9.
WHITE-HAIRED SKELETON AT POMPEII
The ruins at Pompeii were discovered during the 18th century, and went on to become one
of the world’s most popular and well-known archaeological sites.
But it’s only been partially excavated, and scientists continue to make fascinating
new discoveries every year.
They recently unearthed the skeleton of a former slave named Marcus Venerius Secundio,
who lived during the first century.
He was so well-preserved that some of his white hair, a part of his ear, and some clothing
fragments were still attached to his body.
Marcus’s tomb was hermetically sealed, which helped to keep his remains intact.
But at the time of his death, adults were usually cremated, making it an unusual burial.
Experts are currently trying to determine if Marcus’s body was deliberately preserved.
After gaining his freedom, Marcus became a priest and helped stage performances in Greek.
He achieved a high social standing and lived to be around 60 years old, which was a pretty
long life back then.
Marcus passed away before Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried all of Pompeii in ash.
His burial provided experts with the first solid evidence of the Greek language being
used alongside Latin.
In the words of Pompeii Archaeological Park Director Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the discovery
reflects the city’s “lively and open cultural climate.”
8.
OUT-OF-PLACE MANGROVES
Red mangrove trees grow in saltwater and are generally only found in tropical coastal habitats
throughout the Americas.
So, it’s understandable that scientists were baffled to find a collection of them
124 miles (200 km) inland on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Locals have long known about the landlocked grove, but the academic community only learned
of it relatively recently.
Ever since, experts have been trying to figure out how the trees survive in freshwater.
A team of researchers just announced that they think they’ve come up with an explanation.
They compared the freshwater mangroves’ DNA to samples from the closest coastal mangrove
populations.
By measuring the differences between their genomes, the team determined that the freshwater
trees have been isolated for 125,000 years.
At the time, global temperatures and sea levels were much higher.
Scientists think that the area, which now sits far inland, was once along a coastline.
When the climate cooled and the ocean receded, the trees managed to survive the transition
to a freshwater environment by genetically adapting to it.
The mangrove forest is home to several other ancient species that survived extreme environmental
changes.
It’s an entire ecosystem filled with fish, turtles, other plants, and more, who somehow
were able to adapt to life outside a saltwater habitat.
Experts don’t know how they did this, and are continuing to study the site in hopes
of learning more about that transitional period.
7.
A HIDDEN SETTLEMENT
Thanks to advanced imaging technology, scientists can detect ancient settlements that are impossible
to see with the naked eye.
In fact, it just helped them discover a concealed neighborhood in Tikal, one of the largest
ancient Mayan cities.
Located in Guatemala, Tikal flourished between 200 and 900 A.D., boasting an estimated 90,000
residents at its peak.
A team of researchers detected the hidden settlement in an area they previously thought
was a collection of natural hills.
It’s a landmark discovery, especially considering that Tikal was discovered back in the 1950s,
and has been extensively explored.
But this whole part of the site has evaded detection until now.
The buildings there seem to be a smaller-scale replica of the architecture at Teotihuacan,
an ancient city in Mexico that was built by a mysterious culture that existed before the
Aztecs.
Tikal and Teotihuacan are over 621 miles (1,000 km) away from one another and they are different
in many ways.
But the similarities between the newly discovered neighborhood’s buildings and those at Teotihuacan
suggest that the two cities had some sort of relationship with one another, perhaps
through trade.
Experts are hoping that a further comparison of the sites might help them learn more about
aspects of ancient life in South America that they don’t know much about.
6.
STRANGE RADIO SIGNAL
While scanning the sky for radio signals last year, Australian scientists detected a bizarre
sound coming from the middle of our own galaxy.
It happened just four degrees from the center, and happened six times over a several-month
period.
The signal was detected one last time earlier this year, but quickly faded.
A recent study identifies several possible sources for the noise, including a low-dim
mass star or a highly energetic object such as a pulsar or a magnetar.
Is it possible that the sound came from an alien civilization?
The team says it’s unlikely.
Study co-author Ziteng Wang told Newsweek that the signals are “broadband,” meaning
they span the entire frequency spectrum, and that this is evidence of them coming from
some sort of space object.
Aside from the radio burst, the source didn’t emit any other type of radiation, such as
high-energy x-rays, according to astronomer Matt Bothwell.
