Archaeologists are stumped after finding a 100-year-old Swiss watch in an ancient tomb that was sealed more than 400 years ago. They believed they were the first to visit the Ming dynasty grave in Shangsi, southern China, since its occupant’s funeral.
But inside they uncovered a miniature watch in the shape of a ring marked ‘Swiss’ that is thought to be just a century old. The mysterious timepiece was encrusted in mud and rock and had stopped at 10:06 am.
Watches were not around at the time of the Ming Dynasty and Switzerland did not even exist as a country, an expert pointed out.
One of archaeology’s most compelling mysteries is that of the 13 crystal skulls. The crystal skulls have been some of the most powerful mystical symbols in human history. Several “perfect” crystal skulls have been found in parts of Mexico and Central and South America. Together, they form a mystery as enigmatic as the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge.
Ancient skeletons discovered in Georgia threaten to overturn the theory of human evolution
For generations, scientists have believed Africa was the cradle of mankind.
Now a stunning archaeological discovery suggests our primitive ancestors left Africa to explore the world around 800,000 years earlier than was previously thought before returning to their home continent.
It was there – hundreds of thousands of years later – that they evolved into modern humans and embarked on a second mass migration, researchers say.
Archaeologists have unearthed six ancient skeletons dating back 1.8 million years in the hills of Georgia which threaten to overturn the theory of human evolution.
Early humans had feet like ours and left lasting impressions in the form of 1.5 million-year-old footprints, some of which were made by feet that could wear a size 9 men’s shoe.
The findings at a Northern Kenya site represent the oldest evidence of modern-human foot anatomy. They also help tell an ancestral story of humans who had fully transitioned from tree-dwellers to land walkers.
“In a sense, it’s like putting flesh on the bones,” said John Harris, an anthropologist with the Koobi Fora Field School of Rutgers University. “The prints are so well preserved .”
The Baghdad Battery is the common name for a number of artifacts apparently discovered in the village of Khuyut Rabbou’a (near Baghdad, Iraq) in 1936. These artifacts came to wider attention in 1938, when Wilhelm König, the German director of the National Museum of Iraq, found the objects in the museum’s collections, and (in 1940, having returned to Berlin due to illness) published a paper speculating that they may have been galvanic cells, perhaps used for electroplating gold onto silver objects.
The Antikythera device was found by chance in the remains of an ancient ship, discovered sometime before Easter 1900 at a depth of 42 m. Many statues and other artifacts were retrieved on site by Greek sponge divers. The mechanism itself was discovered on May 17, 1902, when archaeologist Valerios Stais noticed that a piece of rock recovered from the site had a gear wheel embedded in it.
Upon examination, it was found that the “rock” was in fact a heavily encrusted and corroded mechanism which had survived in three main parts and dozens of smaller fragments. The device itself was surprisingly thin; about 33cm (13in) high, 17cm (6.75in) wide and 9cm (3.5in) thick, made of bronze and originally mounted in a wooden frame. It was inscribed with a text of over 2,000 characters, of which about 95% have been deciphered. The full text of the inscription has not yet been published. The device is displayed in the Bronze Collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, accompanied by a reconstruction. Another reconstruction is on display at the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, Montana Continue Reading….
The Phaistos Disc (Phaistos Disk, Phaestos Disc) is a curious archaeological find, likely dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age. Its purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical place of manufacture, remain disputed, making it one of the most famous mysteries of archaeology. This unique object is now on display at the archaeological museum of Herakleion in Crete, Greece.
Discovery
The Phaistos Disc was discovered in the basement of room 8 in building 101 of the Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, near Hagia Triada, on the south coast of Crete. Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier recovered this remarkably intact “dish”, about 15 cm in diameter and uniformly just over 1 cm thick, on July 3, 1908. Continue Reading…..
By PD Online Staff Member Li Heng
The widespread news of mysterious iron pipes at the foot of Mount Baigong, located in the depths of the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province of northwest China, has roused concern from related departments.
Some experts believe that these might be relics left behind by extraterrestrial beings (ET), for the site, with its high altitude and thin, crisp air, has long been held as an ideal place to practice astronomy.
Archaeologists are stumped after finding a 100-year-old Swiss watch in an ancient tomb that was sealed more than 400 years ago. They believed they were the first to visit the Ming dynasty grave in Shangsi, southern China, since its occupant’s funeral.
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