From the lost identity of a Victorian monster to a missing lover’s tomb, here are 8 unsolved
mysteries from history!!
8.
Ark of the Covenant
The location of the Ark of the Covenant is perhaps one of the greatest religious mysteries.
You probably know it best from the Indiana Jones movie, but for some, the Ark of the
Covenant is all too real.
Biblical accounts say that it was a large gilded case made of wood made to house the
stone tablets where the Ten Commandments were written.
It was described as a large chest that must be carried by at least 2 people and it had
two large golden angels, so it would have been hard to miss.
Not only would it have been a valuable object on its own, but the Ark is also linked to
several miracles.
This handsome object was the work of the Israelites, who crafted it approximately 3,000 years ago.
The Ark was carried toward the Promised Land and in the Old Testament it is said to have
cleared poisonous animals from their path and even stopped the flow of the Jordan River
so the people could cross.
The Ark was paraded around Jericho with trumpets for 7 days, and later placed in the legendary
Temple of Jerusalem.
However, it disappeared after the Babylonians overthrew the Israelites in 597 and 586 B.C.
Since then, it hasn’t been seen again although naturally people have ideas about where the
precious container may have gone.
One of the strongest claims is that before Jerusalem was sacked, the Ark had been sent
to Ethiopia and hidden in the St. Mary of Zion Cathedral.
The only person allowed to see it is the appropriately named Guardian of the Ark.
It is such a holy object that a mere human cannot look at such a holy object without
suffering the consequences.
Other churches and temples around the world claim to possess the Ark but none have been
tested for authenticity because that would be inappropriate.
Ron Wyatt, an amateur archaeologist and Seventh Day Adventist claimed he found the Ark buried
under the place where Jesus was rumored to have been crucified.
He lead an excavation in Jerusalem and found a network of caves where he said he found
the ark but that divine interference prevented his pictures from showing up.
When he returned to the site, he saw angels who told him that it was not yet time for
the world to see the ark.
Of course, many professional archaeologists dismiss Wyatt as he also claimed to have found
Noah’s arc, his anchor, his tomb, the tower of Babel, and the blood of Jesus himself among
100 other Biblical discoveries.
So far the Ark of the Covenant is still lost.
7.
Copper Scroll Treasure
One of the most intriguing archaeological finds of all time were the Dead Sea Scrolls,
ancient manuscripts found in caves near the Dead Sea.
The scrolls are now small bits of parchment with text but they are enormously significant
because they are some of the oldest biblical manuscripts ever found.
The odd thing is one scroll that stood out in particular because it is made of copper!
The style, language and medium are so different that scholars believe it must have been placed
there at a different time than the rest of the scrolls.
It couldn’t be unrolled so it was authorized to have it cut into strips and then pieced
back together.
Instead of being a religious text, it was a list.
It gives the details of 64 locations where you’ll supposedly find a mega-valuable collection
of treasure!
The Copper Scroll has been referred to as an ancient inventory and so far no-one has
been able to find the silver, gold and other materials referred to on this unusual metallic
document.
Several researchers have attempted to go to the locations and requested permission from
the Israeli government to go with a metal detector but so far, requests have been denied.
No one knows where the treasure lies, but that’s not to say it won’t be discovered
any day now!
6.
Dance of Death
You’ve heard of dance fever?
Well in Strasbourg 1518 you’d be hitting the dance floor whether you wanted to or not.
As strange as it may sound, for 3 months the French town found itself in the grip of an
affliction whereby people started dancing uncontrollably… in some cases till death!
The first recorded case was a lady named Frau Troffea, who busted some moves for 6 days
straight.
Before long lots of people had joined her - albeit involuntarily - in a groovy yet disturbing
way.
It’s easy to make jokes about this but can you imagine what it would have been like?
And it was especially horrible for those with heart conditions because they just couldn’t
stop until they literally dropped.
In an effort to control the situation, the town proposed a solution to build a stage
complete with musicians in the hope that people would get the dancing disease out of their
system.
But what caused this strange occurrence?
Local physicians blamed it on “hot blood” and may have just been caused by mass hysteria,
or a hysterical reaction against authority.
People at the time were dealing with disease, famine, all kinds of stress.
Or they could have been members of a religious cult.
But one of the most interesting hypothesis is that the people may have accidentally eaten
ergot, a hallucinogenic mould that forms on damp rye.
Ergot may have also been responsible for the hysteria and odd behaviour during the Salem
witch trials.
Other dancing plagues popped up in other places in Europe in the 16th century so it was not
an isolated incident.
But it remains a mystery for sure.
5.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Gardening is a surprisingly competitive activity, with people vying to see who can create the
most beautiful flowers, the most spectacular fountain, you know what I mean.
Of course if you were cultivating a garden back around 575 BCE in the area where Baghdad
is now, you’d have the ultimate competition in the form of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
These mighty gardens were planted by Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled over the legendary capital city
of Babylon.
The gardens were described as a paradise, with exotic plants and terraces creating a
place of greenery and tranquility in the middle of a desert.
Nebuchadnezzar’s power and influence spread to the extent that he seized control of Jerusalem.
Remember when I was telling you about events surrounding the disappearance of the Ark of
the Covenant?
Yep that was him.
The Hanging Gardens were one of his crowning achievements.
It was said he built them for his wife so that she would feel more at home, but many
historians doubt if this magnificent wonder of the world ever existed at all?
