The rarest archaeological finds - photos and facts

Recently, a selection of photos has been published on our websitefor lovers of archeology. For example, it tells about the headdress of a 25-year-old shaman. About 8 thousand years ago, she lived on the territory of the present city of Bad Dürrenberg (Germany) and was considered the one who was able to communicate with spirits and other otherworldly entities. Also in the article you will find a photo of an ancient Viking ring, the very first wheelchair in the world and much more - here is the link. Archeology is fraught with many mysteries, so we have compiled another selection with photos and facts. For example, we will talk about a black sarcophagus that archaeologists did not want to open because they were afraid to see a monster inside. What do you think was in this terrible-looking coffin?

Bronze hand found in England

Content

• 1 Black sarcophagus in Alexandria
• 2 Man with a knife instead of a hand
• 3 Rare bronze hand in England
• 4 Million-year-old hammer
• 5 Bird from Saqqara in Egypt

Black sarcophagus in Alexandria

In July 2018, on the territory of the EgyptianAlexandria, a black coffin was found. It was located at a depth of 5 meters, was made of black granite, and its age was estimated at 2000 years. The most interesting thing is that it was gigantic in size - you might think that a huge monster lies inside. In addition, the black color of the sarcophagus was alarming - what if the curses of the pharaohs exist?

Black sarcophagus found in Alexandria

After the autopsy, it turned out that the sarcophagus containedbodies of three officers of the Egyptian army. It was a couple of men 35-40 years old and a woman about 25 years old. According to Mustafa al-Waziri, head of the Council for Ancient Monuments, it was possible to determine the sex and age of the buried people by the size of their bones. A hole was found in one skull - according to scientists, this is the result of a surgical operation. This man lived with a hole in his head for some time, meaning the intervention was successful.

Black sarcophagus from a different angle

Why three people were buried in a black sarcophagus, scientists do not know. Maybe they were brothers and sisters.

The black sarcophagus has been opened, but scientists still do not risk opening the tomb of the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang. Not only can it collapse, but there is also the possibility that deadly traps are hidden inside.

Man with a knife instead of a hand

In the same 2018, but already in northern Italy,scientists have discovered the skeleton of a man with a knife instead of a hand. Next to him were the remains of other people - this specimen attracted attention with an unnatural position of the hand. The burial was made around the 6th-8th centuries AD.

Human skeleton with a knife instead of a hand

According to scientists, a person with a prosthetic arm in the form ofknife at the time of death was from 40 to 50 years. During his lifetime, his arm was amputated at the level of the forearm - doctors could do this for medical reasons. But scientists do not exclude that a person lost his hand after an unsuccessful fall or during a battle.

The nature of the destruction of the teeth suggests that the person liked to clean them with a knife.

The man clearly lived with an artificial handseveral years - at a time when science did not yet know about the existence of antibiotics, such a life expectancy with a knife instead of a hand is great luck. Scientists believe that a person regularly brushed his teeth with a knife built into his hand. This is hinted at by a curvature of the shoulder and noticeable damage to the teeth.

Rare bronze hand in England

There is a county of Northumberland in England, and thereFor a long time excavations of the Roman fortress Vindoland have been carried out. A few years ago, at a depth of about 1.5 meters, archaeologists found a bronze hand about 10 centimeters long. It certainly wasn't part of a large statue—it was a separate, expertly crafted object. Perhaps, before ending up in a ditch with garbage, this hand was fixed on a pole. The presence of space in the palm hints that the hand was holding some kind of object.

Bronze hand, not cleaned of dirt

Cleaned bronze hand, which is perfectly preserved

Scientists believe that this hand was an offeringto the temple of Jupiter Dolichen - this deity was depicted with an ax and lightning in his hands, and was respected among the Romans. Scientists have no doubts about the connection between this artifact and the temple, because it lay nearby - the temple was excavated in 2009. According to the head of the study, Andrew Birley, they did not expect to find such a well-preserved and rare cult artifact. Temples of Jupiter Dolichen have also been discovered in Germany and North Africa, but archaeologists have not yet found such bronze hands.

Million year old hammer

In June 1936, Londoners Max Hahn and his wifeEmma found a stone from which a piece of wood was sticking out. They thought it was very strange and took the stone home. There they partially split the cobblestone with a hammer and were surprised to find that an ancient hammer was hidden inside the stone. They showed the discovery to scientists, and they were even more surprised to find out that the age of the hammer is more than 400 million years.

Most likely, the hammer ended up inside the stone, because the minerals clung to it over time.

London hammer

At this point, conspiracy theoriststhey would probably have tensed up - what is this, if not proof of the existence of ancient civilizations or aliens? In fact, the scientists made a small mistake. The fact is that the age of the hammer may not be so great, it’s just that over time it has become so firmly united with the stone that stone particles have penetrated into its surface layer. Yes, a rock can be millions of years old. But the hammer is probably young, but scientists cannot name its exact age. There is a version that it was created at the end of the 19th century and was used in mines.

See also: 10 most mysterious museum pieces in the world

Bird from Saqqara in Egypt

In 1898, during the excavations of one ofburial grounds in the Egyptian village of Saqqara, archaeologists have found a figurine of a sycamore tree in the form of a bird. For many years, this artifact lay in the museum's storerooms, but then the Egyptologist Khalil Messikha found it and surprised the public with his loud statement. According to him, this small figure is a tiny copy of a real flying machine, which was invented in ancient Egypt. He announced that this aircraft could survive to this day and it only needs to be found.

Bird from Saqqara

However, other scholars disagreed with him.First of all, they did not believe him because the bird did not have horizontal plumage - without this element, the device could not fly, even if it existed. Khalil Messicha believed that this detail simply disappeared, but his colleagues were sure that everything on the bird figurine was in place, nothing was lost. Most likely, it was a figurine for determining the direction of the wind or an ordinary toy.

Bird from Saqqara from a different angle

In order not to miss interesting articles, subscribe to our Telegram channel. Do it right now!

Although scientists are sure that in the days of the AncientThere were no planes in Egypt, the bird from Saqqara is often mentioned in collections with unsolved mysteries. We also have an article about archaeological finds that still have no explanation - here is the link.