)

800-year-old Jin Period Tomb in China is a Window into Funeral Customs of the Age

Detailed findings from an extraordinary Jin Dynasty tomb in Shanxi province of central China that was discovered in 2019 have recently been made public - a magnificent ornately carved brick structure...
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan undergoing imaging to reveal the hidden text. Source: Lumiere Technology/Pascal Cotte and Salvatore Apicella

Manuscript Containing Missing Details of Ptolemy’s Meteoroscope Decrypted

A parchment, part of a larger manuscript found in the library of the Bobbio Abbey in Italy, is believed to be authored by ancient Greek mathematician, astronomer, and geographer Claudius Ptolemy. It...
Sharon Mintz of Sotherby’s with the Codex Sassoon, oldest Hebrew Bible. Source: Courtesy of Sotheby’s

A Nearly 1,100-Year-Old Hebrew Bible Could Be the Most Expensive Ever Sold

Renowned auction house, Sotheby’s in New York, prepares itself for the sale of possibly the most expensive historical document ever sold at an auction, in the form of Codex Sassoon. This is one of...
Lake Superior glyphs. Source: YouTube Screenshot / America Unearthed

Who Mined Lake Superior? Ancient Glyphs Solve Bronze Age Mystery (Video)

For centuries, the shores of Lake Superior have held countless secrets, hidden in the depths of the lake and the surrounding wilderness. Recently, a team of archaeologists and linguists stumbled upon...
Predynastic rock art - with ruler boat procession, ca. 3200 BC, Wadi al Agebab. Source: © Mohamed Abdel Hay Abu Baker

Plea to Protect Predynastic Rock Art to Save the Deep Past of Egypt

In some of the harshest landscapes found anywhere in Egypt, archaeologists have discovered a stunning collection of petroglyphs (rock art) and inscriptions that date from the fifth millennium BC up...
The medallion bearing the earliest known mention of the Norse god Odin.     Source: Arnold Mikkelsen/ Denmark National Museum

Oldest Inscription of ‘Odin’ Resets Beliefs About Norse Mythology

Archaeologists in Denmark are celebrating the discovery of the oldest inscription mentioning the god Odin. This story begins with the 2021 discovery of a 5th century collection of Norse treasures at...
Nile mosaic in Palestrina      Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

Archaeologist Digs for Evidence of the Rosetta Stone’s Ancient Egyptian Rebellion

By Jay Silverstein /The Conversation The Rosetta Stone is not known for its content, but as a lexicon of Egyptian hieroglyphics. The decree inscribed on the stone, however, discusses a violent revolt...
A sample of Codex Leicester by Leonardo da Vinci. Source: Public Domain

Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester: A Masterpiece of Science and Art

Have you ever wanted to explore the mind of one of history's greatest polymaths? The Codex Leicester gives history experts and art gurus alike the opportunity to do so. This famous book is a treasure...
The pyramid texts of ancient Egypt’s pyramids are a rich source of information on their beliefs and religion. Source: EvrenKalinbacak/ Adobe Stock

The Pyramid Texts: Incantations Carved in Stone

The ancient Egyptians were known for their elaborate funerary traditions and beliefs in life after death, with the pharaohs being the most powerful and religious rulers of their time. The Pyramid...
 Part of the 16-meter-long document from Saqqara that includes illustrations and text from the Book of the Dead of Ahmose. Source: Supreme Council of Antiquities

First Public Display of 16-meter-long Papyrus Found in Saqqara Casket

The exciting discovery of a 16-meter-long (52.5 ft) ancient papyrus found in a sarcophagus in Egypt's Saqqara region has now been unveiled. A papyrus of this size and quality had not been discovered...
Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III. Source: Asta/Public Domain

The Majestic Medinet Habu and the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III

Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses III was one of the last great Ancient Egyptian pharaohs of the New Kingdom period. The second ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty, Ramesses III was a notable warrior pharaoh,...
'Song of Songs' illustrated by Florence Kingsford/Southern Methodist University. Source: Public Domain

Why is a Love Poem Full of Sex in the Bible?

