From mysterious golden spirals found in Denmark to one of the most important discoveries in
modern archeology, here’s 8 most bizarre historical findings:
Number 8 Golden Spirals Some years ago, a pair of amateur archeologists
using metal detectors found four mysterious golden spirals in Boeslunde, Denmark.
These tiny, tightly-wound curls measured about an inch in length.
The find prompted a larger archeological operation that ultimately led to the discovery of around
2,000 similar curls, totaling over half a pound of solid gold.
The find dates from the Bronze Age, around 900 BC.
The problem is that no one really knows what the spirals were used for.
The most prominent theory claims that they were part of priests’ attires which were
most likely worn during sun-worshipping ceremonies.
The fact that wood and fur fragments were also found seems to indicate they were buried
in a luxurious box, which might mean they were offered as sacrifice.
Number 7 Ancient Vampires Made popular by various works of cinema and
literature, vampires have become a big part of popular culture.
Yet, 800 years ago, they weren’t perceived as entertainment but as a real and imminent
threat.
In the Middle Age, people in Bulgaria, Romania and various other parts of Eastern Europe
would take an iron stake and plunge it through the heart of anyone they thought was a vampire.
Over a hundred such corpses, dating back to the Middle Age, were discovered scattered
across Bulgaria alone, most with the iron spikes still embedded in their chest.
In some parts of Eastern Europe, ancient rituals associated with demons and vampires still
seem to find believers.
As recently as 2005, a shocking story emerged from Romania.
A while after her uncle had died, a woman began screaming that he’d returned as a
vampire and that he was eating her alive.
The woman was tormented each night and began to wither away.
Her husband gathered a few other villagers and dug up the uncle’s body.
Even though the man had died six weeks prior, they reportedly found him with blood in the
corner of his lips and a pool of fresh blood in his stomach.
They used a scythe and cut out the man’s heart which, according to them, was still
beating.
They put it on a pitchfork and burned it to ashes.
They made tea out of the ash and gave it to the woman.
She reportedly began feeling better the very next day but the men were subsequently arrested
and fined for grave desecration.
Number 6 London Hammer The case of the London hammer is quite puzzling.
In the mid-1930s Max Hahn and his wife, while taking a walk alongside Red Creek, found a
rock with some wood embedded in it and decided to take it home.
Ten years later, their son opened the rock only to find a hammerhead within.
The only problem was that the rock was subsequently found to be 400 million years old.
The obvious question that emerged was how could a tool made of wood and iron be found
in a rock that pre-dates human evolution by millions of years?
One theory was that soluble minerals in the limestone had petrified around the tool forming
a concretion.
While the rock itself was indeed millions of years old, the minerals that petrified
around the tool weren’t.
Still, carbon dating on the hammerhead proved inconclusive and it hasn’t rusted at all
since it was found.
Some have argued that it’s actually an artifact that pre-dates the Biblical flood and, as
such, a proof of creationism.
Number 5 Man with Tongue of Stone In 1991, a cemetery dating back to Roman Britain
was excavated and 35 bodies were discovered.
Out of all of them only one man had been buried face-down and his tongue had been replaced
by a large, flat stone.
It’s a rather unique mutilation that wasn’t consistent with others known to have been
performed at the time.
The act of interring the man with his face towards the ground might indicate that he
was perceived as a threat to his community.
It was most likely done so out of fear that his corpse might rise from the grave.
It’s unclear whether the amputation of the tongue had been self-inflicted or a form of
punishment but the man was thought to be alive when it was performed.
The act of replacing it with a stone could have been intended to make the man whole,
in death.
Yet, judging by the position of the skeleton, it was most likely done so that he could never
speak again, not even in the afterlife.
Number 4 Antikythera Mechanism The Antikythera mechanism is undoubtedly incredibly
complex, considering the fact that it’s at least 2,000 years old.
Found in the wreckage of a Greek cargo ship at the beginning of the 20th century, the
clockwork mechanism was composed of numerous bronze gears and featured various faint inscriptions
on its outer casing.
