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.
In the Middle Ages being dead wasn’t a guarantee you would rest in peace. Researchers have found hundreds of examples of people re-opening graves in cemeteries from Transylvania to southern England...
Scientists from the Canadian Conservation Institute have discovered the earliest evidence of the use of castoreum in the making of weapons. The castoreum, a product sourced from the anal castor sacs...
It was a little over a decade ago that the evolutionary biologist Eske Willerslev successfully applied innovative DNA analysis and decoding technology to unlock genetic secrets from the past. In that...
The Chengdu Plain is an alluvial plain located on the western part of the Sichuan basin in southwestern China, which was the site of a recent breakthrough discovery. Six pieces of carbonized bamboo...
The Neolithic fingerprints of two young male potters have been identified on a 5,000-year-old fragment of clay discovered in Orkney. In April this year The Press and Journal announced that...
Archaeologists in Poland have unearthed a coin hoard from the early Carolingian dynasty in a field in the remote north-east of the country. The coin hoard treasure indicates a connection between the...
Scientists think an ancient astronomical observatory in Pömmelte, Germany will overshadow England’s famous Stonehenge in terms of archaeological data and the number of human burials. Over 4,000 years...
Recently, a fabulous discovery was made that has greatly enriched the history of an already vibrant temple. Twenty-one medieval era copper plates have been unearthed by the Srisailam authorities at...
A unique lead plate covered with Iberian writing has been recovered from Pico de los Ajos (Yátova), one of the most important archaeological sites in Spain. Bent out of shape, with a mysterious...
A new historical analysis has called into question the accepted story about the discovery of Antarctica. The continent was supposedly first seen by Russian and British explorers in the early 19th...
Overnight, 5,000 years of design skills that were invested in a recreated Iron Age house at the Scottish Crannog Centre in Perthshire, Scotland, have been engulfed in a fire. One onlooker said the...
A piece of textile fabric from a grave, dated to the Viking Age, has been found in southern Norway, dated to 850-950 AD. The grave of a woman was uncovered at Hestnes in southern Trøndelag county,...
Not everyone is well versed with the name Tel Tsaf, a prehistoric village in the stunning Beit She’an Valley in North Israel. They may be now, as some 150 clay sealings, dating back to 7,000 years...
A genetic relationship, either as half-brothers or as an uncle and a nephew, has been established between skeletal remains of two men who died on opposite ends of the North Sea. Estimated to have...
Scientists applying a precise form of radiocarbon dating technology have successfully dated an important and mysterious below-ground monument located in northern Italy. The prehistoric water tank is...
Pointy shoes or winklepickers worn by the upper classes caused a spike in bunions in medieval Britain, a study has found. Close your eyes and picture the classic court jester . His jingly hat and...
In-depth research has shed new light on the astonishing and awe-inspiring history of the Paratethys Sea. This 12-milion-year-old megalake was formed in Eurasia by the same tectonic shifts that...
The UK coastguard has “arrested” a 230-foot (70 meter) Noah's Ark replica ship in Ipswich, England. Without the correct paperwork and “anti-fouling paint” to deem it seaworthy, the $3.6million (3-...
The ancient Greeks built vast public temple complexes, but it has taken up to the 21st century for the nation to begin meeting modern disabled accessibility standards. For the first time in its long...
As part of a salvage dig in advance of the construction of an urban expansion project in Yavne, a city in the Central District of Israel, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)...
Jaroslaw, a town in south-east Poland, developed as an important trade center in the 16th and 17th centuries and now an amazing ancient wooden road (one of the longest in Poland) has been unearthed...
A Russian Ice Age cave bear skull was found with a small hole at the back of its head. This hole might have been caused by one of several methods, however, if it was a spear hole, which evidence...
Australotitan cooperensis , nicknamed Cooper, was the largest dinosaur species to have walked the ancient land of Australia, a new study in the PeerJ journal has revealed. This giant sauropod,...
In an article appearing in the 7 June 2021 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS ), a team of researchers has revealed the results of an enlightening new study about...
