We bring you all the latest historical news and archaeological discoveries relating to ancient human history. Read more history news from around the world here at Ancient Origins.
A pagan basilica of first century AD Rome dedicated to Pythagoras’ and Plato’s metaphysics but depicting many types of Greek and Roman mythical beings has opened to the public. The family that...
A Swiss farmer made an incredible find in his cherry orchard when he spotted something shimmering in a molehill and subsequently discovered a trove of 4,166 bronze and silver Roman coins. The hoard...
Byzantine Emperor Justinian wanted to ensure the domination of the new religion of Christianity so much that he shipped disassembled marble church parts around the empire to have them built in...
There may be some irony in the discovery of a possible painting of Confucius, known for espousing high-minded morals and the importance of good governance – it was found in the tomb of an ancient...
In 1985, a frozen and half buried mummy of a young boy was recovered from the mountain of Aconcagua in Argentina. Now, a team of scientists have managed to extract and sequence his mitochondrial DNA...
Archaeologists in China have made a unique discovery in a cemetery dating to the Western Han Dynasty (221 – 206 BC) – two bronze lamps that could ‘swallow’ smoke. Historians are hailing the discovery...
Researchers have found the location of the lost island city of Kane, known since ancient times as the site of a naval battle between Athens and Sparta in which the Athenians were victorious but later...
Archaeologists have found evidence on pottery that people were using honeycomb at least 9,000 years ago. A research team from several European institutions has found the distinctive chemical...
In a study in contrasts, architects who use sophisticated technology to design state-of-the-art buildings are looking to the oldest center of civilization in the Americas for inspiration—Caral-Supe...
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...
A mass grave containing the remains of more than 250 people was discovered by archaeologists at the ancient city of Haft Tappeh, Iran. Scientist are now working to determine how these people perished...
When ancient Eygptian pharaoh Akhenaten ordered the construction of the new city of Amarna dedicated to the sun god Aten, more than 20,000 people moved there to do the back-breaking work. The work...
Scientists looking to uncover hidden chambers and other ancient secrets of the Egyptian pyramids for the first time using powerful scanning technology, have detected an ‘impressive’ anomaly within...
In 409 BC, Carthaginian troops from North Africa slaughtered and enslaved the 16,000 soldiers and residents of Selinunte, a Greek metropolis whose ruins were preserved in ancient times by blowing...
Two months ago, headlines were made around the world as treasure hunters identified a legendary Nazi train packed with weapons, gold, money, and archives hidden in a long-forgotten tunnel in the...
Following a dramatic new theory by archaeologist Nicholas Reeves that the tomb of Tutankhamun contains two hidden chambers and one of them is the final resting place of Queen Nefertiti, the Ministry...
By Olga Gertcyk / The Siberian Times The find in Novosibirsk region has left archeologists with many questions, since some animals kept alive in two metre-deep pits at the smokehouse were not at the...
The Cabo Verde islands, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South America, were an important hub in the slave trade. Archaeologists have now revealed to the public a church there...
The skeletal remains of several hundred bodies piled high behind a ruin wall are testimony to the terrible tragedy that unfolded in the ancient city of the Seven Mounds. Archaeologists have uncovered...
In 74 BC the royal Han Dynasty clan of ancient China dethroned the emperor after just 27 days because of his lack of talent and for intolerably indulging in pleasures. But when he died, insane, five...
The Bladen Journal reports that a mummified hand found in Castleton, North Yorkshire, England is the only known ‘Hand of Glory’, a grotesque artifact meant to aid thieves in their work during the...
For hundreds of years, linguists have been trying to decode the ancient hieroglyphic script of the Mayans, left behind on monument carvings, painted pottery, and drawn in handmade bark-paper books...
About 1,400 years ago, the Loma Caldera volcano of El Salvador erupted, covering the small Maya village of Ceren in ash and preserving it in pristine condition to the present day. Unlike at Pompeii...
Ancient sunken treasures hidden for thousands of years will be revealed in an underwater antiquity museum, the first of its kind, set for the history-rich Bay of Alexandria in Egypt. The ambitious...
