11. INDIA’S HANGING PILLAR
Lepakshi Temple in Andhra Pradesh, India is considered a marvel
of ancient Indian architecture. The 16th-century structure
is filled with statues of gods, goddesses, musicians, and dancers.
Hundreds of paintings depicting scenes from Hindu epics cover the walls, columns, and ceiling.
There are around 70 stone pillars supporting the roof of the temple’s Dance Hall. Legend has it
that they were designed to withstand earthquakes. One of the pillars doesn’t even touch the ground,
but instead hangs from the ceiling. There’s a wafer-thin gap between its base and the floor,
where a sheet of paper or cloth can easily pass through,
creating an incredible illusion that the pillar is floating!
Nobody knows how or why the pillar is situated like this,
although many have tried to figure it out. According to one story,
a British engineer supposedly moved the pillar in an attempt to understand what supports it.
In doing so, he dislodged the pillar, leaving it in its current position.
Another legend claims that members of the British government tried to
move the pillar to do some repairs, but realized it wasn’t possible.
Consequently, it was left the way it remains today.
There’s no telling which, if either story is true, and the hanging pillar continues to fascinate
visitors at Lepakshi Temple, which is famous for its ornate architecture and beautiful artwork.
10. VIKING TWILIGHT COMPASS
As the Vikings sailed through the North Atlantic along the 1,600-mile (2,575 km) journey from
Norway to Greenland, they navigated using an ancient compass called the Uunartoq disc.
Measuring just 2.76 inches (7 cm) in diameter,
the small wooden partial disc was discovered in an 11th-century covenant in Greenland in 1948.
It was originally thought to be a decoration or a sundial. But in 2014, researchers performed
tests that revealed that it could have been used as a nighttime compass called a twilight board.
By using the Uunartoq disc in combination with other instruments, the Vikings would have been
able to navigate for nearly an hour after sunset around the time of the spring equinox.
They would have needed a pair of stones called sunstones, which determined the sun’s position,
and something called a shadow stick, which identified their cardinal direction.
Neither of these items were discovered along with the Uunartoq disc, but medieval records
indicate that sunstones and shadow sticks were available to the Vikings,
making this nighttime navigation theory entirely plausible.
9. HYPOCAUST
The earliest known form of central heating was developed over 2,000 years ago in Ancient
Rome. Known as the hypocaust, the system was powered by furnaces that burned constantly.
Homes that were equipped with a hypocaust were built two feet (60 cm) off the ground.
The furnaces were installed beneath, and hot air circulated through the space beneath the house.
As the hot air cooled, it escaped the building through flues in the walls and roof vents.
In addition to providing warmth, hypocaust systems were also used for creating saunas by
putting a pool into the room. The furnace heated the water, causing steam to rise up into the air.
The room’s temperature easily reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) or higher,
with the humidity peaking at 100 percent.
Allowing smoke from a hypocaust to leak into a house would have put a home’s occupants at
risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. The Romans were careful to ensure that this didn’t happen.
Hypocaust systems were built by skilled engineers who knew what
they were doing. But making sure they were safe also meant that they were expensive,
and only the wealthy could usually afford one for their home. They were more commonly
used in bathhouses, which functioned as major social centers in Ancient Rome.
8. THE FIRST ROBOT
Most people only think of robots in a modern sense. But their history dates back over 2,000
years to the Flying Pigeon, a self-propelled steam-powered device that was created between 400
and 350 B.C. It was the invention of an ancient Greek scientist and philosopher named Archytas,
who was a good friend of Plato. Archytas is credited with being
the founder of mathematical mechanics, or what we now call mechanical engineering,
and he designed the Flying Pigeon as part of a study on how birds fly.
The steam-powered robo-bird was made from wood and suspended from a pivot
bar. It had a hollow and cylindrical lightweight body with two sets of wings,
along with an airtight heated boiler in its rear. The boiler generated steam and pressure,
which eventually defeated the machine’s mechanical resistance and caused it to take flight.
