From incredible discoveries of Viking artifacts to mass graves you won’t believe!
Plus, new finds from the site of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs!
Here are ten of the most amazing archaeological discoveries.
10: The Viking Helmet The Viking helmets found at Vendel, one of
the most impressive archaeological sites in all of Sweden, are nothing short of incredible.
Researchers first uncovered these incredible historical artifacts back in 1929, and since
then, they’ve found priceless treasures there from back during the Dark Ages!
The burial grounds where these helmets were uncovered were used from between 550 and 800
AD.
This period is also known as the Vendel Period.
We only know about it because of written accounts by other people in Europe, seeing as the Vikings
didn't leave any written records of their own.
They were more focused on pillaging and killing others than on writing down stories of their
exploits.
Fortunately for us, some of the people that they invaded did take notes!
The only things the Vikings themselves left behind, though, were artifacts buried deep
inside of graves, waiting to be excavated by archeologists.
The Vendel helmets were almost certainly made in Scandinavia, though historians still aren't
sure how they became so popular with the Vikings.
They might have been inspired by Roman helmets used in the later part of the Roman Empire,
and some suggest the Vikings may have been particularly inspired by the gladiatorial
helmets.
But today, the collection of well-preserved Vendel artifacts, helmets included, can be
seen on display in Sweden – and sometimes in special exhibitions across the world.
What would you do if you lived in a village being invaded by the Vikings?
Would you fight back or just hope they were merciful invaders?
Let me know down in the comments!
9: The Pit of Death In Russia, a series of terrifying death pits
containing at least 300 bodies have been discovered.
The disturbing site was found in the old city of Yaroslavl.
Archaeologists are saying the death pits probably date back to when the Mongols invaded Europe
in the year 1238.
This was a time when Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu Khan, was destroying entire communities
and burning them to the ground.
DNA evidence uncovered from bodies inside the death pits have shown that some of the
victims were related.
Experts from Russia’s own Institute of Archaeology have now painted a picture as to why the people
were dumped into the graves and who exactly they were.
We have to go back to the birth of Yaroslavl.
It was founded between 998 and 1010 during the rule of Yaroslav the Wise.
Mongol troops attacked the city in 1257 and murdered quite a lot of people.
Imagine being in a city getting invaded by the Mongols!
You’d probably curl up into a ball and cry!
The idea of a Mongol invasion goes directly against some scholars who have argued that
Mongolia’s Golden Horde acquired its Russian territory peacefully.
The Mongols clearly didn't.
They definitely slaughtered people in their hundreds and then dumped them into death pits.
Judging by the brutality inflicted on these people, clearly seen by archaeologists when
inspecting the bones, the attack on the city was brutal and ruthless – and literally
ended in the city drowning in blood!
8: Ancient Rock Art Archaeologists in France discovered what they
believe could be the oldest rock art in Europe ever.
It was found in 2012 when the archaeologists were investigating an ancient rock shelter.
They turned over a broken slab of limestone and came face to face with a piece of rock
that had been etched with pictures of aurochs.
What's so exciting about this is that aurochs have been extinct for a very long time but
were hunted across much of Europe by our earliest ancestors thousands and thousands of years
ago.
Radiocarbon dating placed the engraved piece of rock at being 38,000 years old.
This was a time even before the ending of the last ice age when all kinds of amazing
beasts roamed Europe.
According to anthropologist Randall White from New York University, this was a time
when humans had just begun to start to spread across the continent.
Hunter-gatherers would have hibernated inside of the rock shelter where the artwork was
found, keeping warm through the winter.
One winter, 38,000 years ago, an unknown caveman became one of the first artists in existence.
7: Ancient Baltic Sea Ship Divers from Finland have discovered a ship
in the depths of the Baltic Sea that dates back 400 years.
This amazing discovery is shedding light on the boating history of the 17th century.
The boat is an example of a Dutch fluit, a kind of ship that was used in trading in the
1600s.
In fact, the fluit was one of the first boats made specifically for cargo.
It was found at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in exceptional condition.
The Baltic Sea is actually one of the best places to find wooden ships because of the
freezing temperatures.
Microorganisms have a hard time flourishing in the Baltic Sea, meaning wooden ships can
last much longer without being broken down.
The area was important for trade 400 years ago.
Some of the ships sailing through the Baltic Sea were the first in what would become a
network of globalized trade.
This particular ship was found roughly 300 feet deep and had not sustained much damage.
Nobody's really sure why it sank and nobody knows what the name of the ancient Scandinavian
vessel is.
But researchers are hoping to discover more about the original cargo ship’s design and
why it went out of style by the 18th century.
6: Athens Mass Grave In a rather disturbing discovery, the remains
of 80 men shackled together at the wrists have been discovered in a mass grave near
Athens.
The skeletons date back to the 7th century BC, a time when Athens was being ruled by
aristocrats who held great power through land ownership.
But Athens was in a position to change, with a new type of government on the horizon – one
known as a tyrant.
