Category Archives: WORLD

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Archaeology bombshell: 7,000-year-old find older than Pyramids stuns scientists

Archaeology bombshell: 7,000-year-old find older than Pyramids stuns scientists

The archaeological discovery was hiding in plain sight for centuries, tucked away in a field near the village Łysomice in northern Poland. But with the aid of Google Earth scans, archaeologists were able to spot concentric outlines of where the ancient structures, or pans, once stood. The researchers now believe the buildings were raised by some of the first European communities to farm the land.

The discovery dates the neolithic structures to about 2,000 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in Egypt.

Mateusz Sosnowski from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Nicolas Copernicus praised the unexpected find.

The archaeologist said: “Our discovery can be boldly dubbed sensational due to the fact the pans are located east of the Vistula river.

“These constructions are the most north-eastern of their type in Europe. We did not expect such a discovery in this region.”

Archaeology bombshell: 7,000-year-old find older than Pyramids stuns scientists
Researchers have found ancient, neolithic structures in Poland
The ancient structures were hidden in plain sight

The ringed structures or pans were found roughly three miles (5km) apart outside of Łysomice.

The structures measure approximately 278ft (85m) across and feature three concentric ditches with a common centre.

When viewed from space with the aid of Google Earth and Google Maps, the pans left distinct impressions in the land now used for modern farming.

The archaeologists speculate the structures may have had ties to early astrological efforts due to the direction of their construction.

Dr Sosnowski said: “What is is also interesting, is that the entrances are most likely directly opposite one another on a northwest-southeast axis.

“We suppose they could also be linked to astronomical observations.”

The entrances likely faced the direction of the rising sun during the Winter Solstice.

Dr Sosnowski said: “In order to confirm this concept we will need further analysis.”

To date, archaeologists have found more than 130 of these pan-like structures all over Europe.

At least one-third of these structures can be found in Austria.

The rest are peppered across Poland, Hungary, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The neolithic structures were found in northern Poland
The structures were built by the first Europeans to farm the land

In this particular case, the archaeologists believe the structures were “planned and raised by a large group of people”.

According to some researchers, they may have served ceremonial roles or acted as temples for pagan practices. The European pans were typically surrounded by concentric ditches and wooden palisades, which suggests they could have been defensive structures.

Dr Sosnowski and his team now want to visit the sites in person in the winter.

The discovery comes after archaeologists in South America uncovered the 2,000-year-old remains of two infants wearing helmets. The unusual remains were found on the coast of Central Ecuador at a burial site called Salango.

Archaeologists in the UK have also made an incredible 8,000-year-old discovery at the bottom of the sea. The ancient find is likely a boat from the Stone Age, found just off the coast of Great Yarmouth.

Archaeologists have also solved an incredible Roman mystery after discovering a “forgotten city” buried in the Mediterranean.

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Archaeology shock: Ancient skeleton and gold found buried in Siberia’s ‘Valley of Kings’

Archaeology shock: Ancient skeleton and gold found buried in Siberia’s ‘Valley of Kings’

The incredible archaeological discovery was made by a team of Polish researchers on the Southern Siberian Steppe. This barren part of the Russian Federation is known as the “Siberian Valley of the Kings” thanks to mysterious structures dotting its landscape.

Ancient mounds raised from the ground by a long-lost civilisation, known as kurgan barrows, give a hint as to what lies beneath the soil. Archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków made their discovery at the Chinge Tey dig where nine of these kurgans were built in a row.

According to lead archaeologist Dr Łukasz Oleszczak, the Scythian remains date back at least 2,500 years.

Archaeology shock: Ancient skeleton and gold found buried in Siberia's 'Valley of Kings'
Researchers have found the remains of a Scythian warrior in Siberia
The Scythians were a nomadic civilisation of warriors

He told the Polish Press Agency (PAP): “Inside was the skeleton of a fully equipped young warrior.

“Near the skull of the deceased, there were decorations: a gold sheet pectoral, a glass bead, a gold spiral braid ornament.”

Alongside the warrior’s skeletal remains, the archaeologists have found many of his weapons.

These included an ice axe stylised into the shape of an eagle, an iron dagger, bow fragments and arrows.

Dr Oleszczak added: “Objects made out of organic materials have also been well preserved.

“Among them is a leather quiver, arrow shaft, ice axe shaft and a belt strap.”

The Scythians were an ancient nomadic people who thrived between the 11th century BC and 2nd century AD to the east of the Roman Empire. Scythia covered much of what is today’s Siberia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and even touched upon China.

The Scythians were known for their warmongering practices, as demonstrated by the contents of their burial sites.