The mechanism could predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance.
It pre-dates any similar device by at least 1,000 years and nobody knows when or why this
technology was lost in ancient times.
Number 3 Paracas Skulls In 1928, Peruvian archeologist Julio Tello
found some mysterious skulls on the peninsula of Paracas in a complex grave system.
The 3,000-year-old skulls were elongated and presented signs of intentional cranial deformation.
This wasn’t an uncommon practice for ancient South American tribes and other such skulls
have been discovered throughout history.
It was usually done by attaching two wooden boards to the skulls of the children which
would progressively be made tighter.
The increasing pressure would permanently deform the bones.
Yet, these particular remains featured several other odd characteristics.
The sagittal suture, which is the joint that’s typically seen atop human skulls, was absent.
The hole at the bottom of the skull that the spinal cord passes through, known as the foramen
magnum, should’ve been closer to the jawline.
The skulls are also significantly heavier and larger in volume than conventional skulls.
Some have argued that such properties aren’t typically altered by cranial deformation.
Also, further testing revealed mutations in their mitochondrial DNA that are unknown in
any other animal, including humans and primates.
While many scientists have offered plausible explanations for all the abnormalities displayed
by the skulls, there are still a few who believe them to be part of some unknown moment in
human evolution or proof of alien-human hybrids.
Number 2 Saqqara Bird This bird-shaped artifact dates back to around
200 BC and was found following the excavation of a tomb in Saqqara, Egypt.
Nobody knows the purpose of the Saqqara Bird but the more conventional theories suggest
it might have been a child’s toy, a weather vane or a decorative piece placed on the masts
of sacred boats during ceremonies.
Yet, others, most notably Egyptian archeologist and physician Khalil Messiha, put forward
claims that ancient Egyptians had actually developed the first aircraft known to man.
The sycamore wood bird supposedly represents a smaller version of a monoplane and, Khalil
added, that a horizontal tailplane from the artifact had been lost.
With it, the bird could reportedly function as a glider.
It wouldn’t have been uncommon for ancient Egyptians to place miniature versions of their
technology in tombs.
Most Egyptologists usually reject Khalil’s claims.
However, tests conducted by aerodynamics expert Simon Sanderson seem to indicate that Khalil
was right all along.
He built a replica of the bird with a stabilizing tailplane and factored in conditions similar
to Saqqara in a wind tunnel.
The bird performed unexpectedly well.
Sanderson stated that ‘Over 2,000 years after the ancient Egyptians carved this mysterious
bird, modern technology has proved beyond doubt that it could have flown’.
Number 1 Dead Sea Scrolls The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is often
regarded as one of the most significant finds in modern archeology.
These manuscripts were discovered between 1946 and 1956 by archeologists and Bedouin
shepherds in a series of caves in Qumran, near the Dead Sea.
Nobody knows for sure who wrote the scrolls.
Most of the 15,000 ancient text fragments are written in Hebrew and most likely originated
from a Jewish community that inhabited the West Bank around 2,000 years ago.
The texts have enabled scholars to better understand the emergence of Christianity and
of rabbinic Judaism as well as the relationship between their early religious traditions.
There’s also a Copper Scroll, a type of treasure map which, unlike the others, isn’t
written in ink on parchment or animal skin.
It was chiseled onto metal sheets, perhaps to better withstand the test of time, and
lists numerous gold and silver caches throughout the region.
However, none of the riches were recovered and the leading theory is that they were pillaged
following a Roman invasion of the area.
Perhaps the most bizarre out of all the Dead Sea Scrolls are the first known copies of
a Book of Giants.
Written in Aramaic, the texts tell the story of giants who were the offspring of mortal
women and the sons of God.
The giants wrought havoc on humanity, killing and consuming them as well as destroying the
structures they built.
The possible existence of giants is argued by some creationists as a consequence of the
atmospheric quality of a pre-flood earth, which would have supported their growth.
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