pyramids

This is the huge ‘Chinese Pyramid’ mound of the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of Han.

30 November, 2018 - 01:49 ancient-origins

Archeoastronomy Reveals Cosmic Dynastic Divide in Chinese Burial Pyramids

Politecnico di Milano The funerary complex of the first Chinese emperor of the Qin dynasty (3th century BC) is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. This is of course due to the...

LiDAR image revealing Maya structures beneath the jungle canopy in Guatemala

1 October, 2018 - 20:10 Joanna Gillan

Laser Scans Reveal 60,000 Previously Unknown Maya Structures Hidden in Guatemalan Jungle!

In a monumental archaeological discovery, whose magnitude hasn’t been seen in decades, an aerial survey over northern Guatemala revealed tens of thousands of Maya structures, including pyramids,...

Pillar in Gobekli Tepe (Deriv.) (sebnemsanders) with a starry night sky. (CC0) What can be discerned about the site from Gobekli Tepe archaeoastronomy?

17 September, 2018 - 14:08 Freddy Silva

Gobekli Tepe Archaeoastronomy and the Second Hill of Osiris

The naming of places in the ancient world was a serious affair, particularly with regard to temples. A name enshrined the purpose for which the site was intended, or reflected a truth about its...

10 September, 2018 - 13:58 Michelle Freson

Ruins of Malden Island and The Mysterious Roads that Lead into the Sea

Malden is a tiny, island in the central Pacific Ocean, covering about 15 square miles in area. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to the Republic of Kiribati and while there are no resident...

The magnificent Boat of Khufu, Solar Boat Museum, Giza

3 May, 2018 - 19:01 Istvan Soros

The Great Boat of Khufu: The ‘Black Box’ to the Construction of the Pyramids

Perhaps this is not the first time that the reader will have heard of how in 1954 the Great Boat of Khufu was discovered, practically intact, at the southern face of the Kheops Pyramid, and how it is...

20 March, 2018 - 00:59 ancient-origins

From the Pyramids to Stonehenge – were Prehistoric People Astronomers?

Daniel Brown / The Conversation Ever since humans could look up to see the sky, we have been amazed by its beauty and untold mysteries. Naturally then, astronomy is often described as the oldest of...

An illustration depicting the construction of the Egyptian pyramids

11 March, 2018 - 14:23 ashley cowie

Demystifying the Egyptian Pyramids with Hard Facts

It has always fascinated, and worried me at the same time, how many people I meet that are still mesmerized by aspects of the pyramids in Egypt that archeologists solved many years ago. The when, how...

24 February, 2018 - 01:58 ancient-origins

LiDAR Lifts the Veil on the Oldest Known Maya Settlement in Guatemala

With the help of airborne laser mapping technology, a team of archaeologists, led by University of Arizona professor Takeshi Inomata, is exploring on a larger scale than ever before the history and...

Pictorial representation of Pyramid in Teuchitlán Guachimontones Museum.

12 December, 2017 - 18:50 dhwty

Were Mexico’s Circular Pyramids Really Made for a Flying Ceremony?

Guachimontones (known alternatively as Huachimontones) is an archaeological site located in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. This is an important site of the Teuchitlan tradition, which was a...

New research looking at the density of particles called muons has found an empty space (shown in this illustration) more than 98 feet (30 meters) long right above the pyramid's Grand Gallery.

2 November, 2017 - 17:57 aprilholloway

Hidden Chamber Found? Cosmic Ray Tech Reveals Large Void in Great Pyramid

Scientists looking to uncover hidden chambers and other ancient secrets of the Egyptian pyramids using powerful scanning technology, have detected a large space within the Great Pyramid, which could...

7 October, 2017 - 18:51 aprilholloway

5 Pyramids of the Ancient World that You May Not Have Heard About

The Great Pyramid of Giza is undoubtedly one of the most well-known icons of the ancient world. But thousands of other pyramids exist, not just in Egypt, but across the entire globe, including Europe...

Vivant Denon’s sketch of the sphinx in 1798 depicts a man being pulled out of a hole in the sphinx’s head

6 October, 2017 - 19:00 Malcolm Hutton

The Big Egyptian Sphinx Cover Up: Hidden Chambers, An Unexcavated Mound and Endless Denial

In 1935, Egypt was still the main draw for archaeologists digging for answers. It was hardly more than a decade since the British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen on...

