More Evidence That Humans Co-Existed With Dinosaurs: The 290-Million-Year-Old Human Footprint

More Evidence That Humans Co-Existed With Dinosaurs: The 290-Million-Year-Old Human Footprint

The rock — which belongs to the Permian Period 299 to 251 million years ago — was discovered in New Mexico and featured a human footprint, left behind — apparently — nearly 299 million years ago. But, there weren’t any humans on Earth at that time, were there?

More Evidence That Humans Co-Existed With Dinosaurs: The 290-Million-Year-Old Human Footprint

Many authors would agree with the fact that countless discoveries that have been made in the last couple of decades on Earth suggest history as we have been taught is anything but complete.

Imagine if society finally accepted the fact that our planet has been inhabited by countless ancient civilizations in the past, and that life on Earth — advanced life — has existed for millions of years?

Today, this is only a theory — a wild guess — which seems to be backed up by several ‘controversial’ discoveries.

One of them is the so-called ‘Zapata Print’ or ‘Zapata track’, discovered in New Mexico.

The Zapata track features a HUMAN footprint in Permian limestone, analyzed by palaeontologist Jerry MacDonald who discovered a few kilometres from the Zapata track traces of preserved fossil footprints in Permian strata.

The enigmatic footprint has been researched by Dr. Don Patton who claims that the Permian rock from New Mexico contains a genuine human footprint.

According to Genesispark.com, Dr. Don Patton attempted to cut this print out of the rock, but wore out four carborundum blades trying to make the one cut!

Patton reports having personally seen a photograph of four, virtually identical tracks in an obvious right-left pattern taken about one-quarter mile from the Zapata track.

The controversial part, of course, is the AGE of the rock where the footprint was left — The Permian Period which lasted from 299 to 251 million years ago, at a time way before birds, dinosaurs, and MAN, was supposed to exist.

Curiously, the Permian (along with the Paleozoic) ended with the Permian–Triassic extinction event, the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history. Nearly 90% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial species died out.

Recovery from the Permian-Triassic extinction event was protracted; on land, ecosystems took 30 million years to recover

Anyway, returning to the curious footprint, there are many who favour it and there are others who believe it is not real — because it displays several ‘unnatural features’.

Don Patton with the so-called “Zapata Track”

As noted by author Glen J. Kuban, the controversial footprint shows some features not typical of genuine human prints. The line and position of the toes are somewhat unnatural, and the ball is narrower and round compare to most genuine prints. A few individuals have emphasised that the print shows some mud up-push (a rim of raised relief around the print).

Supposedly this confirms its authenticity.

“The fossil tracks that MacDonald has collected include a number of what palaeontologists like to call ‘problematica.’ On one trackway, for example, a three-toed creature apparently took a few steps, then disappeared–as though it took off and flew.

“‘We don’t know of any three-toed animals in the Permian,’ MacDonald pointed out. ‘And there aren’t supposed to be any birds.’ He’s got several tracks where creatures appear to be walking on their hind legs, others that look almost simian.

“On one pair of siltstone tablets, I notice some unusually large, deep and scary-looking footprints, each with five arched toe marks, like nails. I comment that they look just like bear tracks.

“‘Yeah,’ MacDonald says reluctantly, ‘they sure do.’ Mammals evolved long after the Permian period, scientists agree, yet these tracks are clearly Permian.” (“Petrified Footprints: A Puzzling Parade of Permian Beasts,” The Smithsonian, Vol. 23, July 1992, p.70.) (Source)

In the book “Fossil Facts and Fantasies” by Joe Taylor, the footprint” appears to be a female, barefoot print.”

Taylor states that it was found in 1929, and that “it is said that at that time, one half of a second track was visible at the edge of the ledge bearing both tracks. The edge of this ledge has since fallen off.”

Taylor does not say where he learned these details and does not cite any literature, scientific or popular, regarding it. Author Jeff A. Benner stated that “the Creationist community agree that the print is human in origin and proof that humans existed during the time of the dinosaur.”

