Christian

Relics of St. Valentine of Terni at the basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin.

14 February, 2019 - 19:02 ancient-origins

The ‘Real’ St. Valentine Was No Patron of Love

By Lisa Bitel / The Conversation On Feb. 14, sweethearts of all ages will exchange cards, flowers, candy, and more lavish gifts in the name of St. Valentine. But as a historian of Christianity, I can...

29 December, 2018 - 01:58 ancient-origins

A Christmas story: the arrival of a sweet baby boy – or a political power to change the world?

Robyn J. Whitaker / The Conversation Dear tiny Jesus, with your golden fleece diapers, with your tiny little fat balled-up fists … Dear 8 pound 6 ounce newborn infant Jesus, don’t even know a word...

‘Christ Walking on the water’ (1880?) by Julius Sergius Von Klever.

18 December, 2018 - 23:02 John McHugh

Walking the Waves: How Orion’s Ability to “Walk on Water” Was Ascribed to Jesus

Jesus’ supernatural stroll across the Sea of Galilee endures as one of the most popular Christian miracles. The outset of each version is identical: Jesus directs his apostles to row to the other...

Skeletal remains of a handless man found just off Guernsey.

4 December, 2018 - 18:44 Ed Whelan

Handless Man Adds Further Intrigue to the Island of the Medieval Porpoise Grave

Archaeologists in the Channel Islands (part of the United Kingdom) made a baffling discovery recently. They discovered the handless skeleton of a man on one of the rocky islets located in the English...

A 16th century fresco depicting the Council of Nicaea.

9 November, 2018 - 22:54 dhwty

The Council of Nicaea: Pagan Emperor Constantine Used Christianity to Unify Church and State

The Council of Nicaea (also known as the First Council of Nicaea) was the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. This council, which was convened in 325 AD, was assembled by the Roman...

Allesandro Magnasco: Theodosius I Repulsed from the Church by Saint Ambrose.

8 November, 2018 - 21:58 dhwty

Emperor Theodosius I: Religious Intolerance in Ancient Rome and The End of the Olympics

Theodosius I (also known as Theodosius the Great) lived during the 4th century AD. He was the last Roman emperor to rule over both the eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire. It was during...

3 November, 2018 - 00:52 ancient-origins

Why the Christian Idea of Hell no Longer Persuades People to Care for the Poor

Although many of us now associate hell with Christianity, the idea of an afterlife existed much earlier. Greeks and Romans, for example, used the concept of Hades, an underworld where the dead lived...

26 September, 2018 - 02:21 dhwty

King Alaric: His Famous Sacking of Rome, Secretive Burial, and Lost Treasure

The Sack of Rome in 410 AD by the Visigoths is often regarded as an event that marked the beginning of the end of the Western Roman Empire. The man responsible for the second sacking of Rome (the...

Egyptian Papyrus from Macquarie University with proposed Coptic Love Spell

25 September, 2018 - 23:01 Ed Whelan

French Academic Detects A Little Bit of Love Magic on Egyptian Papyrus

A French University lecturer has announced that he has deciphered an Egyptian magical spell written on a piece of papyrus. The spell has baffled experts, because of its enigmatic language and imagery...

The ruined Christian church in Turkey's Lake Iznik is thought to have been built over a Roman Pagan temple

6 September, 2018 - 01:42 ashley cowie

Christian Basilica, and now Possibly a Roman Pagan Temple Found in a Turkish Lake

The foundations of a massive submerged ancient church in Turkey are suspected to have been built on top of an even greater treasure, an older Roman pagan temple dedicated to the sun god Apollo...

St. Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt (Wikimedia Commons)

2 August, 2018 - 18:20 dhwty

The Monastery of Saint Catherine: A Controversial Agreement Across Faiths

At the foot of Mount Sinai is Saint Catherine’s Monastery, described as ‘the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its initial function’. It is officially known as the Holy Monastery of the God...

20 July, 2018 - 18:08 Bryan Hill

The Thousand-Year History of the Spectacular Cliff Face Monastery of Sumela

The Sumela Monastery is one of the oldest and most historic monasteries in the Christian world. There are no exact records about when it was built or by who, but it is estimated that its history...

