Artifacts from a bygone era continue to be unearthed by researchers,
serving as puzzle pieces that altogether paint a clearer picture of our rich history. But some
historical finds are just downright confusing, no matter how archeologists try to crack their code!
Let’s investigate the 12 Most Amazing Finds Archaeologists Still Can't Explain!
What's up, fact-natics! This is Discovery Amuse,
serving up your daily dose of the most outrageous, outlandish, and out-of-this-world fun facts!
Stay tuned for our number one pick because
who knows! Perhaps you can unlock its age-old secrets yourself!
Let’s get digging!
#12 Stone Balls
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!
Oops! I mean, stone.
For years, experts have been going in circles about these monolithic stone spheres found
in pre-Columbian chiefdom settlements of the Diquis in Costa Rica. To date,
over three hundred of these stone balls are scattered across the region--ranging from those
the size of basketballs, to rocks up to 10 feet in diameter! Some of them even weigh up to 15 tons!
Some of these stone balls date as far back as 600 AD, but archaeologists are baffled by how
they were carved to almost a perfect sphere. And more importantly, what exactly were they used for?
Some speculate that the spheres were used in Diquis culture for rituals, while others say
the balls were used as an extraterrestrial map. Anthropologists say the Chibchan people
could’ve held the answers, but they vanished after the Spanish conquest in the 1500s.
Stick around because you don’t wanna miss our number one pre-historic mystery!
#11 Woman Inside a Tree Trunk
Sounds like a title of a supernatural novel,
but this next story proves that truth is stranger than fiction.
In 2017, archaeologists found an Iron Age Celtic woman inside a hollowed-out tree
trunk during a school renovation in Zurich, Switzerland. She was no ordinary woman,
as she was found wearing a dress made of sheep’s wool, a sheepskin coat, a shawl,
and jewelry such as a glass necklace, bronze bracelets, and a bronze belt chain.
Why she was buried in an unusual coffin remains a mystery, but experts thought that
she had ties to a male warrior whose remains were unearthed near the same area in 1903.
#10 Ancient Jordanian Wall
In 1948, a British diplomat traveling by airplane in Jordan first reported a sighting of an ancient
wall running across the country. Archaeologists started surveying the
area using aerial photography, leading them to discover the 93-mile stretch of the wall called
Khatt Shebib, named after an Arab prince. While the structure is mostly ruined now,
experts ruled out the possibility that it was used for defensive purposes
as it was only about 3.3 feet high and around 1.6 feet wide.
Now that their theories have hit a brick wall, archaeologists are conducting fieldwork to confirm
whether or not the barrier was mapping a boundary between farmers and nomads.
What did you say? You want more ancient walls? We got you, fam!
#9 The Sacsayhuamán walls
Considered the largest structure built by the Incas, the Sacsayhuaman fortress in
the outskirts of Cusco in Peru is a must-see for any tourist.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site, first built in 100 AD, has stumped researchers for the
stonework that seemed to be way ahead of its time-- considering that there were no
mortars or other kinds of cement used to build the walls. Archaeologists couldn’t decipher as
well how these stones had been transported, cut and placed in perfect symmetry. The stones are so
tightly packed together that not even a sheet of paper can fit in between the stones!
One thing’s for sure, the ancient civilizations such as the Incan Empire
are way more advanced than we initially believed.
#8 Sandby Borg Ringfort
This Iron Age ringfort on the island of Öland in Sweden gained attention in 2010 after
large exquisite gilded silver brooches were found together with glass beads,
finger rings, and other expensive jewelry items in five different caches. Little did the excavators
know that this discovery will uncover a gruesome scene of a 1,500-year-old massacre in Sweden.
Like a prehistoric case unclosed, experts are still hard at work to piece the stories of the
brutal murder together. But some believe that a band of marauders infiltrated the wealthy village
of about 200 to 250 people, sparing no one and leaving their bodies to rot. The wounds on the
remains also indicate execution, and some of their mouths were stuffed with sheep and
goat teeth. Until archeologists know what caused these people to suffer such brutal punishment,
we are left with these macabre remnants of a centuries-old real-life horror story.
