ASIA, IRELAND, WORLD

The discovery of a mass baby grave under a Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon, Israel

The discovery of a mass baby grave under a Roman bathhouse in Ashkelon, Israel

In the seaport of Ashkelon, along the coast of the Israeli Mediterranean coast, archaeologist Ross Voss made a bizarre discovery, while exploring one of the sewers of the area, he found a significant amount of bones.  At first, the bones were accepted to be chicken bones. Later, it was found that the bones were that of human.

Remains of Roman bathhouse in Israel

Newborn child bones from the Roman period. With the remaining parts adding up to in excess of 100 children, it was the biggest disclosure of babies remains to date.

Why were these roman babies killed?

As curious as you are, so was the Archaeologist while he found out the bones of the newborns. Voss took the remaining parts to forensic anthropologist Professor Patrician Smith. Smith analyzed the baby remains and established that there was no indication of the chances of survival of the babies longer than a week before being killed.

She used a technique of forensic testing that enabled her to confirm that none of the newborn children was healthy when they died.

During the era of Romans, it was normal for babies to be murdered as a type of birth control. It wasn’t a crime, as babies were seen as being ‘not completely human.

As a rule, a Roman lady who did not need an infant would take part in the act of “exposure” as she would desert the newborn child, either to be found and taken care of by another person or to die.

As per the convictions at the time, it was up to the gods to decide if the newborn child would be saved or not.

According to Roman mythology, the most popular record of close child murder, in which Romulus and Remus, two newborn children of the war god, Mars, were surrendered in the forested areas yet were raised by wolves and later established the city of Rome.

The most famous account of attempted infanticide, in which babies were left exposed to the elements, is the story of Romulus and Remus

Research showed that the newborn children at Ashkelon did not seem to have been “exposed”. Rather, it shows up they were deliberately murdered. One piece of information into the purpose behind their murder lies in the area of the bodies.

Investigations uncovered that the sewer where the remaining parts were found was straight underneath a previous bathhouse. It is conceivable that the babies were born to prostitutes or workers who worked at the bathhouse. However, this remains a mystery as there is no additional information on this theory.

While Ashkelon bathhouse was not the only place the bodies of the Roman infants were found.

Hambleden(the site of a former Roman villa) mass killing

In 1912, Alfred Heneage Cocks, the guardian of the Buckinghamshire County Museum in England, made a stunning disclosure. While driving an unearthing in Hambleden, Cocks revealed the remains of 103 people.

Of those 103 people, 97 were newborn children, 3 were children, and 3 were adults. While this frightful find delivers inquiries of how and why these babies had been slaughtered, Cocks neglected to conduct any further examination with regards to the roots of the bodies.

Hambleden – site of mass baby grave, Buckinghamshire, England.

Jill Eyers, archaeologist and director of Chiltern Archeology in England, found the remaining in a historical centre file, the bones spent near a century in 35 little boxes intended to hold free cigarettes and shotgun cartridges, each container sufficiently enormous to hold the total skeleton of one baby.

“It was quite heart-rending, really, to open all these little cigarette boxes and find babies inside,” said Eyers.

Then he chose to look into the reason for the mass killing. People believed that the Hambleden site is another area where prostitutes would give birth to an unwanted child that was consequently murdered. The site was not a region of poverty, so an absence of resource couldn’t clarify the mass executing.

There were additionally no recorded diseases in the region at the time that could represent the huge volume of death. People believe that the main sensible clarification is that the site once housed a brothel.

Because of the absence of birth control at that time, there were restricted choices for the who needed to abstain from having a baby or bringing up the child. So, child murder may have been the main decision they trusted they had.

Dr Simon Mays, a skeletal biologist at English Heritage, has examined the Hambleden Roman infant bones

However, the reasons for the death may be any, but the mass graves of newborn child remains are genuinely heartbreaking. The history behind the roman era living is a big mystery. In time, it is trusted that we may discover more responses to precisely how and why these newborns were killed.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Medieval ring with a skull emblem found in Wales declared treasure

Medieval ring with a skull emblem found in Wales declared treasure

Medieval ring with a skull emblem found in Wales declared treasure
Images of six of the medieval treasures found in Wales by metal detectorists in recent years.