He said that if it were any known object, it would have done this.
But the discovery could assist in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Wang explained that by measuring the intensity of bursts from stars that could be possible
sources for the signal, researchers can look further into whether the planets that orbit
around those stars are capable of hosting life.
Even if aliens aren’t responsible for the sound, it marks an almost equally fascinating
discovery of a previously unknown cosmic phenomenon.
What do you suspect the sound could be?
Do you think it’s coming from a dying star, or something else?
Leave your answers in the comments, and subscribe if you haven't already!
5.
PREHISTORIC GOLDEN BOWL
Archaeologist Michał Sip didn’t expect to find any incredibly rare artifacts when
he led excavations outside Vienna, Austria ahead of plans to build a new train station.
But his team uncovered what he would later describe as the “discovery of a lifetime”
when they dug up a 3,000-year-old golden bowl decorated with a sun relief.
Known as the Ebreichsdorf bowl, it’s pretty small, measuring just eight inches (20.3 cm)
in diameter and two inches (5.1 cm) high.
It’s made from a thin metal consisting of 90 percent gold, five percent silver, and
five percent copper.
Inside the bowl, the archaeologists found two gold bracelets, some gold wire, and decomposed
cloth or fabric.
Speaking with the Polish Press Agency, Sip said that the deteriorating pieces were probably
once used as decorative scarves during religious ceremonies.
Similar bowls have been found elsewhere, including in Spain, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and
Switzerland.
But this is the first bowl of its type ever to be found in Austria, and the second bowl
of its kind to be found “to the east of the Alpine line,” according to Sip.
These vessels were created by the prehistoric Urnfield Culture, who began to spread throughout
Europe during the 12th century B.C.
They were named after their tradition of burying urns full of cremation ashes in fields.
In addition to the bowl, the team unearthed over 500 other artifacts, including bronze
items and clay pottery.
The Austrian government took possession of the bowl to ensure that it can be put on display
and enjoyed by the public, rather than sold into private hands.
4.
THE ‘WELL OF HELL’
The Well of Barhout, also known as the “Well of Hell,” is a 376-foot-deep (115 meters)
natural sinkhole located in the remote desert of eastern Yemen.
It has a reputation for bringing bad luck, so most locals avoid going near it at all
costs.
Some people believe that it’s a prison for genies, while others think it’s a gateway
to the underworld.
There are rumors that it will suck you in if you get too close, or that it’s a supervolcano
capable of destroying the world.
But the less superstitious are more curious than scared of the well, and while amateur
cave explorers have been known to enter it, nobody ever traveled all the way down – until
recently.
Earlier this year, a group of professional cavers from the neighboring country of Oman
went into the nearly 100-foot-wide (30 meters) hole.
They descended to the bottom using a pulley system that lowered eight people, while two
cavers remained stationed at the top.
The explorers didn’t encounter any genies, unfortunately or a portal to Hell, which is
probably for the best- But they did report finding stalactites, stalagmites measuring
up to 30 feet (9 meters) tall, cave pearls, waterfalls, snakes, frogs, beetles, and dead
animals.
Scientists are unsure how old the Well to Hell is, but they believe it’s been around
for millions of years.
There’s no evidence to suggest that the rumors about it being a supervolcano are true.
In fact, it appears to be a typical sinkhole.
It’s impossible to say how the well formed, but it could have happened one of two ways.
Voids in the bedrock below could have expanded to the point where the roof became unsupported
and caved in.
This is known as a collapsed sinkhole.
It’s also possible that sediments trickled from the surface into voids below and formed
a depression.
Either way, there is a lot more down there to be discovered that's for sure!
3.
MOSAIC ‘ANCESTOR’
The Hittites were a Bronze Age civilization that established kingdoms as early as 1750
B.C. in what is now Turkey.
They became incredibly powerful, at one point rivaling the nation of Egypt.
The civilization met its downfall when the Assyrians and several other groups rose to
power and began invading its territory.
They burned the capital city of Hattusa to the ground, which largely erased the culture
from history.
What little we know about the Hittites is based on biblical mentionings and limited
archaeological evidence.
