There are discoveries that force you to rewrite the pages of history, there are those that open unknown pages, and there are also downright scary ones that terrify. It is the latter that will be discussed in this review.
Neanderthals are cannibals.
Spain. In 1994, deep in the darkness of El Sidron, a cave system in northwestern Spain, scientists discovered the bones of 12 Neanderthals. The 51,000-year-old skeletons belonged to a family of 3 children, 3 teenagers and 6 adults. Modern methods Forensic tests revealed that the family had been killed and eaten by another group of Neanderthals. Bones and skulls were opened for removal bone marrow and brain.
Burial of babies.
Israel. One of the most gruesome recent archaeological discoveries was made in southern Israel. In ancient seaport More than a hundred infant skeletons were discovered in Ashkelon. The skeletons were found to date back to the Roman era. Who these children were and why they were killed remains a mystery.
Hobbit skeletons.
Indonesia. Indonesia's Flores Island was the site of an extraordinary discovery in 2003 when scientists discovered the bones of a small ancient hominid, Homo Floresiensis, also known as "the hobbit." At first, researchers believed that the bones may have belonged to a person with microcephaly (a condition that results in a small head size and short stature), but later the discovery of other skeletons of an equally small size led to the assumption that "hobbits" are not just tiny people, but separate species.
Surrey ghost car.
England. Accidents are common enough on the A3 motorway in England that police in Surrey were not at all surprised when the station received a call saying a car had driven off the road into a ditch with its headlights on. But when officers went to the call, they found no signs of an accident. During a further search, just 20 meters from the supposed scene of the accident, the remains of a broken car were found in the undergrowth, the remains of a body were “driving” young man. According to police estimates, he crashed 5 months ago.
Headless Vikings.
England. In June 2009, archaeologists made a stunning discovery in the seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. During the construction of the Weymouth Road, a Roman mass grave was discovered containing the remains of 54 beheaded warriors and 51 skulls. Experts believe the Vikings may have been executed for treason.
The Man from Sligo.
Ireland. When a 215-year-old birch tree in Sligo, Ireland was uprooted by a severe storm in 2014, its exposed roots revealed a gruesome discovery. They found the skeleton of a young man, now known as the Sligo Man. Further analysis showed that the man lived in the early Middle Ages, between 1030 and 1200 BC. e. He was between 17 and 20 years old at the time of his death. Given the damage to the bones, he was probably killed.
Skeleton puzzle.
The discovery of a human skeleton is a bit creepy, but what followed the discovery of four prehistoric mummies in Scotland's Outer Hebrides in 2001 absolutely horrified scientists. Radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis revealed that each mummy was actually made from body parts from several different people, "composed" to look like one person.
Bonus: Scotland
For many years before the Protestant Reformation, St. Mary's Chapel in St. Nicholas Church in Aberdeen, Scotland, was always a quiet, secluded place for Catholic women who came to pray there. However, a few decades after the Reformation, the chapel began to be used for much more terrible purposes. Historians have recently discovered evidence that the chapel served as a prison for those suspected of witchcraft, with would-be "witches" held there until trial and execution.
Place of mass death.
USA. In 1971, paleontologists discovered a mass death site in an Idaho cornfield. On the site of the former lake there were about 200 skeletons of various animals. The animals probably died by suffocation under a deep layer of volcanic ash about 12 million years ago.
The "oldest" leper.
India. In 2009, a 4,000-year-old skeleton with obvious signs of leprosy was discovered in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The terrible discovery immediately became the oldest known archaeological evidence terrible disease. The fact that it was the skeleton that was buried suggests that the person was an exile (according to Hindu traditions, the dead are cremated).
Vampire graves.
Poland. Archaeologists excavating a medieval cemetery in the Polish town of Kaldus have discovered 14 so-called vampire graves. In medieval times, people believed in the existence of vampires, and they used several methods to “cure” vampirism. Some of the supposed vampires were beheaded, others were buried face down, and most of the coffins were covered with stones to prevent the undead from escaping their graves.
Dead skier.
Italy. In 2015, the remains of Canadian skier Gregory Barnes were discovered in the Italian Alps. The creepy part of the story is the fact that the skier was actually buried under the snow for 35 years before he was found. Italian authorities who made the discovery said a hotter-than-usual summer caused the glacier to melt, revealing the remains. Barnes' body was found in a crevasse along with his passport, which was used to establish his identity.
Mummies of frozen children.
