Netherlands

22 December, 2020 - 21:56 Nathan Falde

Stone Age Peoples Made Bone Arrowheads - From Human Bones!

A recent analysis of artifacts obtained from North Sea beaches has revealed a surprising fact about life in ancient Europe. It seems that some Ice Age peoples carved weapons from human bones. This...

27 November, 2020 - 13:59 Ed Whelan

Mass Grave Found in the Netherlands: A Case of Medieval Slaughter?

In the Netherlands, construction workers have made a gruesome discovery. When working in the city of Vianen, they came across an enigmatic mass burial. They have unearthed up to 20 skeletons that...

Aerial photo of Old Harlem showing the newly found ancient Dutch castle Source: Saricon / NHNieuws

2 July, 2020 - 04:19 ashley cowie

A Rare Ancient Dutch Castle Has Been Uncovered in the Netherlands

The Netherlands isn’t known as a country that announces weekly archaeological discoveries. However, there are countless ancient sites of medieval interest in the Netherlands ranging from Anglo-Saxon...

The Frisians are historically recognized as brave warriors. Source: lassedesignen/Adobe Stock

2 February, 2020 - 14:01 Aleksa Vučković

The Frisians: Fierce Fighters of The North Sea Coasts

The world of Germanic nations is a diverse and rich cultural ethnosphere whose languages and cultures came to dominate Western Europe and much of the world. Their history is rich and spans centuries...

The Kinderdijk Windmills and surrounding waterways during spring, The Netherlands Source: Nikolay N. Antonov / Adobe Stock

4 December, 2019 - 02:00 Ed Whelan

Defenders of the Dutch Polders: The Kinderdijk Windmills

The Netherlands is a remarkable society in many ways. Much of the country was once underwater and still remains at risk of being inundated by the sea. The country has developed an ingenious system...

15th century gold and silver coins found in the Netherlands

19 March, 2018 - 12:55 aprilholloway

Not Just at The End of Rainbows: 15th Century Pot of Gold Found in a Drain Pipe in the Netherlands

It wasn’t just an ordinary day at work for employees of a water company in the Netherlands, who earlier this month stumbled upon an earthenware cooking pot containing around 500 gold and silver coins...

Left: The baby was found tucked under the arm of a woman in a grave in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. Right: An artist's impression of the grave.

1 February, 2018 - 13:58 Alicia McDermott

Stone Age Grave of a Mother and Child is the Oldest Baby Burial in the Netherlands

Researchers working at an archaeological site in the Netherlands have made a startling Stone Age discovery. They have unearthed the earliest known example of a baby’s grave in the Netherlands...

10 March, 2017 - 18:55 Theodoros Karasavvas

How Were They Made? Unlocking the 500-Year-Old Secret to Gothic Miniature Boxwood Carvings

A mystery that lasted for nearly five centuries was finally solved with the assistance of modern technology. The magnificent 16th century miniature boxwood carvings that had been puzzling viewers and...

4 August, 2016 - 00:51 Natalia Klimczak

All Dressed Up and Left in the Sea: Retrieving a 400-Year-old Gown of a Double Spy

400 years ago travels across the sea were quite difficult. Bad weather conditions often meant tragedies. One example of a difficult journey comes from February 1642, when a ship was crossing from...

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...

Main: Artistic representation of Piers Gerlofs Donia, ‘cca made by rudy faber.’ Inset: Picture of Grutte Pier’s Sword. (1953) Fries museum in Leeuwarden.

6 February, 2016 - 23:04 dhwty

Pier Gerlofs Donia: The Giant Frisian Rebel, Warrior, and Pirate

Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian warrior, pirate, and rebel who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries AD. He is more well-known perhaps by his nicknames – Grutte Pier in West Frisian, Grote Pier...

Ice skaters from the series Le Supreme Bon Ton, No.9.

16 December, 2015 - 14:45 Alicia McDermott

Gliding Over 5,000 Years of Frozen Waters: A History of Ice Skating

Ice skating has been called the oldest human-powered means of transportation. During the winter it is easy for one to imagine our ancient ancestors gliding across frozen lakes in search of food or...

