Buddha

Ruins of the Tribal Nanzhao Culture Recently Uncovered

22 January, 2021 - 17:58 ML Childs

Ruins of the Tribal Nanzhao Culture Speak of Buddha

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient temple complex dating back to a society once subjugated by the Tang Dynasty - the state of Nanzhao. Researchers found the words "Buddha sarira enshrined by...

9 January, 2021 - 20:19 Alicia McDermott

Ancient Hilltop Monastery Led by Female Monk Found in India

Archaeologists have discovered a unique hilltop monastery in eastern India. The 11th or 12th century religious center is special because of its location and because it was headed by a Buddhist nun,...

19 December, 2020 - 17:35 Alicia McDermott

Surprise Discovery of a Headless 'Buddha' Statue Beneath Chinese Apartments

A huge, headless religious statue has been discovered carved into the rock face under apartment buildings in China. It is of questionable age - some claim it’s from the Republican era and others...

The tranquil waters of the Burning Lake in Bhutan, a place of miracles that still attracts thousands today! Source: Brian Weed / Adobe Stock

3 October, 2020 - 13:24 dhwty

Bhutan’s Burning Lake, Place of Legend and Pilgrimage

Bhutan’s sacred Burning Lake (known also as Membartsho or Mebar Tsho), in the Tang Valley, gets its name from a legend involving Pema Lingpa (or Padma Lingpa), a renowned Bhutanese saint. Today, the...

Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya, India. The site where Buddha attained enlightenment. Source: tinnaporn / Adobe Stock

6 August, 2020 - 01:15 Ed Whelan

Why Bodh Gaya is Considered the Navel of the Earth

India is the birthplace of Buddhism and as one of the oldest faiths followed, there are many wonderous Buddhist sites. There is also a growing recognition of the country’s Buddhist heritage. One of...

Screengrab from video showing vandals in Pakistan destroying Buddhist statue

20 July, 2020 - 13:52 Ed Whelan

Vandals Destroy Priceless Buddha Statue for Being Un-Islamic

In Pakistan , a group of construction workers destroyed a priceless Pakistani Buddha , smashing the figure to pieces. The almost 2000-year-old figure was vandalized because it offended local...

The Fall of the Giants by Jacob Jordaens (1636 – 1638) Museo del Prado (Public Domain)

14 April, 2020 - 01:35 ashley cowie

Measuring Up Real World Archaeological Giants

Strabo, Philostratus and Pliny all wrote about mythological giants: Antaeus, Ilio son of Hercules , Orestes, Cyclops and many others, and one of the most common components of creation myths found in...

Bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. Source: yuliana_s / Adobe Stock.

6 April, 2020 - 23:01 dhwty

Bodhisattvas – Selfless Saviors of Mahayana Buddhism

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva, in its most general sense, refers to a person who is on his/her way to becoming a buddha. More specifically, bodhisattvas are savior-like beings who forsake their own...

Ajina-Tepa remain in Tajikistan Source: Aleksandar/ Adobe Stock

22 January, 2020 - 01:35 Ed Whelan

Ajina-Tepa, Tajikistan – Abandoned Buddhist Cloister on the Famous Silk Road

Although Central Asia is no longer inundated by tourists, in the past it was a dynamic and diverse area, largely thanks to the Silk Road . One of the many remarkable sites in this region is the...

The ruins of the temple sanctuary at Vat Phou, Laos

1 January, 2020 - 12:42 Ed Whelan

The Stunning Vat Phou Temple Tells Secrets of Laos' Past

Laos is a country that we know little about, it is only in recent years that the nation has opened to the outside world. But the country has many important archaeological sites, amongst the most...

15 August, 2019 - 22:59 B. B. Wagner

My Name Is Heracles, And I Have Father Issues

The story of Heracles is considered one of the oldest of the Greek myths . Heracles’ popularity stretched from the western world to the far reaches of northern India. His likeness has appeared as...

