10: The Lizard Men Most of us are familiar with the theories
about a secret reptilian race living underneath our very feet, pulling the global strings
from their secret lairs.
And while it may seem like nonsense, some strange figurines discovered at the archaeological
site of Al Ubaid suggest otherwise.
7000 years ago, the Sumerians carved a series of bizarre statues in the form of lizard people.
This is no exaggeration.
They look like any other statues carved by an ancient civilization, except that from
the chest up, they are clearly reptilian.
One of the statues even shows a female lizard human with a little hybrid baby held in the
crook of her arm.
Is this indisputable proof that we’re all ruled by alien overlords from a planet of
reptilians?
Absolutely not.
But it is confusing, especially since scientists have never been able to solve the mystery
of the Ubaid lizard men.
Excavations first started at the site in 1919.
Archaeologist Harry Reginald Hal was the one to first come across the figures, which left
him in utter disbelief.
They were created by the Ubaid culture of southern Mesopotamia in the earliest days
of human civilization.
This was when the first villages started cropping up and when people began irrigating the farmland.
It may not be a coincidence that people started building houses at the same time they were
allegedly visited by highly advanced reptilians.
What do you think?
Share your theories in the comments below!
9: The Babylonian Map of the World The Babylonian map of the world is one of
the oldest ever drawn.
It was created in ancient Mesopotamia, around the year 700 BC in what is now southern Iraq.
It's not a map like you or I might think of one, not drawn on a piece of paper.
Instead, the map of the world as the Babylonians knew it was inscribed on a clay tablet.
It's amazing because it shows just how small the Babylonians really thought the world was.
The top half of the map is a circle showing places like Assyria and Elam.
There are also some mysterious places that appear to be cities, some of which archaeologists
haven't been able to identify.
The center of the map, the area of Mesopotamia, is ringed by what they called “Salt Sea.”
But the big mystery is that the Babylonians marked regions unknown to science.
The map shows lands and islands and the distance between them and Babylon.
Along with each region is written a small description on the map in cuneiform.
The text describes strange and outlandish beasts that can’t possibly be real.
They also describe the heroes who lived in these faraway places, though they’re completely
unheard of to historians.
There is a major debate surrounding this map.
Some historians believe it was one of the first serious examples of ancient geography.
Other historians believe the actual purpose of the map was to show the Babylonian mythological
world.
In other words, it may have been a map representing different places and people in Babylonian
myth.
Nor the real map.
We just don’t know.
8: Lost Egyptian Labyrinth The lost Egyptian labyrinth of Hawara is a
mystery that goes back 2000 years.
Archaeologists originally uncovered what they thought to be the remains of a mysterious
labyrinth decades ago at the foot of the Pyramid of Hawara.
Before the discovery, this labyrinth was thought to be a structure only spoken of in myth.
The pyramid was built by the last great ruler of the 12th dynasty, Amenemhat III.
It's also believed to be the pharaoh's final resting place, though his mummy has never
been discovered.
There was another pyramid built for the daughter of the pharaoh, Neferu-Ptah, located about
a mile away.
But adjacent to the main pyramid is the mystery we're here to discuss.
The giant mortuary temple, which we know definitely existed, may have also formed a complex system
of buildings, galleries, and passages.
This honeycomb structure could very well have been more spectacular than the great labyrinth
of Crete in Greek myth – except real!
The issue is that archaeologists don't know if there really was a labyrinth.
They have found ruins, but it's unclear how extensive they are.
The labyrinth would have been entirely underground, built from nothing but mud and brick.
And because of this, much of it has probably already collapsed and is beyond recovery.
The only other proof we have comes from the Greek historian Herodotus.
He visited the city 2000 years ago and described an underground complex of caverns and chambers
beyond anything he could imagine.
What do you think?
Did the Egyptians have a labyrinth?
Let me know in the comments!
7: The Astronaut of Casar The Astronaut of Casar is one of the strangest
artifacts that we know almost nothing about.
It's a stone slab that allegedly dates back to the days of Rome, but perhaps even earlier.
