Unusual finds of archaeologists. The most mysterious finds of archaeologists

Despite the level of technological progress and all the accumulated knowledge about the history of our planet and the civilizations that inhabited it, we still cannot figure out some mysterious discoveries.

Most of the finds allow scientists to learn something new about the past, but there are also such artifacts that contradict all logic and challenge the generally accepted knowledge about the capabilities of ancient peoples. For example, how exactly was Stonehenge built? Why were the Nazca geoglyphs drawn? Who wrote the Devil's Bible?

However, if we do not understand something, this does not mean that we still cannot try to learn something new thanks to mysterious finds. As a result, researchers will definitely find all the answers. In the meantime, let's just find out what kind of puzzles modern archaeologists are struggling with. Here is a selection of 25 such secrets of the past!

25. Roman dodecahedrons

Roman dodecahedrons date back to the 2nd and 3rd century AD and are still a real mystery to the scientific community. The diameter of these artifacts is usually from 3 to 11 centimeters, they are most often made of bronze and represent a polyhedron of 12 regular pentagons with round holes and balls at the top of each corner. According to some versions, dodecahedrons were used either for ritual purposes or as a measuring instrument. These were very valuable items, and throughout Europe, archaeologists have already found several hundred of these mysterious artifacts.

24. Giant circles


Photo: Rei-artur blog

On the territory of Jordan and Syria, with the help of satellite imagery, 8 huge circles were discovered. The diameter of the figures is from 220 to 455 meters, and no one knows exactly when they appeared here, or why they were drawn. Archaeologists are still excavating at the site of the discovery of mysterious formations, but even now they are suggesting that these objects belong to the period from the beginning of the Bronze Age to the time of the Roman Empire.

23. Copper scroll

Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

Among other scrolls found in the Dead Sea area, there is one manuscript that is different from all the others. The discovery was made in 1952, and unlike parchment or papyrus artifacts, this scroll is made of a metal alloy (mainly copper). The manuscript contains approximately the following text: “Nine hundred talents are hidden in a large cistern, which is located in the courtyard of the columned hall, in a recess opposite the door, in the corner. In the cistern under the wall on the east side are six hundred silver ingots. In the southern corner of the pillared hall near the tomb of Zadok and under the pillar in the assembly hall, there is a spruce vessel for incense and a similar vessel made of cassia wood. Yes, this is a real treasure map. Historians and ordinary treasure hunters have been trying in vain to find this treasure for many years. Some experts have even begun to suggest that the text is metaphorical in nature, or is more of a recommendation than a description of a cache already made.

22. Rongo-rongo writing


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

Rongorongo writings were found on Easter Island in the 19th century. They are a collection of wooden planks covered with mysterious hieroglyphs of unknown origin. No one has been able to decipher the meaning of these ancient letters, but some scholars believe that deciphering these texts would help shed light on the mysterious disappearance of the ancient civilization that once inhabited Easter Island.

21. Scottish Pyramids of Clava


Photo: Elliott Simpson

These mysterious stone structures are nearly 4,000 years old and have been found on the south bank of the River Nairn in Scotland. Piles of stones dilute vertically standing megaliths (stone blocks), and most of all scientists are puzzled by the question of how exactly the people of those years managed to collect all these heavy boulders in one place and set them up in the form of a ring monument. In addition, researchers do not quite understand why this ancient complex was built at all. Among most theories, the most common are related to funerary rituals, solstice observations, and even extraterrestrials.

20. Potbellied Hill or Göbekli Tepe


Photo: Teomancimit

Göbekli Tepe is the largest archaeological complex discovered in Turkey, whose age is approximately 11,000 years, that is, it is 6,000 years older than even the legendary Stonehenge. In the temple complex, many pillars were found, decorated with carved silhouettes of animals and other mystical creatures, as well as many other places of worship. Initially hidden under a 15-meter hill, the complex was mistaken for an ancient cemetery, but archaeologists later realized that they were faced with something more grandiose. Most likely, it was just a temple, but research is still ongoing.

19. American Stonehenge


Photo: (WT-shared) Jtesla16 at wts wikivoyage

American Stonehenge discovered in the town of Salem, New Hampshire (Salem, New Hampshire). This amazing monument is a system of caves and stone structures, and its origin is still unclear and causes a lot of controversy among experienced archaeologists. The area on which the complex is located belonged to the Pattees family, but the object remained unnoticed until William Goodwin bought the land in 1937. Since then, archaeological excavations have begun here. Radiocarbon analysis showed that the creation of this mysterious place was worked on as far back as 2000 BC. But who exactly lived in this American Stonehenge is still unknown to science.

18. Stone balls of Costa Rica Las Bolas


Photo: Shutterstock

The locals call them Las Bolas (balls). These spherical artifacts are scattered along the coast of the Diquis Delta, on the Nicoya Peninsula and on the island of Caño in southern Costa Rica. The giant stone spheres date back to around 600 AD and are predominantly composed of gabbro (igneous rock). The purpose of the stone balls is still a mystery, but scientists suggest that they were either used as landmarks or to study the stars.

17. Treasures and the mysterious disappearance of the people of Sanxingdui (Sanxingdui)

Photo: Nishanshaman

This archaeological mystery lies not so much in the artifacts themselves, but in the creators of the finds. In 1929 and then in 1986, a pit with jade items was discovered in the Chinese province of Sichuan. A simple peasant was the first to find it, and after several decades, full-fledged excavations were finally carried out here. Bronze and stone artifacts, elephant tusks and other amazing finds were hidden in the treasury. Apparently, the Sanxingdui culture lived in these lands on the banks of the Minjing River about 3,000 years ago, but suddenly they literally disappeared from the face of the Earth, and scientists are still wondering why. Wars and famines are mentioned among the probable causes. One of the most recent speculations is related to a strong earthquake. Perhaps, during the next powerful shock, a serious landslide occurred, blocking the riverbed and changing its course, which forced the ancient settlement in a hurry to change their place of residence in search of a new source of water.

16. Geoglyphs of Nazca


Photo: Unukorno

Lines and geometric patterns in the Nazca Desert (Peru) are one of the greatest archaeological mysteries in the world. Scattered throughout the Peruvian plateau are a great many of these mysterious inscriptions, which appeared between 500 AD and 500 BC. The unusual size, huge number, plot and structure of these geoglyphs puzzled the most prominent scientists. The main version says that these lines and drawings are associated with some ancient rituals or were used by ancient scientists to observe the starry sky.