What Powered The Vimanas? India’s 6,000-Year-Old Flying Machines

What Powered The Vimanas? India’s 6,000-Year-Old Flying Machines

According to Ancient Indian history – one of the most extensive on the planet – their ancient sacred texts called the ‘Vedas’ speak of incredible flying ships that visited our planet over 6000 years ago. Throughout history, many common myths and legends mention incredible flying machines and how ancient people traveled great distances through the air: the flying carpets of ancient Arabia, Ezekiel’s wheel, Solomons’ ability to travel from one place to another and the magical chariots or ‘vimana’ mentioned in ancient Indian and Chinese texts.

What Powered The Vimanas? India’s 6,000-Year-Old Flying Machines

According to Ancient Indian history –one of the most extensive on the planet– their ancient sacred texts called the ‘Vedas’ speak of amazing flying ships that visited our planet over 6000 years ago. While there are many who oppose the existence of the Vimana, millions of people around the world are concerned that thousands of years ago, ancient mankind was visited by incredible flying machines, piloted by the ‘gods’.

With the help of the Vimana, ancient astronauts visited different places on our planet with ease, spreading knowledge and wealth among ancient, primitive civilizations. Reference to the ancient Vimana can be found in the Mahabharata, which is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India:

“At Rama`s behest, the magnificent chariot rose up to a mountain of cloud with a tremendous din. Another passage reads: Bhima flew with his Vimana on an enormous ray which was as brilliant as the sun and made a noise like the thunder of a storm. In the ancient Vymanka-Shastra (the science of aeronautics), there is a description of a Vimana: “An apparatus which can go by its own force, from one place to place or globe to the globe”.

Dr. Raghavan points out, “The text’s revelations become even more astounding. Thirty-one parts of which the machine consists are described, including a photographing mirror underneath.

“The text also enumerates 16 kinds of metal that are needed to construct the flying vehicle: `Metals suitable, lighare 16 kinds`. But only three of them are known to us today. The rest remain untranslatable.”

Another authority who agrees with Dr. Raghavan`s interpretations is Dr. A.V. Krishna Murty, professor of aeronautics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

“It is true,” Dr. Krishna Murty says, “that the ancient Indian Vedas and other text refer to aeronautics, spaceships, flying machines, ancient astronauts. A study of the Sanskrit texts has convinced me that ancient India did know the secret of building flying machines and that those machines were patterned after spaceships coming from other planets.”

However, What Fueled this Ancient Vimana?

The Vaimānika Śāstra, an early 20th-century Sanskrit text on aerospace technology, makes a claim that the vimānas mentioned in ancient Sanskrit epics were advanced aerodynamic flying vehicles, similar to a rocket capable of interplanetary flight as backed up by the ancient alien theory. Revealed in 1952 by G. R. Josye, the texts contain 3000 shlokas in 8 chapters which Shastry claimed were psychically delivered to him by the ancient Hindu sage Bharadvaja. The propulsion of the Vimanas According to Kanjilal (1985) is by a “Mercury Vortex Engines”, a concept similar to electric propulsion. However, many people argue that a far greater, more accessible and ‘free’ power source was available to the ancient Vimana craft. It is noteworthy to mention that a couple of years ago, Chinese researchers discovered ancient Sanskrit documents in Lhasa, Tibet, dating back thousands of years. The ancient texts were sent to the University of Chandigarh for translation. The results were shocking. According to Dr. Ruth Reyna the translated texts, allegedly are ‘blueprints’ for the construction of interstellar spaceships.

According to the translated documents, the propulsion system designed for the spaceships was based on antigravitational technology, and based on a system analogous to that of “laghima,” the unknown power of the ego that exists in man’s physiological makeup, “a centrifugal force strong enough to counteract all gravitational pull.”

Interestingly, according to Hindu Yogis, the mysterious “laghima” force is what enables people to levitate.

Dr. Reyna explained that “on board, these machines which were called ‘Astras,’ the builders of the crafts could have sent a detachment of men to any planet. The manuscripts, however, do not mention how interplanetary communication was achieved, but they do mention a trip from the Earth to the Moon, though it is unclear whether the trip was just planned or actually carried out.”

