New Discovery May Solve Mystery of Great Pyramid

The Great Egyptian Pyramids are some of the most mysterious structures on earth and have been the topic of countless debates throughout history. The question of how they were built, when they were built, and who they were built by, and for what purpose they have to this day have garnered endless theories and speculations.

Here’s what we think we know:

Archaeologists believe that the Great Pyramids in Egypt were constructed by the old kingdom society around 2500 BC. They believe that the main purpose of these pyramids was to act as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. That would make sense considering the sheer size of the pyramids. They are huge with the largest, the great pyramid of Giza incorporating around 2.3 million stone blocks, with an average weight of 2.5 to 15 tons each.

But besides what we can measure, the rest of what we think we know about the pyramids are mostly just theories. The fact is, we really don’t know for sure why the pyramids were created, we don’t know who created them, we really don’t know exactly how old they are and we for sure have NO clue how a Bronze Age society that we perceive to be primitive was able to create them.

Not only that, there are a few unbelievable facts about the dimensions of the Great Pyramid in relationship to the earth: Did you know that if you  take the height of the pyramid and multiply it by 43,200 you get the polar radius of earth? Not only that, If you take the base perimeter of the pyramid and multiply it by 43,200 you get the equatorial circumference of the earth. Why 43,200? The number isn't random. It comes from a key motion of the earth called the precession of the earth’s axis. Pyramids were built and encoded with the exact dimensions of the earth at a scale of 1 :43,200.

General agreement on how the pyramids were built: 

It seems that archaeologists generally agree that the granite from the pyramid’s internal chambers was somehow quarried 533 miles south of Giza in Aswan, and the limestones used as casings were from Tura a few miles away, but because these stones were so massive, everyone had varied opinions about how they were transported. Every once in a while, a new theory will come out and claim to solve the mind-boggling mystery of how the pyramids were constructed.

The last big theory was proposed in 2014 by a Dutch engineer who claimed that the stones were transported using sand, water, and a wooden sled.

New finding:

Now, according to a new British documentary called Egypt’s Great Pyramid: The New Evidence, there is apparently new evidence that two tonne blocks of limestone and granite were transported by thousands of laborers along the Nile river in wooden boats held together by ropes. Special canals were also used to bring them to an inland port which was in close proximity to the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The scroll that provided evidence of such a procedure was written by an Egyptian overseer named Merer and is apparently the only first-hand account of how the great pyramid was constructed. In the papyrus scroll found in the seaport Wadi Al-Jar, it is written that Merer and his team of 40 workmen were in charge of using wooden boats along the Nile River to carry 150,000 tonnes of limestone in order to build Pharaoah Khufu's tomb in 2600BC. He explained that the boats were tied together by ropes, which helped to keep them secure.

Besides the scroll, researchers also uncovered a system of canals and a ceremonial boat, which lends truth to what Merer wrote, detailing that his team of 40 skilled workers dug canals to channel the water from the river to the pyramid.

What do you think? Did we just solve one of the greatest mysteries in the world?

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Source: 

http://www.newsweek.com/who-built-ancient-egypts-great-pyramid-hidden-text-holds-clues-thousand-year-670265

10 Legendary and Mysterious Libraries of the Ancient World

It is often said that knowledge is wealth and in the ancient world it is something that is well guarded more than gold or jewels. The colossal libraries ancient civilizations like the Greeks and the Egyptians built are testaments to the fact that all the riches of the world will always pale in comparison with knowledge and learning.

These days, when information comes to us lightning-quick at the touch of a button, we tend to underestimate and undervalue the privilege we have of unfettered access to almost anything that we want to know and learn. It is a little bit tragic that the sense of appreciation that we have for information and learning is eclipsed by our continuously shortening attention spans because of all the media we consume on a daily basis.

In today’s list, we take a step back thousands of years to days when information and knowledge are stored and jealously guarded in giant libraries that are often the first monuments to be destroyed and sacked in times of war or invasion. Libraries that have shaped the world we now know of and the civilizations that have walked the earth, each contributing to humanity’s progress.

So here are 10 legendary and mysterious libraries of the ancient world!

Number Ten: The House of Wisdom

Called by historians as the Cradle of Civilization, ancient Mesopotamia – now modern day Iraq – was once one of the world’s centers for learning. Alongside Greece, Egypt, and Rome, Mesopotamia had one of the largest institutions of learning built in the 9 AD at the heart of the city of Baghdad.

Known as The House of Wisdom, it was built during the reign of the Abbasids. The House of Wisdom’s “collections” revolved around literature from Persia, Greece, and India. Also, among the library’s collection are manuscripts on mathematics, philosophy, science, medicine, and astronomy.

The books alone were enough to serve as lures to scholars from neighboring regions in the Middle East and among them are the mathematician and one of the fathers of Algebra, al-Khawarizmi; and the philosopher al-Kindi.

The House of Wisdom was the epicentre of Islamic intellectualism and academia for hundreds of years until it was sacked by the Mongols in 1258, tossing many of its extremely valuable manuscripts and books into the Tigris. Legend even has it that the famed river turned black due to ink dissolving into its waters.

Number Nine: The Twin Libraries at Trajan’s Forum

The ancient Romans are no strangers to accumulating codices and scrolls filled with anything from mathematics to philosophy. Knowledge and information are cornerstones of their empire that lasted centuries.

A Roman emperor’s love of monuments has helped erect one – or two – of the ancient world’s largest libraries.

Around 112 AD Emperor Trajan completed the construction of a wide, multi-use complex at the heart of Rome. Within the bounds of this Forum are plazas, markets, and temples. However, its crown jewel is one of the Roman Empire’s famous libraries.

Split in two, the twin structures housed numerous works and texts in Latin and Greek – separately housed – and were built on opposite sides of Trajan’s column, a massive monument to celebrate the emperor’s military victories.  Containing a collection of about 20,000 scrolls in rooms made of elegantly crafted marble and granite, historians are still debating when the twin libraries ceased to exist. With only texts referencing them until the fifth century AD, experts can only assume that it stood for at least three centuries.

Number Eight: Villa of the Papyri

One of the last ancient libraries to have survived well into the modern day, the Villa of the Papyri has withstood catastrophes including the devastating eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Located in Herculaneum, Italy, the ruins of the Villa was buried deep in the ashes of Vesuvius that miraculously kept at least 1,785 of its scrolls preserved when the library was unearthed by archaeologists in 1752.

Technically the Villa was a house and not a library by any definition. Supposedly owned by Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, the massive home – aside from its impressive private library of texts on philosophy – boasted a collection of bronze sculptures and the most stylish and impressive architecture of that century.

Number Seven: The Library of Pergamum

Constructed by the Attalid Dynasty in the third century BC in what is now the country of Turkey, the Library of Pergamum was home to an impressive collection of 200,000 scrolls on varying subjects.

Located within a temple complex devoted to the Greek goddess Athena, the Library was considered to have become the “competition” of the Library of Alexandria according to the ancient chronicler, Pliny the Elder.

Apparently, both libraries sought to amass large collections of texts as well as establish rival schools of thought.

