The variety of archaeological finds and discoveries does not cease to amaze both the researchers themselves and people who are far from scientific research. Sometimes they are so fantastic that they become the subject of many years of debate among pundits from around the world.
Swiss watches in ancient burial
In 2008, when a documentary was shot in the Chinese province of Guangxi about the autopsy of an ancient tomb belonging to the Ming Dynasty, unusual findings were discovered. However, the most amazing of them turned out to be ... Swiss watches! The amazement of journalists and archaeologists themselves knew no bounds. According to Jian Yan, a former curator of the local museum who also participated in the excavation, after removing soil from the surface of the coffin, a small piece of rock rebounded. He fell to the floor, making a characteristic metallic sound.
When the item was picked up, it turned out that this ring. After thoroughly cleaning it from the ground, it turned out that it has a miniature dial. On the inside of the ring there was an engraved inscription Swiss, that is, “Switzerland”. And as you know, the Chinese Ming dynasty ruled the country until 1644, so it was simply impossible to create such a small mechanism in those days, and Switzerland as such did not exist then. But local experts assured everyone present that this tomb had never been opened in the last nearly 400 years.
Crystal skull
Sometimes archaeologists discover unusual finds even in the most impassable jungle. An example is the artifact discovered in Belize in 1927. It is a human skull skillfully made of pure rock crystal, made in full size and weighing about 5 kg. Indians living in the surrounding villages immediately found out about this find. They were the descendants of the Mayan tribe. The Indians said that, according to an ancient legend, this is one of the thirteen existing crystal skulls. If you find and collect them in one place, then you can comprehend all the secrets of the universe.
The crystal skull has been thoroughly examined in the laboratory. As a result, scientists concluded that the artifact was made using an unknown technology that does not fit into any of the laws of physics or chemistry. In other words, this item cannot be created even with the most modern high-tech equipment, not to mention the ancient Mayan Indians.
Paw of a prehistoric bird
Perhaps the most unusual discoveries are the remains of creatures that once lived on Earth, the sight of which would very scare modern people. In 1986, a scientific expedition examined a system of caves located in Mount Owen (New Zealand). Suddenly, one of the researchers came across a rather large and well-preserved part of the paw with huge claws. It seemed that her owner had died recently.
Later, scientists determined that the remains belong to the prehistoric bird moa. She was truly huge and could not fly. Presumably, it became extinct between 1300 and 1450 years BC. e. The reason for its disappearance may be the Maori hunters who lived on this island at the end of the XIV century.
Massive burial of babies in Ashkilon
Perhaps the most terrible and unusual finds of archeology are associated with mass graves of infants. In 1988, another excavation was carried out on the territory of the ancient city of Ashkelon (Israel), located on the Mediterranean coast. In one of the ancient sewers under Roman baths, a large number of small bones were found, which at first were mistaken for chicken.
It later turned out that archaeologist Ross Voss made a terrible discovery. It turned out that all these bones belonged to more than one hundred babies. This burial remains the largest children's cemetery in the history of archaeological excavations.
Forensic anthropologist Patricia Smith examined the remains of infants, after which she stated that she did not find any signs of malaise, and even more so of any diseases. Using special forensic methods, she determined that the deceased children were no more than a week old.
However, if we turn to history, then during the Roman Empire, killing newborns was not considered a crime. This ritual was a kind of birth control. It is possible that the burial place served as a kind of institution where they got rid of unnecessary babies. According to the laws of that time, a child whom the father did not recognize was allowed to be killed, but only on the condition that the baby was not yet two years old. The most striking example of this is the legend of Romulus and Rem, the founders of the Eternal City. These newborn sons of Mars (the god of war), left by people in the forest to die, were fed and raised by a she-wolf.
Tomb of the headless Vikings
In the summer of 2010 in the county of Dorset (Britain), a mass grave of soldiers was found. Workers who worked on the construction of the railway discovered unusual finds in the land - piles of human skeletons without heads. Soon, skulls were found, folded a little at a distance. At first, archaeologists thought that the surviving inhabitants of the village, which was subjected to a cruel raid of the Vikings, thus decided to take revenge on the offenders. But the further they analyzed this situation, the more doubts their version caused.
The fact is that the beheading itself was carried out too carefully and clearly, so the hypothesis arose that it was either some kind of ritual murder, or public execution. But no matter what happens, one thing is clear: the manners of the VIII-IX centuries were extremely cruel, and the Anglo-Saxons had to suffer quite often from the robber raids of the Scandinavians.
