From a mysterious ancient text passed from owner to owner, to the Picasso masterpiece
with a hidden origin, today we look at the MOST AMAZING Secret Discoveries.
Number 8.
Cochno Stone Buried beneath Scottish farmlands for thousands
of years sat a massive stone slab covered in ancient carved petroglyphs, stashed away
from the world until it was first documented in 1887 by a reverend named James Harvey.
In following decades, the historic artifact was displayed to the public, but this lead
to complications.
Having such a large surface, the temptation proved too great to vandals looking for a
unique canvas for their misdeeds.
On top of that, the slab, called the Cochno Stone, laid flat on the ground, and visitors
would walk all over it to examine its attractive carvings.
To preserve the stone, researchers decided to have it buried once more in 1965.
There the Cochno Stone sat for another 50 years until recently, in 2015, it was unearthed
once more by archaeologists who finally decided to buckle down and investigate the meaning
of this mysterious monument.
Number 7.
Voynich Manuscript Passing from owner to owner over the past
five centuries, the enigmatic book known as the Voynich Manuscript has a history that's
better known than the meaning of its contents.
This book is notorious for its 240 pages of mysterious scripture and illustrations as
the tome is littered with an unknown language written in a medieval fashion.
The puzzling language has left readers stumped since the first recorded owner purchased it
sometime before 1639.
It traded hands over the next few centuries, with past owners including an alchemist and
a University president from Prague, a German religious scholar, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph
II, and finally made its way into the hands of Polish bibliophile Wilfrid Voynich . From
there it passed down from family to friend until making it to the prestigious Yale Library.
It is commonly named after its last notable long-term owner, but recent carbon dating
places the manuscript's origin much further back, with researchers believing it to have
been written between 1404 and 1438.
Aside from the indecipherable language, the illustrations provide a strange collection
of herbal, biological, astronomical, and pharmaceutical references.
Depictions of astrological signs like the zodiac constellations and their associated
symbols can be found in one section, while scenes of women bathing in the nude can be
found elsewhere.
The most popular theory related to the Voynich Manuscripts purpose is that it was meant to
serve as some sort of old medical text, but the truth remains unknown as scholars continue
to debate its meaning.
Number 6.
The Crouching Beggar The works of Pablo Picasso are highly coveted,
not just in the world of art but across all aspects of society with the acclaimed painter
being one of the most famous artists of all time.
His "Blue Period" in particular is prominent for its unique consistency, sullen moods,
and monochromatic coloration.
But one of his pieces from this period was especially unique in that it hid a treasure
that went undetected for years after its conception.
A painting called The Crouching Beggar, painted in 1902, features a gloomy woman wrapped in
cloths, crafted in the blues and greens that personified his blue period.
Textures within the painting, however, tipped off art scholars that some other painting
might lie beneath Picasso's work.
With the help of x-ray technology, Northwestern University's Centre for Scientific Studies
in Arts was able to uncover the original art — a landscape painting of Barcelona.
From this picture, researchers were able to glean that Picasso had utilized contours of
the prior picture to shape his painting, but further reasoning behind why he used the Barcelona
painting as a canvas is still up for debate.
The origin of this initial art piece is unknown, and while it is a remarkable discovery for
art historians, it wasn't the only layer found during their x-rays.
A first draft of The Crouching Beggar was also found beneath the surface of the final
masterpiece.
So while his blue period evokes a sense of depression in the masterful artist, Picasso
was at least mindful enough to not waste his painting supplies!
Number 5.
Nazca Lines Large trenches cover the Peruvian plains of
the Nazca Desert, stretching for more than 800 miles in total.
These grandiose ditches were more than just some early water channeling system or agricultural
endeavor, though.
Instead, these land formations create actual depictions known as geoglyphs.
Though they may not seem like much up close, from neighboring foothills and satellite photography,
viewers can spot the intricate detail incorporated in these designs.
The majority of these designs are simplistic, geometric shapes as hundreds sprout up across
an area of about 19 square miles.
But between the rudimentary bends, circles, lines and points are the detailed depictions
of animals such as dogs, fish, llamas, jaguars, and hummingbirds to name a few.
Despite all this detailed work, the purpose of the Nazca Lines remains a topic of debate
among scholars.
Some researchers believe the textile work notable among Nazca culture required these
trenches to function as giant looms, allowing the mass production required to meet high
demands of the time.
Others see them potentially serving as an astronomical and cosmological guide of some
sort, with all the various shapes and lines assisting with some method of measurement
while the animals could represent certain constellations.
Today, archaeology students from around the world continue to study and sometimes even
uncover more Nazca lines, with a team of Japanese students finding two more figures as recent
as 2011!