The rivalry between the two libraries allegedly reached fever pitch that Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt halted the exportation of papyrus to Pergamum hoping that it would cripple the library. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan and only turned the city of Pergamum as one of the leading producers of parchment paper.

Number Six: Nalanda University

Moving further south of Asia, the Nalanda University in Bahir, India, is considered to be oldest university in the entire world as the first European university only popped up in 1088, a whole six centuries later.

What is even more exceptional about Nalanda is that the university provided education to thousands of students all across Asia.

Its nine-storey library was nicknamed “Dharmaganja” or Treasury of Truth and “Dharma Gunj” or Mountain of Truth because it was highly praised for the largest collection of Buddhist texts among other writings and literature. Helping spread philosophy and the Buddhist faith, Nalanda has nurtured thousands of followers until it was destroyed by Turk invaders in 1193. Due to the university’s immense size, legend tells that it took the Turks months before they could completely reduce its foundations to rubble.

Number Five: The Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima

Before it was destroyed around 638 AD by invading Arabs, the Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima or simply the Library of Caesarea, had the largest collection of ecclesiastical and theological texts of the Ancient Christian and Jewish world.

As the center of Christian education and scholarship, the library was also home to a large collection of literature from Greece and other neighboring regions. Mostly the texts are primarily historical and philosophical but nonetheless valuable as the place was frequently visited by important historical personalities such as Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazareth.

The church father Origen was mainly responsible for the library’s inventory of 30,000 manuscripts but during the purge initiated by Emperor Diocletian, the library and many of its contents were destroyed. Afterwards, it was rebuilt by the bishops of Caesarea only to be completely torn down, brick by brick, by Arab invaders.

Unfortunately, not a single manuscript from the library’s collection survived.

Number Four: The Library of Aristotle

Built in the first century BC, the library of Aristotle was part of a larger structure called the Lyceum where he was sought by many of his students and spent time learning from one of history’s most influential philosophers.

300 years after Aristotle’s death, a geographer named Strabo chronicled one of the most detailed accounts of the philosopher’s magnificent collection in his Geographia XIII, 1, 54-55, saying that Aristotle was “the first man, so far as I know, to have collected books and to have taught the kings in Egypt hwo to arrage a library.”

Upon Aristotle’s death, the Lyceum was bequeathed to Theoprastus. Even before his death, Aristotle heard of the jealousy of the Attalid empire of his library and desired to covet it for the Library of Pergamum. When Aristotle died and the Lyceum passed on to a new owner, it was then decided that the library’s entire collection be hidden and kept safe underground.

Unfortunately, despite this noble effort, many of the books were damaged by moisture and the remainder of the collection were sold to a man named Apellicon of Teos.

Number Three: The Imperial Library of Constantinople

Most of the history of the Imperial Library of Constantinople is shrouded in mystery. Many would point out that it was built out of necessity to preserve texts that were already in danger because of deterioration.

It was in 357 AD when Byzantine Emperor Constantius II decided to build the imperial library where many of the deteriorating Judeo-Christian scriptures could be copied onto vellum, a material that lasts longer than papyrus. Although Constantius II was only mostly interested in religious texts, the Imperial Library still managed to salvage many other books and scrolls that housed the knowledge of the Greeks and Romans.

In fact, many of the surviving texts from the ancient Grecian world that survives today were copies from the original manuscripts of the Imperial Library of Constantinople.

Number Two: The Library of Alexandria

Built by Ptolemy I in 295 BC, the Great Library of Alexandria holds a prestigious title in history as a “Universal” library where scholars from all over the world would visit, share ideas, and study from over thousands of texts that it offers.

It was, in fact, the intellectual crown jewel of the ancient world. Texts and scriptures on subjects like history, law, science, and mathematics can be browsed among its collection of 500,000 scrolls.

Many visiting scholars that decided to remain and live in the library complex received stipends from the Egyptian government just for conducting their studies and copying texts. Among its visitors were Euclid and Archimedes.

Its demise is still a question that seeks answers. Supposedly, the library burned down in 48 BC when Julius Caesar set fire to Alexandria’s harbor when he was at war with Ptolemy XIII. However, many historians believe that a blaze could not have easily destroyed the library and it may have still survived for a few more centuries. Some scholars, on the other hand, argue that the library met its end during the reign of Roman emperor Aurelian in 270 AD while other experts place its obliteration somewhere around the Fourth Century AD.

Whatever the case and however it fell, the Library of Alexandria remains to be one of history’s greatest achievements both architecturally and academically.

Number One: The Library of Ashurbanipal

Known as the world’s oldest library, it was built and founded for the “royal contemplation” of the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal in the 7th Century. Basically, it was one massive private study.

Constructed in Nineveh in modern-day Iraq, the library had a collection of around 30,000 stone tablets written in cuneiform. What’s even more impressive is that the tablets were organized according to subject matter. Most of them being archival documents of the royal court, the collection also included a number of literary works including the 4000-year old Epic of Gilgamesh.

Ashurbanipal was a known book-lover and obtained many of them through looting from conquered territories including Babylonia.

Today, most of the surviving tablets are housed and cared for in the British Museum in London.

While the Library of Ashurbanipal may not be as glamorous as the Library of Alexandria, it is most interesting to note that his collection helped pave the way to the history of the written word through cuneiform.

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Sources:

http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-impressive-ancient-libraries
http://www.onlinecollege.org/2011/05/30/11-most-impressive-libraries-from-the-ancient-world/
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/10-magnificent-ancient-libraries-filled-with-knowledge/
http://listverse.com/2016/12/09/10-mysterious-libraries/

10 Mind Blowing Space Stories that We Were Never Told in School

Number 10: The Smuggled Sandwich

NASA equips its astronauts with the most sophisticated gear that is intended to keep them safe in space as well as help them perform their jobs comfortably while floating around in zero gravity. Coupled with that, they are also provided with food items that are suitable for space travel and would not damage any on-board equipment that could potentially cause a disaster. It goes without saying that taking ordinary “earth food” with you in a space shuttle while you are hurtling through the atmosphere is greatly discouraged and prohibited by NASA because small things like crumbs can get into tiny crevices in equipment and spark a fire.

However, in one mission, an extremely curious astronaut named John Young was able to smuggle a sandwich in his suit and bring it with him to space, even offering a bite to his co-pilot. The amusement turned to terror when they both realized the destructive potential of the sandwich crumbs floating around in a weightless environment. Fortunately for them, they were able to complete their mission and came home in one piece. Because of this stunt, NASA had to assure the public – and Congress – that they will be tightening their security measures and screening so that no stunt like this can ever be pulled again, placing billions of taxpayer dollars and the lives of the crew at risk.

Number 9: The Flatulence Configuration

In another story, the same astronaut, John Young, went on a mission to the moon in 1972 and have made one of history’s lesser known utterances in outer space.

While having a casual conversation with a team member, Young casually mentions some gassy digestive problems he had been experiencing and, right at that moment, let one rip while he was completely unaware that his suit’s microphone was recording everything. Luckily, the mic was not sensitive enough to record the actual “release” of his flatulence but Young was kind enough to give a colorful description of it along with a few “F” words to accompany his adjectives.

