Top 10 Weekly Articles

The best Ancient Origins articles for this week. Enjoy! Problem viewing email? [Click here]( to view it online. [Logo] Top Trending Articles of the Week June No. 2 [Archaeologists Found a Medieval Body With a Tumor That Was Growing Teeth – But That’s Not the Whole Story]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Erasing History: Why Islamic State is Blowing Up Ancient Artifacts [Erasing History: Why Islamic State is Blowing Up Ancient Artifacts]( One of the many tragedies that have unfolded in the wake of the Islamic State (IS) is their smashing of statues and the destruction of ancient archaeological sites. Indeed, the rapid and terrifying advance of the IS has proved fatal for much invaluable heritage. They toppled priceless statues at the Mosul Museum in northern Iraq. They used sledgehammers and power tools to deface giant winged-bull statues at Nineveh on the outskirts of Mosul. At Nimrud, IS detonated explosives, turning the site into a giant, brown, mushroom cloud... [Read More]( Did David Wyrick Find the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail Near Newark, Ohio? [Did David Wyrick Find the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail Near Newark, Ohio?]( For 157 years, archaeologists, religious scholars, anthropologist, politicians, scientists, and historians—everyone except Native Americans—have tried to prove that the two stones and one small cup David Wyrick found in a burial mound in Ohio, were forgeries. If the stones were authentic, then our theories about the peopling of the world and manifest destiny were all wrong. So, there was, and still is, a lot at stake. Wyrick was a printer/surveyor by trade living in Newark, Ohio, USA in the mid-1800s... [Read More]( [Ancient Origins Premium]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( What’s It Like to Travel the Oldest Road in the World? Think Dragon’s Blood and Neolithic Barrows [What’s It Like to Travel the Oldest Road in the World? Think Dragon’s Blood and Neolithic Barrows]( I have recently been following what may be the world’s oldest road. Remarkably, much of it still survives as an ancient track. Created around 5500 years ago, it predates the Egyptian pyramids by a thousand years and the first major urban civilization of Sumer in Mesopotamia by seven centuries. Those who built it were Stone Age people of the Neolithic period, before the invention of metal tools. Called the Ridgeway, it is 87 miles (140 kilometers) long and runs across central-southern England... [Read More]( Norimitsu Odachi: Who Could Have Possibly Wielded This Enormous 15th Century Japanese Sword? [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. The Japanese are renowned for their sword-making technology. Many varieties of blades have been produced by the swordsmiths of Japan, but arguably the one most people today are familiar... [Read More]( The Enigmatic Erdstall Tunnels of Europe: Purpose - Unknown [The Enigmatic Erdstall Tunnels of Europe: Purpose - Unknown]( An erdstall is a type of tunnel that is found throughout Europe, mainly in the south-eastern German state of Bavaria and Austria. Erdstalls are thought to have been created during the Middle Ages, though some have claimed that these tunnels date to the Stone Age. At the moment, nobody is entirely certain as to why such features were made in the first place. Those who advocate the idea that the erdstalls date to the Stone Age are of the opinion that these structures are a network of subterranean passages that stretched from Scotland... [Read More]( Buried for Almost a Millennium, Archaeologists Recover Over 1,500 Religious Artifacts at Lost Chinese Temple [Buried for Almost a Millennium, Archaeologists Recover Over 1,500 Religious Artifacts at Lost Chinese Temple]( A team of archaeologists has uncovered more than 1000 tablets inscribed with Buddhist scriptures and over 500 pieces of stone sculpture, as well as glazed tiles with inscriptions, at the site of a temple that had disappeared almost a millennium ago in China.A team of archaeologists has spent several months excavating a temple that was lost for almost a millennium in southwest China's Sichuan Province, as China.org.cn reports. The Fugan Temple, located in downtown Chengdu, was a famous temple that lasted from... [Read More]( [Changing the View on Human History]( 1,500-Year-Old Mound in England Found to be Elite Anglo Saxon Burial [1,500-Year-Old Mound in England Found to be Elite Anglo Saxon Burial]( Students at the historic British boys’ boarding school Eton College may have been using an ancient grave as a community gathering place for centuries, not realizing that the 20-foot mound near the school is really a Saxon burial monument built 1,500 years ago, possibly holding the body of an important historical figure. The University of Reading official website reports that the circular mound in Slough, England, which is more than 100 feet (30 meters) across, was built about 1,500 years ago, during the same period of time other... [Read More]( Talking Boards: Terrifying Tales of Ouija Boards and Demons, Possession, and Death [Talking Boards: Terrifying Tales of Ouija Boards and Demons, Possession, and Death]( Ouija boards, also known as talking boards or spirit boards, are a relatively modern tool/game that strikes fear and wonder in the hearts of many people. Almost everyone has heard stories of someone connecting with malevolent beings or suffering unfortunate events following the use of a Ouija board. But what’s the real story behind these terrifying tales? Spirit boards have been in use since at least the 19th century in America and rose in popularity with the interest in spiritualism – the belief that the dead can communicate with the living... [Read More]( Was Pharaoh Akhenaten so Cruel that he Forced Children to Build his City of Amarna? [Was Pharaoh Akhenaten so Cruel that he Forced Children to Build his City of Amarna?]( A recent investigation of Amarna’s cemeteries in Egypt has revealed new evidence that clearly shows that a “disposable” working staff was mainly composed of children and teenagers. Experts now suggest that those children provided much of the work for the city’s construction under cruel conditions. As The Guardian reports , a team of archaeologists led by Gretchen Dabbs of Southern Illinois University studied and examined the remains of 105 individuals whose skeletons were unearthed from the North Tombs Cemetery at Amarna... [Read More]( You Might Like [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [www.Ancient-Origins.net]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Google Plus]( [Linkedin]( Copyright [©] 2017 [Ancient Origins]( - [Stella Novus Limited](, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter list. 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