marine

The World’s oldest astrolabe was found in the wreck of the Esmeralda in the Indian Ocean. Loss of Esmeralda as per Livro das Armadas.

20 March, 2019 - 17:47 Ed Whelan

Record Breaking Finds From Portuguese Shipwreck Confirmed by Guinness Book of Records [World’s Oldest Finds]

Experts from the Guinness Book of Records have confirmed a find to be the world’s oldest mariner’s astrolabe, a navigation device used by seamen in the past. The instrument, known as the Sodré...

Giant anchor from a shipwreck could lead to the biggest bounty in history.

6 March, 2019 - 18:30 ashley cowie

Giant Anchor Belonging To “El Dorado Of The Seas” Points To A Legendary £1bn Hoard

An English fishing vessel called the ‘Spirited Lady' netted the catch of a lifetime when it hauled up a massive anchor off the coast of Land’s End, Cornwall in England, believed to be from the most...

12 December, 2017 - 13:49 dhwty

Adrift at Sea: The Long-Awaited Recovery of the Oldest Message in a Bottle

Two years ago, a bottle was found with a message in it that had been released before the outbreak of World War One. It had survived not only the ravages of the seas, but both world wars and the life...

28 October, 2017 - 01:51 ancient-origins

Earliest Known Marine Navigation Tool Revealed with Scanning Technology

Details of the earliest known marine navigation tool, discovered in a shipwreck, have been revealed thanks to state-of-the-art scanning technology at WMG, University of Warwick. Professor Mark...

Stone head of lord Buddha photographed during a dive at the Temple, near Pemuteran, Bali

21 June, 2017 - 18:49 dhwty

The Underwater Temple Garden: A Unique Fusion of Bouyancy and Enlightenment

The Underwater Temple Garden is a unique dive site located in Bali, Indonesia. This underwater garden was created in recent years, and contains a Balinese Hindu temple compound. A photo of the site...

12 June, 2017 - 14:00 Clyde Winters

Did Ancient Humans Acquire Nautical Knowledge by Sailing the Prehistoric Megalakes of Africa?

There is increasing evidence that anatomically modern humans (AMH) left Africa 100,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence indicates that AMH were in Arabia, China, Crete, and Brazil over 100,000...

17 March, 2017 - 12:47 Theodoros Karasavvas

Crusader Shipwreck Yields Coins and Other Artifacts from the Final Years of a Holy Land Fortress

Marine archaeologists have discovered some intriguing artifacts in the wreck of a ship belonging to the Crusaders in Acre, Israel. It dates to the time of the valiant last stand by the few remaining...

30 December, 2016 - 21:47 Kerry Sullivan

Legend of The Flying Dutchman, Ghostly Apparition of The Ship of Captain Hendrick

Among nautical myths and legends, few are as famous as the Flying Dutchman. Many have claimed to see the ghostly vessel of Captain Hendrick van der Decken (the Dutchman) since it sank in 1641. It is...

25 December, 2016 - 00:45 Kerry Sullivan

Creatures of the Land, Sea and Heavens: Ancient Beliefs in Animal Counterparts

Until the Age of Enlightenment, it was widely believed that every land creature had its counterpart in the sea (and perhaps even in the heavens). The classic example of this belief is the horse,...

Construction workers were carrying out an underwater investigation when they made the unique discovery of a Medieval cog with a brick-arched oven and glazed tiles on the rear deck.

18 February, 2016 - 00:49 Mark Miller

Medieval Shipwreck Raised from the Depths for the First Time

Using advanced technology, Dutch marine archaeologists and salvagers have raised a cog (small trading ship) that plied the waters of the Baltic and North seas in the 15th century. Construction...

Divers with one of the Nanhai No. I’s artifacts.

12 January, 2016 - 00:50 Alicia McDermott

More Artifacts from a Song Dynasty Chinese Shipwreck Revealed

A Chinese cargo ship from the Song Dynasty that was salvaged from the depths of the South China Sea in 2007 has revealed more of its rich cargo to archaeologists. Gold, silver, and copper artifacts...

The ambitious proposed design of the planned underwater antiquity museum set for the Bay of Alexandria, Egypt

4 November, 2015 - 21:51 lizleafloor

Ancient Sunken Cities and Artifacts to be revealed with Ambitious Underwater Museum in Egypt

Ancient sunken treasures hidden for thousands of years will be revealed in an underwater antiquity museum, the first of its kind, set for the history-rich Bay of Alexandria in Egypt. The ambitious...

An Ichthyosaur fossilized skeleton at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

2 November, 2015 - 21:22 lizleafloor

Ancient Sea Monsters: Misidentified Fossilized Skeletons Now Revealing Hidden History of Ichthyosaur

The fossilized skeletons of strange creatures—odd, beaked fish with teeth and ‘feet’—were uncovered by quarry workers in southwestern England in the early 1800’s. Dubbed “fish lizards” (or...

Divers and marine archaeologists used high-resolution sonar systems to survey the ancient sea route and associated features.

12 September, 2015 - 21:54 Mark Miller

Researchers in Turkey identify Bronze Age sea route and ancient shipwrecks

Marine archaeologists working in the eastern Mediterranean Sea are reconstructing the facts around what they call a 5,000-year-old shipping route and shipbuilding center that have been long submerged...

A series of photos of the monolith on the sea floor Note the precise hole in the monolith as photographed by a diver studying the now-submerged area off the coasts of Tunisia and Sicily.

8 August, 2015 - 10:20 Mark Miller

Underwater Discovery: Stone Age Humans Precisely Carved a 15 ton Stone Pillar and Carried it 300 Meters

At least 9,300 years ago, Stone Age hunter-gatherers in a now-submerged area of the Mediterranean Sea accomplished a feat that even most modern humans could not do: They apparently cut a 15-ton...

The Ruins Lagoon located in the Royal Towers, home to over 20,000 deep reef and pelagic fish.

28 July, 2015 - 23:59 lizleafloor

Dark Mysteries of the Deep: Ancient Divers and their Dangerous Journeys

It is not known who first braved cold, dark waters and held their breath to explore, or gather rare treasures or food, but divers have been retrieving items from beneath the water’s surface since the...

Pages

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.

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

The Nature and Dangers of the Legendary Kobold

The Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?

Human Origins

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

Although it may be a long time (if ever) before pagans reclaim their Yule from Christmas or their Samhain from Halloween, it is worthwhile to explore these ancient religious traditions. The Wheel of the Year follows the cycle of pagan festivals.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

The Secret Life of an Ancient Concubine

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

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Ancient Technology

An ancient Roman road at Leptis Magna, Libya

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

It was not uncommon for the ancient Romans to travel long distances all across Europe. Actually during the Roman Empire, Rome had an incredible road network which extended from northern England all...

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

Mummy Brown – the 16th century paint made from ground up mummies

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

Ancient Places

Royal Palace at Ebla. Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

First Kingdoms: The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ebla

Spectacular things were happening in Mesopotamia in the period we call the Early Bronze Age, particularly in the southern part of it, commonly called Babylonia.

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

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

The Incredible Subterranean City of Kish

The Great Ziggurat of Ur

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.