10.
Mysterious Shipwreck
In October, a mysterious wooden shipwreck appeared along the Baltic Sea coast in Latvia.
A group of locals noticed the planks poking up through the sand and expected to find some
small boards.
Much to their surprise, it was an entire ship.
Measuring roughly 40 feet (12.2 meters) long, the vessel is made of oak timber planks and
copper nails, which were common features of 19th-century Royal British Navy ships.
At one time, the ship was likely covered in copper plates, which would’ve protected
the wood from mollusks, shipworms, and saltwater corrosion.
Equipped for long-distance travel, it was likely a warship or a merchant vessel.
The ship was sturdy enough to withstand the often turbulent Baltic and North Seas, and
it may have ventured as far as the tropics, according to a spokesperson for Latvia's National
Cultural Heritage Board.
The British Royal Navy rapidly expanded its fleet starting in the late 18th century, with
each new ship requiring around 4,000 mature English oak trees.
A lot of forests were cut down, especially since wood isn’t the most durable material,
as the archeologists who dug up the ship would know.
The moment it made contact with the air, it began to deteriorate.
It’ll be time-consuming and expensive to preserve, but the government is thankfully
stepping in to help.
9.
Bizarre Dinosaur
Between 72 and 75 million years ago, an armored dinosaur with a bizarre weaponized tail roamed
the Patagonia region of what is now southern Chile.
Measuring roughly 6-and-a-half feet (2 meters) long, this Cretaceous creature, dubbed Stegouros
elengassen, was a type of herbivorous dinosaur called an ankylosaur.
It somewhat resembled a stegosaurus, minus its tail, which scientists have likened to
an extremely flat sword or an Aztec club, called a macuahuitl.
The deadly appendage is unlike any other tail ever seen on a dinosaur.
It’s short for a dinosaur tail, but functioned as a rather effective weapon against its enemies.
The newly described specimen died near a river, where it may have been sucked into the ground
by quicksand.
A. elengassen’s fossils show that ankylosaurs evolved much differently in different parts
of the world after the supercontinent Pangea broke up around 200 million years ago.
The event split Pangea into two separate landmasses – the southerly supercontinent Gondwana,
and Laurasia, which sat largely in the Northern Hemisphere.
Very few ankylosaurs have been found in the region that once encompassed southern Gondwana,
and the ones that have were much different than their neighbors to the north.
They were smaller, with thinner legs and lighter armor, according to lead study author Sergio
Soto Acuña, who told reporters about the discovery.
What do you think about this dinosaur?
Whats your favorite dinosaur?
Let me know in the comments below!
8.
Human Ancestors Who Walked on Two Feet
Australopithecus sediba was an early relative of modern humans that lived in Africa around
two million years ago.
The first fossils of the species were found in 2008 at the Malapa site outside Johannesburg,
South Africa in a region known as the Cradle of Civilization.
They were unfortunately too badly decomposed for scientists to tell if A. sediba walked
on two feet.
More fossils belonging to a female nicknamed “Issa” were discovered at the same site
in 2015.
These newer examples consist of one of the most complete lower spines from that early
on in the hominid record.
In a recent study, researchers determined that A. sediba had a spinal curvature similar
to that of a human female, and that the species would have been able to stand and walk comfortably
on two legs.
But they weren’t too much like modern humans – the evidence also showed that A. sediba
spent a lot of time climbing trees.
By studying how our ancestors developed, scientists are not only learning more about the history
of human evolution.
The findings could potentially help them gain insight into modern-day health matters, like
how and why our lower back is so prone to injury.
It’s pretty incredible, considering how archeology and paleontology can provide information
that benefits our health today.
7.
Bronze Age Facial Reconstruction
Sometime during the Bronze Age, a powerful woman died in what is now southeastern Spain.
She was between 25 and 30 years old when she took her last breath and was laid to rest
in a burial urn with a silver diadem, or crown, atop her head.
An array of lavish goods were deposited into the grave, including bracelets, hairpieces,
earrings, silver rings, beaded necklaces, a drinking pot, and more.
Archeologists unearthed the ceramic vessel containing the woman’s remains in 2014,
in an area known as La Almaloya.
In it, they also found the skeleton of a man who appeared to have died just a few years
before her.
