The Most Controversial Ancient Discoveries & Artifacts Recently Discovered

From the mysterious Bosnian Pyramid to a 300 million-year-old relic discovered in a chunk of coal, here are some of the most controversial artifacts in the world. The Star Map Nobody quite knows where the ancient golden star map came from. There are very few reports on this controversial object, and none of them come from reputable sources. The little information that's out there suggests that the golden map was uncovered somewhere near Cusco, and it appears to be a map of outer space. The artifact isn't a literal map of outer space. The golden sheet is more of an image showing the starry sky. You can see the sun, stars, clouds, and other celestial objects on it. It looks as if an ancient person, presumably living over 500 years ago in the Inca Empire, tried to draw an accurate representation of what they saw above them. There have been suggestions that this star map was a navigational chart. But to navigate where? The map may have been given to the ancient people to mark where an alien civilization is in space. One of the theories is that somewhere in the indiscernible doodles of stars and planets is the secret to the origin of the human race itself. Somebody only needs to decipher it to figure it out. The Shocking Truth of the Sphinx A controversial new discovery could explain the mystery behind the Sphinx. Scientists are saying that the legendary Sphinx, the great monument that stands guard before the pyramids of Egypt, is nothing but a giant rock. But how in the world could that be? Everybody already knows that the Sphinx is a huge piece of stone. It was carved by the Egyptians into the likeness of a pharaoh or the mythological creature, right? While that may partially be true, that might not be the whole story. The new study claims that it's possible the Sphinx was eroded by wind for thousands of years, giving it features that looked kind of like a mythical creature. Then the Egyptians refined those features to create their famous monument. What they're saying is that the Sphinx may have gotten its shape naturally, formed by nothing but the wind. Then 4,500 years ago, the Egyptians used their chisels to make the Sphinx look more unique. The study was done by a team of scientists from New York University. They reached their conclusion by using a piece of soft clay and a water tunnel to simulate erosion over a long period of time. As the piece of clay was blown by the artificial wind, it gradually became shaped exactly like the Sphinx. This proved beyond any doubt that the Sphinx could have been shaped naturally by nothing except moving air. This revelation could explain why scientists have had such a hard time dating the monument. The mainstream theory is that it's 4,500 years old, but there are those who think the Sphinx predates the pyramids by thousands of years. There's also been a mystery surrounding the erosion of the Sphinx, with many suggesting that the monument was once underwater. Learning that the Sphinx was molded by wind makes all of these theories so much more logical. The Bosnian Pyramid This pyramid isn't in Egypt, it's in the Balkans. American historian Samir Osmanagic claims that a civilization even older than the ancient Egyptians built a pyramid in Bosnia. Samir also claims that the Bosnian Pyramid is at least 12,000 years old. If this guy is right, the Bosnian Pyramid is the biggest, oldest, and most impressive pyramid on the planet. You can see it for yourself from every angle with a quick Google search. It stands a whopping 720 feet tall, looming above the Bosnian countryside like a mountain. You could fit multiple Egyptian pyramids inside this thing like a Russian nesting doll. But how is it possible that you can see the pyramid with your own eyes and mainstream scientists don't accept it as reality? It's because, according to Samir, the pyramid is buried underneath a significant amount of dirt. The actual geological feature that Samir claims is a pyramid is called Visotsika Hill. Ever since anyone can remember, it's simply been a hill located outside the town of Visoko. And sure, it has slightly pyramid-like slopes, but it's never truly been thought of as an ancient monument. It's controversial because there is no real evidence that the biggest pyramid in the world is hiding in Eastern Europe. Samir says it was the product of a highly developed civilization that was given knowledge through an encounter with aliens. And that's why mainstream scientists have kind of ignored it. The Megalithic Stones of Japan Deep in the bamboo forests of Japan are some megalithic stone artifacts that seem to come from another dimension. Stumbling upon these great stone behemoths in the forest is like discovering the ruins of a lost people in a wild world. Nobody knows where they came from, who built them, or what the enormous artifacts were used for. The megaliths can be found in the hills of Nara Prefecture, not far from the beautiful village of Asuka. The village has been around for about 1800 years, since 250 AD. The whole area is dotted with Buddhist temples and amazing Japanese shrines, but it's the stone monuments that are strewn about the hills that truly capture a person's imagination. They are huge, molded with obvious sophistication. They also serve no apparent purpose. They don't look like they do anything. They weren't temples and they weren't part of a house or a palace. They don't look like they were used as altars for sacrifices. And yet the monuments were carved with expert precision. Every 90 degree angle is perfect and every surface is completely smooth. It looks like modern tools were used to create the mysterious monuments. And when I say they were huge, I mean they were humongous. The biggest of the stone monuments is called Masuda no Iwafune. It looks sort of like an upside-down boat made of stone. It's 15 feet tall, 36 feet long, weighs an astonishing 800 tons, and it's made of rock-solid granite. At the top of the stone are a pair of holes, and each hole is roughly 3 feet squared. The holes go straight through the monument to the ground, but don't appear to connect to anything. Do you have any theories? Let us know in the comments! Gibberish Artifacts If a stranger in a trench coat ever tries to sell you an ancient Sumerian artifact, there's a high chance that it's nothing but a fake. In the last couple of years, there's been a spike in fake artifacts being distributed across the globe. At Heathrow International Airport in England, border guards discovered hundreds of clay figurines stored inside a couple of metal trunks. There were clay figures, pots, and tablets inscribed with cuneiform script. They'd been shipped from Bahrain to private residents in the UK. The border guards were very suspicious, so the artifacts were sent to the British Museum instead. Once there, professionals quickly denounced them as fakes, but these were no ordinary fakes. According to curator St. John Simpson at the museum, they were a type of fake that nobody had seen before. It's believed that the fake cuneiform tablets are part of a growing market for bogus relics that are being propped up by social media. People are apparently buying these things in the thousands from online dealers. But let's get back to the guy in the trench coat. How would you know if the artifacts someone's trying to sell you aren't real? There are a lot of things wrong with these types of fakes. The cuneiform script is gibberish, like putting a bunch of random letters together. The artifacts are also in single uniform pieces, when usually these types of