Krakatoa

The dramatic eruption of a volcano – eyewitness accounts, ancient chronicles, and mythical tales have surrounded this terrifying and astounding natural phenomenon since the dawn of man. Vesuvius erupting, painting by Johan Christian Dahl.

26 July, 2015 - 02:39 lizleafloor

Deadly Volcanoes: The Eruptions that Reshaped the World and Became Legends - Part II

Read part 1 . The ancients witnessed the awesome and raw power of erupting volcanos , and sent out warnings through time in the form of religion lessons, myths, legends and chronicles. These amazing...

19 February, 2014 - 12:24 johnblack

Why is the global climatic cataclysm of the sixth century virtually unheard of?

There was a sign from the sun, the like of which had never been seen and reported before. The sun became dark and its darkness lasted for 18 months. Each day, it shone for about four hours, and still...

Myths & Legends

Crossing the Veil: The Pre-Christian Origins of Halloween and Samhain

Halloween, or the ancient Samhain, is considered the time of year when the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its thinnest.

Boudicca: The Celtic Queen Who Unleashed Fury on the Romans

Exploring the True Origins of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Last of the Siberian Unicorns: What Happened to the Mammoth-Sized One-Horned Beasts of Legend?

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

The Sumerian King List still puzzles historians after more than a century of research

Human Origins

The Stoned Ape theory proposes magic mushrooms helped the Homo erectus evolve quickly.

The Stoned Ape Theory and the Dawn of Human Consciousness: Did Our Prehistoric Ancestors Evolve by Getting High?

The origins of behavioral modernity and what exactly makes us human are topics which have fascinated people for hundreds of years.

Ancient Anomalous Human Skeletons: Humanity Could be Much Older Than We Think

The Inexplicable Origins of the Ket People of Siberia

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Picts, Gaels, and Scots: Exploring their Mysterious (and Sometimes Mythical) Origins

The Mysterious Aboriginal Rock Art of the Wandjinas

Ancient Technology

Where Death Rings in the Hour: The Amazing Medieval Astronomical Clock of Prague

The technical sophistication of the Middle Ages tends to be underestimated. Near the end of the High Middle Ages, mechanical technology such as clocks and water mills, for example, were becoming quite advanced.

1,200-year-old telephone, amazing invention of the ancient Chimu civilization

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

Beaver's teeth 'used to carve the oldest wooden statue in the world’

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

The Great Pyramid at Giza and Noah’s Ark: Are we coming closer to an understanding of the Ancient Mind? Part I

Ancient Places

Mystery Hill Megaliths May Be 4,000 Years Old—Did Celts Build It?

Studying the origins of the aptly named Mystery Hill megaliths, also known as America’s Stonehenge, whets one’s curiosity but does not satisfy—unless one is satisfied by the excitement of confounding mystery alone.

The Mysterious Pyramid of Bomarzo: Discovering The Etruscan’s Enigmatic Past

The Graveyard Prostitutes of Rome and Beyond

El Tajín, The Lost City of a Mysterious People

Volterra: Home to Three Civilizations and the World’s First Witch

If Not the Fairies, Then Who Built the Ancient Poulnabrone Dolmen?

Opinion

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

The Vikings’ next step out into the Atlantic – the discovery and settlement of Iceland – is one of the best documented events of the Viking Age. Medieval Icelanders were fascinated by genealogy, not only because, as emigrants

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

3 Problems to Remember When Trying to Find Atlantis

Naupa Iglesia: An Egyptian Portal in the Andes?

The Nephilim: Giant Offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Man?

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

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.