A ‘Memento Mori‘ gold ring engraved with a skull is one of nine stunning medieval and post-medieval objects found in Wales. The ring, found in Carreghofa Community, Powys, would have been kept as a reminder of the inevitability of death. 

‘Memento Mori’ is a Latin term that literally means ‘remember you must die. Among the other priceless objects are three gold and silver coin hoards and the first ‘Anglo-Saxon style’ double-hooked fastener to be identified in Wales. 

All the nine finds were discovered by metal detectorists in Powys and Vale of Glamorgan and have been declared treasure by National Museum Wales. 

Pictured, ‘Treasure case 19.11’ – a post-medieval Memento Mori gold finger ring found in Carreghofa Community, Powys

They were all personal items owned by wealthy members of Welsh society from the 9th to the 17th centuries AD. The gold Memento Mori ring, dubbed ‘Treasure case 19.11’ was found in Carreghofa Community by metal detectorist David Balfour. 

Its flat bezel is engraved with what National Museum Wales calls ‘death’s head’ – a skull – inlaid with traces of white enamel. The skull is surrounded by the inscription ‘+ Memento Mori’ in a small neat italic script arranged in a circle.  The inscription, the style of the engraved skull and the neat italic lettering indicates that this ring dates between 1550 and 1650, according to National Museum Wales. 

The government body said in a blog post that it hopes to acquire this artefact for the Welsh national collection. 

‘This is a rare example of a Tudor or early Stuart memento mori ring with a clear Welsh provenance,’ said Dr Mark Redknap, deputy head of collections and research at National Museum Wales.

‘Its sentiment reflects the high mortality of the period, the motif and inscription acknowledging the brevity and vanities of life. 

‘This discovery increases our knowledge of attitudes to death in early modern Wales.’

Among the other findings, all listed by National Museum Wales this week, are a medieval silver annular brooch, a Tudor silver coin hoard and a medieval silver bar-mount. 

Three medieval gold coins (Treasure 19.44) were found by Chris Perkins and Shawn Hendry while metal detecting in Llanwrtyd Community, Powys in April 2019. 

The coins are ‘nobles’ from the reigns of Edward III and Richard II (1327-1399), with a total value of 20 shillings, which was about 50 days’ wages for a skilled tradesman. 

They were probably buried for safekeeping around the end of the 14th century but were never recovered by their owner. The newly opened Y Gaer Museum, Art Gallery & Library, in the town of Brecon in mid-Wales, hopes to acquire the gold coins for its new galleries. 

Late medieval silver-gilt finger ring found in the Tregynon area, Powys, Wales.

‘Very few gold coins have been discovered within south Powys, so we would welcome the possibility of adding these to Museums new medieval displays,’ said Senior Curator Nigel Blackamore. 

A group of five silver coins (Treasure 19.22), comprising 4 groats and a Burgundian ‘double patard’, was discovered by Aled Roberts and Graham Wood in May 2019, while metal detecting in Churchstoke Community, Powys. This small hoard was buried in about 1530 during the reign of Henry VIII, whose portrait features on three of the coins.

17th century gold coins found by metal detectorists in the Trefeglwys Community, Powys, Wales.

Y Lanfa Powysland Museum and Welshpool Library hopes to acquire this coin hoard to contribute to the museum’s collection, which does not yet include examples of locally found 16th century coins. 

‘It would be wonderful to have these coins within the museum’s collection and to put them on display for the public to enjoy,’ said Centre Manager, Saffron Price. 

Meanwhile, the early medieval decorated silver double hooked fastener (Treasure case 19.23) was found by Stuart Fletcher in Churchstoke Community, Powys on an undisclosed date. 

National Museum Wales says: ‘The stylisation of the debased zoomorphic motifs show that this is Anglo-Saxon work belonging to the ninth century, and it was probably used to fasten an upper garment, as functional costume jewellery.’ 

Treasure case 19.23, an early medieval silver double-hooked fastener found in Churchstoke Community, Powys

It hopes to acquire this artefact too for the national collection. This unusual object is the first Anglo-Saxon style double-hooked fastener to be identified in Wales,’ said Dr Redknap.

