oracle

This is the mouth of the well where modern archaeologists believe ancient Athenians invoked Apollo to tell the future in the water.

29 August, 2018 - 23:31 Mark Miller

Site in Athens revealed as an ancient temple of twin gods Apollo and Artemis

In 2015, an ancient well was uncovered in Kerameikos in central Athens, Greece, with inscriptions calling upon Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy. Archaeologists speculate that Kerameikos seers used...

Photo showing the pages of the 25th oracle

4 June, 2018 - 15:53 lizleafloor

Ancient Coptic text revealed to be divination tool for predicting the future

An ancient Christian oracle book of mysterious origins has been recently translated and found to contain a collection of encouragements, warnings, and cryptic divinations. The 1,500-year-old tome,...

Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy: The Inscription over Hell-Gate

19 February, 2018 - 13:55 ashley cowie

Toxicity at Gateway to Hell Explains ‘Miracle’ in Ancient City of Hierapolis

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here,” said William Shakespeare, and now, new scientific findings tells us how the devils got here! And it was through a “gateway to the underworld” located in...

Oracular cavern of Trophonius by Skene James (1838-1845) (Public Domain)

1 October, 2017 - 13:43 Riley Winters

Nourisher of Mind and Mayhem: The Oracle of Trophonius and the Cave of Nightmares

A god of nourishment in ancient Greek myth, Trophonius is a little-known character with a rather great role in ancient mythology. Though his exploits range from innocent to deceitful, Trophonius made...

Priestess of Delphi (1891) by John Collier. (Public Domain) Drawing of the Tholos of Delphi, Greece.

14 September, 2017 - 22:58 ancient-origins

Earthquake Faults May Have Shaken up the Cultural Practices of Ancient Greece

The Ancient Greeks may have built sacred or treasured sites deliberately on land previously affected by earthquake activity, according to a new study by the University of Plymouth. Professor of...

Undeciphered characters carved into an ancient tortoise shell.

24 July, 2017 - 13:59 Theodoros Karasavvas

China Offers $15,000 for Each Deciphered Character of Mystery Text on Ancient Oracle Bones

The National Museum of Chinese Writing in Anyang is offering a huge reward to anyone able to crack an ancient code found cut into bones and shells dating back more than 3,000 years to the Shang...

A reconstruction of a burial site from prehistoric China. In Yinxu, about 2,500 pits filled with remains of sacrificial victims have been found in addition to other cemeteries were elites and other locals were buried.

20 June, 2017 - 14:00 Mark Miller

Thousands of War Captives Enslaved for Years Before Being Slain as Sacrifice in Prehistoric China

Some archaeologists in China have analyzed the makeup of elements in the bones in a prehistoric cemetery and say the people buried there were probably war captives who were forced into slavery before...

A well-preserved skeleton in one of the 18 tombs that had several types of grave goods in the Ruins of Yin, an area called the Chinese cradle of civilization.

6 May, 2017 - 23:18 Mark Miller

Archaeologists Discover Undisturbed Tombs of Ancient Nomads in the Cradle of Chinese Civilization

Archaeologists in China’s Henan Province have excavated about 90 tombs, 18 of which contained golden earrings and turquoise artifacts, bronze and iron pots, and short swords. The 18 graves, of the...

24 April, 2017 - 15:34 Cam Rea

Ignoring Omens and Seeking Vengeance: The Greco-Persian ‘War of the Ages’ Was a Disaster for All

The Greco-Persian wars lasted for more than half a century in some respects. Some date the war as being from 499-448 BCE while others date the conflict from 492-448 BCE. Either or, the war itself was...

11 January, 2017 - 14:43 marinasohma

Magic in Ancient Greece: Necromancy, Curses, Love Spells, and Oracles

The magical traditions of ancient Greece encompassed spells, curse tablets, drugs, potions, poisons, amulets, and talismans. For many cultures of the past, there was a very fine line between magic,...

22 November, 2016 - 02:08 MartiniF

Seers, Women of Action: The Sibyls of the Ancient World

Virgil, in his Aeneid , describes Deiphobe, better known as the Sibyl of Cumae, as coming from “a hundred perforations in the rock, a hundred mouths from which the many utterances rush” (43-5, 163)...

