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A 17th century painting of Heraclitus, by Johannes Moreelse.

5 May, 2020 - 19:17 dhwty

Heraclitus: Eminent Doctrines of a Pre-Socratic Riddler who Loved Conflict

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a Pre-Socratic philosopher who lived during the 6th century BC. He wrote a book which recorded his controversial philosophical thoughts. This book, which was deposited in...

An image showing direct comparisons between the Shakespeare of the Cobbe Portrait, the Chandos Portrait and the Droeshout Engraving. Source: Brice Stratford / Public domain

24 April, 2020 - 02:01 ancient-origins

Archaeology Is Revealing New Clues About Shakespeare’s Life

William Mitchell / The Conversation William Shakespeare is widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time and one of the most important and influential people who has ever lived. His...

Ancient saint. Credit: Peer Marlow / Adobe Stock

16 February, 2020 - 14:02 dhwty

Saint Hildegard of Bingen – Visionary, Mystic, Writer, and Composer

Saint Hildegard of Bingen is arguably one of the most remarkable women of the Middle Ages . During her lifetime, she was abbess, mystic, visionary, and composer. In addition, she was a respected...

Detail of ‘Solitude’ (circa 1890) by Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton.

14 February, 2018 - 22:56 ancient-origins

Alone Need Not Be Lonely: What Joyous Solitude of Early Hermits Can Teach Us

Kim Haines-Eitzen / The Conversation In today’s world, loneliness seems to have reached epidemic proportions. Countless studies have highlighted the serious and negative impact that loneliness has on...

Detail of a relief of Herodotus by Jean-Guillaume Moitte, 1806. Cour Carrée in the Louvre Palace, Paris, France.

5 November, 2017 - 12:49 dhwty

Picking Apart the Words of Herodotus: Was He a Father of Histories or Lies?

“I owe it to tell what is being told, but I by no means owe it to believe it”. Herodotus, [Book 7.153-2] Herodotus was an ancient Greek writer who lived during the 5th century BC. He was born in what...

Scene of destruction in the film “Pompeii 3d” (2014). (La Stampa/CC BY NC ND) Insert: Remains of a skull attributed to Pliny the Elder from the Museo di Storia dell'Arte Sanitaria in Rome.

8 September, 2017 - 14:04 Alicia McDermott

Researchers Look to Crowdfunding to Identify the Skull of Pompeii Hero Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, was an influential administrator, officer, and author in ancient Rome. His life ended suddenly with the deadly eruption of Mount Vesuvius in...

Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi (1785) by Angelica Kauffman.

19 February, 2017 - 01:59 Natalia Klimczak

Who was Cornelia Africana and How Did She Become the Prototype of the Virtuous Roman Woman?

The life of Cornelia Africana could be the basis for a fascinating Hollywood super-production. Since the beginning, her tale was nothing but an adventurous story about a woman whose extraordinary...

Deriv; Marco Polo travels by camel caravan and a modern re-imagining of Marco Polo

5 November, 2016 - 02:15 Ken Jeremiah

Is Marco Polo a Fictional Character? Challenging the Historical Tale of the Merchant Traveler

Based upon historical analyses, it is unlikely that a person named Marco Polo who visited China in the 1200’s existed. Before presenting this argument, here is an analogy: if people do not know that...

The "Disk of Enheduanna" at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

17 July, 2016 - 03:47 Natalia Klimczak

The Poetry of Gods by Enheduanna - The First Known Female Writer

It is not always easy to read the stories of real people from the artifacts they left behind. This is especially true if they lived 5,000 years ago. However, the story of a remarkable woman from that...

25 March, 2016 - 13:50 dhwty

Charles Fort: Pioneer in the Search for Scientific Anomalies or Anti-dogmatist who Collected Bizarre Stories?

Charles Hoy Fort was an American “self-educated newspaperman, modestly-successful short story writer, unsuccessful novelist and inventor, and eccentric natural philosopher,” regarded by some,...

24 February, 2016 - 03:48 dhwty

Thucydides: General, Historian, and the Father of Scientific History

Thucydides was an Athenian general and historian, most notable for his work known as the History of the Peloponnesian War . Whilst Herodotus, a near-contemporary of his, is often hailed as the Father...

