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/

Towns And Villages You Didn't Know Were Cursed

Haunted or cursed places where strange supernatural phenomena take place are typically the foundation of a vast assortment of novels and movies in the horror genre that exists today. From novels like Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot” to the film classics like Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead,” the plots of scary fictional tales with this kind of common theme are sometimes even set in towns and villages that actually exist in the real world. These existing locations are believed by many to be haunted by ghosts or cursed by powerful and malevolent unearthly beings. Because there are many chilling accounts of allegedly real hauntings and tragic events involving these old towns and villages, it is not surprising that they are used in fiction to maximize a story’s potential to horrify and terrorize its audience.

1. The Al Jazirah Al Hamra

Once a prosperous fishing village located on the northeastern edge of the United Arab Emirates, Al Jazirah Al Hamra used to be filled with antiquated houses that date back to the ancient times and was once an active coastal area where various trade transactions took place. For some reason, around 1968, the residents of the village collectively abandoned their homes. Today, while many of these previous inhabitants still have ownership over some of the land in the village, very few of their descendants continue to live there.

It was around the 1960s when rumors of Al Jazirah Al Hamra being haunted started to gain ground among UAE citizens. Many believe that the village is home to several “djinns” or genies – supernatural creatures in Arabian and Islamic mythologies. These djinns, in particular, are malevolent beings that feed on human flesh. Because of the dark tale surrounding the village, it is a popular tourist spot for those who enjoy ghost hunting and thrill-seeking. While some residents in the area discourage the nocturnal visits of strangers, many locals have also reported sightings of these djinns and have shared their stories with others.

2. The Cinco Saltos

Located in the rural region of Rio Negro, the City of Cinco Saltos is also notoriously known as the “City of Witches” due to reports of the rampant presence of black magicians, necromancers, and witches in the area. One infamous story about this old city involves its large cemetery where a body of a 12-year-old girl was supposedly found while workers renovated the area. Despite the fact that the girl was dead for around 70 years, the girl’s body is well-preserved due to mummification. Some even say that her body was tied to her coffin, leading superstitious residents of the city to suggest that the girl was used as a sacrifice in an occult ritual conducted by one of the hidden covens in the city. There are also reports of seeing a ghost of young girl roaming around the cemetery.

Another terrifying tale said to have taken place in Cinco Saltos involves the Pellegrini Lake where many child sacrifices were purportedly performed by the resident witches. This is supported by reports from visitors of hearing eerie shrieks of young kids when they pass through the lake’s crossing at night. Some people tried to locate the source of these unnerving screams but they always ended up unsuccessful.

3. The Dargavs

This village is more popularly known as the “City of the Dead” and is regarded as among the most enigmatic locations in Russia. Hidden somewhere in the Caucasus Mountains in North Ossetia of southern Russia. Looking at the site from a distance, it may seem like a regular hill village with crude houses, but in reality, Dargavs is no ordinary village. It is actually an ancient necropolis built around the Middle Ages. People of the Ossetian or Alanian tribe erected these house-looking crypts to bury their family members in, and today, there are currently around 100 stone crypts in the area and some of them contain scattered bones.

Today, many of the residents residing on the mountains steer clear of the necropolis due to a local legend warning that those who would visit the tombs in Dargavs end up receiving a curse that supposedly drives them to an early grave. It also doesn’t help that the area is covered with fog most of the time, adding a spookier feel to the grave site.

4. The Canewdon

Located in East Anglia, Canewdon is often referred to as the “witch country” of England as there are a lot of unverified superstitious tales surrounding the village, particularly about witchcraft. There was once a prophecy made by a famous “cunning man” from the 19th century named James Murrell about Canewdon, saying that the area would be doomed to be infested with witches forever. This makes sense in a way since the village has been the subject of witch lore since the 16th century. There is also a legend which states that each instance that a stone drops from the tower of St. Nicholas Church, a witch will perish only to have another take her place. Another legend claims that should a person run counterclockwise around the church or one of the tombs found in its courtyard during Halloween, ghosts, witches or even the Devil would appear.

More than the legends, what’s really tragic about the village of Canewdon was the fact that it was the site of many witch trials and executions that resulted in the suffering and demise of many people during the 16th and 17th centuries. Among the more notable magicians who came from Canewdon include George Pickingill, a black magician heralded as one of the world’s primary authority on witchcraft and Satanism during the early 20th century.

5. The Yarumal

The municipality of Yarumal in the Antioquia Department of Colombia has the unfortunate reputation of having an alarmingly large portion of its population suffer from the neurological curse of dementia. Out of 5,000 of its villagers, it has been determined that half of them will develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, with some of them getting afflicted with the neurological disease even before they hit 40 years of age.

As for the reason why so many of the residents in Yarumal are fated to suffer the affliction of dementia early in their lives, scientists have determined that a genetic mutation causing the disease can be traced back to a Spanish conquistador who arrived in the region sometime in the 17th century. The mutation is referred to as E280A and can be found on the 14th chromosome of a gene. While suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease is not fate that should be wished on anyone, there is a silver lining to the fact that many of the residents in Yarumal have this particular genetic mutation. Researchers believe that the people of Yarumal are the key to finding a permanent and effective cure to dementia, which is why the mountain village today is also serving as a large laboratory where the conditions of the villagers are thoroughly studied.

6. The Bhangarh

Regarded as the most haunted site in India, the ruins of the city of Bhangarh in the Rajasthan, India was once a stronghold of the Mughal Empire during the 16th century until the empire weakened by the early 19th century. However, it was the famine of 1783 that drastically diminished the human population in city and since then, Bhangarh has remained largely uninhabited.

