From hidden temples to ancient palaces, these are 10 ancient sites that have recently been
revealed….
10.
Maya Structures, Guatemala
Just last year in 2018, following a large scale survey in northern Guatemala, more than
60,000 previously unknown Maya structures were discovered.
Among the finds were farms, houses, defenses, and more than 60 miles of roads and waterways
that connected the cities.
To find these new structures, scientists focussed on an 830 square mile region called the Maya
Biosphere Reserve in Petén.
They used LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to scan the ground, which allowed them to
penetrate the thick coverage of vegetation and see what lay beneath.
Archaeologists have it much easier than before, when you had to go trudging through the jungle
facing wild beasts and untold dangers like disease!!
The structures have given a much deeper insight into the Maya civilization, and have led the
researchers to estimate between 7 and 11 million people used to live in the area.
This new scanning technique has been so successful, that it's now being used in other places where
the ground is tricky to look at and explore, and gives archaeologists a whole new way to
learn about ancient civilizations.
9.
Kemune Palace
As climate change continues to affect the weather around the world, archaeologists are
taking advantage of falling water levels to uncover long lost structures.
One of the most impressive sites that have been recently revealed was in the Mosul Dam
reservoir in Iraq.
A drought caused levels to fall further than they have for a while, and from the waters
emerged a 3,400-year-old palace that had long been buried.
Known as the Kemune Palace, is was made with mud-brick walls by the Mittani empire.
The walls were 6 feet thick, and the structure covered an area of 20,000 square feet.
It would have once stood overlooking the Tigris valley and would have been a focal point of
the landscape during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Very little is known about the Mittani empire, apart from brief mentions in scripts that
have been found in Egypt.
No-one knows where their capital city was, or what happened to them… and it’s hoped
that discoveries like this palace could help answer those questions.
8.
Egyptian Burial Sites
In early 2019, researchers announced an incredible discovery in the river Nile Delta where they
found a series of ancient tombs that dated back to the Second Intermediate Period between
1782 and 1570 BCE.
In total there were 20 burial sites in the Kom al-Kholgan site, which is about 87 miles
north of Cairo.
According to the Egyptian supreme council of antiquities, the remains weren't well preserved,
but they did recover a number of animal bones, stone artifacts, and pottery with symbols
etched into it.
While the discovery isn't close to some of the greatest finds in Egypt's history, it
helps us learn a little more about the lives of Egyptians at the time and shows that there's
still a lot more out there to be uncovered.
Who knows what could be next?
And now for number 7, but first, if you are new here welcome, and let me know what topics
you'd like to see next!
7.
Tušhan, Turkey
In early 2018, construction of the Ilisu dam on the river Tigris in southeast Turkey was
completed, and since then more than 115 square miles of land was flooded, which resulted
in the loss of 500 archaeological sites, and the displacement of more than 70,000 people.
With destruction comes opportunity, and after the dam was given the go-ahead in the '90s,
researchers were given free rein to recover all that they could.
This has led to some important discoveries in what has now become the best-studied archaeological
region in the whole of Turkey.
One of the most important places to be researched was the ancient city of Tušhan.
It was the hub of defense for the northern border of the Assyrian empire between 882
and 611 BCE and was home to people from across the empire's lands.
The 18-year study of the site uncovered a palace, burial chambers, a series of high
profile buildings, and countless artifacts.
There were courtyards paved with mosaics, a variety of sculptures and carvings, and
even beds with ivory fittings.
It's given a much greater view of the Assyrian empire itself, which researchers hope will
help lead them to other sites that they can explore that haven't been flooded for modern-day
uses.
6.
Iron Age Settlements, Scotland
Scotland is used to it raining, but in 2018 a drought changed things so much that a series
of ancient sites were uncovered.
Since the 1930s, authorities have conducted aerial surveys of the landscape, and the images
that were taken following the drought showed some interesting developments.
Patches in the way the grass grows indicate where ancient structures might be found.
Where there are structures, the crops don’t grow as much, and where there are ditches,
there’s more water available so the crops grow quicker.
The images have been used to find underground passages from the iron age, a series of Iron
Age burial sites, and the remains of Roman camps and forts.
The method of looking for archaeological sites from the sky has resulted in more than 9,000
locations being identified, and now decisions have to be made about which ones warrant further
investigation.
Decisions, decisions!!
5.
Lake Titicaca
Between the 5th and 12th centuries AD, the Tiwanaku empire took hold in the Lake Titicaca
basin near where Bolivia and Peru are today.
It's a unique quirk of geological formation, which has created an inland sea that's more
than 12,000 feet above sea level and was the perfect site for the civilization to establish
itself.
