iraq | Ancient Origins

Aerial view of the Kemune Palace from the west. The imposing palace would have once stood just 20 meters from the Tigris River. Source: University of Tübingen eScience Cente / Kurdistan Archaeology.

28 June, 2019 - 21:20 Ed Whelan

3,400 Year-old Palace From a Mysterious Civilization Revealed by Drought

Archaeologists are hailing, as very important, the dramatic discovery of a Bronze Age Palace . It was revealed as the waters of a reservoir fell because of a severe drought in Iraq. The ruin is...

View of the ancient town of Hasankeyf in Turkey.

28 May, 2019 - 17:07 Theodoros Karasavvas

Hasankeyf No More: Turkish Government Submerges 12,000-Year-Old Town

The destruction of the ancient town of Hasankeyf by the Turkish government has drawn anger and disappointment to many people all over the world. Unfortunately, the submersion of the early...

The ancient city Madinat al-Salam - Baghdad’s Round City

10 May, 2019 - 23:09 dhwty

The Punctilious Planning, Design, and Construction of the Ancient Round City of Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq but whereas the country of Iraq was founded only in 1958, the city of Baghdad had been established about 1200 years before by the Abbasids . Baghdad was built...

3D reconstruction of an ancient Mesopotamian city.

8 April, 2019 - 18:56 ancient-origins

4,000-Year-Old Lost Mesopotamian City Discovered in Iraq

A 4,000-year-old lost city has been discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to researchers. “We weren’t expecting to discover a city here at all,” said Christine Kepinski, who explored the site,...

Ur-Shulgi. King Shulgi is credited with the completion of the Great ziggurat of Ur.

11 March, 2019 - 14:00 Carly Silver

The Mighty Deeds of King Shulgi of Ur, Master of Mesopotamian Monarchs

In the early second millennium BC, the city-states of Mesopotamia thrived in the so-called “Ur III period.” Assuming political frameworks previously abandoned in times of chaos, the rulers of the...

Hanging gardens of Semiramis - before Babylon was destroyed.

1 December, 2018 - 22:54 dhwty

The Monumental Fall of Babylon: What Really Shattered the Empire?

The fall of Babylon is a historical event that occurred in 539 BC. This event saw the conquest of Babylon by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great and marked the end of the Neo-Babylonian...

A journey from London to Persepolis; including wanderings in Daghestan, Georgia, Armenia., by USSHER, John. Source: (British Library / Public Domain)

16 November, 2018 - 13:24 dhwty

Who Are the Yazidis and Why Have They Been Continually Persecuted?

The Yazidis (also spelled as Yezidis) are a religious minority found primarily in northern Iraq. In recent years, the Yazidis have received the attention of the international media as a result of...

1 November, 2018 - 17:56 Ed Whelan

$31 Million Assyrian Relief is Causing a Great International Controversy

A rare Assyrian stone relief has been sold in New York for the record-breaking price of $31 million, destroying the previous highest selling price for a piece of Assyrian art. Museums and collectors...

23 July, 2018 - 21:35 Bryan Hill

Wadi Al-Salam: Magnificent Ancient Cemetery in Iraq is Largest in the World

Wadi Al-Salam, meaning Valley of Peace in Arabic, is an ancient Islamic cemetery located near the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. From an aerial view, it looks like a sprawling city. However, its residents...

Illustration of an ancient city in Mesopotamia.

12 May, 2018 - 18:58 Ed Whelan

Hoard of Ancient Tablets Found in Iraq Reveal Location of Lost Royal City of Mardama

In an exciting discovery, archaeologists have found the location of the lost royal city of Mardama. The ancient Hurrian city had laid buried for millennia until archaeologists unearthed the remains...

A cuneiform tablet seized from Hobby Lobby. This tablet contains economic/administrative information.

2 May, 2018 - 13:58 Alicia McDermott

450 Stolen Sumerian Tablets are on Their Way Back to Iraq, but it is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

450 Stolen Sumerian tablets are being repatriated to Iraq with a ceremony in Washington D.C. on May 2. Many of the cuneiform texts come from a mysterious city called Irisagrig – a land from which...

Some of the artefacts found after disappearing from the National Museum of Iraq. Ceerwan Aziz

12 April, 2018 - 01:59 ancient-origins

Fifteen Years After Looting, Thousands of Artifacts are still Missing from Iraq’s National Museum

Craig Barker / The Conversation On April 10 2003, the first looters broke into the National Museum of Iraq. Staff had vacated two days earlier, ahead of the advance of US forces on Baghdad. The...

One of the buildings uncovered at the Sumerian port town of Abu Tbeirah, its function is still unknown.