The duo hailed from the Bronze Age El Argar culture, which lasted from around 2200 B.C.
to 1500 B.C.
Researchers don’t know who either of them were or how the two were connected, but it’s
apparent based on the woman’s luxurious grave goods that she was a higher-ranking
member of their society than the man was.
In fact, her community gave her an elite burial even though she had outlived her male partner,
suggesting that perhaps the woman’s power had nothing to do with the man.
Maybe he was her lover??
A thorough examination of her skeleton showed that she died with several health conditions,
including a missing rib and neck vertebra.
Experts recently reconstructed her face, adding a human element to the discovery and making
us feel just a little more connected to the past.
6.
Illegal Colonial Currency
While sifting through hundreds of old coins at their estate in Northumberland, England
recently, a member of the Wentworth family found a silver coin that was minted in Boston,
Massachusetts in 1652.
It was probably brought back to Britain by one of the family’s ancestors, who settled
in New England during the colonial era.
A descendant of the settlers named Wentworth Beaumont took the tin full of coins to James
Morton, an expert from the London-based Morton and Eden auction house.
He noticed the colonial shilling right away, later recalling in a statement that he could
hardly believe his eyes.
One side of the coin features the letters “NE” for New England, and the other bears
the Roman numeral XII to reflect its monetary value.
Only an estimated 40 of these shillings survive today, and the recently discovered coin is
the only one to ever be certified as being in “mint” condition.
It was illegal to mint coins in the New World.
Settlers were required to trade using wampum and currency from other countries.
But they found themselves facing a coin shortage, and the Massachusetts General Court commissioned
silversmith John Hull to strike the shillings.
The first version of the coin, which is what the Beaumont family found in their attic,
was simple and easy to counterfeit.
So silversmiths improved the design over time.
For the next 30 years, they stamped all the coins they made with the year 1652 so that
the British wouldn’t suspect that there was still any minting going on.
But the authorities found out anyway, and in 1682, King Charles II shut the mint down
for being treasonous.
The Beaumont family’s shilling was recently sold at auction to an anonymous buyer for
$351,912.
Quite a bit more valuable than the illegal shilling was ever intended to be.
5.
A Ferocious Prehistoric Marine Reptile
Back in the 1970s, paleontologists in Boyacá, Colombia unearthed the partial skull of a
prehistoric marine animal resembling a swordfish.
The creature was classified as a type of large, extinct aquatic reptile called an ichthyosaur.
And while scientists got this part of its taxonomy correct, they accidentally labeled
it under the wrong species.
In fact, it wasn’t until recently that a researcher finally noticed that the fossils
represent a new animal.
Measuring roughly 3 feet (1 meter) long, the creature’s skull is packed with a pair of
elongated jaws filled with terrifying, gnarly teeth.
Dubbed Kyhytysuka sachicarum, it swam in the world’s oceans between 115 and 130 million
years ago, following the mass extinction that marked the end of the Jurassic period, and
reached anywhere from 13.1 to 16.4 feet (4-5 meters) long.
At the time, Colombia was an “ancient biodiversity hotspot,” according to researcher Dirley
Cortés, who spoke with reporters about the discovery.
Unlike other ichthyosaurs, which had small, even-sized teeth, the newly identified specimen
had teeth that were adapted to catching large prey.
These terrifying chompers opened to somewhere between 70 and 75 degrees and were equipped
to catch, crush, puncture, and saw through other marine reptiles and big fish.
Discoveries like this are imperative for piecing together our murky understanding of how marine
ecosystems evolved.
Can you imagine coming across a terrifying creature like this while underwater today?
Yikes!!
4.
Mysterious Mummy
Around 800 years ago, a young adult died in Peru and was mummified before being buried
near the coast.
The body’s preparers wrapped the corpse in cloth, put the person’s hands over their
face, and tied their limbs and body up with rope.
These rituals were customary among the Andean cultures who lived in the region before the
Incas rose to power around 1400 A.D.
Archeologists discovered the mummy right outside the capital of Lima earlier this year.
The area, known as Cajamarquilla, was once home to one of the biggest and busiest pre-Hispanic
settlements along the Peruvian coast.
The team believes that the individual was a young man who died between the ages of 25
and 30, but they have yet to confirm this.
