From an alien base underwater to an ancient hyena den full of human remains, here are
10 mysterious archaeological discoveries.
10.
The Osireion at Abydos
Located at Abydos, one of Ancient Egypt’s oldest cities, the Osirion is a temple that
was built in the complex of the Mortuary Temple of Seti I. Discovered in 1902, it was built
at a lower level than the temple of Seti, and had consequently become buried over time.
Abydos was a thriving city in 5400 BC and 2000 years later, pharaohs were still building
there.
Experts have dated the Osirion to the reign of Seti I, who ruled from 1294 to 1279 B.C.,
but its true age is unknown.
Seti I added an enormous temple covered with all kinds of artwork and hieroglyphics.
But what about the Osirion?
It doesn’t look like Seti’s temple at all.
It is stark and simple, made from enormous blocks of red granite weighing up to 100 tons
(90.7 metric tons) each.
But how did the blocks get here??
Thousands of years ago when this temple was built, the Nile was 7 miles closer to the
site.
Engineers most likely ferried the blocks up the river from 200 miles away.
Because no human remains were found at the temple, Egyptologists went with the theory
that it was a “symbolic tomb” dedicated to the god Osiris.
But there is no definitive proof of this.
9: Underwater Alien Base A new discovery off the coast of California
has people quite confused!
The unusual structure underwater looks like some sort of alien base!!
Located 6 miles offshore, the structure was found resting on the floor of the ocean like
some kind of spaceship covered over with dirt.
It looks like what you might imagine an underwater city to look like if it had been abandoned
and covered in shifting ocean sediments.
There are even columns that appear to lead into the structure.
However, scientists have been skeptical about whether this thing is truly even real.
Called an “anomaly” the images were obtained from Google Earth and could have been photoshopped.
The anomaly is 2000 feet below the surface, measures at least three miles wide, and is
shaped like an oval.
David Schwartz from the U.S. Geological Survey says that it's simply a geological formation
and has nothing to do with aliens, but he hasn’t been down there to look.
Just kidding!
According to the website of a California-based radio program, “Fade to Black,” this may
be “the Holy Grail of UFOs that researchers have been looking for over the last 40 years”.
Nobody actually knows what the anomaly is yet.
It looks like an artificial structure built on the ocean floor.
But according to experts, it's just a rock.
What do you think?
Let me know in the comments below!!
8.
Hyenas Hunted Neanderthals!
Italy’s Cultural Ministry just made the groundbreaking announcement that the remains
of nine Neanderthals were found in a cave near Rome.
One individual died between 100,000 and 90,000 years ago, and the eight others are believed
to date between 68,000 and 50,000 years ago.
Seven of the Neanderthals were adult males, one was an adult female, and one was a young
boy.
It appears as though several of them were hunted down and killed by hungry hyenas, who
dragged the bodies back to their dens and ate them.
This was a hyena den, not a cave where humans hung out!!
Describing the discovery as “a spectacular find,” Tor Vergata University archaeology
professor Mario Rolfo told The Guardian that a collapse sealed the cave off for tens of
thousands of years, effectively preserving the remains inside by keeping them safe from
the elements and other damage.
Traces of vegetables and numerous animals, including rhinos, giant deer, horses, and
hyenas were found alongside the Neanderthals.
Rolfo explained that hyenas hunted our ancient cousins, targeting those who were the most
vulnerable, like the sick and the elderly.
He and his colleagues plan to analyze the individuals’ DNA to learn more about their
lifestyles and circumstances.
If life is scary now, imagine also being hunted down by giant packs of hungry hyenas!!
So far, a dental examination has revealed that they mostly ate cereal, but every now
and then they ate something else.
Our early relatives, the Neanderthals, are largely shrouded in mystery, despite numerous
discoveries being made in recent years.
Researchers still don’t know why they died out around 40,000 years ago or their exact
migration patterns.
They have learned, contrary to popular belief, that Neanderthals had complex brains and established
a rich culture that included creating artwork and tools and engaging in certain rituals.
It’s even believed that Neanderthals and humans may have exchanged customs and ideas
between each other, which is entirely plausible, considering we bred with them and that most
humans today even carry a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA.
Advancing DNA technology and new discoveries are greatly helping when it comes to better
understanding Neanderthals and our past relationship with them, but it will likely be some time
before all the pieces of the puzzle come together.
7.
