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Ancient places can be found all over Europe. Their fascinating histories and impressive artifacts open intriguing glimpses to times past, and open up a window on European history. Visiting such ancient places in Europe can be an unforgettable experience.

Science is constantly discovering new archaeological places and uncovering more evidence into what we once thought we knew about our history, therefore offering new pieces to the ever changing puzzle of humanity’s past and altering how we interpret it. This section will present the most interesting archaeological sites all over Europe, as well as new discoveries of ancient places that are worth paying a visit.

Pinned to the side of its cliff face is the Xuan Kong Si, also known as the Hanging Monastery of Mount Heng. (Public domain)
18 September, 2022 - 14:57 Cecilia Bogaard

15 Incredible Cliff Constructions from the Ancient World

Humans have created monumental constructions on cliff faces throughout the world. These striking architectural wonders have often times been inspired by the desire to come closer to the heavens or to...
Model reproduction of the Dispilio tablet at the prehistoric lakeside settlement of Dispilio in northern Greece. Source: Мико / CC BY-SA 4.0
16 September, 2022 - 22:55 johnblack

The Dispilio Tablet and the Real Origins of Writing

Conventional archaeology claims that writing was not invented until some time between 3000 and 4000 BC in Sumeria . However, the discovery of a far older artifact in northern Greece appears to...
This lower jaw tooth of an early human species, from roughly 1.8 million years ago, discovered at the Orozmani site in southern Georgia, provides more evidence that the first humans left Africa and wandered northeast. Source: Municipality Of Dmanisi
14 September, 2022 - 18:51 Sahir

Early Humans Out of Africa: 1.8 Myo Tooth Found in Orozmani, Georgia!

It was only a year ago, when the oldest hominin site outside Africa was discovered near the village of Kvemo Orozmani in southern Georgia. The 2021 Georgia discovery included stone tools and animal...
Dyfed Archaeological Trust diggers standing in front of the boxes of artifacts found at what is thought to be the medieval friary site in Haverfordwest, Wales. Source: Dyfed Archaeological Trust
13 September, 2022 - 18:58 Sahir

Unexplained Remains of Children Found Near Welsh Medieval Friary Site

A dig to find the location of a 600-year-old medieval friary in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, has resulted in the macabre discovery of countless human remains. So far, nearly 100 skeletons have been...
The medieval Bojnice castle in Slovakia is one of many real-life fairytale castles in Europe. Source: radu79 / Adobe Stock
12 September, 2022 - 14:51 Cecilia Bogaard

10 Real-life Fairytale Castles from Across Europe

The castles we see in movies and picture books were not just inspired by fantasy and imagination. In most cases they were based on real-life castles, many of which can be found in Europe. Evolving...
English Tourists in Campagna, one of many ancient tourist spots, by Carl Spitzweg. Source: Public domain
10 September, 2022 - 18:52 Lex Leigh

10 Tourist Spots That Ancient People Visited

Believe it or not, tourism has been around since the time of the Egyptians. Throughout history, ancient people used to travel not only for political and religious purposes, but also for leisure and...
A statue of a woman grieving the loss of a loved one at Staglieno Cemetery (mallorca78 / Adobe Stock)
10 September, 2022 - 14:54 Joanna Gillan

12 Hauntingly Beautiful Headstones of Staglieno Cemetery

There may be no other cemetery on earth that captures the emotion of love, loss and grief around death like Staglieno Cemetery in the Italian city of Genoa. With its stunningly life-like sculptures...
Fantasy image of a lost civilization underwater. Source: Максим Горбанев/ Adobe Stock
5 September, 2022 - 18:52 Lex Leigh

Nine Civilizations That Met Mysterious (and Unfortunate) Ends

One of the most fascinating subjects to study throughout history is the rise and fall of various civilizations. While in some cases we have an understanding of the evolution and downfall of these...
The largest ever dinosaur fossil in Europe, from a huge sauropod dinosaur, during excavations. Image: Photo courtesy of Instituto Dom Luiz / Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
30 August, 2022 - 23:00 Sahir

Largest Ever Dinosaur Fossil Emerges from Portuguese Jurassic Backyard

The skeleton of a ginormous 82-foot (25-meter) long late-Jurassic dinosaur skeleton was found in central Portugal, which was accidentally unearthed in a man’s backyard in the city of Pombal back in...
Athens at sunset. Source: gatsi / Adobe Stock
19 August, 2022 - 01:59 Robbie Mitchell

Athens, Home of Democracy: From Antiquity to Modernity

We often think of ancient Athens as being the home of democracy, the place where it all started. And this is true. But the shocking truth is that Athens has spent the vast majority of its existence...
This painting, from circa 1675 by Joseph Heinz the Younger, shows a wild Venetian bridge war on the famous Ponte dei pugni bridge. Source: Joseph Heintz the Younger / CC BY-SA 4.0
18 August, 2022 - 15:00 Mark Brophy

Venetian Bridge Wars: The ‘Fighting Spirit’ of Renaissance Venice

For generations of Venetians, “guerra di canne” or “war with sticks” was a celebrated tradition. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, Venice was divided into many different...
Cadmus, the first Greek hero and founder of Thebes, fighting the dreaded dragon in a painting by Hendrick Goltzius. Source: Hendrik Goltzius / Public domain
10 August, 2022 - 18:58 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Cadmus: The Amazing Tale of the First Greek Hero and It’s Horrible End

