And today there are secrets that historians have not been able to unravel. Some of these mysteries have come close to legends, and yet scientists still hope to find answers. In this review, a story about secrets that still excite the minds of scientists and intrigue ordinary people today.
1. Lost city of the Kalahari. Botswana, South Africa, Namibia
In November 1885, Guillermo Farini (aka William Leonard Hunt) wrote a report on a strange and mysterious city he stumbled upon in the Kalahari Desert. He presented this data to the Berlin Geographical Society, and in 1886 to the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain. Farini even published a book that same year detailing the discovery. In the book, he described the mysterious rock formations, which he was convinced were the ruins of an ancient city.
The traveler claimed that the city was built in the shape of an arc, with some parts of it hidden under the sand, while others could be clearly seen. Since Farini could not find any inscriptions on the ruins, he assumed that the city was several thousand years old. Over the years, this information about the ancient city right in the center of the Kalahari, which is now completely covered with desert sands, has been surrounded by many rumors.
Interestingly, even the local tribes of the Goggentots claimed that there used to be an ancient city that was not built by them. The historian Gustav Prelude also claimed that the Goggentots were ready to lead him to the ruins in the north of the region and to a place even further away, where precious stones were once discovered. There have been many expeditions to find the ruins of the city and try to prove that Farini's story is true. However, all searches have led nowhere, and the mystery has now turned into a myth.
Promotional video:
Professor A. J. Clement tried to investigate Farini's theory and concluded that the traveler never reached the Kalahari Desert, but instead took a different path, where he discovered natural rock formations consisting of dolerite, which, when eroded, may look artificial. In 2016, another expedition to the Kalahari took place, and scientists were finally able to find walls and rocks that matched Farini's original description. However, it is still unclear whether these structures are artificial.
2. The spiral staircase of the Loretto chapel. USA, New Mexico
In the late 1870s, the architect of the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, America, died unexpectedly during construction when much of the church was completed. And only then the builders suddenly realized that not a single staircase leading to the choir was planned in the building. It was impossible to install a standard staircase, given the small size of the chapel, and the carpenters did not understand how to get out of the situation. Then the nuns in the church began to pray to Saint Joseph and did this for nine days in a row.
On the tenth day, a strange looking man appeared at the door of the chapel. He told the nuns that he could build a staircase for them that would fit into the chapel, but they would have to provide him with complete privacy for the time it took to complete the task. Therefore, the man worked alone in the chapel for three months, using only the simplest tools that he brought with him: a saw, a square, warm water and wood.
When the staircase was finished, the man disappeared without even telling anyone his name. The spiral staircase was 6.7 meters high and made two turns, going up to the choir. Most incredibly, it didn't have a single nail or even a central supporting column, so it simply didn't have to support the weight of the people climbing it.
Ten years after this strange incident, a railing was added to the stairs. In the following years, the chapel caretaker decided to check the wood from which the stairs were made, and it turned out that it is an unknown type of spruce, not found in the area. The nuns at that time attributed the construction of the staircase to Saint Joseph himself and insisted that it be declared a miracle. Who the man was and how he was able to build a ladder that simply “shouldn't work” using only basic tools remains a mystery.
3. Grave in Pomorie Bulgaria
Near the town of Pomorie in Bulgaria, among vineyards and orchards, one can find a man-made secret. Called the Thracian Tomb in Pomorie or the Dome Tomb, this structure is a semi-cylindrical vault with a hollow column in the middle, which gradually expands towards the top and eventually passes into the outer walls. It is estimated that the tomb was built between the second and fourth centuries AD. There are also indications that there used to be a spiral staircase inside the column.
Experts were unable to establish the real name of the structure and how it was built with such precision thousands of years ago. When the exploration of the tomb began at the end of the 19th century, Czech archaeological brothers Karel and Hermann Skorpil made several drawings and notes about the structure. They assumed that it was a tomb, like most historians. However, some researchers believe that this is actually a mausoleum, built as a monument to the hero of those times. Research continues to establish the real purpose of the ancient structure and who built it.
4. Motorcycle Traub. USA, Illinois
While remodeling an apartment building in Chicago in 1968, a plumber was stunned when, breaking one of the brick walls, he found an old motorcycle with "Traub" written on it under a pile of rubble. He immediately went in search of the first owners of the building, who claimed that their son had stolen a motorcycle from its original owner, and then went to the First World War. They also said that it was their son who hid the motorcycle in the wall, but was then killed during the war, and therefore the motorcycle remained hidden until the plumber discovered it.
As a result, the motorcycle was sold, changed several owners and eventually "settled" in the Wheels Through Time Museum. Museum founder Dale Walksler still uses the bike to this day and is amazed that it still works great. Experts say the Traub's sophisticated technique surpasses all the classic bikes since it, and its parts have never been used on any other motorcycle. The Traub engine is one of a kind, as is its braking system.
However, the biggest secret is who the creator of Traub is. While most historians believe it was Gottlieb Richard Traub, there is no conclusive evidence to support this claim. There is only a letter that Traub wrote to Motorcycle Illustrated magazine in 1907, in which he claimed to have built a 4 hp motorcycle. He also owned a motorcycle shop for bicycles and used to live in Chicago, near the apartment building where the Traub motorcycle was discovered in 1968.