Argentina. In 1999, archaeologists at the Llullaillaco volcano in Argentina made a stunning discovery when they discovered three mummified children who had been left to freeze on the side of the volcano during an old Incan sacrificial rite. Such rituals were often performed by the ancient Incas to mark important events or prevent natural disasters.
Headless gladiators.
England. In 2005, a number of mysterious skeletons dating back to the Roman Empire were discovered in York, Northern England. All the skeletons belonged to people who had been beheaded. All the men died relatively young, all were above average height for people of the period, and all were buried with weapons in their hands. Therefore, experts believe that the mysterious people were gladiators.
The fetus inside the bishop's coffin.
Sweden. Researchers from Lund University, Sweden, were surprised when they conducted computed tomography mummified Scandinavian bishop. They found the remains of a small baby trapped under the bishop's feet. Researchers believe the fetus may be related to the bishop. Another theory is that perhaps it was an illegitimate dead child that someone wanted to give a proper burial.
Severed legs.
Canada. In the Canadian province of British Columbia, one of the most terrible and incomprehensible discoveries was made in the last few decades. Since 2007, at least 16 severed human legs covered in sneakers have been found on the shore here (from Jedediah Island to Botanical Beach). Although some of the legs have been identified, it is still unknown why they were cut off and how they ended up at sea.
Let us remind you that in Israel, in the city of Jerusalem, archaeologists discovered a strange burial. Near human remains
Note that the discovery of Israeli archaeologists has turned the usual idea of Neanderthals upside down. During excavations in northern Israel, the remains of Neanderthals were found buried outside a cave: a tooth and fragments lower limbs men aged 15-22 years.
We previously reported that 700 km from the capital Lima, a tomb was found with the remains of nine men who were sacrificed during a religious ritual.
During excavations, first of all, great attention is paid to the discovered antiquities - be it dusty clay shards or luxuriously painted frescoes. But sometimes on the surface there are no less interesting finds that can tell no less about bygone days than the artifacts themselves.
1. Smiling Potty
It's not so common to find an ancient potter with a sense of humor. When archaeologists dug up a 4,000-year-old pot, it “smiled” at them. In 2017, when another broken pot was discovered in Turkey near the Syrian border during excavations that had been going on for 7 years, it seemed that there was nothing unusual about it. But when the restoration team collected the fragments into a large pot-bellied pot, they noticed something very familiar modern people- smiley.
Around 1700 BC. someone squeezed out a pair of eyes in wet clay and emphasized them with a “smile.” A white vessel with one handle, which was used for drinking sherbet, is now considered the oldest smiley face in history. The place where it was found is called Karkamis, and it once belonged to the Hittites.
2. Paleonora
In the 2000s, Brazilian geologists began finding strange caves. Most of them were long arched tunnels with perfectly level floors that merged into complex underground networks of chambers and passages. All signs pointed to the fact that these caves were not created by any natural geological process. But what made entire networks of tunnels and caves so huge that a person can walk at full height?
The solution was suggested by deep grooves found on the ceilings and walls, which, after closer examination, turned out to be ancient claw marks. But what makes it all really strange is the scale of the so-called “paleonora”. They are huge, even for the extinct giant sloths or armadillos, which are considered the most likely creators of these structures.
The largest hole was discovered in the state of Rondonia. The total length of its passages was 610 meters, while the tunnels were 1.8 meters high and 1.5 meters wide. To create just this hole, it was necessary to dig 4,000 cubic meters of rock. There is no explanation why the animals needed such elaborate shelters or why there are no such burrows in North America, even though giant sloths and armadillos also lived there thousands of years ago.
3. Resin in the burial ground
A 27-meter long ship that was used as a tomb was excavated near the River Deben in England. In fact, the discovery took place eight decades ago at Sutton Hoo, an ancient cemetery considered one of the most important burial grounds in Britain. As scientists suggest, the ship with precious metals and stones is the tomb of King Raedwald, who died in 624 or 625 AD.
Most intriguing was the black substance found throughout the boat. It was originally thought to be a waterproofing agent. But thanks to better technology that became available in 2016, repeated tests showed an unexpected result. The resinous material was rare species bitumen, which is found exclusively in the Middle East. But what this bitumen did on the ship is not clear. It may have been exported at that time.
4. Prints on the sarcophagus
In 2005, a restoration team worked on the sarcophagus in Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum. The coffin belonged to a priest named Nespavershefit, who died around 1000 BC. Unexpectedly, under the lid, dirty fingerprints were found from the artisan who made the coffin 3,000 years ago.
