James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States
once said, "Things don't turn up in this world until somebody turns them up".
Paleontologists and archaeologists have the unique job of discovering, or turning up,
evidence from the past. While paleontologists use fossil remains to understand the past,
archaeologists study the remnants left behind by ancient civilizations. Let's take a look
at some of the most famous discoveries in archaeology over the last two centuries.
Perched high in the Peruvian mountains, the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu
remained hidden to the outside world for hundreds of years. Then, in 1911, American archaeologist,
explorer, and future senator Hiram Bingham heard about rumors of an abandoned city from
local farmers. Following a local guide, he climbed up and up the rugged mountain until
finally he caught sight of the ruins that would change his life. Later he said of his discovery,
“...suddenly we found ourselves in the midst of a jungle-covered maze of small and large walls.
Surprise followed surprise until there came the realization
that we were in the midst of as wonderful ruins as any ever found in Peru.”
In the local dialect, Machu Picchu means “Old Peak” or “Old Mountain”.
This impressive, mountain-top fortress, thought to be built in the fifteenth century,
sprawls across five miles. It was constructed from granite stones cut so precisely that no mortar was
needed and not even a paper would fit in between the stones. No one is completely sure why it was
built in such a remote location, but scientists have speculated that it could be anything
from a royal estate, to a religious site, or even an isolated prison. Whatever the reason,
this mysterious city with its stunning backdrop, attracts 1.5 million visitors to Peru every year.
This magnificent structure is the Greater Temple of Abu Simbel. The entrance is guarded by four
seated statues, each representing the pharaoh Ramses on his throne. These massive carvings
rise to heights of 35 meters, or 115 feet. The temple was carefully constructed so that
twice a year the sun aligned with the door of the temple and a beam of sunlight would
reach all the way into the innermost chamber. Ramses the second built this
temple twelve hundred years before the birth of Christ to display his wealth and power.
The temple complex is believed to have been discovered in 1813
by a Swiss scholar traveling down the Nile. Most of the temple entrance was buried in sand and had
to be excavated before it could be explored. In the 1960s a dam across the Nile was planned
which would cause massive flooding in the temples. To preserve them, the temples were painstakingly
deconstructed, moved, and reconstructed miles from the dam. This massive project took almost
five years to complete, but now the temples are safe and available for anyone who wants to visit.
In the 1930s Edith Pretty was a wealthy widow living on her estate at Sutton Hoo in England.
She became convinced that several large mounds on her land were hiding some archaeological secrets.
Spurred by curiosity, Edith enlisted the help of local amateur archaeologist, Basil Brown, and two
or three of her staff members, and instructed them to begin digging. Over time, however, this small
project would become one of the most important archaeological discoveries of medieval Europe.
Meticulous excavation of the mounds uncovered the remains of an Anglo-Saxon burial ship.
Around fourteen hundred years ago, the ship was chosen to be the tomb of an ancient king. It was
hauled from the river, filled with treasure, and buried in the fields of what would someday become
Edith Pretty’s home. Inside the burial chamber in the center of the ship they discovered gold
coins, silver bowls, instruments, buckles, jewelry, and the renowned Sutton Hoo helmet.
Edith, aware of the historic significance of the find,
donated all the treasure to the British museum where it could be studied by experts.
Pompeii was once a thriving city on the coast of modern-day Italy, but now it is an extensive
archaeological site. The event that destroyed this city is also the event that preserved it.
One terrible day Mount Vesuvius erupted,
spewing fire and ash down upon the inhabitants of this ancient Roman city. It took only
hours for the entire city to be covered in over twenty feet of ash and stone.
The ash that buried the city also acted as an impressive preservative. Buildings, household
items, and even foods were found exactly where they would have been on the day of the eruption.
The excavation of the city of Pompeii was the birth of modern archeology. Unfortunately
the project was initially completed in a haphazard fashion, bent on the accumulation
of treasure rather than knowledge. Many artifacts were damaged or destroyed in the process.
By the early 1800s the focus of the excavation changed from accumulation to preservation.
The excavation and restoration of this historic site continues even today.
Throughout history explorers have unearthed tombs filled with golden treasure and precious jewelry.
Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China, filled his tomb with something...different.
Farmers digging a well in 1974 found clay fragments that led to the discovery
of over 8,000 life-size soldiers, horses, and chariots, all carefully sculpted from terracotta.
The emperor had commissioned this Terracotta Army,
as he believed that it would protect him in the afterlife.
Originally each sculpture was beautifully painted, but the paint quickly disappears
when it is exposed to the air, fading to a uniform reddish color. As archaeologists
excavate new sections they quickly transfer some of the statues to a lab to study the paint before
it completely decomposes. This historic site draws over one million visitors each year.
From the peaks of Peru, to the coasts of Italy, to the deserts of Egypt these diverse and intriguing
archaeological sites give us an opportunity to glimpse into the lives and cultures of the past.
What will be discovered next, and what lessons will we learn?