The fort of Bhangarh is full of temples and palaces but despite its breathtaking sites, the city today is nothing more than an abandoned “ghost” town. In fact, even now, entry to the city between sunset and sunrise is prohibited and outsiders are warned against entering the city by the Archaeology Survey of India. There is even a legend circulating in the region that anyone who dared to visit the ghost city at night is fated to remain trapped inside the city’s ruins for eternity. Nevertheless, thousands of people have visited Bhangarh at night every year, either because they don’t believe in the curse or they want to see for themselves if it’s real.

As for why the city is cursed, one story tells of a holy man called Baba Balnath who gave his permission for the people to construct the town so long as the buildings they erected did not cast a shadow over his residence. If they did, he would punish the people by destroying the city. A descendant prince, however, violated this rule leading Balnath to curse the entire town.

Another tale speaks of a wizard called Singhiya who fell in love with the princess of Bhangarh named Ratnavati. To make the princess love him, Singhiya cast a spell on a fragrance purchased by one of the princess’s attendants. However, the princess saw through the plan and caused the magician’s death. Before he took his last breath, Singhiya cursed Bhangarh, prophesizing that people would soon abandon the city completely.

There is no way to tell if all these old towns and villages from different parts of the world are actually cursed. What we can say is that the spooky tales and legendary curses connected with these old sites are what makes these places all the more interesting for many of us. This is why many of us go out of our way to see them for ourselves – because they infuse a little fear, strangeness, and mystery into our normal lives.

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 Sources: 

http://listverse.com/2016/04/29/10-cursed-villages-and-towns/
https://moviepilot.com/posts/3895720
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazirah_Al_Hamra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_Saltos
http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/city-dead-mysterious-village-dargavs-russia-003436/page/0/1
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=nDdcVt9-jnMC&pg=PA50&dq=canewdon+witches&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=canewdon%20witches&f=false
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28514-conquistador-brought-early-onset-alzheimers-to-colombian-town/
http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/ghost-city-bhangarh-and-curse-holy-man-002380?nopaging=1

5 Legendary & Mysterious Armors in History

History’s most amazing artifacts are the armors ancient warriors wore to battle. Not having the kind of technology we have today, it is amazing to see such intricate and outstanding work that survives to this day despite being battle-worn and suffering many blows in its days.
The skillful hands of a blacksmith are what warriors and knights have to be thankful for. Without them, they would be riding to certain death.

However, our concept and idea of what a battle armor in the ancient days are confined to the clunky, modern-day interpretation of Medieval European armor; those things that you see standing in dark hallways in horror movies or some creepy old guy’s dusty library.

But the ancient world has a multitude of peoples in different countries and each country has a unique culture that is magnified by the clothes they wear, the food they eat, up to the garments they put on during war time.

#5 — The Bronze Helmet (Greece)

The Ancient Greeks are a talented civilization that has given us many things from astronomy to democracy. However, despite our understanding of them being scholars and politicians, the Greeks are also fierce warriors that have one of the most organized armies in the ancient world.
The closest kind of armor that we are familiar with are those that we have seen in movies like Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans. While there may be similarities between those and their historical inspirations, we are only scratching the surface of what we know about Grecian battle armor.

In 2007, a particular piece of armor was dredged up from Haifa Bay in Israel. It was a Greek helmet made of bronze and ornamented with gold leaves; images of snakes, lions, and a peacock’s palmette also add to the design of the interesting find.

How it ended up in the bottom of the bay is still a mystery to researchers. However, it was not discounted that warriors who travel do lose some of their things such as weaponry, trinkets, and pieces of their garments for whatever reason. 

Archaeologists do believe that the helmet belonged to a wealthy Greek mercenary who might have taken part in a series of wars that ravaged the area which dates the helmet as far back as 2600 years old. Also, experts hypothesize that the unknown mercenary who owned the helmet might have fought for an Egyptian Pharaoh named Necho II.

Further research on the helmet also revealed that it had similarities with another helmet found in the 1950s near the island of Giglio, Italy.

“The gilding and figural ornaments make this one of the most ornate pieces of Greek armor discovered,” described Jacob Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

#4 — Plant Armor (Oceania and Micronesia)

When we speak of armor, we think about heavy, shiny metal that is double – or triple – the weight of the average warrior. We imagine insanely hot smithies where blacksmiths hammer away at pieces of plate and sheet metal.

However, in the far, coastal regions of Micronesia and Oceania, locals have found an unlikely yet very effective material to make their armor with plants.

While the Greeks are also known to make their protective armors out of plant-based material, it is the warriors from the Kiribati Islands that have perfected the making of it. For the locals of this region of the Pacific, the armor and weapons that they produce were products of readily available material that they could forage such as palm fronds, tree bark, and even animal parts. Combining different materials from land and sea proved to be life-saving implements when battles began to arise.

An example of this kind of armor is constructed using coir, a particularly strong fiber material harvested from coconut trees. Woven together and tightly, it forms an impenetrable layer that protects the body of the person wearing it. Also, like any battle armor, the plant armor comes in several parts that protect almost every part of the warrior’s body – it would even sometimes appear that a Kiribati warrior is more protected than his enemies.

Covered from head to toe, a typical suit of armor from the Pacific and Oceania are a thick woven coat and trousers made of coir, a thicker woven vest, a woven back plate, and a helmet that is usually made out of dried carcasses of porcupine fish.

It is said that the entire suit of armor can withstand projectile weaponry like arrows and spears as well as be able to parry bladed weapons in close quarter combat.

#3 — Skin and Bone (Siberia)

In September 2014, a team of archaeologists from Russia unearthed one of the world’s most mysterious pieces of armor. Made entirely out of bone, archaeologists believe that it belonged to a Siberian knight from 4000 years ago.

What was even more stunning about the discovery was how they discovered it in near-perfect condition. 

Buried in the area of Omsk, Siberia, the armor was said to have consisted of several plates of varying sizes to match the wearer’s anatomy all made of bone that was woven together. Suspecting that the bones were from large animals like deer or horse, tests are still being made to find the exact age of the bone armor although, as researchers believe, it is most likely from the Bronze Age.