#7 Giants of Mont'e Prama
In 1974, a local farmer in Sardinia, Italy was happily plowing a field like any normal day,
except that it wasn’t. His plow was blocked by a piece of stone
which eventually turned out to be one of the greatest discoveries in modern Italian history.
The eight-foot-tall structures of the Mont'e Prama Giants date back to the Bronze age.
Some historians believe that they are representations of the eight-feet tall
skeletons which were previously unearthed in Sardinia. Others believed that these
massive statues served as guardians of the dead as they were found near ancient tombs.
#6 Voynich Manuscript
Dubbed the world's "most mysterious manuscript," the Voynich manuscript
came to light after it was purchased by Polish book dealer Wilfrid Voynich in 1912.
It is carbon-dated to the early 15th century and
is believed to have been written during the Italian Renaissance.
Archaeologists, cryptographers and codebreakers have been trying to make sense of the bizarre,
loopy handwriting and hand-drawn images inside the manuscript for decades. The book is peppered
with drawings of unknown plants, naked women, weird objects and astrological symbols. In 2017,
a history researcher named Nicholas Gibbs offered an explanation after cross-referencing it with
medieval Latin medical guides. He believes that the manuscript might actually be a
women’s health manual, but scholars notes that his translation, loosely put, “makes no sense.” Harsh!
#5 Nan Madol
The ancient city of Nan Madol was built between 200 BC to 800 AD, but
what has baffled scientists is that it sits atop a coral reef!
Located in the southern part of the island of Micronesia, the ruins of Nan Madol are made of
stones and columns that are so heavy, no one has figured out how they city was actually built!
It consists of about 100 artificial islands made from huge basalt blocks
and interconnected with viaducts.
Legend has it that wizards magically lifted the rocks to the area, and until
the scientists uncover the secret, we might have to settle for that mystical explanation.
#4 Nazca Lines
These massive ancient geoglyphs in Peru look quite plain when you view them from the ground,
but from a bird's eye view, they turn into staggering works of art. Archaeologists are
still at a loss about the motivation of people who etched these lines into the desert sands.
From geometric shapes to animal-looking designs such as a spider, fish, condor,
lizard and monkey, the figures all vary in complexity. The closest explanation
scholars can offer is that these lines were used to communicate with deities of the Nazca culture.
#3 Sea of Galilee Mystery
In 2013, researchers discovered a 60,000-ton cairn lying under the Sea of Galilee,
known in the Bible as the lake where Jesus walked on water.
The mysterious, circular stone structure first got on the radar of scientists when
they carried out a sonar survey of the Sea of Gallilee in 2003,
but it took 10 years for divers to fully investigate the gigantic underwater paperweight.
However, the only explanation experts can give now is that the cone-like structure is made of rocks
stacked on top of each other, and that it might have been used to mark a grave.
#2 Great Pyramids
No matter how far we progress and how much technology we acquire,
the world may never truly know the wonders behind the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
These complex pharaoh tombs that feature intricate tunnels and shafts continue to
surprise archaeologists many years after they were first discovered. It's a testament to how
much reverence Egyptians paid to pharaohs, and their belief in the afterlife. These stunning
achievements of engineering will perhaps remain one of the greatest mysteries of the world.
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#1 Gobekli Tepe
In 1994, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt set to work on exploring the Gobekli Tepe site
in Turkey, where some stone slabs were unearthed in 1963.
A year later, he discovered that the slabs, first thought to be gravestones, were actually
the tops of massive T-shaped structures dating back to over 11,000 years ago! That's 6,000
years older than Britain's Stonehenge! This massive find becomes even more mind-boggling
if you consider that about the only tools available to humans at that time were stones!
Evidence like bones of wild animals suggested that the people who built the monument were hunters,
which contradicts the assumption that temples such as the Gobekli Tepe
were only built by highly-advanced cultures.
So, which of these discoveries got your head
spinning in utter confusion? Let us know in the comments section below!
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We’ve got more mind-bending stories
just for you! Check out our roundup of the !0 Most Amazing Abandoned Places on Earth!
‘Til then, stay inquisitive, fact-natics! And see you in the next video!