statue

13 January, 2022 - 21:53 Nathan Falde

Archaeologists Find Ultra-Rare Roman-Era Wooden Statue in Britain

In a waterlogged ditch in a field near the village of Twyford, Buckinghamshire, a team of experts working for the HS2 archaeological contractor Fusion JV were stunned but delighted to discover an...

Complete bust of female Roman statue discovered at the site of old St Mary’s church in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. Source: HS2

30 October, 2021 - 15:00 Nathan Falde

‘Astounding’ Roman Statues Found Under Medieval Church in Britain

Archaeologists digging at the site of a Norman-era church north of London received quite a surprise recently. Their ongoing excavations unearthed the well-preserved remains of three large Roman...

Danaë from the workshop of Titian at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. (Deriv.) Source: Public Domain

24 October, 2021 - 14:52 ashley cowie

Why is Social Media Afraid of the Naked Truth in Art?

Many countries, including Austria, Germany, and France, have laws prohibiting Holocaust denial. This means every year several thousands of posts are blocked by algorithms and employees of social...

The Two Egyptian sphinx statues found in a garden in Suffolk, UK. Source: Mander Auctioneers

12 October, 2021 - 22:54 ashley cowie

Egyptian Sphinx Statues Found In English Garden Fetch £200,000

A pair of 5,000-year-old Egyptian sphinx statues have sold for just under £200,000 ($270000) at auction. The owner was “shocked” having paid only £300 ($407) for the “garden ornaments”. Sphinxes are...

9 September, 2021 - 01:35 Alistair

Voices of the Dead: The Strange Origins of Eye Idols

Urfa man, known formally as the Balikligöl statue, is the oldest human-size statue of a man discovered in the world to date. He is currently housed in Şanliurfa’s Archeology Museum, Southeast Turkey...

Prehistoric Guennol Stargazer Idol to Stay in the US, Court Rules

8 September, 2021 - 22:57 ashley cowie

Prehistoric Guennol Stargazer Idol to Stay in USA, Court Rules

After eight steamy days in a U.S. court, it was ruled that a 6,000-year-old artifact will stay in the country. A Manhattan judge firmly rejected Turkish antiquities authorities’ claim for the return...

The 1,600-year-old pagan idol found in Roscommon bog, Ireland. Source: Archaeological Management Solutions/European Association of Archaeologists

14 August, 2021 - 22:54 ashley cowie

Iron Age Pagan Idol Discovered in Irish Bog

Archaeologists excavating ahead of the creation of a new road in Ireland have discovered a “massive” 1,600-year-old pagan idol. Roscommon bog occupies 343 hectares between low drumlin hills in the...

Archaeologists excavating the kouros statues at the Temple of Zeus in Euromos. Source: Anadolu Agency

13 July, 2021 - 15:02 Cecilia Bogaard

Discovery of Kouros Statues Puts Euromos Temple of Zeus Lepsynos on the Map

Archaeologists working in the province of Muğla, Turkey are celebrating an exciting archaeological find. During routine excavations and restoration work at the Temple of Zeus Lepsynos in the ancient...

Leshan Giant Buddha is the world's largest stone-carved Buddha

12 July, 2021 - 15:41 Bryan Hill

The Leshan Giant Buddha: Largest Stone Buddha in the World

Not far from the city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China, sits the Leshan Giant Buddha statue. Carved into the side of Mt. Lingyun, the colossal statue is over 1,300-years-old and is considered to...

A view of the marble head of Augustus Caesar discovered last week in Isernia, a town in south-central Italy.

12 May, 2021 - 14:32 Nathan Falde

Marble Head of Augustus Caesar Discovered Outside the Realm of Rome

A construction crew performing restoration work on historic walls in the Central Italian city of Isernia discovered something ancient and remarkable. It was a buried, sculpted marble head that had...

Conservators clean up the bronze bull idol uncovered in Olympia. Source: Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports

19 March, 2021 - 22:00 Gary Manners

Beautiful Bronze Bull Idol Revealed By Rains In Olympia

A 2,700-year-old bronze bull idol has ‘come to light’ during excavations at the ancient site of Olympia in Greece. The stunning and perfectly preserved artifact is thought to have been a votive...

28 February, 2021 - 22:08 B. B. Wagner

The Curse of the Mijikenda Vigango Statues

During the 1980s, Coastal Kenya experienced the largest heist of ancestral artifacts in history. Over 300 wooden Vigango statues were taken from the sacred grounds of several Mijikenda tribes. These...

