Well guys, it seems that these dusty old scrolls need a good old dusting--because whilst it’s
been a while--thankfully for us, the many mysteries of ancient history are once again
getting a look in over here at Top 5 Scary Videos.
Truth be told, for me, ancient history is one of the most fascinating modicums of knowledge--albeit
a knowledge that will most likely remain hidden for all of eternity.
But hey--that’s why these mysteries are so damn interesting, right?
The thing is, over two parts of this series, we’ve managed to highlight quite a few contemporary
mysteries that have otherwise left humanity scratching their heads--but I think we can
go one deeper.
I think we can go back even further than before.
Let’s find out.
Hello horror fans, what’s going on, and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Most Mysterious Unsolved Events In History--Part 3.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, of course--that scene was from 2012’s Prometheus--which
although it got a bit of flak on release--is an awesome movie, and I loved it.
On that theme--if we’re going to be talking about unsolved events in ancient history--we
may as well begin the whole thing by visually depicting the fictional origin of all life
in the universe--xenomorphs and necromorphs included.
Because, eh--why not, right?
Ancient Aliens and all that, it’s probably the best explanation for quite a few of the
items on this list to be honest.
SO let’s find out.
Kicking off at Number 5--Stone Tongue
Which--again, is a pretty damn awesome name for a death metal band, right?
But--if you’re a fan of this series, you’ll already know that lists like these are literal
golden skull mines for naming yourselves in all your death metal glory--so, metalheads
looking for a band name.
Take note, please.
And also, thank me later.
Anyway.
Stone Tongue!
Let’s first cast our gaze back to 1991--in Northamptonshire, Britain--where archaeologists
discovered a gruesome and even stranger mutilation that emerged from the remains of Roman Britain.
Now, it’s no hidden secret that Britain is littered with instances of intrigue from
the Roman Occupation of Britain--but this one in particular, seemingly, doesn’t fit
any sort of logic--or any of the many other mysteries of Ancient Britain.
At the bottom of a burial pit--buried beneath dozens of other bodies--archaeologists found
the skeleton of a man whose tongue had apparently been amputated, and instead replaced with
a flat stone, wedged into his mouth.
The burial site, at Stanwick, near the River Nene--dates back from between the third or
fourth centuries--where people in Roman Britain would have congregated in small farming communities.
Now, it’s certainly not rare to find makeshift burial pits in Roman Britain--in fact, there’
a dime a dozen--but the strange thing was, this guy was buried at the bottom.
Face down.
And not only was he buried face down--which would usually indicate some sort of fear of
him by the community--but his tongue was cut out and replaced with a stone.
As researchers noted--this was something that just hasn’t ever been identified as a practice
so far in archaeological records.
There are no other known occurrences of this ever happening in Roman Britain--so far anyway--and
the fact that this was on top of the matter of him being buried face down.
Well, who the hell was he?
It is believed that the man would have been in his 30s at the time of his death--and one
theory is that he had mental health issues, and was actually responsible for severing
his own tongue.
Perhaps the tongue was the community symbolically making him whole again.
But then--why was he buried face down?
Now, archaeologists are currently trying to correlate this practice to Ancient Germanic
Laws--but it's place in a small farming community in Roman Britain--remains a complete and utter
mystery.
Swinging in at Number 4--Khatt Shebib
And I absolutely love this one--as well as pretty much all of the next few entries--because
nothing gets my mind wiring quite like an ancient structure that no one knows what the
hell it is or what it was doing--or why it was even there.
Let me introduce you to The Khatt Shebib--an ancient wall in Southern Jordan, that since
its identification by British Diplomat Sir Alec Kirkbride back in 1948--has had archaeologists
scratching their heads ever since.
I say identification, because Kirkbride certainly didn’t discover this structure per say--but
instead, he noticed that whilst he was flying over Jordan--there was a very apparent, and
very clear line across the geographical landscape.
A wall, in fact--that ran 150 kilometers--making in the longest linear archaeological site
in Jordan.
Now, why would anyone build a wall of such length?
Now, the Romans had reason to with the Picts--Ancient China had reason to with Ghenghis Khan.
But Khatt Shebib?