things are broken. Tablets don't typically stay in perfect condition for thousands of years. The clay that was used to make the tablets was all wrong too. There are a lot of individual issues that someone who knows what they're doing can spot very easily. Forgeries have been a big problem in the past, but things appear to be getting out of hand. I guess this is more of a public service announcement than anything else. If you see a cheap artifact from ancient Babylon for sale on Instagram, it's likely too good to be true. But hey, if you get a good price for it and you want a replica in your house, go for it. The Ancient Bell In 1944, a young boy was throwing coal into the furnace when he dropped a piece. The coal hit the basement floor and split in two. Inside was a small bell. It was a brass bell with an iron clapper, which isn't a particularly ancient artifact, but it's still fairly old. The age of the bell wasn't the alarming part, it was the fact that the bell was discovered in a piece of coal that was dated to be 300 million years old. So how did a brass bell end up in a piece of West Virginia coal that's older than the dinosaurs? That's a good question, and the exact reason this artifact is so controversial. Let me give you some more details about the bell. The bottom is normal enough. It has a regular bell shape with a clapper inside. It's the handle of the bell that's truly interesting. At the top of the handle is a small carved figure. The figure looks shockingly like depictions of Pazuzu, the wind demon of ancient Babylon. It also looks a little like the Hindu deity Garuda, who is coincidentally used as a decoration on bells. And so too is the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis. The mystery figure looks like any number of deities from far away civilizations. But what in the world was it doing in a piece of West Virginia coal? Some believe that the bell is a fraud, a total fake that never existed at all. But others think it's from a civilization that lived before mammals had even evolved. The Institute for Creation Research, a religious organization that allegedly got a hold of the bell, sent it to a lab for testing. Then scientists at the University of Oklahoma supposedly determined that the bell contained a very weird mixture of metals that's different from modern alloys. This would suggest that whoever forged the bell did so using different materials than modern humans have available. The Real Archimedes Dial For anyone who's seen the new Indiana Jones movie called Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, this one's for you. You might be interested to know that the movie was based on a real artifact. The Archimedes Dial that Indiana Jones chases after in the film is a fictionalized version of a highly controversial artifact that was found at the bottom of the sea. If you're a fan of archaeological discoveries, you've already heard of it. It's called the Antikythera Mechanism, and it was discovered off the coast of Greece's Antikythera Island in the year 1900. Divers uncovered a shipwreck positively brimming with ancient treasure. Mixed in with the treasure was a tiny device that looked like a computer. Of course, nobody knew what a computer was in 1900, but they did recognize the gears and dials as being from an obviously sophisticated machine. Researcher Joe Marchant once called the Antikythera Mechanism the most exciting artifact from the ancient world. Unlike the new Indiana Jones movie, the mechanism wasn't used to transport people back in time. At least, scientists don't think it was. The reality is this mechanism was likely used to predict eclipses. It could track the movement of the sun and moon mechanically using dials, pointers, gears, and wheels. But it did this over 1,000 years before Europeans invented mechanical clocks. So how is that possible? This is where the controversial aspect comes into play. Scientists don't debate the authenticity of the Antikythera Mechanism. It's a very real object that's been studied by countless professionals. There are x-ray scans and CT scans that you can see for yourself online. There is no controversy over its existence or the fact that it was used as a machine for tracking the stars. The controversy revolves around how the Greeks figured it out. Fringe scientists have suggested that the mechanism was created using lost technology. More specifically, a technology that may have been passed down to the Greeks from extraterrestrials. Many scholars even suggest that such devices were commonplace. If one was built, it stands to reason there were others. The Greeks may have been in a steampunk world the likes of which archaeologists have never imagined. Or maybe there was only a single mechanism like this in existence. It could have belonged to someone who came from a place where they tracked the cosmos using gear-powered computers. Changing Human History According to almost all respectable scientists in the 21st century, Homo sapiens evolved on this planet with no help from aliens. It's a real bummer and maybe not true, but it's what scientists say. For now at least, it's believed that Homo sapiens have been on Earth for between 200,000 and 350,000 years. Scientists aren't always right about these things though. For example, here's a quick question. Where do human beings evolve? The answer you'd get from most people is Africa. Science has long taught that human beings first evolved in Africa and then migrated to Europe and Asia, spreading around the world. Humans started in Africa, end of story. But to be more specific, Ethiopia is believed to have been the starting point for the human race. But that might not be true. Researchers have found a set of teeth from 8 million years ago that suggest humanity's early ancestors came from Europe. Yet again, scientists who are so sure of the origin of humanity are going back to the drawing board. Of course, it's really hard to find fossils that are that old. But this could change everything. The origin story of humanity might need to be rewritten. The teeth I'm talking about were found in northern Greece in the 1990s. It was first believed that they belonged to a genus of extinct Eurasian ape called Oranopithecus. But now, David Begun from the University of Toronto has re-examined the ancient remains. He is currently arguing that the teeth are from a previously unknown proto-hominid. These mysterious teeth could push the evolution of humans back millions of years. It would prove that a type of proto-early person existed between 8 and 9 million years ago. Only time will tell. And, of course, if we find more fossils. Thanks for watching! Be sure to stay tuned for extra content you might have missed! Cuneiform Tablets During the summer of 2017, archaeologists from Germany unearthed 92 clay tablets in the village of Bassetski in Iraq. This discovery may hold the key to finding an ancient lost city. Found inside a pottery vessel carefully covered in clay, it looks like whoever put the tablets there meant to store them and keep them safe for the future. The tablets date back to the middle Assyrian Empire around 1250 BC and have been painstakingly read and translated by Dr. Bettina Feiss from the University of Heidelberg. She was able to identify that the cuneiform texts reveal the location of a powerful city called Mardaman, mentioned in old Babylonian sources. This evidence provides an inkling of where Mardaman might be. Other ancient sources mention the city, which dates back between 2200 and 1200 BC, and it had a rich history as a kingdom and provincial center that was periodically conquered or