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27 March, 2019 - 16:51 dhwty

Unravelling the True Story of the Beautiful Tara Brooch: A Masterpiece of Celtic Metalwork

The Tara Brooch is an ancient Celtic metalwork masterpiece. Stories say it came from the Hill of Tara - traditionally regarded as the seat of the Irish High Kings. Although that is a fabrication...

The brightly colored Narcissus painting recently recovered in Pompeii.

16 February, 2019 - 22:42 Ed Whelan

An Outstanding Narcissus Painting is Found in Pompeii… Would it Have Pleased Him?

In mythology, Narcissus became so enraptured with his own handsome appearance the thought of never obtaining the beauty he saw reflected back at him led to his demise. His self-love story has...

Many stories from mythology are misinterpreted. ‘Norandino and Lucina Discovered by the Ogre’ (1624) by Giovanni Lanfranco. (Public Domain) Image of the Sumerian god Enki. Modern reproduction of a detail of the Adda seal (c. 2300 BC). (Public Domain) Assyrian relief carving from Nimrud, 883–859 BC, depicting a so-called handbag. (Metropolitan Museum of Art) ‘Eve Tempted by the Serpent’ (1799-1800) by William Blake. (Public Domain) By Priscilla Vogelbacher

30 January, 2019 - 14:00 P.R.I.S.S.

The Nephilim, Anunnaki and More: Four Common Mistakes Made When Interpreting Mythology

The 19th century gave us some of the best work on mythology, but much of it has been ignored over time. Since around the 1960s, when excitement was at its peak regarding space travel and the moon...

19 January, 2019 - 13:38 dhwty

Ancient Gandhara Kingdom Was A Melting Pot That Left Its Legacy in Art

Gandhara was an ancient kingdom located in what is the region that is today northwestern Pakistan and northeastern Afghanistan. The history Gandhara can be traced all the way back to the Vedic period...

Spirit poles on Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal, Russia.

16 January, 2019 - 23:00 Alistair

Puzzling Prehistoric Posts: The Enigmatic Spirit Poles of Eurasia

Totem poles are often seen as quintessential features of the Northwest Coast of America. Simon Fraser University lists ten types of American totem pole, which indicate their diversity and how the...

The face of Christ with proposed reconstruction.

15 November, 2018 - 13:53 Ed Whelan

A Rare Byzantine Painting of Jesus’ Face Has Been Uncovered in Israel

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a painting of the face of Jesus Christ from the Byzantine period. The find is exciting experts, who believe that the discovery can help us to understand Early...

A foreboding comet crossing the sky. Ancient comet sightings were often linked to important, and sometimes frightening, events in the minds of those who witnessed them.

9 November, 2018 - 14:01 ashley cowie

Ancient Comet Sightings Inspired, Frightened, Dazzled, and Baffled Past Astronomers and Star Gazers

Since the earliest days of humankind, our ancestors looked into the night sky and watched bright celestial spectacles we know today as comets. While modern astronomers have a rich understanding of...

1 November, 2018 - 17:56 Ed Whelan

$31 Million Assyrian Relief is Causing a Great International Controversy

A rare Assyrian stone relief has been sold in New York for the record-breaking price of $31 million, destroying the previous highest selling price for a piece of Assyrian art. Museums and collectors...

Native American Tiny 'Elephant Stones', Mammoth Effigies, Carvings, Totems From Pennsylvania. Portable rock art such as this has been found globally.

31 October, 2018 - 18:05 Jul Jones

Life Before the Clovis: Portable Rock Art as Evidence of Pre Ice Age Humans in North America

The worship of carved stone dates back to man’s earliest evolution. Portable rock art is human made markings on movable natural rock or stone. A global phenomenon, these Stone Age objects have been...

A portrait of Michelangelo flanked by his sculpture ‘Madonna of Bruges’ and a detail of the Redeemed from his painting of ‘The Last Judgement.’

3 October, 2018 - 03:18 dhwty

Michelangelo: A Mixture of True Talent Meeting Great Luck and Perseverance

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, better known as Michelangelo, is one of the most famous figures of the Italian Renaissance period (between the 14th and 16th centuries AD). The Renaissance...

: A segment of the exquisite Bayeux Tapestry. In this scene Odo, Bishop of Bayeux (with raised club), half-brother to William the Great, rallies the troops in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

6 September, 2018 - 05:33 lizleafloor

Nearly 1,000 Years Old, the Bayeux Tapestry is An Epic Tale and Medieval Masterpiece

The ancient Bayeux Tapestry, famous for its epic representation of medieval history, is a long, vividly embroidered cloth stretching hundreds of feet. Through exciting imagery it retells the events...