‘Reflecting the status of the original owner, it provides new evidence for the exposure of Anglo-Saxon styles within the early Welsh kingdoms, and of the melting-pot of styles and influences from which Welsh identity was to emerge.

MEXICO, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Fossil of 67 million-year-old Raptor Dinosaur Found in New Mexico

Fossil of 67 million-year-old Raptor Dinosaur Found in New Mexico

Experts have discovered dinosaur fossils of what they believe is one of the last remaining species of raptors, a 67-million-year-old known as Dineobellator notohesperus.

The new species of dromaeosaurid — a species of “generally small to medium-sized feathered carnivores” —was discovered in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. D. notohesperus lived during the Cretaceous period, which ended 66 million years ago.

The study’s authors noted a “number of unique features, including vertebrae near the base of the tail that curved inwards, which could have increased Dineobellator’s agility and improved its predation success,” according to a press release.

Illustration of three Dineobellator near a water source, with the ceratopsid Ojoceratops and sauropod alamosaurus in the background.

There is also a gouge mark on the fossil’s sickle-shaped claw, that the researchers believe could have been “inflicted during an altercation with another Dineobellator or other theropod such as Tyrannosaurus rex.”

Phylogenetic analysis of the dinosaur suggests it could be part of the Velociraptorinae subfamily, which also includes velociraptors, famous for their appearance in the “Jurassic Park” movies.

Though small in stature, at approximately 7 feet in length, this carnivorous dinosaur had huge claws and a tail that was flexible at its base, allowing it to increase agility and change direction, according to the study’s lead author, Steve Jasinski.

“Think of what happens with a cat’s tail as it is running,” said Jasinski in a release from the University of Pennsylvania. “While the tail itself remains straight, it is also whipping around constantly as the animal is changing direction.

A stiff tail that is highly mobile at its base allows for increased agility and changes in direction and potentially aided Dineobellator in pursuing prey, especially in more open habitats.”

Dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago by an asteroid that hit Earth in what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. It not only wiped out the dinosaurs but also killed nearly 75 per cent of all species on the planet.

It may have also acidified Earth’s oceans after its impact, according to a study published in October 2019.

Another study published in September 2019 compared the impact of the asteroid to the power of 10 billion atomic bombs.

Researchers have uncovered several new species of dinosaurs in recent memory, including the world’s smallest dinosaur, a two-inch bird-like creature.

In early March, researchers published a study that suggested they have found traces of DNA inside a fossilized dinosaur skull.

ASIA, RUSSIA, WORLD

A New Human Ancestor Species Has Been Found… It also had a tail!

A New Human Ancestor Species Has Been Found… It also had a tail!

Just published by a multinational team of archaeologist, anthropologists and genetics, this shocking study details Homo apriliensis in detail. The building is based on fragments of fossil bones dating back about 50,000 years that were discovered in a cave in Siberia in April of last year.

The fossils consist of a pelvis, femur, coccyx, and a segment of the lower jaw. The fossils were originally thought to belong to our ancestors, Homo sapiens, but later DNA analysis revealed that they were indeed human, but of a different kind.

According to the Ancient assets, The new species was named Homo apriliensis, which is the same genus Homo as us.

In their DNA there are genetic traces of two other species, Denisovan and Homo sapiens, indicating that the three species had heterogeneous interbreeding at some point.

Human aprilensis has visible traces of a small tail.

An illustration depicting a human-like creature with a tail

However, according to Professor John Bennett, who teaches in the Department of Archeology at the University of Sheffield (UK) and Director of the British School in Athens (Greece), who is one of the main authors of the study, the extra part of the body remains as if it were an ancient remnant of normal evolution.

It is similar to the appendix or wisdom tooth in modern humans.

The modern human fetus also has a tail in the first four parts, after it absorbs it by the body and leaves a trace of the coccyx.

The human coccyx or ‘tailbone’

With Homo apriliensis, the tail fetus is not completely absorbed but retains a small portion at the birth of the body. It is the first type of genus to have a tail.

The traces of the tail were discovered a year before the remains were discovered, she said Science Times.

However, the published evidence that we and our Homo sapiens interbreed this time is shocking.