destroyed, according to an official statement regarding the tablets' discovery. This city can be traced to the early days of the Mesopotamian civilization and rose to become greatly influential and a regional kingdom. Over the centuries, it was conquered several times because everyone wanted it due to its important location and trade routes between Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Syria. While at the time it was super famous, over the years the actual location was lost. Based on these tablets, the location where they were found is actually the lost city of Mardaman. Now known as the clay tablets of Bassetsky, they have made a huge contribution to our understanding of the history of Mesopotamia and have even revealed clues to the locations of other lost cities. The map of the ancient world is coming together, although there is still a lot to learn and many mysteries to untangle. A Lost Kingdom While investigating an ancient mound called Turkmen Karahoyuk in central Turkey in 2019, archaeologists ran into a local farmer who had something interesting to show them. He led them to a recently dredged nearby canal where a strange ancient stone block or steel with mysterious carvings was sticking up out of the water. The team immediately entered the waist-deep water to examine the clearly ancient artifact, which bears an inscription in a regional Bronze and Iron Age language called Luwian. Translators examined the hieroglyphs and determined that the text bragged of the defeat of Phrygia, a major historical military victory that happened roughly 3,000 years ago. There were several Phrygian kings named Midas, but the carving speaks of the most famous among them, the one you know with the golden touch. Another king, Hartapu, made sure to spread the message, which implies that his forces kidnapped Midas. Very little is known about King Hartapu or his kingdom, making this discovery especially significant. The steel suggests that Turkmen Karahoyuk may have been Hartapu's capital city and that it may have occupied an area as large as 300 acres at its peak. We had no idea about this kingdom, archaeologist James Osborne said in a statement, adding in a flash we had profound new information on the Iron Age Middle East. This is about all experts know until they conduct more research into the artifact and the area it was found in, including the mound, which Osborne believes contains a plethora of ancient structures, including houses, monuments, and palaces. DINOSAUR FOOTPRINT While walking along a beach near Bendrix Bay in South Wales recently with her dad and pet dog, a four-year-old girl made an amazing discovery. Lily Wilder spotted an extremely well-preserved dinosaur footprint that experts believe may be up to 220 million years old. In a telephone interview with NBC, Lily's mother Sally said it was on a low rock shoulder height for Lily and she just spotted it and said, look daddy! She is really excited but doesn't quite grasp how amazing it is, I mean she is only four. Lily's father snapped photos of the discovery and showed them to family members, prompting the little girl's grandmother to urge them to notify local experts of the fascinating footprint. Cindy Howells, a paleontology curator at the National Museum of Wales, told NBC that the dinosaur who left the footprint behind was about eight feet long and likely a little under 30 inches tall. She described the creature's appearance as slender, adding that it likely walked on its two hind legs, had a tail, and hunted small animals and insects. But scientists do not know what kind of dinosaur made the footprint, despite how intact it is, and they will never know for sure, even if they can reasonably speculate. While there were no bones found with the print, similar footprints discovered in the US were connected to a dinosaur called the Coelophysis, pointing toward one possible candidate for what type of creature created the footprint. Despite the uncertainty regarding the dinosaur species, the footprint may still have a lot to teach scientists, especially when it comes to learning about how these ancient animals walked. The fossil was removed from the site and taken to the National Museum of Cardiff, where it will be displayed for everyone to enjoy. Roman Military Bathhouse The Roman Empire's northern reaches once extended to the modern-day English city of Carlisle. It is there, near the River Eden and Hadrian's Wall, that in 2017 archaeologists discovered the remains of a Roman military bathhouse dating back to the 3rd or 4th century. A local businessman named Fred Storey teamed up with the Carlisle City Council to fund the excavations, and at least 90 volunteers pitched in to help with the dig. Experts believe that an elite cavalry used the bathhouse, and that it may sit atop even older buildings. They also unearthed a horde of Roman artifacts, including jewelry, a soldier's grave marker, and a steel bearing an inscription dedicated to the Empress Julia Domna. It's the highest status Roman find we've had in Carlisle, and one of national significance, said archaeologist Frank Gieco, who led the excavation. He further explained, based on the building's large size, that Carlisle was the center of the Roman imperial court at some point during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus, and while he was in Britain. Excavations are ongoing. At last update, archaeologists plan to demolish a disused tennis pavilion at the site in hopes of uncovering more artifacts. What they will find remains to be seen. A Strange Burial During a routine excavation in the Leithport area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to prepare for a planned public transportation line, archaeologists found a medieval cemetery filled with the remains of hundreds of people. The team was shocked because there are no known records of anyone being buried at the site since the street that was right there was built in 1790. Consequently, the tram line's construction was cancelled, and the experts dug deeper. Altogether they unearthed over 380 burials, with the oldest among them dating as far back as the 14th century. The newest graves are from around 1650, right before the cemetery closed. Since then, plans for the tram extension have been reinstated, and excavations resumed. After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted last year, another 359 skeletons were found, bringing the total number of bodies discovered at the site to over 750. The graveyard constitutes one of the largest burials from its time period ever found in Scotland, as well as the largest collection of skeletons in Edinburgh. The next step is for researchers to analyze the skeletons in hopes of learning more about who the deceased individuals are and what their lives were like. One separate, isolated burial, found beneath the other graves, has been the focal point of the ongoing project. The lone individual, who appears to be female, was found in a pit measuring 33 feet across and 10 to 13 feet deep. She was buried in a crouching position and facing in a different direction than the traditional supine or lying upward Christian burials of the time, which faced west to east. The grave likely predates the rest of the remains in the cemetery, and it seems to have nothing in common with any medieval features at the site or nearby, but experts are unsure how old the burial is or the circumstances of the woman's life or death. They plan to conduct radiocarbon dating and isotopic analysis to learn more. HEADLESS STATUES Greece's Ministry of Culture and Sports recently announced that archaeologists discovered headless marble statues of a woman and her servant in an ancient Greek cemetery east of Athens, while conducting a routine excavation ahead of construction in Paeania. The statues date back to the 4th century BC and depict a woman sitting in an elaborate chair with a female servant standing next to her. The sculpture would have marked the seated woman's burial, but it was likely erected prior to 317 BC, when the Athenian governor Demetrius of Phaleron outlawed such lavish burial markers. Grave monuments like this were popular at the time and often featured families or masters with their slaves. In addition to not knowing who the women were, experts are also unsure why the statue's heads are missing. They found the monument in pieces and it's likely that the heads were accurate portrayals of the women as it was customary in ancient Greece to put idealized faces on graves, according to Olga Palagia, a leading expert on ancient Greek sculpture. Excavations at the site are ongoing and the statue was transported to the Archaeological Museum of Ravrona for safekeeping. It's possible that archaeologists may find more fragments, according to an official statement, which also announced that more artifacts are likely to be discovered at the site. Ilford An East London neighborhood known as Ilford was once home to a diverse population of animals and humans, including lions, elephants, mammoths, vikings, and witches. Located in the borough of Redbridge, its history of witchcraft dates back to the 17th century and an active Wiccan community still lives there, where worshippers perform white magic spells in Hainault Forest. The area's long-standing history of witchcraft is evident in the numerous discoveries of witch bottles that have been found in Ilford, appearing everywhere from the downtown area to the banks of the River Roding, although it's important to point out that ordinary people also used witch bottles to protect themselves against bad spells. Going back even further, between 8000 BC and 410 AD, an array of animals could be found in Ilford. Before humans came to dominate the landscape, the area was occupied by bears, lions, large deer, bison, and oxen, who roamed freely among the land. In 1140, a medical center for men called Ilford Hospital was built. Records also show that several centuries later, in 1560, Ilford was home to several leper cells, where patients with leprosy were relocated. Additionally, at least 22 bodies, some mutilated, were recovered in the vicinity, leading experts to believe that the deceased were victims of a Viking invasion, while others think that the unfortunate individuals were lepers. Archaeologists have found remains of Roman roads in Ilford, which was also occupied by the Normans and Saxons at times. In more recent centuries, Ilford has been a popular settling point for newly arrived immigrants, including people from Irish, Jewish, Asian, and Eastern European communities. Simply put, Ilford has been incredibly diverse from the start, and it seems as though experts will be continuously unraveling its history for some time to come. Priceless Roman Coins A team of archaeologists have unearthed a priceless trove of over 650 Roman coins at the Eisenhower Archaeological Site in western Turkey. Lead archaeologist Elif Ozer told the Turkish news agency that the extremely rare coins date back to the time of the Emperor Augustus. While the site itself is around 5,000 years old, with different layers of settlement putting its origins at around 3,000 BC, the hoard is likely from the final years of the Roman Republic period, before Rome transitioned into an empire around 27 BC. The coins consist of 439 silver Roman denarii, as well as 212 Sistophorus coins, which were minted in the ancient Greek city of Pergamon. These silver coins are a coin album of the last century of the Roman Republic period, Ozer said, adding that it constitutes a very special and unique collection. The team who found the ancient money admittedly does not know who it belonged to, but speculates that it was the property of a high-ranking soldier. They discovered the coins inside a jug in an ancient waterway that crosses through the site as part of the Eisenhower Pencalas Project, which aims to transport visitors via sailboat, giving them a unique opportunity to sail the same routes that the Romans in the area once did. I'm up for that! In addition to the coin hoard, Eisenhower is also home to a theater, a temple, and one of Anatolia's best-preserved temples, which is dedicated to the Olympian god Zeus, king of the Greek gods and god of the sky and thunder. Excavations at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was rediscovered in 1824, began over nine years ago and are still ongoing. Ancient Counting In today's world, we write things down all the time, but researchers have long been trying to figure out why ancient civilizations developed writing systems in the first place, some of which remain undeciphered to this day. One of the most puzzling discoveries made along this pursuit is that of a large collection of 5,000-year-old clay tablets found in 1929 at Uruk, a Mesopotamian settlement located along the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq. During its heyday, it only consisted of several thousand residents, but during its time, the site constituted one of the world's first real cities. Uruk was even mentioned in the famed Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest written works ever. The tablets' text baffled experts at first. It took decades for researchers to decipher the markings, which were shaped like everyday objects like loaves of bread and jars. The first major headway was made during the 1970s, when French archaeologist Denis Schmont Bissarat catalogued several artifacts, some dating as far back as 9,000 years. She theorized that the markings were used for an activity called correspondence counting. In other words, jar-shaped characters were used for counting jars, loaf-shaped characters were used for counting loaves, and so on. As it turns out, the practice of correspondence counting is incredibly old, going back even further than the founding of Uruk. Evidence of it has been discovered on artifacts as much as 20,000 years old, with some objects containing tally marks, while others bear more detailed characters. It seems as though prehistoric humans developed correspondence counting as they became more advanced and urbanized, and were met with an increasing demand for keeping track of their inventories. Thanks for watching! Be sure to stay tuned for extra content you might have missed! The Vajra A Vajra or Dorje is a battle club and a symbol for the Vajrayana branch of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajra is a Sanskrit word that translates to diamond or thunderbolt, and the term is used to convey the battle club's toughness and invincibility. Dorje is the Tibetan name for the objects, which are typically made of bronze. These clubs vary in size, and have three, five, or nine spokes twisted into a lotus shape at the end. There are different meanings for each number of spokes and their particular arrangements. A Vajra is often used with a bell, called a ganta in Tibetan rituals. The club is placed in the left hand and symbolizes the male principle of action or means, called upaya, while the right hand holds the ganta, which represents prajna, the female principle of wisdom. Sometimes, two Dorjes are used in combination, forming a cross-like double Dorje, which symbolizes the physical world's foundation. Although the Vajra is widely considered a Buddhist