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History & Archaeology

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.

Roman Emperor Elagabalus bust, with a modern photo realistic reconstruction of his likeness based on this. Source: Left, © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro/CC BY-SA 4.0 ; Right, Daniel Voshart/ CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Roman Emperor Elagabalus Assigned Transgender By A British Museum

The third-century AD ruler, Elagabalus, has been declared transgender by a British Museum, which is set to relabel its display to accommodate the change. The decision has been taken by the North...
The Book of Deer contains notes in the margin which are the first written examples of Scottish Gaelic and hinted at the location of the monastery where they were written. Source: The Book of Deer Project

Lost Monastery Tied to Oldest Scottish Text “Book of Deer” Unearthed

A monastery, where the earliest surviving Scots Gaelic text was once noted within the margins of a significant Scottish manuscript called the Book of Deer , disappeared from the pages of history...
The people of Tournai bury victims of the Black Death, circa 1353. Source: Public Domain

Black Women Were Primary Victims of Black Death in Medieval London

When the Black Death or bubonic plague epidemic ravaged London between the autumn of 1348 and the spring of 1350, it may have wiped out as much as half the city’s population. While the victims of...
Archaeologists have discovered Alexander the Great’s Temple intertwining his legacy with Hercules and Sumerian god Ningirsu.

Alexander the Great Temple Proclaiming Him Divine Unearthed In Iraq

One of the last acts by Alexander the Great before dying at the tender age of 32 might have been dedicating a Greek temple to honor ancient gods and confirm his own divine status. This is according...
Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon. Source: Courtesy of Apple / The Conversation

Did Napoleon Really Fire at the Pyramids? The Truth Behind Ridley Scott’s Biopic

Directors of historical feature films face a difficult task. How can they make the characters familiar to an audience without reducing them to caricatures? How can they make sure that knowledge of...
One of nine medieval coins found in 2019 metal detecting rally.	Source: Royal Institution of Cornwall

Detectorist in England Finds Coins from 12th Century Reign of King Stephen

An incredibly rare collection of 12th century silver pennies was recently unearthed by an unnamed metal detectorist exploring near the village of Wymondham in the county of Norfolk in eastern England...
One of the circular earthworks and deep ditches like this one in northern Serbia, which covers at least 40 hectares.      Source: BARRY MOLLOY AND DARJA GROSMAN/ PLoS ONE

Europe’s Bronze Age Megaforts Revealed in Prehistoric Landscape

Archaeologists have uncovered a previously unknown network of massive sites in the heart of Europe that could explain the emergence of the continent’s Bronze Age megaforts – the largest prehistoric...
An ancient shoe made from animal skin. Credit: German Mining Museum.

Ancient Humans May Have Worn Shoes 150,000 Years Ago!

The protective capacities of shoes are obvious, and would have been just as obvious in ancient times, when the earliest modern humans walked the earth. Nevertheless, researchers have long debated...
The British Museum’s ongoing Girsu Project discovered the true function of a mysterious structure. Source: British Museum/Dr. Sébastien Rey

Sumerian Anti-Armageddon Device 4,000 Years Older Than Believed

Drone mappers identified a 19 kilometer (12-mile) long canal in rural Iraq. Built over it, archaeologists excavated what was at first thought to be a bizarre-shaped temple. However, it turns out that...
The building floor plans formerly belonged to rectangular cult buildings made of clay framework at the Haltern Roman camp in Germany. Source: LWL / C. Hentzelt

Sacred Surprises: Unearthing Twin Temples at the Haltern Roman Camp

During the Roman wars with the Celtic tribes of ancient Europe, when they acquired new lands, they built forts, defensive walls and temples. Now, a team of archaeologists in Germany have made the...
Lady parading with followers bearing torches, at the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane, marking the beginning of summer.	Source: chrisdonia/CC BY NC SA 2.0

10 Ancient Festivals That Were Far From Innocent

Many ancient festivals had elements that were far from innocent, often involving rituals, practices, and customs that might seem strange or even disturbing by today's standards. From bloodletting, to...
Aerial image of the excavations that have redefined the timeline of the Kingdom of David and Solomon. 	Source: Tandy archaeological expedition to Tel Gezer/CC-BY 4.0

Archaeological Evidence of the Kingdoms of David and Solomon Corroborates Biblical Narrative

