Welcome to Top10Archive! The more we unlock
about our pre-history, the more incredible
the world seems before our age of electronics.
Though researchers work countless hours to
unravel the mysteries of the most ancient
civilizations, there are still those creations
that we just can’t wrap our heads around.
Whether it’s an invention that seems impossible
for its time or something that doesn’t seem
to have any known meaning, in this Archive
we’ll be exploring the top 10 ancient artifacts
and creations that left us stumped!
10. Swords
You may have seen modern blacksmiths making
replica historical swords from scratch at
your town’s local renaissance fair, but
that doesn’t mean we’re 100% sure on how
ancient civilizations did it; for instance,
the Ulfberht, or a Viking sword made of a
purified metal that requires a forging technology
previously thought unavailable during that
period. To create the iron needed for Ulfberht,
iron ore must be heated to over 3,000° F
or about 1,648° C. Based on what is known
about methods available during the 9th and
10th centuries, reaching such temperatures
wasn’t possible. However it was accomplished,
archaeologists remain perplexed as even modern
blacksmiths have been unable to recreate the
Ulfberht without methods unavailable during
that time.
9. Nazca Lines
Lost in the history of South America were
people known as the Nazca, probably best known
today for the giant formations left in the
planes of their former homeland. Upon the
surface of the desert, the Nazca people were
believed to have carved a variety of designs,
from depictions of animals to seemingly random
shapes. Many mysteries surround the impressive
designs, the most pressing being who the etchings
were made for. How the lines were made may
have just been a case of coordination among
many Nazcans, as proven by archaeologist Dr.
Persis Clarkson at the University of Winnipeg
who recreated similar lines with just teamwork.
The major question of “why” still remains
unanswered, though some believe their existence
may be more mystical than practical, hence
why they thought only the Gods would be able
to view them.
8. Greek Fire
The one large defense any ancient civilization
had against its enemy’s use of fire was
water, but all of that was said to have changed
in the 7th century when Byzantine Greeks found
a way to produce a spontaneous combustion
that could not be put out with water. Designed
under the reign of Constantine IV Pogonatus
by Callinicus of Heliopolis, the weapon was
believed to be a liquid that, when employed,
was accompanied by a thunderous clap and a
lot of smoke. Theories as to the composition
of the substance revolve around the use of
saltpeter or a chemical reaction between water
and quicklime. Despite hours of research into
the deadly fire, how the Greeks, let alone
a Jewish refugee from Syria, were able to
compose it remains a mystery.
7. Lady of Elche
The limestone statue discovered in 1897 at
the L’Alcudia archaeological site near Elche,
Spain drew plenty of debate over origin and
purpose. Credit to who is behind the Lady
of Elche bust has gone back and forth, with
the consensus being that she originated from
4th century BC Iberia. On the other side of
the argument are those that attribute the
bust as an Atlantean Goddess. Diving even
deeper into the potential oddity behind the
statue, some researchers are steadfast in
stating that the spools on either side of
the headdress are some advanced, unknown technology
likely associated with Atlantis. Then there’s
a 3rd school of researchers that aim to shut
down any historical importance of the bust
by touting it as a forgery as the carvings
are too delicate for the time period. What
is widely agreed upon is that the opening
in the rear of the bust indicates it served
as some form of urn.
6. The Copper Scroll of the Dead Sea
During a 10 year period between 1946 and 1956,
981 different scrolls were discovered from
the Dead Sea. Dated between 408 BC and 318
CE, the papyrus and parchment fragments have
been attributed to the Essenes, a Jewish sect
near Qumran. While theories on the origin
of the scrolls are still debated, one of the
981 artifacts remains a near-total mystery.
Located within the mix of paper scrolls was
one written on copper. Unlike the other scrolls,
it’s a sort of map to burial plots and hiding
places of gold and silver that are even written
differently, sharing more similarities to
the language of the Mishnah than the traditional
Hebrew scribed on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Who
wrote the scroll and who the treasures belonged
to still remain a mystery.
