Asia

Ancient places can be found all over Asia. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and open up a window on Asian history. Visiting such historical places in Asia can be an unforgettable experience.

Science is constantly discovering new archaeological places and uncovering more evidence into what we once thought we knew about our history, therefore offering new pieces to the ever changing puzzle of humanity’s past and altering how we interpret it. This section will present the most interesting archaeological sites all over Asia, as well as new discoveries of ancient places that are worth paying a visit.

21 ancient Han tombs have been discovered, including a rare 2,000-year-old double-layer burial tomb. Source: Xinhua

15 January, 2023 - 21:55 ashley cowie

Archaeological Treasure Trove! 21 Royal Han Tombs Unearthed in China

Archeologists exploring a mountainside in China have discovered 21 tombs dating back 2,000 years. The presence of luxury artifacts and a rare “couple’s grave” suggests this was an ancient royal...

Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh, India. Source: Dmitry Rukhlenko / Adobe Stock.

14 January, 2023 - 13:58 Joanna Gillan

16 Spectacular Photos of India’s Once-Powerful Hilltop Forts

India’s many remarkable forts and citadels stand as a testament to its rich and turbulent history. These towering monuments, the majority of which are castles, fortified palaces , or fortresses,...

Winter Solstice at Mnajdra Temple in Malta. Source: Declan Hillman / Adobe Stock

5 January, 2023 - 13:54 Robbie Mitchell

Eight of the Oldest Temples in the Ancient World

Since the earliest days of human civilization, humans have worshipped gods and built temples in their honor. Today, many of these impressive structures are still standing, a testament to the...

A CGI representation of the Pool of Siloam as it once would have been. Source: Israel Antiquities Authority Screenshot

3 January, 2023 - 21:54 Nathan Falde

Pool of Siloam Where Jesus Healed a Blind Man To Be Fully Excavated

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has announced that the 2,700-year-old Pool of Siloam, which is believed to have been used as a ritual bath by the ancient residents of Jerusalem, will be fully...

Scenes of the evacuation and flood of Petra historic site. Source: Twitter Screenshot

28 December, 2022 - 17:57 Sahir

Petra Historic World Heritage Site Blasted By Flash Floods

In another case of nature’s wrath rearing its head, flash floods have struck the iconic world heritage site at Petra, Jordan, forcing the evacuation of 1,700 tourists . A whopping 66 millimeters of...

Aerial view of Uşaklı Höyük excavations. At the bottom center, the circular structure, a further clue as to whether this is the holy city of Zippalanda, found during the 2022 excavation campaign is visible. Source: Emanuele Taccola/University of Pisa

28 December, 2022 - 13:59 ashley cowie

Closer Still To Identifying The Lost City Of Zippalanda

4,000-year-old Hittite texts speak of the lost cultic centre of Zippalanda, somewhere in modern Turkey. Now, new discoveries at the Uşaklı Höyüy site further suggest this was the ancient holy city...

Interior of the tomb purported to be that of Holly Salome in Israel. Source: Israeli Antiquities Authority

22 December, 2022 - 17:54 ashley cowie

Is This Really the Lost Cave Tomb of Holy Salome?

In the days leading up to the biggest Holy Day (holiday) of the Christian year, celebrating the birth of Christ, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have announced “the cave of Holy Salome,' the...

Visiting mythical places, like the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland pictured, helps us connect with our past, as well as nature. Source: drimafilm / Adobe Stock

29 November, 2022 - 00:52 Robbie Mitchell

Live the Legend: 8 Mythical Places That Actually Exist

When it comes to ancient mythology it can sometimes be difficult to separate fact from fiction. While most myths are obviously fictional, they often contain at least a grain of truth. The ancients...

The wako pirates are typically portrayed as Japanese pirates, but the reality was more complex. Depiction of a pirate ship sailing on the ocean against a golden sky. Source: Gasi / Adobe Stock

13 November, 2022 - 13:57 Molly Dowdeswell

The Notorious Wako Pirates of Japan

The wako (also called wokou or waegu) were a group of marauders that dominated the seas of East Asia for centuries. They have been seen by Western historians and culture as a kind of Japanese pirate...

A drone shot of the monastery, including a single-aisle church, refectory, cistern, storeroom and kitchen. The nearby courtyard building, lower right, may be an abbot’s house or ‘bishop’s palace.’ Siniyah Island in Umm al-Quwain, United Arab Emirates. Source: Nasser Muhsen Bin Tooq / Department of Archaeology and Tourism of Umm Al-Quwain via AP

6 November, 2022 - 17:50 Nathan Falde

Pre-Islamic Ruins Found in UAE Belong to Rare 6th Century Christian Monastery

The ruins of a Christian monastery dating back to the sixth or seventh century have been discovered on sandy Siniyah Island (Al Sinniyah Island), which is located in the southern Persian Gulf just...

These ancient Iraq carvings dating to the Assyrian Empire were unearthed near the Mashki Gate in Mosul, escaping destruction by IS in 2016. Source: Iraqi Ministry of Culture

22 October, 2022 - 02:00 ashley cowie

Ancient Assyrian Carvings Found Near Mashki Gate Destroyed by ISIS

Eight stunningly detailed carved stone panels have been discovered near the Mosul, Iraq. They were unearthed near Mashki Gate, a site that was bulldozed by Islamic State (IS) terrorists in 2016. The...

