The ancients created many beautiful unique structures that cannot be built this year. In 2015, apheologists discovered stone circles, architectural structures, petroglyphs, geoglyphs and fortresses.
10. American archaeologists set a fire to reveal ancient structures in Montana
Scientists set up an artificial fire to identify archaeological sites.
Photo courtesy of the United States Bureau of Land Administration
American archaeologists staged a fake fire to uncover ancient structures in northern Montana, where they discovered large stone figures, circles and structures used for centuries to drive bison to slaughter. A couple of weeks later, scientists launched a drone to photograph the site and record aerial imagery.
In April 2015, the US Department of Land Management burned shrubs and grass over a large area so that scientists could see and gain easy access to ancient mysterious structures. This place was discovered in the 1960s, here the Indians drove a herd of bison to the edge of a cliff, animals fell down and died, and people took meat, organs, skin, bones and ligaments for eating, making clothes, shelter and tools.
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“Most of the tribes here were semi-nomadic, following herds of bison,” says Ancient Origins Josh Chase, archaeologist at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). - These are Chippewa, Cree, Blackfoot and Kutenay (flathead). These tribes lived here in about 770 - 1140.
Some of the stone structures probably had religious or spiritual significance to the people who built them. The stone circles may have been created by the Indians who camped there, rather than permanent residence, Chase said. He added that there are many thousands of stone circles in the northern plains.
9. An Israeli archaeologist discovered an ancient synagogue where Jesus may have preached
An altar in a synagogue discovered in the city of Magdalene in Israel.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
A Catholic priest and archaeologist in Israel has unearthed an ancient synagogue and the ruins of a house where Mary Magdalene may have lived, who was called the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. Archaeologists believe that Jesus may have preached in this synagogue, as the Gospel says that he preached in synagogues in Galilee, and no other synagogue from that period has been found.
Six years ago, Juan Solana, a Catholic priest, bought property in the ancient city of Magdalene and was required to excavate in accordance with Israeli law. By chance, he discovered the ruins of a synanogue of the 1st century.
“Historians believe that Jesus once walked these cobbled streets. This site may have been the home of one of the most important figures in the Bible, Mary Magdalene, the witness of the resurrection. I am sure this is a holy place,”said Juan Solana.
Archaeologists say the discovery of a synagogue in the city of Magdalene is one of the most important discoveries in Israel in 50 years. They also found a cup made 2,000 years ago, in which Jesus may have washed his hands before preaching or praying in the synagogue.
8. Prehistoric fortress on a wooden island discovered on the English-Welsh border
Crannock to Monmouth.
Painting by artist Peter Bere
Archaeologists on the English-Welsh border in Monmouth, UK, have discovered an ancient fortress on stilts, built on a wooden island. The structure dates back to the Ice Age and is possibly older than Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids. The structure, known as the crane, was built 4900 years ago, and the lake surrounding it served as a natural defense against enemy attacks.
“We never thought the logs were so old, this is an amazing discovery,” said archaeologist Steve Clark, speaking at a press conference at the Western Daily Press. - The fortress is surrounded by water, it was probably possible to get to it only by canoe. This is by far one of the most beautiful prehistoric finds. Its exceptional feature is that the structure stands on three massive parallel beams cut from tree trunks and set horizontally on the ground."
Clarke added that the fortress was built around the time that people in Britain first began living in communes and is only the second such structure found in England and Wales. Several such structures have been found in Scotland, most of them dating back to the Iron Age (800 BC - 100 AD). In addition, archaeologists have discovered three canoe-wide canals dating from 1700 BC. It was probably one of the oldest shipyards ever discovered.
Subsequently, Clark found a row of wood logs under layers of clay and peat in an ancient lagoon formed after the lake was drained. He sent wood samples to the Scottish Environment University Research Center for radiocarbon analysis. The results showed that the logs were about 4,900 years old. At that time, the area was flooded with water, the logs were in shallow water, which indicates that they were part of the crane leg structure.
7. Petroglyphs in Canada were created by Scandinavians 3000 years ago?
Petroglyphs of Peterborough, Canada.
Photo: Robin L. Lyke through Epoch Times
Hundreds of petroglyphs are engraved on a 55m by 30m crystalline limestone slab in Peterborough, Canada. They may have been abandoned by Algonquin Native Americans about a thousand years ago, or by Scandinavian traders several thousand years ago. The latter assumption contradicts the general understanding of history, since it is believed that Europeans arrived in America much later. But this theory has several prominent proponents.
