Today, the word ‘berserk’ is used to describe anyone in an irrational, agitated state of mind who cannot or does not control his or her actions. The meaning of the word originates with the Viking...
A storm has revealed an amazing sight on a beach in Wales. High gusts of winds have exposed an ancient forest of dead trees that are 4,500 years old. These submerged trees are believed to have...
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,...
The Tengu ( 天狗 ) are possibly the most recognizable of all the Japanese yokai , with their enormous black wings and faces of either a large crow or a red-faced, long-nosed, goblin . They are often...
Located south of Baraboo in Sauk County Wisconsin, Devil’s Lake is a place of natural wonder and legend. The central feature of the biggest State Park in Wisconsin , Devil’s Lake covers 360 acres (...
On many continents during the last ice age , typically from about 50,000 to 12,000 years ago, species of megafauna that had lived there for hundreds of thousands of years became extinct...
Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha or “Enlightened One,” is probably one of the most influential individuals to come out of India through the incidental founding of Buddhism . Siddhartha...
Ever since the Irish Missionary St. Columba confronted a ‘ great serpent ’ in the River Ness in 565 AD, Loch Ness in Scotland has been the traditional home of the famous monster by the same name. But...
Many of us grew up watching Disney movies and their tales of fairy princesses and evil queens are undeniably a part of the modern zeitgeist . Some of the movies are original to Disney, but at their...
The Lost City of Z is the name British surveyor Percy Fawcett gave to a secret city buried in the jungles of Chile that was said to have streets paved in silver and roofs made of gold. It’s also the...
Lia Fáil is a carved standing stone on the Hill of Tara. Legends say this Stone of Destiny roared at the touch of a true king, making it the coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland from the...
A lucky discovery in a rare book has the potential to transform our knowledge of perhaps the most famous story from the entire Middle Ages. Some damaged manuscript pages found inside the volume are...
Almost 2,000 years after falling out of use, a Cambridge University linguistics specialist, Dr. Martin Worthington has learned how to speak ancient Babylonian and is not only campaigning to revive it...
Ancient Origins’ readers were recently delighted with the news that Hannibal’s first battlefield, fought on the river Tagus in Spain in 220 BC has finally been found . But for historian Ricky D...
Legends, myths and folkloric systems across the western world record legendary horned creatures which have become known to us collectively as unicorns. In heraldry, the unicorn is the symbol of my...
Saint Mary and All Saints, an Anglican parish church in Chesterfield, England is better known locally as The Crooked Spire for one very obvious reason: the spire, which was added in about 1362,...
Es Vedra is a small island situated off the Spanish island of Ibiza. Unlike Ibiza, which is a popular tourist destination, Es Vedra is uninhabited. This is one of the factors contributing to the...
The Blemmyes are an example of various species of bizarre creatures rumored, in antiquity and later, to inhabit remote parts of the world - from dog-headed humanoids to strange men with a single...
The dragon is one of the most well-known creatures in ancient mythology, and many cultures have this creature (or one of its related forms) in their folklore. In East Asian countries, for instance,...
The Flaming Mountains of Turpan (also known as Turfan ) are located in the Tian Shan Mountain range in China’s Xinjiang province. These mountains lie to the east of the city of Turpan, which is...
Global, myth, folklore, and legends provided inspiration for the vast array of vivid creatures and fantastical elements that fill the pages and the silver screen of the enthralling, magical world of...
Fifty years ago, a rare and unusual sword was found in a tomb in China. Despite being well over 2,000 years old, the sword, known as the Goujian, did not have a single trace of rust. The blade drew...
Often referred to as the City of the Dead , the village of Dargavs is considered to be one of the more mysterious sites in Russia. Hidden away in one of the five mountain ridges somewhere in the...
The leprechaun is perhaps one of the best-known creatures in Irish folklore. Leprechauns are popularly depicted as little men with beards dressed in green coats and tall green hats. Other well-known...