The entrance to the Ganesha Gumpha section of the Udayagiri cave complex. Source: Paramanu Sarkar / CC BY SA 4.0

18 October, 2022 - 02:00 Mark Brophy

Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves: Intricate Jain Monuments to Faith

There is an incredible archaeological site just outside the city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India that attracts thousands of tourists each year. The Udayagiri caves are part natural, part man-made...

Remote sensing and drone footage of the Lagash / Tell al-Hiba site was deployed to conclude that the ancient Mesopotamian city was made up of four marsh islands. Source: Lagash Archaeological Project

15 October, 2022 - 14:53 Sahir

Drone Footage Reveals Lost Mesopotamian City Built on Marsh Islands

Using remote sensing data technologies at the site of one of the oldest urban centers in world history, scientists have identified a vast Mesopotamian settlement called Lagash. Once upon a time,...

Japan’s Okunoin Cemetery, Est. 816 AD: Graveyard for 200,000 Monks

4 October, 2022 - 23:00 Mark Brophy

Japan’s Okunoin Cemetery, Est. 816 AD: Graveyard for 200,000 Monks

Nestled in the mountains of Wakayama prefecture a couple of hours southeast of Osaka, Japan by car lies a world-famous cemetery that is home to the graves of over 200,000 Buddhist monks who are said...

A replica of the Peking Man skull, because all the originals vanished, from the Peking Man Site, on display at the Paleozoological Museum of China. Source: Yan Li / CC BY-SA 3.0

1 October, 2022 - 14:54 Robbie Mitchell

The Tragic Story of the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian

Nothing sparks the human imagination quite like the question, what came before? Philosophers, theologians, and countless religions have spent millennia pontificating on what came before humanity as...

A man in black shirt sitting and doing qigong with his hands directing his body's life energy or qi. Source: Anna / Adobe Stock

12 September, 2022 - 18:57 Robbie Mitchell

The Ancient Chinese Healing Art of Qigong

Visit any park in China over the last few hundred years and you’re likely to see dozens of people practicing qigong. What started as a traditional Chinese treatment over 4,000 years ago has become a...

The medieval Bojnice castle in Slovakia is one of many real-life fairytale castles in Europe. Source: radu79 / Adobe Stock

12 September, 2022 - 14:51 Cecilia Bogaard

10 Real-life Fairytale Castles from Across Europe

The castles we see in movies and picture books were not just inspired by fantasy and imagination. In most cases they were based on real-life castles, many of which can be found in Europe. Evolving...

English Tourists in Campagna, one of many ancient tourist spots, by Carl Spitzweg. Source: Public domain

10 September, 2022 - 18:52 Lex Leigh

10 Tourist Spots That Ancient People Visited

Believe it or not, tourism has been around since the time of the Egyptians. Throughout history, ancient people used to travel not only for political and religious purposes, but also for leisure and...

An ancient Buddhist statue (a replica) amidst the ruins of a rescued Buddhist monastery at Nagarjunakonda, India. Source: Ms Sarah Welch / CC0

8 September, 2022 - 14:49 Sahir

Rescued From A Dam: Nagarjunakonda, India’s Flooded Buddhist Center

Nagarjunakonda is a historical town located in what is now Guntur district of the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It was a very important Buddhist site and center of learning from the...

One of 13 intentionally modified deformed skulls found at the Tol-e Chega Sofla Neolithic cemetery in Iran. Source: Tehran Times

7 September, 2022 - 22:49 Nathan Falde

Intentionally Deformed Skulls Dug Up in Odd Neolithic Iranian Cemetery

In excavations in southwestern Iran at the Tol-e Chega Sofla site on the Zohreh plain, a team of Iranian archaeologists unearthed 13 deformed skulls of humans, all of which had been intentionally...

Fantasy image of a lost civilization underwater. Source: Максим Горбанев/ Adobe Stock

5 September, 2022 - 18:52 Lex Leigh

Nine Civilizations That Met Mysterious (and Unfortunate) Ends

One of the most fascinating subjects to study throughout history is the rise and fall of various civilizations. While in some cases we have an understanding of the evolution and downfall of these...

The mythology of cultures around the world is filled with tales of underground cities and caves. Image of the underground city of Cappadocia in Turkey. Source: Wirestock Creators / Adobe Stock

27 August, 2022 - 01:56 Joanna Gillan

Underground Cities Around the World – Myths and Reality

Underground structures, and sometimes even entire cities, have always been part of myths and religions around the world. While a few of these have been discovered, most of them have not. Alongside...

The village and citadel at Thula have their roots in the Himyarite kingdom. Source: fotoember/ Adobe Stock

26 August, 2022 - 14:48 Robbie Mitchell

The Himyarite Kingdom’s Bloody Conversion to Judaism: Passion or Ploy?

The Himyarite Kingdom was established in 110 BC and lasted until 570 AC. It is most often remembered these days as the “Jewish Kingdom”, thanks to the fact that for some time its predominant religion...

The center of the late-Neolithic-period Chinese pyramid palace city slowly emerging from the landscape it became part of thousands of years ago. Source: China Daily

11 August, 2022 - 18:56 Sahir

King Carved In Stone Found at 4,200-Year-Old Chinese Pyramid Palace

A team of archaeologists have potentially found the portrait of a king carved into stone at the base of a massive prehistoric pyramid complex in northwest China. At more than 70 meters (230 feet) in...

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