excavation

Unexploded Pompeii bombs from World War II may be hidden in the ancient ruins. Source: Evdoha / Adobe Stock.

8 July, 2019 - 22:44 ashley cowie

Encased In Pompeii’s Volcanic Ash ’10 Unexploded Bombs’ Take Over Italian Headlines

In a conflict that killed almost 70 million people, it hardly comes as a surprise that archaeologists dig up so much left over junk . But events in Italy over the last 24 hours remind the heritage...

A ditch has revealed what is thought to be the boundary to Aebbe’s monastery.

12 March, 2019 - 17:35 ashley cowie

Discovered: The Lost Spiritual Legacy Of A Powerful Anglo Saxon Pagan Princess

Aebbe (615-668 AD) was a powerful Anglo Saxon pagan princess who became an abbess and then a saint for having been instrumental in spreading Christianity along the north east coast of what is today...

24 November, 2018 - 01:47 ancient origins

Previously Hidden Ancient Termite Mounds Found in Brazil are Visible From Space

Researchers reporting in Current Biology on November 19 have found that a vast array of regularly spaced, still-inhabited ancient termite mounds in northeastern Brazil are up to about 4,000 years old...

This is the skeleton discovered during excavations exploring Medieval life on Torcello Island, Venice, Italy.

3 October, 2018 - 14:01 ancient-origins

Scholars Uncover Signs of Medieval Life and Death on an Italian Island

On the island of Torcello, at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice excavation site, some protagonists of the island's thousand-year history have begun to emerge. A tomb datable to around 700 AD has...

Featured image: Elaborate and colorful fresco revealed at Akrotiri.

14 June, 2018 - 02:37 dhwty

The precious remains of Akrotiri, an ancient city obliterated in the great eruption of Thera

The destruction of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 has been preserved in ancient times by an eye witness account, namely that of Pliny the Younger. The literary evidence and...

12 June, 2018 - 00:41 lizleafloor

Photos Reveal Giant Easter Island Moai Statues are Covered in Mysterious Symbols

Images from the 2012 excavation of Easter Island’s iconic statues reveal the renowned heads are not only connected to giant bodies, but the bodies are covered in mysterious designs and symbols, which...

Statue of a ram that was discovered next to the vaults at the front of the temple platform in Caesarea. The town was founded by Herod the Great, king of Judea under the Roman Empire

11 June, 2018 - 21:41 Mark Miller

What New Archaeological Treasures Have Been Unearthed in the Ancient City of Caesarea?

This week, Caesarea National Park came a step closer to its goal of rivaling Jerusalem as the top tourist destination in Israel. After a $27.5 million investment plan from the Edmond de Rothschild...

Fossil finger bone of Homo sapiens from the Al Wusta site, Saudi Arabia.

11 April, 2018 - 01:27 ancient-origins

Ancient Human Fossil Finger Discovery Points to Earlier Eurasian Migration

Huw Groucutt / The Conversation The Arabian Peninsula is a vast landmass at the crossroads of Africa and Eurasia. Yet until the last decade almost nothing was known about early humans in the area. In...

A Roman chicken brooch unearthed during the excavations.

28 March, 2018 - 23:00 Alicia McDermott

Huge UK Archaeology Excavations Project Unearths Prehistoric, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Medieval Sites!

One of the largest archaeology projects in the UK has revealed Anglo-Saxon settlements, a Roman military camp, remnants of a Medieval village, and a wealth of archaeological treasures. That’s quite a...

Aerial view of the burial mound Tunnug 1 (Arzhan 0). A distinct circle can be seen on one plane.

13 January, 2018 - 01:53 ancient-origins

Oldest and Largest Tomb of a Scythian Prince May Contain Outstanding Treasure

Deep in a swamp in the Russian republic of Tuva, SNSF-funded archaeologist Gino Caspari has discovered an undisturbed Scythian burial mound. All the evidence suggests that this is not only the...

The notes in the Book of Deer are the first written examples of Scottish Gaelic and they hint at the location of the monastery where it was written

10 January, 2018 - 22:59 Alicia McDermott

Search for Long-Lost Monastery Linked with the Medieval ‘Book of Deer’ May Be Over

The monastery where the significant Scottish text called the ‘Book of Deer’ was created disappeared from the pages of history about 1,000 years ago. After a decade of excavations looking for the site...