15. Baghdad Battery


Photo: Boynton / flickr

This artifact is almost 2000 years old. The Baghdad battery was found in the suburbs of the Iraqi capital. Before you is an earthenware vessel with a bitumen stopper and an iron rod passed through the stopper into the vase itself, inside of which there is also a copper cylinder. Filled with vinegar, this battery is capable of producing an electrical voltage of 1.1 volts. However, no written confirmation that these vessels were used in this way has been found. Scientists have not found any other devices that would work at the expense of these ancient galvanic cells. Skeptics believe that these were ordinary vessels for storing manuscripts.

14 Derinkuyu Underground City


Photo: Nevit Dilmen

In the Turkish province of Nevsehir (Nevsehir), a real city was hiding right under the ground for many years. There are many similar dungeons in Turkey, but Derinkuyu is the largest of them. The shelter consists of 8 levels and descends to a depth of 80 meters. The cave kingdom was built around the 8th century BC, and the first inhabitants were the ancient Phrygians, and then the early Christians, who hid here from persecution. However, the original purpose of such a grandiose underground structure is still unknown.

13. Shroud of Turin


Photo: Dianelos Georgoudis

The Shroud of Turin is a 4-meter linen cloth with the imprint of the body of a man executed on a cross. The shroud is kept in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin and is recognized as one of the most important Christian relics, since believers believe that the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped in it when he was buried in the tomb of a Jewish elder. Scientific research has not yet shed light on the age of the canvas, since some experts believe that the fabric was produced during the Middle Ages, while others attribute it to the time of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church does not recognize the shroud as genuine, and the Orthodox Church has so far abandoned its official position on this matter.

12. Underwater cairn


Photo: Nemo

In Lake Tiberias, using the echolocation method, scientists recently discovered an entire underwater pyramid. The pile of stones stretched about 70 meters in diameter, but archaeologists have not yet been able to determine its age or purpose. There are a lot of tilapia swimming in this lake, and this has led some experts to believe that this structure was once used for fishing.

11. Stonehenge


Photo: garethwiscombe

Stonehenge is a very famous archaeological complex, which has long been considered a real mystery. The largest stone blocks weigh about 25 tons each and rise 9 meters above the ground. Some of these giant boulders were brought from West Wales, which means they were dragged as much as 225 kilometers. How exactly the ancient inhabitants of these places managed to transport such heavy stones is still. It probably took the coordinated work of several thousand people at the same time to carry them. If this was the case, then the creation of this complex should have marked the real unification of England in those years, because the construction required very serious resources and the involvement of a large number of workers.

10. Sound effects in the hypogeum (sanctuary) Hal Saflieni (Hal Saflieni)


Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

Hal Saflieni Temple is located in Malta and this prehistoric complex is almost 5000 years old. In addition, it is one of the very few underground sanctuaries dating back to the Bronze Age. No one knows exactly why this hypogeum was built, but the main version is that it served as a refuge for the prophet, and subsequently a burial ground was organized here. This place becomes even more mysterious due to its unusual properties, due to which sounds are perceived here in an unusual way. There is a special room in the dungeon where all the lowest sounds resonate as loudly as if you are in the center of a giant bell, but outside of this room you can hardly hear anything. Was it so conceived by ancient people during the construction of the complex, or is it an unforeseen effect?

9. Khatt Shebib


Photo: Pixabay.com

Sir Ales Kirkbride discovered Hutt Shebib in 1948. This is an ancient wall stretching for 150 kilometers through almost all of Jordan. Since its opening, the building has been shrouded in mystery and will captivate the minds of prominent archaeologists. No one still knows how ancient Hutt Shebib is, and what it was intended for. Today, only modest ruins remain of the wall, although it was presumably not too high before, which means that the wall was certainly not conceived for defensive purposes. It is possible that it was used by ancient farmers, or that it was some kind of boundary symbol.

8. Giant Codex or Devil's Bible

Photo: Wikipedia Commons.com

Codex Gigas (in Latin) is a medieval parchment manuscript, recognized as the largest and heaviest handwritten book in all of Western Europe. The arch is so heavy that only 2 people can move it at the same time, because the weight of this block is about 75 kilograms. The Giant Codex includes the Old and New Testaments, as well as several other texts - the works of Josephus Flavius, the "Etymology" of Isidore of Seville, the "Czech Chronicle" of Cosmas of Prague and other books in Latin. The author of the codex is unknown, but presumably he was a single person - a hermit monk who worked on the creation of the manuscript for several decades in a row. This collection is called the Devil's Bible because it also contains a full-page image of Satan.

7 Puma Punku


Photo: Janikorpi

Puma Punku is a Bolivian complex of huge megaliths carved from stone with the finest precision. The main mystery today is not so much the purpose of some of the local objects, but their age. The opinions of experts are divided, and very different from each other. So some scientists believe that the complex appeared around 500-600 BC, while others believe that the artifacts are almost 17,000 years old. Another amazing feature of Puma Punku is the incredible precision with which the stones were processed. The blocks look like they were cut with a diamond cutter, but this technology is unlikely to have existed in such ancient times.

6. Longyu Caves


Photo: Zhangzhugang

Discovered in 1992 near the village of Longyu, the amazing Longyu Caves are a whole system of man-made dungeons that have been in a flooded state for a long time. They were discovered during the cleaning of local ponds, and in the end it turned out that the height of some of the rooms reaches 30 meters. None of the 24 has a connection with the neighboring one, but they all have common walls. The dungeons are simply huge, executed with incredible craftsmanship and require considerable effort to create them, but for some reason not a single historical document mentions their existence. The age of the structures was determined by a number of indirect signs (for example, by stalactites) and is approximately 2200 years old.

5 Superhenge


Photo: anonymous

Not far from the famous Stonehenge, archaeologists have discovered an even larger complex, hiding deep underground. It was called Superhenge, and this monument consists of 90 huge stone blocks, reminiscent of the megaliths from Stonehenge. Scientists have discovered this complex thanks to ground-based penetrating radar, and the monument has not yet been excavated. Experts find it difficult to answer the question about the purpose of the object, but they are sure that all these stones were buried here with some special intent.

4. Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island


Photo: Vitold Muratov

A small Russian island, lost in the White Sea, no more than 2.5 square kilometers in size, is an almost uninhabited piece of land that keeps many secrets. For example, did you know that stone labyrinths have been decorating this place for almost 32 thousand years? All these piles and outlandish mounds cover the main part of the island, but archaeologists still have not figured out who exactly built the mysterious labyrinths, and for what purpose. Perhaps these were religious altars or other ritual objects.

