We can see the creativity of our ancient ancestors when we view certain archaeological discoveries. These puzzling ancient finds can captivate the public, due it’s easiness to dream up interesting explanations for how and why things exist.
Here are 10 of the most mysterious discoveries of all time.
- The Lost City Of Atlantis
This is the most mysterious archaeological discovery. Plato discussed fabled Atlantis in 360 BC. According to the legends, Poseidon, the famous god of the sea, created the rich city. Some people believe that it was larger than all of Asia. Some researchers state that a Tsunami could have hit the city in the 10th millennium B.C and sunk its city into the ocean. According to the Archaeologist Richard Freund, the real Atlantis was entombed in the Atlantic Ocean’s mudflats while others think it was in the North Sea. But the truth is still hidden.
2. Great Pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are part of the ancient wonders of the world. In approximately 2700 BC, the construction of the first pyramids began. These pyramids were mainly tombs used to preserve the bodies of royalty in the form of mummies. The tallest and oldest pyramid in the country is the Great Pyramid of Giza. It’s 481 feet tall and includes millions of limestones, and took nearly two decades to build. Pyramids contain well-preserved bodies and also some valuable artifacts and feature beautiful carvings and paintings.
3. Stonehenge
There’s a 5,000-year-old prehistoric monument called Stonehenge in Salisbury, England. There are specific groups of stones in small and large sizes. This was built by Neolithic builders sometime between 3000 B.C and 2000 B.C. with stones from the famous Preseli Hills which is 150 miles away from the monument. The stones are 30 feet high and weigh up to 25 tons. Their purpose is the subject of much speculation and still remains unknown. Once, 240 people were buried there using it as a burial ground.
4. Moai Statues
These statues are the main attraction on Easter Island which is a remote, treeless Chilean in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Volcanic rock has used to carve these statues between 1300 and 1500 A.D.by an ancient group of people known as Rapa Nui. The 288 statues are 13 feet high and weigh as much as 80 tons. They all are in large individual stone platforms. They can be moved from one side to other using ropes as the bases have a “D” shape.
5. Terracotta Army
This remarkable discovery was by made by a group of archaeologists in Xian, China in 1974. It is the greatest discovery of funeral art ever: the Terracotta army. There was thousands of clay soldiers were discovered buried near the tomb of the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang. The soldiers had to protect him from numerous opposing forces in the afterlife. The structure is 2200 years old. Number of different weapons also found buried there. There were different clay corridors for everything. There are four main underground pits and three include soldiers and weapons. The fourth is empty. Many areas of the tomb and complex remain unexplored.
6. Gobekli Tepe
Gobekli Tepe which is located in Turkey is the world’s oldest archaeological site. You can remind of the artistic ability man had even 11,000 years ago by looking at this. Pillars of limestone that weighed between 15 and 22 tons were used for this construction by tone age men used. These were cut from huge blocks. The archaeological expedition unearthed 200 large pillars. The structure is like a temple of a communal gathering place. The scientists in their specific in-depth study of the Neolithic revolution were aided by this particular discovery.
7. Nazca Lines
Nazca Lines is one of the most popular and well-known UNESCO world heritage sites in Peru and the unusual formations of lines in southern Peru. There are different shapes such as rectangles, swirls, trapezoids, and triangles, and swirls in these ancient lines. You can see 300 geometrical shapes, and 70 animals and plants too from the air. There are no any discoveries of what purpose they served. According to Archaeologists, they were actually created by Nazca Indians sometime between the years 500 B.C and 700 A.D. They have largely remained intact for over 2,000 years.
8. Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman is situated in Machu Picchu, Peru, was begun by emperor Pachacuti in 1440. This structure took over 100 years to complete. The wall has different types of rocks such as dark andesite, Yucay limestones, and diorite blocks. The wall is nearly 1,969-foot long and has a zig-zag structure. A single block from the wall weighs hundreds of tons. Once, a tower and a sun temple was protected by the wall.
9. Mount Owen Moa
In 1986, Archaeologists discovered the claw of a bird in a cave in New Zealand. There are still muscles and flesh attached to the claw. According to the Scientists, they later confirmed that the foot came from a moa–a now extinct wingless bird that died off more 2000 years before to the discovery. The moa was a large bird those 12 feet tall and weighed as much as 552 pounds. Early man hunted the moas into extinction. The sharp moa claws can be currently seen in a museum in New Zealand.
10. Voynich Manuscript
Voynich Manuscript, arguably the most mysterious manuscript in the world was discovered by a Polish book dealer named Voynich. It is said that it is written in Northern Italy in the 15th century. They cannot discover the language and author of the document. Many pages are missing while 240 pages remain. There are some drawings of different herbal plants. The plants couldn’t even be identified until recently. This famous document also includes sections on the subjects of astronomy, biology, cosmology, and even pharmaceuticals in addition to the herbal plants.