For some reason, the ancient workers treated the inner lid before the varnish had dried. As a result of such impatience, their prints were preserved for posterity. They were not revealed until 11 years later in 2016, when the unusual "artifact" was included in the first major exhibition dedicated to Egyptian artists and how their styles developed over more than 4,000 years.
5. Chrysocolla amulet
The Egyptians took flowers seriously and gave each their own meaning and qualities. Researchers knew that green symbolized growth, harvest and health in Egypt. This was important enough to place scarabs carved from green stone next to the heart of mummies. But no one suspected why green also occupied an important place when it came to Egyptian children. According to ancient records and hieroglyphs, young people even wore green makeup.
A recent discovery shows that Egyptian parents believed the color could protect their offspring. When examining the child's mummy, a leather bag with a bright green chrysocolla amulet was discovered on the body. When the child died 4,700 years ago, malachite was the most readily available green mineral in Egypt. Chrysocolla was a rare commodity, available only in the Sinai and East Egyptian desert.
A similar chrysocolla figurine of a boy supports the theory that a certain green mineral was used only by children. Several experts agree that an amulet found on a toddler who died of malaria was likely intended to ensure health and safety in the afterlife.
6. Scythian burial mounds
When archaeologist Andrei Belinsky excavated another mound in Russia, he found something he had kept secret for years. It was a Scythian tomb belonging to a mysterious nomadic people, after whom nothing remained but thousands of burial mounds. It's no surprise that any new information about their culture is highly valued by scientists. In 2013, Belinsky's team found a hidden underground chamber containing 2,400-year-old gold jewelry and vessels. To avoid looting, the discovery was kept silent. During the research, a lot of new things emerged about Everyday life Scythians
WITH inside One container contained a sticky black residue that was identified as cannabis and opium. This is the first confirmation of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus' claim that nomads used drugs during rituals. Scenes of violence were depicted on the outer surface of this vessel. Another vessel depicts scenes that clearly reflect the cruel Scythian afterlife. In them, Scythians fight each other, and an old man kills a boy.
7. St. Francis Bread
The monks from the Folloni monastery faced a harsh and hungry winter. As the 700-year-old legend says, one night an angel brought bread and left it on the threshold of the monastery. The monks believed that the food was sent by Saint Francis of Assisi, who was in France at that time. The monks even considered the bag containing the bread a shrine and kept it for seven centuries. Scientists decided to check the old legend and tested the preserved piece of the bag.
It turned out that the age of the fabric dates back to approximately 1220-1295 years, i.e. coincides perfectly with the year when the miracle happened (1224). The scientists then examined the inner surface of the textiles and discovered ergosterol. This biomarker is commonly found in molds associated with baking, brewing and agriculture. Most likely, the medieval material came into contact with bread. These data, together with the age of the relic, confirm the myth.
8. New Testament stained with urine
Another religious artifact from Italy is an incomplete Bible called the Purple Rossan Codex. The manuscript contains only the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the 1,500-year-old book is among the oldest New Testament manuscripts and has long puzzled scholars with its purple pages (dyes were very difficult to make in those days). It was originally assumed that the parchment was treated with a substance secreted by sea slugs of the genus Murex.
In 2016, when conducting X-ray fluorescence, scientists were unable to detect bromine on the pages (and it should be contained in substances obtained from slugs). As a result, it turned out that the manuscript was treated with orcein (a natural dye extracted from lichens), and also... fermented urine. The processing process required the presence of ammonia, and at that time there was no other source of ammonia other than urine.
9.
In 2010, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities experienced a real panic. Something began to happen in the tomb of Tutankhamun that scientists could not explain. Brown stains began to appear on almost every surface, including frescoes, whitewash on the walls, and even silver. Concerned that tourists' breath was stimulating microbial growth, the council called in experts from Los Angeles. The stains actually turned out to be bacteria that had been dead for thousands of years. These organisms led to the emergence of another mystery.
Firstly, they could not be identified using DNA analysis; scientists could only establish that it was a fungus. Secondly, the presence of this fungus added questions about the already mysterious pharaoh. Tutankhamun died quite suddenly at the age of just 19 about 3,000 years ago. It seems that he was buried just as quickly. The best guess is that Tutankhamun died without his own pyramid.
As you know, the pharaohs prepared resting places long before death. In this case, the tomb was erected in as soon as possible, hastily prepared and sealed while the frescoes and plaster were still wet. This moisture, combined with skin cells and the workers' breath, resulted in germs. Similar stains have not been found in any other Egyptian tomb. Therefore, it is a real mystery: why they were in such a hurry to bury the pharaoh.
