Levant

Göbekli Tepe PIlars in the Sanliurfa museum. (Cobija / CC BY-SA 4.0)

13 May, 2019 - 04:33 Martin Sweatman

Common Cosmic Symbolism: Is Göbekli Tepe Ancestral to Ancient Egypt?

Since its discovery in 1994, 10,000-year old Göbekli Tepe has been an enigma, gradually revealing its ancient secrets to archaeologists and scientists. Meticulously excavating the site from soil that...

28 March, 2019 - 17:57 ancient-origins

What’s Special About Golan Heights? These 5 Fabulous Recent Archaeological Discoveries For a Start!

The Golan Heights has been making headlines for the political impact of certain international relations choices. It has raised all sorts of questions and debate on sovereignty, international law,...

“Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 15th July 1099” (1847) by Émile Signol / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library. The Crusaders were mostly successful in the First Crusade.

6 November, 2018 - 14:00 dhwty

The First Crusade: Christian and Muslim Bloodshed as Peasants, Princes, and Turks Clash in the Holy Land

The First Crusade (1095-1099 AD) was a military campaign launched by Christendom in an attempt to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims to make the holy site safe once more for Christian pilgrims. The...

Ancient farmers - A Neolithic Revolution

30 June, 2018 - 23:32 Caleb Strom

From Hunters to Settlers: How the Neolithic Revolution Changed the World

The archaeological understanding of the Neolithic Revolution (or First Agricultural Revolution) has changed significantly since research on the subject first began in the early 20th century. This...

8 June, 2018 - 02:19 lizleafloor

Could Iron Age settlement be the biblical town of Libnah from the Book of Exodus?

Excavations at Tel Burna, an Iron Age settlement in the Shephelah region of modern-day south-central Israel, have revealed artifacts and fortifications dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries...

Human remains discovered during excavations of cemetery from early Iron Age in Kosiorow village, Eastern Poland.

7 June, 2018 - 01:59 ancient-origins

Inaccuracies Found in Radiocarbon Dating Calibrations Could Change Historical Timelines

Radiocarbon dating is a key tool archaeologists use to determine the age of plants and objects made with organic material. But new research shows that commonly accepted radiocarbon dating standards...

Pendant, Aurignacian culture, 31000-24000 BC

30 December, 2017 - 22:50 aprilholloway

Did Prehistoric Middle Eastern Culture Visit Europe, Spawn Artistic Culture, and Leave?

A team of archaeologists investigating a cave in Israel, claims to have found evidence that prehistoric tools and artwork from Western Europe could possibly owe their existence to an earlier culture...

31 August, 2016 - 04:07 Natalia Klimczak

Rare Ritual Artifacts Reveal Details on Life at the Cusp of the Agricultural Revolution

A remarkable collection of etched limestone pebbles may change our knowledge of prehistory in the Levant. Moreover, a beautiful head of a bird, which was carved into a limestone plaque 16,500 years...

10 August, 2015 - 23:59 ancient-origins

Abrupt Climate Change May Have Rocked the Cradle of Civilization

New research reveals that some of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East and the Fertile Crescent may have been affected by abrupt climate change. These findings show that while socio-economic...

Archaeologists say they can piece together these wine jars, which are in excellent condition compared to other ceramic artifacts from ancient times. (Photo by Eric Cline)

31 July, 2015 - 21:43 Mark Miller

A royal find of ancient grapes and wine residue may help resurrect Canaanite vinting

Archaeologists digging in a kingly palace in Israel have found 120 large wine jars, some with residue, and grape seeds from 4,000 years ago from which they may be able to resurrect some ancient...

Date palms of kibbutz Gesher, Jordan Valley.

27 July, 2015 - 04:04 Robin Whitlock

Scientists discover the earliest known evidence of plant cultivation in the Levant

It was in the Middle East that hunter-gatherers first started to switch to plant cultivation, thereby initiating the first movement towards organised agriculture. This is why the region is popularly...

30 January, 2015 - 21:56 lizleafloor

50,000-year-old Skull May Show Human-Neanderthal Hybrids Originated in Levant, not Europe as Thought

A 55,000-year-old skull found at Manot Cave in northern Israel is shedding light on the origins and migrations of ancient humanity. The skull, suggested to be evidence of a pairing between...

24 January, 2015 - 11:42 William James Veall

Sea-Farers from the Levant the first to set foot in the Americas: proto-Sinaitic inscriptions found along the coast of Uruguay

This article adds a new dimension to the age old conundrum, was Christopher Columbus, or was he not, actually the first to set foot in the Americas? A Movement currently actioning much debate in the...

Myths & Legends

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Source: Luca Oleastri / Adobe.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Searching For a Way to the Home Planet

In contrast to many theorists, this unconventional retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens.

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

English Nursery Rhymes with Unexpected and Sometimes Disturbing Historical Origins

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History

Human Origins

Work using the Statue of Gilgamesh and Lamassu. Source: CC BY 4.0

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens. Taking poetic licence, the author merges some ideas from modern science and technology with the story from the ancient text.

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

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

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

Ancient Technology

The passage of carts over decades could cause ruts (like the one shown), particularly in high-traffic areas of Pompeii.

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The buried city of Pompeii continues to provide many insights into Roman society , economy, and culture. The ash and pumice , that fell on Pompeii from Mount Vesuvius , froze the city in time. A...

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword?

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

Ancient Places

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

The Sumerian civilization (known also as Sumer) was one of the earliest civilizations in the world. This ancient civilization emerged in the region of southern Mesopotamia (modern day southern Iraq), between the Tigris and Euphrates River.

Homer’s Iliad Casts Doubt on the Aegean Location of Troy

Is Makhunik an Ancient City of Little People?

Fuerte De Samaipata - A Site of Ceremonial Carvings and Sacrifice

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

The Great Serpent Mound of Ohio, the Largest Earthen Effigy in the World

Opinion

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,...

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

The Secrets of the Kabbalists Garden

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.

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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.