However, what was quite puzzling about the remarkable find was that it was found to be buried on its own and not alongside a body. Because armor itself had great value during the Bronze Age, it took great lengths to keep it in great condition, and plenty of care and maintenance were required to keep it from deteriorating. The bone armor excavated in Omsk, therefore, suggests that it was buried as a form of offering.

According to Yury Gerasimov, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography in Omsk, the bone armor would most likely have belonged to an elite soldier or warrior. It would have given him “good protection from weapons that were used at the time – bone and stone arrowheads, bronze knives, spears tipped with bronze, and bronze axes.”

Another inconsistency found about the bone armor was that it was far from the style of battle garments worn in that region of Siberia. Experts claim that its design had a much closer resemblance to the cultures of a tribe that originated in the Altai Mountains, a region that is about 1000 km away from where the bone armor was found. This, therefore, led the research team to hypothesize that the bone armor may also be a war trophy or a gift from one culture to another.

#2 — Tatami Gusoku (Japan)

Metal is one of the most common and practical materials used in making suits of armor. Its hardness is highly valued regarding protecting the body of the wearer from attacks.
However, despite skillful design, some suits of armor can still be clunky and difficult to transport when battles are done abroad. However, in ancient Japan, armor was made with the same discipline as they make their legendary swords.

We know the Japanese to be a disciplined race who aim for beauty and perfection in everything they do from pouring tea to clipping branches. The same discipline to perfection is also applied to their one of a kind armor.

Called Tatami Gusoku, it roughly translates as “to fold armor” or “folded armor.” The reason being is that these unique pieces are made in such a way that they can fit into a small box which makes it easy for individual soldiers to transport them.

The armor consists mainly of an armored jacket, a foldable cuirass, as well as a helmet and hood to protect their heads. It had parts that corresponded to a traditional Japanese full suit of armor, the ones we are more familiar with in movies and pop culture.

The Tatami Gusoku is constructed by binding each protective plate with chain mail that links together to form a shirt-like garment. Sensitive parts of the body, such as the chest, had larger plates of metal bound by these chains. Also, the unique construction and material of this suit of armor makes it considerably lighter than its contemporaries and allowed warriors an even wider range of movement since they are not particularly hindered by large and heavy pieces of metal in places where they need to be nimble.

#1 — The Horned Helmet (England)

Designed and made by Austrian goldsmith, Konrad Seusenhofer, the Horned Helmet was originally part of an entire suit of armor gifted by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I to Henry VIII in the 16th Century.

The horned helmet is nothing new in the world of battle armor. Technically, it was not a helmet but an “armet”; a headpiece worn by soldiers that protect his head as well as his entire face during combat. First introduced in the 15th Century, armets were more popular and extensively used in areas of Italy, England, France, and parts of Spain. But for this list, let’s just stick to calling it a helmet.

This particular helmet jumps to the top of our list for its, well… “unique”… looks. Designed to completely cover the wearer’s face, the Horned Helmet resembles the face of a smiling demon with sharp teeth. On its head was a pair of metal horns that twisted outwards. Another peculiar feature of the helmet was a pair of metal glasses that sit on its pointed nose.

Rumor has it that these glasses served a functional purpose because Henry VIII was allegedly near sighted and had a collection of spectacles that was discovered after his death.
It was also rumored that the helmet belonged to Henry’s court jester, Will Somers, when it was first discovered centuries later.

The whereabouts of the rest of the armor are no longer to be found and are assumed to have been destroyed or discarded as scrap metal over the years. Thankfully, due to its grotesque appearance, the helmet was saved from destroyed and is now preserved in the collection of the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

While many suits of armor and helmets were used in battle, this helmet and its now destroyed suit were mainly used by Henry VIII in ceremonies and parades.

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Sources:
http://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/more-metal-amazing-historical-suits-armor-007837?nopaging=1
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/21/japanese-armor-worn-by-all-samurai-classes-the-tatami-gusoku/
http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/archaeologists-unearth-4000-year-old-siberian-knight-armour-102090
http://www.livescience.com/18700-ancient-helmet-greek-warrior.html
http://warfarehistorian.blogspot.com/2013/03/odd-fighting-units-of-world-history.html
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/01/01/henry-viiis-bizarre-looking-horned-helmet-was-designed-for-use-in-parades-rather-than-for-combat/

Green Children of Woolpit Visitors from Another World

Once upon a time, there was a folk tale called The Green Children of Woolpit. It's the story of two strange children mysteriously appearing in the wolf-pit of a small English village, spoke a different language, and were not used to sunlight. Even stranger: they refused to eat anything but raw beans and had green skin!

Where did they come from? Why are they green? Why are they speaking in an unknown language? Will they live happily ever after? To find answers to such questions, this 12th century English folk tale deserves to be retold for the fact checking generation.

This is a Re-telling of The Green Children of Woolpit

Once upon a time in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk in 12th Century England, during the reign of either King Stephen from 1135 to 1154 AD or King Henry II from 1154 to 1189 AD, the story of the green children of Woolpit were recorded in separate, but near similar chronicles of two scholars.

One was written by Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall and was included in the Chronicon Anglicanum (English Chronicle) manuscript, which he took over from 1187 until his last signed entry in 1224. In his version, the children were brother and sister, who was found by the villagers near the mouth of a wolf-pit. They were human in form, all except for the green colour of their skin. The children were later on brought to the house of a knight named Sir Richard de Calne, where they were offered shelter and food.

However, they wouldn't touch anything served to them despite great hunger, except for raw beans. In fact, it was all that they ate for a very long time. The two, however, wouldn't share a similar fate. The boy wasn't able to adapt to their new life in Woolpit, fell into depression, refused to eat, and eventually died.

The girl on the other hand, gradually grew used to eating different kinds of food. As a result, her skin lost its green tinge and she was able to blend into village society. After learning to speak English, she described where she was from as veiled in the perpetual dusk with almost no sunlight. She revealed that where she's from everything is green, including the people like her and her brother.