10. archives
Another purple pigment is damaging scrolls around the world. But the ancient scribes themselves never added pigment, which over the years “ate” the texts and destroyed the parchment. To get to the root of this problem, researchers examined a damaged book from the Vatican Secret Archives. This 5-meter-long goatskin scroll was a petition written in 1244 AD. The notes in the margins have already disappeared under the purple color, and some pages have become completely unreadable.
Suspecting the presence of microbes, the researchers took samples from the scroll for gene sequencing. Unlike the mysterious “intruder” in Tutankhamun’s tomb, this type of bacteria was identified. However, it was puzzling that these were marine bacteria, since the history of the scroll was in no way connected with the ocean. But the damaged manuscripts had one thing in common - they were made from animal skins. This turned out to be the key that helped find the solution.
The skins were processed sea salt, which contained marine organisms, including those that produce purple dye. Bacteria began to multiply in the goatskin when the temperature and humidity became suitable. Today, the damage done to many manuscripts is irreparable, but researchers continue to hope that one day they will be able to safely remove the remaining pigment.
Archaeological discoveries never cease to amaze us.
Sometimes finds are so fantastic that they cause long-term disputes between scientists and acquire ambiguous assessments.
1. Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a stone slab. Usually it is taller in size than it is wider. IN Ancient Egypt the slabs were popular as ritual markers for the deceased.
2. Dead Sea Scrolls
For several years, historians have believed in the existence of biblical and non-biblical documents relating to the ancient Jewish sect of the Essenes. Concrete evidence emerged in the 1950s. The manuscripts are written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.
The fury of Mount Vesuvius buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD. e. The volcanic eruption was so powerful that over time, memories of the city were erased from public consciousness, like the city itself.
Altamira was discovered by amateur archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola. True Paleolithic art was born in the cave.
“Gold... There was a glitter of gold everywhere... I was amazed and speechless with amazement,” these are the words of Howard Carter, the man who discovered the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
One of the oldest man-made human figurines depicts an obese woman with full, pendulous breasts. The figurine symbolizes fertility, pregnancy and the roundness of the female figure. The statue is approximately 26,000 years old.
7. City of Knossos
The Bronze Age archaeological site of Knossos was an important point in the restoration of Greek civilization almost 3500-4000 years ago. The city, built around the city of Crete, reflects references to ancient Roman texts and coins.
When this mechanism was discovered among the usual shipwrecks off the coast of Greece in 1901, it did not seem important. However, today he is considered the father of modern computing devices.
The Pilate Stone may be the first reliable evidence of a biblical reference to Pontius Pilate. Discovered in the area of Caesarea (Judea), the stone was allegedly used as material for a staircase built in the 4th century. n. e.
10. Olduvai Gorge
Oldülvai Gorge may be one of the oldest known human creations. It was inhabited by primitive people millions of years ago and contains tools and hunting items.
While the oldest of the Egyptian pyramids dates back to around 2670 BC. e., the megalithic temples of Hagar-Kim (Malta) anticipate it by almost 600-1000 years.
The funeral army of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, includes a massive collection of terracotta statues. It was created as a tribute to one of the most influential figures in history.
13. Tomb of Philip II of Macedon
In 1977, Greek archeology expert Manolis Andronix announced the discovery of the burial site of Macedonian kings in Vergina (Northern Greece). Later, in 1990, tombs were also found. One of the burials belongs to Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great.
In July 2009, a collection of gold, silver and metal objects from the Anglo-Saxon collection of the 7th-8th centuries was found in the village of Hammerwich in Lichfield (Staffordshire, UK).
Jars found from the Parthian era during the Sassanid period (1st-3rd centuries AD) have a cylindrical iron shell with a copper peak enclosed inside. The electrochemical steam in the jars generated a voltage potential.
The Roman dodecahedron is a small hollow object with twelve flat pentagonal faces, each of which accommodates a circular hole of different diameters. The item approximately dates back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. n. e. Its purpose is still unclear.
Early evidence of tetracycline use was found in bones excavated in Nubia (Sudan). Tetracycline-producing yeast may have been an ingredient in ancient Nubian alcoholic beverages.
Sharp spear tips have been found in South Africa. They have been made for almost 200,000 years. This forced the history of human hunting to be attributed to an earlier period.
19. Ancient chemical warfare
In 1933, Robert du Mesnil du Buisson discovered a stunning archaeological fact. The excavation contained the remains of 19 Roman soldiers and several Persian soldiers. The Persians set a trap for the hordes of Romans - the enemy was met with sulfur vapors.