However, one of the great Indian epics, the Ramayana, does have a highly detailed story in it of a trip to the moon in a Vimana (or “Astra”), and in fact details a battle on the moon with an “Asvin” (or Atlantean” airship.

Indian scientists were extremely reserved about the value of these documents but became less so when the Chinese announced that certain parts of the information were being studied for inclusion in their space program.

But can we actually ‘reverse engineer’ ANCIENT technology? Well… depends on what you think is possible. Interestingly in the Sanskrit Samarangana Sutradhara, it is written:

“Strong and durable must the body of the Vimana be made, like a great flying bird of light material. Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath. By means of the power latent in the mercury which sets the driving whirlwind in motion, a man sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky. The movements of the Vimana are such that it can vertically ascend, vertically descend, and move slanting forwards and backwards. With the help of the machines, human beings can fly in the air, and heavenly beings can come down to earth.”

Interestingly, in the Law of the Babylonians, the Hakatha unambiguously states:

“The privilege of operating a flying machine is great. The knowledge of flight is among the most ancient of our inheritances. A gift from ’those from upon high’. We received it from them as a means of saving many lives.”

“The Pushpaka Vimana was a gigantic ‘plane’ the size of a large city entirely capable of holding unlimited numbers of people…”

“…Three flying cities were made for and were used by the Demons… One was in a stationary orbit in the sky, another moving in the sky and one was permanently stationed on the ground. These were docked like modern spaceships in the sky… and at a fixed latitude/longitude.

“Siva’s arrow obviously referred to a blazing missile fired from a satellite specially built for the purpose…Vestiges of onetime prosperous civilization destroyed in battles flicker through these legends…” – Prof. D.K. Kanjilal’s observations of the Matsyapurana

Harnessing Earth’s Natural Energy

But is it possible that the ancient Vimana’s were built so they could access the planet’s natural energy? What if thousands of years ago, ancient flying machines used Earth’s natural energy to charge and reload? Is it possible that ancient monuments like pyramids were, in fact, giant energy transmitters that fueled the ancient Vimana?

Interestingly Stone like metal can be charged and is able to carry out electrical charges. What if ancient sites on Earth were specifically placed on so-called magnetic vortexes or electrical ‘Ley Lines’?

What if there is a far greater meaning to the countless number of ancient Indian Pyramids, monoliths, megalithic statues, steles, obelisks and totems, and what if all of these structures, not only from ancient India but different civilizations around the world, had a special scientific purpose: to transmit vast amounts of energy. Many researchers argue that intricate ancient stonework attributed to the Incas, Egyptians, East Indians, Maya and other ancient civilizations has a specific purpose, and was not only aesthetic in nature. It is noteworthy to mention that many consider the Great Pyramid of Giza as one of the best examples of ancient energy machines. It was a Tesla-like power plant created thousands of years ago. It was a huge ancient structure that was capable of using the Earth’s natural properties in order to create or produce a great amount of energy. This energy is believed to have been used by the ancient Egyptians and other cultures such as the ancient Maya and other cultures around the globe for millennia. This theory, however, has been firmly rejected by mainstream researchers. If we approach the history of ancient civilizations from another perspective, we will encounter that ancient civilizations around the globe were, in fact, extremely sophisticated and used advanced technologies thousands of years before mainstream science ‘reinvented them’.

These advanced technologies were present in ancient Egypt, Ancient Sumer, and in North, Central and South America. Electricity, electrochemistry, electromagnetic technology, metallurgy, advanced engineering, including hydrogeology, chemistry, physics and advanced forms of mathematics and astronomy were all used thousands of years ago to great extents.

Is This Man-Made Underground Complex ONE MILLION Years Old?

Is This Man-Made Underground Complex ONE MILLION Years Old?

While most researchers and scholars around the globe agree that human civilization as we know it only has only existed for some 12,000 years on our planet, there are countless discoveries that point toward a much different past. There are many findings ranging from temples, structures, and artefacts that are evidence of advanced civilizations that inhabited Earth much sooner than mainstream scholars suggest.

However, many of these incredible findings have been considered impossible due to the fact that they alter our written history in every possible way.