Number 8: The Diamond Denomination

You would think that this next one is all Science Fiction and could have come from the mind of an absolutely imaginative writer. However, the existence of this so-called Diamond Planet has been proven by real scientists who have been observing it with much interest.

Called PSR J1719-1438 b, the planet was said to have once been a star and that the debris it produced after it dies has managed to turn into a dwarf planet. Part of a twin-star, this diamond planet managed to survive after its brother exploded into a supernova. Managing to stabilize far enough from being obliterated, it was able to keep its carbon core that now is a colossal chunk of bling.

A pretty impressive discovery after we have all been told that Pluto has been declassified as a planet, shattering our schoolyard belief that it was.

Number 7: The Multiverse Multiplier

The debate on whether or not there are other universes outside our own is a controversial debate that has kept scientists, physicists, and astronomers on their toes and at each other’s throats for years. On one side, experts believe that there is no scientific and mathematical law that allows the existence of another universe, let alone several more.

However, on the other hand, believers of the theory have countered that neither is there evidence that disproves the theory of a multiverse that’s just waiting to be discovered.

Many have held this belief as mere fantasy and something that only happens in speculative fiction and comic books, the fact of the matter is that until scientific advancements can be made that will allow humans to explore outside the known universe, this debate will not soon be put to bed.

Number 6: The Deletion Dilemma

We are all familiar with the iconic broadcast of the first moon landing. The moment Neil Armstrong took his first step and uttered those words that are now deeply etched in human history, it was a completely new ballgame for science and the entire human civilization.

However, in 2006, a shocking twist to the story came to the public eye when NASA half-heartedly admitted that they have lost track of the recordings of the historic Apollo 11 mission but assured everyone that it was simply buried somewhere in their archives. Later, NASA announced that they have found the tapes pertaining to Apollo 11 but revealed that the recordings were “accidentally” erased.

Luckily for NASA, news agencies such as CBS who managed to record the event were able to supply a decent amount of recordings and footage from the Apollo 11 moon landing. A courtesy that was able to save NASA from disgrace.

Number 5: The Shotgun Syntax

A particularly lesser known story from the Space Race was that the USSR armed their cosmonauts with shotguns while American astronauts were busy smuggling Big Macs into space.

Modifying a TP-82 shotgun, Soviet engineers packed these firearms as they flew into space. The reason for packing some heat in the void of space, however, was not to fend off hostile aliens wanting to board their ship or in case they have to fight off space pirates. The modified shotguns were more for the trip home.

The difference between NASA and Soviet re-entry protocol was that NASA chose a much more practical approach to have their astronauts land in the Pacific region where they will then be picked up. The Soviets, on the other hand, chose the vast landscape of Siberia as their landing point. Unfortunately, when Soviet capsules re-entered the planet’s atmosphere, their capsule would sometimes fly off course and land in a different region that were mostly grizzly bear territory.

Number 4: The Giant Sun Complex

The most difficult part of understanding space is grasping the idea of how large it really is. So far, the only information we know about scale is from mock-ups of the solar system with the sun being the largest body in the universe.

Speaking of scale, let us put the sun as an example. We all know that it is a massive star that the planets revolve around on and it has different effects on each planetary body. However, a recent discovery has been made that the sun, which is 109 times larger than the Earth, is dwarfed by an even bigger star called VY Canis Majoris: a hyper-gigantic star that is, roughly, 1.7 billion – yes, BILLION – miles in diameter.

Also, bigger means brighter and hotter. Simply put, if we were to place this hyper-giant star to replace out own sun, chances are, every single planet and moon within its reach will instantly be obliterated. Fortunately for our solar system, VY Canis Majoris is 4900 lightyears away – a distance that makes it difficult for scientists to study. However, experts predict that in about 100,000 years, this star will explode and die and – probably, take a few systems with it along the way. A literal Death Star.

Number 3: The Problematic Pee Postulation

NASA engineers make sure that before they send someone off to space they have covered all the bases from suits to ships – and one of these bases involve getting rid of human waste while in outer space.

To the layman, the answer may be as simple as cracking open a chute and just let things all and float freely out of the ship. However, the solution is much, much more complicated than that. Engineers have to consider, on top of comfort and hygiene, scenarios that can possibly damage a craft or any part of it during the process of waste elimination.

One example posed an almost catastrophic scenario. In 1984, the crew of the space shuttle Discovery was stunned to discover a large icicle made of urine sticking out of the urinal discharge unit. The way it is done, in layman’s terms, is that astronauts would urinate in receptacles that are then ejected into space rather than spray it freely. Due to the technology at that time, a technical problem occurred and resulted in a bright yellow icicle. While it was hilarious to look at, the astronauts had to find a way to remove the shard of iced pee as it could cause serious problems upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The solution, after trying different ways to get rid of it, was using the shuttle’s mechanical arm grabbing the icicle and breaking it off.

Number 2: The Dark Matter Mystery

We have somehow heard of this mysterious Dark Matter from science shows and movies. With a name that sounds like it was lifted directly from a Space Opera, it is one of the most mysterious anomalies in space and physics.

Dark Matter occurs when Einstein’s famous equation of E=MC^2 is applied to space. Using the equation, scientists are able to determine just how much matter exists in the universe. Surprisingly, however, scientists have only found 4% of matter and are boggled about where the 96% are.

Some theorists believe that the 96% of missing matter is present but comes in the form of the so-called Dark Matter; a form of matter that exists wherever no visible matter is found.

To this very day, scientists and experts are debating if in fact Dark Matter is a real thing since no conclusive evidence is pointing them in the right direction. What is even more frustrating is that Dark Matter, upholding its namesake, cannot be seen or touched; light and radio waves also pass through it seamlessly.

Since it is a fundamental scientific fact that matter – in this case, Dark or otherwise – cannot be created or destroyed, who knows? Maybe it’s right in front of us, staring at us straight in the face.

Number 1: The White Hole Conjecture

Speaking of Einstein, we know that he became famous for proving the existence of Black Holes and how they behave through mathematics.

However, while we have celebrated his discovery of the existence Black Holes and have discovered – through the advancement of our technology – several of them in space, what is less known is Einstein’s discovery of the existence of “White Holes” through his equations.

As you may come to conclude, White Holes are the complete opposite of their darker counterparts. Where Black Holes devour light and matter, White Holes seem to spit them out as if creating them from nothing. With this uncanny quality of creating matter “out of nothing”, they should be easy to spot but, to this day, at least a trace of it is yet to be found.

What is interesting to note is that if ever one is found in space, it can present answers to questions that science has yet to provide such as the origin of the material that is basically the make-up of galaxies.