The flying pigeon traveled for nearly 660 feet (200 meters) before running out of steam,
making it the first-ever self-propelled flying device and, in some sense,
the world’s earliest robot. The experiment also marked one of the first known recorded instances
of a scientist studying bird flight. And while the mechanics behind it are rather simple,
the flying pigeon was considered highly advanced at the time of its creation.
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7. ULFBERHT SWORD
Between 800 and 1000 A.D., the Vikings manufactured a lightweight, razor-sharp,
and flexible sword that appears to have been made with technology that
wasn’t readily available until some 800 years later. Around 170 of the swords,
all of them engraved with the word “Ulfberht,” have been found.
They were made from iron ore that had to be heated to 3,000 degrees
Fahrenheit (1,649 Celsius) to remove impurities.
To strengthen the material, it was mixed with carbon, effectively turning it into steel.
At that time, people had no way of heating something to such a high temperature. The
technology to do this wasn’t available on a large scale until the 19th and 20th centuries, during
the Industrial Revolution. Instead, people usually hammered the impurities out of their swords.
But the Viking somehow found a way to create swords that had no impurities,
and which contained three times more carbon than any other metals at the time. Known as “crucible
steel, the mixture was likely made in the Kingdom of Francia, near modern-day France and Germany.
But the identity of the sword’s maker is a mystery, and the exact process
they used for making crucible steel is unknown. Researchers believe that they may have borrowed
techniques from Arab blacksmiths, who made a similar high-quality material called Damascus
Steel. The swords may have also been made using steel imported from India or the Arab empires.
6. ROMAN CONCRETE
Modern concrete is the world's most widely used building material. It’s been around since the 18th
century and is a relatively simple mixture containing cement, water, sand, and rocks.
The ancient Persians, Egyptians, Assyrians, and Romans all favored their own versions of
concrete. It was especially popular in the Roman Empire, which is credited with perfecting the
material. Roman concrete is extremely resilient – some of the structures they built with it are
still standing today, over 1,000 years after the empire fell. This is pretty impressive,
especially considering how modern concrete can break down in as little as 50 years.
Scientists found that phillipsite and another incredibly rare mineral
called aluminum tobermorite had formed in the concrete where volcanic ash had dissolved,
causing the material to strengthen over time. The Romans may have poured saltwater into the mixture,
causing it to react with volcanic ash and produce the strengthening minerals. But this
process takes centuries, and scientists have yet to develop a similar but quicker-forming solution.
5. LYCURGUS CUP
The Lycurgus cup is a 4th-century Roman chalice that appears jade green when light
passes through it from the front, and blood red when illuminated from behind.
It’s made of dichroic glass, which changes color depending on the way the light strikes it.
The 1,600-year-old cup is the only complete Roman artifact made from the material, and it
displays the most impressive color-changing qualities out of any known artifacts.
For decades after the British Museum acquired the cup in the 1950s, scientists struggled to
understand the dynamics behind its chameleon effect. They came one step closer to solving
the puzzle in 1990, when they examined the glass under a microscope and discovered that it was
infused with silver and gold particles that were ground down to less than one-thousandth the size
of a grain of table salt. The mixture was precise, indicating that the Romans created the chalice’s
color-changing characteristics on purpose. In this sense, they were early pioneers of nanotechnology.
Light causes the electrons in the metal flecks to vibrate, transforming the cup’s color depending on
the viewer’s angle. Acting on the suspicion that different liquids would also affect the artifact’s
color, researchers mimicked the technology on a small plastic plate and exposed it to water,
oil, sugar, and salt solutions. The plate displayed an array of distinctive shades,
meaning that the cup would react similarly if it were put to the same test.
4. AUTOMATA
The mathematician and engineer Heron of Alexandria lived and worked sometime
between the first and third centuries. He invented numerous impressive machines,
including the world’s first automated vending machine, a coin-operated holy water dispenser,
and an organ that was powered by a wind-wheel, which was the earliest known wind-powered machine.
Heron also developed one of the first robots, known as an automaton.