Some scholars believe that the depictions of animals, solar symbols, geometric shapes, boats and human figures on the so-called Peterborough stone reflect the style used in the Old World.
For example, a large ship is depicted in a Scandinavian style, says Boston University professor Robert Schoch, a geology graduate from Yale University.
The ship depicted has a large steering oar aft, which was only used on vessels over 30 meters in length. The local indigenous population (Algonquin Indians) did not make such large boats.
Harvard biologist and epigraphist Barry Fell and Harvard-graduated epigraphist and archaeologist David Kelly have determined that these petroglyphs correspond to the writing style of the Proto-Tifinagh in North Africa. However, this ancient writing appears to have been used by the Scandinavians.
6. Mysterious stone circles in the Gobi Desert
Mysterious stone circles in Turpan, northwest China.
Photo: ChinaDaily.com.cn
About 200 mysterious stone circles are found in the lifeless Gobi Desert in northwestern China. These man-made stone formations are estimated by experts to be 4,500 years old.
Stone structures located near the city of Turpan have the shape of circles and squares, some of the stones, as scientists have found, were brought from afar, apparently with a specific purpose.
Enguo Liu, a local archaeologist who studies stone formations in Turfan, says such structures are found throughout Central Asia, they were used for sacrifices. Similar structures can be found in Mongolia, archaeologist Volker Heid of the University of Bristol told MailOnline.
In 2003, archaeologists excavated in the vicinity of Turpan in the hope of finding burials, but no human remains or artifacts were found.
Scientists suggest that some of the stone circles were made in the Bronze Age, while others, more complex formations, probably in the Middle Ages.
Ancient stone circles are located near the Fiery Mountains in the Turpan basin. The area is characterized by very high daytime temperatures (up to 50 ° C), it is one of the hottest places on Earth.
5. Secret 4,000-year-old tunnel discovered in an ancient fortress in Turkey
An ancient tunnel was discovered under the Gewale fortress in Turkey.
Photo: Konya Life
Archaeologists excavating the ancient fortress of Gewale in Central Anatolia, Turkey, have discovered a secret tunnel built by the Hittites about 4,000 years ago.
The Gewale Fortress is located on the top of Mount Takkel, at an altitude of 1,700 meters, 7 km west of the city of Konya in Turkey. This place was home to many civilizations: Hittites, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Karamanid and Ottoman era. Due to its special strategic position, with a 360-degree view of the surroundings, at that time the fortress was the most fortified defensive structure in the region.
Archaeological excavations at the Gewale Fortress began in 2012 under the leadership of the Turkish Ministry of Culture, the General Directorate of the Konya Museum and Erbakan University. Scientists have discovered glazed and unglazed ceramic pots, pots, and metal objects. Last year, archaeologists unearthed the ruins of a fortress and cisterns carved into the rocks.
The researchers also discovered a secret tunnel built by the Hittites about four millennia ago, which was used in the Seljuk era (11th-11th centuries), according to the Hurriyet Daily News.
4. Fort of the mysterious Picts was discovered on an island in Scotland
View of Dannikair.
Photo: Les Hamilton
In the 5th or 6th century, on the east coast of Scotland, the Picts built a fortress on the high cliff of Dannikair, protruding from the sea near the coast. The Picts had a reputation for ferocious people, for this reason the Romans were unable to capture the territory where Scotland is now located.
This fortress may have been the predecessor to Dunnottar Castle, located on a small island near Stonehaven.
Excavations led by Professor Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen have shown that the fort has been used by the Picts for a long time.
“The Picts are known as navigators, the construction of such fortresses provided them with naval power. It was a rather imposing, inaccessible fortress, completely cut off at high tide,”Professor Noble told the Daily Mail.
The Romans called these people Picts (painted) because they dyed their skin blue before fighting. Nobody knows what the Picts called themselves. They lived in northeastern Scotland during the late Iron Age and early Middle Ages. The Picts captured the Roman positions several times and in 200 pushed them back to the northern coast of Scotland, north of Clyde and Fort.