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Sources:

http://listverse.com/2009/12/31/top-10-mysteries-of-outer-space/
http://www.cracked.com/article_19479_the-6-most-mind-blowing-things-ever-discovered-in-space.html
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/07/12/5-insane-space-stories-we-were-never-taught-in-history-class-sawn-off-shotguns-for-russian-cosmonauts

Mysterious Ancient Manuscripts with Hidden Secrets

Ancient Origins

Over the years, many mysterious ancient manuscripts have been uncovered, and researchers who have examined these documents have found hidden secrets from the past. Most of these secret texts are concealed in other archaeological records, and the traces of these manuscripts are usually invisible to the naked eye. The utilization of modern technology like X-rays, CT scans and multispectral imaging are often necessary for bringing the secrets of these mysterious and long-lost works to light.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER VIDEO

Hidden Text of Euripides

Mysterious Facts

Number 1 – The Hidden Text of Euripides. A group of researchers from the Universities of Bologna and Gottingen discovered a hidden text of a fifth-century-BC Greek drama beneath a 13th-centuary-AD prophetic book of the Old Testament. This early work is attributed to one of Athens’s foremost dramatists, Euripides, whose work became the cornerstone of education in the Hellenistic age and has significantly influenced modern drama. This hidden text was uncovered through multispectral imaging in 2013, and not only does the document contain Euripides’s work, but it is also full of ancient annotations.

Treatise of the Vessels

Altered Dimensions Paranormal

Number 2 – Treatise of the Vessels. Archaeologists and fortune hunters have been hard at work to find the alleged hidden treasures stashed away by Israel’s third king, Solomon, and among them is the legendary Ark of the Covenant. At present, a newly-translated ancient Hebrew text known as the Treatise of the Vessels seems to have new information about the location of the elusive Ark, along with the rest of King Solomon’s treasures. According to a translation by James Davila, a professor at the University of St. Andrews, the treasures were hidden by some Levites and prophets, and that they are stocked away in various locations in the Land of Israel and Babylonia, while others were delivered into the hands of the angels.

Codex Selden

Breaking Science News

Number 3 – Codex Selden. For decades, researchers were certain that hidden messages can be found beneath the surface of Codex Selden, which was previously lost for almost 500 years. It was only in 2016, that hyperspectral imaging finally allowed researchers to take a closer look at the surface of the precolonial Mexican manuscript, revealing hidden texts and images beneath. So far, the researchers have yet to complete scanning all the pages, and the text has not been translated, but researchers are convinced that more discoveries are to be made once the hidden messages of the Codex Selden are interpreted.

Novgorod Codex

Listverse

Number 4 – Novgorod Codex. In 2000, archaeologists excavating Novgorod in Russia discovered the Novgorod Codex, the earliest known book made by the Rus’ people. This hyper-palimpsest, dated to the 11th century, preserved two Psalms. However, when the wax was removed for conservation, the restorers found retained traces of an earlier text, including several previously unknown Slavonic compositions of native origin. It is believed that the Novgorod Codex may contain several dozens of hidden text layers.

Codex Zacynthius

University of Cambridge

Number 5 – Codex Zacynthius. In the 13th century, the Codex Zacynthius were an Evangeliarium, an old manuscript that contained a collection of Gospel passages. However, in 1861, researchers detected that there is actually a hidden text in the Codex Zacynthius. The text is a sixth or seventh-century script which turned out to contain an account of the Gospel of Luke. This Codex has 176 vellum leaves, and experts believe that there are a lot more secrets to be discovered in the ancient document, and they plan to analyze the hidden text through multispectral analysis.

The Lost Gospel

Annoyz View - WordPress.com

Number 6 – The “Lost Gospel.” Many theologians have long speculated about Jesus’ alleged romantic relationship with Mary Magdalene. However, if the translation of the so-called “Lost Gospel” – a 1500-year-old ancient manuscript found at the British Library – is any indication, then what we believe to know about the life of Jesus Christ at present is not completely true. Translated from Aramaic, the text reveals that Jesus had indeed married Mary Magdalene and even had children with her. This makes the Christian messiah a husband and a father to a family of his own if the “Lost Gospel” is proven true.

Voynich Manuscript

Ancient Origins

Number 7 – The Voynich Manuscript. This ancient medieval manuscript was named after Wilfrid M. Voynich, a Polish-American book dealer who discovered the text in a chest in the Jesuit College at the Villa Mondragone in Frascati in 1912. The cryptic document is written on medieval parchment using an unknown script system showing basic statistical patterns which resemble a real language. However, there are also those that believe that the manuscript was a forgery intended as a hoax. Until now, the nature and origin of the manuscript have remained a mystery and have led to a lot of controversy and debate.

Sibiu Manuscript

Twitter

Number 8 – The Sibiu Manuscript. In 1961, Doru Todericiu, a professor of Science and Technology at the University of Bucharest, found an ancient document, now known as the Sibiu Manuscript. The 450-page manuscript dates back to 1570, with its history even going further back by several centuries. The old text contains technical data about multi-stage rockets, artillery, and ballistics. It also reported about a “javelin” which flew with considerable effective range, and the launching of a multi-tiered rocket in the city of Sibiu, where thousands of people supposedly witnessed the event in 1555 and turned out to be a complete success.

Black Book of Carmarthen

Abide In Me Blog

Number 9 – Black Book of Carmarthen. The Black Book of Carmarthen was written by a single monk around 1250, and it is the oldest surviving manuscript which is written solely in Welsh. In 2015, Raul Russell and Myriah Williams of the University of Cambridge reported that hidden contents had been found in the book which had been invisible under normal viewing conditions. Using a variety of imaging techniques like ultraviolet lamps and photo-editing software, some of the unknown material was detected, including extensive marginal annotations such as inscriptions, poems, and even drawings.

Codex Washingtonianus

Watchman on the Web

Number 10 – Codex Washingtonianus. Housed at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art, the Codex Washingtonianus is the world’s third oldest Bible. The priceless ancient book is made up of almost 200 parchment pages and is believed to be more than 1,500 years old. The Codex Washingtonianus has been the subject of controversy because of the unique insertion in the ending of the biblical gospel of Mark. Referred to as the “Freer Logion,” a part of the passage makes mention of the end of Satan’s power, seemingly addressing the question of whether God or Satan was the one in charge of mankind’s fate. The text is not found in any other manuscript, and when it was published in 1912, the passage caused much consternation as it raised another challenge to the Bible people knew.

The ancient documents we have mentioned, even without their unlocked secrets, are important archaeological artifacts that serve as an enduring testament to mankind’s complex and impressive history. And as more mysterious ancient manuscripts continue to get discovered, the potential secrets they hide could now be much easier to uncover - thanks to modern technology – allowing us to learn more about our past and possibly gain a better understanding of who we are through the works of our ancestors.

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Sources:

• http://www.messagetoeagle.com/10-mysterious-ancient-manuscripts-hidden-secrets/
• http://listverse.com/2017/01/08/10-mysterious-hidden-texts/
• http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/ancient-philosophical-writings-found-hidden-beneath-medieval-text-001024
• http://www.history.com/news/fate-of-the-lost-ark-revealed
• http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/does-newly-translated-hebrew-text-reveal-insights-king-solomon-s-treasures
• http://www.businessinsider.com/new-technology-confirms-a-hidden-text-in-a-mixtec-book-2016-8?r=UK&IR=T
• http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/csad/Newsletters/Newsletter10/Newsletter10d.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Book_of_Carmarthen
• http://www.ancientpages.com/2015/08/04/codex-washingtonianus-contains-passage-not-seen-biblical-manuscript/

Blood Splatter Discovered On Shroud Of Turin, Could Belong To Jesus Christ

Along with the Holy Grail and the Spear of Destiny, the Shroud of Turin is one of the most sacred religious relics on the planet. The piece of linen, measuring 53 square feet and containing the faint image of a man, is believed by millions of Christians from around the world to be the cloth Jesus himself was buried in after death.