3. Stone slab Cochno


Photo: University of Glasgow

In Scotland, archaeologists have unearthed a 5,000-year-old stone slab decorated with unusual geometric patterns. The Kochno stone (from the name of the farm near which the artifact was found) is 13 meters long and 7.9 meters wide, and scientists called the drawings carved on its surface "bowls and ring marks." Similar patterns are found around the world and in other prehistoric locations. The meaning of these drawings remains unknown until now, as well as who created them. In addition, it is not clear how exactly the ancient people managed to leave these marks in places so remote from each other. The Kochno slab was transported to another place not only for further research, but also to protect it from vandal encroachments.

2Microscopic Copper Findings Almost 300,000 Years Old


Photo: Ugraland

In 1991, mysterious artifacts were discovered on the banks of the Narada, Kozhim and Balbanyu rivers in the Ural Mountains. The microscopic spiral-shaped copper and tungsten parts are amazing because experts are still arguing about their age. Some scientists suggest that these finds are somehow connected with rocket tests at the nearby Baikonur and Plesetsk cosmodromes. However, other researchers argue that the rocks in which these mysterious springs were found are too old, and analysis of these layers has shown that the finds could be about 300,000 years old.

1. Tomb with skulls from Sanken


Photo: Pixabay.com

In Sweden, archaeologists have discovered a burial site of human remains that are almost 8,000 years old. The researchers found there 11 skulls of men, women, children and babies. Probably, scientists stumbled upon a tomb, equipped here during the Stone Age, when hunters and gatherers strung the heads of the dead on one common pole and buried them in lakes. How exactly and why the ancient people came up with such a terrible ritual, no one knows.

Very often, the questions generated by the finds of archaeologists remain unanswered. Extracted from the darkness of non-existence, witnesses of the distant past keep their secrets. Sometimes they only confuse researchers, and sometimes horrify, striking with their cruelty, which goes beyond the mind. Some archaeological finds, photos of which are presented in the article, belong to this category.

frozen scream

The Egyptian Antiquities Service is a serious organization where all archaeological finds that come into its field of vision are meticulously entered into the appropriate accounting registers. Mr. Gaston Maspero, who worked in this department for a fair number of years, saw everyone, and when a new batch of artifacts arrived in November 1886, he habitually set to work.

The day was already drawing to a close, when he had to register the last figure, still hidden under a layer of ancient matter. With a habitual movement, the official incised and moved aside the ancient shroud, tightly fitting the mummy. What he saw made him recoil. In the crimson rays of the sun sinking behind the horizon, before him appeared a body bent in convulsions with arms and legs tied like a prisoner.

But this was not what horrified the battered official. The mummy's wide-open mouth was twisted into a silent scream, frozen in time several millennia ago. The head was thrown back, and seemed to be looking at Mr. Maspero with bottomless eye sockets full of suffering.

Having come to his senses, the official realized that he had involuntarily witnessed the last act, a tragedy that had played out in the distant past, and perhaps even a crime. There was no doubt that this unfortunate man, whose body was now lying on the table of one of the offices of the Antiquities Service, had been buried alive. What caused such cruelty will forever remain a mystery.

The ancient Egyptians, sending their loved ones on a journey through the afterlife, gave great importance to his mouth, since it was believed that it should be forever closed, otherwise the deceased would not find peace. Nevertheless, up to the present day, these screaming dead men appear before archaeologists. They are sometimes found among the American Indians, and among the Celts, and other peoples. It seems that they are guarding in the depths of ancient burials, scaring away uninvited guests - treasure seekers with their cry.

Headless Skeletons

A few years ago, many British newspapers came out with flashy headlines - "Dorset Nightmare", "Dorset Horror" and other variations on this theme. What so alarmed the journalists, and made the townsfolk forget about other newspaper news for a while? And here's what happened.

In those days, one of the oldest roads in the county of Dorset, which is located in the south-west of the country and is washed by the waters of the English Channel, was being repaired. They dismantled the old pavement, which had long since become obsolete, and in its place a modern road surface was laid. Suddenly, a bulldozer, working a little to the side of the road, shifting the upper layer of the earth with its knife, exposed what was hiding under it from human eyes.

Before the eyes of the astonished workers, a multitude of human bones, darkened by time, appeared. The find was reported to the police. Those who arrived and completed all the necessary formalities in such cases, informed the staff of the Royal Archaeological Society.

When the pundits arrived at the place and began to study the burial ground, the first thing that caught their eye was the absence of skulls. They were discovered a little later, after additional excavations. The skulls were buried nearby, and it seemed that they were specially laid in an even pyramid.

The remains of ancient weapons were also found here - swords and shields, according to the characteristic features of which it was determined that their owners were undoubtedly Vikings. But the main sensation was waiting ahead. When they began to study in detail each of the skeletons, it turned out that their position indicated that those unfortunate people to whom they once belonged were first buried in the ground standing up to shoulder level, and after that they lost their heads.

These terrible archaeological finds received the most probable explanation. In the ninth century, the Vikings made devastating raids on the territory of Britain. The county of Dorset, located on the shore of the strait, became their next prey. Obviously, at some point, military luck turned away from these robbers, and fifty-four thugs (this is the number of human remains counted by scientists) fell into the hands of local residents.

The times were barbaric, and one should not be surprised at the fantasy with which the aggressors were punished. They were buried up to the neck and their heads were cut off, apparently with some kind of peasant sickles or scythes. The peculiarities of the soil in this part of the country have allowed the evidence of this terrible massacre to survive to this day.

"Matryoshka" from hell

In 2009, something was added to the category of "unexplained archaeological finds" for which even the most approximate explanation was not found. This year in Sweden, in Motala, on the territory where the lake once was, excavations were carried out. Suddenly, a strange object fell into the hands of scientists, outwardly resembling a stone, but it turned out to be a human skull.

Such archaeological finds are by no means uncommon, but in this case, something alerted the researchers. The reason was the unusual weight of the skull - undoubtedly, he kept something in himself, still hidden from prying eyes. The X-ray results astounded the scientists. It turned out that their find consists of eleven (!) Human skulls nested inside each other. In front of them was some kind of terrible "matryoshka", which appeared from the gloomy depths of the underworld.