5. Mummies of San Bernardo. Colombia
Surrounded by the Andes mountains, the city of San Bernardo in Colombia has become famous for its strange mystery that scientists cannot explain. In 1957, the local cemetery was washed away by a stream of water, after which workers moved the remains to a new location. Looking through the remains, they were amazed that many of them had no signs of decay and decomposition, although they had already been in the ground for a very long time.
One of the undertakers, Eduardo Chifuntes, reported this to the authorities, and subsequent examination of the corpses showed that not only were they mummified in some natural, inexplicable way, but that their clothes were also perfectly preserved. Of the other corpses in the cemetery, only bones remained, but several of these mummies remained intact, despite the fact that there was no evidence that they were embalmed.
Theories about the cause of this phenomenon range from the local diet, which includes the unique fruits of guatila and balu, to the climate and high altitude of the area. However, this does not explain why the clothes of the corpses are also in good condition and why San Bernardo is the only city in the area where mummies have been found. Some of these bodies are now on display inside glass cases at the museum. Although the museum does not have any measures for the preservation of corpses, the mummies of San Bernardo still do not rot or decompose.
6. The Lost Tombs of the Maccabees. Israel
Almost 150 years ago, the search for the lost tombs of the Maccabees began. Scientists, experts, travelers, etc., took part in the search, but they all ended in nothing, and they are looking for graves to this day. In 2015, archaeologists thought they had found tombs at Gorbat-Ha-Gardi near Modi'in, but this was not the case. The family that sparked such interest among experts around the world consisted of a Jewish priest named Mattathias and his five sons who rebelled against the pagan rule of the Hellenistic Seleucid empire.
When the priest died, his son Judas took the lead in the struggle and ultimately successfully freed Judah from the Seleucids by restoring the Temple of Jerusalem to the Jews. During the restoration or re-consecration of the temple, the Hanukkah holiday appeared. After the temple was rebuilt, the five sons of Mattathias continued to fight to expand the liberated territory, but each of them died one after the other after conquering the throne. It is their lost tombs that are still the subject of searches for archaeologists.
7. Rifle Winchester 1882. USA, Nevada
In late 2014, employees of Great Basin National Park in the US state of Nevada were making a routine detour and stumbled upon a strange find. A rifle hung on a tree, which even outwardly seemed far from new. But the employees were amazed to learn later that the weapon was over 130 years old. The rifle was found to be an 1873 model and manufactured in 1882. From 1873 to 1919, more than 700,000 of these rifles were manufactured.
All this information, unfortunately, could not explain who could have owned this weapon or why and how it ended up in the park. There is a theory that the rifle may have belonged to a cowboy or gold digger who hung it on a tree and forgot. But that means the rifle has been hanging from a tree in the park for over 130 years, and most people find this theory implausible. According to experts, it is more likely that someone inherited the rifle and decided to leave it in the park for unknown reasons.
8. Manuscript of Sibiu. Romania
In 1961, someone discovered a document called the Sibiu Manuscript. The document contains 450 pages and dates back to the 1500s. The experts were particularly struck by the fact that the document describes the technical characteristics of artillery, ballistics and … multi-stage missiles. The manuscript also details the successful launch of a multistage rocket in front of thousands of witnesses in the city of Sibiu in 1555. The author of the manuscript, Konrad Haas, provided blueprints for the rocket he designed and built.
The Sibiu Manuscript is believed to be the first document to detail rocket science. Haas also spoke in detail about modern spacecraft, rocket propellants, liquid propellants and delta wings. As it turns out, someone had studied rocket science 400 years before the technology was used in the 20th century. Who it was remains a mystery.
9. Tomb of Genghis Khan. central Asia
As soon as Genghis Khan breathed his last in 1227 at the age of 65, several legends about his death were born. Some have suggested that he died after falling from a horse or during a battle with the Chinese. Others believed that he did not survive pneumonia or lost too much blood after castration (there is such a legend). Not only is the cause of Khan's death a mystery, his final resting place has not yet been found. According to the will of Genghis Khan, he was to be buried in a secret place, and those who buried him were killed so that they would not reveal the secret to anyone.
Legends make this mystery even more mysterious. Some argue that the river bed was specially changed so that it would pass over the grave of the great commander so that no one could find it. Another story says that 1000 horses were driven over the grave to cover all traces, after which trees were planted over it. The search for the tomb of Genghis Khan continues, despite technical difficulties such as poorly explored terrain and vast desert terrain.
10. Red Queen. Mexico
In 1994, archaeologist Arnoldo Gonzalez Cruz and his team discovered a burial chamber in Temple XIII in the ruins of Palenque (Southern Mexico). Inside the cell, they found a sarcophagus and an intact tomb. On one side of the sarcophagus lay the skeleton of a boy, and on the other the skeleton of a thirty-year-old woman. They are believed to have been sacrificed to accompany a woman to the afterlife, whose remains were found inside the sarcophagus. The skeleton inside the sarcophagus was covered in red dust, which is why it was called the "Red Queen". Cruise and his team also found a collection of jade and pearl items.
Around the skull lay a diadem of jade beads, as well as the remains of what may have been a burial mask. Unfortunately, nothing indicated the identity of the woman. Examination of the remains showed that the woman was about 60 years old when she died and that she loved to eat meat. She is believed to be an important person, as her burial chamber was located next to the grave of Pakal the Great. The remains were returned to Palenque, but attempts to identify the Red Queen continue.