Ever since a photo negative of the linen captured by Italian amateur photographer Secondo Pia revealed an image of a body over 100 years ago, scores of researchers have analyzed the image as well as the blood stains and fabric to try and confirm or dismiss the linen’s authenticity. But after years and years of studies, tests, and debates, they came to the conclusion that it is still hard to tell. No one knows for sure. Some say the blood on the cloth belongs to Jesus while some claim that the face of Jesus was painted on by counterfeiters in medieval times. 

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The biggest focal point for skeptics is a carbon-14 dating conducted in 1988 where a small piece of fabric from the corner of the shroud was sent to labs at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. All three places confirmed that the material dated back to 1260 and 1390, which is more than a thousand years after Jesus was alive. That seemed like a huge piece of evidence to dismiss the authenticity of the shroud, but soon researchers found that the carbon dating that came from the top edge of the shroud produced a much different date than a piece taken from the bottom edge of the cloth. 

But here’s the thing: even if the image was from medieval times and not from the time of Jesus, there is still the mystery of how the image of the man was created in the first place. Every scientific attempt at replicating the image has failed so far. This has caused the shroud of Turin to become not only one of the most sacred relics but also one of the most mysterious.

Recently, researchers in Italy analyzing the shroud of Turin have discovered the blood of a torture victim on the cloth, thus supporting claims it may have been used to bury Jesus. The new findings, titled New Biological Evidence from Atomic Resolution Studies on the Turin Shroud, was published in a US scientific journal that was carried out by The Instituto Officina dei Materiali in Trieste and the Institute of Crystallography in Bari.

The study says that the cloth contains 'nanoparticles' usually not found in the blood of someone healthy. According to Elvio Carlino, a researcher at the Institute of Crystallography in Bari, Italy the cloth reveals the 'great suffering' of a victim 'wrapped up in the funeral cloth.'

According to professor Giulio Fanti of the University of Padua, the blood contained high levels of creatinine and ferritin, substances found in patients who have suffered from devastating traumas like torture. According to him, 'the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud.'

The Shroud of Turin has been an intensely debated topic in the world of science ever since. If these findings are true, then they will completely shatter the skeptic theory that image on the cloth was forged by counterfeits.

Elvio also said that 'these findings could only be revealed by the methods recently developed in the field of electron microscopy' and  'the nanoscale properties of a pristine fiber taken from the Turin Shroud.'

Even though this study sheds a bit of light on this ancient mystery, there are still numerous questions that we have yet to answer. Was this shroud the same exact cloth Jesus Christ was buried inside when he died? How was the image of the man created on the cloth created?

Italian physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro told National Geographic: “It is unlikely science will provide a full solution to the many riddles posed by the shroud...A leap of faith over questions without clear answers is necessary—either the ‘faith’ of skeptics, or the faith of believers.”

If you want to see the shroud for yourself, it is currently on display at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin. At the moment, we can only wait for more evidence regarding the Turin's Shroud before we fully reveal it's mysterious origins. 

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Sources:

• https://www.rt.com/viral/396609-turin-shroud-blood-torture/ 
• https://www.livescience.com/52567-shroud-of-turin-dna.html 
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150417-shroud-turin-relics-jesus-catholic-church-religion-science/ 

140,000 Year Old Alien Ship Found At Bottom of The Baltic Sea?

On June 19, 2011, Swedish explorer Peter Lindberg and his Ocean X Team of marine explorers discovered a truly mysterious object at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, later to be likened to the Millennium Falcon.

Lindberg’s team describes themselves as treasure hunters and salvage operators who specialize in underwater searches for sunken "antique high-end alcoholic beverages and historic artifacts". They were on a dive search in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland for an old shipwreck when they discovered the strange object, which is now called the Baltic Sea Anomaly. As they were approaching the object, the side-scan sonar they used to detect the shipwreck stopped working. According to Stefan Hogerborn, a professional diver within the Ocean X team, “Anything electric out there, and the satellite phone as well, stopped working when we were above the object, then when we got away about 200 meters, it turned on again.”

According to Ocean X, the anomaly has an appearance of "rough granite" and is round in shape. It is 3 to 4 meters thick and approximately 60 meters in diameter, stands on an 8-meter tall pillar-like feature, and is located at a depth of 85 to 90 meters. It was on their second expedition that the team found something that looks like a staircase and a round black hole which goes directly into the structure. The anomaly is made of metal and is said to be approximately 140,000 years old! Based on that hypothesis, the Baltic Sea Anomaly would have been formed during the Ice Age.

A sample recovered by divers found that the object contained limonite and goethite -  metals that Israeli geologist Steve Weine claims could not have been naturally reproduced in this form. A counterargument has been served by Swedish geologists Fredrik Klingberg and Martin Jakobsson that the compositions of the samples are not uncommonly found in sea beds and that they can indeed be formed by nature itself. However, sonar devices found drag marks behind the object, and Weiner says according to his tests, the structure is not a geological formation.

The stone samples have also been analyzed by associate professor of Geology at Stockholm University, Volker Bruchert, who found that most of the samples were granites, gneisses, and sandstones. He also found a single loose piece of basaltic (volcanic) rock, which is not common to be found on the seafloor, but also not unusual. He claims that these rocks were possibly transported by ice glaciers since the Baltic region is heavily influenced by glacial processes, in which Danish archaeologist Jørgen Dencker also supported this claim.

Some claim the object to be a remnant of a World War II Nazi anti-submarine device and considered that it could also be a damaged gun turret from an old battleship. Another claim was that of Göran Ekberg, marine archaeologist at Maritime Museum in Stockholm, who thinks that it was indeed a geological formation. He conceded that the findings are indeed unusual, especially because of its circular shape, but that nature has produced things that were stranger and far more unusual than the Baltic Sea Anomaly. Other experts say that the formation may be a pillow basalt, a moraine, or the product of a hydrothermal vent. But the most controversial claim about the Baltic Sea Anomaly was that it was of alien technology, perhaps, a part of an alien ship that happened to fall into the Baltic Sea. All of the explanations given by different experts seem to contradict each other, and until now, there has been no new information or test results to explain the Baltic Sea Anomaly. Denis Asberg, a member of the Ocean X team, said that they have contacted geologists and marine biologists, who all said that they had never seen anything like the Baltic Sea Anomaly. This has triggered more tests and analyses to be performed by other experts.

Since there is really no absolute explanation for the Anomaly and how it could have gotten where it is now, this may remain one of the many enigmas of the world that are beyond human knowledge.

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Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Sea_anomaly
http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/750245/baltic-sea-anomaly-crashed-ufo-seabed-ocean-x-peter-lindberg
http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/the-incredible-mystery-of-the-alien-spacecraft-that-lies-at-the-bottom-of-the-baltic-sea/news-story/acede86f29dcb06c40a89189411c034f

Malta’s Cart Ruts - Proof of Ancient Advanced Civilizations?

