Archaeologists uncover rare and valuable ancient artifacts on a regular basis, giving us an
insight into the history and daily lives of the people who lived in that area centuries
ago.
But not all discoveries are made on purpose.
There have been many cases of hidden treasure found by regular people digging in their back
yards or while exploring the countryside and very often these finds are more historically
valuable than they may have imagined.
5.
The Antikythera Mechanism
At around Easter time in 1901, Captain Dimitrios Kontos and his crew of sponge divers were
diving off Point Glyphadia near the Greek island of Antikythera where they were gathering
natural sponges intended for human use.
They were travelling to the fishing waters of North Africa when they decided to stop
and wait for more favorable weather.
While they waited, they decided to dive off the coast and one of the men, Elias Stadiatis,
reached a depth of 148 feet when he signaled for his shipmates to pull him back up.
When he reached the surface, he reported that he had found what seemed to be a mass grave
containing human and horse bones.
Assuming that Stadiatis was drunk from the nitrogen in his breathing mix, Kontos decided
to look for himself and he dove down.
A few minutes later, he resurfaced holding the bronze arm of a statue.
They soon left the area as planned, but returned at the end of the season to collect more of
the hidden treasure.
Inside a sunken ship, they found many artifacts including coins and statues dating back to
the 4th century BC, but the most remarkable discovery was that of the Antikythera Mechanism.
It was discovered that the mechanism is the oldest known example of an orrery, which is
a mechanical model of our solar system.
It would have been used long ago to predict the position of the stars and eclipses, often
decades in advance.
Various other small artifacts were also discovered, but when one diver, Giorgos Kritikos, passed
away and two other divers suffered paralysis due to decompression sickness, work at the
site ceased.
In May of the following year, an archeologist named Valerios Stais was studying the artifacts
at the National Archeological Museum when he noticed that a piece of bronze which had
been found contained a gear wheel and Greek inscriptions and so the purpose of the Antikythera
Mechanism was discovered.
Another study conducted in 2016 revealed more inscriptions on the front cover of the device
that make reference to 462 years and 442 years, the ancient Greek calculations for the celestial
priods of Venus and Saturn.
Many attempts are being made to recreate a working version of the device and it is currently
on display at the National Archeological Museum in Athens.
4.
The Taizhou Mummy
In Taizhou in the Jiangsu Province of China, construction workers were put to work on a
road that needed to be widened in 2011.
While they were excavating the site, they hit a large, solid object about 5.5 feet below
the surface and knowing that it was not supposed to be there, they immediately stopped working.
They contacted a team of archeologists from the Taizhou Museum who started forther excavation
of the site.
To their surprise, they found that the construction workers had inadvertently stumbled on an ancient
tomb.
As they excavated further, they found that the tomb contained a coffin which was constructed
in three layers.
The innermost section was lined with silk and linens which were covered in a brown liquid.
Beneath linens and silk, they found the perfectly preserved mummy of a female.
The body had been so perfectly preserved that the woman’s eyebrows, forehead, skin, hair,
clothing and jewelry were still intact.
The clothing was found to be made of silk and cotton, two materials that are usually
very difficult to preserve
When archeologists studied the mummy, they could not determine whether the brown liquid
was added to the coffin on purpose or whether it was ground water that had seeped in over
time.
They did discover, however, that the oxygen level and temperature of the liquid were perfect
for preservation as it was not conducive to bacterial growth and it slowed down decomposition
of the body.
Other ancient artifacts found in the coffin include a jade ring, a silver hairpin and
over 20 items of clothing that date back to the Ming Dynasty, which lasted from 1368 to
1644 A.D.
They also found ceramics, ancient writings and a silver hairpin which is known to have
been a typical decorative item during the Ming Dynasty.
It has not been determined how old the woman was at the time of her passing but her face
is free of wrinkles and so, it is assumed that she was quite young, though definitely
an adult.
Due to the fine clothes and jewelry found in the coffin, along with the method used
for mummification, it is believed that the woman, who stood just less than 5 feet tall,
was a high ranking member of the Ming Dynasty.
She is currently on display at the Taizhou Museum.
3.
Roman Dodecahedrons
In August of 1987, Brian Campbell from East London had dug up a tree stump from his garden.
He was in the process of filling in the hole when his shovel hit something solid in the
soil and he unexpectedly stumbled on an ancient artifact.
As he uncovered the object and removed the soil from it, he noticed that it had a strange
shape and that it was smaller than a baseball.
He states that he thought it was beautifully made and assumed that it must be a measuring
tool that was used by blacksmiths.
