execution

Chamber of torture devices and ancient punishments in Prague Castle

12 May, 2019 - 18:53 ancient-origins

9 Methods of Ancient Punishment That’ll Make You Squirm

For as long as societies have had to deal with crime, they’ve had to deal out punishment. In some, places, and situations the process was only meant to humiliate the guilty, but most of the following...

Bocksten Man. Photo source: (CC BY 2.0 ) The Tollund Man as he appears today. (Tollundman.dk) Osterby Man with hair tied in a Suebian Knot. At Archäologisches Landesmuseum. (CC BY 3.0) The face of the bog body known as Grauballe man. (Public Domain) The Upper body of the Elling Woman. (CC BY SA 3.0)

7 May, 2019 - 22:57 ancient-origins

The Stories Behind Seven Mind Boggling Bog Bodies

Since at least the 18th century, there have been discoveries in northwestern continental Europe and Britain of “bog bodies” - human remains which have been preserved in the anoxic environment of bogs...

Ancient Greek murder victim was a muscular warrior.

25 April, 2019 - 18:55 ashley cowie

Muscular Ancient Murder Victim Had Perfectly Circular Hole Punched In His Chest

Somewhere around 2,000 years ago on a Greek island, a very strong man had a seven-pointed spear, known as a styrax, thrust through his chest with such a violent force that it punched a perfectly...

Black Caesar was a pirate off the coast of Florida between the 17th and 18th centuries.

13 April, 2019 - 19:02 dhwty

Black Caesar: The African Chief Who Was Captured by Slavers and Became a Pirate

Black Caesar was a notorious pirate who lived between the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Originally from West Africa , Black Caesar was captured and sold into slavery . The ship he was in, however, sank...

Anne Greene was condemned to death by hanging.

5 April, 2019 - 18:51 dhwty

Anne Greene, The Accused Baby Killer Who Refused to Die

Anne Greene was a woman who lived in England during the 17th century. She is notable for having survived her own execution . This was hailed as an act of God and Anne was pardoned. After her failed...

The Grauballe Man is a bog body that was uncovered in 1952 from a peat bog near the village of Grauballe in Jutland, Denmark.

5 April, 2019 - 01:52 dhwty

What Killed Grauballe Man? Explaining the Puzzle of the Iron Age Bog Body

Grauballe Man is the name given to a bog body that was discovered in Denmark during the 20 th century. Initially, it was thought that the bog body belonged to a local peat cutter who mysteriously...

This deviant burial is a Medieval murder mystery.

21 February, 2019 - 22:57 Ed Whelan

Stabbed in the Back and Buried Face-Down: A Deviant Medieval Burial Found in Sicily

Researchers have announced a grisly find in Sicily, Italy. They have discovered a bizarre 1000-year-old Medieval grave. It contained the skeleton of a man who met a violent death and was buried face-...

The bag alleged to have once held Sir Walter Raleigh’s head, found in West Horsley Place.

1 November, 2018 - 13:00 ashley cowie

Has The “Red Bag” That Once Held Sir Walter Raleigh’s Decapitated Head Been Discovered At An Old Family Manor?

Four hundred years ago, Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous English poet, soldier and explorer responsible for the first ever English colonies in the New World, was beheaded for conspiring against Queen...

The Massacre of Glencoe James Hamilton (1853–1894)

14 February, 2018 - 18:54 ashley cowie

Mapping A Massacre for Old Times Sake

Archaeologists in Scotland are to bring alive “the human story” of the Glencoe massacre, one of the most violent episodes in British history. Three former settlements in the magnificent Glencoe...

7 January, 2018 - 18:54 ashley cowie

Germany’s Brutal Werewolf Belt and The Gut-Wrenching Execution of Peter Stumpp

Fans of the supernatural may have noticed a curious line in William Peter Blatty’s book The Exorcist. While talking about Satanism: "Well, there's William Stumpf, for example…a German in the...

Depiction of the hanging of Elizabeth Wilson, with William Wilson coming with the pardon (from a later edition of The Pennsylvania Hermit).

13 November, 2017 - 22:50 dhwty

The Pennsylvania Hermit: The Woeful Tale of a Grieving Brother’s Broken-hearted Hermitage

William “Amos” Wilson, who is known also as the Pennsylvania Hermit, is a figure in the folklore of Pennsylvania, more specifically of its south-eastern and south-central regions. William lived...

9 March, 2017 - 23:01 Caleb Strom

Osterby Man Still Has a Great Hairdo Nearly 2,000 Years On!

Since at least the 18th century AD, there have been discoveries in northwestern continental Europe and Britain of “bog bodies” - human remains which have been preserved in the anoxic environment of...

3 February, 2017 - 02:03 Natalia Klimczak

Giordano Bruno: What Led The Renowned Friar and Astrologer to a Burning Stake?

A monumental statue of Giordano Bruno stands in the heart of Rome as a reminder of the remorse of the people who accused him and sentenced him to death. Although he may look like a monk dressed in a...

3 January, 2017 - 02:38 MartiniF

Little Emperors and Their Regents: Child Rulers & the Supportive and Destructive People Behind Them

Some babies shake rattles and others shake up kingdoms. We hear many stories of the unhappy lives and ends of child rulers. Most recently, in 1908, Puyi became the last emperor of China at only two...

16th Century depiction of execution of a prisoner by Ottoman soldiers.

15 December, 2015 - 03:52 dhwty

Execution by Elephant: A Gory Method of Capital Punishment

Elephants have played a number of important roles in human history. In some cultures, the elephant is a revered creature. In Buddhism, for example, the vivid dream of Buddha’s mother which foretold...

An Egyptian mummy wrapped in linen (representational image only)

4 December, 2015 - 00:47 Mark Miller

Mystery wrapped in linen: Unraveling the story of Hatason, a 3,200-year-old Egyptian mummy

Sometimes ancient Egyptians changed the remains in coffins and removed an original mummy to replace it with another. Researchers are looking into the case of a somewhat mysterious mummy with CT scans...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Source: Luca Oleastri / Adobe.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Searching For a Way to the Home Planet

In contrast to many theorists, this unconventional retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens.

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

English Nursery Rhymes with Unexpected and Sometimes Disturbing Historical Origins

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History

Human Origins

Work using the Statue of Gilgamesh and Lamassu. Source: CC BY 4.0

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens. Taking poetic licence, the author merges some ideas from modern science and technology with the story from the ancient text.

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

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

Do you dare enter a fairy ring? The mythical mushroom portals of the supernatural

Ancient Technology

The passage of carts over decades could cause ruts (like the one shown), particularly in high-traffic areas of Pompeii.

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The buried city of Pompeii continues to provide many insights into Roman society , economy, and culture. The ash and pumice , that fell on Pompeii from Mount Vesuvius , froze the city in time. A...

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

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

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

The legacy of Dujiangyan: China’s ancient irrigation system

Ancient Places

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

The Sumerian civilization (known also as Sumer) was one of the earliest civilizations in the world. This ancient civilization emerged in the region of southern Mesopotamia (modern day southern Iraq), between the Tigris and Euphrates River.

Homer’s Iliad Casts Doubt on the Aegean Location of Troy

Is Makhunik an Ancient City of Little People?

Fuerte De Samaipata - A Site of Ceremonial Carvings and Sacrifice

Mystery Hill Megaliths May Be 4,000 Years Old—Did Celts Build It?

The Great Serpent Mound of Ohio, the Largest Earthen Effigy in the World

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

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

The Secrets of the Kabbalists Garden

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.