The surface of the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Maltese archipelago is known for the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of parallel lines that appear to have been carved deep into the country’s stony ground. These ancient Maltese tracks – or what some refer to as “cart ruts” – have been found in obvious locations as well as the most unusual places – be it under the sea, off the coast, or at cliff edges. This has led many to believe that the grooves in Malta’s bedrock are of prehistoric origin. These cart tracks are also deemed to be unique, and they continue to be an enigma to this very day, as they have not been satisfactorily explained by those who have extensively studied them.

Brief Information on the Cart Ruts Found in Malta

Cart ruts are man-made dual channels or parallel tracks and grooves sunken in rock. The ruts themselves can vary greatly in their size – some can be very deep and narrow, others can be shallow and wide, and the rest could be anything in between. They are carved in both smooth and rough rocky surface. And like in the case of the cart ruts found on the surface of the islands of Malta, these parallel grooves can be etched into a limestone bedrock.

In Malta, the cart ruts appear to be in single pairs or in groups, and they are typically perfectly parallel. These ancient channels have an approximate depth of 8 to 15 centimeters, but in some places, they could be as deep as about 60 centimeters. The ruts have a standard gauge of around 1.4 meters, but this can also vary by several centimeters. Some of the tracks cross each other while others branch out to form junctions, which creates an illusion that resembles a large railway switching yard. These grooves run through the island’s valleys but they have also been found on the hills, while some have disappeared into the Mediterranean Sea.

While the cart ruts on Malta are impressive structures, they do not exclusively exist in this country. In fact, similar formations can also be found in Sicily, Sardinia, Italy, Greece, Southern France and Cyrenaica. However, not all of these dual channels in different parts of Europe are of the same origin, neither do they all fulfill the same purpose.

Examples of the Maltese Cart-Ruts

In Malta itself, there are potentially as many as 150 sites that have cart ruts, including the ones found in St. Paul’s Bay, Naxxar, San Gwann and Bidnija. However, the most well-known site in the archipelago is the Misrah Ghar il-Kbir, which is more popularly referred to as the “Clapham Junction.”

The Clapham Junction is located on the southern side of the Maltese island and features an enormous number of tracks, making it the largest concentration of cart ruts in the country. The site was given the nickname “Clapham Junction” because the network of overlapping cart tracks on the surface resembled the busy rail station of the same name in London. The sunken grooves at the site have varying gauges, depths and widths. They are also shaped differently, with some narrowing at the bottom, while others remain flat.

Possible Dates When the Cart Ruts in Malta Were Created

Some researchers have connected the mysterious tracks to the temple sites found in the islands of Malta and Gozo. More than 30 stone temple complexes as well as other ancient structures on the Maltese island were dated to have been built from 5500 to 2500 BC, making them some of the oldest free-standing monuments on the planet that we currently know about. It is even believed that the cart ruts might turn out to be the proof some experts have been looking for in answering the puzzle of how these ancient temples were built during what was supposed to be a primitive time.

It is also hypothesized that these manmade dual channels were created by settlers who arrived in Malta from Sicily sometime in the beginning of the country’s Bronze Age, or around 2000 B.C. However, Maltese archaeologist Anthony Bonanno has also presented an alternative theory about the date of the cart ruts on the island, suggesting that the tracks could be Phoenician constructions that were made more recently, possibly in the 7th century B.C.

How the Cart Ruts in Malta Were Created

How the Cart Ruts in Malta Were Created

As to how the ruts in Malta were made or created, some archaeologists assumed that they were inadvertently carved by using some form of vehicles that were possibly wheeled. These carts, sleds or skids could have carried heavy loads, and with people repeatedly using the same path or route for decades or even centuries, the island’s limestone ground was inevitably scarred over time as a consequence.

However, some have objected to the hypothesis that all of the ruts on Malta were caused by wheeled carts or sleds carrying heavy goods. They argued that some of the tracks appeared to be too perfectly formed as if they might have been carved by hand using special tools. One such individual is author and journalist Graham Hancock, and in his book, “Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization,” he said:

“It is certain, too, that they were not simply worn away in the tough limestone by the passage of cart-wheels over periods of centuries, as many have wrongly theorized; on the contrary, there is no proof whatsoever that cart-wheels ever ran in these ruts - which were initially carved out of the bedrock with the use of tools.”

The Purpose Behind the Cart Ruts in Malta

If the people residing on the island of Malta created and deliberately shaped these enigmatic ruts, then these channels obviously played a valuable purpose in the lives of these ancient people. However, what exactly that role is have been lost with the passage of time, and experts who have allotted much of their time and a significant portion of their lives to study these cart ruts have yet to universally agree on what their original purpose could be.  And because these experts have failed to come into an agreement on this matter, alternative theories have gained popularity in providing more out-of-this-world yet equally-fascinating answers to this mystery.

Theories on the Purpose of Malta’s Cart Ruts

Many different theories have been presented in attempt to provide the most plausible answers to the mysterious questions of when these car ruts on Malta were created, how they were created, and why they were created in the first place.

One of the wildest speculations of what the cart ruts’ intended purpose could be is that the they are the tracks of outer space landing craft. There also those who believe that the scars on Malta’s milestone bedrock might be coded messages to the gods. But a more popular yet also far-fetched theory is that archipelago of Malta is actually an existing part of the legendary lost city of Atlantis.

Of course, there are also other theories that have been presented over the years, which many people find to be a lot easier to consider and believe. One theory is that the cart ruts in Malta were constructed for the purpose of transporting agricultural produce, and that the tracks were designed in such a way that would have allowed cows pulling these carts to get back home on their own.

Australian archaeologist Claudia Sagona from Birmingham University has a different idea on what the ancient channels found in this country are for. Sagona argued that the cart ruts were actually irrigation ditches from the Stone Age. According to her, in ancient times, torrential rains had washed away the island’s topsoil, and so, the farmers of that time had no other choice but to invent new ways of tending to their crops. She suggested that the Maltese farmers carved this network of trenches into the island’s limestone bedrock to channel away and conserve rain water, and to protect the soil.

Another likely purpose of the cart ruts is that they transported stones from ancient quarries across the island. This theory was suggested by archaeologist Anthony Bonanno, and a few of those who conducted a detailed survey of the Clapham Junction agreed that many of the channels found on the Maltese island are associated with the nearby quarries of the time. Transportation of stones from these quarries via the cart ruts found in different parts of the island supposedly made the construction of the ancient temples in Malta possible. This network of tracks is also believed to have been utilized by people for the exportation of quarried stones to Africa.

Though some of these theories are undeniably appealing and quite popular, none of them are completely devoid of flaw in their line of reasoning. And so, until now, there is still no consensus on what the original purpose of the cart ruts on Malta could be, especially since experts supporting one theory have cleverly presented arguments casting doubt on the plausibility of another theory, and vice versa.

For now, there is no doubt that the enigmatic cart ruts found in Malta will continue to remain unsolved in the foreseeable future in terms of its true purpose, the exact means through which they were formed, or the accurate dates of when these tracks were created and how long they were regularly used by the ancient civilization that once lived there.

