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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Detail from an old Egyptian postage stamp depicting Jean-François Champollion. Source: Silvio / Adobe Stock

The Legacy and Tragic Death of Egyptology's Father, Champollion

Remembered as the father of Egyptology, the 19th-century Frenchman Jean-François Champollion prematurely and tragically passed away in 1832 shortly after visiting Egypt. In 1822, Champollion...
Archaeologists have deciphered what could be the origins of the Latin alphabet in graffiti found at the Temple of Hathor near the Serâbît el-Khâdim mines. Serâbît el-Khâdim in the background and the evolution of the letter “A” in the foreground. Source: Einsamer Schütze / CC BY-SA 3.0 & Till Nikolaus von Heiseler / CC BY 4.0

From an Ox to an “A”: The Ancient Egyptian Origins of the Latin Alphabet

As crazy as it sounds, it’s now well attested that the letter “A” started out its evolution as the Egyptian hieroglyph for an ox. But its truly mind-blowing transformation came when turquoise miners...
Tilapia Stew: Egyptian Recipe Found in 6000-year-old Stomach

Tilapia Stew: Egyptian Recipe Found in 6000-year-old Stomach

This recipe is based on an archaeological discovery made in an upper Egypt tomb dating to around 3500 to 4000 BC. Differing from a typical mummy, which would have had its organs in canopic jars, the...
The Rosetta Stone: One of Archaeology’s Greatest Treasures

The Rosetta Stone: One of Archaeology’s Greatest Treasures

The Rosetta Stone is one of the most significant discoveries in the history of archaeology. This artifact was created during the Ptolemaic Period, and was rediscovered at the end of the 18th century...
Left: Archaeologists at the Canaanite temple excavation site in Lachish, Israel. Source: The Fourth Expedition To Lachish / Southern Adventist University. Right: (top) Two tiny figurines depicting 'smiting gods' (could be Baal and Resheph) that were found by the altar of the temple and (bottom) weapons and jewelry found at the site. Source: Tal Rogovski / Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Artifact Packed 3,000-Year-Old Canaanite Temple Unearthed In Israel

A rare 3,000-year-old Canaanite temple full of ancient religious artifacts has been unearthed in southern Israel. Built around the time of the ancient Israelite invasion described in the Bible , the...
Dark demonb (Luis Louro / Adobe Stock)

Ancient Curses: Five Ways to Create Calamity in the Ancient World

Ever since the days when magic first arose, people have been looking to manipulate the world with supernatural means and divine intervention – often for positive ends, but also to punish or send...
Tablet hypothesized to be the oldest writing ever discovered.

An 8,000-year-old Slab Holds the “Oldest Writing” Ever Discovered! Or Does It?

A tiny ceramic slab dated to around 6000 BC with “written signs” has been discovered by archaeologists at a prehistoric settlement near the town of Nova Zagora in Southeast Bulgaria. And, they...
Ancient Egyptian Papyrus Reveals Odd Cure for Ingrown Eyelashes – Bull Fat, Bat and Donkey Blood

Ancient Egyptian Papyrus Reveals Odd Cure for Ingrown Eyelashes – Bull Fat, Bat and Donkey Blood

An Egyptian medical document dating back about 3,500 years is being translated by a Danish Egyptologist, who reveals strange ingredients that to most modern people may not seem beneficial. The...
The King of Beasts That Have Witnessed the Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilizations

The King of Beasts That Have Witnessed the Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilizations

Lions are often said to be the kings of all animals. They are also a symbol of power and popular archetypes for influential rulers. Most civilizations have depicted these regal animals in their...
7,000-Year-Old Ceramic Fragment with Signs, Symbols and Swastika May Be One of the Oldest Examples of Writing

7,000-Year-Old Ceramic Fragment with Signs, Symbols and Swastika May Be One of the Oldest Examples of Writing

While excavating the ancient Roman site of Ad Putea in modern Riben, Bulgaria, researchers made a startling discovery – an artifact that they believe may be one of the earliest attempts of writing in...
The hieroglyph at the top middle with the seven arms and a dome radiating from a post is the symbol for the regent Queen Neith-Hotep. It was previously thought that she was King Narmer’s wife and not a sovereign in her own right.

Discovery of 5,000-year-old Hieroglyphs Change the Story of a Queen, a Pharaoh, and an Ancient City

Miners carved Egyptian hieroglyphs and drawings into the rock of the Sinai Desert 5,000 years ago as a way of marking the area as owned by Egypt, a researcher says. The people carving the symbols...
Ministry of Antiquities, Egypt.

Sarcophagus of Egyptian High Priest Unearthed with Hieroglyphic Inscriptions and Scenes of Offerings

The sarcophagus of a high priest of the ancient Egyptian god Amun Ra has been unearthed in Egypt. The well preserved sarcophagus, discovered by a team of archaeologists within the 3,400-year-old tomb...
A pecked petroglyph of a reed boat I the Nag el-Hamdulab cycle in Egypt.

Ancient Symbols of Power: Royal Egyptian Rock Art of Nag el-Hamdulab Depict Rule of State and Military Might

An ancient king—heralded by standard bearers and trailing a retinue of soldiers, fan bearers, powerful beasts and deities—projects power and military might in elaborate scenes carved into the very...
The world’s first-known abecedary in ancient Egyptian hieratic script has been deciphered by a Dutch Egyptologist.

Scholar deciphers oldest known alphabet primer, in ancient Egyptian

A Dutch Egyptologist recently deciphered the oldest known abecedary or alphabet-like primer on a 3,500-year-old shard of pottery from an Egyptian tomb excavated 20 years ago. The earliest alphabets...
A collection of tablets displaying Indus Valley script.

Decoding the mysterious ancient Indus Valley script will shed light on powerful ancient civilization

Linguists have cracked many tough scripts, from Mesopotamian cuneiform to Egyptian hieroglyphic to Central American Mayan glyphs, but there are a few ancient, mysterious scripts still in the field...