2 August, 2018 - 04:14 Bryan Hill

The Famous Maya City of Copan: A Site with Abundant Art and Hieroglyphs

Located near the border of present day Guatemala, is the ancient Maya city of Copán. A relatively small Mayan site, it dates back nearly 2,000 years and was once the easternmost city-state in the...

The monastery at Clonmacnoise held a strategic position.

30 July, 2018 - 13:59 dhwty

Clonmacnoise: Medieval Monastery Still Standing After 80 Attacks by the English, Irish, Vikings and Normans!

Clonmacnoise is a medieval monastic site located in County Offaly in the Irish province of Leinster. This monastic site is recorded to have been founded during the middle of the 6 th century AD,...

Some of the many paintings inside the Laas Geel caves, near Hargeisa in Somaliland, Somalia.

13 July, 2018 - 10:46 Bryan Hill

Laas Geel Complex and The Magnificent Ancient Rock Art of Somalia

Thousands of years ago, humans from the Neolithic age, decorated the walls of rock shelters with paintings of animals and humans at a site called Laas Geel in Somaliland. Their work would last 5,000...

Detail of a bronze statue presenting Shiva as the Lord of Dance. Nataraja from Tamil Nadu, India. Chola Dynasty.

21 June, 2018 - 01:56 dhwty

The Chola Dynasty: Exploring the Achievements of an Indian Empire Spanning 400 Years

The Chola Dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over the southern part of India for about 400 years. Although there were some up’s and down’s, including a time when Chola princesses were the only ones...

17 June, 2018 - 13:58 dhwty

Timeless Beauty of the 25,000-Year-Old Venus of Brassempouy

About 25,000 years ago an Upper Paleolithic artist took up a piece of ivory and lovingly carved the details of a woman’s coiffed hair or headdress, gracefully curved chin, intense eyes, and carefully...

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Myths & Legends

Camazotz Maya style Batman suit created by Mexican designer Kimbal

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

As social media is abuzz with who might be cast in the next Batman movie, with concerns that some of the candidates might not be menacing enough to fill those big black boots, it might be time to...

Kombucha: Revered For Millennia, But Is It Really A Life Saving Brew?

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History

La Llorona: The Terrible Truth About Mexico's Weeping Woman

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

Human Origins

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

Although it may be a long time (if ever) before pagans reclaim their Yule from Christmas or their Samhain from Halloween, it is worthwhile to explore these ancient religious traditions. The Wheel of the Year follows the cycle of pagan festivals.

Ancient Anomalous Human Skeletons: Humanity Could be Much Older Than We Think

Rh-Negative Blood: An Exotic Bloodline or Random Mutation?

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

The Takenouchi Manuscripts and the Story of Humanity Never Told

Ancient Technology

Example of an ancient calendar. The ancient Egyptians created a calendar with 365 days in a year.

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The calendar is one of mankind’s most important inventions. Calendars allowed societies to organize time for religious, social, economic, and administrative purposes. The calendar, or rather, two sets of calendars, were invented by the ancient Egyptians. One was the first with 365 days in a year.

Does ‘New Evidence’ Prove Noah’s Ark Is Buried on a Turkish Mountain?

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

The Great Pyramid at Giza and Noah’s Ark: Are we coming closer to an understanding of the Ancient Mind? Part II

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

Eerie Ancient Wax Sculptures for Hexing Enemies, Destroying Demons, and Remembering the Dead

Ancient Places

The magnificent Boat of Khufu, Solar Boat Museum, Giza

The Great Boat of Khufu: The ‘Black Box’ to the Construction of the Pyramids

Perhaps this is not the first time that the reader will have heard of how in 1954 the Great Boat of Khufu was discovered, practically intact, at the southern face of the Kheops Pyramid, and how it is believed by the majority to have had cultic significance, although opinions vary within scientific circles. One belief was that the Sun sailed in such a vessel during the day, crossing over to another during the night hours.

The Chrysanthemum Throne: A Two and a Half Millennia History of Divine Imperial Rule in Japan

Masyaf Castle, the Seat of the Assassins

The White Slaves of Barbary

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

The enduring mystery of The Lady of Dai mummy

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

Cracking the Code to Discover Ancient Tarot Symbolism and Forgotten Universal Knowledge

The Secret Strategic Plans of Darius the Great

The Secrets of the Kabbalists Garden

Our Mission

At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exists countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe.

We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives.

By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings.

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