death masks

Remains from the funerary pyre of Philip II. (Macedonian Heritage / CC BY-SA 3.0)

20 December, 2019 - 22:30 David Grant

Orphic Masks and Burial Rituals: Unmasking King Philip II of Macedon

That is the gods’ work, spinning threads of death through the lives of mortal men, and all to make a song for those to come. Homer The ancient Greek world was steeped in superstition and...

11 October, 2014 - 12:58 lizleafloor

The eerie masks that preserve history and breathe life into the dead

Masks are one of the few things on the earth that connect all of humanity throughout time. We have created masks since our very beginnings in order to disguise, protect, or entertain. They have been...

Myths & Legends

The grotto of the seven sleepers from the Menologion of Basil II. Source: Public domain

The Ancient Grotto of the Seven Sleepers

The short story Rip Van Winkle, written in 1819 by the American writer Washington Irving, is about a man who woke up after a sleep of more than two decades.

Beware the Wandering Wilas of Slavic Mythology

The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend – Part I

If Not Valhalla, Goddess Freyja Welcomed Viking Warriors to Folkvangr

‘First Kings’ Myths From Around the World: How Do They Compare?

The ancient origins of the legendary griffin

Human Origins

Comic illustration of previous industrial civilizations on Earth.

We think we're the first advanced earthlings - but how do we really know?

Imagine if, many millions of years ago, dinosaurs drove cars through cities of mile-high buildings. A preposterous idea, right? Over the course of tens of millions of years, however, all of the direct evidence of a civilization -- its artifacts and remains -- gets ground to dust.

The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend – Part I

Neanderthal-Human Sex Caused a Million Covid Deaths

Top Ten Myths about Neanderthals

‘First Kings’ Myths From Around the World: How Do They Compare?

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

Ancient Technology

Mammoth in the Royal BC Museum in Victoria (Canada). The display is from 1979, and the fur is musk ox hair.

Surprising Stone Age Knowledge Revealed on a Mammoth Bone Bracelet

In Sivershchina, close to the village of Mizyn in Ukraine is one of the oldest and most unique settlements of humans – and it was discovered in a parking lot. The now well-known archaeological site, known plainly as the Mizyn parking lot, dates back 18-20 thousand years.

1,200-Year-Old Telephone, Amazing Invention of the Ancient Chimu Civilization

Ancient Egyptian Weapons: The Evolution of Warfare

Britain’s Earliest Humans Found In the Suburbs of Canterbury

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

What’s a Viking Sword? What’s not? The Distinctions of Norse Weaponry

Ancient Places

New Evidence Ancient Chinese Explorers Landed in America Excites Experts

John A. Ruskamp Jr., Ed.D., reports that he has identified an outstanding, history-changing treasure hidden in plain sight. High above a walking path in Albuquerque’s Petroglyph National Monument, Ruskamp spotted petroglyphs that struck him as unusual. After consulting with experts on Native American rock writing and ancient Chinese scripts to corroborate his analysis,

30,000-Year-Old Baby Mammoth Is The Most Preserved Mammoth Ever Found in America

Surprising Stone Age Knowledge Revealed on a Mammoth Bone Bracelet

Buried Beneath the Sand, The Ziggurat of Jiroft May be Largest and Oldest of its Kind in the World

The Spectacular Ancient Megaliths of the Ural Mountains

Kesh: The Caves of Legends And Ireland’s Beautiful Entryway To Middle Earth

Opinion

The Coming Gnostic Civilization, and his most recent book, Sedona: City of the Star People.

The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend – Part I

What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? I am sure you are familiar with his legend which states that he was born in a manger surrounded by shepherds

Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera – Part I

Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations

The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures – Part I

Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures – Part I

The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription

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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 exist 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.

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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.

death masks

Orphic Masks and Burial Rituals: Unmasking King Philip II of Macedon

The eerie masks that preserve history and breathe life into the dead

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