It is hard to even imagine how many people from babies to real old people paid with their lives for the sake of this infernal souvenir, where the skulls were driven into one another with amazing accuracy. Unusual archaeological finds always excite the minds of researchers and give rise to many hypotheses. So it was this time. However, there was no convincing explanation for the find. Whether it was an element of some ancient ritual or simply the product of someone's sick fantasy - forever remained a mystery.

Swiss clock from an ancient tomb

Recently, mysterious archaeological finds have been increasingly mentioned in the media, allocated to a special group called “anomalous artifacts”. We are talking about the attributes of modern life, discovered during excavations of cultural layers belonging to bygone eras. Let's take a few examples.

A few years ago, Chinese scientists, while excavating an ancient tomb in the Guangxi region, unexpectedly discovered an object that looked like a ring. After cleaning it of dust, the scientists found that they were holding a watch in their hands. Yes, yes, elegant women's watches, and besides, they are also Swiss. The age of the tomb where this find was discovered was four hundred years old, and it was never opened - there was no doubt about it. How did modern watches get into it?

A hammer made before humans appeared on Earth

In 1936, in Texas, USA, scientists were presented with a puzzle that has remained unsolved to this day. In layers of limestone, which is one hundred and forty million years old, a hammer was found, literally grown into the rock. His pen turned to stone and turned into coal, which confirms its multimillion-year age. The metal from which the hammer was made was something unique. According to experts, such pure iron could not be obtained in the entire history of world metallurgy.

Scientists around the world recognize that such mysterious archaeological finds are by no means uncommon. Many cases are known when in rocks dating back many millions of years and formed long before the appearance of the first people, one or another object of our modern life is found. Official science cannot give any explanation for this phenomenon and therefore simply ignores such facts.

Time travel is the technology of the future

Let's take another example. In Texas, during scientific research, archaeologists were waiting for one of the surprises, which also had no rational explanation. Human footprints were found under the rock layer, and dinosaur footprints next to them. The whole improbability of this combination lies in the fact that the ancient reptiles lived on Earth many millions of years before the appearance of the first people. This fact has long been established by science and is beyond doubt.

Archaeological finds of this kind, due to their mystery, give rise to the most daring and sometimes incredible hypotheses. How, besides moving in time, can such a combination of attributes of different eras, sometimes lagging behind each other by millions of years, be explained? In our modern life, things that until recently seemed fantastic have become commonplace. Who knows, maybe time travel is a very real, but not yet known technology.

Siberian finds

But let's return from the area of ​​hypotheses to the area where there are archaeological finds that are quite recognized by the scientific community. The local history museum of Novosibirsk, for example, presents expositions that undoubtedly deserve the closest attention. And although they do not shock, like those artifacts discussed above, they can nevertheless serve as food for the richest imagination.

Interesting archaeological finds were among the exhibits of the museum after excavations carried out in the Moshkovsky region near Novosibirsk. We are talking about a cult site on which ritual sacrifices were made for at least seven centuries. No, no, no charred human bones were found, and the representatives of the Kulay tribes who left this monument to us did not differ in wild customs, but these finds are unique in their own way.

The fact is that in this sacred place, in addition to a large number of ancient jewelry, arrowheads and elements of combat and everyday clothing, two burials were found, placed in stone sarcophagi made of monolithic granite slabs. Given that their age is at least two thousand years, it remains only to hypothesize how these ancient Siberian tribes managed to mine granite, process it and build geometrically flawless structures from it. Where did these technologies come from, and where did they disappear to?

Exhibits of the Omsk Museum

You can also see unusually interesting archaeological finds in the local history museum of Omsk. Everything that was brought here from scientific expeditions became not just exhibits of the exhibition, but also elements on the basis of which reconstructions of dwellings belonging to various eras were created. Among them are a chum made of animal skins dating back to the Stone Age, and a dugout - a dwelling of people from the Middle Ages.

The age of the earliest site of ancient people in this area is fourteen and a half thousand years old. In science, this period is considered the end of the Early Stone Age. He presented scientists with many interesting archaeological finds. Artifacts obtained by Omsk archaeologists irrefutably prove that already in those days their countrymen used bows, sailed in boats, knew weaving and mastered the art of pottery. In severe and snowy winters, they used skis for movement, which appeared among other peoples only after many centuries.

Alpine find

It is also interesting to recall the latest archaeological finds, which were widely covered in the media. Among them, the most ancient mummy of a European man, discovered in the Alps in the nineties of the last century, aroused the greatest interest in the scientific world. It was discovered on the border of Italy and Austria. Its age is more than five thousand years.

Studies have shown that the mummy belongs to a forty-six-year-old man who was engaged in cattle breeding and died from an arrow. In addition, the decoding of the genome helped to establish that he had brown eyes, and was in many ways similar to the modern inhabitants of Corsica and Sardinia.

Priestess from the Scythian steppes

Another mummy, found in the same period on the border of Mongolia, was called the "princess of Ukok." This mummy got its name from the name of the plateau where it was discovered in one of the burial mounds of the Scythian period. After a comprehensive study of the find, it was found that the "princess", which the Mongols consider their ancestor, died as a very young woman. She was no more than twenty-six years old.

It is curious that during the burial she was dressed in rich silk clothes, and her body was decorated with a tattoo depicting the figures of griffins. In addition, six horses were buried with her in the barrow. All these details indicate that the found mummy, in all likelihood, belonged to one of the Scythian priestesses.

Amulet from the Moscow region

Remembering the well-known archaeological finds of recent years, one cannot fail to mention the most curious artifacts discovered recently during excavations near the village of Myakinino, not far from Moscow. Among them, the so-called serpentine amulet deserves special attention. Archaeological finds in Russia often represent a variety of amulets, amulets and other sacred items, the purpose of which is to protect their owners from various dark forces.

The peculiarity of this find is that it can rightly be called an intermediate element in the transition from paganism to Christianity. On one side of this cast bronze amulet there is a relief image of the scene of the baptism of Jesus Christ, and on the other side there is a mythical figure of a woman whose legs pass into the bodies of eleven writhing snakes.

Archaeological ancient finds such as this one are often striking in their complete inconsistency with the current Christian canons, and testify to the naive, and, in part, childish attitude of our distant ancestors to the higher forces that guided their lives. One gets the impression that the ancient master placed both images, so incompatible with each other, on the amulet, guided by simple logic - someone, perhaps, will help.

Some of the finds that thrilled the world

Listing the most interesting archaeological finds that caused the greatest public outcry, one can list the discoveries made by scientists in various parts of the planet. There are a huge number of them. Among them, we will definitely remember the skull of the so-called "Venetian vampire". Unlike his fellows, who ended their nightly feasts with a stake in their chests, this native of the world of shadows had cement poured into his mouth. With this stone gag in his mouth, his skull was found in the vicinity of Venice.

Reports of excavations carried out in 2006 near the Mexican capital horrified the public with the number of mutilated remains of people and animals removed from the ground. Before, a lot was known about the bloody sacrifices of the Aztecs, but these excavations demonstrated the scale of such actions, and the satanic fantasy of their performers. The whole horror of that era was fully presented to mankind.

Sometimes researchers are waiting for sensational discoveries in the most unexpected places. So, for example, while studying the sewerage system of ancient Roman-Byzantine baths in Israel, archaeologists unexpectedly stumbled upon a huge accumulation of children's remains. How they got there, and what prompted someone to commit such a barbaric act, throwing them into the sewers, will forever remain the dark secret of past centuries.

Discovery of Heinrich Schliemann

What archaeological finds received the greatest world fame and influenced the further development of science? Perhaps the most significant of these was the discovery made in 1865 by Heinrich Schliemann. Yes, we are talking about the discovery of the legendary Troy. Having read Homer and becoming his connoisseur and admirer, Schliemann could not imagine that the description of Troy was given by his favorite author only as a poetic fiction. Contrary to the opinion prevailing at that time, he wholeheartedly believed in the historicity of everything that the ancient poet described.

He believed and sought. Thanks to this man's obsession, he and his colleagues discovered the ruins of the ancient city, and Troy itself ceased to be a legend. Heinrich Schliemann went down in history not only as an outstanding researcher, but also as a symbol of determination, capable of accomplishing what is generally considered impossible according to generally accepted concepts. Many archaeological finds, photos of which are given in this article, were discovered by the followers of this remarkable German scientist. It was he who inspired entire generations of archaeologists to work, the crowning achievement of which was new discoveries.

During excavations, first of all, they pay great attention to the discovered antiquities - whether they are dusty clay shards or luxuriously painted frescoes. But on the surface, sometimes there are no less interesting finds that can tell about bygone days no less than the artifacts themselves.

1. Smiling pot

It is not often that you meet an ancient potter with a sense of humor. When archaeologists dug up a 4,000-year-old pot, it "smiled" at them. In 2017, when a seven-year-old excavation near the Syrian border uncovered another broken pot in Turkey near the Syrian border, it seemed that there was nothing unusual about it. But when the restoration team collected the pieces into a large pot-bellied pot, they noticed something very familiar to modern people - a smiley face.

Around 1700 B.C. someone squeezed out a pair of eyes in the wet clay and emphasized them with a “smile”. The single-handled white vessel used to consume sherbet is today considered the oldest emoji in history. The place where it was found is called Karkamis, and it once belonged to the Hittites.

2. Paleonora

In the 2000s, Brazilian geologists began to find strange caves. Most of them were long arched tunnels with perfectly level floors that merged into complex underground networks of chambers and passages. All indications indicated that these caves were not created by any natural geological process. But what made the whole network of such huge tunnels and caves in which a person can walk in full growth.

The solution was suggested by the deep grooves found on the ceilings and walls, which, after closer examination, turned out to be ancient claw marks. But what makes it all really strange is the scale of the so-called "paleonores". They are huge, even for the extinct giant sloths or armadillos, which are considered the most likely creators of these structures.

The largest hole was discovered in the state of Rondonia. The total length of its passages was 610 meters, while the tunnels were 1.8 meters high and 1.5 meters wide. To create just this hole, it took 4,000 meters of cubic rock to be dug. There is no explanation why the animals needed such elaborate shelters, or why there are no such burrows in North America, although giant sloths and armadillos also lived there thousands of years ago.

3. Resin in the burial ground

Near the River Deben in England, a 27-meter ship was excavated, which was used as a tomb. In fact, this discovery took place as early as eight decades ago at Sutton Hoo, an ancient cemetery considered one of the most important burial sites in the UK. Scientists suggest that the ship with precious metals and stones is the tomb of King Redwald, who died in 624 or 625 AD.

Most intriguing was the black substance found all over the boat. It was originally thought to be a waterproofing agent. But, thanks to the best technologies that became available in 2016, repeated tests showed an unexpected result. The tar-like material was a rare type of bitumen found exclusively in the Middle East. But what this bitumen did on the ship is not clear. It may have been exported at the time.

4. Prints on the sarcophagus

In 2005, a restoration team was working on a sarcophagus at the Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum. The coffin belonged to a priest named Nespavershefit, who died around 1000 BC. Unexpectedly, under the lid, they found the dirty fingerprints of an artisan who made the coffin 3,000 years ago.

For some reason, the ancient workers worked on the inner lid before the varnish dried. As a result of such impatience, their prints were preserved for posterity. They were made public only 11 years later in 2016, when the unusual "artifact" was included in the first major exhibition dedicated to Egyptian artists and how their styles have evolved over 4,000 years.

5. Chrysocolla amulet

The Egyptians took flowers seriously and gave each one its own meaning and quality. Researchers knew that the color green symbolized growth, harvest and health in Egypt. It was important enough to place scarabs carved from green stone next to the hearts of mummies. But no one suspected why the color green was also prominent when it came to Egyptian children. According to ancient records and hieroglyphs, the youth even wore green make-up.

A recent discovery shows that Egyptian parents believed that this color could protect their offspring. When examining a child's mummy, a leather pouch with a bright green chrysocolla amulet was found on the body. When a child died 4,700 years ago, in Egypt, malachite was the most widely available green mineral. Chrysocolla was a rare commodity, available only in Sinai and the East Egyptian Desert.

A similar chrysocolla figurine depicting a boy supports the theory that a certain green-colored mineral was used only by children. Several experts agree that the amulet found on a toddler who died of malaria was likely meant to ensure health and safety in the afterlife.

6. Scythian burial mounds

When archaeologist Andrey Belinsky unearthed yet another mound in Russia, he found something he had kept secret for years. It was a Scythian grave belonging to a mysterious nomadic people, after which nothing remained but thousands of mounds. Not surprisingly, any new information about their culture is highly appreciated by scientists. In 2013, Belinsky's team found a 2,400-year-old hidden underground chamber with gold jewelry and vessels. To avoid looting, the discovery was kept silent. During the study, a lot of new things were found out about the daily life of the Scythians.

A sticky black residue was found on the inside of one vessel, which was identified as cannabis and opium. This is the first confirmation of the claim of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus that nomads used drugs during rituals. Scenes of violence were depicted on the outer surface of this vessel. The other vessel depicts scenes that clearly reflect the cruel Scythian afterlife. On them, the Scythians fight each other, and also the old man kills the boy.

7. Bread of St. Francis

The monks from the monastery of Folloni faced a harsh and hungry winter. According to a 700-year-old legend, one night an angel brought bread and left it on the threshold of the monastery. The monks believed that the food was sent by Saint Francis of Assisi, who was in France at the time. The monks even considered the bag in which the bread was a shrine and kept it for seven centuries. Scientists decided to check the old legend and tested the preserved piece of the bag.

It turned out that the age of the fabric dates back to about 1220-1295, i.e. coincides perfectly with the year when the miracle happened (1224). The scientists then examined the inner surface of the textile and found ergosterol. This biomarker is commonly found in molds associated with baking, brewing and agriculture. Most likely, the medieval material came into contact with bread. These data, together with the age of the relic, confirm the myth.

8. New Testament stained with urine

Another religious artifact from Italy is an incomplete Bible called the purple Rossan Codex. The manuscript contains only the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the 1500-year-old book is among the oldest New Testament manuscripts and has long puzzled scholars with its purple pages (dye was difficult to make in those days). Initially, it was assumed that the parchment was treated with a substance secreted by sea slugs of the genus Murex.

In 2016, when conducting X-ray fluorescence, scientists could not detect bromine on the pages (and it should be contained in substances obtained from slugs). As a result, it turned out that the manuscript was treated with orcein (a natural dye that is extracted from lichens), as well as ... fermented urine. The processing process required the presence of ammonia, and at that time there was no other source of ammonia other than urine.

9.

In 2010, the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities experienced a real panic. Something began to happen in the tomb of Tutankhamun that scientists could not explain. Almost every surface, including frescoes, whitewash on the walls, and even silver, began to show brown spots. Worried that tourists' breath was spurring microbial growth, the council called in experts from Los Angeles. The stains did turn out to be bacteria that had been dead for thousands of years. These organisms led to another mystery.

Firstly, they could not be identified using DNA analysis, scientists could only establish that it was a fungus. Secondly, the presence of this fungus added questions about the already mysterious pharaoh. Tutankhamun died quite suddenly at the age of only 19, about 3,000 years ago. It seems that he was buried just as quickly. The most reasonable assumption is that Tutankhamun died without his own pyramid.

As you know, the pharaohs prepared places for rest long before death. In this case, the tomb was erected in the shortest possible time, hastily prepared and sealed, while the frescoes and plaster were still damp. This moisture, combined with the workers' skin cells and breath, led to the emergence of microbes. Similar stains have not been found in any other Egyptian tomb. Therefore, this is a real mystery: why the pharaoh was in such a hurry to bury.

10. archives

Another purple pigment damages scrolls all over the world. But the ancient scribes themselves never added pigment, which over the years "ate" the texts and destroyed the parchment. To get to the root of this problem, the researchers studied a damaged book from the Vatican Secret Archives. This 5 meter high goatskin scroll was a petition written in 1244 AD. Marginal notes have already disappeared under the purple color, and some pages have become completely unreadable.

Suspecting the presence of microbes, the researchers took samples from the scroll for gene sequencing. Unlike the mysterious "intruder" in Tutankhamun's tomb, this type of bacteria has been identified. However, the fact that it was marine bacteria caused bewilderment, because the history of the scroll was in no way connected with the ocean. But the damaged manuscripts had one thing in common - they were made from animal skins. This turned out to be the key that helped to find the solution.

The skins were treated with sea salt, which was contaminated with marine organisms, including those that produce a purple dye. Bacteria began to multiply in the goatskin when the temperature and humidity were right. Today, the damage done to many manuscripts is irreparable, but researchers continue to hope that one day they will be able to safely remove the remaining pigment.

Miners, geologists, archaeologists, builders and other people who “dig up” the earth sometimes find objects that are in places where they simply should not be. Or these objects are made of such materials, before the discovery of which, judging by the geological layer in which the finds were found, there were still hundreds, or even thousands of years. These "strange geological finds", which are clearly artificial in origin, baffle scientists. And most of these mysteries remain unsolved to this day.

Grabovetsky sword

One of the relatively recent sensational discoveries that stirred up the scientific world was made in the 80s of the last century in the Polish town of Grabovo, a few kilometers from the city of Kielce. In a quarry where limestone was being mined, workers found some kind of metal object. When it was carefully cleared of the earth and examined, it turned out that it was a perfectly preserved iron sword. The find was handed over to the archaeological institute. Scientists conducted research and found that this weapon was made around 400 BC. The skill of the gunsmith who created this blade is admirable. But the special attention of archaeologists was attracted by a mysterious ornament on the handle of the sword. Some strange notches, lines, circles, ovals. Very unusual inlay.

And spectrographic analysis gave absolutely incredible results: 10% copper, 5% magnesium and 85% aluminum.

If the age of the sword is set correctly, a logical question arises: where did the ancient blacksmith get aluminum? Did people who lived more than two thousand years ago know about the existence of this metal and even knew how to obtain it in some way unknown to us? If so, why was the technology forgotten by the next generations of craftsmen?

There is a version that aluminum could fly to earth from space, in a meteorite. But in all the "heavenly stones" discovered so far, there is not a trace of aluminum. They are either stone or iron-nickel. According to another hypothesis, aluminum could have been brought to earth by a space expedition of aliens. One cannot discount the version that our civilization is not the first on Earth (and, most likely, not the last). It is possible that the former civilizations were technically not only not inferior to the current humanity, but even surpassed it.

In general, scientists around the world continue to study the mysterious sword. But there are still more questions than answers.

Surprises of the earth's interior

The Grabovetsky sword stands somewhat apart in the list of artifacts - objects of artificial origin found inside undisturbed geological layers, since it was found relatively close to the surface. Most of the "strange things" are found in the depths of the earth's bowels. For example, in the 16th century, the Spanish viceroy Francisco de Toledo kept in his office an 18 cm long steel nail, firmly seated in a piece of rock raised from a 20-meter depth in a Peruvian mine working.

In 1844, a 12-sided, 30-cm titanium alloy nail was found in a block of petrified sand in Northern Britain. Experts estimated the age of this artifact at 360-408 million years!

