norway

Baroque library hall in the National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague. A collection of 13,000 occult and witchcraft books that were once part of Himmler’s “witch library” were found in the library.

29 January, 2021 - 23:04 ancient-origins

Was Heinrich Himmler’s 'Nazi Witch Library' Discovered in a Czech Library?

In 2016, along with a vast array of international publications, the Daily Mail picked up a story that had been published by a Norwegian-based paper prior to a conference about the confiscation of...

22 January, 2021 - 21:58 Nathan Falde

Ground-Penetrating Radar Locates Massive Viking Burial Mounds in Norway

An extensive survey using ground penetrating radar in northern Norway has revealed the presence of 15 gigantic Viking burial mounds , along with other measurable remains of ongoing human activity...

24 December, 2020 - 21:46 Mike Powell

Famous Dogs in History, from Ancient Greece until Today

History abounds with stories of the victorious humans who shaped the world into what it is today. But rarely do we stop and consider the dogs who worked, lived, and fought alongside these humans...

26 November, 2020 - 13:58 ashley cowie

Rapidly Melting Norwegian Ice Exposes Land Littered with Ancient Arrows

Dozens of ancient arrows dating from the Neolithic to the Viking Era have melted out of the Langfonne ice sheet in Norway. In 2014 and 2016, reindeer bones and antlers, stone and river shell...

The Viking ship burial at Gjellestad is now known to be part of a larger mound cemetery and settlement site from the Iron Age, located next to Norway’s monumental Jell Mound. Source: Lars Gustavsen / NIKU

11 November, 2020 - 00:56 Ed Whelan

Viking Ship Burial Unfolds into Nordic Center of Power

Archaeologists in Norway have made an amazing discovery without even digging. Using breakthrough radar technology, they have found an elite settlement and burial ground from the Nordic Iron Age (550-...

The site of the newly discovered rare ancient Viking temple found in Norway with an imagined reconstruction of the actual building. Source: University Museum of Bergen

8 October, 2020 - 20:55 Ed Whelan

Viking Temple to Thor and Odin Unearthed In Norway

The Viking Age has fascinated people for generations and now we have a newly discovered ancient Viking temple that has finally shed some new light on Norse religion . Believe it or not, there is a...

The Viking sword discovery as it was found on the opposite side of a Norse warrior, before Astrid Kviseth placed it in specially prepared padded box. Source: Norwegian University of Science and Technology

1 September, 2020 - 18:48 ashley cowie

South-Pawed Viking's Sword Discovered In 1000-Year-Old Burial Mound

Norwegian archaeologists have discovered a 1000-year-old grave containing a rare Viking sword next to the body of what must have been an equally rare left-handed (south-pawed) Norse warrior. Vinjeøra...

Artifacts discovered by Tor-Kjetil Krokmyrdal at Sandtorg farm, believed to have once been a Viking trading station, include objects of Eastern origin (on the left) and from the British Isles (on the right). Source: Julie Holme Damman, The Arctic University Museum of Norway and Tor-Ketil Krokmyrdal.

21 July, 2020 - 18:56 ashley cowie

Archaeology Student Discovers Viking Trading Station in Northern Norway

A Norwegian archaeology student has found a remote Viking settlement that will change the history of Viking Age Norway. The intrepid discoverer, Tor-Kjetil Krokmyrdal, is a Norwegian master ’ s...

The Iron Age “Game of Mercenaries” likely inspired the popular Viking age board game called ‘Hnefatafl.’ Source: Olga Makukha /Adobe Stock

14 June, 2020 - 14:02 Ed Whelan

Researchers Find Relics from an Iron Age ‘Game of Mercenaries’

Archaeologists excavating a burial in Norway have made a discovery that is offering a unique insight into Iron Age games and pastimes. They found evidence of a board game that was modelled on a...

Viking in action. Credit: Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

8 June, 2020 - 13:58 dhwty

The Life and Death of Sweyn Forkbeard and His Viking Empire

Sweyn I, known also as Sweyn Tiugeskaeg (which means ‘Forkbeard’), was a Viking chief who became the ruler of Denmark, Norway, and England. His byname, ‘Forkbeard’, is a reference to his long, cleft...

When the couple removed the floor, they discovered a Viking grave. Source: Nordland County.

29 May, 2020 - 22:57 Ed Whelan

Viking Grave Found Under the Floorboards of a Home in Norway

A Norwegian couple made an unusual historic discovery during renovations of their home. They found a number of Viking era artifacts, and now archaeologists believe that they have found a Viking grave...

Four-sided die from a Roman game found in Norway. Source: University of Bergen

29 May, 2020 - 03:25 ashley cowie

Rare Roman Game Die Unearthed At Norwegian Burial Cairn

In April 2020, Norwegian archaeologists from the University Museum of Bergen were excavating the remains of a small Early Iron Age burial cairn near the village of Ytre Fosse, overlooking Alversund...