emblem, its history is rooted in ancient Hinduism. Indra, the Hindu god of rain and sky, was represented by a thunderbolt, a symbol associated with the Vajra. The story goes that Indra was battling the evil Asuras who had removed all light and moisture from the earth, and all living things began to die. He battled the demon gods but was losing, so he called on Vishnu for help. Vishnu said only a weapon that was neither solid nor liquid could kill them, so a divine carpenter made the special weapon that shot thunderbolts. Most of the time, the prongs are open as a destructive weapon, but it is said that Buddha himself forced the prongs closed, transforming it into a peaceful scepter. Padmasambhava, an 8th century Tantric master, used the club to conquer Tibet's non-Buddhist deities. There are some similarities with a weapon used by the ancient Sumerians, who also held a pronged scepter to battle demons. GODDESS STATUE Turkish archaeologists recently unearthed a 4,200-year-old statue of a goddess at Kutepe, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kanesh, located roughly 12.4 miles from the central province of Kayseri. According to its discoverers, the 17-inch-tall sculpture is the biggest so far from the Early Bronze Age in Anatolia. Curiously, all the statues found at the site are of women. No idols of men have been found so far, excavation team leader Fikri Kulakoglu told Anadu Agency, adding that the women's statues are naked and have a decorated throne, and there are braids on their back. Kulakoglu hailed the discovery as a very special piece that reflects the area's religious beliefs at the time it was created. It's one of 20 important artifacts that were recently found as limited excavations continue amid the coronavirus pandemic, adding to the ever-expanding number of fascinating finds throughout the world that people can look forward to seeing for themselves when life hopefully returns to normal. A Roman dagger Last year, a 19-year-old intern named Nico Kalman unearthed what at first resembled a rusty chicken finger from the burial of a Roman soldier at the Haltern am See archaeological site in Germany. A nine-month restoration effort revealed the heavily corroded lump to be a 2,000-year-old silver dagger that was still in its sheath. It most likely belonged to a Roman soldier who used the 13-inch-long weapon in war against a Germanic tribe during the first century. It's a perplexing discovery, according to archaeologist Bettina Tremel, who specializes in the Roman Empire. It was not the normal practice for Roman soldiers to be buried with their military equipment, she explained. There was a Roman military base at the town of Haltern am See, or Haltern at the Lake, between 27 BC and 14 AD, during the Agostinian period. The soldiers who were stationed at the base, which was called Hauptlager, or main camp, were rather unlucky. In 9 AD, Germanic tribes wiped out three legions consisting of 5,000 Roman soldiers each at the site. Kalman found the dagger in a nearby cemetery where the fallen soldiers and their families were buried. It's one of few weapons ever found there, making its discovery surprising even to seasoned experts. The dagger likely belonged to an infantryman or an officer called a centurion, who would have used it as a backup weapon in the event of a soldier losing or damaging his sword. But why the man was buried with the weapon remains a mystery. So far, researchers' best guesses are that he originally came from a Celtic or other non-Roman tribe, or he was a Roman who had expressed that he wanted to be laid to rest with it. An Ancient Curse A Canadian woman known only as Nicole recently mailed stolen artifact fragments and a confession letter to a travel agent in Pompeii, the Guardian reported in October. She admitted to stealing the two mosaic tiles, ceramic shard, and amphora parts 15 years ago during a visit to the historic site in southern Italy when she was in her early 20s. Nicole blamed the items for a long-running streak of misfortune, including financial hardship and two bouts of cancer. She clearly regretted committing the crime, which in Nicole's words, was motivated by a desire to have a piece of history that nobody could have. Having learned her lesson, the reformed thief also wrote that she wanted forgiveness from God over her poor decision to take the artifacts. Nicole is far from the first person to sneak off with a piece of Pompeii's history, and she is just one of many who have returned stolen objects to their rightful place. In fact, the package Nicole sent contained some rocks and a letter from another couple, who also deeply regretted taking from the tragic site. So many people have sent looted items back to Pompeii that there is even a museum dedicated to returned artifacts and the letters sent along with them. Do you think it's possible for ancient artifacts to be cursed? Maybe just if they're stolen? Let me know in the comments below! And be sure to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already! We'd love to have you! A Vanished Artifact A rare Roman stone slab discovered in Serbia in July mysteriously disappeared less than a day after it was found. The artifact, which contained engravings in Latin, was found by construction workers along a road leading to a landfill. Someone immediately contacted the National Museum in Belgrade, which dispatched an archaeologist to the site, but the slab vanished without a trace before the expert arrived. The artifact was part of a second-century monument dedicated to a high-ranking Roman military official. One side of the marble slab, which shows two feet wearing sandals, was part of a previous statue before being reused for the monument. The other side of the object contains 15 lines of Latin text describing the military official's life and accomplishments. The man led various military detachments against the Dacians and served in three legions, according to the National Museum in Belgrade. Having the missing slab would come in handy for experts, who believe it may bear previously unknown information about a war in ancient Belgrade. The Serbian government is taking the disappearance very seriously, as evidenced by a statement from a National Museum spokesperson, who informed the public that the incident was being treated as an aggravated theft, that authorities were on the lookout for it, and that anyone involved in its theft would be arrested and criminally charged. Arabian Stonehenge Archaeological excavations are difficult to carry out in some parts of the world for various reasons, including political strife, the harshness of the environment, or a lack of funding. Thankfully, advanced technology, including satellite and drone imagery, are helping archaeologists make up for their inability to physically dig for artifacts. Recently, researchers spotted over 100 stone structures in the Nefu Desert that they believe constitute some of the oldest artifacts ever discovered. Thought to predate the pyramids, the ancient constructions were identified by an international team of archaeologists and other experts using high-resolution photos and Google Earth data. First, they marked places that they thought ancient humans would have used or inhabited, including sites near bodies of water and grasslands. This led the researchers to the 104 mysterious monuments that they believe may have been used as kites, which were structures that corralled wild animals into a convenient place for hunting. The team also found numerous massive geoglyphs called mustatil, which locals refer to as works of old men. Made from hundreds