In 2018, archaeologists unearthed a 3,500-year-old paving stone while excavating a Hittite temple
at the Uşaklı Höyük archaeological site in central Turkey.
It dates back to the 15th century B.C. and consists of over 3,000 beige, red, and black
stones arranged in a series of triangles and curves.
Experts describe it as an “ancestor” to the mosaics that appeared hundreds of years
later in Ancient Greece and elsewhere.
Speaking with Phys.org, excavation leader Anacleto D'Agostino said that the paving stone
was “sort of a first attempt” at doing a mosaic.
It’s impossible to say who built the paving stone or why, as he pointed out in his own
words: “Maybe we are dealing with a genius?
Maybe not.
It was maybe a man who said 'build me a floor' and he decided to do something weird?”
Researchers believe that Uşaklı Höyük may be the lost city of Zippalanda.
It was frequently mentioned in Hittite tablets as a significant place of worship, but its
exact location is a mystery.
Uşaklı Höyük is one of two sites that have been identified as possibly being Zippalanda.
Getting to the bottom of the mystery will be difficult.
Like with most other Hittite sites, most signs of the culture’s presence in Turkey disappeared
toward the end of the Bronze Age.
2.
YEZO VIRUS
In recent years, a mysterious virus has been infecting people throughout parts of Japan.
Scientists recently identified the pathogen, which saw its first known case in a 41-year-old
man in 2019.
As if we didn't have enough to worry about!!
He had lost his appetite, had a high fever, and was experiencing lower limb pain on both
sides of his body.
Just days earlier, the man had found a tick attached to his abdomen after visiting a forest
near his home.
Tests revealed that he had low white blood cell and platelet counts.
Assuming the patient had a tick-borne disease, doctors gave him antibiotics.
He spent over two weeks in the hospital, and finally recovered 19 days after his symptoms
started.
During that time, doctors failed to identify any evidence of Lyme disease or other tick-borne
illnesses.
Those same experts treated another patient for similar symptoms the following year.
The person had sought help at two other hospitals before going there, where they successfully
recovered.
Researchers detected the same virus in both patients.
They managed to grow it and infect lab mice with it.
Through further testing, they identified the mystery virus as a member of the ortho nairovirus
family, which are all spread by ticks.
They named it the “Yezo virus.”
After backtracking and testing previous patients’ blood, the team found evidence of the virus
going as far back as 2014.
What’s even more disturbing is that they believe the pathogen might be more widespread
than they know about.
But before Yezo can be considered a real human illness, the findings will have to be confirmed
by other experts.
In the study, the team urged scientists to treat the situation with urgency and research
the Yezo virus as soon as possible.
And who can blame them?
Nobody has died from Yezo (that they know of), but the world is still reeling from the
devastating effects of COVID-19.
We’ve seen firsthand how a microscopic bug can ravage the human body, and we’re still
in the throes of a global pandemic.
The moral of the story?
Better safe than sorry.
1.
NEANDERTHAL CAVE CHAMBER
The Gorham’s Cave complex is a network of four sea-level caves located in the Rock of
Gibraltar.
It’s in one of the last known regions Neanderthals lived in before they went extinct.
The caves were first inhabited as far back as 55,000 years ago.
At the time, they were located about three miles (5 km) from the Mediterranean shore.
Today, only a few meters of land separate the caves from the water, thanks to rising
sea levels.
Since 2012, archaeologists have been searching for blocked chambers and passages that have
filled in with sediment.
Near the back of the cave, they recently found a 42-foot (13 meters) chamber, along with
lynx, griffon vulture, and hyena remains.
The team also found scratch marks on a cave wall that were left by some type of predator.
There are signs that Neanderthals entered the newly discovered chamber.
A baby tooth found in the cave belonged to a four-year-old who may have been dragged
into the cave by a hyena.
Near the back of the chamber, the team found a large marine mollusc, or whelk.
It was too far from the sea for the water to have carried it in, further pointing toward
a Neanderthal presence.
Speaking with CNN, Gibraltar National Museum director Clive Finlayson said that excavations
at Gorham’s Cave have just begun, and that the team has a lot more to uncover.
It could take decades to fully explore the site.
Finlayson hopes to obtain Neanderthal DNA and footprints, and to unearth evidence that
can teach us about their burial rituals.
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