When asked about how the two of them ended up in the wolf-pit, she said they were watching over their flocks when they heard the melodic sound of bells coming from inside a cavern. When they followed the sounds their senses were overwhelmed by the blinding light of the sun and the sudden change in temperature and when they came to they were in the wolf-pits. They were startled by the noise around them and tried going back where they came from but the entrance of the cavern wasn't there anymore. The girl continued to stay with the knight that took them in, as Abbot Ralph affirms, noting in his records that he personally heard this from Sir Richard de Calne and his family. He also mentions that she received the rites of baptism, implying that her actions and beliefs now follow the moral standards of the times. But ironically, he also points out that she "was rather loose and wanton in her conduct."

The second version was by English historian William of Newburgh, who was, at first — according to Thomas Keightley's 1884 book, The Fairy Mythology — a sceptic. But, after he was "at length overcome by the weight of evidence" (although what evidence it was he doesn't make any mention in his chronicles) wrote about the green children in Historia Rerum Anglicarum (History of English Affairs).

While William's version shares a lot of similar details with Abbot Ralph's — like the sudden appearance of the children, the boy getting sick and eventually dying, and the girl is telling the villagers where they were from — there are a few details that either wasn't in the first version or entirely contradicts it. 

In William's records, the girl said they were from a twilight place called St. Martin's Land, named after their patron saint. She describes the place as having many churches with its residents of the Christian faith. She says that St. Martin's Land also doesn't receive much sunlight, but from across the river, they can see a very bright country. And after crossing the river and cutting through the dense forest, they found themselves at Woolpit. In this version, the girl married Richard Barre, an ambassador of King Henry II, changed her name to Agnes Barre, and settled down in King's Lynn at Norfolk.

However, some scholars refute this information, citing that the only Richard Barre in King Henry II's court was a former archdeacon, who later on retired as a canon, which makes it highly unlikely that he ever married.

And in both versions, that's how the story abruptly and anti-climatically ends. 

We're given no chance to ask "Why?" as we're bombarded with one event after another, continuously demanding for our unquestioning acceptance of faeries, trolls, pigs that build houses, and in this case, mysterious green children. It's this bare bones nature of storytelling that makes folk tales too irresistible for our own imaginations to go into the meaning-making mode and try to fill in the gaps in the story. What's kept and what's added to the story as it's passed through generations keep folk tales in a perpetual state of transformation, giving it its literary longevity.

So, St. Martin's Land, as Paul Harris speculated in the Fortean in 1998, could be Fornham St. Martin, a town north of Bury St. Edmunds. The cavern in Abbot Ralph's story could've been any of the entrance to the flint mines in the area, and the bells they heard could've been from the sound of neolithic flints inside the mines.

The children could've been Flemish immigrants, who fled from Fornham St. Martin to Woolpit through the mines and across Thetford Forest to escape persecution from King Henry II. Which also explains why they spoke in a different language. The sun in William's story could've been blocked by the tall trees in Thetford Forest. And the wide river separating St. Martin's Land and Woolpit could've been the Lark river. Or it could be as Robert Burton hypothesized in his book The Anatomy of Melancholy, that the children "fell from Heaven," set forth in motion the theory that they're extraterrestrials. This was picked up by astronomer Duncan Lunan in 1996, whose theory was that the children accidentally teleported to Earth from another planet. Which, following all Sci-Fi tropes, would also explain the green colour of their skin. Of course, it could also be that they were affected by hypochromic anemia. Originally known as chlorosis, it's a condition where the red blood cells are not only smaller but paler than normal.

It's often caused by poor diet, and lack of nutrition, resulting in the reduced delivery of healthy red blood cells to tissues is what gives the skin a green hue. Chlorosis is a very likely explanation why they had green skin, considering that the girl lost her skin's green tinge as soon as she started eating other types of food aside from raw beans. But as fun, as it is to find tangible pieces of evidence to prove that the folk tale of the green children of Woolpit is real, the real fun is deciphering the symbolisms used in the story. In literature, green is commonly used to describe two sides of the same coin. It can be used to describe sickness, as in when we say sickly green. But we can also use it to represent health and vitality, as in when we say fresh greens.

In Celtic mythology, green is associated with the Green Man, a decorative architectural motif used in pagan temples and later on also in medieval churches, who represents the cycle of life. Shakespeare used green to symbolize young love, as in the green pastorals of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Or jealousy, as in the green-eyed monster in Othello. Green is also the colour of permission, as in to get the green light. As in it's okay to believe in folk tales. It also means go, as in go ahead. 

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Sources:

The Green Children of Woolpit: the 12th-century legend of visitors from another world, http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/green-children-woolpit-12th-century-legend-visitors-another-world-002347

THE GREEN CHILDREN OF WOOLPIT - INVESTIGATING A MEDIEVAL MYSTERY, https://eclectariumshuker.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-green-children-of-woolpit.html

The Green Children of Woolpit, http://brian-haughton.com/ancient-mysteries-articles/green-children-of-woolpit/

1135~1154: The Green Children of Woolpit, http://anomalyinfo.com/Stories/11351154-green-children-woolpit

The Mysterious Green Children…, http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/2016/11/mysterious-green-children/

The Irresistible Psychology of Fairy Tales, https://newrepublic.com/article/126582/irresistible-psychology-fairy-tales

The challenge of retelling Grimms' fairy tales, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/sep/21/grimms-fairy-tales-philip-pullman

Jung and the Fairy Tale, Or Nosce Te Ipsum, http://psyartjournal.com/article/show/kardaun-jung_and_the_fairy_tale_or_nosce_te_ipsu

Once Upon a Time: The lure of the fairy tale, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/23/once-upon-a-time-3

Into the Woods, 5: Wild Folklore, http://windling.typepad.com/blog/2013/05/wild-folklore.html

HISTORY OF THE GREEN MAN, http://www.greenmanenigma.com/history.html

Representations of the Color Green in Shakespeare by Matsuda Misako,http://www.seijo.ac.jp/pdf/falit/225/225-3.pdf

“How green!”: The Meanings of Green in Early Modern England and in The Tempest, https://erea.revues.org/4465

Insane Things People Have Done Through History to Achieve Eternal Youth

Man is in an endless pursuit to achieve immortality. For as far as mankind’s written history allows us to recall, humanity has always been fascinated in finding ways to extend our lifespan in the hopes of slowing, if not putting a permanent stop, to our body’s inevitable biological aging process. For some, our attempts at prolonging life is limited to the more conventional method of leading a healthy lifestyle by eating nourishing food, exercising and maintaining a positive and tranquil state of mind. 