Located in Costa Rica, the perfectly round spheres were carved from stone. They date back to 600-1000 BC. n. e. Banana plantation workers discovered the bizarre figures in 1930.
Sanxingdui (China) contains artifacts from the Bronze Age (c. 2800-800 BC). The finds are considered one of the most important due to their enormous size and long period existence.
22. Rapa Nui
Better known as Easter Island, it lies thousands of kilometers off the Chilean coast in the South Pacific Ocean. However, the most incomprehensible thing is not how people found it and developed it, but that the inhabitants erected huge stone heads around the island.
Dating back to the early 1500s, this map shows coastlines with amazing accuracy South America, Europe and Africa. Apparently, it was created by general and cartographer Piri Reis from fragments of dozens of other maps.
Although the Nazca Lines have been the subject of study by archaeologists for hundreds of years, they are almost impossible to see unless you are directly above them. Geoglyphs in the desert remain a mystery to this day and depict the Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru.
25. Mount Owen Moa
In 1986, a New Zealand expedition stumbled upon a huge claw in Owen Moa Cave. During excavations and inspection, it was determined that the find belonged to a large prehistoric bird.
This mysterious manuscript dates back to the beginning. XV century Italy. Although most of the pages are filled with herbal recipes, none of the plants match known species, and the language remains illegible.
The ancient settlement was discovered in 1994. It was built approximately 9,000 years ago. The building predates the Egyptian pyramids by thousands of years.
The walled complex, located near Cusco, Peru, is part of what was once the capital of the Inca Empire. The stone slabs fit together so tightly that it is impossible for even a hair to slip between them.
Digging railway by workers in Dorset led to the discovery of a small contingent of Viking warriors buried in the ground. They were all beheaded. The work is done delicately, and from the front, and not from the back.
30. Tomb of Sunken Skulls
While excavating a dry lake in Motala, Swedish archaeologists came across several skulls. As if nothing surprising, one of them was stuffed inside with parts of other skulls. Whatever happened 8,000 years ago, the picture looked terrible.
Marcahuasi is a plateau in the Andes, located east of Lima (Peru). In 1952, Daniel Ruzo made a remarkable discovery in this area. He found hundreds of stone figures that resembled human faces and animals. Many argue that they were formed by natural erosion.
The Galilean boat is an ancient fishing vessel from the 1st century. n. e. (the time of Jesus Christ), discovered in 1986 on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The remains of the ship were found by amateur archaeologists, brothers Moshe and Yuval Lufan.
In the summer of 1923, archaeologist Roy Chapman Andrews began his third Asian expedition to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. One of his team members discovered a huge skull of an unidentified mammal. The creature's lower jaw was not found. The animal was named Andrewsarchus.
34. Sacrifice of Teotihuacan
Although the Aztecs had been known to perform numerous shocking sacrifices for many years, in 2004 a grisly discovery was made outside of modern-day Mexico City. Numerous beheaded and mutilated bodies of people and animals shed light on just how horrific the rituals were.
Although nowadays the surest method used to kill a vampire is a stake driven through the heart, hundreds of years ago this was considered insufficient. An ancient alternative is a brick through the mouth. The skull was discovered by archaeologists near Venice in a mass grave.
36. Shipwreck in Uluburun
The Uluburun shipwreck is a tragic Late Bronze Age event dating back to the 14th century BC. The sunken ship was discovered in southwestern Turkey. It carried a cargo of nine cultures of the world.
contemplatorDespite the level of technological progress and all the accumulated knowledge about the history of our planet and the civilizations that inhabited it, we still cannot understand some mysterious discoveries.
Most finds allow scientists to learn something new about the past, but there are also artifacts that contradict all logic and challenge generally accepted knowledge about the capabilities of ancient peoples. For example, how exactly was Stonehenge built? Why were the Nazca geoglyphs drawn? Who wrote the Devil's Bible?
However, if we do not understand something, this does not mean that we still cannot try to learn something new thanks to mysterious findings. As a result, researchers will definitely find all the answers. For now, let's just find out what kind of puzzles modern archaeologists are struggling with. Here is a selection of 25 such secrets of the past!
25. Roman dodecahedrons
Roman dodecahedrons date back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD and still remain a real mystery to the scientific community. The diameter of these artifacts usually ranges from 3 to 11 centimeters, they are most often made of bronze and represent a polyhedron of 12 regular pentagons with round holes and balls at the top of each corner. According to some versions, dodecahedrons were used either for ritual purposes or as a measuring device. These were very valuable objects, and throughout Europe archaeologists have already found several hundred of these mysterious artifacts.