According to the authors, this is the most important discovery related to human origin in the past 100 years.

These are the early search results. They are looking at a number of other issues such as when and how the species became extinct, with more results expected to be released next year.

ASIA, RUSSIA, WORLD

Massive Megalithic Stone Ruins Discovered in Russia

Massive Megalithic Stone Ruins Discovered in Russia

An incredible discovery that was recently made in Russia threatens to shatter conventional theories about the history of the planet.  In southern Siberia, researchers have found an absolutely massive wall of granite stones. 

Some of these gigantic granite stones are estimated to weigh more than 3,000 tons, and as you will see below, many of them were cut “with flat surfaces, right angles, and sharp corners”.  Nothing of this magnitude has ever been discovered before.

The largest stone found at the megalithic ruins at Baalbek, Lebanon is less than 1,500 tons. So how in the world did someone cut 3,000-ton granite stones with extreme precision, transport them up the side of a mountain and stack them 40 meters high?

Massive Megalithic Stone Ruins Discovered in Russia
Massive Megalithic Ruins Discovered in Russia Containing the Largest Blocks of Stone Ever Found.

According to the commonly accepted version of history, it would be impossible for ancient humans with very limited technology to accomplish such a thing. Could it be possible that there is much more to the history of this planet than we are being taught?

For years, historians and archaeologists have absolutely marvelled at the incredibly huge stones found at Baalbek. But some of these stones in Russia are reportedly more than twice the size. Needless to say, a lot of people are getting very excited about this discovery.

The following comes from a recent article in the magazine, Mysterious Universe:

“Alternate history buffs are about to be whipped into a frenzy! OK, maybe not, but they will find this interesting.”

“An ancient “super-megalithic” site has been found in Gornaya Shoria (Mount Shoria) in southern Siberia.

“This spectacular archaeological site consists of massive blocks of stone, which appear to be granite, with flat surfaces, right angles, and sharp corners.”

“These huge blocks appear to be stacked up and fitted together, almost in the manner of cyclopean masonry, and well…they’re enormous!”

“Russia is no stranger to ancient megalithic sites, like Arkaim  (Russia’s Stonehenge), and the Manpupuner formation, just to name two.”

“But the site at Shoria is unique in that, if it’s man-made, the blocks used are undoubtedly the largest ever worked by human hands.”

Prior to this expedition, there were no known photographs of these megalithic stones. Archaeologist John Jensen is mystified by these ancient ruins, and the following is an excerpt from a post on his personal blog.

“There are no measurements given, but from the scale depicted by the human figures, these megaliths are much larger (as much as 2 to 3 times larger) than the largest known megaliths in the world.

(Example: The Pregnant Woman Stone of Baalbek, the largest single known stone at the archaeological site in Lebanon, weighs in at approximately 1,260 ton). Some of these megaliths could easily weigh upwards of 3,000 to 4,000 tons.”

Of course, much more research needs to be done on this site. Nobody knows who cut these stones or how old they are. Jensen believes that they come from a time well back into the mists of pre-history.

“These megaliths reach well back into the mists of pre-history, so far in fact, that conjecture about their ‘builders’, methods, purpose and meaning is pure speculation, and as such, I would hesitate to offer any observation at all, other than to say our pre-historical past is richer than we ever dreamed.”

These stones are likely to remain an unsolved mystery for a very long time. But what is abundantly clear is that according to the commonly accepted version of history they should not be there. And of course, this is far from the only site around the world that contains massive megalithic ruins.

Evidence continues to mount that very sophisticated technology was used in the ancient world. These megalithic ruins are undeniable reminders of highly advanced ancient civilizations. So who were they and what happened to them? Could it be possible that they were wiped out by a massive global cataclysm such as a global flood?

ASIA, INDIA, WORLD

9,500-year-old ‘lost city found Underwater Off India

9,500-year-old ‘lost city found Underwater Off India

The remains were discovered in the Gulf of Cambay, off the western coast of India, by marine archaeologists. They discovered massive geometrical structures using sonar scanning technology, which sends a beam of sound waves down to the ocean’s depths.

The vast region, which measured five miles long and two miles wide, was thought to predate the oldest known remains in the subcontinent by more than 5,000 years but has been the subject of contention.