However, at several points in our past, we find people who have pushed the boundaries of human creativity and imagination in their attempt to gain eternal youth. From a more scientific standpoint that we have today, some of the lengths these individuals had taken during their lifetime to become immortal are not only deemed as completely misguided but could also be regarded as bordering on insanity.  

And so, for this video, let’s enumerate the insane things people have done throughout history to achieve immortality or eternal youth. 

#1 —  Bathing in Sour Donkey Milk

Cleopatra came to be known in history as the last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt and is arguably the most famous member of the Ptolemaic dynasty’s royal line. But other than her role in the Roman political conflicts that eventually led to the downfall of the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, she also gained renown for her striking beauty and irresistible allure. As to how she managed to retain her youthful and brilliant glow, Cleopatra regularly bathed in sour donkey milk. In the ancient times, the donkey’s milk was used as some kind of chemical peel, as the lactic acid it contains peels off the topmost layer of the human skin. The queen was also believed to be fascinated with using other means to maintain and enhance her physical appearance such as utilizing crocodile feces as a rudimentary form of makeup foundation. 

#2 — Drinking the Blood of Gladiators

The Romans were very creative when it came to coming up with various and sometimes revolting concoctions in an attempt to improve their health or extend their lifespan. One example of an unpleasant habit that the Romans largely practiced for centuries is drinking the blood of gladiators. As people who fought to the death for a living, gladiators were highly-regarded for their bravery, strength and vitality. And it was believed that those who would want to inherit a gladiator’s power must drink the warrior’s warm blood in order to consume his essence and soul. In fact, some people who suffered from epilepsy at the time considered the blood of gladiators as an effective cure for their affliction. Their blood was such a hot commodity during this era that people would rush down into the arena and sip a vanquished fighter’s blood straight from his arm or throat to absorb his power. There were also concession stands that made a lucrative living by selling the blood of these gladiators while the blood servings were still warm. 

#3 — Consumption of Immortality Pills & Elixirs of Life

The Western world was not the only civilization interested in finding the answer to attaining eternal youth. Imperial China’s history is also filled with tales of men or groups of people who have dedicated much of their life in concocting immortality pills and elixirs of life that would grant ceaseless existence, be it physical or spiritual. Many Chinese alchemists have dared to make their own formulas of pills and elixirs that could supposedly cease and potentially even reverse the process of human aging. These efforts were largely supported by several emperors as well as members of the noble bloodline who hoped death would not be able to take away their power, influence and legacy. 

The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, for example, was not just known for being the first ruler to unify China; he was also known for his obsession in finding the key to immortality. He sent people away to look in different parts of his vast empire for a “real” Elixir of Life that would grant him eternal life. He even took immortality pills which were formulated by his alchemists. In the end, the emperor died young at 39 years of age and the most likely cause of his demise was mercury poisoning, perhaps from all the immortality pills he, consumed during his brief life. 

Unfortunately, the dream of living forever was not exclusive to Qin Shi Huang. Many other emperors of China that came after him also regularly consumed immortality pills and drank elixirs which contained toxic substances, and instead of extending their lives, these pills and elixirs only shortened the duration of their respective reigns.

#4 — Self-Mummification

Mummification is the process which involves the intentional or incidental preservation of a deceased’s skin, flesh and organs. But not all mummified bodies were preserved after their death; some people in the past deliberately commenced the preservation of their corporeal body while they were still alive in order to achieve a superior and more enlightened state of being.  

“Sokushinbutsu” is an ascetic practice of Buddhist monks largely performed in Japan which is believed to have started sometime in the 11th century. This extreme Buddhist practice of asceticism involved the shunning of all worldly pleasures to the point that the monks would enter a process of self-mummification even while they were still alive. The Sokushinbutsu requires a period of around 3,000 days up to ten years before the entire process is completed by devoted monks. They would have to follow a very strict diet referred to as “mokujikigyo,” which literally translates to “eating a tree.” This means that the monk could not eat anything more than the seeds and resins that could be gathered in the mountains, and must abstain from eating cereals. Eventually, these monks would fast and meditate for longer periods of time until they completely starve themselves, denying themselves even the consumption of liquids. Even in this weakened condition, they would continue to be in a state of “jhana” or meditation until they die. Their dehydrated bodies would become naturally preserved mummies that are still revered and venerated by many followers of Buddhism. Some people today even still regard these mummified monks as very much alive although their bodies are said to be in a deep meditative trance. 

Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Japan attempted to achieve this extreme form of meditative state, but only 24 monks so far were granted the status of being the “Living Buddha.” Eventually, the practice of Sokushinbutsu was outlawed by the government of Japan in the late 19th century although self-mummification in their culture still endured until the 20th century. At present, however, Sokushinbutsu is no longer an advocated Buddhist practice in the country. 

#5 — Drinking Gold Chloride

Among the most notable cases of people who have pursued eternal youth is that of Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henry II of France. The king’s official wife was Catherine de’ Medici but he found much comfort in having the widow Diane de Poitiers as his companion even though she was 20 years older than him. History books wrote of her youthful appearance and her porcelain-like skin that never seemed to fade even as she grew older. 