Monument ‘hidden In Plain Sight’
Archaeologists recently identified an ancient structure ‘hidden in plain sight’ at the
Maya city-state of Tikal in northern Guatemala’s lowlands, thanks to sophisticated technology
that enables researchers to “see” through thick vegetation and centuries’ worth of
accumulated soil.
Using laser-scanning equipment called LiDAR, they were able to identify a distinct collection
of buildings, including a pyramid, that are unlike anything else they’ve seen at Tikal.
The structures appear to be a smaller-scale replica of the Citadel, an enormous square
of architecture at Teotihuacan, located over 800 miles (1,287 km) to the west in modern-day
Mexico City.
As part of the South Tikal Archaeological Project, a team led by director Edwin Román-Ramírez
physically explored the site, where they discovered burials, architecture, and artifacts, including
ceramics and weapons, resembling those found at Teotihuacan.
Which was Aztec, not Maya.
The groundbreaking discovery shows the extent of the distant capital’s influence and relationship
with Tikal and reflects a melting pot of cultures and languages much like we see in some of
today’s major cities, according to geographer Thomas Garrison, who spoke with National Geographic
about the findings.
Román-Ramírez cautioned that the newly identified buildings are not definitive proof that people
from Teotihuacan lived at Tikal, but that a group of people who were familiar with the
culture lived there for over a century in their own established colony.
While an isotopic analysis of bones found at the site should provide more insight into
the settlement’s history, researchers believe that it was built sometime before the third
century.
In 378, Teotihuacan’s ruler had Tikal’s king overthrown and installed his son as the
new emperor.
Experts are unsure what sparked the falling-out between the two societies, who had been allies
for several decades, but the recently discovered remains of elite Maya residents who were slaughtered
at Teotihuacan, along with destroyed Maya murals, suggests that a war was going on.
6.
Africa’s Oldest Human Burial
Nearly 80,000 years ago, a human child between the ages of two-and-a-half and three died
and was laid to rest at Panga ya Saidi in the tropical uplands of what is now Kenya.
The toddler was wrapped in an organic material -- perhaps plant fibers or animal skins -- and
positioned on their right side, with his or her knees tucked to their chin and with a
pillow beneath their head.
They were covered in dirt, and over the following millennia, nearly 10 more feet (3 meters)
of dirt accumulated over the remains.
Archaeologists discovered the burial in 2013, but the bones were so delicate, it took years
to excavate them, and the team finally published their findings in a study released this year.
The individual, nicknamed Mtoto, which is Swahili for “child,” represents the oldest
known burial in Africa, although earlier graves dating as far back as 130,000 years have been
found elsewhere, including in Israel.
Burials anywhere near this age are extremely rare in Africa, leaving researchers to wonder
whether this is because the continent is barely explored compared to other places, or if ancient
people dealt with their dead in a less conspicuous way, according to Michael Petraglia, a professor
of evolution and prehistory at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.
Additionally, Petraglia pointed out that the deliberately positioned nature of the child’s
body speaks to shared human tendencies across time, including, in his words, “our cognition,
our sociality and our behaviors.”
In other words, in witnessing how the remains were laid to rest, the researchers were able
to connect with the little one’s death, and their grieving family, from an emotional
standpoint, despite tens of thousands of years separating them from the event.
Our ability to form complex belief systems around death is what separated early humans
from other primates, according to lead project investigator Professor Nicole Bovin.
But these beliefs vary across cultures, and there’s no telling what the child’s burial
meant to people, only that they were finding ways to make sense of death, to place meaning
on the unfortunate loss.
5.
Sunken Settlement
While assisting with the installation of a pipeline earlier this year in Lucerne, Switzerland,
a team of underwater archaeologists spotted old piles of mud-encrusted wood at the bottom
of Lake Lucerne, at least 13 feet (4 meters) below the water’s surface.
Upon taking a closer look, they found pottery shards and stilts that once supported houses.
Samples from the sunken village were dated back to around 1,000 B.C., confirming that
the city was settled around 2,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to a statement
issued by a local spokesperson.
The shocking discovery adds a chapter to Lucerne’s history, which is largely shrouded in mystery.
Before the settlement was found, researchers believe the city was founded around 800 years
ago.
Knowing that Lucerne didn’t spring into existence from nothing, they suspected that
its past went further back than that, but lacked evidence of earlier beginnings.
Lake Lucerne’s water levels were much lower than they are now until the 15th century,
when a series of natural disasters and human activities caused the water to rise.
It’s likely that the village, like some others, once sat on the lakeside before being
consumed by the water.
4.
