Florence

Dante holding open a copy of the Divine Comedy while gazing towards Mount Purgatory (1530), Agnolo Bronzino

1 September, 2020 - 19:01 Riley Winters

A Pilgrimage of Thought: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

The most widely read work of Florentine politician and writer Dante Alighieri, the Divine Comedy dictates a tale of the three realms of the afterlife as believed by the Italians of the Middle Ages...

Florence’s historic ‘wine windows’ have reopened in response to COVID-19 Source: Buchette Del Vino

11 August, 2020 - 00:11 ashley cowie

Historic Wine Windows Reopen in Italy, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The bubonic plague , otherwise known as the Black Death, originated in Asia during the late Middle Ages and spread north into Europe through the bacteria Yersinia pestis on infected fleas. To counter...

A wine window (buchetta del vino), used in the past to sell wine directly to passers-by, on the old stone wall of an ancient building in the historic centre of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Source: Simona Sirio /Adobe Stock

7 August, 2020 - 14:04 Ed Whelan

Medieval ‘Wine Windows’ Revived Due to Coronavirus

An old tradition has been revived in Florence, Italy due to the COVID-19 crisis. Once again wine windows have been opened to serve customers in one of Italy’s most beautiful cities. This tradition...

Left: Florence Nightingale inspects a hospital ward during the Crimean War. ( Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0). Right: Portrait of Florence Nightingale from Carte de Visite. (H. Lenthall / Public domain)

12 May, 2020 - 23:00 ancient-origins

A History of Nursing Heroes from Florence Nightingale to Coronavirus

By Leslie Neal-Boylan / The Conversation Nurses are heroes of the COVID-19 crisis. May 12 is International Nurses Day, which commemorates the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the first “professional...

Photo of Michelangelo’s David showing the jugular vein in his neck distended. Source: Jörg Bittner Unna / CC BY 3.0

31 December, 2019 - 13:54 Ed Whelan

Michelangelo’s David Reveals Artist Knew About Jugular Vein a Century Before Doctors

A new study has shown that Michelangelo knew facts about the human circulatory system over a century before scientists and doctors. A prominent jugular vein in the neck of Michelangelo’s David shows...

23 December, 2019 - 23:05 dhwty

The Renaissance: The ‘Rebirth’ That Changed the World

The Renaissance refers to the period in European history between the 14 th and 17 th centuries. As a historical era, the Renaissance was preceded by the Middle Ages, and succeeded by the early modern...

A portrait of Michelangelo flanked by his sculpture ‘Madonna of Bruges’ and a detail of the Redeemed from his painting of ‘The Last Judgement.’

3 October, 2018 - 03:18 dhwty

Michelangelo: A Mixture of True Talent Meeting Great Luck and Perseverance

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, better known as Michelangelo, is one of the most famous figures of the Italian Renaissance period (between the 14th and 16th centuries AD). The Renaissance...

31 October, 2016 - 02:50 Natalia Klimczak

Origins of the Magnificent Florentine Cathedral Santa Maria di Fiore

The city of Florence, known as Firenze in Italian, has long been recognized for its wealth and beauty. The heart of the city is its cathedral. This building is famous not only for its appearance, but...

26 January, 2016 - 00:47 dhwty

Mona Lisa Meets War Machines: Details on the Driven Life and Lesser-Known Talents of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, known more commonly as Leonardo da Vinci, is arguably one of the most well-known figures of the Italian Renaissance. Leonardo’s primary claim to fame is in the field...

Fresco of Dante and the Divine Comedy (1465), Domenico di Michelino, Florence cathedral, Italy

20 August, 2015 - 23:57 Riley Winters

A Pilgrimage of Thought: the Politician, Poet, and Pilgrim called Dante Alighieri

Born in Florence in the late thirteenth century, Dante Alighieri would grow up to become one of the most famed and well-read authors of the Italian Middle Ages. The scope of his political and...

18 April, 2014 - 03:17 aprilholloway

Ancient Roman theatre discovered beneath the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence

Archaeologists conducting an excavation beneath the Palazzo Vecchio, a 13 th century building which serves as the Town Hall in Florence, have discovered the remains of an ancient Roman theatre dating...

13 February, 2014 - 01:04 aprilholloway

Mass grave discovered under Uffizi Gallery in Florence

Dozens of ancient skeletons in a mass grave were found during excavation work to expand an exhibition space in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Archaeologists believe the grave dates back somewhere...

Medici children malnutrition - Italy Florence

1 October, 2013 - 09:52 aprilholloway

Bones from the wealthy and privileged Medici children show they suffered from malnutrition

The Medici family rose to power in the 13 th century in Florence and Tuscany through banking and commerce and became one of the most powerful families of the Renaissance period. However, new research...

Myths & Legends

The Last of the Siberian Unicorns: What Happened to the Mammoth-Sized One-Horned Beasts of Legend?

Elasmotherium, also known as the Giant Rhinoceros or the Giant Siberian Unicorn, is an extinct species of rhino that lived in the Eurasian area in the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. They have been documented from 2.6 million years ago, but the most recent fossils come from around 29,000 years ago.

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

Magic into Myth: Avalon, Mystical Isle of Medieval Arthurian Literature

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

Were the Merovingians Descended from a Monster? Meet the Quinotaur

The Norse Legend of the World Tree - Yggdrasil

Human Origins

The Controversial Lapedo Child – A Neanderthal / Human Hybrid?

Buried for millennia in the rear of a rock-shelter in the Lapedo Valley 85 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal, archaeologists uncovered the bones of a four-year-old child, comprising the first complete Palaeolithic skeleton ever dug in Iberia.

The Mythological Maori Origin Stories of New Zealand

Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu In Zoroastrianism’s Creation Mythology

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Egyptian Goddess Isis, Found in India

The Surprising Truth About Fasting for Lent

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.

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

Han Purple: A 2,800-year-old artificial pigment that quantum physicists are trying to understand

Is this a 300 million-year-old screw or just a fossilized sea creature?

The Man Who Stopped a Desert Using Ancient Farming

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Ancient Places

Part of the extensive East Bay Wall network

Unravelling the Mystery Behind the East Bay Walls: Who Really Made Them and Why?

In the hills around East Bay and elsewhere near San Francisco, there is a series of stone walls that extend discontinuously for miles. The walls are about 3-4 feet high in most places and are not...

Tomb of the Lord of Sipan, Mochican Warrior Priest

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

The 9,000-year-old underground megalithic settlement of Atlit Yam

The Nile: How One River Helped Build a Civilization – 10 Amazing Facts

The Cerveteri Necropolis, Etruscan City of the Dead

Opinion

Unearthing Ancient Magic in The Runes –Messages with Hidden Symbols and Powerful Numbers

The etymology of the word “rune” means: “to carve, or to cut.” In Low German the word is “raunen.” As the runes were cut and carved into wood, metal or stone, the word “rune” was analogous to the rune letters themselves.

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

Was There Ever a Trojan War?

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

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.

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