mummification

Detail of a mural around a niche in one of the Roman tombs found at Beir Al-Shaghala archaeological site in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis.

17 January, 2019 - 13:54 Alicia McDermott

Roman Tombs Found in Egyptian Oasis Reflect Cultural Blending Evident in Burial Practices

If they stayed almost any length of time, the ancient Romans left a cultural mark on the place they visited, conquered, and/or had extensive trade with. One way this makes itself known in Egypt is in...

Sarcophagus of Egyptian woman opened at press conference.

26 November, 2018 - 18:56 ashley cowie

Stunning 3,000-year-old Sarcophagus Opened Live In Front of International Press Conference

Two ancient sarcophagi were unearthed earlier this month from beneath the baking Egyptian sands by a French-led archaeological mission, affiliated with France's University of Strasbourg. They were...

26 October, 2018 - 18:59 Veronica Parkes

Mummy À La Mode: Elaborate Treatment of the Square-Faced Mummy with Intricate Décor

Everybody knows the traditional wrappings of a mummy; long strips of fabric are wrapped around the body from head to toe. But this mummy from the Louvre has an intricately woven square design on its...

13 September, 2018 - 19:00 ashley cowie

The Quest For The Golden Rings Of An Eccentric Mummified Philosopher

Scientists are calling out for help as they try to solve the mystery of 20 missing gold rings issued upon the death of an eccentric 19th century English philosopher, just before he was mummified and...

Turin Mummy, known as ‘Fred’, Egypt Museum of Turin.

16 August, 2018 - 18:56 ashley cowie

Prehistoric UV Cream Discovered on Mummy Makes Him the Oldest Embalmed Egyptian By Far

The Turin mummy, or “Fred,” as it has become known to archaeologists, has been housed in Turin's Egyptian Museum since the early 1900s and remained unstudied by scientists. Dating to 3,600 years ago...

The silver facemask gilded with gold found on the face of the mummy.

15 July, 2018 - 13:02 ashley cowie

2,000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Workshop and Goldmine of Treasures Unearthed in Saqqara

A team of Egyptian-German Archeologists announced to the world’s media yesterday that their recent dig in Saqqara, Egypt, led to the unearthing of “a rare mummification workshop containing mummies...

The baby had been partially mummified and had green bones due to copper from a coin placed in its hand.

27 May, 2018 - 13:56 ashley cowie

Green-Boned Baby Clasps A Copper Ticket to The Afterlife

500 graves dated to between the 12th and 16th centuries were found in a cemetery at Nyárlőrinc, a village in southern Hungary. They contained a unique set of bones. In 2005, Dr. János Balázs, a...

Ay as Sem Priest in tomb of King Tutankhamun. Note the leopard pelt – this is an example of the Imiut.

11 October, 2017 - 18:45 dhwty

The Enigmatic Imiut: Magical Gear for Ancient Egyptian Priests

The Imiut is a peculiar artifact which has puzzled Egyptologists for a very long time. It was worshipped for its supposed magical powers, making it a fetish, but no one is entirely sure what it was...

Some of the remains of ancient Egyptian pets unearthed in Berenike.

8 October, 2017 - 22:45 Theodoros Karasavvas

2,000-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Cemetery Containing Dozens of Pets Unearthed in Berenike

A team of archaeologists have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old pet cemetery holding the remains of dogs, monkeys and scores of cats at the site of Berenike, an Egyptian town on the Red Sea that...

Egyptian sarcophagus containing mummified remains

1 June, 2017 - 22:54 ancient-origins

The First Genome Data from Ancient Egyptian Mummies: Ancient Egyptians Were Most Closely Related to Ancient Populations from the Near East

An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the University of Tuebingen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, successfully recovered and analyzed...

A worker on the Middle Kingdom Theban Project takes out an embalming jar he had just discovered among a cache of other embalming materials of the Vizier Ipi, who lived more than 4,000 years ago. (Photo courtesy of the Spanish Mission)

24 May, 2017 - 18:59 Mark Miller

Egyptologists Find 4,000-year-old Dried Heart, 50 Embalming Jars and Mummification Materials of Ancient Vizier

A team of Spanish archaeologists has discovered a large cache of embalming materials for the Vizier Ipi of ancient Egypt’s 12th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom, including large urns, shrouds and...

29 October, 2016 - 14:45 aprilholloway

Oldest Mummies in the World Are Turning into Black Slime

The Chinchorro mummies of Chile, which have been preserved for at least 7,000 years, are turning into black slime due to rising humidity levels causing bacterial growth on the skin. More than one...

3 October, 2016 - 21:45 ancient-origins

Judgment in the Hall of Truth and Preparations for the Afterlife

A dead noble stands trembling in the Hall of Truth. Behind the noble, Horus, the half-falcon, half-man ruler of Earth, unleashes a piercing stare at the quivering man. Thoth, the sharp-beaked, ibis-...

1 September, 2016 - 14:40 Stewart Ferris

Did Egyptian Mummification Descend from a More Ancient and, Perhaps, Reversible Preservation Technique?

A central concept in the novel The Sphinx Scrolls is whether a mummification technology has ever existed that could preserve someone for long periods and retain the potential to bring them back to...

2 May, 2016 - 21:49 Natalia Klimczak

New Research Shows that Some Ancient Egyptians Were Naturally Fair-Haired

According to Dr. Janet Davey from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine in Australia, some ancient Egyptians were naturally blonde or red haired. Her research has brought an answer to an...

20 April, 2016 - 14:52 Alicia McDermott

Researchers Unlock the Mystery of the Mummified Lung of a Merovingian Queen

In 1959, an inexplicably well-preserved lung was found in a stone sarcophagus in the Basilica of St. Denis, Paris, France. Since then, researchers have often wondered just how the lung of the 6th...

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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 Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

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

English Nursery Rhymes with Unexpected and Sometimes Disturbing Historical Origins

Skaði, The Norse ‘Giantess’ with a Godly Vendetta

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?

Legendary Locks: Can Hair Act as a Sixth Sense, Protecting us from Danger?

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

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

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

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

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

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

The legacy of Dujiangyan: China’s ancient irrigation system

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.

Is Makhunik an Ancient City of Little People?

The Construction of Venice, the Floating City

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

The Incredible Subterranean City of Kish

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

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.