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Mercury figurine was discovered in Kent, England and dates back 2,000 years. Source:  © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Excavations in Kent Reveal Mercury Figurine and Roman Settlement

Excavations at Smallhythe Place in England’s Kent have revealed both a medieval shipbuilding site and an earlier Roman settlement. The latter yielded the unexpected find of the head of a figurine...
Representational image of a woman giving a birthday present. Source: GrafitiRex / Adobe Stock

Gifts Across the Ages: When Did People Start Giving Birthday Presents?

For every individual, their birthday is an important and very meaningful date. Whether you’re nine or 90, you can’t help but feel happy and elated on your special day, especially when your friends...
Archaeologist excavating the skeletal remains of a priest discovered within the Pacopampa tomb in Peru. Source: Peru’s Ministry of Culture

3,000-Year-Old Pacopampa Tomb Reveals Religious Rites of Ancient Peru

A team of archaeologists from Peru and Japan have discovered a circular grave in northern Peru that is approximately 3,000 years old, and maybe even older. The Pacopampa tomb and burial site...
Votive offerings have been unearthed in the Valley of Temples in Sicily, Italy. Source: Sicilian Regional Institutional Portal.

Huge Votive Deposits Emerge From Sicily’s Valley of Temples, Shed Light on the Exodus of 406 BC

An excavation campaign in the historic Valley of Temples (Agrigento) in Sicily has stumbled upon a huge votive deposit consisting of 60 terracotta statuettes, protomes and female busts, fragments of...
The discovery of a cache of Aztec ritual offerings, including the remains of a Mexican wolf dressed as a warrior (seen here), has lead experts to believe they may have found the tomb of an Aztec king. Source: Mirsa Islas / INAH

Sacrificed Animals Dressed as Warriors Point to Tomb of Aztec King

Researchers conducting excavations in Mexico City found a series of boxes containing Aztec treasures. Inside they discovered a cache of Aztec ritual offerings, including child remains, precious...
The Pacopampa priest’s tomb in its cleaned-up state, which was found by Peruvian and Japanese archaeologists in the Cajamarca of Peru. Source: Peruvian Ministry of Culture

Newly Discovered 1000 BC Pacopampa Priest’s Tomb in Peru Is Turning Heads

A team of archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the tomb of a religious leader from ancient Peru at the Pacopampa site, a priestly figure, who was baptized as the “priest of the...
Montage of votive offering finds from San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy.   Source: Emanuele Mariotti/SABAP-SI / Municipality of San Casciano dei Bagni

Treasure Trove of Perfect Votive Offerings Found at Etruscan Thermal Baths

It’s amazing what treasures people will throw away in the hope of winning the favor of the gods. Rare items used as votive offerings found in an “exceptional state of preservation” have been...
The Weighing of the Heart ritual, shown in the Book of the Dead of Sesostris. Source: Manfred Werner - Tsui / CC BY-SA 3.0

Did the Ancient Egyptians Create Art as a Way to Manifest Reality?

Among the extravagantly decorated tombs and temples that made Egyptian art immortal, there is something obscure. It could even be considered supernatural or otherworldly. Telling the stories of what...
The largest Aztec starfish altar was found last year in the biggest temple, Templo Major, in the ancient city of Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) along with jaguar bones and countless seashells.		Source: INAH

Biggest Aztec Starfish Altar Ever, Found in Templo Mayor, Mexico City!

Archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) found the largest ever Aztec starfish altar offering site at Templo Mayor, the largest Aztec temple. Templo Mayor...
The front view of the gold neck ring found in Denmark that was likely a hidden treasure as opposed to a votive offering. Source: Sydvestjyske Museum

Exquisitely Made 1,700-year-old Gold Neck Ring Found in Denmark

In October 2021, Dan Christensen, an amateur metal detectorist made the exciting discovery of a remarkably fine gold neck ring weighing a whopping 446 grams (approximately 1 pound). The discovery of...
Japan’s world-famous sumo wrestling has always been connected with its origins as a shrine spectacle offering to please the gods. With the rise of the Japanese merchant class in the 17th century sumo became the spectator sport it is today.		Source: AQ-taro Images / Adobe Stock

Sumo Wrestling: From Ritual Origins to Honorable Sport

It is hard to think of Japan without sumo wrestling. This unique and very old sport has been one of the indivisible aspects of Japanese identity for over 1,500 years or more! Granted, sumo wrestling...
Elite Gold Pendants Unearthed in Norway Were ‘Sacrifices’ to the Gods

Elite Gold Pendants Unearthed in Norway Were ‘Sacrifices’ to the Gods

In separate discoveries that occurred in 2019 and 2020, searchers found seven ancient gold pendants buried in a field near the Norwegian municipality of Råde in Østfold County. The first four gold...
Mass Murder, Megalithic Music, and Misconduct in Prehistoric Malta

Mass Murder, Megalithic Music, and Misconduct in Prehistoric Malta

Despite claims by experts and historians, not all of human history can be easily explained and many mysteries still remain. Just south of Sicily, surrounded by sapphire waters and sun-soaked shores,...
First Greek Snake Altar To Underground Gods Found in Southern Turkey

First Greek Snake Altar To Underground Gods Found in Southern Turkey

Snakes are one of the most popular and feared symbols of ancient civilizations. Recently, a mysterious Greek snake altar has been discovered in Turkey , and it has caused considerable excitement in...
Dia De Muertos. Credit: Yuliya Ochkan / Adobe Stock

Mexican Day of the Dead – Bittersweet Remembrance of Departed Ancestors

The celebrated Mexican Day of the Dead means one thing for city dwellers and quite another for country folks. It is a day dedicated to the bittersweet remembrance of departed family members. It also...
New Information Comes to Light on a Unique Mycenaean Tholos Tomb

New Information Comes to Light on a Unique Mycenaean Tholos Tomb

Preliminary results have been provided on a Mycenaean tholos tomb discovered in 2014 on the slope of the Amblianos hill near Amphissa on the Greek mainland. The tomb is considered a special find in...
Photograph of part of the archaeological complex in Vichama, Peru.

New Archaeological Findings Reaffirm the Important Role of Women 4,000 Years Ago in Peru

Peruvian legends speak of a lonely and hungry woman who unleashed her fury against the sun. The star was moved by her situation, and ‘fertilized’ her with its rays. Four days later, the woman gave...
Part of one of the hoards as it was found in 2012.

Gifts for the Gods? Over 350 Artifacts Discovered in Transylvania Begin to Provide Details on Ancient Trade Routes

Corina Bors with the National History Museum of Romania, recently presented at the European Association of Archaeologists in Glasgow, Scotland about the two massive stashes that were discovered in...
Aerial footage of the newly discovered Maya water temple.

Maya Water Temple Complex discovered where ritual offerings were made to placate the Rain God

Archaeologists have discovered that the Maya made offerings to Chaak, the rain god, at a newly discovered water temple complex alongside the sacred pools of Cara Blanca in Belize. The sacrifices...
Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite

Ring of Skulls: Ancient and Modern Sacrifices to the Water Gods

Liz Leafloor | Mysteriorum The macabre discovery of a ring of children’s skulls buried in the earth around lakes in Germany and Switzerland has revealed an age-old tradition of making offerings and...
Ancient child skulls  gifts for Bronze Age lake gods

Ancient child skulls may have been gifts for Bronze Age lake gods

A new study published in the journal Antiquity has revealed that a number of Bronze Age child skulls discovered around the perimeter of ancient settlements in Switzerland and Germany show signs of...
Offerings to the Mayan Gods

Ancient Offerings to the ‘Gods’ Discovered in Mexico

More than 400 animal species have been found in offerings to the gods in Mexico at the temple of Tenochtitlan from approximately 1,500 BC probably during the Temple’s construction. The animals...