He was found in an oval-shaped tomb beneath the city square, suggesting that he was an
important person, perhaps a trader who had moved to the town from elsewhere to sell his
wares.
The mummy’s tomb was filled with ceramics, stone tools, and other grave goods.
There were also signs that people visited his burial long after he died and left offerings
of meat and vegetables.
The team is currently awaiting radiocarbon dating and other test results so they can
get a more precise idea on when the person died and perhaps who he was to his community.
3.
Oldest Denisovan Fossils
It seems crazy to think about, but at one point in time, several different species of
humans walked the Earth.
Scientists know relatively little about these different groups of archaic humans, but are
learning more as they continue to investigate.
For example, in 2010, a DNA test revealed the existence of an extinct hominid group
called the Denisovans who, aside from the Neanderthals, are our closest known relatives.
The test results indicated that the Denisovans had a Neanderthal-like build and dark features.
And, much like our extinct cousins the Neanderthals, they interbred with humans, with some people
still carrying Denisovan DNA in their blood today.
But for the most part, these ancient relatives of ours are largely a mystery to experts.
Fossilized evidence of the Denisovans has only ever been found in Siberia and China.
But genetic testing indicates that there were several distinct groups of them, and that
they may have once been widespread across Asia and Oceania.
Scientists recently announced the discovery of the oldest Denisovan fossils ever found
to date.
Like most of the others, they were unearthed inside Denisova Cave in Siberia.
Based on the age of the soil they were found in, the bones are around 200,000 years old.
They were found among an array of other artifacts that have never been mixed with Denisovan
remains until now, including animal bones and stone objects that may have been used
as tools.
The team plans to study these items more closely to determine any connection they may have
had with the Denisovans.
So far, it appears as though the ancient hominids ate well during that time period, which was
marked by a warm climate, making the area near the cave ideal for human habitation.
They may have also competed with wild dogs and wolves for food and shelter.
Can you imagine living back then?
That would be really scary!!
2.
Aztec Altar
While excavating at the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán near modern-day Mexico City
recently, archeologists found a 16th-century altar and a pot full of cremated human remains.
By the 16th century, the Spanish had conquered the city.
The team that discovered the altar believe it dates back no further than the defeat of
the city’s Aztec ruler by Hernán Cortés in 1521.
Known as the battle of Tenochtitlán, the skirmish is commonly thought of as the beginning
of the Aztec Empire’s end.
The altar sat inside the courtyard of a family’s home.
It is here where the family would have held a goodbye ritual of sorts before their culture
was destroyed and their lives as they knew them were about to change dramatically.
The altar was buried 13 feet (4 meters) below ground, according to archeologist Mara Becerra,
who believes that the family probably concealed it on purpose to keep it away from the conquistadors’
view.
Becerra theorized that the family was from the indigenous Mexica culture that eventually
formed the Aztec Empire.
1.
Rare Roman Mosaic
Jim Irvine was walking around on his father’s property in Rutland, England last year during
the COVID lockdown when he noticed some unusual pottery.
He and his family helped archeologists excavate the site, where they uncovered a huge Roman
mural depicting scenes from Homer’s Iliad.
Measuring 36 by 23 feet (11 x 7 meters), it’s the first mural of its kind ever found in
Britain.
Anyone else find anything good during lockdown??
Experts believe that the mural belonged to a wealthy homeowner, who used it as the floor
of his dining room or an entertaining area.
Dating back to the third or fourth century, it features images from Achilles’ defeat
of Hector at the end of the Trojan War.
There are three scenes: the first depicts the pair fighting, the second shows Achilles
dragging Hector's corpse, and in the third, the Trojans are preparing to get Hector’s
body back by paying his weight in gold.
After digging up the mosaic, the team reburied it with plans to retrieve it when they’re
ready.
It’s been damaged over the last 1,700 years by fire and building projects, and the archeologists
don’t want to risk causing any more harm to it while they figure out their next step.
The villa’s owner was not only wealthy, he was also well-read, according to project
manager John Thomas.
He would’ve been familiar with the classics when he commissioned the mosaic.
In addition to the villa, the team found evidence of other ancient structures nearby.
They believe that the home was abandoned, then used as a burial site.
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