King Henry II’s mistress took great lengths to ensure that she maintained her physique. She kept in shape by swimming daily, horseback riding and hunting. However, her beauty secret that ensured permanence of her great white skin is her regular consumption of an elixir which contained a mixture of gold chloride and diethyl ether. This concoction was very popular at French court and was believed at the time to be an effective anti-aging treatment for its ability to harness the power of the sun and transfer it to its drinker. 

However, Diane de Poitiers’s obsession with keeping her youthful beauty came at a great cost, as her desire to look forever young and the remedy she resorted to in order to preserve her appearance was the one that slowly and eventually killed her. At age 66, her daily dose of gold chloride indeed made her look half her actual age, but she is also thought to have succumbed to the secondary effect of the concoction – that is, chronic gold poisoning. 

Even in modern times, man remains engrossed in its quest for eternal youth and prolonging human life. Most people have chosen to stick with more conventional methods such as maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, while others have turned to the breakthroughs of medical science for more radical options that would allow them to enhance their beauty and cling onto their youth for as long as possible. The priorities of modern science, of course, are beyond maintaining a person’s young and beautiful aesthetics. The field of medical science is also fixated with making the human body impervious to deterioration by finding a way to permanently suppress cell death and consequently achieve actual physical immortality. 

There’s no certainty when humanity may successfully unlock the secret to eternal life and perpetual youth, but should the time come that we do become immortals, what do you think would life mean for us then if we consciously know that we can never die? Perhaps that is the bigger mystery we should try and answer first.

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SOURCES:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4577860/Man-s-craziest-attempts-history-cheat-death.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemaic_dynasty
http://hippocratescode.com/epilepsy/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/5917027/powdered-mummy-gladiator-blood-and-other-historical-medicines-made-from-human-corpses
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12953616
http://www.allday.com/these-real-people-actually-tried-to-achieve-immortality-2180824159.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pill_of_Immortality
http://io9.gizmodo.com/7-ways-that-people-died-trying-to-become-immortal-1691947345
http://nifymag.com/the-craziest-things-people-have-ever-done-throughout-history-to-try-and-cheat-death/#.WVcLKoiGPb0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu
http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6865939/French-kings-mistress-poisoned-by-gold-elixir.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1236916/Dying-look-good-French-kings-mistress-killed-gold-elixir-youth.html

The Real Man Behind the Iron Mask

Around the time of King Louis XIV’s reign in France in the 17th century, there is a story of a mysterious man who had spent many years trapped behind the walls of several French prisons, including the Bastille as well as the Fortress of Pignerol. No one knew who he was or why he was put in jail. Over the centuries that passed, some even argued that no one had even seen his face as this enigmatic prisoner had never spent a day of his life in prison without donning a black velvet mask that hid his true identity. 

This unidentified inmate of several French prisons has been the subject of a variety of tales and legends, particularly in the written works of the likes of Alexandre Dumas and Voltaire, who actually popularized the idea that the prisoner’s mask was crafted from iron. And while the story of an imprisoned man wearing an iron mask seems one of fiction than fact, many historians are in agreement that such a man did exist in France several hundred years ago. 

If this masked prisoner was indeed real, who was he and why did he have to wear a black mask? Over the years, dozens of potential personalities have been presented as the real man behind the iron mask, but experts have had a hard time universally agreeing on a single individual that could be his actual hidden identity. 

And so for this video, we will explore some of these suggested personalities, speculated or real, and assess the likelihood of each one as the potential true identity of the legendary “Man in the Iron Mask.” 

The Story of the Man Behind the Iron Mask

“L’Homme au Masque de Fer,” which in English translates to “The Man in the Iron Mask,” is arguably the most famous prisoner in French history. The earliest known record of this unidentified prisoner dates all the way back to July 1669.  In a letter from the Marquis de Louvois to Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, the governor of the prison of Pignerol at the time, the minister mentioned that a prisoner named “Eustache Dauger” was going to be arriving the following month or so. The prison’s governor was told to make the necessary preparations for the prisoner’s arrival, and that Saint-Mars will be the one to oversee the immediate needs of the inmate by visiting only once a day. It was also mentioned in the letter that if the man said anything else apart from his daily needs, he would be executed. Louvois also noted that Dauger did not require a lot of attending to as he was “only a valet.”

While the name of the mysterious inmate was revealed in the letter as Eustache Dauger, no one knew for certain if this was his real name or was just a made-up name to ensure that his true identity stays never gets revealed. Much of the fascination over this individual largely stems from the rumor that his face had to be covered with a black velvet or an iron mask at all times while he was in jail, which naturally sparked the public’s interest and consequently gave rise to many theories and stories about who Dauger was.  It was also a wonder to many people how grave his crimes must have been that he was placed in a prison meant for those deemed to be an embarrassment to the state and why his jailers took extensive precautions to keep him imprisoned for more than three decades of his life in almost complete isolation.   

The interesting tale of the man who was forced to wear an iron mask at all times led to various speculations, which were explored in works authored by the likes of Voltaire in “Le siècle de Louis XIV” and Alexandre Dumas in “The Vicomte de Bragelonne.” For example, some believed that the masked prisoner was nothing more than just a lowly servant who probably saw something he should not have seen, or whose physical appearance displeased the king. There were those, however, who believed that there was so much more to the identity of this prisoner, going so far as to claim that he was someone of royal blood whose face had to remain unseen as he bore a strong resemblance to another individual already in power at the time. 