The head of a Buddha statue. Credit: Richard / Adobe Stock. Inset: Fragments of a birch bark manuscript from ancient Gandhara. Credit: British Library (public domain)

16 June, 2019 - 11:04 ashley cowie

Scholars Get Closer to Words of Buddha as They Unravel Oldest Buddhist Scrolls in the World

The oldest Buddhist scrolls ever discovered were made on birch bark and spent two millennia folded in clay pots, in a cave, situated along the northern border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and now...

1 May, 2019 - 22:47 Caleb Strom

Siddhartha Gautama: How The Father of Buddhism Walked From Suffering to Enlightenment

Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha or “Enlightened One,” is probably one of the most influential individuals to come out of India through the incidental founding of Buddhism . Siddhartha...

The ruins of Bavikonda, Andhra Pradesh, India.

15 April, 2019 - 01:55 Ed Whelan

The Sacred Bavikonda Monastery: Vestiges of the Buddhist Golden Age in India

Of all the countries in the world, India has some of the finest examples of Buddhist history and heritage. One of the noteworthy sites is the sacred monastery of Bavikonda in Andhra Pradesh . It is...

Two small figures guard the table holding the Buddha’s relics. Are they spearmen, or robots?

18 March, 2019 - 12:59 ancient-origins

Robots Guarded Buddha’s Relics in a Legend of Ancient India

As early as Homer, more than 2,500 years ago, Greek mythology explored the idea of automatons and self-moving devices. By the third century BC, engineers in Hellenistic Alexandria, in Egypt, were...

8 February, 2019 - 01:46 Ed Whelan

Bojjannakonda, India: The Hill of the Buddha Where Kings and Nobles Donated Countless Treasures

Buddhism is one of the most well-known spiritual traditions in India and its long history in the country has resulted in many spectacular and significant Buddhist sites and ruins. These include...

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Myths & Legends

The Last of the Siberian Unicorns: What Happened to the Mammoth-Sized One-Horned Beasts of Legend?

Elasmotherium, also known as the Giant Rhinoceros or the Giant Siberian Unicorn, is an extinct species of rhino that lived in the Eurasian area in the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. They have been documented from 2.6 million years ago, but the most recent fossils come from around 29,000 years ago.

Magic into Myth: Avalon, Mystical Isle of Medieval Arthurian Literature

Were the Merovingians Descended from a Monster? Meet the Quinotaur

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

The Norse Legend of the World Tree - Yggdrasil

The Story of Ragnarok, The Ancient Norse Apocalypse

Human Origins

The Controversial Lapedo Child – A Neanderthal / Human Hybrid?

Buried for millennia in the rear of a rock-shelter in the Lapedo Valley 85 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal, archaeologists uncovered the bones of a four-year-old child, comprising the first complete Palaeolithic skeleton ever dug in Iberia.

The Mythological Maori Origin Stories of New Zealand

Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu In Zoroastrianism’s Creation Mythology

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Egyptian Goddess Isis, Found in India

The Surprising Truth About Fasting for Lent

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.

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

Han Purple: A 2,800-year-old artificial pigment that quantum physicists are trying to understand

Is this a 300 million-year-old screw or just a fossilized sea creature?

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Ancient Places

Part of the extensive East Bay Wall network

Unravelling the Mystery Behind the East Bay Walls: Who Really Made Them and Why?

In the hills around East Bay and elsewhere near San Francisco, there is a series of stone walls that extend discontinuously for miles. The walls are about 3-4 feet high in most places and are not...

Tomb of the Lord of Sipan, Mochican Warrior Priest

The Great Serpent Mound of Ohio, the Largest Earthen Effigy in the World

The 9,000-year-old underground megalithic settlement of Atlit Yam

The Cerveteri Necropolis, Etruscan City of the Dead

The Nile: How One River Helped Build a Civilization – 10 Amazing Facts

Opinion

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 rune letters themselves.

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

Was There Ever a Trojan War?

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

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.