Unfortunately, many of the Scythian artefacts buried across Siberia are at risk of disappearing thanks to looters.

According to Dr Oleszczak, the first of two barrows found in Chinge Tey was robbed before the archaeologists uncovered them.

Ancient Scythian burial sites in Siberia
The discovery was made in Southern Siberia

The archaeologists did, however, discover partially preserved bones and an arrowhead.

The researchers will analyse the second kurgan barrow for its contents next year.

The main discovery, however, was made in a third kurgan nearby.

Dr Oleszczak said: “For our research, we chose an inconspicuous, almost invisible kurgan with a diameter of about 25m.

“We had hoped it had remained unnoticed by robbers.”

The Polish archaeologists have joined an international team of researchers at Chinge Tey.

Their discovery comes after another team of archaeologists in Poland found the site of an unusual settlement from 2,500 years ago.

Archaeologists in northern Poland have also two neolithic structures predating the Great Pyramid of Giza by 2,000 years.

Researchers have also found signs of cannibalistic rituals at an ancient burial site in Poland’s Kuyavian-Pomeranian region.

WORLD

Archaeologists Will Study Life on the International Space Station

Archaeologists Will Study Life on the International Space Station

A group of researchers has launched the first-ever archaeological study of humans in space, observing the lives of the crew living on the International Space Station.

The experiment, which will analyze and document the unique “MicroSociety in a mini-world,” began this week with associate professors Alice Gorman from Flinders University in Australia and Justin Walsh of Chapman University in California leading the effort.

“We’re the first to try to understand how humans relate to the items they live with in space,” Walsh said in a statement.

Archaeologists Will Study Life on the International Space Station
“By bringing archaeological perspectives to an active space domain, we’re the first to show how people adapt their behaviour to a completely new environment,” Associate Professor Justin Walsh of Chapman University said of the experiment.

He added: “By bringing archaeological perspectives to an active space domain, we’re the first to show how people adapt their behaviour to a completely new environment.”

Over the course of the project, the team will investigate how a space culture has emerged and evolved since the opening of the ISS in November 2000 and the effects on the development of long-term missions on those who are aboard to solve technical, engineering or medical issues.

“What they usually don’t realize is every one of those problems has social and cultural dimensions — and if they ignore those, their solutions will be sub-optimal,” the research team explained on Twitter.

Walsh and Gorman hope to address several big-picture questions that have not previously been posed by other earthbound archaeologists in the field, including: How do crew members interact with each other and with equipment and spaces originating in other cultures? How does material culture reflect gender, race, class, and hierarchy on the ISS? How do spaces and objects frame interactions of conflict or cooperation? How have crew members altered the space station to suit their needs or desires? What are the effects of microgravity on the development of society and culture?

Rather than digging through ancient dirt to unearth the secrets of how past societies once lived, the space-focused research team will begin its exploration of the “archaeological site” through a series of 1-meter-square photographs taken by crew members aboard the ISS.

By dividing the site into a grid of squares along the walls of the station, the scientists say they’ll gain a better understanding of the entire site.

“Instead of digging them to reveal new layers of soil representing different moments in the site’s history, we will have them photographed each day to identify how they’re being used and how they change over time,” Gorman explained.

The first phase of the experiment will last 60 days and updates will be posted on the International Space Station Archaeological Project’s website.

EUROPE, SWEDEN, WORLD

8000-year old underwater burial site reveals human skulls mounted on poles

8000-year old underwater burial site reveals human skulls mounted on poles

A team of researchers with Stockholm University and the Cultural Heritage Foundation has uncovered the remains of a number of Mesolithic people in an underwater grave in a part of what is now Sweden.

8000-year old underwater burial site reveals human skulls mounted on poles
Anterior view of crania F296 showing well-preserved facial bones.

In their paper published in the journal Antiquity, the group describes the site where the remains were found, the condition of the remains and also offer some possible explanations for the means by which the remains found their way to the underwater burial site.

People living during the Mesolithic were hunter-gatherers, the researchers note, which is why the burial site and its contents are so surprising.

At the time of its use, the burial site would have been at a shallow lake bottom covered with tightly packed stones upon which the remains of humans had been laid.

The remains were all skulls, save for one infant. The adult skulls (except one) were missing jawbones, and at least two of the skulls showed evidence of a stick thrust through the opening at the base through the top of the skull—normally associated with posting a skull to scare enemies.

But hunter-gatherers were not known for posting skulls or engaging in gruesome funeral rituals. Instead, they were known for disposing of their dead in simple, respectful ways.

The gravesite was found in what is now southern Sweden, near an archaeological site known as Kanaljorden.

