In Egypt, archaeologists have discovered the largest number of
mummies and ancient statues in one tomb. And in Iraq, excavations of the city under water began,
in Mexico they discovered the burial places of the mythical Aztatlans and learned how
the ancient Mayans decorated their teeth with precious stones. Watch the video until the end
it will be interesting! Hi, friend. You are on the KirTop channel.
Gems in the teeth The ancient Maya were once very proud of
their teeth. Long before Europeans started filling their mouths with gold and inserting grills,
the Maya blazed with teeth adorned with jade, turquoise, gold, pyrite and precious stones.
The Maya believed that their breath connected them to the gods. To clean it, many people filed,
carved and polished their teeth, some even decorated them with precious stones.
And a new study shows that the glue used to hold the jewelry
to the teeth may have prevented infections. During the classical period (AD 200 to 900), many
Mayan peoples in what is now Guatemala, Belize and Mexico attached colored stones to the front
of their teeth: Mayan dentists drilled holes in the enamel and dentin, then fitted the stones and
applied glue . Usually this happened as part of the rite of initiation (transition to adulthood).
The denture adhesive has proven to be surprisingly durable: more than half
of the modified teeth from archaeological sites still have their decorations intact.
Previous research into the adhesive has identified cement-like inorganic materials
and hydroxyapatite, a mineral derived from crushed teeth and bones used to strengthen the mixture.
Now, researchers have found 150 organic molecules common in plant resins,
which they reported last month in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Most of the samples included ingredients that can fight bacteria that cause cavities.
Oral hygiene was important to the Maya, archaeologists point to Janaab Pakal, a Mayan
king of Palenque who died in 683 AD at the age of 80 with almost all teeth and no signs of caries.
Books written in gold and on gold An amazing exhibition dedicated to
books covered with gold, written on gold or in gold has opened at the British Library.
A project called Gold has collected codices, scrolls and documents from
the library's collections - a total of 50 items originating from 20 countries, in 17 languages,
related to the five major world religions. It shows how this precious metal has captured
the imagination of scribes, artists and clients throughout history, across cultures and religions.
Items on display include: a treaty from southern India inscribed on a gold strip
more than two meters long (1691), Buddhist chants inscribed on two gold strips from Myanmar (Burma),
dating back to the 5th-6th centuries - one of the oldest exhibits in the exhibition , a Byzantine
imperial seal, a 13th century Quran frame with the earliest known example of gold embossing on
leather, the Buddhist Lotus Sutra inscribed on a scroll in gold and silver ink, the gold Harley
Gospels - written entirely in gold ink in the 9th century, a Tudor "half book", and other and so on.
Excavations in the sunken ancient city
In the ancient sunken city of the Mitanni empire in Iraq, large buildings and artifacts were found.
A group of German and Kurdish archaeologists have excavated a 3,400-year-old ancient city
of the Mitanni era, located in the Tigris River basin. The ruins of the settlement appeared in
the Mosul reservoir in early 2022, when the water level dropped due to a severe drought in Iraq.
In a short time, until the ruins and artifacts again disappeared under the water, the researchers
managed to map the city. In addition to the palace, which was already documented in 2018,
archaeologists found several other large buildings - a massive fortification with a wall and towers,
a multi-story warehouse building and an industrial complex. The remains of
the city date back to the Mittani Empire, which controlled much of northern Mesopotamia and Syria.
It is noted that the walls of the city are well preserved,
despite the fact that they are made of mud brick and were under water. In addition,
the upper part of the walls collapsed during an earthquake around 1350 BC and buried the
rest of the building under it, creating conditions that ensured its preservation.
Of particular interest to scientists are five ceramic vessels containing an archive of more than
100 cuneiform tablets. They belong to the Middle Assyrian period, shortly after the earthquake
hit the city. Some tablets, which may be ancient letters, are still found inside clay "envelopes".
The researchers hope that this discovery will provide important information about
the last years of the city's existence and the beginning of Assyrian rule in the region.
