Ancient Origins

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A Sinister Plot to Eliminate the Sun King: The Assassination of Akhenaten—Part I

The Pharaoh clearly had enough of life at Thebes (Waset). His determined attempts to introduce Atenism—a syncretism of the Memphis-Heliopolis solar …

17th Century Letter Allegedly Written by Possessed Nun Decoded For the First Time

After 341 years, a mysterious jumble of archaic script allegedly written by an Italian nun possessed by Satan has finally been unraveled. Scientists …

Are There Hidden Depths to the Golden Lozenge of Stonehenge?

Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England is famous throughout the world and it remains today a place of extreme reverence. The …

Hurricane Irma Uncovers a Rare Native American Canoe in Florida

Hurricane Irma is believed to have unearthed what could be a centuries-old Native American canoe along the Indian River in Florida. The canoe was …

In Search of King Alcinous: Who were the Legendary Phaeacians?

The mythological Alcinous and his kingdom have remained one of the most mysterious and elusive topics of ancient Greek literature. Not much is known …

Thunder god and Skywoman – Myth and History of the Iroquois: Exploring a First Nations Tradition

Every year, western scholars look with wonder to the ancient mythologies, ruins, and histories of such places as Egypt, Greece, and the Near East. …

The Roman Pantheon: National Treasure and Legacy of a Powerful Empire

Anyone who has paid a visit to Rome will know that around just about every corner of the historic center lies a reminder of Rome’s glorious and …

Do You Have the Magic Touch? Chicago Library Appeals to Public for Help Transcribing Magical Manuscripts

Do you have a talent in solving magical puzzles and manuscripts? Do you have a penchant for casting spells? Well, if that’s the case, Chicago's …

Long Lost Golden Age - Just a Myth?

The myth and folklore of ancient cultures speak of a vast cycle of time with alternating dark and golden ages; Plato called it the Great Year. Most …

How Fashion Adapted to Climate Change – In the Little Ice Age

One could say the consequences of the planet’s warming climate can be seen on fashion week runways and the shelves of Anthropologie and H&M. …

Recently Discovered 6 Million-Year-Old Hominin Footprints Have Just Been Vandalized and Some Stolen

There has been a lot of interest in our discovery of nearly-6m-year-old footprints on Crete, first reported by the The Conversation – suggesting that …

Was the Devil’s Dyke in England once Part of the Legendary City of Troy?

In a small village northeast of Cambridge, near the most northern route of the ancient Icknield Way, a great 'dyke' emerges smoothly from the ground …

Oldest Royal Tomb of the Classic Maya Centipede Dynasty is Unearthed in Guatemala

The Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala has declared the excavation of a royal tomb pertaining to a mature man at the Classic Maya city of …

The Real Story of Shamanism: No Need to Don a Headdress or Take Hallucinogens

Over the centuries, many of the world’s natural mystics have succumbed to pogroms of elimination or the steady erosion of traditional practices – …

Exploring an Ancient and Undeciphered Language: Eteocypriot and the Amathus Bilingual Inscription

An English architect by profession and self-trained in the discipline and studies of linguistics and ancient history, Michael Ventris would be the …

Earthquake Faults May Have Shaken up the Cultural Practices of Ancient Greece

The Ancient Greeks may have built sacred or treasured sites deliberately on land previously affected by earthquake activity, according to a new study …

The Ascension of Gilgamesh: Did the Epic Hero Actually Exist?

<i>The Epic of Gilgamesh</i> is widely recognized and frequently a required reading for world literature courses. The poem is considered a masterpiece in …

A Warrior’s Face Frozen in Time, Gold, Hemp, Tents and Cheese Tell the Scythian Tale

The Scythians were a mysterious and fascinating people. They were nomads and left no known writing, yet their elaborate burials and tattoos have …

The Rocks, Stained Red with Blood: A Son of Hercules Slew Giants at Salcombe, Devon?

The myth of Brutus of Troy is well over a thousand years old, yet it continues to fascinate and current scholarship seeks to find new truths hidden …

The Famous Ancient Chinese Inventions of Zhang Heng

Zhang Heng (78-139 AD) was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, inventor, geographer, cartographer, artist, poet, statesman, and literary scholar …

Why Your Ancestors Would Have Aced the Long Jump

This tiny ankle bone belonged to one of the earliest members of the primate family tree. The 52-million-year-old fossil suggests that the first …

Ancient Stones of Australia: A Mysterious Series of Rock Arrangements and Placements that Defy Conventional Historical Accounts

My son Evan and I have written extensively about the site Frederic Slater, President of the Australian Archaeological Education and Research Society, …