Fresco of Dante and the Divine Comedy (1465), Domenico di Michelino, Florence cathedral, Italy

20 August, 2015 - 23:57 Riley Winters

A Pilgrimage of Thought: the Politician, Poet, and Pilgrim called Dante Alighieri

Born in Florence in the late thirteenth century, Dante Alighieri would grow up to become one of the most famed and well-read authors of the Italian Middle Ages. The scope of his political and...

21 April, 2014 - 04:01 aprilholloway

Two 26th dynasty tombs unearthed in Egypt containing mummies and fascinating grave goods

Two ancient Egyptian tombs have been discovered by a Spanish – Egyptian team at the Al-Bahnasa archaeological site located in Minya, Egypt, according to a new report in Ahram Online . The ancient...

Myths & Legends

The Penteli Cave Enigma – A Place of Unexplained Phenomena Since Ancient Times

Mount Pentelicus, a mountain near Athens, Greece, has been an important area for thousands of years. It is the location of the ancient quarry from which marble was cut to build the Parthenon and other great structures in the city of Athens during its golden age.

The Life and Death of Ramesses II

The Knights of Blanik Mountain Are Ready to Face the Darkest Hour

The Dramatic True Story Behind Disney's Mulan

The Real Story of Medusa: Protective Powers from a Snake-Haired Gorgon

The Bizarre Tales of Four Lesser Known English Mermaids

Human Origins

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts

Sumer, or the ‘land of civilized kings’, flourished in Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq, around 4500 BC. Sumerians created an advanced civilization with its own system of elaborate language and writing, architecture and arts, astronomy and mathematics.

Surprising Links Between Pharaoh Akhenaten and the Jewish New Year

Romulus and Remus, Osiris and Moses: Are the Storytelling Similarities a Mere Coincidence?

The Nephilim: Giant Offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Man?

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

From jewel-capped teeth to golden bridges – 9,000 years of dentistry

Ancient Technology

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

The Norimitsu Odachi is a huge sword from Japan. It is so large, in fact, that it was said to have been wielded by a giant. Apart from the basic knowledge of it having been forged in the 15th century AD, measuring 3.77 meters (12.37 ft.) in length, and weighing as much as 14.5 kg (31.97 lbs.), this impressive sword is shrouded in mystery.

Ten amazing inventions from ancient times

Secrets Behind the Creepy Plague Doctor Mask and Costume

Bombshell Study Calls Astronomical Theories of the Nebra Sky Disk “Obsolete”

The Evidence is Cut in Stone: A Compelling Argument for Lost High Technology in Ancient Egypt

6 Advanced Ancient Inventions Beyond Modern Understanding

Ancient Places

Representations in the Boxer Codex of two of the ethnic groups of people living in the Pre-Colonial Philippines - A Zambal Couple (Public Domain) and Pintados of the Visayas (Leyte or Samar). (Public Domain)

The Rarely Told Story of Pre-Colonial Philippines

The Philippines were ruled by Western powers - first the Spanish and later the United States, for some 350 years.

Abyssinia and the Ethiopian Empire: The Ancient History of a Struggling Nation

Varna Man and the Wealthiest Grave of the 5th Millennium BC

Kyffhäusen Castle, Germany: When the Ravens Vanish, Barbarossa Will Return

Canada’s Spotted Lake: The Most Alien-Looking Lake on Earth

Bardsey Island – A Small Land for 20,000 Holy Souls

Opinion

3 Problems to Remember When Trying to Find Atlantis

It is perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery of all time: Did the lost city of Atlantis actually exist? And if it did once exist, where was it located before its watery demise? Fortunately, the...

Naupa Iglesia: An Egyptian Portal in the Andes?

The Nephilim: Giant Offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Man?

Mount Shasta: Spirits and Danger on a Sacred California Mountain

Mysterious Worlds: Travels to the Faerie and Shamanic Realms

Pharaoh Akhenaten: An Alternative View of the Heretic King

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.