Archaeologists are a strange people. They are ready for months to leave for the godforsaken corners of our planet to dig deep into the earth, gazing at any rusty nuts and shards of bottles, which, in their opinion, even remotely resemble artifacts of ancient times.
I must say that among the rubbish of our time, scientists sometimes find really interesting objects, but more often such finds give rise to more questions than answers. To understand the ineradicable passion of archaeologists for the never-ending race for the past of mankind, you need to go to the excavations yourself and work for long hours with a shovel in the hope of making an archaeological sensation … Or read this selection - in it you will find ten secrets of modern archeology that are still waiting for their Schliemann and Champollions.
1. "Paracas Candelabrum"
Many of you have probably heard about the Nazca geoglyphs - huge rock paintings located in the southern part of Peru, but few people know that in the same Nazca desert, about 200 km from the geoglyphs, there is another mysterious object, over whose purpose they have been broken for many years heads of archaeologists.
The Paracas Candelabrum (or Andean Candelabrum) has enormous dimensions: 128 m long and 74 m wide, and the thickness of the lines reaches 4 m. Despite the fact that it is located near the Nazca lines, experts are convinced that the creators of geoglyphs do not have nothing to do with him. Artifacts found during excavations in the "Candelabra" area suggest that the image was created around 200 BC, according to some sources, the Nazca geoglyphs appeared 600-800 years later. The similarity of the depiction technique hints that the Nazca culture is the successor to the Paracas culture, to which the "Candelabrum" belongs.
Scientists more or less understand when the "Andean candelabrum" appeared and who created it, but the goals of the ancient artists are still unclear. Some archaeologists are convinced that the object is a shrine to the creator god Viracocha, who was worshiped by the local tribes, others believe that the image served as a reference point for ancient sailors - a huge "candelabrum" was carved into the hillside, thanks to which it is perfectly visible from the ocean, from distances of about 20 km.
Promotional video:
2. "Uffington White Horse"
Stonehenge is not the only archaeological site of good old England, although when it comes to the antiquities of Foggy Albion, they always remember it first of all.
Above a giant stylized figure of a horse, located near the town of Uffington, in the territory of modern Oxfordshire, the ancient sculptors had to work hard - the lines of the drawing represent deep trenches filled with crushed chalk, while the length of the image reaches 115 m. Imagine the efforts of the creators of Horse”It was worth decorating the hill with such an installation, because they did not have excavators, bulldozers and other technical devices that modern builders can boast of.
The drawing is similar to the images of horses found on coins of the Bronze Age; next to it, archaeologists have discovered burials that supposedly appeared in the Neolithic era. Scientists still cannot come to a consensus about the time of the creation of the "White Horse" - many of them argue that the geoglyph is too well preserved for the object of the Bronze Age, but others indicate that the locals have been carefully monitoring the state of the "Horse" for a long time. and every few years the drawing is “updated” - this explains its almost original appearance.
3. "The Book of the Zagreb Mummy"
The Zagreb Linen Book is known as the longest text in the Etruscan language from the written monuments of this great culture that have survived to our time. The Etruscan dialect had a noticeable influence on the formation of Latin, but unfortunately, languages related to the Etruscan do not currently exist, in addition, so few documents of that era have come down to us that it is not possible to completely decipher the text of the "Book" - scientists have managed to translate only some its fragments.
From the currently known content of the "Book of the Zagreb Mummy" (another name for the artifact), we can conclude that the document is a ritual calendar describing the subtleties of the Etruscan religious traditions.
The book is dated to the 3rd century BC, so the very fact of its existence is unique - manuscripts made of cloth, the ruthless Time, as a rule, destroys much earlier. One of the reasons why the monument of Etruscan culture is now available for study is that the material from the book was used to wrap one of the Egyptian mummies. The "Zagreb Linen Book" was discovered on a mummy in a tomb near Alexandria in the middle of the 19th century, but scientists for a long time did not pay attention to it, believing that the mysterious writing on the fabric was made by the hand of an Egyptian.
4. "Rock of the White Shaman"
Archaeologists and historians have been studying the artifacts of the peoples of North and South America for many decades, but the culture of the pre-Columbian period of American history still remains a mystery to specialists.
"Rock of the White Shaman", located near the Pecos River in the territory of modern Texas, is ranked among the most famous and at the same time - the most mysterious monuments of that era. According to scientists, a huge (about 7 m long) drawing appeared more than 4 thousand years ago and belongs to an ancient culture, about which practically nothing is known now. Some archaeologists are sure that the art object depicts a scene of a battle or some kind of combat ritual; there is also an opinion that the artist showed the moment of communication of the ancients with spirits through mescaline, a psychotropic substance contained in the peyote cactus.
5. Geoglyphs of Mount Sayama
The rock carvings located in Bolivia, on one of the slopes of Mount Sayama, by the technique of creation resemble the Nazca geoglyphs and the "Andean candelabrum" - they are also carved in solid rock, while the Bolivian drawings are much larger than the Peruvian ones - the images occupy an area of about 7.5 thousand m² (15 times more than the Nazca geoglyphs), the length of some of the lines that make up Sayama objects is about 18 km.
With such an outstanding size, the geoglyphs of Mount Sayama are still practically not studied - the true scale of the work done by ancient artists became known relatively recently, when archaeologists had the opportunity to use satellite images of the area in their research.