When the Spanish invaded there are believed to have been around 1 million inhabitants.
A few objects have been found in the waters over the years, so archaeologists decided
to take a much closer look.
They focussed on a reef about 16 feet beneath the surface and about 6 miles to the north
of the Island of the Sun that’s one of the lakes most notable features, and they couldn’t
believe what they found.
It's now thought that the civilization used to go to the reef by boat, and conduct ritual
ceremonies in honor of a ray-faced god.
This involved sacrificing llamas, the remains of which were found during the investigation,
and offering valuable items which have also been recovered from the water.
They found miniature stone animals, ceramic incense burners, and gold artifacts that included
sheets and a medallion.
Amongst further gold and precious stone objects were oyster shells, too.
These were of particular interest because they came from more than 1,200 miles away,
and suggest that the people regularly traded with other cultures.
4.
Lagunita and Tamchen, Mexico
Dense forests across Mexico are difficult enough to travel through, let alone discover
ancient structures, so it’s not always easy to find new sites.
But recently, 2 large Maya towns have been revealed in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve,
called Lagunita and Tamchen.
They were both spotted from aerial photographs, but the extent of what was there was only
realized when researchers visited in person.
Tamchén, for example, means ‘deep well’ in Yucatec Maya, and has at least 30 chultuns-
underground structures, that are designed to collect water.
Some of which are 42 feet deep.
Lagunita has a ball court and a 65-foot tall pyramid, as well as several other buildings
around 4 plazas, including one that has an elaborate monster-mouth doorway.
Designed to represent the earth and fertility gods, these doorways were seen as portals
to sites of religious significance.
They also found altars with inscriptions carved into the stone, and a number of smaller artifacts.
Some of the structures in both of these towns are designed in a way not seen anywhere else
in Mexico, which has taught researchers so much more about how things were.
There’s likely still plenty more to be found, too, so the hunt is on for the next big discovery.
3.
Mammoth Kill Site, Austria
In 2018, archaeologists announced the discovery of a particularly gruesome site in Drasenhofen,
Austria that was dated to between 18 and 28 thousand years ago… a stone age site that
was full of the remains of mammoths and other large animals.
There were tusks and bones, along with tools that were used to butcher them.
It was the first site like this to be found in Austria and shows how Palaeolithic people
used to hunt.
They would herd large animals into designated kill zones where they knew the creatures would
struggle to move through.
When mammoths entered the area, they would be at a major disadvantage, and the people
would strike with spears and then butcher them where they fell.
It was a highly effective way for tribes to take down animals that were many times their
size and ensured they had enough food to survive the cold and hostile environment during the
last ice age.
2.
Tenea, Greece
According to Greek legend, following the destruction of Troy, a group of Trojan prisoners went
on to found a new city called Tenea.
While the location of Troy has long been known, Tenea has avoided discovery… until, that
is, a discovery that happened in 2018.
For the first time, evidence supporting the existence of the city was found near the village
of Chiliomodi in southern Greece.
The first clues were found in 1984 with the discovery of a sarcophagus in the village,
but it took nearly 35 years until researchers followed an ancient road, and uncovered a
graveyard that contained the remains of two men, five women, and two children.
The tombs were filled with jewelry made from bone, bronze, and gold, as well as several
coins and vases.
This was just the beginning, though, because the researchers kept looking, and revealed
something even more significant- the remains of buildings that were part of the city of
Tenea.
There were structural beams and columns, marble and stone floors and walls, a number of jars,
and more than 200 coins.
Most significantly were the graves of two fetuses, which is why the site was identified
as the location of the city because babies were only ever buried in residential areas.
1.
Hidden Aztec Temple
In September of 2017, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck central Mexico and, along with killing
369 people, it caused serious damage to buildings and structures across the region.
As a part of learning the extent to which it had damaged sites, archaeologists were
scanning a pyramid when they discovered a temple hidden inside it.
The pyramid is at the ancient site of Teopanzolco, about 43 miles to the south of Mexico.
The hidden temple has been dated to around 1150 AD and is believed to have been built
by the Tlahuica civilization which was responsible for most of the other structures in the city.
They often built structures on top of other structures, and the pyramid was already known
to have been built on top of another pyramid… but no one had any idea there was more inside.
The temple is thought to have been dedicated to the rain god Tláloc, who provided water
to their crops.
To appease the gods, children were sacrificed during the first month of their calendar,
although no remains have been found yet at this new site.
Ceramic shards and an incense burner were found inside the temple, but further investigation
has been put on hold because they also discovered that the pyramid had been damaged by the earthquake
as they had originally feared.
Thanks for watching!!
Which place were you surprised by the most?
Let me know in the comments below!!