3. Another 24 ancient geoglyphs were discovered on the Nazca plateau in Peru
Ancient geoglyph in the shape of a llama on the Nazca plateau in Peru.
Photo courtesy of Yamagata University in Kyodo.
An amazing discovery was made by researchers from Yamagata University in Japan, they discovered 24 previously unknown geoglyphs on the famous Nazca plateau in Peru. It is believed that these geoglyphs are older than hummingbirds and monkeys - the most famous of all Nazca drawings.
The Japan Times reports that the geoglyphs are located about 1.5 km north of the city of Nazca, on the southern coast of Peru. Most of them are heavily eroded, making them difficult to distinguish. Geoglyphs were discovered using 3D scanning.
Nazca geoglyphs cover a huge area - 450 sq. km. This is one of the biggest mysteries of archeology. Their number, nature and size are amazing. Geoglyphs depict living creatures, stylized plants and imaginary creatures, as well as geometric shapes several kilometers long. There are thousands of such images on the plateau, the vast majority of which date back to 200 BC. - 500 AD
A striking feature of the Nazca geoglyphs is that they are only visible from the air, which raises the question of how and why they were created.
2. Was Stonehenge built in Wales, then relocated and remodeled in England?
The famous Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
Photo: Howard Ignatius / Flickr
Archaeologists found holes in rock formations in Wales from where the blue boulders of Stonehenge were taken, and determined that they were mined 500 years before they were collected in the famous stone circle in Wiltshire, England. Scientists suggest that the ancient monument was first built in Wales, and then dismantled, transported and re-erected in the Salisbury Valley.
The Guardian reports that the discovery was made by scientists during a project carried out by University College London (UCL) in collaboration with the Universities of Manchester, Bournemouth and Southampton to explore the quarries in Preseli Hills in Wales.
It has long been known that blue stones are a broad term used to refer to all "foreign" stones that are not found in the Salisbury Plain. They are spotted dolerites, an igneous rock that looks blue due to the inclusion of small grains of feldspar and other minerals. In 1923, the eminent petrographer Herbert Thomas determined that they were mined in the Preseli Hills, Wales. Now archaeologists have discovered a series of holes in the rocky outcrops that match exactly in size and shape to the blue stones of Stonehenge.
The holes, as determined by scientists, were made in 3400 BC. However, the blue stones were not brought to Stonehenge until 2900 BC. The question arises as to why they were mined several centuries before being installed in the famous stone monument in Wiltshire?
“They could have been moved by Neolithic rock drags to Stonehenge in almost 500 years, but this is unlikely in my opinion,” said Professor Mike Parker Pearson, project leader, The Guardian. "It is more likely that the stones (each weighing several tons) were first set in a circle at the site of their extraction, somewhere near the quarries, and then dismantled and moved to Wiltshire."
1. Legendary White Walls of Memphis discovered by Russian archaeologists
Memphis. Reconstruction.
Photo: messagetoeagle.com
According to Manetho, an ancient Egyptian historian and priest of the 3rd century BC, Memphis was called Inbu-Hedge, which means "white walls." Some historians claim that the city was named by the founder of Memphis, Pharaoh Menes, who built a fortress with white walls. Others speculate that the city is named after the pharaoh's palace, built of white brick. Still others believe that the white walls refer to the huge walls around the Ptah Temple, the largest and most important temple in ancient Memphis. Recently, a group of Russian archaeologists unearthed parts of the legendary White Walls.
Memphis was the capital of ancient Egypt and was located south of the Nile Delta, 24 km from Cairo. According to the stories of Manetho, the city was founded more than 5,200 years ago by Pharaoh Menes, who was said to have united the two prehistoric kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt.
The people of Memphis believed that the city was under the protection of the god Ptah, the patron saint of artisans and the creator god, who was believed to have created people with the power of his heart and speech. The Great Temple of Ptah was one of the most prominent structures in Memphis.
“Several pieces of treated white limestone have been discovered during excavations by the Russian Institute of Egyptology at Kom Tuman, south of the Giza pyramids,” Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty said in a statement. - We hope that this find will allow you to learn more about one of the most important cities of Ancient Egypt. Memphis has played a significant political, religious and economic role in the country's history. One of its names was Inbu-Hedge or White Walls."
Galina Belova said that along with parts of the white wall, they found well-preserved remains of furnaces and bronze, and that excavations will continue.