Their accidental discovery was revealed during Graham Hancock’s ‘Underworld – Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age’ documentary. The pseudo archaeologist claimed: “The end of the great Ice Age shaped the world we live in today.

“A mass of water poured into the water as the ice caps melted and sea levels rose 400 feet.

“Floods swallowed up the best coastal lands on Earth and all traces of the people who lived on them vanished beneath the sea.

Relics were uncovered following a sonar scan
The discovery was made in the Gulf of Cambay

“Could this mass flooding have been the inspiration for hundreds of flood myths from all around the world?”

Mr Hancock, whose work has never been published in an academic journal, went on to detail why he believed the find in India could be linked to the Ice Age.

He said: “In India, new evidence from the bottom of the sea is showing substance to the myth. 

“This is the Gulf of Cambay in northwest India – in late 2001 scientists conducting pollution studies made an astonishing accidental discovery. 

“25 miles from shore, at a depth of 120 feet, they picked up traces of an ancient city covering a large area of the seabed.

“The discovery threatened to overturn everything that archaeologists believed about the origins of civilisation.”

 Mr Hancock went on to detail what he believed they had pulled from the ocean.

He continued: “They found a city the size of Manhattan with massive walls and plazas.

“And man-made objects from the submerged cities have yielded carbon dates up to 9,500 years old – that’s 5,000 years older than any city discovered by archaeologists anywhere.

“It means we are dealing with a civilisation lost at the end of the Ice Age, perhaps even one of those that the flood myths speak of which flourished before history began.”

Some of the relics dated back more than 9,000 years
Lost city ‘could rewrite history’

Debris recovered from the site – including construction material, pottery, sections of walls, beads, sculpture and human bones were carbon-dated – but not without controversy.

One major complaint is that artefacts at the site were recovered by dredging, instead of being recovered during a controlled archaeological excavation.  This leads some experts to claim that these artefacts cannot be definitively tied to a site, especially as the gulf is connected to many rivers.

Due to this, several prominent archaeologists rejected a piece of wood that was recovered and dated to 7500BC as having any significance in dating the site in particular. Chairman of the Paleoclimate Group and founder of Carbon-14 testing facilities in India, Dr D.P. Agrawal, explained in an article in Frontline Magazine that the piece was dated twice, at separate laboratories.

Some archaeologists take issue with the artefacts used.

The National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) returned a date of 7190 BC and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany (BSIP) returned a date of 7545-7490BC. Dr Agrawal contested that the discovery of an ancient piece of wood implies the discovery of an ancient civilisation.

He argued that the wood piece is a common find, given that 20,000 years ago the Arabian Sea was 100 metres lower than its current level, and that the gradual sea-level rise submerged entire forests. Instead, most agree that the divers simply found a large cache of archaeological remains spread across the area.

ASIA, IRAN, WORLD

Massive Ancient Wall Discovered in Iran Belongs to Unknown Ancient Civilization

Massive Ancient Wall Discovered in Iran Belongs to Unknown Ancient Civilization

Archaeologists also uncovered the remnants of a stone wall in Iran that is roughly the same length as the famous Hadrian’s Wall, which was constructed by the Romans across England.

This satellite image was taken on July 31, 2019, by the WorldView-2 satellite. The red arrows show a surviving section of the Gawri Wall.

The wall, which extends about 71 miles (115 kilometres), was found in Sar Pol-e Zahab County in western Iran.

“With an estimated volume of approximately one million cubic meters [35,314,667 cubic feet] of stone, it would have required significant resources in terms of workforce, materials and time,” wrote Sajjad Alibaigi, an assistant professor of Iranian Archaeology at Razi University in Kermanshah, Iran, in an article published online in the journal Antiquity.

The structure runs north-south from the Bamu Mountains in the north to an area near Shaw Marg village in the south, Alibaigi wrote. 

Pottery found along the wall suggests that it was built sometime between the fourth century B.C. and sixth century A.D., Alibaigi wrote. “Remnants of structures, now destroyed, are visible in places along the wall.

