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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Other Artifacts

Other Artifacts covers many items which have been recovered from the past and give us insights into ancient human worlds. From loaded Roman dice to the Shroud of Turin, these items help tell the stories of the varied culture and everyday lives of our ancestors. 

Tikami stone monument in Nuku Hiva. Source: emperorcosar / Adobe Stock
12 April, 2022 - 18:58 Lex Leigh

The Mysterious 'Alien' Stone Monuments of Nuku Hiva

Nuku Hiva is known as the largest island in French Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. Beyond its history as the largest of the Marquesas Islands, it is especially known for the stone monuments scattered...
Ancient Mesopotamian boat unearthed near Uruk. Source: Julia Nador - Deutsches Archäologisches Institut / CC-BY-NC-ND
8 April, 2022 - 14:58 Cecilia Bogaard

4,000-Year-Old Mesopotamian Boat Near Uruk Rescued

4,000 years ago, a boat sank onto the bed of a channel of the Euphrates River, near the ancient city of Uruk. Now, archaeologists working in modern-day southern Iraq have been forced to conduct an...
Composite of in-article images
6 April, 2022 - 02:00 ancient-origins

Six of the Best: A Run Down of Last Week’s Top Stories

In last week’s top stories; features on the magic mushrooms of the Aztecs, and their devastating weapons arsenal, a very lucky 10-year-old, a tooled-up Roman mercenary, the world’s first known...
The 65 sandstone jars were found scattered over four sites in the north-eastern state of Assam, India. Source: Tilok Thakuria et al., Asian Archaeology, 2022
1 April, 2022 - 14:52 Sahir

Ancient Stone Jars Discovered at Four Forest Sites in India’s Assam

A team of researchers has documented the find of “mystery” stone jars from the state of Assam in northeastern India. The 65 stone jars were unearthed in 2020 from four sites across the Dima Hasao...
This is the rare 3,300-year-old Hittite bracelet that a Turkish farmer found in his field, which he turned in to the proper authorities. Source: Anadolu Agency
29 March, 2022 - 18:30 Sahir

Farmer Finds 3,300-year-old Rare Hittite Bracelet in Field in Turkey!

While plowing his field, a farmer in Turkey’s central Çorum province came across something highly unusual. The plow of the farmer, from Çitli village in the Mecitözü district, had struck a bracelet...
A recent extensive new analysis published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports has more or less proven that the mysterious 1863 Cape Cod shipwreck is the 1626 Sparrow-Hawk small pinnace that sailed to the early English colonies but floundered at sea. Source: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
27 March, 2022 - 23:00 Nathan Falde

Salvaged Cape Cod Shipwreck Wood is the 1626 Sparrow-Hawk, Says Study

Did the remains of a Cape Cod shipwreck found in Massachusetts in 1863 really come from the long-lost Sparrow-Hawk, a name given in the 19th century to a “small pinnace” vessel known to have sunk in...
Gold signet ring bearing the coat of arms of Sir Matthew Jenison, once Sheriff of Nottingham. Source: Hansons Auctioneers
26 March, 2022 - 13:56 Nathan Falde

Gold Ring that Belonged to Real Sheriff of Nottingham Sold

On March 24 Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire, England began taking bids on one of the more fascinating historical artifacts they’ve put up for auction. The item they’re selling is a flashy golden...
The rare St George seal, a matrix seal, found during the Villers-Cotterêts medieval castle restoration project last year. Source: Serge Le Maho / Inrap
23 March, 2022 - 13:31 Nathan Falde

Unique St George Seal Found in Castle Ruins in Northern France

In 2020 the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) in France’s northernmost region, Hauts-de-France, requested that the country’s National Monuments Center (CMN) begin renovation of an...
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
22 March, 2022 - 21:52 Sahir

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 early Bronze Age Maykop culture of the Caucuses region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea dates to the 4th-3rd millennium BC and was connected to more places than you might think! Source: Google Arts & Culture
22 March, 2022 - 13:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Maykop: Lost Bronze Age Culture of the Exotic Caucasus Region

In 1897, Professor Nikolay Veselovsky, a Russian archaeologist and orientalist, specializing in the history and archaeology of Central Asia, uncovered one of the greatest archaeological finds of...
A new study has revealed that archaic humans reused tools at the Revadim Israel dig site as a way of honoring and remembering their ancestors in a "sentimental" way. Source: Andy Ilmberger / Adobe Stock
17 March, 2022 - 00:59 Nathan Falde

Archaic Humans Reused Old Tools To Stay Connected With Their Ancestors

Many of the stone tools that are found during archaeological digs at prehistoric sites show signs of having been reused. In fact, there is a typical pattern that seems to repeat itself time and time...
Anne Boleyn’s carved falcon that went on display at Hampton Court Palace earlier this month. Source: © Historic Royal Palaces
16 March, 2022 - 13:35 Sahir

Heraldic Falcon Emblem Of Anne Boleyn Rediscovered

After a one-sided courtship which mostly involved her putting a stop to King Henry VIII’s advances, the posthumously famous Anne Boleyn finally consented to his pursuit of her which culminated in a...
The distinctive double bend of what is being called a “perfect” wooden bow, made from spruce by a Native American tribe from southwestern Alaska, USA but found on Athabascan Dena’ina culture land. Source: National Park Service / J. Rogers
14 March, 2022 - 21:44 Sahir