24. Giant circles
Photo: Rei-artur blog
In Jordan and Syria, 8 huge circles were discovered using satellite imagery. The diameter of the figures ranges from 220 to 455 meters, and no one knows exactly when they appeared here, or why they were drawn. Archaeologists are still excavating the site where the mysterious formations were discovered, but they are already suggesting that these objects date back to the period from the beginning of the Bronze Age to the times of the Roman Empire.
23. Copper scroll
Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com
Among the other scrolls found in the Dead Sea area, there is one manuscript that is different from all the others. The discovery was made in 1952, and unlike parchment or papyrus artifacts, this scroll is made of a metal alloy (mostly copper). The manuscript contains approximately the following text: “In the large cistern, which is located in the courtyard of the pillared hall, in the recess opposite the door, in the corner, nine hundred talents are hidden. In the cistern under the wall on the east side there are six hundred silver bars. In the southern corner of the columned hall at the tomb of Zadok and under the column in the meeting hall there is a spruce vessel for incense and the same vessel made of cassia wood.” Yes, this is a real treasure map. Historians and ordinary treasure hunters are trying in vain to find this treasure long years. Some experts even began to suggest that the text is of a metaphorical nature or is more of a kind of recommendation rather than a description of an already completed hiding place.
22. Letters rongo-rongo
Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com
Rongorongo writing was found on Easter Island in the 19th century. They are a collection of wooden tablets covered with mysterious hieroglyphs of unknown origin. No one has ever been able to decipher the meaning of these ancient letters, but some scientists believe that deciphering these texts could help shed light on the mysterious disappearance ancient civilization, who once inhabited Easter Island.
21. Scottish pyramids of Clava
Photo: Elliott Simpson
These mysterious stone structures are almost 4,000 years old and were discovered on the south bank of the River Nairn in Scotland. Piles of stones are diluted with vertically standing megaliths (stone blocks), and most of all scientists are puzzled by the question of how exactly the people of those years managed to collect all these heavy boulders in one place and install them in the form of a ring monument. In addition, researchers do not quite understand why this ancient complex was built in the first place. Among most theories, the most common ones involve burial rituals, solstice sightings, and even aliens.
20. Pot-bellied Hill or Gobekli Tepe
Photo: Teomancimit
Göbekli Tepe is a huge archaeological complex discovered in Turkey, whose age is approximately 11,000 years old, that is, it is 6,000 years older than even the legendary Stonehenge. In the temple complex, many pillars decorated with carved silhouettes of animals and other mystical creatures, as well as many other religious buildings, were discovered. Initially hidden under a 15-meter hill, the complex was mistaken for an ancient cemetery, but archaeologists later realized that they were faced with something more grandiose. Most likely, it was a temple, but research is still ongoing.
19. American Stonehenge
Photo: (WT-shared) Jtesla16 at wts wikivoyage
American Stonehenge was discovered in the town of Salem, New Hampshire (Salem, New Hampshire). This amazing monument is a system of caves and stone structures, and its origin is still unclear and causes a lot of controversy among experienced archaeologists. The territory on which the complex is located belonged to the Pattees family, but the site remained unnoticed until William Goodwin bought the land in 1937. Since then, archaeological excavations have begun here. Radiocarbon dating showed that they worked on the creation of this mysterious place as early as 2000 BC. But who exactly lived in this American Stonehenge is still unknown to science.
18. Stone balls of Costa Rica Las Bolas
Photo: Shutterstock
Locals call them Las Bolas (balls). These spherical artifacts are scattered along the coast of the Diquis River Delta, on the Nicoya Peninsula and on Caño Island in southern Costa Rica. The giant stone spheres date back to around 600 AD and are composed primarily of gabbro (igneous rock). The purpose of the stone balls is still a mystery, but scientists speculate that they were either used as wayfinders or for the purpose of studying the stars.
17. Treasures and the mysterious disappearance of the Sanxingdui people
Photo: Nishanshaman
This archaeological mystery lies not so much in the artifacts themselves, but in the creators of the finds. In 1929 and again in 1986, a pit containing jade items was discovered in the Chinese province of Sichuan. A simple peasant was the first to find it, and several decades later, a full-fledged excavation was finally carried out here. The treasury contained bronze and stone artifacts, elephant tusks and other amazing finds. Apparently, the Sanxingdui culture lived in these lands on the banks of the Minjing River about 3,000 years ago, but suddenly it literally disappeared from the face of the Earth, and scientists are still wondering why. Among probable causes Wars and famine are mentioned. One of the most recent speculations involves a strong earthquake. Perhaps, during the next powerful shock, a serious landslide occurred, blocking the river bed and changing its course, which forced the ancient settlement to hastily change its place of residence in search of a new source of water.