23 March, 2018 - 21:49 Alicia McDermott

4,000-Year-Old Sumerian Port Shows the Famed Civilization Excelled at Sea Too

Now it’s a desert, but 4000 years ago the ancient site of Abu Tbeirah in southern Iraq was a thriving Sumerian port town. It was a hub where ships set sail for distant lands such as the Indus Valley...

Striker, a U.S. Department of Agriculture brown tree snake detector dog, scratches at a cargo load notifying his handler that he has found a snake during a daily training session. Research has begun to see if dogs can detect smuggled antiquities too.

21 March, 2018 - 21:53 Alicia McDermott

K-9 Artifact Finders Plan to Sniff Out Smuggled Antiquities

An innovative US research program is underway to sniff out smuggled antiquities. Called K-9 Artifact Finders, it is a project set up to train sniffer dogs to aid in the battle against cultural...

The now destroyed Nebi Yunus in Nineveh. Iraqi archaeologists excavate the monumental entrance to a late Assyrian building. The large head of a bull-man sculpture lies in a passageway.

20 February, 2018 - 19:01 ashley cowie

Lost Codes Discovered in Terrorist’s Treasure Tunnel

Hidden deep beneath the ancient Iraq city of Nineveh, archeologists assessing the destruction of Isis treasure hunters have uncovered 2,700-year-old inscriptions describing the rule of an ancient...

‘Temple on Ganges in state of collapse, India, ca. 1906’ in the city of Varanasi, India. (Public Domain) Lijing Gate in Luoyang, Henan, China. (CC BY SA 2.0) Quarantal Monastery, Jericho, Palestine. (Tamar Hayardeni/CC BY 3.0) The alleged ‘Abraham house’ in Ur city, Dhi Qar, southern Iraq. (Aziz1005/CC BY 4.0) ‘The Acropolis at Athens’ (1846) by Leo von Klenze. (Public Domain) A traditional (at least for the 19th century) lebanese house on the seafront near Byblos Castle, Byblos, Lebanon. (CC BY SA 3.0)

31 January, 2018 - 14:02 Theodoros Karasavvas

11 of the Most Ancient and Continually Occupied Cities in the World

Time travel is one of the most intriguing scenarios humans have ever fantasized about, but unfortunately for those curious minds and wild dreamers out there, many modern physicists claim that outside...

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Myths & Legends

“Full moon rising over Mount Shasta, as seen from northern valley.”

Mount Shasta: Inner Earth Realms and History of the Lava Beds

There are legends all over the world, found in every culture, which populate caves with spirits and supernatural guardians who dwell in a subterranean realm hidden just beneath surface of our own...

Baba Yaga: The Wicked Witch of Slavic Folklore

The Enigma of the Anasazi

The Pyramid Complex and the Hopi: Creation Myth Sheds Light on Building Plan

A Herculean Effort: What Led to the 12 Labors of Hercules and How Did He Succeed?

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Human Origins

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

Pangu and the Chinese Creation Story

Do you dare enter a fairy ring? The mythical mushroom portals of the supernatural

The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures – Part I

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Rh-Negative Blood: An Exotic Bloodline or Random Mutation?

Ancient Technology

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

The plague doctor mask is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Black Death. Though the image is iconic the relationship may be a little anachronistic. While plague doctors have been plying their trade since the Middle Ages, it was only after this period, during the 17th century, that they acquired their creepy trademark costume. But what does it mean?

Did Egyptian Mummification Descend from a More Ancient and, Perhaps, Reversible Preservation Technique?

Poisonous Pigments: History’s Deadliest Colors

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The Indian Sage who developed Atomic Theory 2,600 years ago

The ancient invention of the steam engine by the Hero of Alexandria

Ancient Places

Why Isn’t This Map in the History Books?

By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. But centuries ago, the land that is now the United States was a very different place...

The Dark Secret Behind the Hidden Room of Glamis Castle

Mount Shasta: Inner Earth Realms and History of the Lava Beds

The Anomaly of King Orry’s 5000-Year-Old Grave

Ancient Greek Theater and the Monumental Amphitheaters in Honor of Dionysus

The Lifegiving Aqueduct of Segovia, a Glorious Roman Heritage

Opinion

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Mount Shasta, located near the Oregon border in northern California, holds the distinction of being one of the world’s preeminent sacred mountains. It is recognized as an eligible Native American...

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

Cracking the Code to Discover Ancient Tarot Symbolism and Forgotten Universal Knowledge

The Secret Strategic Plans of Darius the Great

Our Mission

At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exists countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe.

We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives.

By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings.