From an entire chest full of jewelry to a mysterious disc depicting the heavens, here
are 9 rare artifacts that scientists can’t explain!!
9.
The Emerald Dial
In 1912, a group of workers in London made an extremely valuable discovery!!
They were demolishing an old building near St. Paul’s Cathedral in Cheapside and got
down to the cellar, where they began hacking away at the bricks.
Something glimmered and caught their attention.
Turns out it was a wooden box chock full of treasure!!
There was jewelry, gems and many other precious objects.
It is now known as the Cheapside Hoard and it is the largest known collection of Elizabethan
and Stuart era jewelry ever found.
Consisting of nearly 500 pieces, experts believe the cache was hidden around 350 years ago,
and more recent in-depth studies have dated it to sometime between 1640 and 1666.
The story goes that a gem dealer booked passage from the Orient back to England, bringing
with him boxes and boxes full of gems.
Someone saw him with a diamond the size of a walnut hanging around his neck and then
next thing you know, he was poisoned.
His treasure disappeared but some of it ended up in the cheapside hoard!
A curator at the Museum of London said that a jeweler or goldsmith may have gathered the
collection of jewels from all over and stashed the items before heading off to battle.
Nobody knows who this person was, however.
While it was relatively common for people to bury their valuables during that time,
eventually they came back to get them!
Upon debuting the collection’s exhibit in 2013, the Museum of London described it as
“the single most important source of our knowledge on early modern jewelry worldwide.”
The items consist of jewelry made from materials sourced from different continents, including
Colombian emeralds, diamonds from India, and pearls from Bahrain.
Included among the treasures are an emerald watch, a gild brass watch, a Byzantine-era
sapphire and pearl pendant, a gold pendant with sapphires, and more.
The emerald watch alone is considered priceless.
Cut from an enormous emerald stone, the craftsmanship is incredible.
Emeralds are delicate stones and fracture easily.
Cutting into it, and making a lid and engraving a clock right into it is incredible!
But nobody knows who these incredible jewelers were, or the story behind who hid this incredible
treasure.
If only the pieces could speak...
8.
Sakwala Chakraya
Located in modern-day Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura (locally known as Rajarata, or “Land of
Kings”) is an ancient sacred city and the island’s first kingdom.
Established in 377 B.C., it remains a holy destination for Buddhist pilgrims from all
over the world.
Within Anuradhapura at a 40-acre (16.2 hectares) site called Ranmasu Uyana, or “Golden Fish
Park,” there’s a six-foot (1.8 meters) slab that’s said to contain the formula
for unlocking the secrets of the universe.
Known as Sakwala Chakraya, which is Sinhalese for “Universe Cycle,” and nicknamed the
“stargate,” the artifact contains a collection of symbols that are widely interpreted to
be a cosmological chart of some sort.
Facing the suspected space map, there’s a series of four seats carved out of rock.
Archaeologists and historians have failed to explain the seats or the stargate in rational
terms.
Speaking with the BBC, University of Kelaniya Archaeology Professor Raj Somadeva said that
the items could date back to the seventh century, when the site’s second major developmental
phase began.
But that the chart’s origins, meaning, and function are completely absent from historical
records, which are otherwise meticulous and thorough.
This society kept good notes but mentions of the stargate are nowhere to be found!
Conspiracy theorists and armchair detectives have suggested that the stargate is a portal
between Earth and outer space, and that ancient people used it for communicating with aliens,
or that aliens were traveling to Earth to mine gold.
Some have also connected the markings on the chart with similar symbols found at the Ancient
Egyptian site of Abu Ghurab and the “gateway to the gods” in Peru.
Stargates are everywhere!
7.
Royston Cave
Beneath the town of Royston in Hertfordshire, England is a man-made cave of unknown origins
filled with enigmatic carvings.
Measuring 17 feet (5 meters) in diameter and 26 feet (8 meters) high, it’s chamber is
in the shape of a bell sunken into chalk limestone.
It was likely once divided into two levels.
The style of the medieval carvings covering the cave’s walls has never been seen anywhere
else in Britain, with the only known similar examples being in Israel and Czechoslovakia.
This elaborate imagery, which is believed to date back to the 13th century, represents
a series of biblical figures and scenarios, including the crucifixion of Christ and what
appear to be depictions of St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Lawrence, St. Christopher,
and others.
Experts can’t seem to agree on who built the cave or what it was used for.
One popular theory suggests that it served as a secret meeting place for the Knights
Templar or as an early Freemason Lodge.
Another idea proposes that the cave was built as a private chapel for Lady Roisia, the wife
of William the Conqueror’s steward.
There are less far-fetched theories, including that Augustinian monks used the structure
as a storage facility.
As things currently stand, your guess is as good as mine -- so who do you think built
Royston Cave, and why?
Let me know in the comments below!
6.
‘Graffiti’ Crosses
The walls of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem are covered in thousands of tiny
crosses that, until recently, researchers believed were carved by medieval pilgrims.
But they may have been misunderstood for years!
A new study turned this theory upside down when it found that it was likely that just
a handful of people -- perhaps stone masons or artists -- carved the crosses for the pilgrims,
and that the travelers kept the dust from the etching as a souvenir of the sacred site.
Many of the crosses date back to the 14th and 15th centuries, several centuries after
the Crusades, indicating that post-medieval pilgrims ventured to the site en masse.
Study leader Amit Re’em noticed during a visit to the church that the crosses seemed
to be expertly carved, challenging the long-held notion that they were put there by thousands
of different people.
He also saw a visitor trying to etch a cross into the wall, but security and church staff
rushed right over to stop the person, making him wonder who in their right mind would have
permitted pilgrims to make their mark on the wall hundreds of years ago.
Using advanced imaging technology, Re’em and his team analyzed the crosses in intricate
detail, right down to the chiseling techniques that were used to create them.
Alongside the crosses, they noticed inscriptions containing names and dates, presumably indicating
the approximate time periods during which the crosses nearby were inscribed.
The study is admittedly inconclusive, with the carvings requiring further investigation
to determine if they truly date back to the Crusades and if medieval pilgrims kept the
dust from the crosses.
5.
MYSTERY STRUCTURE
While excavating a historic train station on the Asian side of Istanbul's Kadıköy
district, archaeologists found the ruins of a marble structure covering mass graves.
Located on the border between Europe and Asia, the structure is believed to have been sacred,
but they don’t know what it was used for, and the surrounding architecture offers no
clues either.
Found at the station’s waiting platforms, the shape of the large structure was undoubtedly
used “for religious purposes,” yet researchers are confident that it was not a church, because
nothing quite like it has ever been seen before.
They believe they will find more answers as they continue to dig and uncover more artifacts
and structures.
Plus the mass grave is something to be considered!
But archaeologists don’t seem too concerned about that right now.
Excavations at Haydarpaşa began in 2018 when the station was closed for renovations, and
have yielded numerous fascinating finds from different civilizations that have lived there
over the centuries, including a breakwater, two water reservoirs, and 18,000 coins dating
as far back as the seventh century B.C.
A bustling trade center of the ancient world, the Kadıköy district was once home to a
lavish Byzantine palace but all it left behind were colorful mosaics and marble pieces.
Archaeologists have also uncovered the remains of a 1,500-year-old church and a fountain
dating back to the early Byzantine era.
4.
Unidentified Stone Head
Late last year, headlines detailed the discovery of a mysterious stone head at Shaftesbury
Abbey in Dorset, England.
Archaeologists were not only puzzled by the subject’s identity, they were also unsure
of the person’s gender, owing to the combination of a seemingly masculine jawline and the long,
flowing hair of a woman, according to The Guardian.
The head’s nose, jawline, and several other facial features were missing, possibly from
damage inflicted by a sledgehammer, further obscuring the subject’s identity.
Because the individual is wearing a crown, researchers know the statue likely represents
a royal figure.
Based on its estimated age dating back to the 1340s, they surmised that the subject
is King Edward II, who ruled from 1307 to 1327 after inheriting the crown as his father’s
only surviving son.
Edward II’s tumultuous reign was characterized by a Scottish defeat, being forced to surrender
the crown to his 14-year-old son, and a suspected homosexual relationship, which was considered
taboo at the time.
Upon being deposed, he was imprisoned and executed.
The team that discovered the statue believes it may be part of a larger gallery of sculptures
depicting royals that once stood at Shaftesbury.
Founded in 888 by the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great, the abbey was England’s first
religious house exclusively for women.
It thrived for centuries before being closed in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII, and
thereafter fell into ruins.