Archaeologists have been working at the site since 2009, but it was not until 2011 that the human remains were found—until that time, researchers had been finding animal remains. To date, the researchers have found the remains of 11 adults.

In another surprise, the team discovered that all of the adult skulls bore signs of trauma—each had been whacked in the head multiple times. But the trauma was inflicted differently depending on gender.

The males were hit on top or near the front of the head, while the females were typically hit from behind. None of the wounds appeared life-threatening, however, though, without the rest of the corpse, it was impossible to identify what had killed them.

Cranium F318 with a wooden stake.

The researchers are unable to offer an explanation for what they have found at the site, though they suggest it was possible the victims had died or been killed elsewhere and then transported to the burial site. Possibly because they were considered exceptional in some way.

ECUADOR, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

Infants from 2100 years ago were found with helmets made of children’s skulls

Infants from 2100 years ago were found with helmets made of children’s skulls

Archaeologists excavating a site in Salango, Ecuador, have discovered evidence of a burial ritual that might even make Indiana Jones shiver. As the researchers report in the journal Latin American Antiquity, excavations at a pair of 2,100-year-old funerary mounds revealed several unusual sets of remains: namely, the skeletons of two infants wearing what appear to be bone “helmets” made from the skulls of older children.

Infants from 2100 years ago were found with helmets made of children's skulls
One of the infants was around 18 months old at the time of death, while the second was between 6 and 9 months old.

Members of the Guangala culture interred the infants at Salango, an ancient ritual complex on the country’s central coast, around 100 B.C.

Archaeologists unearthed the remains—as well as those of nine other individuals, many of whom were buried with small objects including figurines and shells—while conducting excavations between 2014 and 2016. Per the study, the discovery represents the only known evidence of “using juvenile crania as mortuary headgear” found to date.

One of the babies was around 18 months old at the time of death, while the second was between 6 and 9 months old.

As the study’s authors write, “The modified cranium of a second juvenile was placed in a helmet-like fashion around the head of the first, such that the primary individual’s face looked through and out of the cranial vault of the second.”

The older infant’s helmet originally belonged to a child aged 4 to 12 years old; interestingly, the researchers found a small shell and a finger bone sandwiched between the two-layered skulls. The second baby’s helmet was fashioned from the cranium of a child between 2 and 12 years old.

The researchers found a small shell and a finger bone sandwiched between the two-layered skulls.

Perhaps most eerily, the older children’s skulls likely still had flesh when they were outfitted over the infants’ heads. Juvenile skulls “often do not hold together” if they are simply bare bone, the archaeologists note.

“We’re still pretty shocked by the find,” lead author Sara Juengst of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte tells Forbes’ Kristina Killgrove. “Not only is it unprecedented, but there are also still so many questions.”

Potential explanations for the unexpected burials abound: DNA and isotope analysis currently underway may clarify whether the infants and children were related, but even if these tests fail to provide a definitive answer, Juengst says the researchers “definitely have a lot of ideas to work with.”

Speaking with New Atlas’ Michael Irving, Jeungst explains that “heads were commonly depicted in iconography, pottery, stone, and with literal heads in pre-Columbian South America.”

She adds, “They are generally representative of power, ancestors, and may demonstrate dominance over other groups—such as through the creation of trophy heads from conquered enemies.”

According to the paper, the helmets could have been intended to protect the deceased’s “presocial and wild” souls as they navigate the afterlife.

Other infants found in the funerary platform were buried with figurines placed near their heads, perhaps for a similar purpose. An alternative theory posits the skull helmets belonged to the infants’ ancestors and were actually worn in both life and death.

Jeungst and her colleagues also outline a “tantalizing hypothesis” centred on a volcano located near the burial site. Ash found at Salango suggests the volcano was active and likely interfering with agriculture in the area, potentially subjecting the children to malnourishment and even starvation. 

Sîan Halcrow, an archaeologist at New Zealand’s University of Otago whose research focuses on juvenile health and disease, tells Killgrove that all four sets of bones showed signs of anaemia.

Another less likely explanation identifies the children as victims of a ritual designed to quiet the volcano. The remains show no signs of trauma, however, and as Juengst says to Newsweek’s Aristos Georgiou, the evidence suggests the four juveniles “probably were quite ill anyway.”

The most plausible explanation, according to Jeungst, is that the Guangala outfitted the infants with skulls “in reaction to some sort of natural or social disaster and [to ensure] that these infants had extra protection or extra links to ancestors through their burials.”

While the unusual burial may seem macabre to modern readers, Juengst tells Killgrove she found the helmets “strangely comforting.”

“Dealing with the death of young infants is always emotional,” she explains, “but in this case, it was strangely comforting that those who buried them took extra time and care to do it in a special place, perhaps accompanied by special people, in order to honour them.”