‘Perfect’ Wooden Bow Found in Alaska Dated to Late 16th-Century

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in southwest Alaska is renowned for the fact that no roads lead there, quite literally! Accessible only by boat or floatplanes, this vast expanse of gorgeous...
A closeup of the Tagar female grave (excavated in the Siberian steppe Minusinsk basin), which is an anomaly because the bone amulet next to her wrist is made with one piece of human bone, suggesting secondary burial grave manipulation. Source: Evgeniy Bogdanov / Haaretz
14 March, 2022 - 17:54 Sahir

Bronze Age Human Bone Amulet Found in Ancient Siberian Tagar Burial

How a culture buries its dead provides a crucial understanding of a culture across time periods, across historical divides, across geographical territories. Some of these ancient and prehistoric...
This Native American Salish war club was found in a British Columbia backyard by Canadian Mark Lake, who returned it to its rightful owners, the K'omoks First Nation people. Source: K'omoks First Nation
13 March, 2022 - 21:58 Sahir

Rare and Ancient War Club Found in Backyard in Canada

Recently, a rare, ancient Salish war club was discovered by a resident of British Columbia, Canada in his backyard! Mark Lake was clearing up his backyard after a heavy storm had hit his home at...
Representational image of a tamil bell from inside of Meenakshi Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu, South India. Source: Владимир Журавлёв / Adobe Stock
13 March, 2022 - 13:59 Jake Leigh-Howarth

The Age-Old Mystery of New Zealand’s Tamil Bell

It was 1836 when William Celenso, a Christian missionary from Cornwall in England, first stumbled upon the mysterious Tamil Bell in a remote Maori village in New Zealand. It was being used as a...
The nine classes of gold objects from Bronze Age Britain analyzed in the study. Source: © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 / Antiquity Publications Ltd
12 March, 2022 - 13:58 Nathan Falde

Gold Not Used as Money in Bronze Age Britain, Claims New Study

In Bronze Age Britain (2,500 to 800 BC), gold was frequently mined and used to manufacture a range of decorative and ceremonial objects. But in contrast to other areas, it seems that people of that...
Game pieces and board retrieved from the excavation site in Oslo, Norway. Source: Ida Irene Bergstrøm / Science in Norway
11 March, 2022 - 21:59 ashley cowie

Game Pieces Of The Medieval Norwegian Dope Addicts

Game pieces from the gaming and gambling history of Norway have been discovered in medieval Oslo. So bad did gambling addiction become that the king had to change national gaming laws. An excavation...
Ukrainian heritage is already endangered by the crisis. Here shows the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum shown burning (left) with artwork of Maria Prymachenko (right) destroyed. Source: The Art Newspaper
11 March, 2022 - 13:56 Nathan Falde

Ukraine Officials Rush to Stop Destruction of Ukrainian Heritage

The National Museum of Ukraine in the city of Lviv was once a busy and active place. Tourists and visitors streamed in and out in large numbers every day, enjoying the opportunity to explore its...
The return of the moai to Rapa Nui from Chile. Source: Paula Rossetti
10 March, 2022 - 21:52 Cecilia Bogaard

The Return of the Moai: Rapa Nui and the Fight for its Ancestors

Rapa Nui, the original name for Easter Island, is most famous for its giant monolithic moai statues. Located 3,512 km (2,182 mi) off the coast of Chile, Rapa Nui has suffered a history of constant...
Authorities seized stolen artifacts, including three magic incantation bowls. Source: Yoli Schwartz / Israel Antiquities Authority
10 March, 2022 - 00:59 Nathan Falde

1500-Year-Old Magic Bowls Inscribed with Spells Seized in Jerusalem Raid

During a raid on a private home in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) seized a large cache of stolen or illegally excavated archaeological...
Gold ingots from China (representational image). Source: malp / Adobe Stock
7 March, 2022 - 21:57 Nathan Falde

Chinese Gold Ingots Stolen From 18th Century Shipwreck Have Been Returned

The United States government has just returned a collection of historically significant artifacts stolen by fortune hunters to the French government, to whom the artifacts rightfully belong according...
Erotic Mochica artifact, a ceramic ceremonial vessel representing the sexual union between a man and a woman. Source: Museo Larco / Google Art Project
2 March, 2022 - 13:58 ashley cowie

Erotic Peruvian Artifacts Being Used to Prevent Cancer in Men

Health authorities in Peru are teaching men how to inspect their genitals to catch early cancers. To achieve this goal they are using ancient Mochica artifacts depicting sexual scenes. Would you...
The so-called world’s oldest trousers discovered in China’s Tarim Basin used different textile techniques for different parts of the trouser fabric. Source: M. Wagner / Archaeological Research in Asia
27 February, 2022 - 21:59 Sahir

World’s Oldest Trousers Used Methods Still Employed by Modern Fashion

Back in 2014, a pair of pants were discovered in the Tarim Basin in China. Believed to be the oldest pair of trousers in the world, they were made between 3,000 and 3,300 years ago. Dating back to...

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