In recent years, many researchers have started looking at the history of the civilization on Earth with an open mind. One of those researchers is without a doubt, Dr. Alexander Koltypin, a geologist, and director of the Natural Science Research Center at Moscow’s International Independent University of Ecology and Politology.

During his long career, Dr. Koltypin has studied numerous ancient underground structures mainly in the Mediterranean and has identified numerous similarities which have led him to believe that many sites were interconnected. But most incredibly, the weathering of the structures together with their material composition and extreme geological features has led him to believe these megastructures were built by advanced civilizations that inhabited Earth millions of years ago.

Writing on his website Dr. Koltypin states:

“When we examined the constructions… none of us never for a moment had a doubt that they are much older than the ruins of the Canaanite, Philistine, Hebraic, Roman, Byzantine and other cities and settlements that are placed on it and around.” (source)

During his travel to the Mediterranean, Dr. Koltypin was able to accurately record the features present in different ancient sites, something that allowed him to compare, afterwards, their incredible similarities and details which tell an incredible alternative history; one that has been firmly rejected by mainstream scholars.

Is This Man-Made Underground Complex ONE MILLION Years Old?
One of the many ancient stone structures in Antalya, Turkey.

Dr. Koltypin argues that mainstream archaeologists who work in the region are used to dating sites by looking at the settlement of rock, debris and the strata of earth located on them or in their vicinity, however, some dates were applied when, in fact, the actual sites were much older prehistoric structures.

While travelling near the Hurvat Burgin ruins in Adullam Grove Nature Reserve, central Israel, Dr. Koltypin recalled a similar feeling when he climbed on the top of the rock city Cavusin in Turkey. Almost a Deja vu feeling, Dr. Koltypin said:

“I was personally convinced once again (in the first time the same feeling came to me after I climbed to the top of the rock city Cavusin in Turkey) that all these rectangular indentations, man-made underground structures and scattered debris of megaliths were one underground-terrestrial megalithic complex which was opened by erosion to a depth of several hundred meters”

In his work (source), Dr. Koltypin argues that not all parts of the giant complex are located underground. There are some parts that have come above ground due to geological shifts that have occurred throughout the history of our planet where Dr. Koltypin includes the incredibly rocky towns of Cappadocia in modern-day Turkey.

“On the basis of this, we can conclude that the underground cities of Cappadocia (including Tatlarin rock city) are intended for the accommodation of the ordinary population and the rock city of Cavusin (or its part) was the residence of the kings of the underground. Though almost nothing is known about the subterranean, nevertheless we can assume that the people who built the underground cities (if they even were men) were sun-worshipers who professed the religion of sun gods (harmony and life by the Divine principles – nature laws). After many thousands or millions of years, this religion had become a basis of the Christian religion.” — Dr. Alexander Koltypin

Dr. Koltypin continues explaining that certain sites in central and Northern Israel and central Turkey were exposed after cutting into the ground some one hundred meters.

“According to my estimates, such depth of erosion … could hardly be formed in less time than 500,000 to 1 million years,” he wrote on his website.

Dr. Koltypin suggests that certain parts of the complex surfaced as a result of mountain formation processes. According to his estimates, there is evidence to support that the composition of building material found on a site in Antalya Turkey, referred to by Dr. Koltypin as “Jernokleev site,” are up to One Million years old even though mainstream scholars refuse to accept that age proposing instead that the site dates back to the Middle Ages.

Dr. Koltypin further adds that as a result of Earth’s crust moving throughout the centuries, parts of the underground complex were plunged into the sea.

“Practically in all the studied underground constructions of Israel and in the majority of underground constructions of Turkey, sediments of lithified (hard) and calcareous clay deposits are widely developed on their floor,” Dr. Koltypin writes on his website.

The ancient Cavusin village is located in the Cappadocia region of Turkey.

Returning to the subject, Dr. Koltypin suggests that the similarity seen in numerous megalithic ruins is evidence of a profound connection present in ancient sites which were connected as one giant prehistoric complex. According to Dr. Koltypin, numerous megalithic blocks weighing tens of tons could have been directly attached to underground complexes in the distant past.