In 1851, Nevada gold digger Hiram Witt brought home a piece of gold-bearing quartz the size of a man's fist. While showing the stone to his friends, Witt accidentally dropped it. It split, and those present saw inside ... a screw. How did it get into a rock that was at least a few million years old?

In 1880, a Colorado farmer came to the coal mine to collect some coal for the fireplace. There was a large pile of this fuel, mined from a depth of about 90 meters. Returning home, the farmer began to chop large pieces of coal to make it easier to light the fireplace. In one of them he found a metal ring, which later went down in history as Eve's ring. The age of the coal in which it was discovered is 60 million years.

On July 11, 1891, The Morrisonville Times published an article: “On Tuesday morning, Mrs. Capp made public an absolutely incredible find. When she broke a piece of coal for kindling, she found in it a small ... golden chain 25 centimeters long, ancient and bizarre work. The piece of coal split almost in the middle, and since the chain was located in it in the form of a circle and its two ends were next to each other, when the piece burst, its middle was freed, and the two ends remained fixed in the corner. The chain is made of 8 carat gold and weighs 192.3 grams.”

An unusual item was found in June 1894 near the American town of Dorchester. Scientific American magazine described the find as follows: “A few days ago, a powerful explosion destroyed the rock. This explosion scattered huge fragments weighing up to several tons and many small fragments in all directions. Among them were picked up two fragments of a metal object, torn in half by the explosion. When connected, these parts formed a vessel 11.4 centimeters high and 16.5 centimeters wide at the base. On the surface of this vase are deeply engraved six images of outlandish flowers, covered with an alloy of silver and bismuth, and the lower part of the vessel was surrounded by a delightful relief wreath of the same alloy.

In 1899, an object resembling a large coin was found in a well near Pawn Ridge, Illinois. Radiocarbon analysis showed that the artifact is about 400 thousand years old. On the coin were images of certain creatures and inscriptions in an unknown language.

In 1903, in Nampa, while drilling a well under a layer of sedimentary rocks of basalt and sand at a depth of 91 meters, a two-inch figure of a woman was found, extremely finely made of gold. On the stand of the artifact, there is an openwork inscription, which scientists are still deciphering.

So what happens: all these found objects existed on our planet long before the generally accepted time of the appearance of man? Official science is trying to ignore the very fact of the existence of these artifacts. And the most popular explanation is, they say, falsification. Or what is taken for nails or other metal objects is just natural mineral melts. Pieces of metal fall into the rock and are formed there due to the replacement of plant residues. Sometimes they take on the shape of familiar objects. Another explanation is the displacement of the layers. Artifacts in the ground are constantly moving, just like the soil itself. Either groundwater will wash them away, or they will fall into a crack. In some places, objects can "go" very deep. Archaeologists even conducted an experiment - they placed a broken earthenware jug in the ground. So, its fragments "dispersed" into the lower layers.

Golden hairs of Antarctica

In this case, where did the mysterious artifacts found in Antarctica "fail" from? In the summer of 1997 another expedition of the Research Institute of the Arctic and Antarctic returned to St. Petersburg. She brought samples of deep-sea ice taken during deep drilling from a geological formation that was more than 20,000 years old. Among the samples, scientists were most interested in the one in which some filamentous inclusions were visible. When the ice melted, several threads two centimeters long and as thick as a human hair appeared in the field of view of the microscope. At a hundredfold magnification, they appeared as pieces of golden-colored metal wire, which had almost no elasticity. Chemical analysis of the hairs showed that they were pure gold. Seven years later, an article appeared in the American Scientist magazine stating that American researchers had found a whole bunch of the same golden hairs in the Antarctic ice.

First galvanic battery

Also, the discovery made during the excavations of the ancient city of Seleucia in Iraq does not fit into any theory. These are well-preserved small clay vessels, each of which was fitted with a copper cylinder with an iron core. Soldering was carried out with an alloy of lead and tin, and the proportions coincide with modern ones, which are used in electrical engineering. Models created in the image and likeness, when filled with copper sulfate, gave a voltage of about six volts at the terminals. Thus, scientists found out that the ancient Sumerians could receive electricity in an electrolytic way. Before us is the oldest galvanic battery. And if there was a current, then there were devices for which it was used.

The discovery of these vases and other "strange" artifacts once again shows how little we know about the scientific and technological progress of previous civilizations, as well as their possible contacts with extraterrestrial intelligence.

01.07.2013

This is Top 10 The most important interesting

No. 10. Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang

The famous first emperor of the Qin Dynasty is about 700,000 soldiers carved in stone, which were buried in one of the first halls of the tyrant's tomb. This unique creation of human hands would have remained unknown to history and science if local farmers had not started drilling wells in 1947, but instead of water they found one of the most striking and important finds in the history of archeology. Each warrior of this grave is individual and not like the others. All of them are created by hand, and the methods of their processing have sunk into centuries along with the great emperor. But not only ordinary soldiers were carved out by artisans for many years: statues of horses, officers were found in the tomb, soldiers were fully equipped with weapons (swords, crossbows, spears). Qin Shi Huang was one of those people who knew how to lead. Otherwise, this commander would never have been able to unite a vast territory into a single kingdom. Together with the soldiers, the emperor's slaves were buried in the tomb, and by no means in stone form. Ancient people believed that the army would help their emperor in the afterlife and protect him. The emperor also planned to take his wealth to the other world: jewelry, valuable items, chariots, ordinary peasants (70,000 of whom were buried alive with him). The excavations of the tomb are still ongoing and have reached the final stage. Be that as it may, this Army will remain the clearest example of the culture of Ancient China. And this amazing archaeological find opens our list.

No. 9. The Dead Sea Scrolls

Qumran manuscripts - this is the name of one of the greatest gifts of the past millennia of mankind. Found from 1947 to 1956 in several caves in the Judean Desert. written mainly on biblical subjects, but there are also apocrypha and a description of the Qumran community. Each text is supplemented with fragments from the book of the Old Testament. However, it does not include the book of Esther. But once again saw the light of one fully preserved text of the book of Isaiah. The texts help expand understanding of many previously unknown details of the Old Testament, many textual traditions, and other interesting linguistic discoveries. There are texts containing the rules of the then society, the rules of warfare, and so on. It is believed that these scrolls are nothing more than the entire documentation, or library, of the Jewish Sect, which was hidden during the First Jewish Revolt (66-70 BC). The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal some connection with Christianity: after all and the Qumran community itself was a monastery in the Christian sense, and this despite the fact that before Christianity itself there were several more centuries. And this is the ninth place among interesting finds.

