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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Some of the oak planks unearthed in the foundations of the portico. These planks are an example of those used for building Rome.      Source: Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma, Italy

Imported Timber is the Newly Discovered Secret to Building Rome

An analysis of some 2000-year-old planks of wood has provided amazing insights into the Roman Empire . Experts have been able to establish that timber found in the heart of Ancient Rome was imported...
Reconstruction of the Temple from Nebelivka, Ukraine. c 4000 BC Trypillian (Danube) civilization. 60x20m size. Based on information from "Temple on Nebelivka mega-site: reconstruction" by Nataliia Burdo, Mykhailo Videiko, Institute of Archaeology NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv. Source: Kenny Arne Lang Antonsen/CC BY SA 4.0

Ancient Ukrainian Megastructures Were Huge Community Centers

Archaeologists have derived volumes of new data from a series of ancient megastructures found in a giant prehistoric Ukrainian settlements. Maidanetske is a village located within the Talne Raion (...
View of the ancient Inca City, Machu Picchu, Peru. Source: alekosa /Adobe Stock

Researchers Claim X Marks the Spot for Machu Picchu

The ancient Inca sanctuary of Machu Picchu is considered one of humanity's greatest architectural achievements. Built in a remote Andean setting atop a narrow ridge high above a precipitous river...
The design experiment created by MIT scientists Credit: Brandon Clifford & Johanna Lobdell in collaboration with Davide Zampini

Is this How Ancient Megalithic Structures Were Made? MIT Scientist Move 25-Ton Blocks by Hand!

Ancient cultures in Peru, China and Egypt, to name only a few; quarried, lifted, transported and crafted vast megaliths, some weighing several hundred tons. Until now, theories as to how these stones...
How were the pyramids built? The discovery of a quarry ramp may finally provide a consensus on this debate.

Archaeologists Say They’ve Solved Mystery of How Pyramids were Built After Unearthing 4,500-Year-Old Ramp

Has the riddle of how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids finally been solved? A multi-national team of experts say yes, after they unearthed an ancient ramp, which they say was used to haul...
Egyptian blue shabti figures on display in the Egyptian exhibit at the Louvre in France in 2006.

Eco-Architecture in Egyptian Blue: Scientists Discover Modern Usage for the 4000-Year-Old Pigment

Egyptian blue was a brilliant blue color first created in ancient Egypt over 4000 years ago. Now, scientists have found it to hold unique qualities that can “reduce building energy consumption and...
The ziggurat Choga Zanbil in Ira

Ziggurat: A Mesopotamian Manmade Mountain to Reach the Gods

With their massive terraces decreasing in size as the building rises, ziggurats can easily be called manmade mountains. They are identifiable structures most often associated with ancient...
Great Wall of Gorgan

The Great Wall of Gorgan: Red Snake of Iran Saw Empires Rise and Civilizations Crumble

The Great Wal l of Gorgan, also known as the ‘Red Snake’, is a defense system located in the northern Iranian province of Golestan. This defensive wall dates to the Sassanian period, and is believed...
The Porcelain Tower.

The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing: One of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World

Many children have been warned to be careful around their grandmother’s fine porcelain plates. Those kids may grow up thinking that porcelain is a fragile material which has to be handled with care (...
Stonehenge

Megalithic Examination Explains Why Stonehenge was Built on Salisbury Plain

The ability to excavate at the world-famous Stonehenge archaeological site is a privilege. Not everyone has gained special access to explore the megaliths with the closest detail. Thus, those who...
A photo of the Casa do Penedo.

The Casa do Penedo: A Portuguese Flintstones House

Sensationally dubbed online as a ‘real life Flintstones house’, the Casa do Penedo dates not to the Stone Age, but to the 1970s. Being such a curious structure, the Casa do Penedo has since become a...
An illustration depicting the construction of the Egyptian pyramids

Demystifying the Egyptian Pyramids with Hard Facts

It has always fascinated, and worried me at the same time, how many people I meet that are still mesmerized by aspects of the pyramids in Egypt that archeologists solved many years ago. The when, how...
The Valle dei Mulini.

