monument

The missing core of stone from Stonehenge that was removed during maintenance work in 1958.

8 May, 2019 - 18:52 Ed Whelan

A Missing Piece of Stonehenge Is Returned and Could Answer Big Questions

One of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world is Stonehenge in England. Remarkably a piece of the monument has been returned after going astray for over six decades. It is hoped that this...

Stones in the South Circle viewed from the south-east quadrant bank. The tower of St James church is in the background.

12 April, 2019 - 00:33 Theodoros Karasavvas

Was the Massive Stone Circle of Avebury In Honor of a Humble Neolithic House? [New Report]

A peculiar square formation recently discovered within the Neolithic stone circle monument of Avebury henge is reshaping the traditional narrative of one of the wonders of the prehistoric world. It...

St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square, Moscow, Russia.

2 February, 2019 - 13:56 dhwty

The Iconic Saint Basil's Cathedral – So Magnificent the Architects Were Blinded

Saint Basil’s Cathedral is a church located on Moscow’s Red Square and is one of Russia’s most recognizable landmarks. The building of the church was commissioned by Tsar Ivan the Terrible during the...

The Cube of Zoroaster at Naqsh-e Rustam - an ancient necropolis located in Fars Province, Iran, with a group of ancient Iranian rock reliefs cut into the cliff, from both the Achaemenid and Sassanid periods.

25 January, 2019 - 18:54 Ed Whelan

The 2500-year-old Cube of Zoroaster To Stay Shaken But Not Stirred

Many archaeologically significant sites are under threat from the elements or because of environmental issues. For some time, one of the most important monuments in Iran was believed to be under...

The graffiti at Tha Phae Gate, Chiang Mai Thailand.

24 October, 2018 - 13:59 ashley cowie

Graffiti Vandals Slash At “The Diamond in the Crown of Thailand”

The so called “Mother of a jackass Liverpool backpacker” who is looking at ten stiff years inside a Thai prison for spray-painting 'Scouse Lee' on an 800-year-old fortress says she’s “embarrassed and...

23 August, 2018 - 22:58 Ed Whelan

A Shift in the Birthplace of Chinese Civilization? Pyramid Structure Emerges in Buried Bronze Age City

A recent discovery at a ruined city in north-west China has amazed archaeologists and other experts. Researchers at the Bronze Age archaeological site of Shimao have identified a large step pyramid...

View of Lothagam North pillar in Kenya, built by eastern Africa’s earliest herders.

22 August, 2018 - 02:01 ancient-origins

Massive Monumental Cemetery in Eastern Africa Challenges Ideas of Monumentality

Megaliths, stone circles, and cairns flank the 30 meter (100 foot) platform mound; its mortuary cavity contains an estimated several hundred individuals, tightly arranged. Most burials had highly...

Skeletal remains found in Wadi Faynan 16

21 August, 2018 - 13:58 Ed Whelan

Stone Age Dead Were Put on Display Before Being Buried in the Homes of the Living

In a now barren landscape lies the Neolithic archaeological site at Wadi Faynan, in Jordan. British researchers have just announced a major discovery of human remains in a number of graves in the...

15 August, 2018 - 01:56 ancient-origins

The Taj Mahal is wasting away, and it may soon hit the point of no return

The saying goes that the Taj Mahal is pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening, and golden when the moon shines. Though this may once have been true for the famously pristine marble...

3 August, 2018 - 01:59 ancient-origins

Ground-breaking Science Reveals People Buried at Stonehenge Came from Way Out West

Despite over a century of intense study, we still know very little about the people buried at Stonehenge or how they came to be there. Now, a new University of Oxford research collaboration,...

28 July, 2018 - 18:56 Veronica Parkes

Grange Stone Circle: A Place of Ritual Gatherings, Sacrifice and Worship from Prehistoric Times to the Modern Day

Mysterious stone circles dot the landscape of Ireland captivating travelers with their spiritual presence. Grange Stone Circle is one of the finest and it sits in the beautiful landscape of Lough Gur...

One of the two stone monuments found in Guatemala.

24 July, 2018 - 22:55 Ed Whelan

Symbolic Monuments Depicting 'Descent of the Grandfather' Myth of the Olmecs Found in Guatemala

It has been announced by the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture that two large carved stone monuments have been found in an archaeological park in the Central American country. The finds were made in the...

Detail of the Wallace sword on display inside William Wallace monument.

9 July, 2018 - 21:54 Kerry Sullivan

The Wallace Sword: Was it Truly Wielded by the Famous Scottish ‘Braveheart’?

Many times, evidence of fantastic finds vanishes, leaving behind only legends (think the Tulli Papyrus or Robin Hood’s Hideout). However, sometimes, fabulous artifacts from history manage to survive...

The hide constructed on top of the Neolithic cairn.

26 June, 2018 - 22:47 ashley cowie

Scotland’s Longest Neolithic Cairn Destroyed by Bird Watchers

A 5000-year-old stone burial structure in northern Scotland has been deliberately ripped apart to make way for an unsightly red-neck bird hide, constructed from a wooden pallet and the canopy for a...

30 May, 2018 - 14:00 Alicia McDermott

Landmark Find: Spanish Archaeologists Locate Long-Lost Janus Augustus Arch

German archaeologists were close to a major find in the 1980s, but it took another three decades before the ruins of the long-lost Janus Augustus Arch have finally been unearthed. A team of Spanish...

22 May, 2018 - 22:59 ancient-origins

Louisiana Mound Builders Carefully Selected Sites to Ensure Longevity

A study of ancient mound builders who lived hundreds of years ago on the Mississippi River Delta near present-day New Orleans offers new insights into how Native peoples selected the landforms that...

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.

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

The Warriors of the Rainbow Prophecy

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

Gateway to the Heavens: The Assyrian Account to the Tower of Babel

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?

Evidence that Noah’s Ark Landed on a Mountain 17 Miles South of Ararat

Ancient Technology

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

Egyptian Blue, also known as calcium copper silicate, is one of the first artificial pigments known to have been used by man. The oldest known example of the exquisite pigment is said to be about...

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

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

The Indian Sage who developed Atomic Theory 2,600 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

The Forgotten Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ebla

The Theopetra Cave and the Oldest Human Construction in the World

Fuerte De Samaipata - A Site of Ceremonial Carvings and Sacrifice

The ancient Vespasianus Titus Tunnel of Turkey

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.

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.