Ancient Origins Magazine

How do you keep a king humble when they rule one of the most powerful kingdoms of their era?  Once a year, you strip them of their regalia, force them to their knees and slap them hard in the face. At least, that was the tradition in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago. Times have certainly changed, though many would say our modern-day politicians could do with a good dose of Mesopotamian humbling!

Today, our leaders rarely maintain absolute, unquestioned power; prime ministers, presidents and even dictators are usually ‘moderated’ to some degree. This was not always the case in the ancient world – monarchs, pharaohs, warlords, conquerors and tyrants possessed immense power, whether for better or for worse.  A strong ruler, like Roman Emperor Augustus, could advance a nation and bring it to the forefront of culture and technology. An unrestrained emperor, like Nero or Ivan the Terrible, could cause the downfall of some of the greatest empires and civilizations of their time. 

In this issue, we shine a spotlight on some of the most famous and infamous rulers in history; we take an eye-opening look at outrageous emperors and mad monarchs; we examine rulers who were almost lost to history through the ‘punishment of non-existence’; and we question the long-accepted historical narrative – are Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, and the First Emperor of China really deserving of their ‘bad boy’ image?  

From the strong and courageous to the brutal and ruthless, the world has been forever changed by powerful rulers throughout time.

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Over the centuries, historians have told us in detail about the rise and fall of civilizations, the leaders and rulers of our world, dramatic battles and magnificent monuments, but the history of children and childhood has been strangely absent.

The invisibility of children in history and archaeology is sometimes attributed to the scarcity of historical records relating to children, and artifacts that once belonged to them. Perhaps too has been the view that children are somewhat peripheral to the most important historical subjects.

In the last few decades, however, an understanding of childhood through the ages has begun to emerge, and researchers have started to shine a spotlight on this vital aspect of human history.

The archaeological and historical record provides opportunity for the exploration of numerous aspects of childhood – an ancient, ceramic baby bottle, a child-size weapon, tiny fossilized footprints, child ‘doodles’ in medieval manuscripts, nursery rhymes, and mythological tales – they all have stories to tell about the children of our past, and in this issue we examine these records and more, offering a glimpse into what life was really like for children throughout history.

Like children traversing a river by leaping from raised stone to stone, we hop, skip, and jump across fascinating topics.  We speak with Daniel Farkas, the CEO of Drops, a language learning app that strives to preserve Ainu history by harnessing tech to teach their language before it disappears completely. Author Jonathan Perrin uncovers the connections between a heretic Egyptian Pharaoh and the most symbolic color in Judaism. And we examine the ancient origins of New Year’s resolutions, which may have been easier to adhere to in past – when giving up was akin to breaking your vows to a god.

We have found the children; they were there all along, hidden in plain sight. They were the tiny, resilient creators of history, eventually passing it down to us, the children of the future. In that way, it would seem that WE are the ‘heirs of history’, and we must pass it on as humans have done since our time began, striving to create a better world for the little ones that come after us.

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Today, the subject of ghosts is treated with fun and laughter – ghoulish costumes, stories told around campfires, and teenagers scaring themselves over a Ouija board.  But thousands of years ago, the supernatural realm was looked upon with both reverence and fear, and it played a central role in the cultural and religious practices of civilizations around the world.

In keeping with our name, Ancient Origins, we delve into the very beginning of Halloween traditions – have you ever wondered why on October 31, people carve out pumpkins, wear costumes, or go door-to-door begging for sweets? The roots of these practices go back thousands of years to the Emerald Isle of Ireland and the ancient pagan festival of Samhain.

In this issue, we dig deep, unearthing ancient beliefs about malevolent phantoms, corpse brides, and ancestor spirits. We dare to enter Loftus Hall, whose historic walls have seen invasion, capture, plague, famine, and personal tragedies, and which today has earned itself the title of ‘Ireland’s Most Haunted House’.

We learn from Medieval England that there is more than one way to keep a dead body from coming back to life! It was a time when the very real belief in zombies led people to decapitate, burn, or otherwise mutilate corpses to prevent them from rising from their graves.

And what’s Halloween without werewolves? Normally the domain of folklore and fairy tales, in this issue we hear what happened during a real modern-day werewolf hunt; the search for the Beast of Barmston Drain.

But October is about more than just Halloween. In America, there is the national holiday of Columbus Day… but who really was Christopher Columbus? Guest expert and author Manuel Rosa sets the stage for a paradigm shift in how the world sees the real man behind the name.

For many, October is a time for Diwali, the Festival of Lights, a celebration of the spiritual victory of light over dark, and knowledge over ignorance.