of thousands of tons of rock, these gigantic stone structures measure 328 feet long by 328 feet wide. It's possible that the monuments date back to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 years ago during the Neolithic period, when the arid desert region now known as Saudi Arabia contained grassland. GILDED TOMBS Late last year, archaeologists announced the discovery of two ancient Mycenaean tombs in the city of Pylos in southern Greece. Dating back some 3,500 years, the beehive-shaped tombs contained thousands of pieces of gold leaf that once covered their interior. Dubbed Tholos VI and Tholos VII, they were unfortunately looted, but still contain a plethora of valuable artifacts, including ornaments and jewelry made from imported materials such as amethyst, amber, and gold. The grave goods indicate that the people who lived in Pylos at the time had stronger connections to Egypt, the Near East, and other parts of the outside world than researchers originally thought, according to Smithsonian Magazine. There are also Minoan artifacts within the tombs, suggesting that the Mycenaeans displayed their status using borrowed objects and symbolism from their sister civilization. Archaeologists Jack Davis and Sharon Stocker are responsible for the recent discoveries, which came three years after the pair found the tomb of a high-status Greek man near an ancient palace in Pylos. The three burials date back to sometime between 1600 BC and 1500 BC, during the beginning phase of the little-understood Mycenaean civilization. Through the artifacts, archaeologists are gaining valuable insight into the lives of those who lived in the society. Despite their grand nature, many of the grave goods show surprisingly ordinary aspects of Mycenaean life, such as farming and farm animals. The most important takeaway so far is the newfound realization that the port at Pylos was likely a bustling international Bronze Age trading hub, a role that researchers have largely overlooked until now. A Child's Discovery While hiking in Israel's Negev Desert with his parents, a six-year-old boy named Imri Elia spotted a small clay object and picked it up for a closer look. Realizing that the tiny, 1.1-inch square was possibly of archaeological value, his parents diligently contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority as required by law. The agency rewarded Imri for his keen eye with a certificate of good citizenship. The little tablet appears to depict a naked slave being led by their captor. It's thought to be from the ancient Canaanite civilization and is estimated to be around 3,500 years old, dating back to when Egypt ruled the land of Canaan. At the time, the kings who ruled the local city-states were engaged in intense conflict, leading experts to believe that the tile was made as a badge or medal of honor to commemorate a battle victory. But Canaanite artifacts are very rare, and the best researchers can do for now is speculate regarding their purpose and story. Cryptic Egyptian Box Earlier this year, Science in Poland announced the March 2019 discovery of an ancient stone chest containing a linen-wrapped sacrificial goose at Deir el-Bari in Luxor, Egypt. Nearby, archaeologists found a chapel-shaped ceramic box called a faience bearing a hieroglyphic inscription of Pharaoh Thutmose II's name. Inside were two eggs, one belonging to a goose and the other thought to be from an ibis. Based on the etching on the box, experts believe the artifacts may help lead them to the tomb of Thutmose II. The box measured roughly 15.7 inches long and slightly less in height, according to Professor Andrzej Nowinski from the University of Warsaw's Institute of Archaeology. The royal deposit indicates that a temple was established on behalf of the king or that a king's tomb was founded, Nowinski told Science in Poland. Finding this deposit indicates that we are in the process of discovering the tomb. Thutmose II himself is not missing. His remains were found reburied at Deir el-Bari, leaving his original resting place a mystery. The pharaoh was married to Queen Hatshepsut in what Nowinski believes was a forced marriage. He came to power at just 13 years old and passed away three years later. This marks the latest in a series of discoveries in recent years that are revealing Egypt's rich history and helping to bring answers to light. TATTOOING TOOL Washington State University archaeologists discovered the oldest tattooing tool in western North America in early 2019. The 2,000-year-old object had spent around 40 years collecting dust in a museum storage room before it caught the attention of Ph.D. candidate Andrew Gilreath-Brown, while he inventoried the university's artifacts. Discovered in Utah, the pen-shaped item is a significant discovery, according to Gilreath-Brown, who said in a statement, Tattooing by prehistoric people in the southwest is not talked about much because there has not ever been any direct evidence to substantiate it. This tattoo tool provides us information about past southwestern culture we did not know before. A paper by Gilreath-Brown and seven colleagues that was published in March 2019 in the Journal of Archaeological Science describes the artifact, which consists of a 3.5-inch wooden handle held together by split yucca leaves and with needles made from cactus spines. Generally speaking, little is known about the past of tattooing, period, including when or why it began. Archaeologists know that it was common among religious groups and the elite, but their knowledge beyond that is extremely limited. The topic of tattooing is especially enigmatic in the American Southwest, where evidence of ancient tattoos has never been found on human remains, and the practice is not mentioned in writing. The tool is 1,000 years older than other tattooing implements found in the region, which date back between 1100 and 1280 AD. Gilreath-Brown analyzed the instrument using X-ray and microscope technology, and he also tested it out on pigskin. He determined that the pigment on the needle likely contained carbon, which was commonly used in ancient tattooing. The discovery is telling because it offers potential insight on the roles tattooing played in relationships and when it came to marking one's social status. Thanks for watching! Be sure to stay tuned for extra content you might have missed! Europe's Earliest Toolmakers Britain's oldest human remains were found at Earthham Pit, an archaeological site in West Sussex, England. Situated northeast of Boxgrove, it was first excavated between 1982 and 1986. There, scientists found bones belonging to Homo heidelbergensis, an extinct species or subspecies of early humans, dating back 500,000 years ago. Based on the first human bone discovered at the site, a partial tibia, researchers estimate that the person the bone belonged to was around 6 feet tall and weighed roughly 176 pounds. Bigger than you might have expected, right? The tibia's robust size suggests that the person ran a lot, perhaps in pursuit of animals, or that the individual was accustomed to cold weather. Archaeologists also found two incisors belonging to an ancient hominid, which bore signs of severe gum disease. More recently, in August of this year, excavations turned up the earliest known evidence of humans hunting and butchering in Europe, in the form of horse bone tools that were found at the site. The discovery indicates that the prehistoric people who lived there were culturally, socially, and cognitively advanced. Project lead Dr. Matthew Pope, from UCL's Institute of Archaeology, said, this was an exceptionally