What’s that all about?
The thing is though, whilst the purpose of this wall is the frantic subject of debate--we
*do* know who built it.
The Semi-nomadic Bedouin People--led by the Arab Prince Amir Shebib.
Historically, there is a certain recognition of the Bedouin people using the wall--but
there is still no concrete evidence to determine its purpose.
Archaeologists during the 1940s and 1950s argued that the Khatt Shebib was used for
military and defence purposes.
However, there is a clear problem with that assumption.
This wall is far too low for it to have ever been a successful defensive mechanism.
And although it *is* massive in length--at best estimates, it stood at around just a
meter and a half high.
What was it keeping out, not a lot.
So then, why have archaeologists also discovered over 100 ruined towers across it’s span?
Yeah.
More and more questions.
Oh, and also, did I mention that best estimates point toward it being built in the Iron Age?
Yeah.
Khatt Shebib, everybody.
A mystery.
Next up at Number 3--The Golan Structure
Alright guys--if Khatt Shebib had you scratching your head--then the Golan Structure is going
to require some form of head-scratching machinery.
Let me introduce you to The Golan Structure, also known as Rujm el-Hiri, an ancient megalithic
monument that resides in the Israeli-occupied portion of Golan Heights--just off the east
coast of the Sea of Galilee.
Made up of more than 42 thousands basalt rocks arranged in concentric circles--with a mound
that is 15 foot tall at its center--The Golan Structure has often been referred to as The
Stonehenge of the Levant.
Why?
Well--of course, because it dates back to at *least* the Early Bronze Age--to between
3000 and 2700 BCE.
So what is it?
Who built it?
What purpose did it serve?
Yeah.
That’ll be a *we don’t have a frickin’ clue* on pretty much all of those points.
The outermost wall of this structure is 520 feet in diameter and 8 feet high--and since
archaeological excavations have thus far yielded very few material remains, most Israeli archaeologists
that this site was certainly not of a defensive position, or a residential quarter--but most
likely, as the vast majority of these enigmas are--a ritual center.
And not only that--but a ritual center that is possible linked to the Cult of the Dead.
But--on that note, there’s even more of a mystery--because so far, no human remains
have been found at the site, only objects pointing to its function as some kind of tomb.
And also… hold on to your hats guys--because it gets weirder.
At the centre of The Golan Structure, the actual entrance to a tomb was discovered--one
that, during the June and December Solstices--it’s axis is perfectly aligned.
Yeah.
More questions, fewer answers.
The thing is though, as it’s namesake as the Stonehenge of the Levant--no other structures
of it’s kind have ever been discovered--which is even more of a head scratcher, considering
the fact that in Ancient Britain, as well as South America--structures like this are
pretty common.
Some believe that it’s purpose was to worship Tammuz and Ishtar, the Ancient Mesopotamian
gods of fertility.
Others suggest that it was used by the Dakhmas of the Zoroastrians to lay out their dead--and
let the birds remove the flesh from their bones.
Some say that it was a calendar--or a site built to observe the constellations for religious
calculations.
Maybe it was all of these things, at some point in time.
As it remains, we may never know.
Coming in at Number 2--The Great Lakes Copper Mystery
Oh boy.
Here we go.
If you’re not already feeling perplexed at the mysteries of the ancient world--then
I’m fairly certain that this one will knock your metaphorical socks off.
In the wilds of Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park--it remains a beautiful and remote location--but
thousands of years ago--the island was home to a thriving mining industry.
Yes.
Mining.
The rich veins of copper that ripple through the sites bedrock certainly drew the attention
of the early Native Americans--and the fact that they diligently used this ore to make
tools and jewelry is evident still--but the actual extent of their operation remains a
complete and utter mystery.
Why?
Well, because around 6 and a half thousand years ago--there is clear and startling evidence
to suggest that roughly 500 thousand tons of copper was mined from the land.
Five hundred thousand tons of copper--which, simply put--is staggering.
Now, the Copper Culture Complex is an astounding feat of ancient civilization regardless--but
here is where our mystery takes another turn.
You know why?
Because Michigan Copper is some of the purest copper on the planet.
And 500 thousand tons of it?