The Miracle of Empel (2015) by Augusto Ferrer Dalmau.

16 December, 2015 - 03:44 Marilo

The Miracle of Empel: An Astounding End to a Decisive Battle for the Spanish

The Battle of Empel was a decisive battle. The Spanish force was decimated and backed onto a mountain without food and their fate seemed to be left to the enemy’s whims. The die appeared to be cast...

Human bones dating to the Late Iron Age.

14 December, 2015 - 21:52 lizleafloor

150,000 fled for their lives, but were slaughtered by Julius Caesar army, bones reveal

A cache of bones and artifacts buried at a site near to where the Waal and Meuse rivers meet testify to a genocidal slaughter of tragic proportions. As recorded by Julius Caesar himself, a bloody...

A trunk containing 2,600 historic letters has been opened and the contents revealed.

10 November, 2015 - 00:50 lizleafloor

Signed, Sealed, and Undelivered: Letters in Trunk Reveal Scandals and Intrigues of 17th Century Lives

A sealed leather trunk stored in a museum in the Netherlands has been opened, and the treasure within was found to be thousands of perfectly preserved letters dating to the 17 th century. The...

Myths & Legends

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

In ancient Greek mythology, Medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the Gorgons. The earliest known record about the story of Medusa and the Gorgons can be found in Hesiod’s...

Is This the Real Reason Why Pirates Wore Eyepatches?

Hyperborea: Mythical Land That Fascinated Writers of the Ancient World

The ‘Dynastic Race’ and the Biblical ‘Japheth’ – Part I: After the Deluge

Craniums and Controversies of the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors

The Real Story of the ‘Bearded God’ Named Quetzalcoatl

Human Origins

Rembrandt - Christ with Hands Folded (Public Domain), and Nivedita, Sister - the Departure of Siddhartha

The Christ And The Buddha: How Can You Explain the Uncanny Similarities?

Buddhism and Christianity arose independently of each other, separated as they were by almost 3,000 miles and at least 500 years. In terms of religious belief systems they are even farther apart.

The ‘Dynastic Race’ and the Biblical ‘Japheth’ – Part I: After the Deluge

Ancient Anomalous Human Skeletons: Humanity Could be Much Older Than We Think

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

The Faravahar: The Ancient Zoroastrian Symbol of Iran

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Ancient Technology

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

The Norimitsu Odachi is a huge sword from Japan. It is so large, in fact, that it was said to have been wielded by a giant. Apart from the basic knowledge of it having been forged in the 15th century AD, measuring 3.77 meters (12.37 ft.) in length, and weighing as much as 14.5 kg (31.97 lbs.), this impressive sword is shrouded in mystery.

Egyptian Blue – The Oldest Known Artificial Pigment

Han Purple: A 2,800-year-old artificial pigment that quantum physicists are trying to understand

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

1,200-Year-Old Telephone, Amazing Invention of the Ancient Chimu Civilization

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Ancient Places

Ancient Pyramids in an Icy Landscape: Was There an Ancient Civilization in Antarctica?

In 2016 the World Wide Web was all abuzz with Google Earth images of Antarctica that appear to show pyramids in the icy landscape. The images show what appears to be three pyramids with four sides...

Ancient Lutetia: The Roman Roots of Paris

The Great Berber Kingdom of Numidia in the Shadow of Rome

Enigmatic Carvings on Underwater Ruins in China Mystify Investigators

Mice Remains Indicate a Viking Visit to Madeira

Has the Function of the Great Pyramid of Giza Finally Come to Light?

Opinion

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

Paleo rock art from around the world ranges in style, method, and age, and includes cave paintings, petroglyphs, pictographs, polished and engraved stones such as effigies, stone sculptures, and portable ceremonial objects.

The Northern Mysteries Current: Futhark and Mystery Schools of the Viking Age

Was There Ever a Trojan War?

Floki and the Viking Discovery of Iceland

Messiah on Temple Mount: Are We Nearing the End of Time?

3 Problems to Remember When Trying to Find Atlantis

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.

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