From the world’s oldest dress, to a priceless
statue found in a sewer, here are 10 amazing recent discoveries! 10. Bruniquel Cave Chambe
Inside of the Bruniquel Cave, in the south-west of France, scientists have discovered a chamber
with ring-shaped structures made of stalagmites, both broken and whole. A sort of a small-scale Stonehenge, but with
stalagmites instead of big rocks. At first, they carbon-dated the area to around
47,000 years ago, but they recently used a different kind of method. With uranium-thorium dating (sounds awesome,
btw!), they managed to date the area to 176,000 years ago – three and a half times the original
dating! Now, the only humans who lived there in those
days were the Neanderthals, and scientists concluded that Neanderthals must have been
the ones to make the stalagmite structures in the cave. This is a very important discovery, because
it helped scientists realize that Neanderthals were going deep down into the caves, as opposed
to earlier findings. The chamber inside Bruniquel Cave gives us
the opportunity to learn more about the lives of first humans, and broaden our view on our
Neanderthal ancestors. 9. Noah’s Ark Mosaic
During excavations undertaken in an ancient synagogue in Israel Lower Galilee, scientists
discovered a well-preserved mosaic depicting scenes from the Old Testament. Although the title, Noah’s Ark Mosaic, makes
it sound like it comes straight from the Ark itself, it actually depicts the scenes connected
to Noah’s journey and the Ark, hence – Noah’s Ark mosaic. This mosaic contains depictions of pairs of
animals, including donkeys, bears and lions, and it was found in the ancient Jewish village
of Huqoq. This mosaic was found in the form of two panels,
with one panel depicting a scene from Moses’ parting of the Red Sea, with soldiers who
are being swallowed by gigantic fish. What’s really fascinating about this archeological
discovery is that it’s pretty rare in its category. Experts in the field agree that there aren’t
many mosaics dating from that period (5th century AD) which depict these kinds of scenes. In fact, there are only two known synagogues
which contain such mosaics – one is present-day Syria (which depicts a different scene) and
the other in Israel (which is pretty fragmented and not very well preserved). All of this makes the newly found mosaic a
one-of-a-kind discovery! Who knows, maybe there will be more of them
to come. And now for number 8, but first be sure to
subscribe! New videos are posted 4 days a week! 8. A “Russian doll” Pyramid
Russia and the pyramids? How does this make any sense? Well, it will soon! The Kukulkan pyramid, located in the state
of Yucatan, in present-day Mexico, offers much more than the eye can tell. It is not only one pyramid, but – wait for
it – three pyramids! One inside of another, inside of another,
inside of another! This is why many refer to it as the “Russian
doll” among fellow pyramids, as it resembles the one-inside-of-another concept of the famous
Matryoshka dolls. While researching, scientists used a very
useful method called electrical resistivity, during which they passed electrical waves
through the pyramidal structure and measures the degree of resistivity. The results were nothing short of amazing
– it turned out that the Kukulkan pyramid (also known as El Castillo – the Castle)
had two more pyramids inside of it! The scientists found out that the two smaller
pyramids were built much earlier, which means that the whole three-level structure wasn’t
built at the same time, but over a course of several centuries. The smallest was built around 550AD, the middle
one three centuries later, and the outermost one somewhere in the 12th or 13th century. It seems that the Maya people can still pull
a surprise on us. Kudos! 7. Antikythera Man
One of the largest sea wrecks of the ancient world is probably the Antikythera shipwreck,
which happened around 65BC. It was discovered in 1900, off the coast of
the island of the same name. The find was truly a wonderful one, as there
were many different items from the ancient times, including bronze statues, a lot of
treasure, and probably the most important item of all – the Antikythera Mechanism,
widely considered as the world’s first computer! But recently, a big international team comprised
of many scientists discovered something new in the Antikythera Wreck –a skeleton of
a man! There have been other human remains located
in the area of the wreck, but this is the first find in almost half a century, and it’s
the first one in the age of DNA analysis, which is in itself amazing. Findings of this kind happen very rarely,
and scientists are dead excited (get the pun?) to have the opportunity to examine the genetics
of ancient people. The Antikythera Man will give scientists the
opportunity to go deeper into the lives of ancient population, and possibly – discover
something even more fascinating! 6. Akkadian City in Iraq
In present-day Iraq, a large group of international archeologists found the remains of a big city
that most probably belonged to the Akkadian Empire, which is one of the civilizations
that flourished in the region of Ancient Mesopotamia. This ancient city was founded more than 4,500
years ago, and it lasted for over one millennium. On the site, scientists also discovered tablets
with the cuneiform scripture, which is one of the first known writing systems in the
ancient world. This means that the newly found Akkadian city
was also a major cultural center. The site of the find is in the Kurdish region
i.e. the Kurdish Iraq, near the village of Bassetki. Scientists agree that this region holds a
lot of archeological locations that are still waiting to be excavated. This region was a cross-over area of many
cultures in the ancient times, and many cultural traditions of the time overlapped here; thus,