Archaeologists have admitted that they may never definitively establish the stone head’s
identity, but they are still trying!
3.
Giant Mounds
A collection of at least 19 earthen mounds called tumuli, some measuring as high as a
six-story building, have stood in Israel for over 2,500 years.
Located in the suburbs outside Jerusalem, they’re a daily sight to many locals, but
nobody knows who built them or why.
In an effort to get to the bottom of the mystery and in anticipation of the construction of
a new housing development, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently conducted a thorough
excavation of one of the mounds.
Inside, they found the ruins of a building dating back some 2,700 years and several dozen
stamped jar handles that they believe trace back to the Kingdom of Judah during the First
Temple Period.
The team theorized that the site was an administrative center, but they are unsure why the biblical-era
structure was buried or if there are similar things hidden beneath the other mounds.
Because the mounds are situated within close proximity to one another, some archaeologists
think that their creation stems from a unified purpose.
Speaking with Haaretz, IAA chief archaeologist for Jerusalem Yuval Baruch explained that
the amount of work required to build the mounds suggests that they were more than just garbage
heaps or stones and earth that were cleared from nearby agricultural fields.
A 1953 dig found a retaining ring wall with a set of stairs leading to a platform within,
which was filled with burnt animal bones and evidence of fire.
Israeli archaeologist Ruth Amiran speculated that the contents date back to the seventh
or eighth century B.C., and that the structure was a worship site that had been outlawed.
Experts are skeptical of this theory, but lend some credibility to the idea proposed
in 2003 that memorial ceremonies to the biblical kings of Judah were performed at the sites.
Noting that nearly all the archaeological discoveries near the mounds are related to
agriculture and administration, modern researchers have largely distanced themselves from religious
theories, with some connecting the mounds to a nearby administrative center and palace
that once served as a center for tax collection.
2.
Nebra Sky Disk
While hunting for treasure near the German town of Nebra in 1999, a group of metal detectorists
discovered a 13-inch (32 cm) blue-green disk featuring a crescent moon, a sun or full moon,
and two gold bands, one which may represent the horizon.
The finders heavily damaged the artifact while excavating it and attempted to sell it illegally.
Swiss authorities caught them in an undercover sting in 2003, and the disk was subsequently
turned over to the government that has jurisdiction over the area where they found it.
Due at least partially to its shady past, tracing the object’s origins has been a
challenge for researchers, who initially dated it to around 1600 B.C., which would make it
roughly 3,600 years old.
If this is accurate, it means the Nebra sky disk is the world’s oldest known depiction
of the heavens.
But some scholars have challenged this proposed date, while others believe the disk is an
outright fake.
A recent study claims that the artifact is as much as 1,000 years younger than it was
originally estimated to be and argues that it lacks the deep meaning that researchers
have attached to it.
Much to the outrage of German society, the piece also asserts that the disk was not discovered
anywhere near Nebra.
The archaeologists who conducted the study, believe that the disk dates back to sometime
between 2,800 and 2,050 years ago, during the Celtic Iron Age, and that confusion between
law enforcement and the people who found it have made it pretty hard to figure out where
it really came from and what it means.
1.
Mysterious Portrait
For centuries, a portrait of an unknown woman has graced the halls of England’s royal
homes, leaving researchers so baffled, they’ve resigned to the possibility that they may
never figure out who she is.
Known as Portrait of a Woman, the painting in question is currently located in Mary,
Queen of Scots’ bedchamber at the palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Last year, experts announced that they had finally identified the subject as Mary Boleyn,
the older sister of Henry VIII’s ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn.
The painting is part of a 14-piece collection of specially commissioned portraits called
the “Beauties,” which were likely created during the 1630s by Flemish artist Remigius
van Leemput.
Oddly, Mary’s portrait features 16th-century clothing, while the 13 other subjects don
17th-century attire.
This confusion caused the unidentified portrait to be separated from the rest during the 19th
century.
The team identified the painting by analyzing the age of its wood panel using a process
called dendrochronology.
The material came from a Baltic oak that was cut down sometime between 1651 and 1671, matching
another previously unidentified portrait in the collection.
Lead researcher and historian Justin Davies told the Tudor Travel Show podcast that the
woman is indeed likely to be Mary Boleyn, but that one “can never be 100 percent sure
in art history, because we’re unable to stand at the shoulder of the painter when
he’s doing it.”
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