“This circumstance gave me a reason to call the underground structures and geographically related ruins of cyclopean walls and buildings as a single underground-terrestrial megalithic complex,” writes Dr. Koltypin in his website.

He further adds that the megalithic construction which is seen in all corners of the world, seem to surpass, by far, the technological capabilities of ancient civilizations who, according to mainstream scholars, built them. Making reference to the technological capabilities of the ancients, Dr. Koltypin states the stones fit together perfectly in some parts without cement and the ceilings, columns, arches, gates and other elements seem beyond the work of men with chisels.

Adding to the mystery of these incredible sites, Dr. Koltypin notes that structures built on top of, or near sites by the Romans or other civilizations are completely primitive.

Mystery Tracks Left Behind Advanced Technology Millions Of Years Ago

Many researchers believe that there are several pieces of evidence pointing towards the existence of highly advanced ancient civilizations that existed on Earth millions of years ago. (source)

Dr. Alexander Koltypin believes that the mysterious markings that extend along the Phrygian Valley, in central Turkey, were made by an intelligent race between 12 and 14 million years ago.

“We can assume that ancient vehicles with “wheels” were driven into the soft ground, perhaps a wet surface,” said the geologist. “Because of the great weight of these vehicles, they left behind very deep grooves which eventually petrified and turned into evidence.”

Geologists are familiar with such phenomena as they have found petrified footprints of dinosaurs that were preserved in the same way. Together with three colleagues, Dr. Koltypin, director of the Natural Science Scientific Research Centre at Moscow’s International Independent Ecological-Political University, traveled to the site in Anatolia, Turkey where these markings can be found. Upon returning from his trip, he described the observed as ‘petrified tracking ruts in rocky tuffaceous [made from compacted volcanic ash] deposits’.

The Forbidden Land Of Agartha, And The Mythical Inner Earth

The Forbidden Land Of Agartha, And The Mythical Inner Earth

According to Giannini and Palmer, Vice Admiral Byrd announced in February of 1947, just before venturing into a 2,750 km journey across the North Pole, “I’d like to see the land beyond the Pole. That area beyond the Pole is the centre of the Great Enigma.”

The Forbidden Land Of Agartha, And The Mythical Inner Earth

According to some, it is believed that during Vice Admiral Byrd’s flight over the North Pole that took place in 1947, he said via radio that beneath was not snow but huge areas of land with mountains, forests and vegetation, huge lakes and rivers with animals that resembled mammoths.

Before his death, had said there existed a land beyond the Pole that was “an enchanted continent in the sky, a permanent mystery of Earth.” That land, according to other theories, was the legendary Rainbow City, home to a fabulous lost civilization.

The possibility that the earth is hollow, that it can be accessed through the North and South poles, and that secret civilizations flourish within it, has spurred the imagination of people through centuries. Evidence of this we find in the history of countless ancient civilizations.

The Babylonian hero Gilgamesh visited his ancestor Utnapishtim in the bowels of the earth; in Greek mythology, Orpheus tries to rescue Eurydice from the underground hell; it was said that the Pharaohs of Egypt communicated with the underworld, which could be accessed via secret tunnels hidden in the pyramids; and Buddhists believed (and still believe) that millions of people live in Agharta, an underground paradise ruled by the king of the world.

So just when you think that these theories could be nothing more than excessive imaginations, you actually come across evidence in ancient history pointing towards the possibility of a world inside Earth.

The idea that the Forbidden Kingdom of “Agartha” actually exists was not only said to have been supported by Admiral Byrd but by other explorers around the world. A Map made by cartographer Heinrich C. Berann is believed to show an entrance to the Inner Earth, the Kingdom of Agartha.

In that map, the Antarctic continent can be observed without its thick layer of ice. But the most intriguing detail is the presence of underwater passages spanning across the entire continent and seem to converge at the exact location which is identified as the opening towards the Hollow Earth or Inner Earth.

Leonard Euler, a mathematical genius of the eighteenth century, concluded that the Earth was hollow, containing a central sun and was inhabited; and Dr. Edmund Halley, discoverer of Comet Halley and Royal Astronomer of England also believed that the Earth was hollow on the inside with three “Floors”.