Well--frankly put.
There should be more evidence of its use throughout the Midwest.
Now, I’m going to take a little bit of a leap here--and I’m going to point us toward
another Ancient Mystery.
One that occured off the coast of Turkey roughly around the 14th century BC.
A shipwreck that was discovered just offo the east shore of Uluburun--discovered by
a sponge diver back in 1982.
Now, the Uluburun Shipwreck is a bit of a mystery in and of itself, but it’s with
the content of it’s cargo that we’re concerned with here.
Within the hull of the shipwreck, over 10 tons of copper oxhide ingots were discovered.
Now, oxhide ingots, which are named so down to the fact that they are shaped with rectangular
handholds on either side, were relatively common in the late bronze age period of the
Mediterranean Sea.
But you know what is weird?
Testing on these ingots later discovered that they were extraordinarily pure for others
of its kind.
In fact, more than 99.5% pure.
The oxhides were brittle blister copper--with voids and slag bits that only occur when multiple
pourings were made outdoors over wood fires.
There is only one type of ore of this purity.
Michigan Copper--the kind mined over 6 and a half thousand years ago in the Copper Culture
Complex of North America.
Yeah.
Beats me guys.
And finally, coming in at our number 1 spot--The Ness of Brodgar
And I absolutely adore this particular neolithic mystery--and at the moment, this is pretty
much my direct inspiration for scholarly study of the ancient world.
Now, we’ve covered this area quite a few times on this channel--and if you’d like
to find out more about places like Skara Brae--the ancient site discovered on the Orkney Isles
of Northern Scotland--then please check out our Scottish History list--and also, you know,
do you own discovering because Neolithic Orkney is absolutely amazing.
But--there’s another place that is even more remarkable than Skara Brae.
The Ness of Brodgar--perhaps one of the most important discoveries in archaeological record
depicting what the hell was going on during the Neolithic Period of Ancient Britain.
Back in 2003, in a site that occupies the central position with the Orkney archipelago,
that lies between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray--an imposing complex of monuments were
discovered.
A series of structures that seemingly were of pivotal importance to Neolithic Orcadians--and
perhaps even further afield--perhaps even the whole of Ancient Britain.
The site itself, which lies between the already discovered Ring of Brodgar--a neolithic stone
circle that has its own mysteries--as well as the equally mysterious Stones of Stenness--dates
back to at least 3300 BC.
As of 2016, 14 structures have been discovered--with many of them being built on top of each other--suggesting
perhaps an even older use of this site--and a location of incredible importance to the
Neolithic People of Ancient Britain.
Without a doubt though, the most impressive structure--known as Structure 10--which appears
to be a neolithic pyramid--is even more of a head scratcher.
Yeah, I just said neolithic pyramid.
Around this site, which was used prolifically up until around 2200 BCE, after which it abruptly
stopped--archaeologists have discovered the bones of approximately 400 cattle--around
which, the carcasses of several red deer were placed--with many of their tibia bones being
cracked and extracted for marrow--suggesting the site of a feast.
Do you know what’s weirder though?
During this event--there is also evidence of the temple being largely destroyed--brick
by brick.
Seemingly, for some reason--the neolithic Orcadians built this site as a place of incredible
importance, used it for a thousand years--and then one day, through a party--and tore the
whole thing down.
I have no idea guys.
But--most importantly--I want to know.
Well, there we have it folks--our list for the Top 5 Mysterious Unsolved Events In History--Part
3.
What do you guys think?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Have any more to add to this list?
Then please, let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below, as well as any
choice picks of your own.
Before we depart from today's video though, let’s first take a quick look at some of
your more creative comments from over the past few days.
Ken Gostchock says--
Jack, I absolutely love this channel and your energetic narration.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I STRONGLY advise you watch They Remain.
It is an atmospheric cosmic horror thrill to experience.
-- Well Ken, thank you kindly.
And no, I’m aware of that movie, but I actually haven’t sat through it yet--but given your
recommendation.
I better get to it.
That goes for all of you!
Well, on that note--we’ve got some movies to watch--and unfortunately that’s all we’ve
got time for in today's video.
Cheers for sticking around all the way until the end