Library

2 August, 2018 - 18:52 Ed Whelan

The Truth is in its Walls: Excavated Ruins in Germany Have Been Identified as a Roman Library

Workers have made an extraordinary discovery in the German city of Cologne. It is believed that they have unearthed the walls of a large Roman library. The ruins are those of the oldest known public...

28 May, 2018 - 20:08 dhwty

The Search for the Lost Library of Ivan the Terrible

The thought of a lost library is a tantalizing one, as one can speculate and imagine the kind of knowledge it might provide to the person who finds it. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that there...

The interior of a private library in Chinguetti.

24 February, 2018 - 22:56 dhwty

From Tradition to Destruction: The Lost Libraries of Chinguetti

During the Middle Ages, Sahara outposts often found themselves filled with travelers, traders, and pilgrims passing through with their differing tasks. The pilgrims in particular interest us here, as...

17 February, 2018 - 13:27 dhwty

The Abbey Library of St. Gall: One of the Oldest Working Libraries in the World

Founded during the 8th century, the Abbey of St. Gall has served both the Church and scholars over the years. Its library has a particular draw because it is one of the oldest and most important...

Gospel of Thomas and The Secret Book of John (Apocryphon of John), Codex II The Nag Hammadi manuscripts

1 December, 2017 - 22:49 David Icke

Everything You Need to Know but Have Never Been Told – Insights from the Ancient Nag Hammadi Library

A few years ago, I came across a treasure trove of ancient information found in a sealed jar in 1945 near the town of Nag Hammadi about 75-80 miles north of Luxor on the banks of the River Nile in...

The interior of Duke Humphrey's Library, the oldest reading room of the Bodleian Library in the University of Oxford.

14 September, 2017 - 19:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

Year Zero: Ancient Indian Text Includes Oldest Recorded Zero Symbol

Scientists claim to have traced the earliest example of one of the most significant conceptual breakthroughs in arithmetic to an ancient Indian text, known as the Bakhshali manuscript. The specific...

Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai.

30 August, 2017 - 01:58 Theodoros Karasavvas

More Revelations From St. Catherine’s Monastery Include Lost Ancient Languages

Scientists have found languages not used since the “Dark Ages” among ancient manuscripts revealed at the St. Catherine’s monastery in Egypt. It is the latest findings to be released from the 1,500-...

medicine, manuscript, Egypt, Hippocrates, Catherine, monastery, library, text, writing, palimpsest

14 July, 2017 - 14:00 Alicia McDermott

Hippocratic Medical Recipe Lost in a Famous Egyptian Monastery Finally Comes to Light

The library at St. Catherine's Monastery is considered one of the most important for ancient texts. New research examining a manuscript from the 6th century shows that it is not just the visible...

30 June, 2017 - 01:49 John Tuttle

Boats, Bowling and Moldy Bread: Curious Achievements Ancient Egypt Shared With the World

Ancient Egypt is one on the oldest civilizations in the world and it was also home to many of the ancient world’s greatest achievements. Without their creativity and innovative approach to the world...

5 June, 2017 - 02:08 Sam Bostrom

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 1

Much of modern science was known in ancient times. Robots and computers were a reality long before the 1940´s. The early Bronze Age inhabitants of the Levant used computers in stone, the Greeks in...

24 February, 2017 - 01:58 Veronica Parkes

The Library of Pergamum: A Contender for the Greatest Library of the Ancient World

Pergamum, Anatolia, now the modern Turkish town of Bergama, was one of the most important cities in the Hellenistic Greek age. It was culturally rich, with an extensive library at its heart. The city...

31 January, 2017 - 13:50 Kerry Sullivan

What Really Lies Hidden in the Vatican Secret Archives?

Mystery and intrigue are inherent to the Holy See. People will always wonder what religious authorities are conspiring to behind closed doors, what treasures lie within the vaults of the Vatican...

