Deserts occupy about a third of the Earth's surface. These natural areas continue to reveal the secrets of our past and the unexplained phenomena of the present. At the same time, the deserts do not cease to expand, filling the history of the world with the sands of time. Well, archaeologists will never be left without finds that can change our understanding of the past of the planet.
15. Tarim mummies
In 1899, Swedish explorer Sven Gedin stumbled upon the ruins of the 4,000-year-old city of Loulan in the Taklamakan Desert. In 1980, a mummy was found in the vicinity of the ancient settlement, which was nicknamed "Loulan Beauty". She belongs to a young Caucasian woman (tall 180 cm and strands of light brown hair). Approximate age 3800 years. The burial place of a 50-year-old "Cherchen man" was found next to the Loulan beauty. These findings testify to the wide distribution of Caucasians in Inner Asia 2000-3000 years ago.
14. The Shell Mystery in the New Mexico Desert
In the 1990s, an oil spill occurred on one of Shell's pipelines, but the company quickly sold it. To avoid litigation, executives decided to bury 190 boxes of documentation at a depth of 12 meters in the New Mexico desert. But the secret always becomes apparent. Information about the buried compromising material was leaked to the authorities by a former employee of the oil giant.
Promotional video:
13. Mysterious circles in the Namib desert
An unusual phenomenon can be found in the Namib Desert - hundreds of miraculous circles with a diameter of 2 to 10 meters on rocky soil. The local population is sure that a dragon lives under the ground, and its breath burns out these circles. Scientists believe the phenomenon is caused by termites, radioactive soil, or toxins released by a particular plant.
12. Purple balls
In 2013, while walking, the couple discovered thousands of purple balls in the Arizona desert. They were sticky, watery and translucent. A plot was even filmed about mysterious spheres. Botanists speculate that it could be slime mushrooms or jelly-like molds.
11. Brush of a giant alien
In 2016, a group of self-proclaimed paranormal researchers claimed to have discovered a three-fingered brush while excavating the Cuzco caves in Peru. In addition, the team found an elongated skull with fragments of skin. The X-ray showed that there was something in the hand that looked like metal implants. Scientists are still at a loss to answer who the three-fingered brush could belong to.
10. The haunted lights of Martha
For years, wandering lights have been appearing at night in the Chihuahua Desert, near Martha, Texas. The Indians consider them shooting stars, and the ufologists - the ghosts of the Spanish conquistadors. Experts believe that this is how methane and phosphine come out, which, for one reason or another, ignite.
9. Lake out of nowhere
Several years ago in Tunisia, 25 kilometers from the city of Gafsa, a lake was formed in the middle of the desert. Scientists have never been able to explain how the mysterious body of water appeared. Perhaps, seismic activity is to blame.
8. Copper Scroll of the Dead Sea
The "Copper Scroll" is a list of places where various objects of gold and silver are supposedly hidden. The manuscript was created by the Essenes in AD 50-100 and was found in Cave 3 of Qumran on March 20, 1953. After deciphering the text, the search for treasures began, but nothing was found.
7. Shinguetti Libraries
Chinguetti, Mauritania was once a medieval metropolis with a population of 20,000 and even a gathering place for pilgrims on their way to Mecca. During its heyday, this city in western Sahara had 30 libraries with the works of mathematicians, astronomers and doctors. Over time, only five of them remained, but to date, 6,000 valuable manuscripts have survived. Unfortunately, after 30 years, these manuscripts will be gone due to climate change.
6. Whimsical patterns in the Gobi Desert
In 2011, Google Earth users saw bizarre patterns in the Gobi Desert in China. These objects on the border with the Xinjiang region and the Gansu province seemed to some to be the creation of aliens, while others generally suggested that China was preparing an air strike against the United States and for this was conducting exercises in the desert. In fact, these drawings once served as markers for satellites so that spacecraft could navigate and calibrate their lenses against them.
5. Burial boat
In January 2016, archaeologists from the Czech Republic unearthed in Abusir, Egypt, an 18-meter ship approximately 4.5 thousand years old. The Egyptian custom of burying boats near tombs dates back to the Early Kingdom. Until the recent discovery, not a single boat of this size was found next to the deceased not from the royal family. The appearance of the vessel speaks of the very high social status of the owner, but he was still from ordinary people.
4. Whale cemetery in the Chilean desert
In 2010, scientists found 75 whale skeletons in the Atacama Desert. Among the species were fin whales, minke whales, blue whales and even the long-extinct walrus dolphin. It was possible to establish the cause of death of mammals - poisonous substances released during the flowering of water.
3. Geoglyphs in Jordan
These patterns in the Black Desert in Jordan were first discovered by British Air Force Lieutenant Percy Maitland in 1927. He published a report on what he saw in Antiquity magazine. Archaeologists have concluded that the two giant "wheels" from Wadi Al Qattafi and the Visad ponds are at least 8,500 years old and 6,000 years older than the famous Nazca lines in Peru. However, the purpose of the drawings remains unclear.
2. Atacama humanoid
The Atacama humanoid is a small 15 cm human mummy found in 2003 in the abandoned village of La Noria in the Atacama Desert. This mummy has only nine pairs of ribs, in contrast to the twelve usual for humans, and a highly elongated skull. DNA analysis showed that the find is a rare human male mutation. The boy suffered from the worst kind of dwarfism and lived for about seven years.
1. Kangaroo with horns
In 2002, skeletons of animals resembling kangaroos were found in the Australian Nullarbor Desert. The species was distinguished by unusual outgrowths above the eye sockets, resembling horns. Apparently, these were special superciliary arches that protect the eyes from injury.