And while not many are willing to entertain the idea that the cart ruts on Malta are proof that a highly advanced ancient civilization once dominated the area, these ancient networks of parallel trenches and channels are, at the very least, a testament and reminder that perhaps our ancient ancestors are more advanced and enlightened than we give them credit for. Besides, even without insisting its archaeological merits, it remains undeniable that these ancient tracks are truly a fascinating as well as a puzzling sight to behold.

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Sources:

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/malta-cart-tracks
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/04/arts.artsnews
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3060511?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/maltacartruts.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misra%C4%A7_G%C4%A7ar_il-Kbir
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/02/the-mysterious-cart-tracks-of-malta.html
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/unknown-highly-advanced-civilization-created-maltas-cart-ruts-with-sophisticated-machinery/
http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/prehistoric-lines-across-malta-cart-ruts-misrah-ghar-il-kbir-020312?nopaging=1
http://www.cartrutsmalta.com/what-are-cart-ruts/
http://philipcoppens.com/cartruts.html
http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/02/the-mysterious-cart-tracks-of-malta.html

9 Strange Acts of Nature Science still Can't Explain

Nature is beautiful but it's also a cruel mistress that can be scary, completely unpredictable and in some cases defy explanation. Although we get why the sky is blue, how the Grand Canyon formed and why birds poop on our heads (they hate us) here are some events of nature that continue to elude explanation.

1.    Animal Migration

I’ll admit, I love road trips but I’m really bad at them. I tend to get lost a lot and I get sleepy 30 minutes in. I’ve splashed water on myself, I've stuck my head out the window like a dog, nothing works. Although I still can't figure out how to stay alert on long trips in the car I am very thankful for GPS, but now I feel that I’m too reliant on them. Once I followed my GPS through a college campus, another time the GPS took me through a cemetery in nowheresville Pennsylvania at night, and that’s where I draw the line. I mean, take me through a college campus I may get a ticket, take me through a graveyard in the middle of the night? that’s some silent hill stuff! My point is I NEED a GPS especially on long trips, but have you ever noticed that many animals migrate thousands of miles across land and sea, and they never have a Garmin attached to their necks.

So How do animals make these long treks without getting lost? No one really knows, though there are many theories. For example, an article in The Independent that focused on pigeon migration, mentioned that the birds navigate the Earth using visual landmarks or their sense of smell to determine their location. More bizarre-sounding theories include the concept that pigeons use magnetism to determine if they’re north or south of home; another is that the pigeons use morphic resonance, a theory by Rupert Sheldrake, to refer to what he calls the "the basis of memory in nature basically the idea that there are collective memories that are shared within species.

2.     The Naga Fireballs

Every year, around late autumn on the night of the full moon at the end of the Buddhist Lent going back as far as anyone can remember. Hundreds of fireballs explode randomly out of Thailand’s Mekong River. This phenomenon is known as “Naga fireballs,”  Locals believe the balls come from the breath of Naga, a mythical serpent that haunts the river. Many scientists believe that the fireballs are nothing more than pockets of methane bubbling up from the river, others argue that whatever is sailing through the air has mass, and "must have been propelled physically. So the question is, what is propelling these fireballs. You guys ever hear of a watermelon seed spitting contest? maybe the river serpents gather together every year for the annual Mekong River Fireball Spitting Contest.

3.    The Tunguska Event

A ball of fire exploded in a remote area of Russia In June 1908, the explosion was so powerful it shook the ground and instantly flattening 770 square miles of forest. The blast reached 15 megatons of energy, about a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Because this event occurred near a river called Tunguska, it was Known as the Tunguska event. 

Researchers suggests that a meteor was to blame because there is a lake nearby and scientists believe that it was created by a meteor. But others say the lake was there before the event, so if not a meteor, then what cause the most powerful natural explosion in recent history.

4.    Earthquake Lights

Earthquake lights are white or bluish flashes that occur right before a large earthquake and last for several seconds. These lights have been documented for hundreds of years, but it wasn't until the 1960s, when people took pictures of this phenomenon during the Matsushiro earthquakes, that scientists started to take it seriously.

There are many theories for the origin of the lights, such as piezoelectric and frictional heating to gas emissions and electrokinetics. Recently scientists believe that the lights are caused by the natural electrical charge of rocks which are awakened by pre-earthquake elements.

5. Blue Jets and Red Sprites

Blue Jets and Red Sprits occur above clouds during a lightning storm and are only visible from space or an airplane. They basically looks like fireworks falling from the sky. Sprites are red most of the time and happen as high as 50 miles off the surface of the ground, while jets shoot directly out of the tops of storm clouds, sometimes traveling as far as 30 miles up into the Ionosphere.

Scientists think the phenomena has something to do with whatever is causing the lightning we see in every storm and that is basically all they know. The sprites seem to occur as a result of a lightning strike on the ground, but the jets seem to occur randomly.

6. Raining Animals

Throughout history random things has been documented raining from the sky including Frogs, Fish, Worms, and even blood. The prevailing theory is that waterspouts or tornadoes scoop random things up like a whole lot of fish and then transport them sometimes hundreds of miles in the sky then rain them down.

But this theory does not explain why often only a single species is in the rain. Like if a waterspout sucked things up from a lake, it should not just be raining fish, it should be raining fish, turtles, frogs, lake monsters.

7. Spontaneous Human Combustion

Spontaneous Human Combustion or SHC means just that, it refers to when a person bursts into flame for no apparent reason.

The first known accounts of spontaneous human combustion date all the way back to 1641. More recently, cases of SHC have been suspected when officials have found corpses burned to ashes but the furniture surrounding them were completely undamaged. For example, an Irish coroner ruled that spontaneous combustion caused the 2010 death of 76-year-old Michael Faherty, whose badly burned body was discovered near a fireplace in a room with virtually no fire damage.

Many scientists dismiss the theory, because of course the human body is composed mostly of water and they argue that an undetected flame source such as a match or cigarette is the real culprit in suspected cases. Others claim that because it takes a temperature of around 570 degrees to burn a body to ashes, it’s impossible that the body would be the only thing that burns.

There are many theories of course that try to explain this phenomenon. Some say the victims are alcoholics and consumed so much alcohol that their blood became flammable, other say the combustion is caused by gamma rays. 

8.    Fairy circles:

Fairy circles are strange formations of grass-less earth surrounded by grass. Almost perfect circles and researchers have no idea what causes them. What’s also strange is that these circles start off small and grow large and the circles lie regularly spaced from one another forming the same pattern across the landscape.. They are commonly found in Namibia and parts of South Africa. Fairy circles vary 7 and 49 ft in diameter and since the 1970s, when researchers first started investigating the phenomenon, there has been no viable theory that was able to satisfy the scientific community.

There are some guesses that involve termites and patterns that arose naturally from competition between grasses. There is also the local belief that the fairy circles are footprints of the gods or made by a dragon that lives within the earth and I'm gonna go ahead and throw Colosseum arenas for little fairies into the discussion. 

9.     The Marfa Lights

The Marfa lights are mysterious glowing orbs that appear in the desert outside the West Texas town of Marfa.

The lights, which are roughly the size of basketballs and vary in color. reportedly hover, merge, split, twinkle, float or quickly dart around. There seems to be no way to predict when the lights will appear; they're seen in various weather conditions, but only a dozen or so nights a year.  and of course no one has been able to figure out what these lights are.