Out of all the pantheons, the exuberant deities of the ancient Greeks are perhaps the most iconic of all. For generations, imaginations have been enflamed and inspired by the sumptuous mix of high...
Three different images of the recently discovered souterrain underground tunnel system north-northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The middle image was the discovery of the roof in a cauliflower field. Source: Joe Thompson / Dublin Gazette
4 August, 2022 - 14:59 ashley cowie

Bold Explorer Enters Underground Souterrain Tunnels Exposed By Farmer

An amateur explorer has released a video of himself exploring a hitherto lost underground “souterrain” chamber. But the journey he filmed inside this strange place is not for the claustrophobic among...
Marble body lines of young naked Roman women of Renaissance Era Source: Neurobite / Adobe Stock)
28 July, 2022 - 14:59 Robbie Mitchell

A Guide to Exploring Love, Sex, and Homosexuality in Ancient Rome

When people think about love and sex in ancient Rome, it tends to be pretty scandalous: orgies here, there, and everywhere! But the truth is rarely black and white. Were the Romans more sexually...
Diogenes, depicted here by the French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, was a philosopher of the cynic school of Greek philosophy and many thought he was crazy, but he was super popular with the people of Athens. Source: Jean-Léon Gérôme / Public domain
25 July, 2022 - 18:52 Mark Brophy

Diogenes: The Crazy Greek Philosopher Plato Called ‘Socrates Gone Mad’!

Diogenes (412 BC- 323 BC) was a Greek philosopher like no other. One of the founders of the cynic philosophy, Diogenes believed that people should live simple lives that reject all natural desires...
Alatri acropolis cyclopean wall by the Porta Maggiorre. Source: Laura Tabone
21 July, 2022 - 23:00 Laura Tabone

The Cyclopean Problem: Who Built Italy’s Astounding Ancient Walls?

Megalithic cyclopean masonry is found in many parts of Italy, including Lazio , Abruzzo, Campania, Umbria, Tuscany and Molise. This type of masonry involves fitting together huge differently shaped...
Mosaic being revealed at the recently discovered Roman city site of El Forau de la Tuta, in Zaragoza, Spain. Source: Gobierno de Aragón
18 July, 2022 - 18:55 ashley cowie

A ‘Monumental’ Unknown Roman City Discovered In Spain

For over a decade, four teams of Spanish archaeologists have been digging at different excavation sites. Now they’ve realised it was all one thing - an enormous lost Roman city. You might never have...
The Nymphaeum of Illyria at the ancient city of Apollonia, Albania fed by underground water sources, built in the middle of the 3rd century BC. It is the biggest and best-preserved Apollonia monument covering an area of 1,500 square meters or 16,146 square feet. Source: Carole Raddato / CC BY 2.0
18 July, 2022 - 15:00 Jake Leigh-Howarth

Illustrious Post-Macedon Illyria and the Roman Illyrian Wars

The legendary and illustrious tribal kingdoms of Illyria were located in current-day Albania and Montenegro, just across the Adriatic from Italy. The Illyrian world was also an important strategic...
The Lascaux Taurus, with the Pleiades on its back. Source: Author provided
16 July, 2022 - 01:50 ralph ellis

Dating Lascaux Art by Precession

I did not realize until recently, that there may be some astrological imagery within the magnificent Stone Age paintings in the Lascaux Cave complex, in the Dordogne region of France. But although I...
The medieval peasant off to work in the fields. Source: Demian / Adobe Stock
15 July, 2022 - 14:59 Molly Dowdeswell

The Hard and Dirty Life of a Medieval Peasant

The daily life of a medieval peasant in England and elsewhere was extremely difficult, long, and busy. They faced endless days of manual labor working on farmland starting as early as three in the...
A statue of Alfred the Great in Winchester. Descended from a long line of kings of the Kingdom of Wessex, Alfred the Great was the son of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. Source: Tony Baggett / Adobe Stock
13 July, 2022 - 18:44 Molly Dowdeswell

The Kingdom of Wessex and the Birth of England

The early history of England was characterized by instability, disorder and uncertainty. The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex was the first formation of the modern idea of England, and in its early...
The site of the old town Kaupang, a Viking village for tourists, is an interpretive center where visitors can learn about the Viking Age, as well as about archaeological techniques and processes. Source: J. P. Fagerback, BSD
12 July, 2022 - 22:57 Mark Johnston

An Archaeological Needle in the Haystack: The Viking Village of Kaupang

Ancient Norse literature is filled with place names of towns, farms, and fjords. While many of these names have survived to the modern day, making their discovery relatively straightforward, others...
The new Nottingham Market Wall augmented reality Android app, recreated using old maps, creates this ancient breast-high wall that kept the city’s French Normans and non-French Anglo-Saxons separated for nearly 700 years! Source: NTU
12 July, 2022 - 18:58 Sahir

Nottingham Market Wall That Split the City Brought Back to Life With AR

A most peculiar medieval feature of Nottingham Old Market Square has been recreated using a new augmented reality (AR) app. Nottingham Market Wall divided the center of the city for almost 700 years...
The half-human, half-plant caryatids in the tomb of Sveshtari; these sculpted female figures served as architectural support like a column in the stunning Thracian tomb design. Source: Nenko Lazarov /
9 July, 2022 - 18:56 Mark Brophy

The Staggeringly Well-Preserved Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

In 1982, the now-famous Thracian tomb of Sveshtari was discovered by archaeologists just south of what is now Sveshtari, Razgrad Province in Bulgaria. The tomb of Sveshtari likely belonged to...

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