10 September, 2016 - 00:37 Natalia Klimczak

Unveiling the Hittite Hasawa – A Forgotten Priestess, Healer, and Oracle

The term hasawa means ‘ she of birth' , and might have originally been used to refer to midwives. But hasawa is also a name applied to old, wise women. According to the few resources which described...

8 June, 2016 - 01:08 Natalia Klimczak

First Ancient Oracle Well to Apollo unearthed in Athens

Archeologists discovered an oracle well, which is at least 1,800-years-old and may be the first ancient oracle to Apollo found in Athens. Moreover, the prophecy at the sanctuary seems to be much...

The story of King Tang (Ta Ji), the dynasty, in a 17th-century painting Shang Dynasty (Public Domain)

28 March, 2016 - 14:49 dhwty

Reading Oracle Bones and Writing the Future in the Shang Dynasty

Oracle bones (known in Chinese as 甲骨, transliterated as ‘jiǎ gǔ’, and literally translated as ‘shells and bones’) are a type of artifact best known for its association with the Shang Dynasty (roughly...

: Inside the eerie chambers of the Nekromanteion (Evilemperorzorg/CC BY-SA)

30 November, 2015 - 14:11 ancient-origins

How Ancient Greeks Took Trippy Journeys to the Land of the Dead

By Tara MacIsaac , Epoch Times The Nekromanteion, or the “Oracle of Death,” was an ancient Greek temple in Epirus, Greece, in which supplicants sought to consult shades of the dead. Sensory...

Leonidas at Thermopylae, by Jacques-Louis David. 1814.

1 April, 2015 - 04:09 dhwty

King Leonidas of Sparta and the Legendary Battle of the 300 at Thermopylae

Zack Snyder’s 2007 fantasy historical film, 300 , has probably made the Battle of Thermopylae one of the most famous battles of the ancient world. It may be pointed out, though, that the film has...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Source: Luca Oleastri / Adobe.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Searching For a Way to the Home Planet

The Epic of Gilgamesh is regarded as one of mankind’s greatest literary and historical works. Many authors have studied the text in an effort to explain the nature of Gilgamesh’s tyranny and his erratic behavior.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Decoding Viking Signs: Nine Norse Symbols Explained

Skaði, The Norse ‘Giantess’ with a Godly Vendetta

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Menhune of Hawaii – Ancient Race or Fictional Fairytale?

Human Origins

Work using the Statue of Gilgamesh and Lamassu. Source: CC BY 4.0

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

Part 1 of this interpretation of the epic told of the birth of Gilgamesh, his tyrannical rule and the creation of a being to rival his power and also become his companion.

Unity in Diversity: Studies Reveal Surprising Stories for the Genes of Ancient Hindus and Jews

The Pagan Wheel of the Year: What Elaborate Rituals and Events Mark this Sacred Cycle?

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Drugs in Ancient Cultures: A History of Drug Use and Effects

Ancient Technology

The passage of carts over decades could cause ruts (like the one shown), particularly in high-traffic areas of Pompeii.

Romans in Pompeii Repaired the Roads with Molten Iron

The buried city of Pompeii continues to provide many insights into Roman society , economy, and culture. The ash and pumice , that fell on Pompeii from Mount Vesuvius , froze the city in time. A...

Why Are There 365 Days in a Year? Organizing Dates with an Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Ancient Journeys: What was Travel Like for the Romans?

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

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

Ancient Places

The destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria

Alexandria, one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, was founded by Alexander the Great after his conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. After the death of Alexander in Babylon in 323 BC, Egypt fell to...

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

The Ain Dara Temple and the giant footsteps of the Gods

The 9,000-year-old underground megalithic settlement of Atlit Yam

The Great Serpent Mound of Ohio, the Largest Earthen Effigy in the World

The great Pharos of Alexandria

Opinion

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

There are many accounts of a land of immortality and eternal youth in world myths and legends, as well as shamanic and indigenous spiritual traditions. Mysterious Worlds Writing in his recent work,...

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

Changing Colors and Scampering Across the Night Sky: What Did the Ancients Say about Sirius?

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

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.