The archaeological scientific world is so structured that every new discovery or discovery by archaeologists sometimes asks more questions than answers to existing puzzles.
But without archeologists, these tireless and passionate people, mankind would not have unraveled the many secrets that are hidden from us by the veil of time, and sometimes by many cubic meters of land.
Let's look into this fascinating world of archeology, and present to your attention the most amazing and unique finds in history, including the most inexplicable finds of archaeologists. For ease of perception, we will divide them into thematic blocks. TheBiggest.ru authors have a huge passion for this topic, so we hope that our material will be interesting and useful to many.
The most mysterious ...
This category includes finds that, after their discovery, asked the scientific world many questions, and there are still heated discussions around them.
Greek gadgets
This accidental discovery was made by an American photographer who, unexpectedly for himself, discovered an unusual object in his photographs two years ago.
The fact is that he was photographing the bas-relief. Created about a hundred years BC, stored in the vaults of the Paul Getty Museum in American Malibu. Having looked closely, you can see that in the hands of the girl is a laptop of our time, and even with USB ports.
But is this discovery not proof of the existence of a time machine, and most importantly, such trips have already taken place.
Baghdad battery
Unique artifacts are often found in the vicinity of Iraqi Baghdad, but one find surprised archaeologists. Many scientists have suggested that this is the oldest prototype of a modern battery.
In the vessel, the neck of which was sealed, there was an iron rod, and a copper rod was inserted in the cavity of the jug. An experiment was conducted, and the cavity was filled with electrolytic fluid, and the “battery” began to generate electricity.
Note that the oldest vessel of this type was found by archaeologists for the first time, and they used this artifact about 2,000 years ago.
Jurassic Park
Paleolithic artists threw another mystery to archaeologists. When exploring caves in Kuwait, traces of the presence of ancient people were discovered.
The finds of stone tools and other remains of life did not surprise anyone, but rock paintings were found on the walls of one of the caves.
The phenomenon itself is unique, but in one of the drawings, along with other animals and people, dinosaurs are depicted. While the scientific world is puzzling, where did the image of a dinosaur come from among people of that period. And while scientists are arguing in the laboratories, the authenticity of the drawing is verified.
P.S. Information about this find is very common on the Internet, in the sources as evidence there are either no photos or a photo that we published is shown. But you do not need to be an expert to understand that this photo is just a fake. And, probably, the news of such a find is very exaggerated. Analyzing this information, theBiggest.ru editors found the original of that photo, you can see it below.
Military equipment of the past
In one of the temples of Pharaoh Seti I in Abydos, a strange bas-relief was discovered, on which it was possible to examine modern combat vehicles.
You can clearly see the helicopter, the tank. And just below their submarine. It is difficult to assume that the Egyptians were able to look so far into the future, and many began to shout that aliens visited the earth, which is captured in the drawings.
In 1992, German Egyptologists, having carried out an analysis, proved that the pictograms finished the time, because of the cracks they turned out modern military equipment.
Leicester stone
Sometimes archaeological discoveries occur in unusual places, and even without special work. Archaeologist and TV presenter James Balme saw an unusual stone at the garden equipment fair in Leicester, and immediately acquired it.
The scientist cleansed the stone, and patterns that resembled an ancient letter appeared on it. Historians and linguists did not completely solve the mystery of this stone, and even versions were put forward that it was used to calculate, and it was the first scientific calculator in the world.
It was precisely established that this is not a modern fake, it is established for sure. So in unusual places you can make a scientific world discovery.
Venetian vampire
In 2011, the world was presented with an amazing and mysterious find that was discovered on the island of Nuovo Lazzaretto three kilometers from Venice.
It was the skull of a woman 60-65 years old, who lived in the XVI century. And all would be fine, but a brick was put into her mouth during burial. A strange rite many times described in the literature. Based on this skeleton, a thorough forensic examination was first conducted.
Scientists immediately started talking about the fear of vampires in medieval Europe that even after their death they tried to protect the world of the living from their influence by driving a brick into their mouth.
Gates of the sun
A unique monument of archeology was found at an altitude of 3,800 meters above sea level, 15 kilometers from Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.
An unusual building in the form of a gate 3 meters high was first mentioned in notes by European researchers in 1553. Scientists still have not come to a consensus on the date of construction of the gate. And a variety of assumptions are put forward.
One thing is clear that this religious building was part of the city of Tiwanaku, and played an important role in the Inca mythology and religious rites.
Stone Age Tunnels
In the twentieth century, in various parts of Europe from Scotland to Turkey, scientists and just lovers of the past began to discover strange underground catacombs, different in configuration and length.
Archaeologist Heinrich Kush, having examined more than a dozen of these underground passages, made the assumption that they were dug during the Neolithic. That is, these moves underground more than 5 thousand years. Others went further and say that this was done during the Paleolithic period.
It’s just interesting how over so many years, hundreds of earthquakes and other natural and man-made disasters, they have not collapsed.
The oldest ...
In this category, we will tell about the oldest finds that archaeologists made. This will include both the discovery of the remains of people who lived on the earth millions of years ago, and the first tools used by man.