The most large-scale find of mummies On the southern outskirts of the
ancient city of Memphis, there is the Sakkara necropolis, a huge burial and memorial complex,
the size of which is approximately 7 × 1.5 kilometers. This is the largest collection of
tombs and mortuary monuments in Egypt, created at different times - from the early dynastic period
to the era of Ptolemaic rule and Roman domination. The name of this necropolis comes from the name of
the god of death, Sokar, who was revered here. Scientists from the Egyptian Archaeological
Mission, who are working in the necropolis of sacred animals in Saqqara, discovered a large
cache of antiquities at this site. Inside it, archaeologists discovered 150 bronze statues
of various sizes that depicted ancient Egyptian deities, including Anubis, Min-Amun, Osiris, Isis,
Nefertum, Basta and Hathor. In addition, the finds included a collection of bronze artifacts
that were used during rituals dedicated to the goddess Isis, as well as a headless
bronze statue of the architect Imhotep. Archaeologists have also discovered shaft
tombs containing 250 painted wooden sarcophagi containing well-preserved late-period mummies.
In addition, scientists had at their disposal a collection of amulets and wooden statues.
Inside one of the sarcophagi, the researchers found a well-preserved papyrus, which may contain
chapters from the Book of the Dead. This find is currently handed over for restoration and
study of the texts contained in it. The archaeologists also found two
well-preserved wooden statues with gilded faces that depicted the goddesses Isis and Nephthys
in the pose of mourners. The excavations revealed a burial from the New Kingdom,
which contained many household items and jewelry, including bracelets, earrings and necklaces.
Stone forest in Bulgaria
There is a very special place in Bulgaria. Not far from Varna there is a Stone Forest,
which are buildings, but their origin has not yet been established. This is one of
the most popular places in this small country, which attracts the attention
of not only tourists, but also scientists. This place looks like several stone sculptures
that are filled with sand. If you look closely, you can see the outlines of people's faces and the
silhouettes of animals, as well as some symbols, such as a heart. When this forest appeared here,
no one knows, scientists have not yet been able to find an answer to this question. For
the first time, this forest is mentioned in a source from the beginning of the 19th century;
earlier references have not yet been found. There is a special place in the Stone Forest that
looks like a circle. Many scientists believe that various religious rituals were held here, but this
information has not yet been confirmed or denied. Although familiar shapes can be seen in the
stones, scientists still say that the stone blocks are not the work of human hands. People tend to
look for different symbols, which is why they see silhouettes. There are a lot of versions about how
the Stone Forest appeared. Someone suggests that this is the work of aliens, someone is inclined
to believe that it was built specifically for rituals, and some of the scientists suggest
that there used to be a sea in this place, and therefore such stone blocks were formed.
Travelers who came to this Stone Forest claim that in this place the equipment stops working,
and the person himself replenishes his energy and feels himself filled with spiritual strength.
Many people come here to perform some rituals. According to local belief,
to find love, you need to touch a heart-shaped stone, and if a couple wants children,
you need to touch a statue in the shape of a stork. There is also a stone with a hole, which,
according to legend, will help to cleanse oneself of sins. To do this, you need to go through it.
Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,100-year-old manor
A team of Israeli archaeologists have unearthed the 2,100-year-old ruins of an agricultural farm
at Horbat Assad, east of the Sea of ​​Galilee. There were found dozens of looms used to make
clothes, large ceramic vessels for food storage, and iron agricultural implements,
including various pikes and scythes. Found ancient coins made it possible to date this
estate to the second half of the 2nd century BC. It is the Hellenistic period of the Hasmoneans.
“We were lucky to find a frozen “time capsule” where everything remained as it was left by
the ancient inhabitants, who seemed to pack up and leave in great haste in the face of
some impending danger, perhaps the threat of a military attack. We know from historical sources
that during this period the Hasmonean Kingdom of Judah expanded into Galilee. It is possible
that this farmstead was abandoned just as a result of those events. However,
more research is needed to establish the identity of the inhabitants of this place.”
The group also discovered the foundations of buildings, ceramic vessels and other things dating
back to earlier times, to the 10th-9th centuries BC. This interesting and significant discovery
was made during excavations carried out on the eve of the construction of an aqueduct
stretching from the Mediterranean coast. Before continuing the work, it is planned to carefully
conserve the estate, as well as everything that is in the immediate vicinity of it.
Burials of the mythical Aztatlans Archaeologists from the National
Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico have discovered previously unknown
to science burials of the mythical Aztatlan culture, which, according to scientists,
existed more than 1000 years ago in Mesoamerica. The graves were accidentally discovered by
workers during construction work in the Mexican port of Sinaloa in Mazatlán. The
work was temporarily suspended, after which archaeologists carried out rescue excavations.
