While excavating a dry lake bed in Motala, Sweden archaeologists came across several skulls that had stakes driven directly through their craniums. As if that weren’t bad enough one of the skulls even had pieces of the others skulls crammed up inside it. Whatever happened their 8,000 years ago wasn’t pretty.Dating to the early 1500s this map shows the coastlines of South America, Europe, and Africa with amazing precision. Apparently it was constructed by general and cartographer Piri Reis (hence the name) from the fragments of dozens of others.Although they were literally beneath the feet of archaeologists for hundreds of years, the Nazca Lines weren’t discovered until the early 1900′s for the simple reason that they are nearly impossible to see unless you are directly above them. While there have been numerous explanations ranging from UFO’s to technically advanced ancient civilization, the most probable explanation is that the Nazca people were excellent surveyors, although why they would construct such enormous geoglyphs remains a mystery.Similar to the Rosetta Stone the Dead Sea Scrolls are one of the major archaeological finds of the last century. They contain the earliest known surviving copies of biblical documents that date all the way back to 150 BC.In 1986 an expedition was making its deeper and deeper into the cave system of Mount Owen in New Zealand when it came across the huge claw you’re now looking at. It was so well preserved that it almost seemed like whatever it belonged to had just died recently. Upon excavation and inspection, however, it was determined to belong to an Upland Moa, a large prehistoric bird that apparently came with a nasty set of claws.Described as the “world’s most mysterious manuscript” this piece of literature has been dated back to early 15th century Italy. With most of its pages filled with what seems to be herbal recipes, none of the plants match known species and the language remains undecipherable.Although at first glance it may seem like nothing more than a bunch of rocks, this ancient settlement discovered in 1994 was constructed roughly 9,000 years ago and is currently the one of the oldest examples of complex/monumental architecture in the world, predating the pyramids by thousands of years.This walled complex just outside of Cusco, Peru is part of what used to be the capital of the Inca Empire. The crazy part about this wall, however, is in the details of its construction. The rock slabs fit together so tightly that it would be impossible to slide even a hair between them. It’s a testament to the precision of ancient Incan architecture.In the mid 1930′s several plain looking jars were discovered near Baghdad, Iraq. No one paid any notice to them until not long after when a German museum curator published a paper claiming that the jars may have been used as galvanic cells, or batteries. Although it may seem far fetched at first even the Mythbusters got on board and confirmed that it was indeed a good possibility.While digging a railroad in Dorset workers came across a small contingent of viking warriors buried in the ground, all missing their heads. At first archaeologists thought that maybe some villagers had survived a raid and exacted their revenge but upon closer inspection things got a little less clear. The beheadings looked too clean and seemed to have been done from the front rather than the back. They are still not sure what happened.1 2
cant beleive that the valley of the kings or even full dinosaur artifacts havent been addes to the list? any reason y ?
what century were these things found in plz reply as soon as possible
Ugh, can I read an article about archaeology without coming across UFO conspiracy theories and other pseudosciences?
No, you cannot. And why would you complain? Does it affect you in your daily life? Do you know for certain fact that those claims are wholly untrue? The answer to both is no, so learn to cope with other people opinions; however absurd they may be.
After reading this a second time, I realized there wasn’t just one glaring omission…there are three.
How can you have a list like this and not even mention Sutton Hoo or King Tut? Seriously.
Nice list, but two glaring problems & one glaring omission:
#25: It is generally agreed upon that the babies are the unwanted offspring from a nearby brothel.
#14: On a list of “discoveries,” you give us something that has not been discovered outside the pages of literature! It seems to me that spot could have and should have been given to….
The Omission: The Discovery of Troy. Here’s a city described in ancient literature that, unlike #14, HAS been discovered! Overlooking Schliemann’s triumph on a list of the most intense archaeological discoveries is unthinkable. To list Atlantis and not Troy is adding insult to injury.