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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Artifacts

There are undoubtedly millions of ancient artifacts from the past that have served to shed light on the lives of our ancestors from many millennia ago. But some ancient mystical artifacts stand out for their uniqueness, their intrigue, or their ability to expand our knowledge about previously unknown aspects of our history. Here we feature many such ancient history artifacts, from amazing examples of ancient technology, to artistic masterpieces, unexplained objects, ancient texts, and mysterious artifacts that shed light on the daily lives of our ancestors.

A display of the Benin Bronzes in the British Museum.

The Benin Bronzes: A Tragic Story of Slavery and Imperialism Cast in Brass

The Benin Bronzes is the name given to a group of artifacts produced by the Benin Empire, which occupied the area which is today Nigeria. The Benin Bronzes consist of several thousand commemorative...
Medieval Sex and Scandal: Consistory Courts and Morality in Medieval England

Medieval Sex and Scandal: Consistory Courts and Morality in Medieval England

In the 21st century, most people would consider their intimate and sexual relationships to be a private matter. In the Middle Ages however, the division between private and public areas in the lives...
Square & compasses (Insignia of Freemasons) carved into stone. (Public Domain) Part of The Beale Papers Names Cipher C3.

Does Cryptic Code Hidden in Beale Ciphers Reveal Secrets of the Freemasons?

The Beale Ciphers have challenged treasure hunters for almost 200 years. Is the Declaration of Independence the key to finding the gold, silver, and precious stones that Beale buried near Bedford,...
Pseudo-History or Famed Fiction? Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia

Pseudo-History or Famed Fiction? Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia

Geoffrey of Monmouth has gone down in history for his classic epic, the Historia Regum Britanniae , known in English as The History of the Kings of Britain . This masterpiece of medieval literature...
The Protector of Kea Island: The Lion of Kea

The Protector of Kea Island: The Lion of Kea

The Greek island of Kea has been a popular location since ancient times, given that it is the closest Cycladic Island to Athens . One of the most famous monuments of the island is the Lion of Kea, an...
The Quest to Understand Haliphat’s Speaking Handshapes

The Quest to Understand Haliphat’s Speaking Handshapes

Over three decades ago, walking up a wide and elegant marbled staircase passageway in a museum, a funerary relief bust of Haliphat in a secluded alcove first caught my eye. From that moment I was...
Grinding stone, Dendera Temple, Egypt.

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

Most people know of the great construction achievements of the dynastic Egyptians such as the pyramids and temples of the Giza Plateau area as well as the Sphinx. Many books and videos show...
The Copper Age: When Metallurgy Came to Rule the World

The Copper Age: When Metallurgy Came to Rule the World

The so-called Chalcolithic - or the Copper Age - is one of the great eras of cultural development, fitting into the main framework of man’s crucial steps towards civilization. This period introduced...
Teotihuacan, Mexico

Uncovering Ancient Pyramid Science at Teotihuacan, Where Men Become Gods

Teotihuacan’s Lost Kings , a television special, took an hour long look at the great city, its inhabitants, and the excavation of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, (also known as the Feathered Serpent...
Sanxingdui bronze heads wearing gold foil masks

Gold Mask of Mysterious Sanxingdui Culture Inspires Memes

Amid the once-tranquil village of Sanxingdui, in a quiet part of Sichuan province in China, a remarkable discovery took place which immediately attracted international attention and has since...
Vimanas: Greater Understanding on a Hotly Debated Topic

Vimanas: Greater Understanding on a Hotly Debated Topic

It is an intellectual pleasure to find friends and topics that intertwine over time and lead to greater understanding. It is like lifting a heavy velvet cloth and discovering ancient and precious...
Ready for the Afterlife: The Mummification Process in Ancient Egypt

Ready for the Afterlife: The Mummification Process in Ancient Egypt

When it comes to ancient Egypt and its long lasting and influential civilization, plenty of its unique characteristics can seem peculiar and otherworldly. Sure, it is no secret that ancient Egypt was...
Footprints, Fairies and even a Foreskin: 10 Bizarre Relics from History

Footprints, Fairies and even a Foreskin: 10 Bizarre Relics from History

From time immemorial, people had the need to venerate objects of great significance: religious relics, mythical symbols, or depictions of holy figures. And as if answering this need, the religious...
The Curse of the Mijikenda Vigango Statues

The Curse of the Mijikenda Vigango Statues

During the 1980s, Coastal Kenya experienced the largest heist of ancestral artifacts in history. Over 300 wooden Vigango statues were taken from the sacred grounds of several Mijikenda tribes. These...
Medieval wooden catapult

Catapult: The Long-Reaching History of a Prominent Medieval Siege Engine

One of the most iconic images of the European Middle Ages is the castle. This defensive structure was often heavily fortified and provided its inhabitants with much-needed safety. It was usually...
The Mysterious Codex Argenteus: Famed Silver Bible of the Goths

The Mysterious Codex Argenteus: Famed Silver Bible of the Goths

The Goths, one of the major Germanic tribes of ancient times, were a key player in the events that marked the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. Although their era lasted only a few centuries,...
Helle’s Toilet: Three-Person Loo Seat was Unusual Medieval Status Symbol

Helle’s Toilet: Three-Person Loo Seat was Unusual Medieval Status Symbol

Helle’s Toilet is the name given to a Medieval toilet seat that was discovered during an archaeological excavation in London. It is most notable for being a rare example of a triple toilet seat...
Sex and love were major themes in classic erotic art, as they remain today. (Public Domain/Deriv)

The Erotic Art of Ancient Greece and Rome

Craig Barker / The Conversation Rarely does L.P. Hartley’s dictum that “the past is a foreign country” hold more firmly than in the area of sexuality in classical art. Classic erotic art, erotic...
The futhark on the Vadstena bracteate.

Unearthing Ancient Magic in The Runes –Messages with Hidden Symbols and Powerful Numbers

The etymology of the word “rune” means: “to carve, or to cut.” In Low German the word is “raunen.” As the runes were cut and carved into wood, metal or stone, the word “rune” was analogous to the...
The Shining History of Gold: From Ancient Treasure to Modern Tech

The Shining History of Gold: From Ancient Treasure to Modern Tech

Gold is arguably the human race’s most valued commodity and a lot could be written about the history of this metal. The luster, beauty, resistance to tarnishing, malleability, and overall brilliance...
The Shroud of Turin: modern, digitally processed image of the face on the cloth [left] and the full body image as seen on the shroud [right].

The Shroud of Turin: Jesus' Bloodstained Burial Cloth or a Fascinating Forgery?

The Shroud of Turin is believed by many to be the bloodstained burial cloth Jesus of Nazareth was wrapped in after his crucifixion. But skeptics say it is a forgery, or at best only a religious...
 Illustration of a Viking shield wall (unknown artist)

Dissolving Myths: Vikings Did NOT Hide Behind Shield Walls

By ThorNews According to Rolf Warming, an archaeologist and researcher at the University of Copenhagen, the Vikings did not use shield walls in combat. A typical Viking shield was relatively small...
Roman dodecahedra

The Enigma of the Roman Dodecahedra

The Roman dodecahedron is a small, hollow object made of bronze or (more rarely) stone, with a geometrical shape that has 12 flat faces. Each face is a pentagon, a five-sided shape. The Roman...
A gold Claddagh wedding ring.

Legendary Claddagh Rings: What are the True Origins of these Symbolic Irish Wedding Rings?

The Claddagh ring design of two hands holding a crowned heart is a recognizable symbol of Ireland and enduring love. It is hugely popular as a fashion accessory and a symbolic gesture. While everyone...

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