When we were young, we always wished that we discover something that would give us fame. Heck, we read about some antiquities that had some mysterious purposes and we still have not why they create and how were they created! Ancient discoveries have always been fascinating and finding them helps us to understand how the ancient world worked. Other natural wonders of the Earth have also been discovered, in addition to old man-made inventions. More so, finding natural discoveries such as fossils help in understanding how the world worked back then or how was the climate during that period. One of the greatest natural discoveries ever made were that of dinosaur fossils. This helped us to understand that there were giant reptiles before modern humans evolved.
Here are the top 7 discoveries that shocked humanity!
- Dead Sea Scrolls
We all hoped to come across an antique text that would lead to a massive treasure cache. While the unearthed writings did not lead to enormous sums of money, they did provide insight into life before the birth of Jesus Christ. In 1947, a young nomadic Bedouin shepherd is believed to have unearthed these scrolls. Furthermore, these scrolls are thought to be 1000 years older than any Biblical scriptures! The Hebrew script is used on these scrolls.
- Nazca Lines
In the country of Peru, a peculiar archaeological was discovery was made in the Nazca desert. When flying above the Nazca desert, one may observe lines that form strange animal and plant formations. Such shapes are called geoglyphs. Archaeologists have stated that these geoglyphs are at least 1500 to 2500 years old! Although various in-depth studies have been conducted, the purpose of these geoglyphs remains a mystery.
- The lost city of Aten
Many discoveries have been made in Egypt ranging from the secrets of the pyramids to the pharaohs’ tomb. However, discoveries are being made in Egypt. One such discovery was made in April 2021. A team of archaeologists discovered a 3000-year-old city near the present-day region of Luxor. The city has been dubbed as the “lost golden city”. A huge jackpot win in my opinion for the Egyptian archaeologists.
- The Antikythera Mechanism
The Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient Greek hand-powered orrery (a mechanical model of the solar system) that was discovered in 1901. It was among the various items discovered in a shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera in Greece. At that time it was not known why it was created apart from calculating planetary movements. However, recently it was discovered that it was used to predict the astronomical positions and the eclipses decades in advance. Moreover, it was used to calculate and track the four-year cycle of the athletic games, the ancient Olympics.
- Gobekli Tepe
In 1963, Istanbul University along with the University of Chicago discovered the oldest known megaliths in the world. The Gobekli Tepe megaliths in Turkey are thought to be the world’s oldest megaliths, with over 200 pillars. The fact that it was constructed between the 10th and 8th century BCE is even more amazing. Although the precise function of this megalith is unknown, it is thought to have had social or ceremonial reasons at the time.
- A perfectly preserved dinosaur egg
Over the last century, many fossilized dinosaur eggs and nests have been found, however, finding a perfectly preserved egg with a well-preserved embryo is an extremely rare find. A group of Chinese scientists reported to the world on December 21, 2021, that they had discovered a perfectly preserved egg and embryo in Southern China. It is said to be 66 million years old and was almost in the process of hatching.
- A giant 180 million old ‘sea dragon’ fossil
Do not be misled by the title, although a fossil was discovered recently in the UK, it is by no means a ‘sea dragon’. 180 million years ago, the Rutland ichthyosaur was a kind of water-dwelling dinosaur. It is the biggest fossil recovered in the UK, measuring 10 metres in length. It is said to be the greatest finds in the history of British palaeontology.
Many such discoveries are yet to be made and will continue to shock humanity. Such discoveries are extremely important for us to understand how the ancient civilization and the natural world worked!
References: Stacker. com, BBC and Moneycontrol