The 80 men found buried together were all aged between 20 and 30.
They had each been killed with a single fatal blow to the skull. this means they had probably
been executed one at a time, completely helpless.
But just who were these men?
They were likely part of a failed coup that tried to oust the aristocrats and place an
Olympic champion in the seat of power, creating a mega tyrant.
The coup failed, these guys got busted, and they ended up shackled, executed, and buried.
5: Pyramid Energy According to a new study done by Russian and
German scientists, the Khufu Pyramid at Giza is able to produce electromagnetic energy
within some of its internal chambers.
This is a pretty out-to-lunch study, but apparently when the chambers inside the pyramid are hit
with radio waves, they produce energy.
Scientists analyzed how the energy is focused inside of the chambers, reaching a conclusion
that the great pyramid reacts to certain types of energy waves.
However, there was no conclusion as to what the energy could have been used for.
Scientists don't actually understand how this is happening.
Certain radio waves seemed to excite the inside of the pyramid, creating a surge of electromagnetic
energy near its point.
But we can't possibly hope to understand what this means or what it was used for thousands
of years ago.
For all we know, there could be a different type of radio wave that forces the pyramid
to react in a way we can’t even imagine.
4: The Dino Impact Recent fossil evidence has been discovered
at the Tanis site in North Dakota containing evidence of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs.
66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, global devastation
ensued, and we had the 5th mass extinction on Earth.
Basically everything died.
The Tanis site in North Dakota has been found to contain material that came from the impact
event that killed the dinosaurs.
Imbedded in the rock, archaeologists found ancient plants, preserved fish fossils, ancient
marine organisms, and even prehistoric mammals.
But perhaps more importantly, they also found dinosaur bones and dinosaur eggs.
These things are strange to be found together in one single lump.
This is the first time that so many random animals have been found inside a small area
like this.
They were probably grouped together because of the tremors after the impact.
The asteroid hitting Mexico caused the oceans to slosh like water in a tub, and the sloshing
water propelled sea creatures far inland, where they landed on dry land and died alongside
dinosaurs.
Most of the fossils found here had likely perished in the minutes or hours immediately
following the impact.
3: Ancient Chalice Archaeologists have discovered an ancient
Christian chalice that may be rewriting the religious history of the United Kingdom.
Archaeologists were shocked to discover a chalice that dates back 1400 years at an old
Roman fort in Hexham.
The chalice is now the oldest artifact of its kind found in the United Kingdom.
It was recovered in fragments from the rubble of the ruined Roman fort, with the director
of excavations Dr. Andrew Birtley describing it as a very rare find.
The chalice was inscribed with angels and crosses and other Christian symbols, but not
all of them have been deciphered yet.
The reason the chalice is such a strange thing to find in the area is that the Romans had
already been long gone when it was made.
This suggests that the people in Britain continued Christian worship even after the invading
Romans left and took their beliefs with them.
2: Lost Islands Some new archaeological evidence has been
found in regard to an incident that happened about 8000 years ago.
Ancient islands have been discovered submerged underneath the North Sea, with researchers
believing they initially survived the devastating Storegga tsunami that hit Great Britain and
the Netherlands in the year 6200 BC.
The tsunami was caused when part of Norway's continental shelf collapsed underwater.
The immense wave was thought to have submerged the Doggerland region connecting England’s
east coast with the European continent, effectively cutting the U.K. off from the rest of the
world.
But new research is switching up the story.
Based on submerged sediment samples, scientists are now saying that Doggerland may have survived
the tsunami, along with the now-sunken islands in the area.
These places may have been inhabited for thousands of years after, all the way into the Stone
Age.
Researchers are now thinking that there could have been a land bridge between England and
Europe for much longer than previously thought, opening the doors to many new theories about
the original inhabitants of Britain.
But it also raises questions.
Like if Doggerland lasted all the way into the Stone Age, what eventually caused it to
sink?
1: Bronze Age Tomb An untouched tomb from the Bronze Age has
been discovered in Ireland – and yes, it contains human remains.
According to Live Science, the tomb dates back over 3000 years.
It was initially discovered by workmen on a farm.
Archaeologists are now saying that the tomb has unusual features and is one of the earliest
examples of an ancient burial anywhere in Ireland.
The tomb is what scientists call a cist.
It's a type of chamber tomb that consists of an underground structure lined with stone,
designed to hold any number of burials before being capped with a large sealing stone.
What's really fascinating here is that these burials weren't typically practiced until
the Bronze Age, no less than 500 years after this one was made.
Right now, archaeologists don't know if this was the original inspiration for the chamber
tomb or if it was a total fluke 500 years early.
Really crazy is that the tomb could even date back as far as 4500 years.
Nothing has been confirmed yet because the radiocarbon analysis is still being done by
the lab.
This discovery is brand new, so we won’t even know who was buried inside the tomb yet.
But don’t worry, we’ll have more information probably in a few more months!
Which of these discoveries did you think was the best?
Let me know about it in the comments and thanks for watching!
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