Giant Face of Ucanha: Giant Sculpted Mayan Mask Found in Mexico

26 January, 2021 - 22:00 Nathan Falde

Giant Face of Ucanha: Huge Sculpted Mayan Mask Found in Mexico

In the southeastern Mexican state of Yucatán on the Yucatán Peninsula, an archaeological team digging at a lightly explored site near the tiny, picturesque village of Ucanha uncovered something...

11 January, 2021 - 22:02 Nathan Falde

Mexican Farmers Unearth Ancient Statue of Elite Mesoamerican Woman

Farmers tilling the soil in a citrus grove in the Huasteca region along Mexico ’s Gulf Coast unearthed something ancient and unusual. Hitting a hard object they assumed was a rock, the farmers dug...

Pharoah’s Little Helpers: The Shabti Funerary Statuettes of the Ancient Egyptians

29 December, 2020 - 17:31 dhwty

Pharaoh’s Little Helpers: The Shabti Funerary Statuettes of the Ancient Egyptians

A shabti is a funerary figurine used by the ancient Egyptians. These statuettes were placed in tombs as grave goods and were believed to function as servants for the deceased in the afterlife...

28 December, 2020 - 17:54 ashley cowie

Alabaster Priest Effigy Discovered Behind St. Wilfrid’s Church Organ

A mystery alabaster statue has been discovered during the renovation of a medieval English village church. The stone holy man was discovered during the restoration of England’s 10th century, Anglo...

Pages

Myths & Legends

The Green Children of Woolpit, created from Babes in the Wood illustration by Randolph Caldecott. Source: Project Gutenberg / Public Domain

The Green Children of Woolpit: Legendary Visitors from Another World

The 12th century tale of the Green Children of Woolpit, in Suffolk, is a bizarre medieval folk story which has been remembered for generations. It isn’t often we hear of children appearing at the edge of a field,

The Erlking: The Powerful Germanic Mythical Snatcher of Children

Haunted Mirrors, Bloody Mary and Superstitious Mirror Mythology

Lovelock Cave: A Tale of Giants or A Giant Tale of Fiction?

The Disturbing True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin

Time Travel: From Ancient Mythology to Modern Science

Human Origins

Early man looking up at the stars (Kovalenko I / Adobe Stock)

Translation of 5,500-Year-Old Babel Text from China Reveals Oldest Known Map of Inner Solar System

It is obvious to any astronomer that some of the brightest objects in the night sky are the planets. It is thus mysterious that there are so few references to the planets in ancient literature.

Betrayed by the Acts of Others? The Events that Led to Prometheus’s Perennial Punishment

The Faces of Ancient Hominids Brought to Life in Remarkable Detail

3: The Perfect Number - Trinity Symbolism in World Religious Traditions

Top Ten Giant Discoveries in Ancient Britain

The Theory of ‘Three Human Species’

Ancient Technology

The mummified remains of Usermontu, Rosicrucian San Jose Museum

Medical Mystery of Usermontu: Why the Discovery of 2,600-Year-Old Knee Screw Left Experts Dumbfounded

In 1971, the Rosicrucian Museum in California acquired a sealed ancient Egyptian coffin containing the well-preserved mummy of a high status Egyptian male. More than two decades later, a team of...

The Stonehenge Calendar: A Prehistoric Approach to Time’s Passing

The Indian Sage who developed Atomic Theory 2,600 years ago

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

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

Dujiangyan: The 2,200-Year-Old Chinese Irrigation System That is Still Used Today!

Ancient Places

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).

New Greco-Roman Tomb with 20 Mummies Found in Aswan

World’s Oldest Surviving Amphitheater Preserved at Pompeii

Remembering the Barbary Slaves: White Slaves and North African Pirates

The Judean Date Palm: Extinct Tree Resurrected from Ancient Seeds

Kings Weston Roman Villa, Where a Murder Lay Hidden for 1500 Years

Opinion

The Shepherds of Arcadia, by Nicolas Poussin, is reproduced on the Shepherd’s Monument, along with the Shugborough Inscription. Source: Public domain

The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription

In the grounds of Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire, England, sits an 18th-century monument known as the Shepherd’s Monument. The monument contains a relief, depicting a copy of a Nicolas

Palatkwapi-Sedona: City of the Star People

The Icelandic Theory: Experts Challenge Establishment Dogma to Reveal History of Ivory Vikings

Winter Solstice Resurrection At Saqsayhuaman and Newgrange

Buddhism in Ancient Egypt and Meroe – Beliefs Revealed Through Ancient Script

Baltinglass Hill: Ireland’s Forgotten Gobekli Tepi?

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 exist 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.