Illegitimate Half-Brother or Twin Brother of King Louis XIV

One of the popular theories about the lineage of the masked prisoner was initially suggested by Voltaire, who claimed that “The Man in the Iron Mask” was the older, illegitimate half-brother of King Louis XIV, and was the son of Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin. Dumas worked on a similar theory in his book but with one substantial change: the prisoner was not just the half-brother of King Louis XIV but was his older identical twin, making him the legitimate king of France. As the story goes, the king’s brother had to be kept hidden as his existence would raise a serious and chaotic issue about succession. But since a prince with royal blood is not allowed to be killed, he had to spend the rest of his days in prison while wearing a mask the entire time to hide his striking resemblance with the reigning king.  

Real Father of King Louis XIV

There was also a suggestion that the imprisoned man in the iron mask was actually the biological father of King Louis XIV. According to this particular theory, Louis XIV’s miraculous birth came at a time when Louis XIII was already very old, sickly and possibly impotent, which implies that he may not have been capable of fathering a child at the time that Louis XIV’s was conceived. 

Before the birth of Louis XIV, the heir presumptive to the throne of France was Gaston d’Orléans, the brother of King Louis XIII. Neither the king nor the queen was fond of Gaston. The queen, in particular, did not see it as in her best interests to allow Gaston’s ambition to ascend as the next king as she knew he would surely suppress her influence and power. And so, through the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu, the king’s minister and an enemy of Gaston d’Orléans, a substitute was selected to impregnate the queen and father an heir to the throne in the king’s stead. 

After escaping to the Americas, this substitute supposedly returned to France in the 1660s and tried to extort money in exchange for keeping the secret that he was King Louis XIV’s real father. To protect the legitimacy of Louis XIV’s claim to the throne, the man was immediately arrested. However, out of respect for his biological father, the king allegedly could not bring himself to order the man’s execution and have chosen comfortable imprisonment as a more suitable punishment instead. 

General Vivien de Bulonde

Another theory about the true identity of “The Man in the Iron Mask” came from the Great Cipher of Louis XIV, which was decrypted by Etienne Bazeries of the French Army’s cryptographic department around the 1890s. One of the decoded messages mentioned of a prisoner named General Vivien de Bulonde, who supposedly angered the king for his cowardice during the siege of Cuneo back in 1691. Out of fear of the approaching troops from Austria, de Bulonde ordered the hasty withdrawal of the army, leaving behind supplies and injured soldiers in the process. This enraged the king, who ordered the general’s arrest and imprisonment at the fortress of Pignerol.

It is difficult to determine whether Bulonde really was the iron-masked inmate especially since Bulonde’s arrest was not a secret and was actually reported in the newspaper around that time. Moreover, his death has been recorded to have taken place in 1709, which is six years later than the reported death of the masked prisoner in 1703. 

Count Ercole Antonio Mattioli

Another famous candidate believed to be “The Man in the Iron Mask” was Count Ercole Antonio Mattioli, an Italian diplomat, and minister of Ferdinand Charles, the Duke of Mantua. Mattioli was entrusted in securing the sale of the fortified town of Casale in 1678. However, after he secured his earnings from the agreement, Mattioli betrayed France by leaking the details of the treaty to the country’s Spanish enemies, which thwarted France’s plans to successfully occupy the town. Infuriated over Mattioli’s treachery, the king ordered for Mattioli’s abduction and was subsequently imprisoned in Pignerol in April 1679. 

Because the masked man is known to have been buried under the name “Marchioly,” this led many to believe that Mattioli and “The Man in the Iron Mask” are the same. However, it is generally agreed on by many experts that Mattioli passed away in Îles Sainte-Marguerite back in April 1694, several years before the death of Eustache Dauger. 

Eustache Dauger de Cavoye

One of the more compelling theories about the identity of “The Man in the Iron Mask” is that Eustache Dauger is actually Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, the son of a captain who served as one of Cardinal Richelieu’s guards. Born in 1637, Eustache joined the royal army but was forced to resign his commission in disgrace after he ended up killing a young page boy during a drunken brawl. During his incarceration, Eustache supposedly complained of how he was treated in prison in 1678, and the king subsequently issued an edict that he was no longer permitted to speak to anybody unless in the presence of a priest.

While Eustache Dauger De Cavoye seemed like the most likely candidate to be “The Man in the Iron Mask,” evidence has emerged that Dauger De Cavoye met his demise in the Prison Saint-Lazare in the 1680s, several years before the death of the famous Eustache Dauger in Îles Sainte-Marguerite in 1703.

Perhaps the most recent theory about the identity of the masked prisoner in 17th-century France is presented by Paul Sonnino, a history professor at UC Santa Barbara, in his 2016 book, “The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask: A Historical Detective Story.” According to Sonnino’s book, Dauger was, in fact, the valet of the treasurer of Cardinal Mazarin, a principal minister in France during the early life of Louis XIV.  Mazarin amassed a huge fortune during his lifetime, which led the valet to believe that some of the minister’s money may have been stolen from the previous king and queen of England. When he was arrested, he was warned not to reveal his real identity to anyone unless he wanted to be executed immediately. 

When “The Man in the Iron Mask” passed away on November 19, 1703, at the Îles Sainte-Marguerite and was buried the following day with the name “Marchioly,” all his possessions in his cell, including his furniture and clothing, were all burned. Everything he owned that were made of metal was melted down. And the walls of his cell were scraped clean, leaving no trace of the inmate that once spent many years of his life in confinement and isolation.

With so many theories on who he really was and speculations on whether or not he was actually guilty of a crime worthy of lifetime incarceration, we may never really know the reason why this famous prisoner had to wear an iron mask while in almost complete isolation in prison. For all we know, Eustache Dauger was just an ordinary citizen who slighted the king and had the unusual punishment of having to wear a mask while living the remainder of his life inside a cell. It probably never even crossed his mind that his life of incarceration would be a subject of intrigue and mystery that managed to capture the interest of countless people even until today.
 

