artifact

A beautifully decorated bent sword, 826-600 BC, part of the finds in a noble's grave at Oss in The Netherlands.

18 February, 2019 - 23:02 dhwty

The Killing of Swords: A Destructive Funerary Rite To Release the Spirit of Weapons Into the Afterlife

The deliberate destruction of grave goods before burial is a funerary practice found in a number of different ancient cultures. The most notable grave goods that are ‘killed’ are weapons such as...

Two Roman lead coffins were recently discovered in a quarry in Surrey.

9 February, 2019 - 19:00 Ed Whelan

Two Roman Coffins with Celtic Motifs, One Containing an Adult and Infant, Found in England

Archaeologists in England have made the rare discovery of two lead caskets from the Roman era but with clear Celtic influence. One of the coffins contains the remains of an adult and infant, probably...

Plumber Jannick Vestergaard and operator Henning Nøhr unearth a medieval sword on a Danish Street, February 5th.

8 February, 2019 - 22:56 Ed Whelan

Stunning Discovery of Medieval Sword by Workmen on a Danish Street

Many rare historical objects have been found during construction projects. A rare sword from the 14 th century has recently been unearthed in Denmark during a project in a busy city-street. The find...

The bed could be a possible English National Treasure.

4 February, 2019 - 23:01 Ed Whelan

Bed Bought Online for £2200 May be 15th Century Bridal Bed of King Henry VII

A bed bought online by an antiques dealer in Britain for just £2200 (US$ 2500) may actually be the only surviving example of royal furniture from the Tudor Era. It is believed that the ornately...

29 January, 2019 - 01:44 ancient-origins

Our Capable Cousins Were Tech Savvy – Practical Tests Prove Neanderthal Spears Could Kill at a Distance

By Dr. Annemieke Milks and Dr. Matt Pope / Science Daily Neanderthals have been imagined as the inferior cousins of modern humans, but a new study by archaeologists at UCL reveals for the first time...

23 January, 2019 - 14:01 ashley cowie

Ancient Inca Artifact Discovered in Florida Points to a $4 billion Sunken Treasure Hoard

In a confidential location at sea near Melbourne, Florida, explorers and treasure recovery experts have found an ancient Peruvian funeral mask which they think is evidence of a sunken treasure worth...

27 December, 2018 - 14:00 dhwty

The Riddle of the Roman Holey Jar – Why Would A Vessel Be Full of Holes?

One of the most unusual pieces of Roman pottery around is a regular looking jar but for the feature of having many holes in its body. Since it’s restoration from a pile of broken pieces found in a...

Ribchester Helmet, discovered in the summer of 1796 by the son of Joseph Walton who was playing behind his father’s house in Ribchester, Lancashire, England

25 December, 2018 - 19:18 dhwty

The Sinister Roman Cavalry Helmet of the Ribchester Hoard

The Ribchester Helmet is a cavalry helmet dating to the Roman period in Britain. As indicated by its name, the helmet was found in Ribchester, Lancashire, in the northwest of England. The Ribchester...

21 December, 2018 - 14:02 dhwty

The Enigmatic Ancient Royal Game of Ur – Will We Ever Understand It?

The Royal Game of Ur (known also as the Game of Twenty Squares) is a board game from ancient Mesopotamia. This two-player game is one of the oldest known board games and was immensely popular in the...

Karl Martin bought the jar at a car-boot sale with another pot for £4, was told of its antiquity by a colleague at the local auctioneers, Hansons.

3 December, 2018 - 22:55 Ed Whelan

Car-boot Sale Toothbrush Holder Revealed to be a 4000-year-old Artifact

In Britain there has been a discovery of a piece of pottery from one of the most important civilizations in the ancient world – and it has been serving as a toothbrush holder for a number of years...

Selection of items from the Yorkshire Museum Collection including the mysterious Roman object.

24 October, 2018 - 22:54 Ed Whelan

Mysterious Roman Object Identified After 150 Years is One of Only 23 in the World

There are many curious and mysterious objects that have been unearthed by archaeologists down the years. Many of them have baffled experts for a long time. One of these enigmatic objects was a small...

17 July, 2018 - 12:15 Bryan Hill

Goujian: The Ancient Chinese Sword that Defied Time

Fifty years ago, a rare and unusual sword was found in a tomb in China. Despite being well over 2,000 years old, the sword, known as the Goujian, did not have a single trace of rust. The blade drew...

Detail of the Wallace sword on display inside William Wallace monument.