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Archaeologists Unearth Colossal Pair of Sphinxes in Egypt During Restoration of Landmark Temple

Archaeologists Unearth Colossal Pair of Sphinxes in Egypt During Restoration of Landmark Temple

A pair of giant limestone sphinxes have been unearthed by archaeologists excavating the temple of Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,300 years ago and was the grandfather of Tutankhamun.

The statues depict the pharaoh wearing a mongoose-shaped headdress, a royal beard and a wide necklace. After further analysis, the team found the script ‘the beloved of Amun-Re’ across one of the sphinx’s chests.

The Egyptian-German archaeological team, led by Horig Sorosian, found the colossal statues submerged in water at the funerary building, known as the ‘Temple of Millions of Years,’ according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Archaeologists Unearth Colossal Pair of Sphinxes in Egypt During Restoration of Landmark Temple
A pair of giant limestone sphinxes have been unearthed by archaeologists excavating the temple of Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,300 years ago and was the grandfather of Tutankhamun. The statues depict the pharaoh wearing a mongoose-shaped headdress, a royal beard and a wide necklace.

The temple is in Luxor, Egypt, which is famously known for the oldest and most ancient Egyptian sites, along with being home to the Valley of Kings.

Along with the 26-foot-long sphinxes, the team also uncovered three nearly intact statues of the goddess Sekhmet, the lion-like defender of the Sun god Ra and the remains of a great pillared hall.

And the walls throughout the hall are decorated with ceremonial and ritual scenes. Horosian emphasized the importance of this discovery, as the two sphinxes confirm the presence of the beginning of the procession road where the celebrations of the Beautiful Valley Festival were held every year.

This yearly event was a time when people could visit their deceased loved ones and bring them gifts – and it was only celebrated in the ancient city of Thebes.

After further analysis, the team found the script ‘the beloved of Amun-Re’ across one of the sphinx’s chests. Pictured is a second sphinx that appears to have been weathered over thousands of years
Along with the 26-foot-long sphinxes, the team also uncovered three nearly intact statues of the goddess Sekhmet, the lion-like defender of the Sun god Ra and the remains of a great pillared hall

King Amenhotep III was the grandfather of the famed boy-pharaoh Tutankhamun and ruled in the 14th century BC at the height of Egypt’s the New Kingdom and presided over a vast empire stretching from Nubia in the south to Syria in the north.  

The 18th dynasty ruler became king aged around 12, with his mother as regent and is believed to have ruled Egypt between 1386 and 1349 BC. Amenhotep III chose the daughter of a provincial official as his royal wife, and throughout his reign, Queen Tiy featured alongside the king. 

Amenhotep III died in around 1354 BC and was succeeded by his son Amenhotep IV, widely known as Akhenaten, who was King Tut’s father.

Tut began his reign at the age of eight or nine and ruled for about nine years. However, the young king was plagued with health issues due to his parents being brother and sister – and experts believe the issues led to his death.

Archaeologists emphasized the importance of this discovery, as the two sphinxes confirm the presence of the beginning of the procession road where the celebrations of the Beautiful Valley Festival were held every year. Pictured is another statue of the goddess Sekhmet.

Amenhotep III may have left the Earth thousands of years ago, but archaeologists are still uncovering remnants of his past, with the most lavish being the ‘lost golden city.’ 

In April 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 3,500-year-old city in Luxor, which they said is the largest ancient city ever to be discovered in Egypt.

It was built by Amenhotep III and later used by King Tutankhamun. Luxor, a city of some 500,000 people on the banks of the Nile in southern Egypt, is an open-air museum of intricate temples and pharaonic tombs. 

Excavations at the site uncovered bakeries, workshops and burials of animals and humans, along with jewellery, pots and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III.

The team initially set out to discover Tutankhamun’s Mortuary Temple, where the young king was mummified and received status rites, but they stumbled upon something far greater.

Betsy Brian, Professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore USA, said ‘The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun’.

Amenhotep III may have left the Earth thousands of years ago, but archaeologists are still uncovering remnants of his past, with the most lavish being the ‘lost golden city.’ In April 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 3,500-year-old city in Luxor, which they said is the largest ancient city ever to be discovered in Egypt.

‘The discovery of the Lost City, not only will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the Ancient Egyptians at the time when the Empire was at its wealthiest but will help us shed light on one of history’s greatest mysteries: why did Akhenaten & Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna.’

The city sits between Rameses III’s temple at Medinet Habu and Amenhotep III’s temple at Memnon. Excavations began in September 2020 and within weeks, archaeologists uncovered formations made of mud bricks.