Oldest temple
In the early 90s, an archaeological expedition led by a German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt excavated in the south of modern Turkey.
As a result of work near the settlement of Gebekli Tepe, a series of low stone walls was discovered. Studies have shown that this is a religious building, and the walls of the temple were erected 12 thousand years ago, that is, back in the Paleolithic era.
Thus, it turns out that the German expedition made a unique discovery, and of all the buildings of antiquity known today, it is the most ancient temple in the history of mankind. Among the oldest, it is older than even the world famous Stonehenge.
Oldduv Man
Kenyan scholars of British descent, Louis and Mary Leakey, have long researched ancient deposits in the Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania.
As a result of work in the very beginning of the 60s of the last century, they made an important paleoanthropological discovery, being very educated and enthusiastic people. The most ancient human remains archaeologists found in layers dating to the age of 2.7-2.9 million years.
The Olduvai culture, created by the presinjanthropus and zinjanthropus, which belong to the species Skillful man, the oldest archaeological culture in the world.
Ancient flute
A very rare, and most importantly unique find was made by archaeologists in one of the caves in Germany. Exploring the Paleolithic site, archaeologists found a large accumulation of mammoth bones.
After a thorough examination, holes were made in some bones at an equidistant distance. At that time, a person only mastered the drilling technique, but the holes were made very carefully and accurately.
So it turns out that the oldest flute was found in the cave, and even then, 14-12 thousand years ago, a person began to join the beautiful world of music.
Venus Willendorf
This small figurine of a woman, discovered in 1908 by the Austrian archaeologist Joseph Sombati, is considered the oldest sculpture found in the world.
It is noteworthy that the ancient sculptor very realistically conveyed the forms of a woman. Her breasts, hips and abdomen are rounded, and the navel, genitals, and hair are clearly drawn.
This finding confirmed that in primitive society, a woman played a more important role than a man, as she gave birth and raised offspring.
Stone spears
As a result of excavations in southern Africa, pointed stones were found. It can be seen that they underwent minimal processing, and are ideally suited as tips.
These findings are about 200 thousand years old, and these artifacts far removed the age of the first tools that people used.
It was believed that at that time primitive people had not yet mastered the technique of stone processing, which they so brilliantly refuted, found the tips of the spears, and most importantly, they were successfully used by hunters of antiquity.
Foot prints
In 1974, a group led by Mary Leakey, who worked in the Letoli district, discovered the footprints of a primitive man, two adults and a child.
Fingerprints were left in the ashes during the eruption of the volcano. The hominid family, along with other animals, fled from inevitable death.
After examining the prints, scientists proved that already about 2 million years ago, the oldest ancestors of man moved on two legs, and today these are the most ancient traces left by our ancestors on the earth's surface.
They did not believe in them ...
One can still single out the category of the most important archaeological finds and discoveries, but such a concept does not exist for historians and archaeologists, and all of them are of great importance for science and invaluable to humanity.
In conclusion, we’ll just call people who they did not believe in, and against all odds, they made their dream a reality ...
Heinrich Schliemann and the legendary Troy
Even as a child, having a dream of finding the cherished Troy, Schliemann found it on the Gissarlyk hill when he was already 48 years old. He walked to the dream through many obstacles, was a successful merchant, and even changed his faith to visit historical places.
The discovery of Schliemann made the scientific world take a different look at the texts of ancient legends and myths. It was a German entrepreneur, an amateur archaeologist who proved that there is some truth in ancient texts.
Arthur Evans and his Maze
Believed in ancient myth and the English archaeologist Arthur Evans, and went to Crete to look for the legendary labyrinth of the Minotaur.
The efforts of the Englishman were rewarded, and the world learned about the greatest find of the majestic Knossos palace of King Minos.
For 30 years, from 1902 until the mid-30s, Evans returned to his “maze”, making new and significant discoveries.
16 steps of Howard Carter
On November 1, 1922, workers at the English archaeologist Howard Carter stumbled upon steps that went deep down. When the steps were cleared on November 4, there were sixteen of them, and they led into an untouched tomb.
Two weeks later, when Lord Carnarvon came to finance the excavation, Howard removed the seal from Tutankhamun's tomb.
But they laughed at him, and this was the last year, and even his friend Carnarvon assured the archaeologist that he would stop excavation this year.
Domenico Fontana and his channel
The Italian was not an archaeologist, but his discovery is considered the greatest in the history of this historical science.
In 1592, the architect Fontana laid a water channel, and his workers discovered a part of the wall of the destroyed building, on which was the inscription "Pompeii". The architect considered this to be the villa of the emperor Gnei Pompey, and did not attach much importance to it.
After 150 years, the world learned that Fontana discovered an ancient city that died during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 BC.
Information
Read about these and other great archaeologists and their discoveries in a large detailed article.
Will there be a sequel?
If you liked this article, we are pleased to invite you to follow the link and read about the most terrible finds of archaeologists. We are sure that the material will not leave you indifferent.
Article author: Valery Skiba