2,400-Year-Old Statues of the Goddess of Hygiene Rescued from Rubble of Ancient Medicine City

Archaeologists in Turkey just discovered statues of Greek goddess Hygieia and god Eros.

Discovered in the Anavarza Antique City of the Kozan district of present-day Turkey, Hygieia is the symbol of health. As the daughter of Asclepius the god of medicine and Epione the goddess of healing, Hygieia is herself the goddess of cleanliness and hygiene. Finding her sculpture here embodies the city's vision and ideals of health. Eros is the god of sexual desire. 

Anavarza was a fine ancient Cilician city founded by the Assyrians over 2,000 years ago. During the early Roman Empire it was known as Caesarea and became the Metropolis of the late Roman province Cilicia Secunda. So it is a major historical site for researchers today. It dates back to over 2,000 years ago. It has a 5,000-foot wall with 20 bastions encompassing it, which seemed unable to hold back the forces that almost completely destroyed these antique statues.

Archaeologists first began excavating Anavarza in 2013 and found ruins of a church, bathhouse, and large double-lane road measuring 110 feet wide and about 9,000 feet long. These features indicate this was a well-established city where many people trafficked to spend time cleansing their bodies and their souls. 

"The famous pharmacologist Dioskurides, who worked in the army during the Roman period and who attracted attention with the medicines he made, lived in Anavarza. In this sense, we can call Anavarza the city where medicine and pharmacology developed," Dervişoğlu told Doğan News Agency.

The statue was made out of limestone about 2,400 years ago but unfortunately, Hygieia is broken into two parts and missing her hands and head. Dervişoğlu is working to find the statue's missing parts to restore this ancient symbol of health for everyone who visits. 

The director of the Adana Museum, Nedim Dervisoglu, is proud to have these statues because they prove the rich cultural heritage of the city's ancient history. He cares about people learning not just about the local history but also inspiring them to learn of their own history. 

To recognize and honor these symbolic statues, they were added to the UNESCO Temporary List of World Heritage Sites.

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Sources:

https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2017/11/26/statue-of-hygieia-and-eros-uncovered-in-southern-turkey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anazarbus

The Mysterious Ancient Giants Who Ruled America

Are giants real? At some point in our distant past, were there ancient people of enormous size that walked the earth and dominated the planet as humans now do?

So much knowledge of the world’s past has been lost throughout the ages – some destroyed by war, some ruined by natural disasters, some neglected by mankind’s ignorance and lack of appreciation, and some simply disappeared as a natural consequence of the passage of time. But while much has been lost, much also remains to be discovered. And the clues to answering questions like whether or not giants once existed on the planet could actually be found in what lies beneath our feet.

In recent years, due to the number of mysterious findings around the world supporting the idea that giants walked on earth a long, long time ago, more and more people are seriously considering the possibility that these gigantic human-like creatures are more than just mythological beings.

Mentions of Giants in Mythologies of Different Cultures

But before we go any further on the supposed archaeological evidences available supporting the existence of ancient giants, let’s briefly discuss the many old stories about enormous beings that are treated today as nothing more as simple myths.

The Bible, in particular, references giants several times in many of its sections. For example, Genesis 6:4 in the King James Bible states: “There were giants in the Earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

In some translations of the Old Testament, these “giants” are referred to as the “Nephilim,” which some say are born from the union between fallen angels and the descendants of Adam. One more example of giants having been mentioned in the Bible is Goliath, the champion of the Philistine army who engaged in a famous battle with David, as told in the Book of Samuel.

Ancient Greek mythology also made mention of giants of prehistory – the titans. As the story goes, the primordial goddess Gaea gave life to the titans, giants who roamed the earth before the Olympians and mankind could. However, the titans were eventually overthrown by the Olympians, and they had suffered terrible fates of torture and oblivion.

Several Native American tribes have also passed down legends of giants who were wiped out. For one, the tradition of the Choctaw people spoke about a race of giants that once lived in what is now the State of Tennessee in the United States. Referred to as the Nahullo, the ancestors of the Choctaw came into contact with this race of white giants when they first crossed the Mississippi River. The Nahullo were said to be cannibals, and the Choctaw eliminated these giants when the opportunity arose.

Other tribes like the Comanches, the Navajo, and the Manta indigenous people also passed down stories of white giants that supposedly inhabited different parts of the continent a long time ago.

Alleged Archaeological Evidences Proving the Existence of Ancient Giants

Now that we’re on the subject matter of Native American tribes and their cultures, let’s talk about the fact that the mound sites found in North America – which are often related to these tribes – are believed by some people to be the sacred burial mounds of the ancient giants that once existed in the area. Over 1,000 accounts of skeletons that stood at around seven-foot and taller have reportedly been recovered from these ancient burial sites for over two hundred years of archaeological exploration in the continent.  This is supported by a deluge of newspaper clippings, journal articles, diaries, photos and ethnology reports that have largely documented the discovery of these skeletons.

Giant Skeletons in the West Virginia Mounts

The West Virginia Mounds, in particular, are believed by some people, in many respects, to be the key to unlocking the real story behind the ancient giants who once ruled America. In the book of Emmy Award-winning writer and researcher Richard Dewhurst, “The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America,” he claimed that in 1883, the Smithsonian dispatched a team of archaeologists to the South Charleston Mound in West Virginia to conduct an extensive dig of 50 mounds found in this location. In their report, the team revealed that they have uncovered numerous giants, and one of them was 7 feet and 6 inches tall. In another mound, they also found another giant skeleton surrounded by a circle of ten skeletons. There was also a large skeleton found in the remains of a bark coffin, and it had a compressed or flat-head type of skull.