Some also speak about Operation Highjump and Admiral Byrd’s journeys where extremely advanced airships were seen flying around and exploring new territories. Not long ago, we discovered a map of the Third Reich in which there are several secret passages depicted which were used by German U-Boats to access mysterious underground regions, as well as a complete map of both hemispheres and the mysterious kingdom of Agartha.

In a letter, supposedly written by Karl Unger, one of the crew members of a German Uboat states that they had reached the interior of the Earth and that they did not consider returning. All of these stories seem to be backed up by numerous discoveries and recently, scientists discovered a large ocean of water inside the mantle of Earth, and they point out that it is a large water “tank” that could fill the oceans on Earth three times.

This incredible discovery suggests that the surface water of the planet came from within Earth, as part of a “complete water cycle on the planet” instead of the dominant theory proposed that water arrived on Earth by icy comets that passed by the planet millions of years ago.

The Nazis were also extremely interested in the Inner Earth and the myths associated with it. It is believed that Antarctica is the entrance to the lost Aryan homeland of Thule. Even though Antarctica has been linked to the lost continent of Atlantis, the linkage to Thule is less apparent.

Thule (also known as Thula, Thyle, Thila, Tila, Tyle, or Tylen) was first mentioned by Greek explorer Pytheas after his travels between 330 BC and 320 BC. But in 150 AD, Greek writer Antonius Diogenes wrote The Wonders Beyond Thule. In the distant past, Thule was believed to have been a distant place located beyond the “borders of the known world.”

Interestingly in 2001 the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Support Office for Aero-geophysical Research discovered the existence of a magnetic anomaly believed to be on the eastside shore of Lake Vostok in Antarctica, the anomaly is believed to be consistent with a man-made construction.

Pompeii victim’s genome successfully sequenced for the first time

Pompeii victim’s genome successfully sequenced for the first time

The genome of a victim of the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius over the ancient city of Pompeii has been sequenced for the first time, scientists have revealed, shedding new light on the health and diversity of those who lived in the Roman empire at the time of the disaster.

Pompeii victim’s genome successfully sequenced for the first time
Although the experts sequenced DNA from a man and a woman, they were only able to sequence the entire genome from the man’s remains.

In a study published in Scientific Reports on Thursday, a team led by Gabriele Scorrano, an assistant professor of geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen, extracted DNA from two victims, a man and a woman, whose remains were found in the House of the Craftsman in Pompeii, a Domus that was first excavated in 1914.

Although the experts sequenced DNA from both victims, they were only able to sequence the entire genome from the man’s remains due to gaps in the sequences obtained from the woman.

Before this study, only short stretches of mitochondrial DNA from human and animal remains found in Pompeii had been sequenced.

The two individuals were found in the House of the Craftsman in Pompeii.

The man was aged between 35 and 40 when he was killed in the violent eruption of Vesuvius in AD79. Comparisons of his DNA with genetic codes obtained from 1,030 ancient humans, as well as 471 modern western Eurasian individuals, suggested his DNA shared the most similarities with modern individuals from central Italy and those who lived during the ancient Roman period.

Analysis of his mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA also identified groups of genes commonly found in Sardinia, but not among those who lived in Italy during the empire, suggesting there may have been high levels of genetic diversity across the Italian peninsula at that time.

Further analysis of the man’s skeleton also identified lesions in one of the vertebrae and DNA sequences suggested he may have had tuberculosis before his death.

The female was aged over 50 and believed to have been affected by osteoarthritis.

“This could have been the reason for which they waited for it all to finish, maybe in the security of their home, compared to other victims who were fleeing and whose remains were found in open spaces,” said Serena Viva, an anthropologist at the University in Salento who was on the study’s team.

The scientists speculated it may have been possible to successfully recover ancient DNA from the man’s remains as pyroclastic materials released during the eruption could have provided protection from environmental factors that degrade DNA, such as atmospheric oxygen.

