Over the years, Ancient Origins has reported on thousands of archaeological mysteries that have not yet been solved. Here we have chosen to highlight just ten of these ancient enigmas, from lost...
Aruj Barbarossa, known also in Turkish as Oruc Reis, is one of the most notorious pirates in history. He lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, and was one of the most well-known Barbary corsairs...
Guido of Arezzo was a monk who lived during the Middle Ages, and may be considered as one of the most influential figures in the history of modern music. During the Middle Ages, the monastery was one...
Chapter XVII of the Egyptian Book of the Dead highlights an indisputable detail: ritual formulas hid proofs of prehistoric events. They were handed down orally, and after millennia they inspired the...
Archaeologists in Serbia have discovered the first known golden curse tablets in ancient Roman tombs in Serbia. The tablets contain inscriptions in long-forgotten languages with strange magical...
The ancient Babylonians were the first to use sophisticated geometry – a staggering 1,400 years before it was previously thought to have been developed. Sadly, these mathematical innovations were...
Tattoos have played a role in the lives of prehistoric and modern man alike. Societal status, art, religion, and medicine all create a tradition in tattoo design that spans across centuries and...
Amorous, affectionate and affable, Selkies are the hidden gems of sea mythology. Gentle souls who prefer dancing in the moonlight over luring sailors to their death, Selkies are often overlooked by...
Scientists have long speculated that the ancient Egyptians used metal from meteorites to make iron objects. An analysis of a dagger found in Tutankhamun’s tomb has given us strong evidence that this...
One of the most popular and persistent characters of the human mythos is that of the dragon. Whether it is a gold hoarding serpent or fire-breathing giant, dragons continue to fascinate and entertain...
A recent study says that a genetic change suddenly arose in the primate family tree about about 280,000 years ago. The researchers claim it is responsible for the largest genetic difference between...
Excavations in a Bronze Age city on Cyprus have revealed an industrious people whose community was burned twice in attacks, possibly during the upheaval caused by the Sea Peoples. The most recent...
Despite being an agricultural society of ceremonial performance, bold works of art, and innovative irrigation processes, the Moche (100-800AD) are best remembered as one of many Pre-Columbian...
In the ruins of the Native American city Cahokia, which flourished hundreds of years ago, there is a burial mound with the remains of a royal or noble couple. Buried around them in the mound are the...
Fourteen hundred years before Britain voted to leave the European Union, it tried (and failed) to Brexit the Roman Empire. Under the leadership of Spanish-born soldier Magnus Maximus, a chunk of the...
One of the most shrouded mysteries of the rune alphabet is its early history. As a matter of fact, no-one really knows how the Elder Futhark came to be. We know that the runes exist and were used by...
Even though there are hundreds of thousands of followers of pagan religions, the old beliefs haven't survived enough to be included in the group of the five major religions of the world. Officially,...
David R. Montgomery / The Conversation Modern people have long wondered about ancient stories of great floods. Do they tell of real events in the distant past, or are they myths rooted in imagination...
More than 600 years ago the ancient Incas built a village in the Andes on the rocky outcrop that links the mountains Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu, at an altitude of 2,490 meters (8169.29 ft.) It is...
Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was not the first European to establish an outpost in the Americas – some 500 years earlier, a Viking named Leif (“the lucky”) Erikson established a...
Researchers working in Cornwall have unearthed the remains of walls from a palace they believe dates to the 6th century. These walls may share a connection with the legendary King Arthur , as they...
Much of the legacy and wealth of the ancient Maya city of Xunantunich in Belize was dispersed by a British medical officer who excavated (some would say looted) it in the 19 th century, but last week...
A fascinating and unique Paleolithic sculpture of a figurine carved from a large bovine bone and with unusual designs engraved in it was discovered in the well-known cave of Foissac in Aveyron,...
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...
