Bone constructor and three more finds to prove that archeology is a truly creepy science!
Severed hands
During excavations of the once majestic palace in the Egyptian city of Tell el-Daba, scientists discovered four pits with human remains next to the throne room. Business as usual in archeology. But the eyes of the archaeologists sparkled when they saw that in two pits there were skeletons of men who were missing a brush on their right hand. The missing hands were found in two other pits.
Fragment of a brush found during excavations
A total of 14 brushes were found. Manfred Bietak, head of the excavation: "Most of the arms were quite large and some were very large." (Although we haven't seen Manfred's own hands - they may be very small.)
Apparently, the skeletons belonged to the slain warriors of the Hexos tribe, an ancient people who conquered Egypt about 3,600 years ago. In ancient Egypt, there was a custom according to which a warrior could cut off the right hand of a slain enemy and then receive a reward for it - the so-called "gold of valor". People knew how to live!
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Frozen children
The Incas selected the most beautiful and healthy children for a ritual called capacoca. They were driven high into the mountains, given intoxicating potions, and sleepy children froze to the delight of the Inca gods. Inca parents consoled themselves with the fact that children who died in this way became immortal. The ritual was carried out both with and without reason - just to insure against the disfavor of the gods.
In 1999, a group of archaeologists led by Johann Reinhard, poking around in the ground next to the Llullaillako volcano (a distant relative of Eyjafjallajökull), pushed aside a suspicious boulder and discovered the entrance to the crypt with the well-preserved bodies of three children.
Later, already in laboratory conditions, a study of children's hair was carried out. It turned out that their diet had changed about a year before their death, which proves the thorough preparation of the ritual massacre.
Bone constructor
In 2000, the remains of a 3,000-year-old man and woman were discovered in Scotland. University of Manchester professor Terry Brown has been carefully studying the remains for more than ten years (maybe he even took them home for the weekend!), But something didn't work out for him …
One of the bodies found during excavation
DNA expertise helped shed light on the origins of skeletons. It turned out that both skeletons were composed as a constructor from the bones of as many as six different people! Brown also found out that the creators of the constructor set bones in a peat bog before assembling. Peat has mummifying properties, so the collectors knew their business. The motives for the ritual are still unknown.
Headless vikings
Dorset archaeologists round off our short list. On a beautiful foggy English day, the scientists decided to dig near a country road. They hoped to find a couple of shards or some other valuable piece of cobblestone. Their hopes were not justified: they dug up the mass grave of 54 Viking warriors! All the warriors were beheaded, and there were much fewer heads than bodies. And the heads and torsos were buried in different holes.
The most plausible version sounds like this: this is a public execution of the strongly unbelted Varangians with elements of an eerie rite (all heads were chopped off with a sword blow to the neck from the front).
In the VIII-IX centuries, the Anglo-Saxons had to endure constant barbarian raids of the Scandinavians. Perhaps revenge or fear of the dead Vikings forced the ancient British to deal with their enemies in such a complex way.
The process of excavating the bodies of the Vikings
The earth is fraught with a lot of interesting, intriguing and eerie. In the movies, all mummies are rebellious monsters, Vikings are valiant barbarians, and the ancient Scots are brave hearts (yes, all Spartans with perfect abs). The reality is sometimes less heroic, but more confusing, and we can be sure that many more sensations await us in the future.
Ivan Gunko