With the establishment of a new research center focused on these wonders, perhaps the answer
as to what purpose this Peruvian marvel serves will finally be revealed.
Number 4.
Göbekli Tepe Scholars were astounded in 1994 when, while
investigating stone tools and what they thought might be a Byzantine cemetery, they stumbled
across an incredible discovery beneath the archaeological site.
Digging in the Southeast region of Turkey at a site called Göbekli Tepe , which translates
to Potbelly Hill, researchers found what was assumed to be a tombstone of some sort was
actually the top of a pillar!
German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt led the excavation of this discovery for the last
18 years of his life, uncovering bestial carvings, finely sculpted pillars, and more than he
could've imagined.
Within the hill hid some sort of temple for many millennia, sheltered from the effects
and erosion of time.
So when Klaus [klouse] and his team found many rooms that had been well preserved under
what had been treated as agricultural farmland for so long, they could hardly believe it.
What caught them even more unaware was the site's age.
With the help of carbon dating, researchers believe part of Göbekli Tepe functioned as
a spiritual sanctuary as early as 11,000 B.C, making it the oldest site to be constructed
for religious purposes.
What exactly was worshipped here is still unknown, however this discovery alone has
altered the foundational beliefs of how human societies developed.
The fact that hunter-gatherers could and would construct a place of worship at the scale
of Göbekli Tepe has flipped the archaeological world on its head.
More research will need to be done, though, if a clearer picture of this ancient society
is ever to be crafted.
Number 3.
Lazarus Animals In science, all conclusions are devised from
the facts discovered at hand and as such, with the introduction of new facts comes the
recognition of new conclusions.
So while it may seem a bit impossible for a species to be declared extinct only to rise
from the grave years later, don't worry science is prepared!
These incidents have occurred so often in recent history that species that experience
this level of temporary extinction actually have a scientific term assigned to them: Lazarus
Taxa , referring to the Christian biblical figure resurrected by Jesus Christ.
These animals weren't graced by the good fortune of some divine miracle though.
More often than not, these creatures simply adapted in an unforeseen way or lived in an
area that was difficult to analyze and research.
Animals that fall into this category include the Laotian rock rat, the Bush dog, the Monito
del Monte , the Majorcan midwife toad, and the evolutionary oddball — the Coelacanth
. Until its discovery in 1938, Coelacanth was thought to have gone extinct some 66 million
years prior.
Fossil records combined with its unusual physiology made the creature seem perfectly prehistoric.
But its still here, along with the rest of these demise-defying, living discoveries.
Number 2.
Mummified Monk A Dutch private art collector may have loved
his purchase when he bought a large, bronze statue of Buddha many decades ago, but there's
no way he could've guessed what hid beneath its metal surface.
Upon taking the statue in for restoration, they were startled to find that underneath
its glossy surface was actually the mummified remains of a centuries-old monk!
Turns out that this practice isn't completely unheard of among followers of Buddhism, as
the process of self-mummification is thought to be one of, if not the most, self-disciplined
acts to to perform.
The process requires actually altering your diet to eat scraps of paper with Chinese characters
and even consuming toxic tea to keep insects from snacking on your remains.
This is exactly what experts believe happened in this incident and through textile analysis
and carbon dating have estimated the monk, named Liuquan , to be around a thousand years
old!
But even with that, some don't believe he has passed away, opting to side with the concept
that he has simply reached a further tier of enlightenment.
After nearly 200 years of this deep, next level, mummified-form of meditation, historians
investigating this have determined other monks at the monastery probably decided to reinforce
their brethren with this statue.
The statue went on display in Budapest , along with its mummified inhabitant, before beginning
its world tour.
The Chinese did not take kindly to this though, and in 2017 a village sued the original owner
claiming he had stolen the property under false pretenses.
Under the weight of international pressure, the Dutch owner agreed to trade the statue
back to an unnamed Chinese businessmen who just so happened to collect these Buddhist
statues.
Number 1.
Wentworth Elm Originally thought to have gone extinct in
the last 30 years, botanists were elated to find the towering Wentworth Elm tree still
exists...and on very secure grounds at that.
Measuring in at 100 feet tall each, two of these gorgeous plants were instantly recognizable
to scientists from the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh as they examined none other than
the Queen's own Scottish residence in 2016!
Other trees of this species had long since been wiped out by a strong strain of the Dutch
Elm disease, an affliction caused by microfungi that arose in the late 1960s.
Luckily, in Edinburgh , the local government had been removing diseased trees for years,
lessening the chance it could spread and damage the Queen's collection.
Botanists now hope to use these trees to continue the species in Europe, with these two specimens
being potentially the last of the Wentworth Elms.