Speaking of light, we turn to a mysterious ancient Jewish sect that flourished in Palestine two thousand years ago. They are known as the Essenes, but they called themselves the Sons of Light. Guest author Jonathon Perrin exposes a strange connection to another ancient cult of light— that of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten.

But light cannot exist without darkness, and so into the dark we venture with author Dr. Heather Lynn who takes us back 5,000 years to the Mesopotamians who left detailed records about demons that caused havoc and sickness, and high priests who worked to cure citizens of terrifying possessions. 

Spooky stuff indeed! Happy October!

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Every corner of the Earth has now been mapped, photographed, measured and scanned and— courtesy of Google—we can explore every inch of it, from the streets of Rome to the jungles of Guatemala. But beneath our feet is a world that remains largely unseen. Google’s cameras have yet to reach the subterranean world – the endless tunnels, caves, caverns, and even cities! Perhaps that’s what makes ‘the underworld’ so captivating.  It’s a little slice of our planet that remains hidden, silent, and mysterious.

Caves have always held an attraction for humans. They have witnessed our evolution, serving as shelters, homes, refuges, and strongholds. But beyond physical need, those dark and silent spaces have served as a gateway to the ‘otherworld’. In ancient legend and mythology, they are places where the dead cross to the afterlife, and where gods and beasts dwell. 

In this issue, we visit the place where humankind first left their mark – Sterkfontein caves in South Africa – where over two million years ago, individuals from five species of pre-humans ventured underground, but never escaped alive. We dig into the world beneath Mexico’s City of the Gods, the vast labyrinth of caves and tunnels that extend below the great site of Teotihuacan. We examine the land of subterranean cities – Cappadocia, in Turkey – where for thousands of years, people carved out their lives; tombs, temples, and towns deep below the surface. And we delve into one of the most enigmatic cave systems in the Americas – Cueva de Los Tayos in Ecuador – with a first-hand account of Ancient Origins’ own expedition into this intriguing and, at times, dangerous network of caves.

We escort you through the deepest realms, journeying to the underworld, populated by gods, beasts, and characters of ancient legend; from guardians of hell in Greek, Norse, Hindu and Chinese mythology, to gods of justice, and demons of death. From the deepest chasms, we soar to the highest mountains, turning to Tibet where a very unique form of funerary rite takes place – sky burial. In these high-altitude ceremonies, human corpses are offered to vultures as a final, honorable service to nature.  

Dr Eran Elhaik, geneticist and expert on paleogenomics, has made world history by developing the first DNA test to compare modern-day people’s DNA to that of ancient people who lived thousands of years ago. Will you soon discover that you are related to a Roman gladiator…or a famous Egyptian Pharaoh? Speaking of fame, the infamous Elizabeth Bathory was a 16th-century countess recorded as one of the most prolific serial killers in history. But was she instead the victim of political betrayal?You be the judge!

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It is said that history is written by the victors, but what if it were written only by the victims? Such is the case with our knowledge of the Vikings. Their brutal savagery, their raiding and terrorizing, and their relentless, bloodthirsty attacks were recorded almost exclusively by their victims – the understandably terrified monks whose monasteries they destroyed and looted. But this must give us cause to question whether we really have the whole picture. 

There is no doubt that for coastal settlements in medieval Europe, the Vikings meant bad news. But do they really deserve their bad boy reputation, or did they just suffer from poor public relations?  

Were the Vikings really any more violent than other warriors of the period? During the same period, Christian rulers, like Charlemagne, were decapitating non-converters in their thousands, and Arab armies were raiding, invading, and plundering their way across Asia Minor. Violence hardly made the Vikings unique in the 9th and 10th centuries!

In this issue, we aim to bring together a more complete picture of the Vikings, from their invasions to their inventions, and from terror to technology. We unravel their complex beliefs about magic and the afterlife and delve into their culture, society, and even their accomplishments—presenting a picture of the Vikings that is more than beards, beer, and berserk barbarians. 

We go deep with Maritime Archaeologist Massimiliano as he and his research team rescue a Viking-style shipwreck that’s nearly 1,000 years old, using the very latest scanning technology to preserve the one-of-a-kind treasure.

Also in this edition, we delve even more into that which is hidden – the occult. Well-known horror writer HP Lovecraft penned the Necronomicon – or did he? How can a dangerous grimoire exist and yet not exist? Dr. Roberto Volterri exposes the true origin of the infamous and controversial tome.

Ancient secrets are not only for initiates. Time-honored knowledge is passed down from fathers to their children, as it has been done since time immemorial. For Father’s Day, we are reminded of fatherly advice given 4,600 years ago, from a Sumerian King to his son, that is still applicable today.

And more burning questions are answered in the strange and alarming tale of Spontaneous Human Combustion!

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