Archaeologists in Wheeling, West Virginia also found a group of giants with heights ranging from 6 feet and 7 inches to 7 feet and 6 inches. These skeletons also showed unusual skull formations. They had low foreheads “while the back part of the head is very prominent,” features which are noticeably different from the skulls of humans that exist today.

Giant Skeletons Across the State of Ohio

Dewhurst also revealed in his book that numerous finds of giants 8 to 10 feet tall were also discovered across the state of Ohio. For example, in a mound site in Chillicothe, dozens of skeletons were found wearing copper masks, and at a related site in the same area, they also supposedly unearthed “a massive skeleton” which was “encased in copper armor.” In another dig conducted in 1889 in Southern Ohio, a giant was found buried with the bones of a panther, while another large skeleton with bone and shell beads imported from the Atlantic Ocean was also unearthed.

The discoveries in Newark, Ohio also deserve special mention, as the skeleton of an 8-foot-tall queen wearing copper jewelry and pearls was reportedly found in this area. In Centralia, another giant encased in copper armor was discovered, and a 7-feet-2-inch giant skeleton was also uncovered in Cartersville.

Giant Skeletons Found in the Mound Sites of Wisconsin

Among the most crucial pieces of evidence in support of the theory that ancient giants roamed America are the discoveries made in Wisconsin. As first reported in the May 4, 1912 issue of the New York Times, at least 18 anomalous skeletons had been found in Wisconsin and they exhibited extremely unusual features that are supposedly nothing like any known species at present. The excavation was overseen by the Beloit College and around 200 mounds were studied in the process. The anomalous skeletons retrieved from this area were allegedly bigger than men today, with their heights ranging from 8 to 10 feet.

Alleged Smithsonian Involvement in Covering Up the Existence of Ancient Giants

Despite the abundance in archaeological proof supporting the existence of giants, mainstream science has, until now, stubbornly remined silent when it comes to affirming or recognizing the theory that an ancient race of giants once inhabited different parts of the world, particularly America. And in Dewhurst’s book, he claimed that the Smithsonian has been at the center of a vast cover-up of America’s true history since the 1880s, suppressing the discoveries of giant skeletons found in many Native American burial mounds in the continent to avoid risking putting the current theory of evolution into question. There are even speculative rumors which suggest that the Smithsonian went so far as to not only hide but also destroy evidence of giant skeletons in America. The museum allegedly has the reputation of stepping in and taking unearthed skeletons and relics for further research and analysis, only for these archaeological finds to never be seen again.

Of course, those who believe in such “out-of-this-realm” conspiracy theory often face ridicule from men and women of conventional science. After all, it would be very difficult to prove that a cover-up actually happened without overwhelming evidence that will convince skeptics that giants did exist in the first place. But then again, how can we prove that giants once existed on the planet if there are forces out there deliberately preventing people from knowing the truth?

Well, clearly, all of this is still a matter of intense debate. The battle of proving whether there was once an advanced civilization of giants that spread across the earth in a distant time where mankind was still in its primitive state still cannot be won up to now. And a definitive answer is still nowhere in sight either. So, for the time being, we will have to weigh all available information about this subject matter for ourselves, and provide a subjective and personal verdict on the merits of this particularly mystery on our own.

If you ask me, I would say that the evidence presented by those who believe in the existence of ancient giants is too substantial and overwhelming to be completely discredited. Moreover, aren’t we limiting ourselves if we simply resent and resist other beliefs and theories just because they go against what society and mainstream science expect us – demand us – to hold true? Perhaps that’s another thing that we should think about, too.

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Sources:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1150852-did-giants-exist-part-1-legends-and-americas-giant-skeletons/
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1871411-ancient-race-of-white-giants-described-in-native-legends-from-many-tribes/
http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/top-ten-giant-discoveries-north-america-005196?nopaging=1
https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/gigantes/esp_gigantes_15.htm
https://grahamhancock.com/dewhurstr1/
https://www.ancient-code.com/the-greatest-smithsonian-cover-up-dozens-of-giant-skeletons-discovered-around-the-world/
http://www.ancientpages.com/2014/04/26/the-ancient-giants-who-ruled-america-the-missing-skeletons-and-the-great-smithsonian-cover-up/
https://www.sott.net/article/256712-A-giant-mystery-18-strange-giant-skeletons-found-in-Wisconsin-Sons-of-god-Men-of-renown
https://www.sott.net/article/281093-The-truth-about-giant-skeletons-in-American-Indian-mounds-and-the-Smithsonian-cover-up
http://eindtijdinbeeld.nl/EiB-Reuzen_en_nephilim/The%20Ancient%20Giants%20Who%20Ruled%20America,%20The%20Missing%20Skeletons%20and%20the%20Great%20Smithsonian%20Cover-Up%20-%20Richard%20J%20Dewhurst.pdf
http://www.unveilingknowledge.com/the-cover-up-of-a-giant-race-of-ancient-humans/
http://www.theeventchronicle.com/study/the-great-smithsonian-cover-up-18-giant-skeletons-discovered-in-wisconsin/#
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1150852-did-giants-exist-part-1-legends-and-americas-giant-skeletons/