Wales

4 March, 2019 - 18:52 Ed Whelan

How the Welsh Flag Became the Coolest Flag in the World

One of the most striking national flags is that of Wales. In an online poll, it was voted the coolest of all the over 200 national flags around the globe. Its main feature is a dragon , that is meant...

On Left – Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Edward I. On Right – Early fourteenth-century manuscript showing Edward I and his wife Eleanor

15 December, 2018 - 22:55 dhwty

Edward I was a Strong and Formidable King Whose Presence Once Caused A Man to Die of Fright!

Edward I (known also as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots) was an English king who lived during the 13 th and 14 th centuries AD. Edward belonged to the House of Plantagenet, whose...

11 December, 2018 - 13:59 Mark Miller

King Offa of Mercia: A Ruthless Anglo-Saxon Hellbent on Power and Prestige

One of the most prominent Anglo-Saxon kings, Offa of Mercia in southern England, came to power upon the murder of his cousin, King Aethelbald. He went on to rule for 39 years and consolidated much of...

On Left - Miniature of Egbert, first king of England. On Right Top - Coin of King Egbert of Wessex. On Right Bottom - The entry for 827 in the C manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle listing the territories he brought together to unite England. Source: Left, Public Domain; Right Top, Public Domain; Right Bottom, Public Domain.

8 December, 2018 - 01:47 Mark Miller

King Egbert of Wessex Conquers all to Become Bretwalda, the First King of a United England

King Egbert, later designated the first king of England, began his reign in the 9 th century, when England was fragmented into multiple small kingdoms and under attack by Norsemen. He was one of the...

27 November, 2018 - 18:13 Veronica Parkes

The Silures Tribe: Rome’s Biggest Headache Hailed from Wales?

The people of Wales are fiercely proud of who they are, where they come from, and above all, their ability to remain a distinct people in the face of conquest. One such tribe in the south of Wales...

4 October, 2018 - 01:14 dhwty

Bryn Celli Ddu: Ancient Stone Circle and Passage Tomb Was for the Living and the Dead

Stonehenge is arguably one of the most iconic prehistoric monuments in the UK. Nevertheless, this ancient structure is just one of many henges found across the country. The fame gained by Stonehenge...

7 July, 2018 - 13:45 Mark Miller

Bronze Age gold rings of a high-status person found in Wales

Two gold rings, possibly used as earrings or to hold hair in place, were found in Rosset, Wrexham, Wales. Archaeologists say the rings date back 3,000 years to the Bronze Age. The person who wore the...

14 April, 2018 - 14:00 Riley Winters

Spooning in Early Modern Wales: The Sweet Symbolism of a Welsh Love Spoon

Roses are red Violets are blue, Presenting a spoon Means I love you While one often thinks of presenting his/her loved ones with flowers or candy as a gesture of romance, it was once more common to...

Amerigo Vespucci meeting fair skinned and blond natives upon his arrival on his first voyage to the New World, 1497.

18 April, 2017 - 18:55 Caleb Strom

Did a Welsh Prince Reach the New World Before Columbus?

The Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506 AD) has already been dethroned as the European discoverer of the Americas. Most historians now agree that the first known Europeans in the New...

28 January, 2017 - 02:04 Riley Winters

The Last of the Welsh Lords: Llywelyn Ap Gruffydd

Father, fighter, and final, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was born around 1223 AD and was the last Welsh ruler of Wales. The second son of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr (himself the illegitimate son of Llywelyn...

9 January, 2017 - 03:54 ancient-origins

Archaeology Graduate Discovered Lost City of Trellech After Using Life Savings to Buy Field

The tale of how an amateur archaeologist’s hunch led him to uncover a lost medieval town and spend £32,000 of his own money to buy the land, would stand to be the archaeological discovery of any year...

26 December, 2016 - 03:52 ancient-origins

Blood, Meat, and Beer? The Feasts that May Have Been Created in a Fulacht Fiadh Burnt Mound

Dotting the landscapes of Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales, fulachtaí fia remain a mystery from millennia gone by. The most common type of prehistoric archaeological site in Ireland, fulachtaí...

8 September, 2016 - 14:47 Natalia Klimczak

The Strange Story of the Black Prince of Canterbury

Amongst the coffins in the Canterbury cathedral, visitors can find the tombstone of Edward of Woodstock, also known as the Black Prince. The 14th prince was the eldest son of King Edward III and...

A painting of Snowdonia in Wales by Mansel Lewis.

7 July, 2016 - 00:44 Natalia Klimczak

The Tragic Tale of Welsh Goddess Branwen and her Death by Broken Heart

Branwen is an ancient Goddess from Wales. She is also a major character of the famous book Mabinogi (Mabinogion). Although she is often related to folklore, there are some interesting pieces of...

7 June, 2016 - 00:52 Natalia Klimczak

Is Stonehenge a Prehistoric Ancestor of the Flatpack Furniture?

Researchers believe that before Stonehenge appeared in England, it once stood as a Welsh tomb and had a special meaning to the people who decided to transport it to their new settlement. According to...

Aberystwyth Castle, Wales

Pages

Myths & Legends

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

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

In contrast to many theorists, this unconventional retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens.

The notorious and much feared ancient order of Hashshashins

The Epic of Gilgamesh Unveiled: Enlightenment and Source of Religions

English Nursery Rhymes with Unexpected and Sometimes Disturbing Historical Origins

Say the Magic Word: The Origins of Abracadabra

The Powerful Symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000 Year History

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

This retelling of key parts of the Epic explores the unconventional idea that Gilgamesh was not searching for life eternal on Earth, as has been suggested as the theme of the Epic, but was instead searching for the means of transport to return to his goddess mother Ninsun’s home planet in the heavens. Taking poetic licence, the author merges some ideas from modern science and technology with the story from the ancient text.

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

Legendary Locks: Can Hair Act as a Sixth Sense, Protecting us from Danger?

Do you dare enter a fairy ring? The mythical mushroom portals of the supernatural

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

The revolutionary invention of the wheel

Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword?

The incredible earthquake detector invented nearly 2,000 years ago

The legacy of Dujiangyan: China’s ancient irrigation system

Ancient Places

Sumer: Where Written Language, Arithmetic and Civilization Were Born

The Sumerian civilization (known also as Sumer) was one of the earliest civilizations in the world. This ancient civilization emerged in the region of southern Mesopotamia (modern day southern Iraq), between the Tigris and Euphrates River.

Homer’s Iliad Casts Doubt on the Aegean Location of Troy

Is Makhunik an Ancient City of Little People?

Fuerte De Samaipata - A Site of Ceremonial Carvings and Sacrifice

Mystery Hill Megaliths May Be 4,000 Years Old—Did Celts Build It?

Explaining the Fall of the Great Akkadian Empire

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.