The first mention of the lights comes from 1883, when a cowhand Robert Reed Ellison claimed to have seen flickering lights one evening while driving a herd of cattle near Mitchell Flat. During World War II, pilots from nearby Midland Army Air Field tried to locate the source of the mysterious lights, but were unable to discover anything.

Possible causes of the lights has been attributed to cars, optical illusions, ghosts and of course aliens.

The Mystery of the Piri Reis Map

Several existing theories about unknown ancient civilizations are often largely based on  speculation and not on physical evidence, which is why many of them are greatly discredited by conventional academics and In order to shake the basis of our knowledge of history, most would require hard evidence such as artifacts.

An example of such an artifact is the Piri Reis map. This special, historical map is only one of several anomalous maps drawn during and prior to the 16th century, and is argued by some people to represent better information about the shape of the planet’s continents than what should have been known at the time.

This claim led to even more extraordinary allegations that the geographical information provided by the Piri Reis map may have been obtained at a very distant time in the past and was based on information drawn by an advanced yet still-unknown ancient civilization.

Discovery of the Piri Reis Map

source: abebooks

The Piri Reis map was discovered on October 9, 1929 by a German theologian named Gustav Adolf Deissmann while he was cataloguing items in the Topkapi Palace Library in Istanbul. He happened upon a curious parchment and on its gazelle skin, he found a map that was drawn and signed by Turkish cartographer Hagji Ahmen Muhiddin Piri, who was also known as Piri Reis.

Aside from being a cartographer, Reis was also an experienced sailor and served as an admiral in the Turkish navy. The map bears the date of 919 in the Moslem calendar, which correspond to 1513 CE in the Western calendar. In constructing the map, Reis claimed to have used as many as 20 source maps and charts, including 8 Ptolemaic (TOLO MAY IC)maps, 4 Portuguese maps, an Arabic map, and a map supposedly constructed by Christopher Columbus.

Aside from its significant historical value, the Piri Reis map has been alleged to contain details no European could have known in the 16th century, and therefore is believed by some to be a tangible evidence which proves the existence of ancient technological civilizations, extraterrestrial visits, or even both.

Controversy Surrounding the Piri Reis Map

source: wikipedia

The Piri Reis map has been the subject of much controversy in academic as well as non-academic circles, sparking a long and intense debate regarding the attribution of its source materials, and the significance of the map’s extraordinary detail of the coastal outlines.

The great debate was sparked by Dr. Charles Hapgood when he published his theory on the Piri Reis map in his 1966 book “Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings.”  Dr. Hapgood was a Harvard-educated historian whose theories about geological shifts earned the admiration of the likes of Albert Einstein.

Dr. Hapgood along with a team of students at the University of New Hampshire studied the Piri Reis map and claims to have found many anomalies, one of which is the alleged representation of the continent Antarctica on the map. The inclusion of the continent’s Queen Maud Land area on this map is particularly interesting because Antarctica was supposedly first discovered in the 19th century, hundreds of years after the construction of the Piri Reis map.

The controversy surrounding the Piri Reis map is not just about how the 16th century Turkish cartographer managed to draw an accurate map of the Antarctic region 300 years prior to its supposed discovery, but also on how the map shows the land mass and coastline of the Antarctic region before it was covered in ice, over 6000 years ago.

In 1961, Captain Lorenzo W. Burroughs, a U.S. Air Force captain working in the cartographic section, wrote a letter to Dr. Hapgood and stated that the “Antarctica” depicted on the Piri Reis map seems to accurately depict the coastline of Antarctica as it is under the ice. The captain based his evaluation on the seismic profile of the Queen Maud Land area made by the Norweigan-British-Swedish Expedition of 1949.

Because of this alleged anomaly, Hapgood proposed that the Piri Reis map was actually based on source materials that pre-date 4000 BCE, thousands of years before the earliest known progressive civilizations with developed languages are known to have existed.

With Hapgood’s extraordinary theory, one glaring and compelling question is raised: “Which unknown civilization had the technology and the need to map the Antarctic region 6000 years ago?”

Hapgood’s theory implies that a prehistoric civilization possessed the technology to navigate major seaways and chart the globe with some level of accuracy. He also suggested that the topographic depiction of the interior of the continents required aerial capabilities. This implies that a prehistoric “super” civilization with aerial and nautical capabilities was the origin of the Piri Reis map’s geographic information on the pre-ice Antarctica.

In his book titled “Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings,” Dr. Hapgood said this about the possibility of ancient voyagers exploring the Antarctic:

“It becomes clear that the ancient voyagers travelled from pole to pole. Unbelievable as it may appear, the evidence nevertheless indicates that some ancient people explored Antarctic when its coasts were free of ice. It is clear too, that they had an instrument of navigation for accurately determining the longitudes that was far superior to anything possessed by the peoples of ancient, medieval or modern times until the second half of the 18th century.”

In short, for Hapgood and his supporters, the Piri Reis map could indicate advanced knowledge passed down from a prehistoric sea-faring civilization which could either Atlantean or alien.

Standpoint of Mainstream Science

source: wikimedia commons

While mainstream scientists are equally intrigued by the mysteries of the Piri Reis map, many of them have vehemently refuted Hapgood’s implication that the map’s accuracy is the handiwork of mythical Atlanteans or out-of-this-world aliens.

To the skeptics, for a map that was constructed in 1513, the Piri Reis map shows an astonishing amount of detail. While it is clearly an impressive map for its time, it is not without flaws. More than anything, the map is a top-notch example of naval intelligence gathering and cartography, containing very specific details which were possibly derived from tightly-guarded secrets of enemy maps.

Some of the critics’ of Hapgood’s theory claim that the Piri Reis map is a representation of the South American coastline based on the modern physical features of the coast and the interior featured on the 16th century map.

On the other hand, Gregory C. McIntosh - another leading expert on the Piri Reis map - claimed that the southern continent depicted in the map is one produced by imagination. According to him, the idea of a southern continent had already been discussed as early as the time of the ancient Greeks, and many old maps have since shown a southern continent in various forms. Hence, it should not be so surprising that a southern continent also appears on the Piri Reis map.

Is the southern landmass depicted in the Piri Reis Map by a 16th century cartographer only a misguided depiction of South America? Or is it just an imagined representation of a mythical southern continent? Or, is it possible that this map is an astoundingly ancient depiction of Antarctica’s coast, hinting at the existence of an advanced sea-faring civilization several millennia ago?

In the end, we may never really know the truth for certain. After all, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. But if we’re lucky, only time and perhaps several extensive research efforts on the subject matter would be able to tell. And should that time come, all evidences that have been brought forward in the past and shall be discovered in the future should all be re-examined with an open mind.

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Sources:

http://www.ancient-origins.net/antarctica-ancient-technology/piri-reis-map-evidence-ancient-technology-00276
http://old.world-mysteries.com/steven_dutch1.htm
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/piri-reis-map-at-topkapi-palace
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=O1TJmqti-TsC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fil
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1165572-piri-reis-map-evidence-of-a-very-advanced-prehistoric-civilization/
http://sacred-texts.com/piri/index.htm
https://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/PiriRies.HTM

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