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.
The lost tomb of the 10th century Viking King, Harald Bluetooth, has “probably” been identified “again.” When Old King Gorm died around 935 AD, the new Viking ruler of Denmark and Norway became...
The Roman empire has historically been associated with wine and winemaking. Now more about just how they produced the beverage that was consumed by practically all in the nation, rich or poor, has...
Archaeologists exploring Lindisfarne, an island known for its rich religious history - including the first Viking invasion - have recovered the oldest prayer beads ever found in England. While...
While carrying out routine field work in the Burren lowlands of County Galway in Ireland, field archaeologist Michael Gibbons discovered a Bronze Age fortress that may be almost 3,200 years old. The...
The ancient city of Kelenderis on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey is the site of the Greek Celenderis, a port and fortress in ancient Cilicia and later Isauria. From here, a furnace for commercial...
The analysis of over 2,500 Aramaic inscriptions in Palmyra in south-central Syria has helped solve a 100-year-old mystery. Two hundred texts, dated mainly to the 2nd and 3rd century AD have been...
A 30,000-year-old baby mammoth has been discovered perfectly preserved in permafrost in the far reaches of Canada’s northwest Yukon province. Covered in skin and patches of hair, the Yukon baby...
In May 2022 I wrote an Ancient Origins news article about the discovery of “42, syphilis -ridden, colonial Spaniards.” These bodies were unearthed at a 500-year-old hospital in Lima, Peru’s capital...
Archaeologists believe they are uncovering the lost city of Bassania, an ancient Illyrian settlement mentioned by Livy as lying between two important ancient centers - the Illyrian capital of Shkodër...
A beachcomber exploring sea caves along the north coast of western Oregon, USA discovered timbers from the hull of the Beeswax wreck Spanish galleon that sunk in the Pacific Ocean more than 300 years...
For a long time, most only associated the word “Antikythera” with an ancient computer. In 2020, that changed after Greek divers recovered a giant marble head from the world-renowned shipwreck...
Escherichia coli, popularly known as E. coli , is a bacteria that is commonly found in the lower intestine of healthy, warm-blooded organisms. Most E. coli bacteria are harmless, but a few have the...
Dutch archaeologists from the private archaeological consulting firm RAAP recently uncovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman temple complex in the Netherlands. While religious sanctuaries...
Archaeologists in Mexico unearthed one of the largest and most impressive collections of Aztec artifacts ever found, just northeast of the central plaza of Mexico City. This incredible Aztec artifact...
A new study published in the Journal of Conflict Archaeology has suggested that many remains of the roughly 60,000 Waterloo soldiers who died in the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815 may have been...
A bone expert investigating a mass grave in Ireland has found clear evidence of hyper-violence, including smashed bones and bound limbs. Last year, beneath Nancy Spain’s Public House, Barrack Street...
Two small chunks of metal, buried separately but near each other, have turned out to be parts of the same ornate Viking sword. Separated 1,200 years ago, the first part of the sword ‘Queen of Gausel...
A power vacuum caused by an extreme drought 1,500 years ago in the Arabian Peninsula led to political unrest, war, and societal change. These were the preconditions that led to the development and...
Archaeologists who’ve launched exploratory digs along the path of the HS2 high-speed rail project in England have made some fascinating and amazing discoveries. The latest addition to the list of...
An archaeological investigation of maritime remains connected to the Viking Age town of Birka in Sweden carried out since August 2020 has revealed a “first of its kind” Viking shipyard. Birka, also...
Artifacts belonging to the era of King Khufu (also known as Cheops), who ruled sometime in the 26th century BC or nearly 4,500 years ago, have been discovered in Cairo’s Ayn-Shams neighborhood by the...
The Black Death or Black Plague killed somewhere between 75 and 200 million people in just seven years, from 1346 to 1353. About 50 million died in Europe alone, which made it the epicenter of the...
Billions of dollars of gold, silver and emeralds encrust a tiny patch of the Caribbean Sea. In 1708, during the War of Spanish Succession (1701 to 1714), a British Navy warship sailing from Panama...
An advanced 3,000-year-old Chinese culture, whose existence was not known about until the 1980s, has been further revealed by recent excavations. Apparently, the existence of the highly developed...