16. Nazca geoglyphs
Photo: Unukorno
The lines and geometric patterns in the Nazca Desert (Peru) are one of the world's greatest archaeological mysteries. Scattered throughout the Peruvian plateau are a great many of these mysterious designs, which appeared between 500 AD and 500 BC. The unusual size, huge number, plot and structure of these geoglyphs have puzzled the most prominent scientists. The main version says that these lines and drawings are associated with some ancient rituals or were used by ancient scientists to observe the starry sky.
15. Baghdad battery
Photo: Boynton/flickr
This artifact is almost 2000 years old. A Baghdad battery was found in a suburb of the Iraqi capital. In front of you is a clay vessel with a bitumen stopper and an iron rod passed through the stopper into the vase itself, inside of which there is also a copper cylinder. When filled with vinegar, this battery is capable of producing an electrical voltage of 1.1 volts. However, no written evidence has been found that these vessels were used in this manner. Scientists have not discovered any other devices that would work using these ancient galvanic elements. Skeptics believe that these were ordinary vessels for storing manuscripts.
14. Underground city of Derinkuyu
Photo: Nevit Dilmen
In the Turkish province of Nevsehir, a real city was hidden right underground for many years. There are many similar dungeons in Turkey, but Derinkuyu is the largest of them. The shelter consists of 8 levels and descends to a depth of 80 meters. The cave kingdom was built around the 8th century BC, and the first inhabitants were the ancient Phrygians, and then the early Christians, who hid here from persecution. However, the original purpose of such a grandiose underground structure still remains unknown.
13. Shroud of Turin
Photo: Dianelos Georgoudis
The Shroud of Turin is a 4-meter linen cloth with an imprint of the body of a man executed on the cross. The Shroud is kept in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin and is recognized as one of the most important Christian relics, since believers believe that it was the body of Jesus Christ that was wrapped in it when he was buried in the tomb of a Jewish elder. Scientific research has not yet shed light on the age of the canvas, since some experts believe that the fabric was produced during the Middle Ages, while other scientists attribute it to the time of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church does not recognize the shroud as authentic, and the Orthodox Church has so far refused to take an official position on this matter.
12. Underwater cairn
Photo: Nemo
In Lake Tiberias, using the echolocation method, scientists recently discovered an entire underwater pyramid. The pile of stones stretches approximately 70 meters in diameter, but archaeologists have not yet been able to determine its age or purpose. There are a lot of tilapia swimming in this lake, which has led some experts to believe that this structure was once used for fishing.
11. Stonehenge
Photo: garethwiscombe
Stonehenge is a very famous archaeological complex that has already for a long time considered a real mystery. The largest stone blocks weigh approximately 25 tons and rise 9 meters above the ground. Some of these giant boulders were brought from West Wales, meaning they were dragged as far as 225 kilometers. How exactly the ancient inhabitants of these places managed to transport such heavy stones is still unknown. Carrying them probably required the coordinated work of several thousand people at once. If this was all true, then the creation of this complex should have marked the real unification of England in those years, because the construction required very serious resources and the involvement of a large number of workers.
10. Sound effects in the hypogeum (sanctuary) of Hal Saflieni
Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com
The Hal Saflieni Temple is located in Malta, and this prehistoric complex is almost 5,000 years old. In addition, it is one of the very few underground sanctuaries dating back to the Bronze Age. No one knows exactly why this hypogeum was built, but the main version is that it served as a refuge for the prophet, and subsequently a burial ground was organized here. This place becomes even more mysterious due to its unusual properties, due to which sounds here are perceived in an unusual way. There is a special room in the dungeon where all the lowest sounds resonate as loudly as if you were in the center of a giant bell, but outside of this room you can hardly hear anything. Was this what ancient people intended during the construction of the complex, or was this an unforeseen effect?
9. Khatt Shebib
Photo: Pixabay.com
Sir Alec Kirkbride discovered the Hutt Shebib in 1948. This is an ancient wall that stretches 150 kilometers across almost the entire Jordan. Since its opening, the structure has been shrouded in mystery and has captivated the minds of prominent archaeologists. No one still knows how ancient the Hutt Shebib is, or what it was intended for. Today, only modest ruins remain of the wall, although previously it was supposedly not too high, which means that the wall was certainly not designed for defensive purposes. It is possible that it was used by ancient farmers, or that it was some kind of symbol of boundaries.