It was found embedded in the wall of a cemetery in a small Spanish village called Casar.
The slab is an unsolved mystery because archaeologists can't agree on where the stone came from or
who made it.
But I assure you, it is real.
It's currently on display at a museum in Spain!
The giant stone slab shows what appears to be either an alien or a warrior.
It's definitely a strange figure, with the body of a person but a head that looks more
like a mushroom.
There's an inscription carved into the body of the figure, composed of a mishmash of different
languages.
The writing is in Latin characters, but the language is a bizarre mix of Lusitanian, Tartessian,
and Basque.
These are all ancient Indo-European languages.
Some say the figure is meant to represent a Celt-Iberian warrior from the 1st century
BC.
Others say it's supposed to be an astronaut.
They say the mushroom-shaped head is actually a space helmet, and that the curious figure
is a visitor from another planet.
What do you think?
Is the mushroom-shaped head meant to represent an astronaut, or simply some kind of warrior’s
helmet?
Maybe something else!
Let me know in the comments.
6: The Soldier That Teleported In October of 1593, a soldier by the name
of Gil Perez teleported 8000 miles.
At least, that's how the story goes.
Gil was a soldier in the Spanish Empire.
He was guarding the palace of the Governor in Manila, the Philippines.
At this point in history, the Philippines had already been under the control of the
Spanish since 1565.
But the seventh governor of the territory, Dasmarinas, was executed by Chinese rowers
who mutinied against him on his boat.
This event threw Manila into a bit of chaos.
But even with the governor dead, the palace still had to be guarded.
Gil began to get dizzy and sleepy during his shift.
He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes for a second.
When he opened them, he was 8800 miles (14162 km) away.
He had teleported to Mexico City.
He was questioned by some guards in strange uniforms he didn't recognize.
They thought he was a deserter from the Spanish army and threw him in a prison cell.
But here's the thing that's really interesting.
Gil told his captors about the assassination in Manila.
Because of the huge distance between Mexico City and the Philippines, news of the governor's
death hadn't arrived yet.
Everyone thought this guy was crazy.
But then months later, a ship arrived in Mexico with news of the governor's death.
This man knew months before anyone in North America could have possibly been aware.
This story could just be a story, but there are historical recordings of the event.
A Spanish clergyman and historian named Gaspar de San Agustin wrote of the account in 1698.
He believed the soldier had used witchcraft to transport himself.
5: The Newton Stone The Newton Stone was found in Aberdeenshire,
Scotland in 1804.
A local earl named George Hamilton-Gordon found the stone when a new road opened up
near a farm.
Local shepherds told him of a monument rising out from the grass.
The stone was removed from its original site and planted in a garden in Newton House.
This was 220 years ago, give or take a few years.
It should come as no surprise that archaeological wonders were uprooted and put in the gardens
of rich people's estates.
Because of this, nobody knows if the indecipherable inscription on the stone was added after it
was moved or before it was found.
The stone today has two inscriptions on it.
The first is written in ancient Ogham script.
Ogham is an alphabet from the medieval days that was used to write in the Irish language.
There are only about 400 surviving inscriptions of Ogham in the entire world.
This particular one seems to be nothing but a list of names of unknown people.
The second inscription is written in a language that nobody has ever been able to identify.
People have tried deciphering it for over a century, but nobody can figure it out.
Some have suggested Phoenician, but we don’t know for sure.
It’s become so frustrating that many experts believe the second inscription was a prank
carved into the stone long after it was already found.
What do you think is written on this mysterious Scottish stone?
Let me know any theories you have in the comments and don't forget to hit subscribe before the
end of the video!
4: The Mummy of Maiherpri The tomb of the mummy Maiherpri was found
by Victor Loret in the year 1899.
It was found next to the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep II.
The unsolved mystery is that nobody knows who he is or why he was given a tomb next
to somebody as important as a pharaoh.
Research has shown that the individual died in his early 20s.
But no cause of death has ever been found.
He was also identified as Nubian, from the south of Egypt.
