Puzzling ancient finds have a way of captivating the public, perhaps because it's just too
easy to dream up interesting explanations for how and why things exist.
These 10 archaeological discoveries have left people in awe — and left scientists scratching
their heads — year after year.
Stone spheres in Costa Rica
Giant stone spheres — some dating as far back as A.D. 600 — pepper the Diquis Delta
of southern Costa Rica. Known locally as Las Bolas ("The Balls"), these monuments were
the works of a Pre-Colombian civilization, and most are made from gabbro, a rock that
forms from molten magma. The people who carved the stones into their perfectly spherical
shapes likely did so using other small stones, according to archaeologists who study the
ancient rocks.
Many non-experts have speculated that the so-called Diquis Spheres were used for astronomical
purposes, while others think they may have pointed the way to significant places. The
truth is that no one knows for sure. The Chibchan people who once populated Costa Rica and other
parts of Central America vanished in the wake of the Spanish conquest, and the purpose of
the spheres vanished with them, John W. Hoopes, an anthropologist at the University of Kansas,
told JSTOR Daily in January 2016.
Antikythera mechanism
Like something from a fantastical treasure movie, the discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism
remains a major archaeological head-scratcher.
Found in the sunken wreckage of a Greek cargo ship that is at least 2,000 years old, the
circular bronze artifact contains a maze of interlocking gears and mysterious characters
etched all over its exposed faces. Originally thought to be a kind of navigational astrolabe,
archaeologists continue to uncover its uses and now know that it was, at the very least,
a highly intricate astronomical calendar.
It is still the most sophisticated device ever found from that period, preceding the
next appearance of similar devices by 1,000 years.
Cleopatra's tomb
Cleopatra VII was the last of a series of rulers called the Ptolemies who ruled Egypt
between 305 and 30 B.C. Much is known about her intelligence, beauty and romantic relationships
(she had children with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony), but one fact about Cleopatra
is still shrouded in mystery — her burial place.
Cleopatra and Antony both committed suicide after their former ally, Octavian, defeated
them at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. The two were buried together at a site that the
writer Plutarch (A.D. 45-120) described as a "lofty and beautiful" monument, located
near a temple of the Egyptian goddess Isis. But exactly where this tomb is located remains
a mystery. If anyone ever finds the lovers' tomb, there's a chance it might be empty,
as grave robbery was not uncommon in ancient times, according to archaeologists.
Qin Shi Huang's tomb
In 1974, farmers in China's Shaanxi province accidentally unearthed one of the biggest
archaeological finds of the 20th century — the life-size terracotta armyof Emperor Qin Shi
Huang (259 B.C. – 210 B.C.).
The intricately carved figures aren't a mystery: Historians know that the clay army was created
to defend China's first emperor in the afterlife. What isn't known, however, is where exactly
the emperor is buried or what treasures his burial chamber might contain.
A pyramid-shaped mausoleum is located about a mile to the northeast of where the terracotta
army was discovered. However, no one has actually entered the mausoleum that holds Qin Shi Huang's
remains.
The first emperor's final resting place is the most opulent tomb ever constructed in
China, according to ancient documents describing its construction. An underground palace, complete
with a surrounding "kingdom," the mausoleum is made up of a network of caves and even
included a state-of the-art drainage system. Whether archaeologists will ever have the
technology they need to safely excavate the tomb (which also happens to contain extremely
high levels of mercury) remains a mystery, as do the many treasures that lay inside.
Stonehenge
Sprucing up an otherwise docile English field, the prehistoric monument commonly known as
Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous landmarks.
The ring of megalithic stones was built approximately 4,000 years ago and was an impressive feat
for the primitive people who constructed it but that's about all archaeologists know for
sure. None of the theories on the original purpose of Stonehenge, which range from an
astronomical observatory to a religious temple of healing, has ever been, well, set in stone.
Ancient animal traps
Low stone walls crisscrossing the deserts of Israel, Egypt and Jordan have puzzled archaeologists
since their discovery by pilots in the early 20th century.
The chain of lines some up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) long and nicknamed "kites" by
scientists for their appearance from the air date to 300 B.C., but were abandoned long
ago.
The mystery might be somewhat clearer thanks to a recent study claiming that the purpose
of the kites was to funnel wild animals toward a small pit, where they could easily be killed
in large numbers. This efficient system suggests that local hunters knew more about the behavior
of local fauna than previously thought.
Nazca lines
From the ground, the Nazca Lines of Peru are nothing spectacular. However, seen from the
air, from which they were first spotted by commercial aircraft in the 1920s and 30s,
they are staggering.
Archaeologists agree the enormous shapes there are hundreds of them, ranging from geometric
lines to complicated depictions of animals, plants and imaginary figures were made over
2,000 years ago by people of the pre-Inca Nazca culture, who simply removed the red
surface pebbles to reveal the lighter earth below in designs of their choice.
Just why they did it remains enigmatic, prompting conspiracy theorists to float ideas about
alien landings and ancient astrology. The lines were more likely to have been a ritual
communication method with the Nazca's deities, say archaeologists.
The Great Pyramids
Even the information that archaeologists do know about the Great Pyramids of Egypt is
enormously fascinating, to say nothing about what still might be uncovered.
Built almost 5,000 years ago in what is now Cairo, the three-pyramid complex with the
largest, Khufu, dominating the site is a testament to the ancient Egyptians' reverence for their
Pharaohs and the intricacies of their belief in the afterlife.
Archaeologists are still discovering new tunnels and shafts built within the pyramids, and
are still searching for clues on who built the great monuments, how and why, even today.
Shroud of Turin
Perhaps no archaeological discovery is more debated than the enigmatic Shroud of Turin,
which many believe to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. This long piece of twill
cloth bears traces of blood, as well as the darkened imprint of a man's body.
The Catholic Church officially recorded the existence of the shroud in A.D. 1353, which
is when the cloth showed up in a church in Lirey, France. But the legend of the shroud
dates back to A.D. 30 or 33. According to that legend, the shroud was transported from
Judea (now southern Palestine) to Edessa, Turkey, and later to Constantinople (now called
Istanbul). When crusaders sacked Constantinople in A.D. 1204, the cloth was moved to Athens,
Greece, where it was allegedly held until A.D. 1225.
It wasn't until the 1980s that researchers got their hands on the cloth to try to determine
its true age using radiocarbon dating. They determined that the alleged burial cloth of
Jesus was actually created between A.D. 1260 and A.D. 1390. In other words, the scientists
determined that the cloth is most likely a medieval forgery. However, critics of this
research argue that the scientists may have dated newer portions of the shroud that were
stitched together centuries after Jesus' death, which would explain why the shroud seems "newer"
than it really is.
Gobekli Tepe
Humans first settled into permanents towns, farmed and then built temples, in that order,
starting in 8,000 B.C. Or did they?
An amazing archaeological discovery made in 1994 at Gobekli Tepe, a rural area of Turkey,
has blown that hypothesis apart, prompting new questions about the evolution of civilization.
Containing multiple rings of huge stone pillars carved with scenes of animals and dating to
the 10th millennium B.C., Gobekli Tepe is considered the world's oldest place of worship.
Yet evidence also suggests the people who built it were semi-nomadic hunters, likely
unaware of agriculture, which followed in the area only five centuries later. Because
of Gobekli Tepe, archaeologists now have to ask which came first. Did building projects
like this lead to settlement, and not vice-versa,
as always thought?