The Pompeii ruins were discovered in the 16th century, with the first excavations beginning in 1748. About 1,500 of the estimated 2,000 victims have been found over the centuries. Excavations in 2020 of a villa in on what would have been the outskirts of the ancient city revealed the remains of two men, believed to be a master and his slave.

The scientists said the findings confirmed the possibility of retrieving ancient DNA from other victims of Pompeii to provide further insight into their genetic history.

“In the future, many more genomes from Pompeii can be studied,” said Viva. “The victims of Pompeii experienced a natural catastrophe, a thermal shock, and it was not known that you could preserve their genetic material.

This study provides this confirmation, and that new technology on genetic analysis allows us to sequence genomes also on damaged material.”

4,000-yr-old Tablet is the World’s Oldest Customer Service Complaint

4,000-yr-old Tablet is the World’s Oldest Customer Service Complaint

In a cuneiform tablet from ancient Mesopotamia, roughly 1750 BC, what is probably the oldest complaint in history was found.

Complaining is as humane as holding on to outrage, and in the ancient city of Ur, in present-day Iraq, this archaeological piece was discovered by a man named Nanni, according to IFL Science, who complains about a supplier known as Ea-Nasir. 

Nanni complains about his provider Ea-nasir.

Ea-Nasir supposedly (because we only know of Nanni’s version) delivered the wrong grade of copper after his journey across the Persian Gulf to collect the metal.

He was also responsible for misdirection and delays in another delivery. And to top it all, he was rude to the servants Nanni sent to pick up the delivery. What a character that Ea-Nasir … but isn’t he unknown to us? In fact, as we see, there is not one complaint but several.

“Who do you take me for, why do you treat someone like me with such contempt?” Nanni asks, thanks to a translation of the letter from Assyriologist Leo Oppenheim.

“I have sent gentlemen like us as couriers to collect the packaging with my money (deposited with you) but you have treated me with contempt by sending them empty-handed several times, and that through enemy territory.”

He continues: “Is there anyone among the merchants who do business with Telmun who has treated me this way? Only you treat my messenger with contempt! “.

The language of the tablet is Akkadian, the first known Semitic language. The tablet is not very big, it measures 11.6 by 5 centimetres.

“How have you treated me for that copper? You have taken my money bag from me in enemy territory; now it’s up to you to restore (my money) to me completely,” he demands.

Although as explained by IFL Science, it seems that Nanni was sold to negotiate with Ea-Nasir.

“Please note that (from now on) I will not accept any copper that is not of good quality here, I will select and take the ingots individually in my own yard, and I will exercise my right of refusal against you because you have treated me with contempt.”

4,000-yr-old Tablet is the World’s Oldest Customer Service Complaint
Nanni complains about his provider Ea-Nasir. Now in the British Museum

How did the ancient Egyptians drill through granite?

How did the ancient Egyptians drill through granite?

A question that has always intrigued archaeologists is how past civilizations made their objects and monuments. Works such as the exquisite staircases of Machu Picchu, the geoglyphs of Acre, and the pyramids of Egypt raise questions about the use of technologies and tools.

The lack of understanding usually leaves room for hypotheses about contact with aliens or the idea that these people were beyond their time; dangerous arguments when it comes to a faithful understanding of the past.

The ancient Egyptians, known for their temples, pyramids, and hieroglyphic writing, have always been a challenge for researchers.

And a skill that still intrigues many people is the ability to carve objects in granite – rock much harder than limestone or sandstone.

So, what tools did they have to hand? How long did the carving process take? Had they been helped by fantastic beings? Check out some of the possibilities below.

Egyptian artisans, the working class responsible for all the grandeur that has come to us, used instruments depicted in paintings that resisted time, showing the use of axes, saws, and bows, among others.

The most accepted theory is that these builders used wooden, bronze, and copper tools to carve the granite, mastering strict rules that allowed a good job.

Around 3500 BC, many copper tools were used, adding to the skills of the artisans, which made it possible to carry out any and all work with accuracy.

But would wooden tools be enough to carve granite? That was the main question during the nineteenth century when archaeologists came across artefacts like these.

Only later studies, not focusing on the objects themselves but on the way in which they were used, came closer to a solution.

