Lost

6 December, 2018 - 01:55 Alicia McDermott

The Curious Disappearance of the Eilean Mor Lighthouse Keepers – A Scottish Mystery

The Flannan Isles, located in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, are a set of small and uninhabited rocky islands with a curious history. One of the islands, Eilean Mor, was the setting of a great historical...

A representation of what the lost city of Atlantis may look like

17 November, 2018 - 19:19 ashley cowie

Ancient Underwater Ruins Found off the Coast of Spain… Atlantis Again?

The coast of southern Spain is an archaeological wonderland with thousands of ruins from ancient Roman and Greek cultures, but hidden among these crumbling stones, scientists from a private satellite...

LiDAR image revealing Maya structures beneath the jungle canopy in Guatemala

1 October, 2018 - 20:10 Joanna Gillan

Laser Scans Reveal 60,000 Previously Unknown Maya Structures Hidden in Guatemalan Jungle!

In a monumental archaeological discovery, whose magnitude hasn’t been seen in decades, an aerial survey over northern Guatemala revealed tens of thousands of Maya structures, including pyramids,...

Wichita Lodge, Thatched with Prairie Grass (1834-1835) by George Catlin

23 August, 2018 - 17:55 Mark Miller

Possibly Decimated by Conquistadors 400 Years Ago, Has the Lost City of Etzanoa Finally Been Found?

It may be necessary to add another large nation of Native Americans to the list of peoples wiped out by the rapacious Spanish conquistadors after they arrived in the Americas. The location of the...

Members of Hatshepsut's trading expedition to the mysterious 'Land of Punt' from this pharaoh's elegant mortuary temple at Deir El-Bahri.

28 June, 2018 - 11:15 aprilholloway

Will We Ever Discover the Elusive Land of Punt?

The Land of Punt was an important location thousands of years ago. Ancient Egyptian writing suggests Punt was a rich location that prospered between 2450 BC and 1155 BC. People from the famous...

30 May, 2018 - 00:29 lizleafloor

Tiny Black Sea Island may be Hiding Lost Temple of Apollo

A lost temple dedicated to the Greek and Roman god Apollo may be hiding in Sozopol, Bulgaria, known in ancient times as Apollonia Pontica - ‘Apollonia on the Black Sea’. Archaeologists with the...

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...

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...

7 April, 2018 - 13:55 ancient-origins

Lost Amazonian Tribes: Why the West Can’t Get Over Its Obsession with El Dorado

A number of ancient settlement sites were recently discovered in the Amazon’s Upper Tapajós Basin. This is no El Dorado – although you’d be forgiven for thinking so. The press coverage demonstrates a...

24 February, 2018 - 01:58 ancient-origins

LiDAR Lifts the Veil on the Oldest Known Maya Settlement in Guatemala

With the help of airborne laser mapping technology, a team of archaeologists, led by University of Arizona professor Takeshi Inomata, is exploring on a larger scale than ever before the history and...

Detail of ‘Iwatake mushroom gathering at Kumano in Kishu.’

22 January, 2018 - 13:56 ashley cowie

Zombie Powder, Bird Saliva, and Rotten Shark: Would You Try These Ancient Foods?

Ancient tribal cultures all over the world partook in perilous hunting, fishing, and food gathering adventures. Hearths appear 250,000 years ago - which is the accepted archaeological estimate for...

Alexander the Great founding Alexandria (Placido Costanzi, 1737) In conquests from Greece and Egypt to Afghanistan, the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) founded cities-often named for himself-in key military and trading locations.

26 September, 2017 - 22:53 Theodoros Karasavvas

Lost City Believed Founded by Alexander the Great Discovered in Iraq

An ancient city considered to have been founded during the reign of Alexander the Great has been discovered in Iraq, after hiding under tons of sand for more than 2,000 years. The discovery was made...

Remains of the famous Fugan Temple that was recently discovered in Chengdu, China.

6 June, 2017 - 22:50 Theodoros Karasavvas

Buried for Almost a Millennium, Archaeologists Recover Over 1,500 Religious Artifacts at Lost Chinese Temple

A team of archaeologists has uncovered more than 1000 tablets inscribed with Buddhist scriptures and over 500 pieces of stone sculpture, as well as glazed tiles with inscriptions, at the site of a...

20 April, 2017 - 13:59 dhwty

Was the Magnificent Monumental Tomb of Pasargadae Really Built for Cyrus the Great?

The tomb of Cyrus the Great is the name given to a monument located in the ancient Persian city of Pasargadae. This city was founded by Cyrus, and served as the capital of the Achaemenid Empire until...

Entrance from above to the Loltun Cave complex

15 April, 2017 - 18:46 dhwty

Guided by the Ancestors? Mayan Fanatic Saved by a 1000-Year-Old Priest

On the 3rd of January 1931, an article appeared in the Modesto News-Herald entitled ‘Mystery of the Loltun Cave hermit’. The article recounted the encounter between a man by the name of Robert Stacy-...

An artist’s representation of a pyramid with UFOs.

6 April, 2017 - 13:58 Theodoros Karasavvas

UFOs Over Ancient Egypt? Revealing the Mysterious Story of the Tulli Papyrus

The so called “Tulli Papyrus” is an enigmatic text that some describe as the first written account of a UFO sighting. This Egyptian text records an event which supposedly occurred during the 18th...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?

The Paiutes, a Native-American tribe indigenous to parts of Nevada, have an oral tradition that they told to early white settlers of the area about a race of red-haired, white giants or ‘barbarians’...

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

Legends of the Selkies, Hidden Gems of Sea Mythology

The Rape of a Goddess: How Demeter Beat the All-Powerful Zeus

Ancient Symbolism of the Magical Phoenix

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

Human Origins

Silhouettes (Public Domain) in front of blood cells (Public Domain) and a gene.

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

Most people who have the Rh blood type are Rh-positive. There are also instances, however, where people are Rh-Negative. Health problems may occur for the unborn child of a mother with Rh-Negative blood when the baby is Rh-Positive.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

Facing the Facts: Just How Accurate Are Facial Reconstructions?

Dating methods in Archaeology. Are they accurate?

Ancient Technology

Stone of the Pregnant Woman, an example of ancient high-tech stonework in Hajar al Hibla at Baalbek in Lebanon.

The High-Tech Stonework of the Ancients: Unsolved Mysteries of Master Engineers

There are many stone artifacts from the ancient world made from the hardest stone on the planet such as granite and diorite, which have been cut and shaped with such quality, precision and accuracy that the standard explanations of their manufacture are simply inadequate.

Both a Princess and a Priestess, What Did the First Known Author Have to Share with the World?

Medieval Hygiene Might Have Been Better Than You Think

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

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

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Ancient Places

Throne Hall of Dongola: Hidden Christian Beginnings Revealed in the Walls of the Oldest Preserved Mosque in Sudan

Relatively little is known of Sudan beyond the borders of Africa even though it is a country which has been home to significant civilizations and has many fascinating archaeological sites.

Unique artifacts shed light on daily life in 5,000-year-old city of Caral

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

Unraveling the Mystery of the Great Pyramid Air-Shafts

Trance Rock Art of Nsangwini - Communing With the Spirits

The Construction of Venice, the Floating City

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.