Based on his proximity to the pharaoh and the great variety of treasure in his tomb,
he was definitely important during the 18th dynasty.
His mummy was in great condition except for a little bit of skin missing from his feet.
He was still adorned in heaps of jewelry, his cartonnage mask still resting on his face.
His name is a little curious too.
Maiherpri translates roughly to “The Lion of the Battlefield.”
He also had two titles, “Child of the Nursery” and Fan-Bearer on the Right Side of the King.”
These long, complicated names only make things more mysterious.
Archaeologists think he may have grown up in the royal nursery, perhaps as a son to
one of the Pharaoh’s less important wives or one of his concubines.
3: Humans in the Catskills Strange formations in the Catskills may be
proof of an ancient civilization.
The huge formations of rock can be found along the edges of a hiking trail on Overlook Mountain
in Woodstock.
There's several of them along the sides of the mountain, but it remains unclear where
they came from.
Mainstream archaeologists haven't even bothered to excavate or investigate them.
The rock formations still stand just as they have for hundreds of years.
Glenn Kreisberg, an amateur archaeologist, believes he knows where the formations came
from.
He believes them to be the remains of a tribal civilization that lived in the Catskills before
Europeans ever took the land for themselves.
He has identified 19 of these sites in the Catskills, each one a huge pile of stones
that looks like an ancient burial cairn.
But he's found more than just formations.
He's also discovered stone effigies of snakes, rock chambers, and huge walls that are mostly
broken apart.
Glenn says whoever lived here was just as advanced as the Mayans or ancient Britons.
And while that's doubtful, it is clear that some culture did live in these mountains.
We just don't know who, or how advanced their civilization really was.
2: The Tunnels of Baiae The old city of Baiae can be found today in
the Italian region of Campania.
It was once a seaside resort visited by the wealthiest inhabitants of Rome.
Imagine the most exclusive beach resort in the world – that was Baiae 2000 years ago.
It was notorious for parties, lewd activities, and hedonistic patrons.
But as the centuries went by, volcanic activity caused the ancient resort town to be sunk
under the water.
Today, the entire location is submerged.
But there's one mystery about Baiae that remains unsolved.
In 1932, Italian archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri discovered the entrance to a hidden tunnel.
This tunnel led into a cave that may have been constructed to mimic the Greek underworld.
While walking through the darkness of the tunnels, one needed to cross an underground
stream of sulfur water that could have easily represented the River Styx.
This was the legendary river that every newly deceased person had to travel to reach Hades,
the name of both the underworld and its patron god.
On the other side of the stream, archaeologists found a landing stage.
This probably would have been where visitors docked their boats.
Beyond this was a stairway to a hidden sanctuary.
Completing the journey from the tunnel’s entrance into the sanctuary would have felt
like walking into the underworld.
But what's crazy is that there are no historical records of this place existing.
There is a story about a prophetess living in a nearby cave.
But other than that, there are no clues as to what this cave was used for.
It may have been a way to trick people into believing they had crossed over into the underworld.
It may have been used for dark ceremonial rituals.
We just have no idea.
It's a total mystery.
1: Swiss Watch in Chinese Tomb A Swiss watch about a century old was discovered
in a tomb that was sealed 400 years ago.
Nobody is quite sure how it happened, and it's become a huge mystery in the archaeological
community.
The grave dates back to the Ming dynasty of southern China.
When archaeologists opened the tomb, they found a miniature watch inside with a marking
that says, “Swiss.”
The hands of the clock had stopped at approximately 10:06 AM, crusted solid with mud and dirt.
Clearly, the watch had been in there for some time.
But it makes no sense for a few reasons.
First of all, people in the Ming dynasty 400 years ago didn't wear watches.
Second of all, there was no country of Switzerland back then.
The rest of the tomb seemed perfectly normal.
This was the only artifact out of place.
The discovery was made back in 2008, and researchers still haven't been able to put together how
the watch ended up in the tomb.
What do you think a Swiss watch was doing in an ancient tomb?
Let me know your theories in the comments and thanks so much for watching.
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