He cleaned the object and placed it on his kitchen windowsill.
It would remain there for the next ten years before he learned what he had actually discovered.
When he visited the Roman Fort and Archeological Park in Germany, he approached a glass display
case and to his surprise, saw an identical object inside.
He then realized that what he had found was a Roman dodecahedron, a 12-sided, hollow metal
ball containing a hole in each of the 12 sides along with a metal knob on each of the faces.
He also learned that archeologists have been trying to figure out what the exact purpose
of the balls was, but they remain baffled.
The first of these dodecahedrons was found nearly 300 years ago in a field next to some
ancient coins.
Since then, more than 100 of these objects have been found at dozens of sites across
northern Europe.
Some are as small as a golf ball while others are larger, about the size of a tennis ball.
They can be found on display in various museums across Europe but no one has been able to
figure out what they were used for.
No written documentation has been found to explain their purpose and so, many theories
have been put forward.
Some people believe that they were military banner ornaments; some think that they were
candle holders while others have speculated that they might be props used during magic
spells.
It has also been suggested that they might be a type of rangefinder or perhaps something
as simple as a child’s toy.
2.
The Nebra Sky Disk
In 1999, Henry Westphal and Mario Renner were out using their metal detectors in Mittelberg
Hill in eastern Germany when they discovered a hidden treasure that was completely out
of place.
What they found was a bronze disk just under 12 inches in diameter, inlaid with gold shapes
and symbols.
Along with the disk, they also found two hatchets, two bronze swords, a chisel and pieces of
a bracelet.
They knew that any artifacts that are found in the area legally belong to the state and
since they didn’t have an archeological license, it would be illegal for them to keep
it.
They dug the disk up, damaging it in the process and sold their entire find to a dealer in
Cologne the next day.
During the next two years, it made its way to Germany after being sold for about $600,000
and in 2001 its existence became public knowledge.
When it was finally inspected properly, it was dated to around 1600 BCE and it is believed
that the inlays represent the Sun or full moon, a crescent moon and stars.
Popular theories state that the object was used as an astronomical instrument and that
it had religious significance.
It was also found that the disk was most likely not part of the rest of the hidden treasure
found at the site, as it was located about 3 inches above the rest of the trove, meaning
that it would be much younger than the rest of the artifacts.
Many people believed at first that the disk was an archeological forgery, as its discovery
seemed fantastical, but when a fragment of gold that perfectly fit a missing piece on
the disk was found in the same area, it was accepted by most to be genuine.
Currently, the disk is on exhibition at the Halle (HAL Lee) State Museum of Prehistory
and a multimedia visitor center has been opened at the site of its initial discovery on Mittelberg
Hill.
1.
The Wessel Coins
Royal Australian Air Force radar operator, Maurie Isenberg was stationed north of continental
Australia as the Second World War raged on in 1944.
During his time there, he was in the habit of relaxing and fishing on a beach in Jensen
Bay and on one such an occasion, he stumbled across hidden treasure.
In the sand, he found nine old coins – 4 of them of Dutch origin and the other 5 from
an area in Tanzania.
Not knowing what they really were, he initially tried to sell them, but he was unsuccessful.
For the next few decades, he put them away until he decided to send them to a museum
to be identified in 1979.
When the coins were inspected, it was found that they were over 900 years old, giving
rise to the baffling question of how they got there since James Cook only discovered
Australia in 1770.
A professor at the Indiana-Purdue University theorizes that rock art found on the islands,
which seem to depict a type of European sailing vessel, may hold some clues and that the coins
will have to be compared to indigenous rock art to glean more information.
Some theories suggest that, since European ships sailed along the coasts of Australia
in the 1600s, long before Cook’s arrival, they may have washed ashore after a shipwreck
off the coast.
Others have posited that parts of Northern Australia may have been visited by sailors
from as far away as the Middle East and Africa and that the coins made their way there on
their ships.
Some people have also spoken of an Indonesian shipwreck survivor who lived on the islands.
He may have been the one who brought the coins to the beach where Isenberg stumbled upon
them.
It is believed that the coins might have represented the man’s worldly wealth.
An expedition was led to the spot where the coins were found, helped by the fact that
Isenberg drew a map to remember the exact location, but no other artifacts were discovered.
It is believed that the coins would have been in circulation for a few hundred years, but
only in and around East Africa.
Beyond that, no other clues have been uncovered to explain why the coins were in an area so
far out of place.
Other coins which are similar in appearance have been found in Zimbabwe and in the UAE,
but other than on the beach in northern Australia, no others have ever surfaced and their journey
there remains a mystery.