By Jonathan Kaplan /The Conversation Many Americans have heard the expression “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” – in fact, a quick Google search turns up myriad websites offering wedding...
The Book of Revelation. Source: Brian Jackson / Adobe Stock

The Book of Revelation is Filled with Ancient Curses, New Research Reveals

The Book of Revelation is filled with prophetic visions of apocalyptic events. But if the astonishing conclusions of a Biblical researcher from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) are correct,...
Representational image depicting ancient text being brought to life by artificial intelligence, such as the newly announced Fragmentarium AI. Source: Надежда Семироз / Adobe Stock

The Fragmentarium: New AI Tool Pieces Together Ancient Babylonian Texts

Artificial intelligence has now officially seeped into ancient history. Linguists at the Institute for Assyriology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany have created an artificial intelligence (...
The Bjørnstad Ship carving, Norway. Source: Sarpsborg Turist as/Visit Norway

The Bjørnstad Ship: A Rare Window into the Nordic Bronze Age

Situated near Sarpsborg, Norway, the enigmatic Bjørnstad ship is a fantastic glimpse into the prehistoric, pre-Viking age of Scandinavia. Such ancient carvings are few, and often hard to discover -...
The world’s oldest runestone, just found in Svingerud, Norway. Source: Alexis Pantos/KHM, UiO

Earliest Runic Inscription Discovered in Norway

‘The dream stone of all runologists’ that can potentially provide clues to the origins of Western writing has been discovered in Norway. A runestone with inscriptions dating back to the earliest...
Research of Latin papyrus texts has allowed for a deeper understanding of the Roman world. Representational image of papyrus scrolls. Source: shaiith / Adobe Stock

Latin Papyrus Texts Reanimate Fossils of the Roman World

The PLATINUM project claims to be a “Partnership for Learning and Teaching in University Mathematics.” The study began with the goal of analyzing existing Latin papyrus texts dating to the 1st to 8th...
Auroch bull painting in the Lascaux cave, with the four dots indicated. Source: JoJan /CC BY 4.0

21,500-Year-Old “Writing?” Not Everyone Is Buying It!

A group of 21,500-year-old painted “dots and lines” are at the center of an academic debate as to whether they are a form of proto writing. While multiple researchers claim they represent “an ancient...
Interview of Richard II and Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. The nephew and uncle were longtime rivals.	Source: Public Domain

Thomas of Woodstock and Shakespeare's Twisted History

William Shakespeare wrote ten history plays. Of these, one of the most famous is Richard II . The play Richard II , written around 1595, is based on the rule of King Richard II (reign 1377-1399), but...
A page from an 18th-century copy of the Dhātupāṭha of Pāṇini (MS Add.2351) held by Cambridge University Library.  Source: © Cambridge University Library/CC BY-NC 3.0

2,500-Year-Old ‘Language Machine’ Is Finally Decoded

A grammatical puzzle from ancient India has baffled scholars for 2,500 years. Now, a Cambridge scientist has finally cracked the meta-code underlying the ancient ‘language machine’. Pāṇini was a...
A door sill from the palace of King Adad-Nirari III, at Nimrud. Source: Michael Danti/

Archaeologists Salvage Inscribed Palace Door Threshold at City of Nimrud

A 6.5-foot (2 meters)-high threshold stone from the 9th and 8th century BC has been unearthed by archaeologists at the ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud. This is the first major excavation at the site...
Did an ancient Greek courtesan write the first sex guide? Harem Scene, oil painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1848. Source: Public Domain

Filthy Philaenis? The Ancient Mediterranean Sex Guide that Steamed Up the West

Often referred to as the author of the Mediterranean Kama Sutra , little is known about Philaenis of Samos, who likely wrote this work around the 4th century BC. She is the most mentioned author of...
Sayburç relief in Turkey shows men in combat with animals and is the oldest narrative scene on record. Source: K. Akdemir/Antiquity Publications Ltd

Oldest Narrative Scene: A Man, Holding His Penis, and Fighting Leopards!

An 11,000-year-old carving from a Neolithic bench in south-eastern Turkey maybe the world’s oldest narrative scene. It depicts menacing leopards, amongst other animals, flanking two men, one of whom...
Inscribed lead Roman curse tablet. Source: British Museum / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

8 Hilarious Curse Tablets from the Roman World

The Roman Empire was famous for many things, but did you know they were also famous for their curse tablets? These tablets, called defixiones by researchers, were a way for ancient Romans to express...

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