Historical Mysteries that will Probably Never be Solved
From the lost city of Atlantis to the tomb of Cleopatra here are 10 historical mysteries
that will probably never be solved….
10.
Baghdad Battery
We think of electricity as being a relatively recent invention that has revolutionized the
way we live- but a discovery made during excavations in Iraq in 1938 has mystified historians and
raised questions about our understanding of the ancient civilizations of the area.
German archaeologist Wilhelm Konig discovered three objects that fit neatly together to
create what looks very similar to a battery.
Now known as the Baghdad Battery, the three objects were in a terracotta pot with a copper
sheet cylinder that contains an iron rod.
If the pot were filled with an electrolyte solution it would be effective at storing
a charge.
There’s debate as to whether this is actually a battery.
The main problem is that these artifacts are more than 2000 years old, and there’s no
record of any knowledge of electricity- nor have any similar objects ever been found from
that time.
In any case?
What would ancient people need a battery for?
What are they charging??
The components date back to a time where a more scientific approach began- so while they
might not have understood current, it’s possible they stumbled over its properties
and might not have known what to use it for.
Until more evidence, such as wires or more batteries, is found- we’ll never know for
sure what these were used for.
All we know is that they most likely would have worked, because replicas have shown the
technology to be capable of producing as much as 2 volts.
9.
Olmec Stone Heads
These colossal heads weren’t officially documented until the early 20th century.
So far 17 of these Olmec heads have been discovered in various locations across Mexico that were
significant to the Olmec civilization.
Ancient societies often carved magnificent sculptures into rock, but there is much mystery
surrounding the Olmec people.
The sheer size of these heads suggests that the people they were meant to represent were
extremely important to the Olmecs.
They lived from 1200-400 BC, way before the more famous Mayans and Aztecs.
Traces of paint were found, suggesting that the heads may have been colorfully painted
and they were carved from massive boulders without using metal tools.
Their incredible skill and sheer size, weighing between 4 and 60 tons, has baffled archaeologists
for years.
No one knows how they were transported to their sites and there’s much debate as to
the identity of the people the oddly shaped sculptures are meant to represent.
Are they gods, warriors, or chieftain leaders- or, as some suggest, the celebrities of the
day who were famous ball-court players?
8.
Mary Celeste
Since humans have first explored the seas, ships have gone missing without trace.
On some occasions, though, it’s the ones that have been found that raise the biggest
questions.
This was the case of the Mary Celeste that was found in 1872.
The ship had left New York a month earlier and was due to arrive in Genoa, Italy- but
never did.
It was later found adrift in choppy waters near the Azores Islands.
The British ship, Dei Gratia, was the one that spotted it, and went to investigate what
had happened.
When they arrived, they couldn’t understand what they found.
The ship’s charts had been thrown about the cabin, everyone’s belongings were still
in their quarters, and the ships only lifeboat had gone missing.
There was water in the base of the ship, all of the ship’s cargo was still intact, there
was plenty of food and fresh water- but there was no one on board.
There was no sign of blood or struggle at all on the ship, and to this day it has remained
a mystery.
Having become somewhat of a legend, there have been numerous suggestions put forward
as to what happened on board.
Were the crew attacked by sea monsters or pirates?
Or did the crew that found the Mary Celeste lie, and were actually the ones responsible
for the mystery in an attempt to claim an insurance payout?
The most likely answer is that the crew was forced to abandon ship on the Azore Islands
for some reason, but unless some comprehensive proof comes forward we’ll likely never truly
know.
7.
The Ark of the Covenant
As far as religious artifacts go, the Ark of the Covenant is one of the most important
on Earth.
It’s meant to contain the 10 commandments that were given to Moses by God.
It apparently has the power to kill unworthy people, just by touching it.
While records show that the Ark was kept in King Solomon’s temple within a specially
designed inner room, the trail goes cold as to its whereabouts after 587 BC when Jerusalem
was destroyed by the Babylonians.
Various different theories abound as to where it went next.
Some think it was simply destroyed, others believe the Knights Templar managed to escape
with the Ark and hide it somewhere, possibly Canada.
One interesting claim is that of an Ethiopian Church, which says that the Ark has been stored
there since the 1960’s.
There’s a small Chapel in Aksum, next to the St. Mary of Zion Church, which is surrounded
by spiked iron railings- and this is where the Orthodox Christians of Ethiopia claim
the Ark is hidden.
No one has ever seen it, apart from the old monk whose job it is to protect the artifact,
so unless others are allowed in, it’s likely we will never know if this is the true resting
place of the Ark and if not, where else on earth it may be.
And now for number 6 but first, be sure to subscribe before you leave so you don’t
miss out!
6.
Mountain Pipes in Baigong, China
An Oopart, or “Out of Place Artefact”, refers to a historical object that is found,
but seems to be much more technologically advanced than you would expect from the time
it was made.
There’s possibly no better way to describe something that was found in Baigong, China
that has puzzled everyone since the discovery.
A series of pipes have been found in a pyramid formation near Mount Baigong, that lead to
a nearby saltwater lake.
The lake, too, has pipes beneath it.
The surprising thing, though, is that testing has shown that the pipes were smelted over
150,000 years ago- that’s 120,000 years before the first known settlements in the
area, and way before the process of using metal pipes became commonplace.
This has understandably left researchers puzzled, and a number of interesting theories have
been put forward.
If they were made by humans, they would have to be incredibly advanced humans for the time-
possibly people whose knowledge was lost over the years, which would explain why the technology
wasn’t used elsewhere around the same time.