The amazing accuracy and precision of the drawing lines baffle specialists - they seem to be drawn along a ruler. The purpose of the image also remains unclear, according to some assumptions, the ancient inhabitants of Bolivia made astronomical calculations with their help, in addition, the drawing may be a form of ritual burial.
6. Artifacts of Terteria
Three stone tablets found by scientists in the vicinity of the Romanian village of Terteria contain symbols that are currently the oldest written speech on the planet.
Scientists initially suggested that the Terteria tablets date back to the third millennium BC, but more careful radiocarbon analysis revealed that the artifacts are much older. Now, most archaeologists agree that the tablets were created about 7.5 thousand years ago, long before the Sumerian writing, which was previously considered the oldest in the world.
Most likely, the finds of Romanian archaeologists belong to the pre-Indo-European Vinca culture, which was widespread on the territory of modern Southeast Europe in the Neolithic era, since the symbols on the tablets are very similar to the pictograms depicted on the remains of the ancient found in 1875 near the Serbian city of Vinca. ceramics.
7. Blythe figures
This archaeological site, located in southern California in the Colorado Desert, near the city of Blythe, features giant geometric shapes, as well as images of animals and people. The length of the largest drawing is about 50 m, while, until 1932, experts had no idea about the size of the "installation", its size was determined only with the help of aerial photography.
Archaeologists cannot agree on the age of the geoglyphs - numbers from 450 to 2 thousand years are named, it is also unclear what exactly is depicted in the figures. According to one of the most common versions, the huge figures were created by the ancestors of the Mojave and Kvechan Indian tribes, who currently live in the lower reaches of the Colorado River.
According to the legends of the indigenous inhabitants of this region, in the form of human figures, the artists depicted various hypostases of the god Mastambo, the Creator of All That Is, and the animals they painted are nothing more than the beast-man Hatakulya, who was directly involved in the creation of the world.
8. Death of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great is one of the most famous historical characters. Thousands of scientific and fiction books, hundreds of films are devoted to the life of the great commander, but at present practically nothing is known about the reasons for his death.
Most historians agree with the point of view accepted in orthodox scientific circles about the time and place of Alexander's death - June 10, 323 BC, the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, but what killed the most ambitious conqueror in history is a convincing answer to this question still no.
For a long time it was believed that Alexander was poisoned, and almost all members of his entourage visited the suspects - from military leaders to the beloved of an outstanding historical figure. The version of the poisoning is based on the testimonies of contemporaries, who claim that the invincible Alexander was suddenly struck by an unknown ailment, he spent about two weeks suffering from severe abdominal pains, and then died suddenly.
This information cannot be considered irrefutable evidence of the commander's poisoning, since such symptoms may indicate pancreatitis, viral hepatitis, endocarditis, or any infectious disease, such as typhoid fever or malaria. At the then level of development of medicine, any of the listed diseases could become fatal for Alexander.
Surprisingly, the death of Alexander was predicted by the Chaldeans who lived in Babylon - they warned the commander that he would die shortly after entering Babylon, in addition, Kalanus, one of the scientists who accompanied the army of the conqueror, dying, told Alexander that when he the army will capture Babylon, they will meet again. So don't trust the predictors after that.
9. Jam minaret
The Jama minaret, located in the northwestern part of Afghanistan, was erected at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, but its perfect construction, stunning decor and the skill of medieval Afghan builders are still amazed by everyone who has seen this architectural masterpiece made of baked bricks. …
The height of the minaret is about 60 m, according to one of the inscriptions on its walls, the structure was built in 1194, in honor of the victory of Sultan Giyaz-ad-Din over the army of the ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty, however, many experts question this information. According to one version, the minaret is all that remains of the city of Firuzkuh (which means "Turquoise Mountain"), which at the time of the heyday of the Gurdy dynasty was the capital of the empire that covered the territories of modern Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.
At the beginning of the 13th century, the armed forces of the Mongol Empire under the command of the notorious Genghis Khan razed the city off the face of the earth, but they somehow overlooked the tall minaret. Thanks to this inattention of the Mongols, as well as the fact that after the invasion of Genghis Khan, no one remembered the construction for almost 700 years, the architectural monument has been perfectly preserved, but at present it is not possible to conduct a comprehensive study of the building due to the unstable socio-political situation in Afghanistan.
10. "Emerald Tablet"
Unlike other archaeological phenomena of the collection, the "Emerald Tablet" has not survived to our time, so scientists do not know who the original author of this document was, what it was intended for, and what fate befell the monument of medieval oriental art.
The only thing that is known for certain about the Emerald Tablet is that it was first mentioned in an Arabic book dated to the 6th or 8th century AD. In some early copies of the "Tablet" made by Arabic translators, there is information that the original was written in the ancient Syrian language, but experts have no evidence of this yet. The earliest of the Latin translations of the tablet dates back to the 12th century, later several more versions of the text were created, the authorship of one of them belongs to the famous scientist, Sir Isaac Newton.
According to some scholars, the "Emerald Tablet" describes the technology of converting various metals into gold using a mythical substance known as the Philosopher's Stone, but so far no one has been able to conduct this alchemical experiment - probably, the Latin and Arabic translations of the original "instructions" are not too accurate.