3 January, 2018 - 01:59 dhwty

Valuable Volubilis: The Best-Preserved Roman Ruins in Morocco

It was time for the harvest and the inhabitants of Volubilis were busy in their fields. This was the prime moment for a local tribe to attack the rich administrative center. As the Roman soldier saw...

This Chinese-made mirror from the Yayoi Pottery Culture period (300 BC- 300 AD) was unearthed whole from an archaeological site in Fukuoka, Japan.

31 December, 2017 - 13:39 Alicia McDermott

Rare 1,900-Year-Old Chinese Mirror Has Mysterious Inscription, Which is Coming True

An extremely well-preserved 1,900-year-old bronze mirror has been unearthed in Fukuoka, Japan. The artifact stands out for its fantastic condition and an intriguing description engraved on its...

A skeleton with an arrow in or at the chest has been discovered in a burial from the 11th-12th century AD during rescue excavations at the Antiquity Odeon in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv

12 December, 2017 - 23:06 Theodoros Karasavvas

Medieval Tomb Including a Skeleton and an Arrow Unearthed in Plovdiv

A team of archaeologists working at the Odeon site in Bulgaria’s second largest city Plovdiv, have announced the discovery of a mediaeval tomb that includes human remains and an arrow. Tomb Includes...

27 November, 2017 - 13:54 dhwty

The Qurna Eviction: Separating the Living from the Dead in Egypt

Built atop the 3,000-year-old Tombs of the Nobles, Qurna, a village located on the West Bank of the Nile, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt, but it is also one of the most...

The famous Roman theater at Aspendos, Turkey.

30 August, 2017 - 22:48 Alicia McDermott

Ancient Mall Found in Famous Theater City of Aspendos Shows Commerce and Entertainment Went Hand-in-Hand

The ancient city of Aspendos was a major commercial center in Roman times. The recent excavations of a large shop complex with offices and storage facilities dating back some 2,000 years provide more...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Were The Worshipers of the Egyptian God Set Following a God or a Demon?

Set, sometimes known as Seth, but also as Sutekh or Seteh is an ancient Egyptian god depicted with the head of an unknown animal and referred to by Egyptologists as a ‘Set animal’. The ancient Egyptians believed that Set was the god of chaos, the desert, storms, and darkness.

Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?

Batman Existed in Mesoamerican Mythology and His Name Was Camazotz

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Baku: The Legend of the Dream Eater

The Sumerian King List still puzzles historians after more than a century of research

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 writing, architecture and arts, astronomy and mathematics.

The Origin of ‘Us’: What We Know So Far About Where We Humans Come From

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

The Story of the Midgard Serpent: A Mythological Tailspin

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

11 Mysterious Human Species That Most People Don’t Know Existed

Ancient Technology

Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword?

The Norimitsu Odachi is a huge sword from Japan. It is so large, in fact, that it was said to have been wielded by a giant. Apart from the basic knowledge of it having been forged in the 15th century AD, measuring 3.77 meters (12.37 ft.) in length, and weighing as much as 14.5 kg (31.97 lbs.), this impressive sword is shrouded in mystery.

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

The sophisticated water technologies of the ancient Nabataeans

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The Discovery that Revealed Ancient Humans Navigated the Seas 130,000 Years Ago

Ancient Places

A 14th century depiction of a camel caravan on the Silk Road.

Treacherous Trading: Dangers of the Silk Road

The Silk Road is arguably the most famous long-distance trade route in the ancient world. This trade route connected Europe in the West with China in the East, and allowed the exchange of goods, technology, and ideas between the two civilizations.

Ancient Mesopotamia and the Rise of Civilisation

What Happened to the Sunken City of Cuba?

Atlantis in India: Did Plato’s Lost City Exist in the East?

Expedition to Tayos Caves: Never Before Seen Photographs Shed Light on Mysterious Underground Network

San Pedro de la Roca Castle and the Military Might of Spain in Cuba

Opinion

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Mount Shasta, located near the Oregon border in northern California, holds the distinction of being one of the world’s preeminent sacred mountains. It is recognized as an eligible Native American...

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

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

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

The Secret Strategic Plans of Darius the Great

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.