The Ruins of Valle dei Mulini: Abandoned by Humans, Reclaimed by Nature

Ruins of old mills dot the landscape of the Valle dei Mulini (‘Valley of the Mills’). Their crumbled walls are the remains of abandoned structures which once filled the valley with human life. Now,...
 Santu Antine.

Santu Antine, Sardinia: A Megalithic House Built for a King?

A mysterious civilization built megalithic structures across the island of Sardinia in the Bronze and Iron Ages. The buildings are now known as nuraghes – and the impressive nuraghe called Santu...
The Colosseum in Rome, once home to the most brutal games in history.

The Colosseum – From Gladiator Fights to Gory Executions and Sea Battles

Gladiatorial fights, sea battles, criminal (and Christian?) executions. These are only a few of the events, if they can even be called such, that happened in the walls of the Colosseum. Known during...
Top image: Archaeologists looking at aerial photography found what they thought to be a hidden long barrow, or Neolithic burial chamber, hidden beneath a wheat field.

No Bones Provides a New Perspective for ‘House of the Dead’

This summer, the University of Reading Archaeology Field School excavated one of the most extraordinary sites we have ever had the pleasure of investigating. The site is an Early Neolithic long...
The Flammarion engraving.

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

The achievements by modern science are phenomenal. But with our background of spaceships, skyscrapers, wonder drugs, and atomic reactors we are apt to minimize the scientific accomplishments of the...
The two skeletons that were recently found in Gyeongju, South Korea are believed to have been victims of human sacrifice.

Shocking Discovery Shows Ancient Koreans were Sacrificed for Building Project

Local authorities from South Korea announced recently that they have found proof of human sacrifice for the foundation of buildings for the first time at a Korean site. Experts suggest that the...
The Koh Ker pyramid, Cambodia.

Revealing the Mysterious Story of the Koh Ker Pyramid in Cambodia

The Koh Ker complex of temples is located in Northeastern Cambodia. This is the conventional story for its beginnings: “Army General Jayavarmal separated from the central government in Angkor, from...
Sirakawa-go, Ogimachi Gassho Village, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Historic Houses for the Silkworm! The Grand Attics of the Shirakawa-go and Gokayama

Located in the central Gifu Prefecture, not very far from Tokyo or Kyoto, a beautiful example of traditional Japanese architecture survives in the villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama. Some of the...
Common Tools or Ancient Advanced Technology? How Did the Egyptians Bore Through Granite?

Common Tools or Ancient Advanced Technology? How Did the Egyptians Bore Through Granite?

Ancient Egypt is known for many technological and artistic achievements, constructing pyramids and temples, inventing a system of writing, hieroglyphs, and making advancements in medicine, astronomy...
Was It Just a Boss Spying on His Workers? First Viking Age Tower Found in Denmark

Was It Just a Boss Spying on His Workers? First Viking Age Tower Found in Denmark

Archaeologists have recently excavated a very tall structure that can only be elucidated as a tower, in Jutland, Denmark. The “tower” was placed next to larger hall-type buildings, and a possible...
Puzzling Stone Age Labyrinth Discovered in Denmark, What Was It Used For?

Puzzling Stone Age Labyrinth Discovered in Denmark, What Was It Used For?

A team of archaeologists have recently uncovered a large, puzzling labyrinth from the Neolithic period in Denmark. Some researchers suggest that it could have been used as an ancient sun worship site...
Built to Last: The Craftsmanship that Enabled Roman Roads to Withstand the Passage of Time

Built to Last: The Secret that Enabled Roman Roads to Withstand the Passage of Time

The Romans were renowned as great engineers and this is evident in the many structures that they left behind. One particular type of construction that the Romans were famous for is their roads. It...

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