A New Egyptian Queen
Archaeologists were stunned recently when they discovered the 4,200-year-old funerary
temple of a previously unknown Egyptian Queen at the vast Saqqara necropolis.
Found near the Pyramid of King Teti, who was only known to have two wives -- Iput I and
Khuit II -- the tomb belonged to a woman named Queen Neit, who is identified through inscriptions
as Teti’s wife and daughter.
Archaeologist Zahi Hawass, who is heading the excavations at Saqqara, told the press
that the team had discovered Neit’s nearby pyramid back in 2010, but did not know who
it belonged to until they found her funerary temple this year.
He added that only 30 percent of Saqqara’s contents have been excavated, while most remain
underground.
Discoveries like this are rewriting the history of Ancient Egypt, especially when it comes
to the New Kingdom’s 18th and 19th dynasties.
In addition to the funerary chamber, the team found an array of artifacts dating back around
3,000 years to the New Kingdom, including dozens of mummies, figurines, pottery, and
54 colorfully decorated coffins.
Speaking with Xinhua News Agency, SCA chief Mostafa Waziri said that the discovery of
wooden coffins from the New Kingdom is a first at Saqqara.
The sheer amount of new findings being made here and elsewhere is telling of how little
we truly know about Ancient Egypt, and how much more we’re about to learn.
3.
Huge Roman Complex
While performing routine excavations recently ahead of plans for the construction of a new
housing development, archaeologists in Scarborough, England discovered the remains of a sprawling
Roman complex that may have been a luxury villa and bathhouse, a religious sanctuary,
or both.
It’s not only the first complex of its kind found in Britain, but possibly the only known
example throughout the former Roman Empire.
The buildings consist of a circular central room connected to other rooms and to the bathhouse,
and this layout is apparently unique among all known Roman buildings.
Keith Emerick, who is the inspector of ancient monuments for Historic England, told the BBC
that the discoverers consulted experts, who were unable to find a similar site.
He described the complex as a combination of a bathhouse, a gentleman’s club, and
a religious building.
The site is about 40 miles (64 km) from York, where the Romans arrived in 71 A.D. and established
a local seat of government that operated from 208 to 211, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
It once again became a provincial capital in 305 and remained an important political
center until Roman forces left Britain in the early fifth century.
Plans for the housing development have been restructured to accommodate the preservation
of the rare discovery, which will hopefully teach experts more about the time period and
why the Romans chose such an uncharacteristic building style.
2.
Ancient Egypt’s Largest ‘lost’ City
This year and last year saw some of the most significant Ancient Egyptian discoveries of
all time, including the civilization’s largest known city ever found to date.
Named “The Rise of Aten,” it was discovered buried in the sand on the western bank of
Luxor and dates back to the reign of Amenhotep III, who ruled from 1391 to 1353 B.C., according
to CNN.
In a statement, archaeologist Zahi Hawass described the city as being remarkably intact,
with houses lining the streets, walls up to 10 feet (3 meters) high, and rooms containing
everyday objects “...left by the ancient residents as if it were yesterday.”
Included among these items are rings, pottery vessels, pots for carrying meat, tools for
spinning, weaving, metal-making and glassmaking, and molds that were used for making amulets.
Aten had a local bakery containing ovens and large pottery that appears to have catered
to a sizable population, as well as several workshops, including one that was used for
manufacturing mud bricks.
Archaeologists were perplexed by, and are currently investigating, the strange burial
of a skeleton with outstretched arms and rope around the knees.
The once-thriving “lost” city was abandoned around 3,400 years ago and relocated to Armana
for unknown reasons that archaeologists hope to eventually uncover.
1.
An Untouched Ancient Tomb
While doing routine work recently on the Dingle Peninsula along Ireland’s southern coast,
a farmer turned over a rock and noticed a stone-lined chamber beneath it.
The landowner promptly alerted authorities, and it led to the discovery of an untouched
ancient tomb that archaeologists described as “highly unusual.”
Experts believe the structure dates back to sometime between 2000 and 500 B.C. to the
Bronze Age, and perhaps earlier.
Speaking with RTE, local archaeologist Mícheál Ó Coileáin said that the tomb contains numerous
uncharacteristic features, and that it’s unlike any other Bronze Age burial sites nearby.
In addition to being unique, it’s extremely rare to discover an untouched burial chamber
with human remains inside.
For now, officials are keeping quiet about what makes the tomb so distinctive among others,
and they are not disclosing its location for the sake of protecting it from prying hands.
Most of it remains underground, so it’s entirely possible that the experts themselves
don’t know much about it yet.