9 July, 2018 - 21:54 Kerry Sullivan

The Wallace Sword: Was it Truly Wielded by the Famous Scottish ‘Braveheart’?

Many times, evidence of fantastic finds vanishes, leaving behind only legends (think the Tulli Papyrus or Robin Hood’s Hideout). However, sometimes, fabulous artifacts from history manage to survive...

15 June, 2018 - 22:51 Carly Silver

The Original Swiss Army Knife: Check Out This Must Have Gadget for Guys on the Go

The modern Swiss Army Knife didn’t make its debut until the nineteenth century, revolutionizing convenient tools on the go. But, as with so many other things, the ancient Romans did it first! Meet...

Archaeologists believe this is the head from a sculpture of an unknown authority figure who lived in Israel 2,800 years ago.

9 June, 2018 - 22:57 Alicia McDermott

Does 2,800-Year-Old Statue Head Depict a Forgotten Biblical King?

Archaeologists are in the midst of a mystery of forgotten identity. They are trying to discover the name behind a 2,800-year-old face found in the ancient city of Abel Beth Maacah in northern Israel...

The famous Omphalos considered to be the center of the Universe for ancient Greeks, Delphi, Greece.

5 June, 2018 - 21:51 dhwty

The Sacred Omphalos Stone, Navel of the World and Communicator of the Gods

An omphalos is a powerful symbolic artifact made from stone. Considered the ‘navel of the world’, the central point from which terrestrial life originated, an omphalos was an object of Hellenic...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Magu, Goddess of Longevity and immortal hemp maiden.

Magu: The Hemp Goddess Who Healed Ancient Asia

"Cannabis" and "criminal" are synonymous in many countries. While cannabis has been steadily weaving onto the "right" side of the law in recent years, the "high" people get from the plant is still often associated with negativity.

The symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000-year-old history

Ten Mythological Creatures in Ancient Folklore

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra and Other Magical Mutterings

Exploring the True Origins of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Ancient Symbolism of the Magical Phoenix

Human Origins

Facing the Facts: Just How Accurate Are Facial Reconstructions?

There have been a number of high-profile reconstructions of historical figures recently and it seems like whenever a reconstruction is shared there is controversy and argument about whether the person it portrays really looked like their facsimile.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

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

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

Do you dare enter a fairy ring? The mythical mushroom portals of the supernatural

The secret life of an ancient concubine

Ancient Technology

Stone of the Pregnant Woman, an example of ancient high-tech stonework in Hajar al Hibla at Baalbek in Lebanon.

The High-Tech Stonework of the Ancients: Unsolved Mysteries of Master Engineers

There are many stone artifacts from the ancient world made from the hardest stone on the planet such as granite and diorite, which have been cut and shaped with such quality, precision and accuracy that the standard explanations of their manufacture are simply inadequate.

Both a Princess and a Priestess, What Did the First Known Author Have to Share with the World?

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

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

The ancient invention of the steam engine by the Hero of Alexandria

Ancient Places

Excavation of two quarries in Wales by a UCL-led team of archaeologists and geologists has confirmed they are sources of Stonehenge's 'bluestones'– and shed light on how they were quarried and transported.

The Where, When and How of Quarrying Stonehenge 'Bluestones' Is Revealed in New Report

Geologists have long known that 42 of Stonehenge's smaller stones, known as 'bluestones', came from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, west Wales.

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

Spectacular Royal Han Tombs Reveal Wealth and Glory of China’s Golden Age

The Templar Tunnel: Knight’s Strategic Passageway Was Lost for 700 Years

The Mysterious Waffle Rock: A Bizarre Boulder with a Hazy Background

The Masonic Initiation Wells of the Quinta da Regaleira

Opinion

The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, Detail of the first Band west from the center. From left to right: two wind creatures (the winged ram with four heads personifies the south wind), the snake- and frog-headed eight goddesses and gods of the Ogdoad who ruled the cosmos before the creation of the world and Osiris seated on a throne sails across the sky as personification of the full moon accompanied by the seated goddesses Nephtys (left) and Isis on the right (Maat stands near the bow of the ship). Siri

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

In Egypt, Sirius was the Star of Isis, Isis being the companion and rescuer of the god Osiris. In a very deep way, Osiris was Egypt.

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

Alchemy and Generating Lifeforce —Global Temples Made in the Shape of Lingams: Shaivite Bull Cult Part II

From Green Man to Bull Son, The Universal Shaivite Bull Cult – Part I

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.