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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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A page of a Bhagavata Purana illustrated manuscript in Devanagari. Illustration depicts Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva seated on their respective vahanas.

The Anu and Ancient Seers in the Rig Veda

The oldest of the Vedas, a large body of ancient literature and scriptures of Hinduism, the Rigveda contains poetic and mythological origin stories involving gods and their descendants. In Hindu...
The immolation of the hero twins, known from the Popul Vuh and other narratives, may have been re-enacted in the fifth-century AD Maya city of Tikal. The twins in this image were drawn from an ancient Maya ceramic piece.

Sacrifice of Maya boy and man may have reenacted birth of sun and moon

About 1,600 years ago in the Maya site of Tikal, a boy and a man were sacrificed in an elaborate ritual. A new study suggests they were sacrificed and burned to re-enact the legend of the twin heroes...
The ruins of the temple of Cybele at the imperial Roman palace complex Felix Romuliana in what is now Serbia

Vibrations and sounds may have enhanced worship of Great Goddess Cybele

In a mountain valley in Serbia around 300 AD, Romans built a palace complex to honor the Emperor Gaius Valerius Galerius Maximianus, who was born in the area. In this palace, called Felix Romuliana,...
The Ritual behind Wishing Wells

The Ritual behind Wishing Wells: Buying Favors and Good Fortune

The modern Western world is familiar with the concept of wishing wells, or bodies of water in which currency, most commonly in the form of coin, is tossed with the intention of making a wish. Some...
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...
Ancient ritual sacrifice of children and llamas unearthed in PeruAncient ritual sacrifice of children and llamas unearthed in Peru

Ancient ritual sacrifice of children and llamas unearthed in Peru

Archaeologists in Peru have announced the rare discovery of a ritual sacrifice of children and young llamas dating back 600 years. The finding is believed to be linked with the Chimú culture, which...
Ancient shipwreck with sacrificial altar

2,000-year-old shipwreck and sacrificial altar found near Aeolian Islands

An archaeological team equipped with a mini-submarine made a spectacular discovery while exploring in deep water around the Aeolian Islands of Pantelleria, Lipari and Panarea – a 2,000-year-old...
The practice of sacrifice in Iron Age Britain

The practice of sacrifice in Iron Age Britain

The practice of sacrifice in Britain has a long history, but was particularly prolific during the Iron Age. Nevertheless, it has long been a contested topic: how often were sacrifices made, for what...
Alken Enge and the Buried Army

Alken Enge and the Buried Army

In a dark and murky bog in the damp meadows of Alken, Denmark, archaeologists made a startling discovery – the bodies of what appeared to be an entire army of soldiers dating back some 2,000 years...
Ancient bog body found in Ireland

Ancient bog body found in Ireland may be Iron Age sacrifice

Archaeologists in Ireland made an amazing discovery this week when they unearthed another ancient bog body in County Meath, adding to the collection of ancient human remains, some incredibly well-...
Alken Enge  skulls

Ancient remains of entire army found at Alken Enge were desecrated in post-war rituals

In 2009, a dramatic discovery was made in the Alken Enge wetlands at Skanderbord in Denmark – the skeletal remains of an entire army of Iron Age warriors who had been slaughtered and tossed into the...
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...
Maya Civilization

The Mystery of the Lost Ancient Culture of the Maya – Part 2

Was the Practice of Sacrificial Rituals used as a Gateway to the Afterlife? Many ancient alien theorists suggest that the Maya’s belief in gods was based on the visitation of aliens from a more...
Pre-dynastic settlement of Nekhen

Pre-dynastic tomb sheds light on Egyptian life before Pharaohs

Earlier this month, archaeologists announced the discovery of an extremely rare tomb containing a preserved mummy and numerous artifacts, which date back to a period which predates the First...
Ancient Maya Ball Court

Archaeologists uncover ancient Maya ball court used as a ritual centre

Workers were constructing a school’s basketball court in the municipality of Maxcanu in the Yucatan region of Mexico when they stumbled upon an ancient ball game court which was used as a ritual...
Sacrificial Altar in China

Sacrificial altar uncovered in ancient Neolithic city in China

Archaeologists have uncovered a number of altar relics , including jade artefacts and pits for offerings, at the Shimao ruins, a Neolithic city in China. The findings suggest a religious culture at...
Aztec dog cemetery

Discovery of Aztec dog cemetery puzzles archaeologists

Archaeologists have discovered “an exceptional” Aztec burial site under an apartment building in Mexico City containing the remains of twelve dogs , animals that had major religious and symbolic...
Carthaginian infanticide

Carthaginian infanticide not just Roman propaganda

Recent research revealed that the Carthaginians really did kill their own infant children , a practice once dismissed as just ancient Greek and Roman propaganda. Ancient Carthage was a Semitic...
Human Bones - Aztecs ritual cannibalism

Human bones show evidence that Aztecs practiced ritual cannibalism

New research has revealed the Aztec rulers, priests, and high ranking warriors practiced cannibalism as a research rite. Evidence comes from fragments of human bones found in the Sacred Grounds of...
Tattooed Mummy

Tomb of the Tattooed Sorceress Queen, The Lady of Cao

The day had been spent in ritual battles, and a group of individuals who were vanquished, naked, and tied-together were marched up the long stairs to the top platform of the great pyramid where there...
Sacrificial Skulls in Mexico

Unusual Aztec sacrificial skulls found in Mexico subway dig

Archaeologists have made an announcement about an unusual Aztec sacrificial offering , which was found back in 2009 but kept under wraps until now. The discovery consists of a dog’s skull with holes...
Top Ten grisly Discoveries in 2013

Top ten grisly discoveries in archaeology

Archaeologists sometimes face the same gruesome discoveries that forensic scientists deal with today, having to unravel the stories behind brutal murders, sacrifices and other dark rituals. Here are...
God of Death Shrine

God of Death Shrine Unearthed in Mexico

In a discovery that would send shivers up your spine, archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History have discovered the first ever shrine dedicated to Mictlantecuhtli,...

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