rare opportunity to examine a site, pretty much as it had been left behind by an extinct population, after they had gathered to totally process the carcass of a dead horse Incredibly, we've been able to get as close as we can to witnessing the minute-by-minute movement and behaviors of a single, apparently tight-knit group of early humans. A community of people, young and old, working together in a cooperative and highly social way. The horse provided more than food back then, as it was then turned into tools, too. Many people would come together and participate in the butchering, almost like a community event, and nothing was wasted. These bone tools are some of the earliest non-stone tools ever found on the planet. Battle of Visby The Battle of Visby occurred on July 22, 1361, near the town of Visby on Gotland, Sweden's largest island, which is located 56 miles east of the mainland in the Baltic Sea. Visby was a wealthy trading city and a member of a confederation of merchant towns that had it packed to help defend against invaders. These towns were not only full of expensive goods, but were also extremely powerful. King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark decided that they were rivals and was determined to get his hands on Visby's wealth, so he sent his army of Danish and German soldiers to attack. As they advanced toward the shore, Gotland's residents attempted, unsuccessfully, to halt their efforts. Around half of Visby's farmers, 1,800 people, died in the action, forcing the town to surrender. The dead from both sides were hastily buried in a mass grave, along with their armor, weapons, and personal belongings, including spears, hoods, and this armored glove. When archaeologists excavated the site during the 1920s, they uncovered plenty of human bones with severe battle injuries, including smashed skulls and skulls with spears and knives jammed into them. Some of the skeletons were still wearing their chain mail and armor. Also included among the artifacts are weapons, headgear, gauntlets, swords, crossbows, and arrowheads. Other miscellaneous items were found, including a leather pouch full of valuable coins, which probably belonged to one of Valdemar's soldiers. After the battle, Visby's residents paid King Valdemar a hefty sum to avoid further problems. Didn't go quite as smoothly after that, but the incredibly well-preserved remains of armor and weapons are a treasure trove of information and are now on display at the Gotland Museum as a testament to the people who tried to defend it. Tanagra Figurines While plowing soil in the town of Bratsy in the Greek region of Boeotia during the 1860s, some peasants hit upon numerous ancient graves. While they didn't contain huge hoards of gold and gemstones, they did have beautiful, lifelike terracotta figurines. Hundreds of these small statues were found, mostly of females measuring about 3 to 9 inches tall. The discovery set off a craze for the figurines, and around 8,000 of the region's graves were subsequently looted. People paid exorbitant sums for the artifacts, and for both sloppy and skilled forgeries, some of which even ended up in museums. In fact, National Geographic recently revealed that up to 20% of the German state's collection of the figurines are fake. As it turns out, the Tanagra figurines were just as popular during their time of manufacture around the 4th century BC as they became once they were rediscovered. They were present throughout the Mediterranean, including Greece, Macedonia, parts of Asia, southern Italy, North Africa, and even the Middle East. The statues were so attractive because they fit in with the ideals of feminine beauty and fashion of 19th century Europe, just as they did 1,600 years ago. The Greeks were very talented with sculpting clay, and the figures ranged from the elderly sitting to the young dancing away. It is a glimpse into daily life of everyday women and children, which is not really mentioned in historical records from the time. It is not quite clear what they were for, although one prevailing theory holds that they were used in burial practices, based on where they were found. The sculptures' magic is paradoxically captured in their ordinary activities, and their depictions of everyday scenes, people, and gestures. With their delicate figures and draped clothing, they convey attributes like modesty, mildness, and femininity. The original reason for burying these figurines has been forgotten, but the custom remains. DINOSAUR'S LAST MEAL In June of this year, scientists announced the discovery of the fossilized remains of a dinosaur's last meal. The football-sized mass consisted of 88% chewed leaf material and 7% stems and twigs, according to study co-author and biologist David Greenwood. Researchers further noticed that the dinosaur was a picky eater, who preferred certain types of leaves over others. The 110-million-year-old dinosaur, a massive armored species called Borealopelta markmichelli, ate fern leaves, twigs, and stems before it died. The 2,900-pound creature may have feasted amid wildfires, as evidenced by charcoal fragments present on some of the food. After it ate, it passed away and was washed out to sea in what is now northern Alberta, Canada. This dinosaur was discovered accidentally in 2011, and it is one of the best fossils of its kind ever found. The creature was entombed shortly after death, given the remarkably preserved state of its remains. Geologist Jim Bassinger of the University of Saskatchewan said in a statement that the discovery is rare and constitutes the best-preserved dinosaur stomach ever found, too. MYSTERIOUS MASSACRE Earlier this year, Brio Retirement Living Holdings, a UK-based property development firm, came under fire for failing to report 42 bizarrely buried skeletons that were discovered on a property in Buckinghamshire, England, where the company planned to build retirement condos. Luckily, they weren't recent skeletons. The remains were found in shallow graves on former farmland, and some of the individuals' hands were tied behind their backs. An archaeological team commissioned by the development firm discovered the skeletons, yet the company did not notify authorities of the find, as they were legally required to do. The bodies were quietly removed from the site, and once local authorities found out, they were incredibly displeased, to say the least. We haven't seen anything of this nature in Buckingham before, Buckingham South Councillor Robin Stutchbury told the Daily Mail. The remains are thought to belong to Danes of Daneland, who were executed during an 11th century failed invasion against the Anglo-Saxons. They were likely prisoners of war, due to some of them having their hands bound, according to Stutchbury, who believes the individuals were possibly murdered during the St. Brice's Day Massacre. The bloody event occurred on November 13, 1002, when King of England, Aethelred the Unready ordered the killing of the Danes. Yikes, I wouldn't want to be remembered for all time by that nickname. The Unready. What do you think people would call you? The super-ready? The patient? The cranky? The lazy? Let me know in the comments below! The skeletons could also belong to hanged criminals, or people who died in the English Civil War during the 17th century. But Buckinghamshire council member Bill Chappell pointed out that the remains are thought to date back at least 1,000 years. Carbon dating analysis reports will determine the age of the bones, giving researchers a starting point for determining who the people might be, and why they died. OLDEST ROYAL