Ancient Greek mechanics: antique computer
Often archaeological unusual finds at the bottom of the seas and oceans are so amazing that even scientists cannot explain their existence. In 1900, sponge catchers fishing in the sea off the coast of the island of Antikythera (Greece) discovered the wreckage of an ancient Roman merchant ship. Scientists have suggested that the sunken ship followed from Rhodes to Rome and went under water around the 1st century BC. e. It turned out that it lies at a depth of not more than 60 meters. From there, a large number of gold and silver jewelry, amphoras and ceramics, bronze and marble figurines, as well as many other antique objects were raised to the surface. Among them were parts of some strange mechanism.
At first, no one paid attention to them, until in 1902, archaeologist Valerios Stais noticed that some bronze objects look like watch gears. The scientist immediately suggested that they could be parts of an astronomical instrument, but his colleagues only laughed at him. They recalled that these unusual finds date back to the 1st century BC. e., while gears were invented only after 14 centuries.
The Stais theory was forgotten, but at the end of the 50s the British historian D.D. de Solla Price, who carefully studied the ancient artifacts from Antikythera, remembered it. He managed to prove that several bronze objects once made up one mechanism, placed in a wooden box, which disintegrated over time. Soon he even drew up an approximate, and later a more detailed diagram of this amazing machine. In 1971, the British watchmaker D. Glive collected a working copy from it, which could simulate the motion of the Moon, the Sun, and also other planets known at that time: Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Mars.
In 2005, using a special X-ray technique, artifact researchers were able to examine Greek symbols on gears. In addition, the missing parts of this mysterious mechanism were recreated. It turned out that this device can perform operations such as division, addition and subtraction. Therefore, it is not surprising that such a truly unusual find was called an antique computer.
Monk's Mummy Inside Buddha Statue
It happens that the most unusual finds on the planet literally stand right before our eyes. This happened with a 1000-year-old statue on display at the Museum of the Province of Drenthe (China). The fact is that only a few years ago, Dutch scientists made another shocking discovery. Inside the Chinese Buddha statue, they discovered a human mummy. From this, scientists concluded that it was created not just as a sculpture, but as a sarcophagus. Presumably, the ancient remains belong to Li Kwan - the Chinese master of meditation.
Usually such findings always cause not only surprise, but also a lot of questions. Some of the modern Buddhist practitioners believe that the monk could have deliberately entered some stage of meditation known only to him, in which his body seemed to self-mummify.
The ancient city of Heraklion
Unusual finds on the ocean floor are not uncommon for archaeologists. But the fact that an ancient city was discovered under the water column, which disappeared as a result of a powerful earthquake for more than 1200 years, surprised even scientists ready for anything. His story is akin to the legendary Atlantis. Heraclion was once at the mouth of the Nile and, as it turned out, was a small prosperous town.
A strong earthquake occurred around the 1st century BC. e. It destroyed houses, sank a large number of ships, and also destroyed many people. Those who were lucky enough to survive, fled, leaving all their property. Archaeologist Frank Godot, who discovered the ruins of the city, realized that this was ancient Heraklion when they found a black granite slab on which this name was carved.
Terracotta Army
In 1974, Chinese farmer Yan Ji Wang dug a well on his plot of land and at a depth of about 5 meters he discovered an ancient warrior statue, made in full growth. When archaeologists continued the excavation, it turned out that there were not one, but thousands of such figures. It turned out that these unusual finds have been located deep underground for more than two thousand years. It is believed that this clay “army” belonged to the legendary emperor Qin Shi Huang - the unifier of Chinese lands.
Now, on the site where excavations are still being conducted, a whole city has appeared. The work has not stopped for several decades in a row, but when they are finished, no one knows. Art historians suggested that to create such a number of clay figures it took about 700 thousand masters who had worked for at least thirty years.
Roman dodecahedron
Sometimes such unusual archaeological finds come across that it is hard to understand why these objects were originally created. Artifacts are often found on the territory of Northern and Central Europe, whose lands were once considered the outskirts of the majestic Roman Empire.
These are the so-called Roman dodecahedrons - bronze products with 12 faces, each of which has a round hole, and 20 small "cones" are located at the corners. All of them date back to the 2nd-4th centuries AD. e. Scientists have put forward more than two dozen versions about their scope, but none of them has been proven.