8. Giant Codex or Devil's Bible
Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com
The Codex Gigas (in Latin) is a medieval parchment manuscript recognized as the most voluminous and heaviest handwritten book in all of Western Europe. The vault is so heavy that only 2 people can move it at a time, because the weight of this block is about 75 kilograms. The Gigantic Codex includes the Old and New Testaments, as well as several other texts - the works of Josephus, Isidore of Seville's "Etymology", Cosmas of Prague's "Czech Chronicle" and other books on Latin. The author of the codex is unknown, but presumably he was a single person - a hermit monk who worked on the creation of the manuscript for several decades in a row. This collection was called the Devil's Bible because it also contains a full-page image of Satan.
7. Puma Punku
Photo: Janikorpi
Puma Punku is a Bolivian complex consisting of huge megaliths, carved from stone with the greatest precision. The most important mystery today is not so much the purpose of some of the local objects, but their age. Expert opinions are divided and very different from each other. So, some scientists believe that the complex appeared around 500-600 BC, while others believe that the artifacts are almost 17,000 years old. Another one amazing feature Puma Punku is the incredible precision with which the stones were processed. The blocks look as if they were cut using a diamond cutter, but such technology is unlikely to have existed in such ancient times.
6. Longyou Caves
Photo: Zhangzhugang
Discovered in 1992 near the village of Longyu, the amazing Longyu Caves are a whole system of man-made dungeons that were flooded for a long time. They were discovered while cleaning local ponds, and in the end it turned out that the height of some of the rooms reaches 30 meters. None of the 24 has communication with the neighboring one, but they all have common walls. The dungeons are simply huge, executed with incredible skill and involve... significant effort on their creation, but for some reason not a single historical document mentions their existence. The age of the structures was determined by a number of indirect signs (for example, stalactites) and is approximately 2200 years old.
5. Super-Henge
Photo: anonymous
Not far from the famous Stonehenge, archaeologists have discovered an even larger complex hidden deep underground. It was called Superhenge, and this monument consists of 90 huge stone blocks, reminiscent of the megaliths from Stonehenge. Scientists discovered the complex using ground-penetrating radar, and the monument has still not been excavated. Experts find it difficult to answer the question about the purpose of the object, but they are sure that all these stones were buried here with some special intention.
4. Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island
Photo: Vitold Muratov
A small Russian island, lost in the White Sea, no more than 2.5 square kilometers in size, is a practically uninhabited piece of land that keeps many secrets. For example, did you know that stone labyrinths have been decorating this place for almost 32 thousand years? All these piles and strange mounds cover the main part of the island, but archaeologists still have not figured out who exactly built the mysterious labyrinths and for what purpose. Perhaps these were religious altars or other ritual objects.
3. Stone slab Cochno
Photo: University of Glasgow
In Scotland, archaeologists have unearthed a 5,000-year-old stone slab decorated with unusual geometric patterns. The Cochno Stone (from the name of the farm near which the artifact was found) is 13 meters long and 7.9 meters wide, and scientists call the designs carved on its surface “bowls and ring marks.” Similar patterns are found around the world and in other prehistoric locations. The meaning of these drawings remains unknown to this day, as well as who created them. In addition, it is not clear how exactly ancient people managed to leave these marks in places so distant from each other. The Kochnin slab was transported to another place not only for further research, but also to protect it from attacks by vandals.
2 Microscopic Copper Finds That Are Nearly 300,000 Years Old
Photo: ugraland
In 1991, mysterious artifacts were discovered on the banks of the Narada, Kozhim and Balbanyu rivers in the Ural Mountains. The microscopic spiral-shaped copper and tungsten parts are surprising because experts are still arguing about their age. Some scientists suggest that these finds are somehow related to rocket tests at the nearby Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes. However, other researchers argue that the rocks in which these mysterious springs were found are too ancient, and analysis of these layers has shown that the finds may be approximately 300,000 years old.
1. Tomb with skulls from Sanken
Photo: Pixabay.com
In Sweden, archaeologists have discovered a burial site of human remains that are almost 8,000 years old. Researchers found 11 skulls of men, women, children and infants there. Scientists have probably stumbled upon a tomb built here during the Stone Age, when hunters and gatherers strung the heads of the dead on one common pole and buried them in lakes. No one knows exactly how and why the ancient people came up with such a terrible ritual.