5. Baghdad Battery
Depending on who you talk to, the purpose
of the Baghdad battery from a period between
the Parthian and Sassanian eras may have two
entirely different uses. There’s one school
of thought that believes the clay artifact,
which was discovered within Iraq’s Khujut
Rabu region, is nothing more than a storage
container for papyrus scrolls. Then there
are those that believe a far more exciting
theory, one that would assuredly tick off
Alessandro Volta, who invented the battery
in 1800. The piece is a clay jar with an asphalt
stopper and an iron rod surrounded by a copper
cylinder. To determine its possible use, reproductions
of the jars were filled with an electrolyte
liquid, which wound up producing upwards of
2 volts of electricity. Despite this finding,
we’re still left wondering what an ancient
civilization would be doing with a battery,
lending more credence to the more “boring”
school of thought.
4. Stonehenge
The popular stone formation in Salisbury Plain,
England remains one of the greatest historical
mysteries. While we know its age to be about
4,000 years old, who erected the structure
is still a matter of debate. Often accredited
to the Druids, the dating of Stonehenge has
suggested that it is over 1,000 years older
than the order of Celtic high priests. Archaeologists
also know that, over the course of its existence,
Stonehenge has gone through cosmetic changes
for unknown reasons. Stones were placed, then
later taken down. About as much of a mystery
as its creators is the purpose behind Stonehenge.
Many historians agree that it was significant
to whoever erected it and may have even been
a burial site, but there seem to be slivers
of truth missing from the structure’s existence.
The mystery grew even more when astronomers
stepped in and laid out an unpopular theory
that the stones served as an astronomical
calendar.
3. The Incan Aircraft
To our knowledge, no ancient civilization
was capable of modern air travel, especially
not the millennium old Incas. This understanding,
believe it or not, leads to a great mystery
surrounding the ancient civilization as it's
believed they were responsible for creating
tiny gold replicas of ancient aircraft. Understandably
first believed to be ceremonial birds, further
analysis of the objects by biologist-zoologist
Ivan T. Sanderson and archaeologist Dr. Arthur
Poyslee in the 1970’s claimed the objects
did not depict any sort of natural aviation.
Backing the statements of Sanderson and Poyslee
were German aeronautical engineers, Algund
Eenboom and Peter Belting, who produced a
scaled replica of one the artifacts, powered
with a propeller, and found that it was a
fully functional aircraft with the ability
to fly. Since the mystery of “what” had
been revealed, there remains the much larger
questions of “why” or “how,” which
have yet to be answered.
2. The Shroud of Turin
Originally believed to be the burial cloth
of Jesus of Nazareth, the Shroud of Turin
has been carbon dated as a possible product
of the Middle Ages. Adorning the linen cloth
is the strange image of a man’s face which
proves to be a greater mystery than the large
fabric’s origins. How the masculine mug
came to be imprinted on the Shroud of Turin
is unknown, but a mass of unproven theories
exists to try and quell the mystery. Claims
range from the face being a painting to the
belief that it was the product of a release
of energy from the man wrapped in the cloth.
Despite a person’s belief system, there’s
one thing that can be agreed on – since
carbon dating can vary depending on solar
and geological activity, we really have no
idea where the face came from, nor the exact
time period.
1. Al Ubaid Lizard People Statues
The discovery of the over 7,000-year-old statues
of the Ubaidian may support the far out claims
of lizard people secretly running the world…
or they may just be a strange series of designs
by a bored prehistoric civilization. The problem
is we just don’t know and, if you think
about it, either scenario is a possibility.
The figures, which were discovered in 1919
during an excavation of the Al’Ubaid dig
site, depict humanoid lizards with elongated
necks in poses, such as breastfeeding, that
don’t suggest they were ritualistic in nature.
While it’s quite possible the figures were
a representation of a Serpent god, which is
not an uncommon form of ancient deities, archaeologists
are unsure of their true purpose. Of course,
it could be that the Ubaidian people were
just terrible artists and those were just
poorly designed humans.