No. 8. Ashurbanipal Royal Library

This archaeological find, Found in the city of Neneveh in the middle of the 19th century. Ashurbanipal's library is one of the irretrievably bygone past. By order of the Assyrian king, it was created for more than 25 years. Since the king was more than anything in the world concerned with the management of the state, and magic, fortune-telling were considered the most effective ways of such management, a significant part of the library is occupied by the texts of prophecies, all kinds of rituals, conspiracies, prophecies. The bulk of the texts were taken from the Sumerian and Babylonian texts and rewritten. The library contained a huge collection of texts on medicine. There were lists of legends (for example, the epic of Gilgamesh), and of course, tablets that lift the veil on the life of ancient people (this includes legal documents, songs, household records)
It was thanks to the Ashshurban library that a huge number of cuneiform texts came down to us, which helped to better imagine the culture of Mesopotamia, and greatly facilitated the decipherment of texts in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages.

No. 7. Tomb of Tutankhamun

In 1922, one of the most remarkable events in the world of archeology took place, amazing find- Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered perhaps the most famous tomb in history - the tomb of Tutankhamen. And although until the 20th century, Tutankhamun was of no interest to historians, with the discovery of his tomb, a whole layer of ancient knowledge and things came into our world. The tomb of this young king is perhaps the most successfully preserved since that time, despite the fact that it was broken into by tomb robbers. Since Tutankhamen died very early, it is obvious that they did not have time to build a tomb for him, which means that he had to huddle in someone else's grave. It consists of a burial room, chamber, hallway, treasury. The entrance hall leads to a sloping corridor. Of course, there were treasures in the royal tomb. There, archaeologists have found statues, jewels, chariots - in a word, everything that, according to the ancient Egyptians, a king could need in the afterlife. Although this young king was not the most powerful and famous among the kings of Egypt, and his tomb is not the most grandiose in architecture, its importance lies elsewhere - in the objects of life that have survived to this day and the components of ancient culture.

No. 6. Pompeii

6th in the Top 10 Most Important amazing archaeological finds. Pompeii ... There is probably no such person in the world who would not have heard about this and about the tragedy that happened to him. It was founded in 6 BC. like a Roman colony. The settlement prospered at the expense of the port and the resort area. This is easy to understand from the rich houses, temples, theaters and baths built within the colony. As in any self-respecting city, there was also an amphitheater and a forum. Earthquakes began as early as 63 BC, and destroyed the city until the ill-fated day. Despite the efforts of the inhabitants to restore the city, its fate was sealed. The ruthless forces of nature in the guise of Vesuvius decided to wipe the city off the face of the earth. It happened on August 24, 79. Lava completely destroyed the village. And so, under the cover of ashes, the city rested until 1599, but its research began only in 1748. Pompeii is the most successful example, an example of Roman life embodied in its practical application. It was on him that scientists managed to resolve many of their questions. The ashes managed to stop time, and over the past centuries to keep everything as it was on that last day: people, animals fleeing from there.

No. 5. Lascaux Cave

This cave complex is located in the southwest of France. One of the oldest monuments of human culture. Inside the caves are hundreds of drawings dating back to the Paleolithic era. This truly majestic treasure trove of human heritage was discovered, as all great things are usually discovered - quite by accident and by ordinary teenagers on September 12, 1940. About 2000 images of animals, people and symbols unknown to science are imprinted on the walls of this stone complex. Animals are represented by deer, cattle. There are quite recognizable figures of cats, feathered inhabitants of the sky, kings of the present forests - bears. The Lasko cave was used mainly for painting, and this is its value. To date, this complex is one of the largest caves with rock art that have come down to us. Fifth place in the top 10 interesting finds.

No. 4. Sinanthropus

This kind of man belonged to the hitherto unknown species of primitive man. In 1927, Her Majesty history wished to write this man on its pages, it was then that the Chinese anthropologist Pei Wen-Zhong discovered him in the Zhoukoudian cave near Beijing. The anthropologist managed to find parts of the skull, pieces of the lower jaw, teeth and many well-preserved bones of the skeleton. It turned out that the cave was a shelter for 45 of our distant ancestors. Extensive and in-depth studies have shown that Peking Man was upright, knew how to make tools from stone, and used fire. Peking Man significantly complemented the picture and ideas about ancient people. Thanks to him, we know more about our ancestors living in different parts of the world.

No. 3. Rosetta Stone

Another one interesting archaeological find. The Rosetta Stone is a basalt stele dated to 196 BC. Much is carved on this archaeological site: from the Egyptian decree about the veneration of Ptolemy V to the official Egyptian hieroglyphs. Destined for the temple, it found its place among the building stone at Fort Rashid. Captain Pierre-Francois Bouchard discovered this unusual plate, dotted with signs, on a hot July 1799, during the famous campaign of Napoleon Into the Egyptian lands. Since the text on the stele is written in several languages, scientists, having studied them in detail, were able to penetrate the mysteries of a civilization unknown to them.

No. 2. Behistun Rock

The rock is a unique monument from the times of Darius the Great. The inscriptions on it are made in many languages. It was discovered by Englishman Robert Shirley in 1958. This text begins with a biography of King Darius, and captures what happened after the death of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses II. Behistun Rock can be compared to the Rosetta Stone - the original inscription, and on both it is repeated several times, except perhaps in completely different languages. The text on the Rock, for example, is written in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. And just like the Rosetta stone allows you to understand the psychology of ancient people, to look at the world through their eyes. Undoubtedly, it is a unique example of cuneiform literature. Thanks to this rock, archaeologists have studied the civilization of Mesopotamia, Sumer, Persia, Assyria.

No. 1. Olduvai George

First place in Top 10 interesting and amazing archaeological finds. This large gorge in northern Tanzania, formed by the basin of one lake, opened itself to the world in 1911. However, humanity took action to study and excavate only 20 years later, in 1931. Three species of hominids (large apes) were found in the gorge at once, such as Australopithecus boisei, Homo habilis and Homo erectus. In addition to everything, the remains of ancient animals were also found there: large antelopes, indigenous people of Africa - elephants, hares, etc. This historical monument has brought to our days all the remains of the various stages of development of our ancestors. Refuted any evidence that the cradle of mankind is not in Africa. Before us opened the source of life of hominids, their lives. And in 1975, following the discovery of traces of hominids, it was claimed that they walked on two legs - one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.