After more digging, archaeologists unearthed the site of the large, well-preserved city with almost complete walls, and rooms filled with tools once used by the city’s inhabitants. 

ARGENTINA, SOUTH AMERICA, WORLD

A Two-Headed Giant has been discovered in Patagonia

A Two-Headed Giant has been discovered in Patagonia

Kap Dwa is a two-headed giant cryptid allegedly discovered by Spanish sailors off the coast of Argentina in the 17th century. The accounts of its capture vary, but afterwards, its mummified remains were brought to England, and in the 19th century if circulated between various circuses and sideshows.

Drawing representing the giant Kap Dwa

The Kap Dwa is considered to be a hoax produced through taxidermy

Etymology

The name “Kap Dwa” literally means “Two Heads” in the language of the Malay people. It’s important to note that the Malay people are not from South America, where the cryptid was allegedly discovered.

The Malay are an Austronesian ethnic group found in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. This incongruity with the cultural origin of the name of the creature and the location it was allegedly discovered may also indicate its hoax status.

Capture

There are two competing accounts for how this creature was allegedly captured. In one account, the Spanish sailors captured the creature alive.

The Spaniards lashed him to the mainmast, but he broke free (being a giant) and during the ensuing battle suffered a fatal injury; they skewered him through the chest with a pike.

In another account, the sailors merely discovered the body of the giant with a spear already puncturing its chest.

England and the United States

Record of what happened next to the dead body of the creature is unclear, but its mummified remains were eventually brought to England, where the remains entered the Edwardian Horror Circuit.

Over the years the remains passed from one showman to another. Eventually, in 1914, the Kap Dwa ended up displayed at the Birnbeck Pier, North Somerset England, where it would stay for forty-five years.

In 1959, the remains were purchased by an alleged lord by the name of Thomas Howard. From Howard, the remains passed again from owner to owner until arriving at its current location, Bob’s Side Show at Antique Man Ltd. in Baltimore, Maryland.

Similar Sightings

Sebalt de Weert (May 2, 1567 – May 30 or June 1603) was a Dutch captain associated with the exploration of the coasts of South America and the Falkland Islands south of Argentina.

De Weert and several crew claimed to have seen members of a “race of giants” while there. De Weert described a particular incident when he was with his men in boats rowing to an island in the Magellan Strait.

The Dutch claimed to have seen seven odd-looking boats approaching with were full of naked giants. These giants supposedly had long hair and reddish-brown skin and were aggressive towards the crew.

Medical Knowledge vs the Legend

For Kap Dwa to be genuine, we would have to suppose two very unlikely scenarios at once. We would have to presume that dicephalic parapagus twins were born who had yet another rare and lifespan-reducing disorder, gigantism, and they were somehow able to overcome all the health problems related to both conditions and become full-fledged adults that were strong and healthy enough to engage in combat with a band of sailors.

While this is not out of the question, it does make the story much more unlikely and in need of considerably more evidence.

The body was allegedly examined by physicians in the 1960s who said that it showed no obvious signs of being fake. No other experts appear to have examined the body either to determine if it is genuine or if it had the internal anatomic requirements to be likely to survive as a set of dicephalic parapagus twins.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

Has the Burial Chamber of Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti Been Found?

Has the Burial Chamber of Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti Been Found?

Egyptian archaeologists announced recently they may have found the burial place of Queen Nefertiti in a hidden chamber close to the pharaoh’s burial complex in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.

The final resting place of Nefertiti, who served as queen alongside Pharaoh Akhenaten over 3,000 years ago, is one of Egypt’s greatest mysteries.

It is believed that the powerful monarch was the mother of King Tutankhamun’s wife and that she briefly ruled Egypt outright after the death of her husband in 1335 BC.

Archaeologists have never found her remains, and one long-standing theory is that she was buried in a secret compartment within Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Tutankhamun died at just 19 years of age, and his burial complex is exceptionally small for a monarch, leading some experts to speculate that parts of it still remain undiscovered.

Now scientists have used high-tech radar scans to reveal possible evidence of hidden chambers beyond the tomb’s north wall.

The corridor-like space measures two meters (six feet) high and over 10 meters (32 feet) long. It sits just a few meters from Tutankhamun’s gold-laden treasury.

The study was led by archaeologist Mamdouh Eldamaty, a former Egyptian minister of antiquities.

A new technology called ground-penetrating radar, which uses radar pulses to see through soil and rock, was used to scan around Tutankhamun’s tomb.

There is no concrete proof yet that what they found really is a hidden chamber – let alone that it contains Nefertiti’s tomb – but it offers an extremely tantalizing prospect to Egyptologists.