Huqoq ancient synagogoue mosaic - inscription and face.

10 July, 2018 - 14:05 ancient-origins

Mosaics Provide Clues on Life in an Ancient Galilean Jewish Village

Recent discoveries by a team of specialists and students at Huqoq in Israel's Galilee, led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness, shed new light on the life and...

Painting of Father General Saint Francis Borgia, SJ, performing an exorcism, by Goya.

22 April, 2018 - 18:55 ancient-origins

Exorcism – How Does it Work and Why is it on The Rise?

Exorcism is again in the news, as the Vatican announces a new training course will be held to meet increased demand for deliverance ministry. So, what does this actually mean, and should it be a...

13 April, 2018 - 22:02 dhwty

The Hippie Town of Calcata - Hiding-Place of the Holy Foreskin of Christ

One of the most important relics in Christendom, the Holy Prepuce (Jesus’s circumcised foreskin) put this clifftop town on the map in the 16th century as a place of pilgrimage. In the 20th century it...

Frescos in the crypt of St. Agatha, including the outstanding inner chapel altar and fresco (center).

12 April, 2018 - 18:59 Dr Peter J Shield

Excavation of the Maltese Catacombs of St. Agatha Revealed Some of the Finest 12th and 15th century Frescos in Europe!

Located just some 60 miles of the coast of Sicily, smack in the middle of the Mediterranean lie the Maltese Islands. The three small islands are Malta, it's sister island of Gozo and the small island...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Glastonbury Tor. Source: vlorzor / Adobe. Inset: Representational image of a skeleton.

The Glastonbury Giant: Who Did the Mystery Bones of A Nine Foot Skeleton Belong To?

When researching the reality of giants in the past, one story which has survived the ages is the apparent discovery of the ‘Glastonbury Giant’ which was allegedly unearthed in 1190, on orders of King Henry II, following rumors that the legendary King Arthur was in fact buried at that specific location.

Magu: The Hemp Goddess Who Healed Ancient Asia

The symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000-year-old history

Ten Mythological Creatures in Ancient Folklore

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Was Moloch really Ba’al, the Ancient God Who Demanded Child Sacrifice?

Human Origins

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Sumer , or the ‘land of civilized kings’, flourished in Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq, around 4500 BC. Sumerians created an advanced civilization with its own system of elaborate language and...

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

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

Where Did the Polynesians Really Come From?

A Snapshot of Our Mysterious Ancestor Homo erectus

Research Confirms that Neanderthal DNA Makes Up About 20% of the Modern Human Genome

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.

Boggling Bannerstones of Ancient Americans: Were They a Function of Flight or More a Flight of Fancy?

The Indian Sage who developed Atomic Theory 2,600 years ago

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 1

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

Ancient Places

Chongoni Rock Art Offers Fascinating Insight into Mysterious Secret Society of the Chewa

Civilizations who have left no written records have in some cases left us with a way to understand their history and culture. The Chongoni Rock Art area, which contains a number of locations, is a unique site in the central African country of Malawi.

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

The Mysterious Waffle Rock: A Bizarre Boulder with a Hazy Background

The 9,500-year-old honeycomb city of Çatalhöyük

The Grim Reality of the Brothels of Pompeii

The Construction of Venice, the Floating City

Opinion

The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, Detail of the first Band west from the center. From left to right: two wind creatures (the winged ram with four heads personifies the south wind), the snake- and frog-headed eight goddesses and gods of the Ogdoad who ruled the cosmos before the creation of the world and Osiris seated on a throne sails across the sky as personification of the full moon accompanied by the seated goddesses Nephtys (left) and Isis on the right (Maat stands near the bow of the ship). Siri

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

In Egypt, Sirius was the Star of Isis, Isis being the companion and rescuer of the god Osiris. In a very deep way, Osiris was Egypt.

Cracking the Code to Discover Ancient Tarot Symbolism and Forgotten Universal Knowledge

The Secret Strategic Plans of Darius the Great

The Secrets of the Kabbalists Garden

Alchemy and Generating Lifeforce —Global Temples Made in the Shape of Lingams: Shaivite Bull Cult Part II

From Green Man to Bull Son, The Universal Shaivite Bull Cult – Part I

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.