There are records of gardens existing in Nineveh and Mesopotamia from before the time of Nebuchadnezzar
and and maybe ancient historians got their places confused.
Scholars do agree though that if these gardens had existed they would have been probably
near one of the royal palaces and would definitely have qualified as one of the 7 wonders of
the world.
4.
Where is Jimmy Hoffa?
One of the most well-known vanishings in American history is that of union man Jimmy Hoffa in
1975.
Before his abrupt departure he’d had a high profile carer, rising to become President
of the Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Hoffa then fell from grace, getting convicted in 1967 on charges of fraud, bribery and tampering
with a jury.
It wasn’t a surprise to some that he disappeared, as Hoffa kept company with dark underworld
figures as well as distasteful people on the street.
He wasn’t allowed to get involved with a union again until 1980 though the disgraced
figure was working on a comeback of sorts in the Seventies after his release.
Reports say when he disappeared while in Detroit he was going to hook up with Anthony “Tony
Jack” Giacalone and Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano, two Mafia bosses.
In fact he telephoned his wife Josephine to tell her they hadn’t arrived, leading many
to speculate that Hoffa was killed by organized crime.
A movie was made in 1992 - a decade after Jimmy was officially declared dead - titled
simply Hoffa.
It starred Jack Nicholson as Hoffa and was directed by Danny DeVito.
Martin Scorsese is also making a Netflix film called The Irishman.
This is based on the story of Frank Sheeran, who claimed he was the one who murdered Hoffa
all those years ago.
Could Scorsese and De Niro be the people to shine a light on this most enduring mystery?
Guess we’ll have to get streaming to find out…
3.
Jack The Ripper
If there’s one historic mystery that’s never likely to be solved, it’s that of
Jack the Ripper.
This anonymous maniac tore through the area of Whitechapel in London in 1888, attacking
prostitutes with a mixture of brute force and surgical precision.
The horrifying case is made even worse by the fact that to this day no-one has exposed
the killer.
There have been numerous attempts to link people to the crimes but there is no conclusive
proof outside of gossip and leaps of the imagination.
Suspects identified at the time included George Chapman, a Polish medical man with a history
of threatening and violent behaviour.
Eventually he was arrested on suspicion of poisoning women to get his hands on their
wealth and hung in 1903.
It’s reported that detective Fred Abberline - who hunted the Ripper himself - believed
Chapman to be the infamous slayer.
An enduring myth about the Ripper is that he was a member of the Royal Family.
The Duke of Clarence has been mentioned as a suspect, though some sources claim this
to be wild speculation with nothing to suggest he was near the scene when the slaughter occurred.
Whoever this terrible human being was, he held the world in a grip of fear and although
discovering his identity won’t change the nature of his crimes, it would finally put
the mystery to rest.
2.
Location of Cleopatra’s Tomb
Cleopatra is one of the most recognized names in history so you’d think the location of
her tomb would be somewhere recorded in the history books.
But no!
To this day people don’t really know where this notorious queen, who famously bathed
in milk and swallowed fortunes, was finally laid to rest.
After all, she married Marc Anthony, a general and Romans are famous for keeping records.
But they both had become the public enemy of Rome.
When her kingdom was seized by Julius Caesar's adopted son Octavian she knew the end was
inevitable.
Marc Antony thinking that Cleopatra was already dead and all was lost, stabbed himself with
his sword.
Although Cleopatra tried to make peace with Octavian, he resisted her charms and so she
took her own life, possibly by provoking an asp to bite her.
Better to bitten by an Egyptian symbol of divine royalty than to be paraded in the streets
of Rome as a slave.
They were reportedly buried together.
A team from the Dominican archaeological mission believe it’s most likely located under a
hill near Alexandria, beneath a limestone structure called Taposiris Magna.
Why this place in particular?
Well, they think this due to the presence of what looks to be a prominent statue which
could be Antony and Cleopatra.
The location is surrounded by mummies, which suggests important people wanted to be buried
in proximity to these great figures.
They’ve also uncovered some intriguing artefacts and hopefully it is just a matter of time.
1.
The Shugborough Inscription
If you want a mystery that’ll really get you scratching your head, then the Shepherd’s
Monument inscription found at Shugborough Hall in Staffordshire England should top your
list.
Besides the fact that that was quite the tongue twister!!
The estate’s most famous owners were perhaps the Anson family.
Thomas and George Anson came up with the idea around the mid 18th century.
A Flemish sculptor named Peter Scheemakers was commissioned to create the elaborate piece.
The monument takes the form of a relief depicting ‘The Shepherds of Arcadia’ by Poussin.
Surrounding this is an arch and carved onto the Monument is an inscription which reads
‘DOUOSVAVVM’.
What does this even mean??
It’s this element that has tested some of the greatest minds of the age.
The author Charles Dickens took a stab as to its meaning and even Charles Darwin was
intrigued.
Over the years it has been described as everything from a message of love to a Biblical reference.
The Ansons’ reported association with secret organizations has led to some experts claiming
the inscription relates to codes used by the Knights Templar.
Poussin the artist was involved with the Templars, deepening the rumoured connection and possibly
revealing the whereabouts of another historic legend, the Holy Grail!
If this turns out to be true then wow… a double whammy!
Thanks for watching!
Do you have any solutions to these mysteries?
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