REMAINS The remains of a mysterious royal were unearthed in 2008 at Magdeburg Cathedral in Germany. Researchers were quick to speculate that the body belonged to Queen Edgith, a Saxon princess who married the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I in 929. She had two children by her husband, and was the half-sister of the first King of England in its entirety, Aethelstan, and the great-granddaughter of the Anglo-Saxon King Alfred the Great. The Great is always a good nickname. Edgith passed away in 946 at around 36 years old, after spending the majority of her married life in Magdeburg, in the modern-day state of Saxony-Anhalt. Her remains were relocated at least three times before ending up at Magdeburg Cathedral in 1510. Medieval bones were moved frequently and often mixed up, so it required some exceptional science to prove that they are indeed those of Edgith, project director Professor Harold Mellor told the BBC. Evidence shows that the deceased individual was a 30 to 40-year-old woman of high status, a frequent horseback rider who ate a high-protein diet. An analysis of her teeth matched up with historical records detailing Edgith's Wessex childhood. Experts have accepted the test results as proof of the body's identity as Edgith, making her skeleton the oldest known surviving remains of an English royal. The City of 1001 Churches The capital of medieval Armenia, a lost city called Ani, survives only in the form of ruins of several churches and a broken bridge. Situated in the modern-day Turkish province of Kars, the ancient metropolis was once a thriving cultural-religious center. During the early 300s, Ani adopted Christianity as its official religion, making it one of the first kingdoms to do so. At its peak, the city housed as many as 100,000 residents and is thought to have served as the 10th-century Armenian capital according to National Geographic. Ani was best known for its numerous religious structures, earning it the nickname of the City of 1001 Churches. It was invaded repeatedly over the centuries due to its strategic position between competing empires and along the Silk Road trade route. In the 16th century, Ani was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire and subsequently abandoned and forgotten about. During the early 19th century, European travelers began frequenting the intriguing site, feeling drawn to its architecture and heavy Christian symbolism, despite political tensions in the region remaining at an all-time high. The first archaeological survey of Ani was carried out long after time and the elements began taking a noticeable toll on its buildings, and it wasn't until 2016 that the site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Water Purification System A recent study determined that a more than 2,000-year-old water purification system, one of the oldest in the world, that was developed by the ancient Maya people would still work today. American archaeologists discovered evidence of the advanced Mesoamerican society's creation in Tikal, an ancient city in northern Guatemala. The large reservoir, called Corriental, contains zeolite and crystalline quartz, which the Maya used to filter their drinking water. This combination of compounds is still used today in modern water filtration systems. In ancient Mesoamerica, it acted as a sieve that removes heavy metals, harmful microbes, and numerous other toxins, according to the experts who conducted the study. The team traced the zeolite and quartz to a source 18 miles northeast of Tikal, with a reputation for its naturally clean drinking water. It was probably through very clever empirical observation that the ancient Maya saw this particular material was associated with clean water, and made some effort to carry it back to Tikal, study author and geographer Nicholas Dunning said. The filtration system qualifies as the oldest such device in the New World, and it also predates European versions of water filters. A lot of people look at Native Americans in the Western Hemisphere as not having the same engineering or technological muscle of places like Greece, Rome, India or China, said study author and anthropologist Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, but when it comes to water management, the Maya were millennia ahead. Flight Evolution A newly released study reveals that pterosaurs, the first flying vertebrates, were initially clumsy fliers who became more skilled as they evolved. The findings published in the journal Nature Communications describes how pterosaurs first began flying 320 million years ago, and continuously improved until their extinction 65 million years ago, when an asteroid is thought to have slammed into the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. This means that on average, for 150 million years, descendants were better fliers than their ancestors, study author Chris Venditti told ZME Science. This is a quite striking and unique demonstration of Darwin's idea of descent with modification, as species get better in their environment. Pterosaurs were reptiles and close relatives of dinosaurs who flew using the same mechanisms as birds and bats by generating lift using their wings. Over time, they evolved into a diverse range of species, including the largest winged animals that ever existed, and occupied all corners of the globe. The team of experts who conducted the study determined that natural selection got straight to work as soon as pterosaurs emerged into existence, and persistently worked to maximize their flight efficiency, enabling them to fly for long periods and over great distances without stopping. The researchers noted one exception to this trend, as Darkoids, a group of pterosaurs that were not so adept at flight, and who they speculate were consequently more geared toward a terrestrial lifestyle, generally only flying when they needed to. Denisovan Teeth Over the summer, a team of experts from the Novosibirsk Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography discovered two teeth in the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. One was estimated to be at least 170,000 years old, and another dating back approximately 250,000 years. The site is well known for its wealth of archaeological evidence left behind by early hominids, namely the Denisovans, an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans. The two recently discovered teeth, a milk tooth and a molar, were found in the oldest layer of artifact-containing sediment within the cave. They are both Denisovan teeth. The Denisovans lived throughout Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, according to Mikhail Shunkov, who headed the expedition. Numerous other artifacts from the ancient hominin species have been found inside the cave. The first among them, discovered in 2008, is a finger bone fragment belonging to a young female whom scientists coined X-Woman. When they realized that she was neither Homo sapiens nor Neanderthal, they coined the term Denisovan to represent her species. Denisova Cave was not exclusive to the Denisovans, however. Scientists have also discovered Neanderthal remains and evidence of humans occupying the site. But the Denisovans appear to have been the cave's first inhabitants, with their presence dating back some 300,000 years, indicating that they migrated from the Middle East around that time. Thanks for watching! If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe and join us for more incredible archaeological finds! Let me know which place you would like to visit most in the comments below! See you next time! Bye!