books

28 May, 2018 - 20:08 dhwty

The Search for the Lost Library of Ivan the Terrible

The thought of a lost library is a tantalizing one, as one can speculate and imagine the kind of knowledge it might provide to the person who finds it. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that there...

Scholarly tools from left: quills, styluses and book clasps.

6 March, 2018 - 13:55 ashley cowie

Tools of Medieval Wisdom Unearthed Beneath England’s Ancient Academic Hub

Archaeologists in England have unearthed in excess of 10,000 medieval artifacts in central Oxford and every single one of them is providing a clearer picture of day to day life at Oxford University,...

5 January, 2018 - 01:56 Winston Hall

A Masterful $2.5 Million Dollar Rare-Book Heist Stuns Community

In an unprecedented incident in 2017, a group of unknown thieves rappelled down into a specially secured warehouse in Feltham, Middlesex in the early hours of January 30 th and made off with 160 rare...

One of the first cultures to have books were the Maya codices written on doubled-over pages and covered by a layer of "stucco".

20 June, 2017 - 22:56 Veronica Parkes

The Maya Codices: The Precious Remaining History of an Eradicated Civilization

The Maya were a powerful pre-Columbian civilization who thrived between AD 600 – AD 800. They were literate, had a complex language including pictograms, glyphs, and phonetic representations. They...

24 February, 2017 - 01:58 Veronica Parkes

The Library of Pergamum: A Contender for the Greatest Library of the Ancient World

Pergamum, Anatolia, now the modern Turkish town of Bergama, was one of the most important cities in the Hellenistic Greek age. It was culturally rich, with an extensive library at its heart. The city...

1 January, 2017 - 04:11 ancient-origins

The House of Wisdom: One of the Greatest Libraries in History

Adding to the list of names among the greatest libraries of the past, the Bayt al-Hikmah (translated as ‘The House of Wisdom’) was established in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire, around...

22 November, 2016 - 02:08 MartiniF

Seers, Women of Action: The Sibyls of the Ancient World

Virgil, in his Aeneid , describes Deiphobe, better known as the Sibyl of Cumae, as coming from “a hundred perforations in the rock, a hundred mouths from which the many utterances rush” (43-5, 163)...

25 September, 2016 - 14:50 Kerry Sullivan

The Secret Tunnels and Missing Manuscripts of Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey

The ancient monastery of Mont Sainte-Odile in the French region of Alsace is steeped in mystery. From secret tunnels to the strange disappearance of more than 1,000 ancient books, it has many a story...

20 May, 2016 - 00:46 Alda S

The Icelandic Kvöldvaka: Cultural Phenomenon in the Twilight Hours

Iceland’s strong love of literature is a source of amazement to many people. In an era of declining book sales around the world, this small North Atlantic island continues to publish and sell more...

Baroque library hall in the National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague. A collection of 13,000 occult and witchcraft books that were once part of Himmler’s “witch library” were found in the library.

21 March, 2016 - 20:52 Natalia Klimczak

Stash of Books from the Witch Library of Nazi Chief Himmler Found in Prague

A collection of 13,000 occult and witchcraft books has been found recently in the National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague. It belonged to Heinrich Himmler, a SS Nazi chief. The collection...

19 December, 2015 - 21:43 valdar

The Hidden Origins of Il Separatio: Manuscripts Deemed Dangerous and Banned

Throughout history a large number of books have been banned only because they contained various uncomfortable truths or tales. Such books have been systematically hunted down and destroyed by...

A five-volume treatise concerning medical matters, Dioscorides, De Materia Medica, Byzantium, 15th century.

7 October, 2015 - 21:34 ancient-origins

Could ancient textbooks be the source of the next medical breakthrough?

The discovery that won the latest Nobel Prize for Medicine wouldn’t have been much of a revelation to doctors in ancient China. Pharmaceutical chemist Tu Youyou established that the compound...

24 June, 2015 - 00:27 aprilholloway

Magic of the Ancients: Five Incredible Texts of Spells, Curses, and Incantations

As long as humanity has had beliefs in a higher power, the use of magic, spells, curses, and incantations have featured widely across cultures. A number of influential texts or ‘grimoires’ (textbooks...

17 June, 2015 - 04:14 Mark Miller

Treasures of Mexico: The Mixtec, Aztec & Maya Codices that Survived the Conquistadors

When Europeans arrived in the New World, they did not only kill people with war, slavery and disease, they also attempted to destroy the cultures of the native peoples. Among so many cultural...

An unconscious naked man lying on a table being attacked by little demons armed with surgical instruments

4 June, 2015 - 21:51 Riley Winters

Devils, Demons, and Dangerous Creatures of the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum

Pseudomonarchia Daemonum , also known as the False Hierarchy of Demons , is a great compendium from the 16 th century dictating the names of sixty-nine demons. The title itself indicates that the...

Statue of King Rene House of Valois-Anjou.

10 May, 2015 - 19:24 Katrina Sisowath

Rene of Anjou - the Littlefinger of the pre-Renaissance Game of Thrones

Ask someone of the most notable figures in the 15 th century and they may respond with: Jeanne d’Arc, Cosimo de Medici, Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, or those involved in the War of the...

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Myths & Legends

Who Pulled the Sword from the Stone? The Truth of the Swords of King Arthur

This spring a new movie, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, is to hit the big screens. Staring Charlie Hunnam as the fabled warrior, the film title suggests that the central theme is Arthur’s legendary sword. It will be interesting to see just how the sword is depicted, considering that previous Arthurian epics have been far from true to the original tales.

Tuatha Dé Dannan, the Enchanting Predecessors of Irish Fairies and Elves

The Amazons: Ancient Warrior Women Dismissed as Myth and Legend Were Real Fearsome Fighters

Legendary Black Knights: Mysterious Medieval Entities of Neutrality

Thoth’s Storm: New Evidence for Ancient Egyptians in Ireland?

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

Human Origins

Matsya protecting Svayambhuva Manu and the seven sages at the time of Deluge

In 1872, the amateur Assyriologist, George Smith, made a discovery that would shock the world. Whilst studying a particular tablet from the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nineveh, he comes across a...

Thoth’s Storm: New Evidence for Ancient Egyptians in Ireland?

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

The awesome, terrible, and unknowable creator gods through history

The Maya myth of creation

Are The Nephilim Really The Offspring Of Sons of God And The Daughters Of Man?

Ancient Technology

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

The plague doctor mask is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Black Death. Though the image is iconic the relationship may be a little anachronistic. While plague doctors have been plying their trade since the Middle Ages, it was only after this period, during the 17th century, that they acquired their creepy trademark costume. But what does it mean?

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword?

Philip’s Fountain: The Oldest Still-In-Use Hydraulic Work in the World

The Ancient Invention of the Water Clock

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 3: Science in Antiquity

Ancient Places

Why Isn’t This Map in the History Books?

By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. But centuries ago, the land that is now the United States was a very different place...

Mysterious Labyrinth of Buda: Enigmatic Ancient Caves beneath Castle Suddenly and Inexplicably Evacuated by Police

A Millennium of Glory: The Rise and Fall of the Byzantine Empire

It Looks Like a Laser Cut But What Really Split the Ancient Al Naslaa Rock?

Xanten Archaeological Park – Step Back and Experience the Romans

Loftus Hall: Most Haunted House in Ireland Has Not Revealed All Its Dark Secrets

Opinion

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Mount Shasta, located near the Oregon border in northern California, holds the distinction of being one of the world’s preeminent sacred mountains. It is recognized as an eligible Native American...

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

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

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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.

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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.