Great Pyramid of Egypt. Source: BigStockPhoto

24 September, 2017 - 14:58 aprilholloway

Archaeologists Announce that New Discoveries Solve Mystery of How the Great Pyramid Was Built

A new set of investigations in ancient Egypt have led to some startling discoveries – the translation of an ancient papyrus, the unearthing of an ingenious system of waterworks, and the discovery of...

12 January, 2017 - 00:48 Clyde Winters

2,000-Year-Old Maya Superhighway Discovered in the Jungle of Guatemala

Few ancient civilizations have left us evidence of the roads they built to maintain effective communication and transportation within their sphere of influence. Until recently, the model for...

10 December, 2016 - 02:04 Armando Mei

The Enigmatic Columns of Horus: Divine Tools of Energy– Part II

The supreme being of the pharaohs’ pantheon was associated with the sun’s disk and, according to the myth, he emerged from the ocean of the Nun, carried by the goddess Mehetueret, the Celestial Cow...

8 November, 2016 - 16:49 ancient-origins

27 Little Known Facts About Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan is one of the largest and most important sacred cities of ancient Mesoamerica, whose name means "the city of the gods" in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs. It once supported an...

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Myths & Legends

Right: Detail of a statue of a reclining Attis. The Shrine of Attis is situated to the east of the Campus of the Magna Mater in Ostia. Statue of Jesus Christ as a shepherd with a lamb.

The Pagan Attis and Christian Jesus: A Spurious Connection?

Recently, it has been popular to suggest in some circles that Christianity was influenced, or even derived from, the ancient Roman mystery religions – religions often known to have orgiastic rituals and connection to a personal god.

The symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000-year-old history

Magu: The Hemp Goddess Who Healed Ancient Asia

Ten Mythological Creatures in Ancient Folklore

Lilith: Ancient Demon, Dark Deity or Sensual Goddess?

The Snallygaster: Century-Old Fake News Terrorized Citizens of Maryland… But the Creature May be Real

Human Origins

Detail of ‘Ashkenazi Jews praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur. (1878 painting by Maurycy Gottlieb)

Where are Ashkenazi Jews from? Their Origins May Surprise You

Ashkenazi Jews are a Jewish ethnic group who have their earliest ancestors from the indigenous tribes of Israel…at least on one side of the family tree. A study published in 2013 in Nature Communications has shown their maternal lineage comes from a different, and possibly unexpected, source.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Rh-Negative Blood: An Exotic Bloodline or Random Mutation?

Facing the Facts: Just How Accurate Are Facial Reconstructions?

The human skull that challenges the Out of Africa theory

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

Ancient Technology

Stone of the Pregnant Woman, an example of ancient high-tech stonework in Hajar al Hibla at Baalbek in Lebanon.

The High-Tech Stonework of the Ancients: Unsolved Mysteries of Master Engineers

There are many stone artifacts from the ancient world made from the hardest stone on the planet such as granite and diorite, which have been cut and shaped with such quality, precision and accuracy that the standard explanations of their manufacture are simply inadequate.

Both a Princess and a Priestess, What Did the First Known Author Have to Share with the World?

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

The Ancient Invention of the Water Clock

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

Ancient Places

Excavation of two quarries in Wales by a UCL-led team of archaeologists and geologists has confirmed they are sources of Stonehenge's 'bluestones'– and shed light on how they were quarried and transported.

The Where, When and How of Quarrying Stonehenge 'Bluestones' Is Revealed in New Report

Geologists have long known that 42 of Stonehenge's smaller stones, known as 'bluestones', came from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, west Wales.

Were the Women of Petra More Important Than the Men?

The Marvelous Mayan Zoomorph Monoliths of Quiriguá

Buda Castle: Hidden Walls, Subterranean Chambers and Medieval Structures

The White Slaves of Barbary

The Mysterious Prehistoric Triple Burial of Dolni Vestonice

Opinion

The astronomical ceiling at the Pronaos, Detail of the first Band west from the center. From left to right: two wind creatures (the winged ram with four heads personifies the south wind), the snake- and frog-headed eight goddesses and gods of the Ogdoad who ruled the cosmos before the creation of the world and Osiris seated on a throne sails across the sky as personification of the full moon accompanied by the seated goddesses Nephtys (left) and Isis on the right (Maat stands near the bow of the ship). Siri

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

In Egypt, Sirius was the Star of Isis, Isis being the companion and rescuer of the god Osiris. In a very deep way, Osiris was Egypt.

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

Alchemy and Generating Lifeforce —Global Temples Made in the Shape of Lingams: Shaivite Bull Cult Part II

From Green Man to Bull Son, The Universal Shaivite Bull Cult – Part I

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.