No natural formations have ever been found like this, but that doesn’t mean that these
pipes aren’t formed by geological processes.
Perhaps iron sediment could have washed into fissures and solidified into the tube like
structures, or they could be the remains of magma flows that rose from tectonic activity.
It’s a complete mystery, and one that’s been extensively researched to no avail.
It seems we’ll be waiting for a long time for answers as to how these pipes were formed,
and we may never know.
5.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are often heralded as examples of how advanced
civilizations were.
The Great Pyramid in Egypt is the most high profile, but there are questions about whether
all of them really existed- particularly the hanging gardens of Babylon.
They were, by all accounts, a tiered structure with a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and
vines that was described as a mountain of color rising from the Earth.
The expertise needed to plant trees on tiers rising into the sky would have been immense,
but could the whole thing have simply been a story?
The mystery stems from the fact that no evidence of the site of the gardens has ever been found
in Babylon, despite meticulous searches.
Researchers have now suggested that the true site of the monument was in a rival city,
Nineveh, which lies 300 miles North of Babylon.
This is based on accounts from the time and no actual physical evidence.
Following the Assyrian destruction of Babylon in 689 BC, they often referred to their capital
as the “New Babylon”, so it might make perfect sense that the gardens were said to
be in Babylon.
In fact, a number of other towns and cities have been referred to as “Babylon” throughout
their history, so it’s quite possible that the true location of the gardens could be
in one of many places.
They were built so long ago, that any remaining structures would likely have crumbled by now,
so we may never know where this once magnificent structure ever stood- if it ever did at all!
4.
Oak Island Money Pit
Oak Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada, has been the site of a treasure hunt for hundreds of
years.
According to legend, in 1795 a teenager found a mysterious depression in the ground underneath
a tree.
When he looked up, the branches had been cut in a way that suggested a pulley mechanism
had been used at the site.
Having heard of the presence of pirates on the island, he returned with friends to investigate
further.
As they dug, they found some strange objects.
Two feet down was a layer of flagstones, then every 10 feet they found layers of oak logs
until they reached 90 feet deep where there was a stone tablet inscribed with mysterious
writing.
They retrieved the stone and, after digging further, the tunnels began to fill up with
water and they had to abandon their search.
This story set in motion a series of attempts to find out the truth of what was buried on
the island and investigations that are still going on to this day.
A number of clues have been found that have led researchers to believe there’s Pirate
treasure buried there, that it could be important objects hidden by the Knights Templar, or
maybe even the lost manuscripts of Shakespeare.
These days, the island has been so scarred by the searches over the years that it’s
virtually impossible to know where the original pit was, and it is increasingly unlikely that
anyone will ever find what was really hidden there.
3.
Phaistos Disc
In 1908, the Italian archaeologist, Luigi Pernier, was searching a basement in the Minoan
palace site of Phaistos when he found a mysterious circular object, which has become known as
the Phaistos Disc.
It’s about 6 inches in diameter, and has 241 imprints of signs, over both of its sides,
in a spiral pattern.
It’s made from fired clay, and similar symbols have only been seen in two other objects.
Since its discovery, people have been trying to decipher the text, but to no avail.
It’s not even clear what civilization made the disc, because it’s so different to anything
else found at the same site.
Many believe it to be proof of the lost city of Atlantis!
Researchers estimate it to be more than 4,000 years old and suspect it to be Minoan in origin.
Recently, an expert has claimed to have decoded some of the words, and says it refers to a
pregnant woman on one side and a woman giving birth on the other- but until more artifacts
are found that use the same typography, it’s unlikely anyone will be able to fully translate
the disc.
Your guess is as good as mine!
2.
The City of Atlantis
Speaking of Atlantis, the legend of Atlantis first came from two works of the renowned
Greek philosopher, Plato.
He described it as a naval power that attacked Athens.
The Athenians repelled this attack and, at the end of the story, Atlantis fell foul of
the Gods and fell into the Atlantic Ocean about 9,500 years ago.
It’s often thought of as a myth- even the ancient Greeks weren’t sure if they were
meant to take it as truth or fiction- but many believe Plato was speaking of a real
place.
The search has been on for the location of Atlantis for centuries.
Recently attention has been focused on the Greek island of Santorini, which sank into
the sea as a result of a volcanic explosion about 3,500 years ago- and very well could
have taken an entire civilization with it.
There’s definitely a lot out there that’s hidden beneath the waves, and plenty of potential
sites for a former naval society.
1.
Cleopatra’s Tomb
Cleopatra is by far the most famous of the female rulers of ancient Egypt, and one of
the last before the Romans took over.
She had tried to forge a relationship with the Roman empire, first with Julius Caesar
and, following his death, with Marc Anthony.
When she died she was supposedly buried alongside Marc Anthony- according to Plutarch, the Roman
historian, and from there her story was a mystery.
Despite finding a number of tombs across Egypt, Cleopatra’s has never been officially uncovered.
There are a few sites of interest where archaeologists believe the lovers’ bodies could be, but
the most likely, according to experts, is underneath a temple dedicated to Isis and
Osiris about 30 miles west of Alexandria.
This city, known as Per Usiri, was a port on the Mediterranean and one of the most important
trade routes during the late history of Egypt.
Numerous artifacts have been found around there from Cleopatra’s time, but still there’s
no sign of her tomb.
Archaeologists continue to search, because it would be one of the greatest finds in Egypt
since that of Tutankhamen.
They are trying to not get their hopes up, because chances are that by now, it may have
been raided by robbers.
Thanks for watching!
Do u think any of these mysteries might be solved?