Representation of Cnut the Great. Source: Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

21 May, 2020 - 19:02 dhwty

Cnut the Great: the Myth, the Man, and the Multi-National Viking Monarch

Cnut Sweynsson, known also as Cnut the Great (sometimes spelled as Canute), was the ruler of England, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden. His realm is often referred to as the North Sea Empire, or...

A side-rendering of the giant mound that once covered the buried Viking ship. Today, the ship's remains lie under less than 20 inches of topsoil. (NIKU/LBI ArchPro)

16 May, 2020 - 16:33 Ed Whelan

1,000-Year-Old Buried Viking Ship Will be Raised!

Norwegian archaeologists have announced a plan to raise a buried Viking ship from the earth. The vessel is from a ship burial that is over 1000 years old. It is the first time in over a hundred years...

The skull of a man, 25-40 years, with his face cut off with a sharp weapon. The head was found in a well outside a pit house from the 9th century in Aarhus, Denmark. Source: Rogvi N. Johansen/Moesgaard Museum

5 May, 2020 - 01:57 ashley cowie

De-faced Skulls and Babies Were Buried in Viking Homes

A new Viking research paper determines parts of dead Norse folk, especially children, were kept beneath homes after the deceased had been buried. So often sensationalized, glamorized and mystified,...

These horse-related finds from Lendbreen indicate the route of a Nordic mountain trail: top left) mandible; top right) horseshoe; bottom left) horse skull; bottom right) horse dung. Source: J.H. Barrett & Glacier Archaeology

16 April, 2020 - 00:00 ashley cowie

Tracking Artifacts Reveals Lost Nordic Mountain Trade Route

In pre-history, many of the world's mountain ranges blocked long distance travel and trade, but mountain passes provided routes through ranges and over ridges, facilitating human and animal migration...

Pages

Myths & Legends

Detail of a bowl from the Hildesheim Silver Treasure featuring a seated Athena, 1st century BC.

The Hidden Identity of the Woman Glorified as Athena: Her Link to the Pre-Flood World

Here is that woman in all her splendor, reconstructed in the imitation Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, based on the original in her ancient temple atop Athens’ Acropolis —the high place of the...

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

Was Dracula Story inspired by Abhartach, the Bloodsucking Chieftain of Ireland?

The ancient origins of the legendary griffin

Hidden in Plain Sight: The Pterodactyl of New Guinea

Legendary Black Knights: Mysterious Medieval Entities of Neutrality

Human Origins

Little Human Subspecies: Where’s the Evidence?

From the lush oases of Africa’s Ethiopia, across the planet to the sweltering jungles of Mexico, beyond the horizon to the primordial coasts of Hawaii, and back again to the gardens, olive groves, and marble columns of ancient Greece, an obscure common thread of small human subspecies endures.

The Little Ice Age and Its Giant Impact on Human History

Footprints, Fairies and even a Foreskin: 10 Bizarre Relics from History

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Zecharia Sitchin and the Mistranslation of Sumerian Texts

Did Ancient People Really Have Lifespans Longer Than 200 Years?

Ancient Technology

Reservoir at Nabataean city of ancient Hawara

The sophisticated water technologies of the ancient Nabataeans

The Nabataeans were an ancient Semitic people dating back to 586 BC, who inhabited northern Arabia and the Southern Levant. The desert climate created agricultural difficulties for the Nabataeans,...

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

150,000-Year-Old Pipes Baffle Scientists in China: Out of Place in Time?

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

Mysterious GodSelf Icon Found Worldwide: Lost Symbol of an Ancient Global Religion?

Ancient Places

Island in the Clouds: Is Mount Roraima Really A ‘Lost World’ Where Dinosaurs May Still Exist?

Deep within the rainforests of Venezuela, a series of plateaus sit more than 9000 feet (2743 meters) above sea level and rise up 1310 feet (400 m) from the surrounding terrain like table tops. From...

The Beauty of Loulan and the Tattooed Mummies of the Tarim Basin

The Dark Underworld of the Paris Catacombs

Pavlopetri: 5,000-Year-Old Town Discovered Underwater in Greece

The Ancient Rock City of Sigiriya

Rebala Heritage Reserve, A Glimpse Into 5000 Years of Human History

Opinion

Unearthing Ancient Magic in The Runes –Messages with Hidden Symbols and Powerful Numbers

The etymology of the word “rune” means: “to carve, or to cut.” In Low German the word is “raunen.” As the runes were cut and carved into wood, metal or stone, the word “rune” was analogous to the rune letters themselves.

Petroglyphic Features of Portable Rock Art

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?

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.