Massive Ancient Wall Discovered in Iran Belongs to Unknown Ancient Civilization
Location of the ancient wall in Salmaneh Mount, south-east of Bamu mount.

These may have been associated turrets [small towers] or buildings,” wrote Alibaigi, noting that the wall itself is made from “natural local materials, such as cobbles and boulders, with gypsum mortar surviving in places.”

Though the wall’s existence was unknown to archaeologists, those living near it have long known about the wall, calling it the “Gawri Wall,” Alibaigi wrote. 

The Gawri Wall in the western mountains of Sar Pol-e Zahab; arrows indicate the wall’s line.

A spokesperson for Antiquity said that since Alibaigi’s paper was published, the journal has learned that another group of archaeologists carried out earlier research on the wall; that research was never published in a journal. 

Mysterious wall

Archaeologists are not certain who built the structure, and for what purpose. Because of the poor preservation of the barrier, the scientists aren’t even sure of its exact width and height. He said their best estimates put it at 13 feet (4 meters) wide and about 10 feet (3 m) high.

“It is unclear whether it was defensive or symbolic,” wrote Alibaigi, noting that it might mark the border for an ancient empire, perhaps the Parthians (who flourished between 247 B.C. and A.D. 224) or the Sassanians (A.D. 224-651).

Both empires in western Iran built large castles, cities and irrigation systems, so it’s likely that both had the resources to build the Gawri Wall, wrote Alibaigi.

The newly discovered Gawri Wall is not the only ancient long wall in Iran. Archaeologists have previously found similar structures in the north and northeastern parts of Iran. Those may have had a defensive purpose. 

Alibaigi hopes to carry out more research on the Gawri Wall in the future, he wrote. He did not respond to requests for comment. 

ANTARCTICA, WORLD

The Face of Antarctica: Claims of Massive Face Buried Beneath the Ice

The Face of Antarctica: Claims of Massive Face Buried Beneath the Ice

The conspiracy nuts reckon they’ve found a grimacing face carved into the ice at a remote region in the southeast of the island. Notorious Instagram account ufo_scandinavia uploaded strange footage last week showing the bizarre anomaly.

It shows a man zooming in and out of a satellite snap on Google Earth. The snow in view appears to have the shape of eyes, a nose and a mouth. The mouth appears to be contorted in a terrifying grimace. The strange image sparked a frenzy online, with some claiming it’s evidence of a hidden civilisation.

Conspiracy theorists Blake and Brett Cousins – of YouTube channel thirdphaseofmoon – shared their thoughts on the Google Earth image.

“It appears to be a massive, ancient structure of some kind of face that is being revealed for the first time on Google Earth,” Blake said in his video.

“I would have to concur that whatever we’re looking at resembles some sort of megastructure.”

Brett added: “Could this be something that was left behind by the ancient civilisations of Antarctica?

“Ice melting could be revealing structures that would baffle the world.”

Around 90,000 people have watched the original Instagram footage of the Antarctic face.

One user quipped: “That is not a natural thing that mother nature made by wind and cold. Looks like a Viking. Metal helmet with the nose piece running down the upper part.”

The Face of Antarctica: Claims of Massive Face Buried Beneath the Ice
Screenshot of the alleged Face on Antarctica.

Another said: “No mind trick, that’s definitely a face.”

Others were more sensible in their approach. One explained: “This is purely natural and random. Looks like ice with cracks.”

The find is most likely the result of pareidolia, a bizarre effect that causes the brain to see shapes, structures and patterns where they do not exist.

According to Nasa: “Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon where people see recognisable shapes in clouds, rock formations, or otherwise unrelated objects or data.

“There are many examples of this phenomenon on Earth and in space.”

This is not the first time conspiracy nutters have made outrageous claims about satellite snaps.

Back in April, one prominent UFO-hunter claimed to have found an alien sculpture of a nude woman on a distant asteroid. In March, he said he’d found a carving of the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates on a mound on Mars. In other space news, Nasa’s manned mission to Mars could be delayed by 25 years as experts warn of radiation, health scares and food shortages.

Japan is ready to mine Mars’s largest moon after successfully completing all of the compulsory space contamination paperwork. Nasa managed to record the incredible sound of a ‘Marsquake’.

All In One Magazine