Mystery

Front and back of the original Dare Stone

16 February, 2019 - 13:52 Caleb Strom

The Dare Stone - Hoax or History of the Lost Roanoke Colony?

In 1937, a man walked into the history department at Emory University with a stone in his hand that had a mysterious inscription, which he had supposedly found while driving through the woods of...

Artist’s representation of the triple burial of Dolni Vestonice

8 December, 2018 - 14:01 Sarah P Young

The Prehistoric Triple Burial at Dolni Vestonice - New DNA Evidence Deepens the Mystery

Three decades ago, in the Spring of 1986, archaeologists uncovered the extraordinary burial of three young individuals in a common grave. What they found presented an archaeological mystery – the...

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...

12 November, 2018 - 02:09 Heidi Schultz

Who Stole the Gold? Part 3: Blow Smoke and Look the Other Way…

[Read Part 1] [Read Part 2] This is the thrilling conclusion to the investigation on the true mystery regarding the Tayos Caves – what has happened to the pure, prestigious, and lustrous golden ore?...

Left: Father Crespi with a metallic artifact at the church of Maria Auxiliadora. Right: Nivello, Hall, Moricz, Pena & Punin 1975.

10 November, 2018 - 22:47 Heidi Schultz

Who Stole the Gold? Part 2: There is a lot of Smoke, But are There Any Smoking Guns?

[Read Part 1] This investigation acknowledges that more than one party was in involved in illegal gold extraction, and that gold may have been extracted in more than one form. That said, let’s...

The open chamber near the first descent in the Tayu Jee branch of the Tayos Caves.

10 November, 2018 - 14:03 Heidi Schultz

Who Stole the Gold? The Smoke Clears Around the Tayos Caves in Ecuador

The Tayos Caves ( Cuevas de los Tayos in Spanish) in Ecuador are a subterranean complex that forms part of the incredible Napo System of Caves stretching from Venezuela to Chile. The Tayos Caves have...

Two pages from the Voynich Manuscript. Has the Voynich Manuscript code finally been cracked?

18 October, 2018 - 23:03 ashley cowie

Has the Enigmatic Voynich Manuscript Code Finally Been Cracked?

Named after Wilfrid Voynich (1865 - 1930), a Polish revolutionary, antiquarian, and bibliophile who operated one of the largest rare book businesses in the world, the Voynich manuscript is a brightly...

The immense black stone sarcophagus found in Alexandria still holds more mysteries

20 July, 2018 - 18:57 Alicia McDermott

The Black Stone Sarcophagus is Open and Investigators Found More Than They Bargained For!

Rumors have been rolling about since the 27-ton (59,500 lb.) black granite sarcophagus was uncovered three weeks ago in Alexandria, Egypt. One of the more interesting suggestions was that the massive...

16 July, 2018 - 14:00 Veronica Parkes

Kailasa Temple Was Carved Out of One Rock from the Top Down!

The Kailasa Temple is number 16 out of 32 cave temples and monasteries collectively known as the Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India. However, it is considered to be one of the greatest and most...

10 July, 2018 - 21:18 Riley Winters

Be Careful What You Wish For: Ouija Boards Unraveled

Ouija boards—also called spirit boards or talking boards—have been part of various cultures long before the introduction of the "game" in the 19 th century. "Ouija", in fact, is the name of the game...

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...

A possible portrait of Saladin, found in a work by Ismail al-Jazari, circa 1185.

9 May, 2018 - 13:59 Alicia McDermott

The Puzzling Death of Sultan Saladin: A 12th Century Medical Mystery Solved?

Here’s a 12th century medical mystery for you: What malady killed well-known Sultan Saladin? Was it small pox, tuberculosis, typhoid, or maybe malaria? Look at his symptoms – some of them were...

The Immovable Ladder at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

27 January, 2018 - 18:53 dhwty

The Immovable Ladder: Bizarre Feud Prevents Ordinary Ladder Being Moved for 3 Centuries

The Immovable Ladder is an ordinary wooden ladder with an extraordinary history. It was placed under a window on the exterior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem and, due...

19 January, 2018 - 15:22 ancient-origins

How to Save Ancient Origins from Becoming History! Facebook is Filtering Your Newsfeed

Never mind using genetic engineering to bring back the Wooly Mammoths or Sabre-Tooth Tigers from extinction – keep them on ice! Right now, we need your help in stopping Ancient Origins from becoming...

16 December, 2017 - 18:50 dhwty

Sayhuite Monolith: Can You Solve the Mystery of the 200 Designs Carved by a Forgotten Creator?

Long ago, forgotten artists put their blood, sweat, and possibly even tears into creating more than 200 designs on a monolith in what is now Peru. They carefully engraved the forms of reptiles,...

The excavation of the Oseberg Ship, Norway. 1904 - 1905.

23 November, 2017 - 18:57 ancient-origins

Grave Findings Could Solve a Viking Age Mystery

BY THORNEWS In the autumn of 834 AD, two elderly women were buried together in the magnificent Oseberg ship discovered in 1903 near Tønsberg in Vestfold, Southeast Norway. Ever since the ship was...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Last of the Siberian Unicorns: What Happened to the Mammoth-Sized One-Horned Beasts of Legend?

Elasmotherium, also known as the Giant Rhinoceros or the Giant Siberian Unicorn, is an extinct species of rhino that lived in the Eurasian area in the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. They have been documented from 2.6 million years ago, but the most recent fossils come from around 29,000 years ago.

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

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

The Real Story of Medusa and the Gorgons

Mount Meru – Hell and Paradise on One Mountain

The Ballad of Hua Mulan: The Legendary Warrior Woman Who Brought Hope to China

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...

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

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

Facing the Facts: Just How Accurate Are Facial Reconstructions?

They’re Alive! Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone

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.

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

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

They’re Alive! Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

Ancient Places

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

The Nabataeans were a society who inhabited Arabia and the Southern Levant from the 3rd century BC to approximately 106 AD when the Nabataean kingdom was annexed by the Roman Empire.

Trance Rock Art of Nsangwini - Communing With the Spirits

The Colossal Hand of Hercules, So Where is the Rest of Him?

Eridu: The Sumerian Garden of Eden and the Oldest City in the World?

The Where, When and How of Quarrying Stonehenge 'Bluestones' Is Revealed in New Report

Hill of Crosses: A Hundred Thousand Times Lithuania Has Stood Up

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.