One of his first automata was a mobile shrine dedicated to the god Dionysus,
featuring figurines of the god and his worshipers. It was situated on a wheeled base,
which rolled to a specific point and displayed a religious scene using the figurines.
Another one of Heron’s robots was a miniature theater which featured
a tragedy from beginning to end. These machines essentially operated on clockwork
by using a descending counterweight and various chords and axles to make the scene unfold.
Heron is considered one of the most influential early pioneers of engineering,
math, geometry, and physics. His other inventions
include an automatic temple door opener, which worked using heat and pneumatics,
and a steam engine called the aeolipile, which is perhaps his most famous creation.
3. YAKHCHAL
Modern refrigeration technology is relatively new. Its very beginnings date back to 1834,
and the first refrigerators for home use were made in 1913.
It wasn’t until the 1930s that they became a common household appliance.
But ancient people developed their own ingenious ways of keeping perishables cold as early as
1000 B.C. Starting around 400 B.C., various civilizations who lived in hotter climates
began using what’s known as a yakhchal. These large dome-shaped devices were made of a
special insulating mortar called sārooj, which contained sand, clay, egg whites, goat hair,
lime, and ash. They cooled the air through evaporation.
Yakhchals were insulated by walls measuring up to six-and-a-half-feet (2 meters) tall,
along with cool water that was channeled into the structure.
These sophisticated devices kept ice cold year-round, even in scorching-hot desert
climates. They were equipped with trenches, where melted ice water collected and refroze overnight.
The ice was used for cooling certain foods on hot days, such as desserts that were
traditionally served frozen. These delicacies were not just reserved for royalty. They were
available to commoners, thanks to the yakhchal being a common household item at the time.
2. HYPOGEUM OF HAL SAFLIENI
The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni is an ancient complex of underground chambers in Malta.
Dating back between 4000 and 2500 B.C, it was likely used as a sanctuary
and a burial site. It’s one of Europe’s only known neolithic necropolises,
and some experts believe that it’s the world’s oldest prehistoric underground temple.
The three-level, ornately decorated structure was carved directly
into the surrounding limestone. Each chamber was used for a different purpose.
There was a temple, a cemetery, and a funeral hall.
The “Oracle Chamber” is perhaps the most fascinating part of the Hypogeum. In this room,
words spoken at a normal volume are amplified and can be heard throughout the entire building.
The acoustics can be scientifically explained, but researchers struggle to understand
why the chamber was built and if the amplifying effect was intentional.
Some people believe the chamber may have been used by a prophetic priest called an oracle,
possibly to affect people’s psyches or to enhance mystical experiences during rituals.
1. FLEXIBLE GLASS
The Phoenicians made the first manmade glass,
but historians credit the Romans with perfecting the art of glassmaking.
Various Roman texts describe the creation of something called “vitrium flexile,” or flexible
glass, during the reign of Tiberius Caesar. It’s mentioned in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History
as well as the Satyricon. Pliny the Elder’s encyclopedic description of flexible glass
discusses how Tiberius Caesar banned the material to keep the value of precious metals like gold,
silver, and copper from plummeting. The author admitted that the story’s truthfulness
is questionable, but the tale nevertheless spread widely and persisted for a long time.
Authored by a man named Petronius, Satyricon's account of flexible glass describes how its
inventor demonstrated the technology to Tiberius by throwing a cup on the ground.
To the emperor’s surprise, it didn’t break. It was dented from the impact of hitting the floor,
so the glassmaker used a small hammer to reshape it.
After learning that the inventor was the only person who knew how to make flexible glass,
Tiberius reportedly executed him to ensure that he took the recipe for it to the grave.
Modern researchers don’t think that flexible glass ever really existed,
but they’ve tried to figure out what it would have been made of if it did. For example,
if the glassmaker had gotten his hands on some boric oxide, it would have greatly
strengthened the material. But this fails to explain the flexibility of the glass.
Even if flexible glass was real, there’s a very real chance that we’ll never
know what it was made from, since it’s so scarcely mentioned in historical records.
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