As a result, they unearthed burials from the pre-Hispanic period. These turned out to be rather
simple tombs that were built on a natural mound. The idea justified itself - for a millennium,
the ancient mound reliably protected the burial places from erosion and destruction.
The surface of the mound was covered with fragments of shells, which were rammed into
the ground. It was probably part of the funeral ritual. Here, the researchers found the remains of
wooden buildings, which may also have been erected for ritual purposes. The bodies of the dead were
found under the floor of these buildings. Experts have concluded that the burials may
belong to the mysterious culture of Aztatlán. It has hardly been studied, since so far too little
evidence of its existence has been found. However, according to the legends of other peoples, it is
known that Aztatlan was an extensive cultural and trade network covering a significant territory.
According to one version, this civilization could be associated with the mythical
Aztlan - a place that is considered the ancestral home of the Aztecs. Moreover, in translation from
the Nahuatl language, the word "Azteca" itself means "people from Aztlan". Aztlan is mentioned
in several ethnohistorical sources relating to the colonial period, but scientists have not yet found
a direct connection with the culture of Aztatlan. According to archaeologist Alfonso Grave Tirado,
the burials found date back to around 900 AD. At that time, the peak of social,
economic and political development of local states was observed in this region.
The first XXL mammals Being an innovator is
a big risk and a big reward. The first amphibian that crawled onto land gave its descendants carte
blanche to colonize land and air, and the first dinosaur set evolutionary trends for hundreds
of millions of years to come. But hundreds, if not thousands, of species have died out,
unable to cope with the competition. Among them were titanoids, the first XXL-sized mammals.
Today, North Dakota is covered with grasslands, deciduous and coniferous forests. But 60
million years ago it was a swampy subtropical paradise. Soft, lush vegetation grew everywhere,
and the genus titanoids decided to take advantage of the natural wealth.
The giants quite strongly resembled modern bears. A stocky body on short legs,
a powerful short neck, a small tail and a weight of 90 to 130 kilos. But they were
not related to modern bears. Titanoids were much slower, could not stand up on their hind legs,
and the shape of the muzzle was also different. Skeleton of a titanoid (left) and a brown bear
(right). Notice the difference in the size of the cranium. Our hero clearly did not shine
with intellect. And the animals also acquired long, strong fangs. Which is rather strange,
because they ate only fruits and soft vegetation. In extreme cases, they did not disdain carrion,
but they certainly did not hunt on their own. This slow carcass is simply unable to catch anyone!
For protection the teeth were not suitable as well. Other mammals did not pose a danger
purely physically, and neither strong claws nor fangs saved from crocodiles.
Titanoids were the first to break into a large size class among mammals, but the species that
followed were faster, more agile and better adapted to environmental changes. A similar fate
awaited the entire family of pantodonts, which our heroes were part of. Some of them reached
the size of rhinos, but already 30 million years ago there was no trace of the family.
Unique find in Egypt While excavating the ancient city of Aswan,
archaeologists found pieces of a sarcophagus lid that were adorned with a colorful leopard
face. Just now, scientists have published a digital reconstruction of a piece of art
found in a necropolis containing 300 tombs that date back to the 7th century BC.
In ancient Egyptian society, leopards symbolized determination and strength, so the design of the
animal in the tomb was probably supposed to strengthen the spirit of the recently deceased
and help in travel to the land of the dead. The necropolis, which housed the leopard
sarcophagus, was in use for approximately 1,000 years - until the fourth century AD - and was
excavated by an international team of experts from the Egyptian-Italian Mission in West Aswan.
Other tombs contained a total of 35 mummies and a range of funerary items
such as pots of bitumen for mummification, funerary masks, linens, papyrus,
and food for the journey to the afterlife. Another interesting find was kept near the tomb:
a bowl with plant material, which turned out to be pine nuts. Although the nuts were not
native to the region, they are known to have been used by cooks in Alexandria, according
to a Roman cookbook called Apicius, which was compiled as far back as the first century AD.
One of the recipes described soft-boiled eggs in a sauce made from pine nuts,
ground pepper, honey, and anchovy paste. We imagine that the people buried in the
Tomb of Aswan really liked this rare seed - so much so that their relatives
placed a bowl next to the deceased so that they could eat it for all eternity.
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