Methods

According to current archaeology, the ancient Egyptians drilled granite with a method that consisted of introducing wooden wedges into a natural crack in the rock and soaking them with water. As the wet wood expanded, the original crack widened, and after successive repetitions of the process, the rock split into smaller pieces.

Stone artisans, ancient and modern, use this natural process based on weaker parts of the rock. Another method used was successive incisions in the stone with metal objects, which, little by little, carved lines and designs, intervening in different ways in the rock.

However, such methods do not seem to explain everything. The English engineer, Christopher Dunn, is one of the great promoters of these issues, and since 1977, he has been questioning himself about the use of technologies in Ancient Egypt.

Talking to Egyptologists and visiting sites, Dunn was not convinced by the wedge and water method alone.

According to him, “the quarry marks I saw did not convince me that the methods described were the only means by which the builders of the pyramids worked their rocks.”

The tools displayed as instruments for creating many artefacts are physically incapable of being reproduced. For the engineer, the artefacts would only have reached such a degree of precision with the use of saw blades and objects with a hardness comparable to that of a diamond.

Discussions like these are still current, and perhaps Egyptologists have yet to find tools that better explain the construction of these objects.

But what we must keep in mind is that maybe we are the limited ones, relying too much on our own technologies and applying contemporary ways of seeing the world to the past.

Space where a granite block was extracted in Aswan, Egypt
Ruins of a granite column
Replicas of tools used by Egyptian artisans

Mysteries Of Ancient Egypt: The Unfinished Obelisk Of Aswan

Mysteries Of Ancient Egypt: The Unfinished Obelisk Of Aswan

Abandoned thousands of years ago in the quarries of northern Aswan, ancient Egypt, the Unfinished Obelisk are a mass of granite 40 meters long (138 feet) and more than 1,090 tons (1,200 short tons) that makes up one of the most important mysteries of the archaeological world.

Historical origin

The creation of the obelisk was ordered by Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC), the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The history of its origin is uncertain, but it is believed that the obelisk started to be built, possibly, to complement what would later be known as the Lateran Obelisk – originally built in Karnak and later sent to the Lateran Palace in Rome.

One of the biggest factors that puzzle scholars are the fact that the unfinished obelisk is a third larger than other ancient Egyptian obelisks erected throughout history.

It is estimated that it could measure more than 40 meters (138 feet) and weigh around 1,090 tons (1,200 short tons), if completed – to better understand, imagine the weight of 200 African elephants.

It is believed that the creators of the obelisk started to excavate it directly from a rock, but during the process, they noticed cracks under the granite.

This fact would have been the main reason that led them to abandon the project, however, the lower side of the obelisk remains, even today, fixed to the rock.

Important discoveries

Although this project has not been completed, from an archaeological and historical point of view, this obelisk is important for understanding the ancient Egyptian techniques used in stonework.

During the investigations, researchers discovered marks on the workers’ tools, which even after hundreds of years, remain preserved. In addition, they found lines of ocher colours marking the location of the workers.

Another surprising discovery was made in 2005 in the Aswan quarries. At the time, the researchers found an unfinished and partially worked obelisk base.

In addition, they found sculptures made of stones that may be linked to the place of origin from which other obelisks were created.

Currently, all of these discoveries are on display in an open-air museum, managed by the Egyptian government, which is considered an archaeological and heritage site.

A sea of ​​unknowns

Obelisks created by the ancient Egyptians are a great topic of debate because they raise numerous questions that we are still unable to answer to this day.

How did they carve them into a single block? How have they transported hundreds of miles away? How did they lift the huge, heavy columns?

There are numerous theories that indicate that the obelisks were transported by boats on the Nile River, although it is difficult to explain how the granite masses moved to the boats, or how the boats supported such a weight.

Carving the monuments directly into the bedrock was a common technique, and masons used stone balls to remove any imperfections until the surface was smooth.

There are still samples of these Dolerite balls in Aswan that were harder than granite and did not crack or break after repeatedly hitting the surface of the granite.

“It would have been the largest piece of stone worked by man to date”

All In One Magazine