this city is probably just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to archeological finds. There will most likely be a lot more of them
in the years to come. 5. Burial Boat in Abydos
Burial boats were a normal custom in Ancient Egypt, as many pharaohs were buried this way. The whole idea behind a burial boat is to
have a resting place for the pharaoh before reaching the “undying lands” (to borrow
a LOTR reference). On the desert site of Abydos, archaeologists
found the location of a burial boat belonging to the pharaoh Senwosret III. If you don’t know who that is don’t worry. Here is what remains of a statue of his face. Fun fact: According to the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, the face of Senwosret III is one of the most individual and recognizable in all
of Egyptian art. Back to the boat: Not much remained of the
original boat, only some planks; however, what is almost intact is a big burial chamber
(21m long, 4m wide), with more than 120 drawings of boats. And this is just the beginning, as scientists
hope to find even more drawings similar to these. It’s pretty amazing that these drawings
were even discovered in a well-preserved state, considering that the actual tomb dates back
to 1850BC. If we add to this the fact that, according
to scientific estimates, there were also boat drawings on the ceiling of the tomb, it’s
clear that this is one of the most important findings of its kind. 4. Stilt Houses of East Anglia
Britain is often overlooked when discussing archeological findings, but the region is
fascinatingly rich in all kinds of ancient locations and archeological sites. One of those is a recently discovered dwelling
dating back to the Bronze Age. What’s even more amazing is that this is
the most-well preserved find of its kind! In Eastern England, in the area known as the
Fens or the Fenlands, archeologists found a well-preserved dwelling from 3000 years
ago (around the end of the Bronze Age). The settlement was built of houses on stilts,
and they probably got destroyed by fire, collapsing into the river. This actually preserved the whole dwelling,
because it was plunged into the river and thus kept virtually intact. The whole site is located two meters below
the ground, and it’s a real time capsule: there are a lot of every-day items, such as
jars and bowls, that give scientists a great deal of information of how it was like back
in the day. The area is so well-preserved that there are
even footprints found of the people who inhabited the place – a truly wonderful find! 3. Tarkhan Dress
It’s pretty rare to find a well-preserved piece of clothing from ancient times. The main reason for this is that cloth usually
wears out quite quickly, as it succumbs to atmospheric changes faster than wood or rock. However, the so-called “Tarkhan Dress”,
named after the Egyptian town where it was discovered back in 1923, is one of those rare
artifacts. Although it was originally discovered in 1913,
scientists couldn’t really date it with accuracy. It was obvious that the dress was from Ancient
Egypt (duh!), but it was unclear when exactly it was worn. However, more recently, by using a special
carbon-dating technique, scientists have managed to find out the exact time this piece of cloth
was used – and it dates between 3482 and 3103 BC. This means that the Tarkhan dress is the oldest
piece of clothing found ever!! It’s really fascinating that we have the
opportunity to see what people wore in those days and, judging by the look of this dress
– it would probably be all the rage today! 2. London Roman Tablets
Back to Britain. During excavations for a building site, archeologists
discovered wooden tablets from the Roman era, all of which contain amazing information about
every-day life in ancient Londinium (yup, that’s the real Roman name of the place). From these writings, we can now learn more
about all kinds of transactions, events that took place – including the names of people
who participated in the events during these times! The tablets are a fascinating find, not only
because of the information they hold, but also because of the way they’re constructed. They are a great example of a once popular
writing technique in the Roman times: etching letters onto a waxed plank, using a pointed
stylus. These kinds of wooden tablets rarely “survive”
to the modern times, but just like the stilt houses in East Anglia – a river got in the
way and saved them. Another amazing fact is that, in most cases,
the writings on the wax don’t survive – but sometimes a scribe presses down too hard,
leaving marks on the wood beneath the wax. Because of this, we can now learn more about
what it was like to live in Roman London. 1. Statue of Pharaoh Ramses II
In the groundwater of a Cairo slum, archeologists have found a 26ft statue of what is most likely
Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt around 3,000 years ago. According to most archeologists, this statue
is probably one of the most important findings ever. The mere size of it sends shivers down one’s
spine; it’s colossal in every sense of the word. The statue was discovered near the ruins of
a temple dedicated to Ramses II, in the eastern part of Cairo – the area which was once
the ancient city of Heliopolis. What’s even more fascinating is that this
isn’t just any old pharaoh; Ramses II was one of the most powerful rulers ancient Egypt
ever had, and he was also widely celebrated. He expanded the empire and reigned more than
60 years! When it comes to pharaohs, it doesn’t get
much better than this! Who knows what other wonders lay hidden beneath
Egypt’s surface; so far, the statue of Ramses II is definitely high on the list of the most
amazing! Which one of these discoveries surprised you
the most! Let us know in the comments below!! Be sure to subscribe and see you next time! Byeeeeeee