1 January, 2017 - 04:11 ancient-origins

The House of Wisdom: One of the Greatest Libraries in History

Adding to the list of names among the greatest libraries of the past, the Bayt al-Hikmah (translated as ‘The House of Wisdom’) was established in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire, around...

26 December, 2016 - 00:45 Veronica Parkes

From Papyrus to Parchment: The Imperial Library of Constantinople

Many years after the destruction of the great libraries of the ancient world, such as the libraries of Pergamum and Alexandria, the Imperial Library of Constantinople preserved precious Ancient Greek...

22 December, 2016 - 00:38 Kerry Sullivan

The Oldest University in the World May Not Be Where You Think And the Founder May Also Surprise You

Although many people would imagine that the oldest university in the world is in Europe or China, it’s not. The oldest standing university on Earth is in Morocco. Founded in 859 AD, Al-Qarawiyyin is...

11 December, 2016 - 00:40 dhwty

A Feast for the Eyes and Ears: The World’s Most Beautiful and Majestic Library

The Clementinum is a complex of historical buildings founded by Jesuits in Prague, Czech Republic, and is famous for its stunning Baroque-style library which houses more than 20,000 historically rare...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Ivar the Boneless: Viking Warrior, Ruler and Raider

Ivar the Boneless was likely the son of legendary Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok, and raided alongside his father and brothers, eventually becoming ruler of York in England in the 9th century AD.

Symbolism of the Mythical Phoenix Bird: Renewal, Rebirth and Destruction

The Knights of Blanik Mountain Are Ready to Face the Darkest Hour

The symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000-year-old history

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

The Wooing of Etain: An Irish Tale of Love, Loss, and Jealousy

Human Origins

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Sumer, or the ‘land of civilized kings’, flourished in Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq, around 4500 BC. Sumerians created an advanced civilization with its own system of elaborate language and writing, architecture and arts, astronomy and mathematics.

11 Mysterious Human Species That Most People Don’t Know Existed

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

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

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

What Does Alexander the Great Have to Do with Buddhist Imagery?

Ancient Technology

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

The Norimitsu Odachi is a huge sword from Japan. It is so large, in fact, that it was said to have been wielded by a giant. Apart from the basic knowledge of it having been forged in the 15th century AD, measuring 3.77 meters (12.37 ft.) in length, and weighing as much as 14.5 kg (31.97 lbs.), this impressive sword is shrouded in mystery.

Was the Baghdad Battery a medical device?

Robots Guarded Buddha’s Relics in a Legend of Ancient India

A Step Closer to the Mysterious Origin of the Viking Sword Ulfberht

Han Purple: A 2,800-year-old artificial pigment that quantum physicists are trying to understand

Catapult: The Long-Reaching History of a Prominent Medieval Siege Engine

Ancient Places

The White Slaves of Barbary

Much attention and condemnation has been directed towards the tragedy of the African slave trade, which took place between the 16 th and the 19 th centuries. However, another equally despicable trade...

The Knights of Blanik Mountain Are Ready to Face the Darkest Hour

Ramsund Carving: Viking Inscription Speaks of Dragon Slayer

Populating Palmerston Island: One Man, Three Wives and A Desert Island Paradise

Khajuraho: The Sexiest Temples in India

Legendary Lia Fáil: A Roaring Rock for the Coronation of Ancient Irish High Kings

Opinion

The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, Detail of the first Band west from the center. From left to right: two wind creatures (the winged ram with four heads personifies the south wind), the snake- and frog-headed eight goddesses and gods of the Ogdoad who ruled the cosmos before the creation of the world and Osiris seated on a throne sails across the sky as personification of the full moon accompanied by the seated goddesses Nephtys (left) and Isis on the right (Maat stands near the bow of the ship). Siri

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

In Egypt, Sirius was the Star of Isis, Isis being the companion and rescuer of the god Osiris. In a very deep way, Osiris was Egypt.

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

Alchemy and Generating Lifeforce —Global Temples Made in the Shape of Lingams: Shaivite Bull Cult Part II

From Green Man to Bull Son, The Universal Shaivite Bull Cult – Part I

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.