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| 10 Most INCREDIBLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES in History |
Archaeology is one of the most fascinating sciences that we have today. Many of us have a deep desire to know things about the past such as where we came from and what societies existed before us. And, every time that archaeology discovers an artifact from the past,we learn more about our history. But, sometimes the things that are discovered raise just as many questions as they do answers. Either because they boggle the minds of modern day scientists, or because they were thought to be a myth entirely. So, this week, I'm going to present you with some of the most amazing finds ever made. So, here they are : the 10 Most Incredible Archaeological Discoveries in History.
Number one : The Gates of Hell
In 2013, a team of archaeologists discovered an ancient cave called Pluto's Gate, more commonly known as the gate to hell. This legendary cave was described in Greco-Roman mythology as the portal to the underworld and was thought to be a myth until now. The cave was guarded by two marble statues, each depicting a symbol from the underworld. One being a snake and the other being Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of Hell.
The cave itself is filled with lethal vapors that will kill anyone who inhales them, exactly as described by the ancient Greek geographer, Strabo, thousands of years ago.
Number two : the Tomb of the God King
In 2013, archaelogists in Turkey discovered an underground, pyramid shaped tomb that belonged to King Antiochus who is known as the God King. King Antiochus was the ruler of the ancient kingdom of Commagene thousands of years ago, and was known for being worshipped like a God. The tomb was part of a magnificent religious sanctuary at the peak of Mount Nemrut where he was ultimately laid to rest. With more time and exploration, archaeologists may be able to tell us more about the God King and hopefully that he was a kind ruler because God King's don't exactly have the best rep. They usually try to dominate the world, and then you have to kick their messenger into a bottomless pit while screaming like a nut job. It's just a big mess.
Number three : The Lycurgus Cup
The Lycurgus Cup is a 1600 year old goblet whose origins are unknown and is jade green but appears blood red when lit from behind. Why this happens has baffled scientists for decades until recently when broken fragments of it were analyzed, revealing something amazing. It was discovered that the glass in the goblet was infused with particles of silver and gold as small as 50 nanometers. That's less than one-thousandth the size of a grain of table salt. The reason that this is so incredible is because it means that the Romans were pioneers of nanotechnology far before we ever used it in today's world.
To this day, scientists still do not fully understand the process used to create the goblet which much be embarrassing because the Romans didn't even have a fraction of the technology that we have today.
Number four : The Birthplace of Buddha
In 2013, archaeologists in Nepal discovered the Birthplace of Buddha, and therefore, the origins of Buddhism itself. While excavating the sacred Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini, a research team discovered a timber structure under a series of brick temples dating all the way back to the sixth century B.C. What's fascinating is that the structure has an open space in the middle of it as well as evidence of a tree shrine which supports Buddhist mythology that Buddha's birth took place under a tree.
See this is what I love about Buddhism. There's evidence and everything just makes sense, unlike some of those other theistic religions, except the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster cause that's just awesome. All hail, his noodly appendage.
Number five : The Dead Sea Scrolls
Discovered in a cave on the shore of the Dead Sea between 1946 and 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls consists of 972 biblical manuscripts. The text written mostly on parchment are the earliest surviving copies of biblical documents in existence, dating over a 700 year period around the birth of Jesus.
The scrolls are written in hebrew, aramaic and greek, and are believed to have been authored by the ancient Jewish sect, the Essenes. If you're a religious person, especially Jewish, this is an astounding find. And even if you're not, you have to find it fascinating that these scrolls survived for over 2,000 years. Now, let's all move on before the fighting starts in the comments.
Number six : Pompeii
Pompeii was an ancient Roman city that was completely buried by a massive volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. where it was lost for nearly 1700 years until it was unearthed again in 1599. In 1863, major excavations began on the city by Italian archaeologist, Giuseppe Fiorelli where it was discovered that the volcano not only destroyed much of the city but also perfectly preserved much of it as well. In fact, large bubbles were discovered in the volcanic mud that turned out to be perfectly formed molds of the men, women, and children that died there.
The process in which they were buried is called a pyroclastic flow, meaning that they were instantly encapsulated in a speeding current of smoldering, hot gas and rock. Yeah, not exactly a pleasant way to go.
Number seven : The Cave of Altamira
Discovered in Cantabria, Spain in 1879, the discovery of this cave forever changed the world's perception of prehistoric human beings. On the inside walls of this cave were several drawings of wild mammals dating all the way back to the Paleolithic Age around 2.6 million years ago. The reason that this was so astounding was because up until that point, it was believed that prehistoric man lacked intellectual capacity to produce any kind of artistic expression.
Interestingly, this cave was accidentally discovered by amateur archaeologist, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, led by his 12 year old daughter. What a smart kid! Discovering prehistoric drawings? When I was her age, I was playing Legend of Zelda, Link to the Past.
"I regret nothing."
Number eight : The Terracota Army
In 1974, a group of farmers in China discovered a chamber containing the final resting place of Qin Shi Huang, the very first emperor of China. But what was most impressive is not that they found his burial chamber but what was inside the burial chamber.
Inside the burial chamber were 8,000 life-sized clay soldiers, 130 chariots and 150 separate horses,
all dating back to over 2200 years ago. It's believed that the soldiers were buried with the emperor with the purpose of protecting him in the afterlife, and to this day remains one of the most spectacular man-made sites in the world.
Number nine : The Mount Owen Moa
In 1896, a group of archaeologists discovered the claw of a bird while digging down into a cave in New Zealand. After some analysis, it was determined that the claw, which still had muscles and flesh attached to it, belonged to a wingless bird called the upland moa that went extinct hundreds of years ago.
The upland moa was a tiny bird unlike the much larger cousin, the moa, which could reach a height of 3.6 meters and weighed up to 230 kilograms. Could you imagine discovering a moa foot with flesh still attached to it? I would not stick around because that bird had some bad ass claws and something killed it. And, that something could still be in the cave, so yeah, you best be leaving.
number 10 : The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 in Egypt by a soldier of Napoleon and to this day remains one of the most important artifacts ever found in human history. But the importance of the stone relies not on what was written, but how it was written.
The stone contains a decree from a king written in three separate languages, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, ancient Greek, and demotic. Until its discovery, the art of reading or writing hieroglyphics had been lost for almost a millennium. But using the Greek text, scholars were not only able to decipher the hieroglyphics but also greatly improve our understanding of demotic as well. One of the most important artifacts in history, and you probably thought the Rosetta Stone was just a computer program to help you learn spanish better. Estoy decepcionado.
Keep in mind, as always, these were just the top 10 archaeological discoveries I personally found most intriguing, but there are many, many more out there. So, I encourage to google and educate yourself.
Here we made a video of Most AMAZING facts about Egypt. It explores and discover more hilarious facts about this millinium country. I'm sure you guys are really going to love it.
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