After much hemming and hawing, it seems that the Biblical kingdoms of Solomon and David did exist, as per groundbreaking new research that has been revealed in a new study. Fresh details of a...
New excavations of the 1,300-year-old pre-Viking ship burial, referred to as Herlaugshaugen. Source: Hanne Bryn / NTNU Science Museum

1,300-Year-Old Pre-Viking Ship Burial Rewrites History

The identification of a pre-Viking ship burial unearthed in Norway is helping rewrite history. A previously excavated mound, containing remnants of the oldest large ship ever buried, on the island of...
Hattusa ivory ornament, dating back 2,800 years has been recently discovered and showcases depictions of sphinxes, lions, and trees of life on its ivory surface.    Source: Anadolu Agency

2,800-Year-Old ‘One of a Kind’ Ivory Object Unearthed At Hattusa

During excavations at Hattusa, capital of the Hittite kingdom during the late Bronze Age, archaeologists discovered a one-of-a-kind object crafted from Hattusa ivory, estimated to be around 2,800...
The moment of the discovery of the wind chime in Viminacium.  Source: Ilija Danković, Archaeological Institute

Roman Winged Phallus Wind Chime Talisman Unearthed in Serbia

New research at the Viminacium site in eastern Serbia, once capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, has made a remarkable find. As soon as archaeologists began their latest exploration of...
Extensive floor mosaics uncovered at the site at İncesu, Cappadocia.	Source: Kayseri Municipality

Vast and Mesmerizing Floor Mosaic Unearthed in Cappadocian Villa

A floor mosaic covering a whopping area of 600 square meters has been uncovered during excavations in Cappadocia, in the heart of Turkey. Ongoing excavations at the site, believed to be the remnants...
A substantial cache of Kamakura period coins was excavated in Gunma Prefecture	Source: Maebashi city government

100,000 Kamakura Coins From First Unified Chinese Kingdom Found in Japan

A massive cache of 100,000 ancient coins has been unearthed during construction activities in central Japan’s Maebashi City, including a rare example of the ‘Ban Liang’, China’s inaugural unified...
Sculpted head of Maya serpent warrior. Credit: INAH

Sculpted Maya Serpent Warrior Unearthed at Chichen Itza

Archaeologists digging at Mexico’s Chichen Itza were removing landfill from the Casa Colorada Complex when they made their remarkable discovery. Not only is this sculpted warrior wearing a feathered...
Turkana stone beads. Credit: Carla Klehm

Turkana Stone Beads Tell a Story of Herder Life in East Africa 5,000 Years Ago

On the shores of Lake Turkana in east Africa, about 5,000 to 4,000 years ago, pastoralists buried their dead in communal cemeteries that were marked by stone circles and pillars. The north-west Kenya...
Representative image of a Copper Age woman undergoing trepanation. Source: Created by OpenAI's DALL-E, an AI image generation model

Woman Who Lived in Spain 4,500 Years Ago Survived Two Radical Head Surgeries

Researchers analyzing a woman’s skeleton unearthed from a Copper Age graveyard on the Iberian Peninsula discovered clear and unmistakable proof that this individual had undergone two surgeries to her...
Largest Headhunting Massacre from Neolithic China Unearthed

Largest Headhunting Massacre from Neolithic China Unearthed

Evidence of the bloodiest decapitation and head-hunting in Neolithic Asian history, has been unearthed from China, from 4,100 years ago. In total, 41 skeletons were recovered, all belonging to women...
Dr Omer Aksoy and Giulia Edmond measuring the prehistoric hand axes. Source: The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU)

Massive 200,000-Year-Old Hand Axes Rewrite Saudi Arabia History

Archaeologists digging at the Qurh site in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla Governorate uncovered a set of enormous stone hand axes that were made by ancient humans living in the region 200,000 years ago,...
The Mixtec tomb has revealed information about funerary rituals 1,500 years ago. Source: INAH

Warrior-Trader Mixtec Tomb Unearthed in Mexican Town Square

Archaeologists have unearthed a rare twin-chambered stone Mixtec tomb in central Mexico. This discovery is only the third of its kind in the region. What sets this tomb apart from the other two is...
Three stacks of French love letters bound together by a ribbon, were finally opened by Cambridge University professor Renaud Morieux at the national archives, Kew. Source: The National Archives / Renaud Morieux

18th Century Love Letters Written to French Sailors Finally Opened and Read

More than two-and-a-half centuries after they were originally composed, more than 100 letters sent to members of the French navy by their loved ones have finally been opened and read. The messages...

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