SOURCES:
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/who-was-the-man-in-the-iron-mask
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_in_the_Iron_Mask
http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/016743/mystery-unmasked
https://www.livescience.com/54669-man-in-the-iron-mask-identified.html
http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/story-man-iron-mask-002419?nopaging=1
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/10/real-man-iron-mask/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/how-a-cryptoanalyst-discovered-the-identity-of-the-man-1581576707
http://www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/the-real-man-in-the-iron-mask-dies-in-prison/
http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2016/05/the-mysterious-man-in-the-iron-mask-is-finally-unmasked/

5 Great Ancient Mysteries of China

China is one of the world’s four ancient civilizations and considered the oldest civilization with an unbroken history up to today's modern era. Though Chinese history is unrivaled in its documentation, and its ancient origins have been extensively studied by various experts in science, history and archaeology, China – as a cradle of human civilization – remains a place full of secrets. 

Moreover, so, let us examine five of the greatest ancient mysteries that China has to offer. 

1. Ancient City Under Fuxian Lake

Spanning an area of 212 square kilometers, the Fuxian Lake stretches out through Chenjiang, Jianchuan and Huaning Counties in Yunnan Province. It is ranked as the third-largest lake in Yunnan, and also the deepest lake in the province. As it is 155 meters deep at its greatest depth, the Fuxian Lake is also the third-deepest freshwater lake in all of China. 

The Fuxian Lake is known for its unique fauna and many endemic species, but beyond this is a mystery that lies scattered on the lake’s unexplored bottom. According to an ancient local legend, a city-like silhouette under the lake can be seen on a beautiful calm day from the mountains nearby. To confirm if there is a hidden city in the deep waters of the lake, a Chinese submarine archaeology team stationed in the area conducted surveys in the Fuxian Lake. 

In 2001, they discovered earthenware and stonework beneath the lake, covering an area of approximately 2.4 to 2.7 square kilometers. Carbon dating of some shells attached to the blocks confirmed that the site was 1750 years old, which meant that it had existed around 257 CE and sunk during the Han period. It is believed that the ancient unidentified structure of the under-lake construction could represent the remains of the ancient Dian Kingdom. The Dian Kingdom is an ancient country with a high level of civilization which mysteriously disappeared after 86 BC.  

As for how the ancient civilization ended up at the bottom of the lake, some say that the ancient kingdom slid into the lake during an earthquake. Nevertheless, there are various legends involving the Fuxian Lake which has endured for more than 1,000 years that have yet to be verified. Since it is a huge body of water that remains largely unexplored, the credibility of these compelling mysteries may remain unconfirmed in the foreseeable future.

2. Mystery of the Huashan Caves

Located in the eastern suburbs of Tunxi district in the Anhui province city of Huangshan, the Huashan Caves are steeped in ancient, mysterious legends. Each ranging from 10 to 20 meters in height, the Huashan Caves, were manually chiseled more than 1,700 years ago. Stone columns, which vary in shapes support the caves’ ceilings. Altogether, 36 chambers were found among the Huashan Hills. Some of these chambers are filled with water, while some are two-story chambers. It's neatly chiseled walls and roofs, the big pillars and stone stairs, indicated that men excavated the caves.

Out of all the 36 caves, the biggest of them all is the Qingliang Cave, which is also referred to as the “Underground Palace” because of its scale and magnificent layout. This cave has a total length of 170 meters and an area of 12,600 square meters, and digging out the cave could have originally produced at least 50,000 cubic meters of stone. Inside the cave, a stone bridge above an underground river can be found, and stone paths lead to different halls. 

The Huashan Mountain has the biggest, most content-rich, and best-preserved ancient rock carvings ever discovered in China. They stretch 200 meters long and 40 meters high containing over 1,800 images. Carbon dating suggests the oldest ones are 16,000 years old with the youngest still 690 years old. 

Since no historical records reveal why the ancient people dug the Huashan Caves, some people believe the caves were mined for many stones needed to build a nearby town, to station troops, or maybe as Imperial tombs eventually abandoned. Despite all these guesses, the true reason creating this elaborate site remains an enduring mystery unanswered by today's man.

 
3. The Mystery of the Mystical Yellow Emperor

Ancient Chinese records speak of an extraordinary being, described as a god-like king and the “son of heaven.” This wise and powerful being was Huang-Di or Yellow Emperor. He was a legendary ruler who is said to have lived for over one hundred years around 3,000 B.C. Cited for being instrumental in developing the Chinese society and for being the founder of Chinese civilization, the Yellow Emperor created Chinese medicine, various religious practices, and mechanical inventions. 

However, aside from these achievements, there are several other reasons why the legendary Yellow Emperor was special and different. Huang-Di possessed advanced technology and extensive knowledge of the stars and the heavens. It was even believed that he descended on Earth in a “thunderclap on a clear day” when he began his reign. It has also been said that he had the ability to summon a metal-scaled dragon. He also kept in his possession a magical chariot known as Changhuan, which could take the Yellow Emperor to any part of his kingdom at fantastic speed. 

Given the nature of the Yellow Emperor’s backstory, there are those who have speculated that Huang-Di was actually an extra-terrestrial who landed in the land of ancient China five thousand years ago and ruled over the people who lived in the area at the time. Whether this is true or not, it cannot be denied that the Yellow Emperor is a very important figure in ancient China’s legends and history. 

4. Ancient World Buried Under the Taklamakan Desert

Ancient people believed that once you entered the Taklamakan desert, there was no getting out of it. The Taklamakan desert is the largest desert in China, and it is considered to be the world’s second largest shifting-sand desert, covering a massive area of over 33,700 square kilometers.

A long, long time ago, houses and temples were built amid the vast space of the “Sea of Death.” However, today, everything – including precious ancient relics – are hidden deep under the sand. Over the years, archaeologists have begun to discover some of the secrets that have been hidden in this mysterious region. 

Aside from its vital role in trade and commerce back when Silk Road connected various traders from the East and the West, some believe that an entire ancient world is hidden beneath the sand of the Taklamakan Desert. Remains of houses, temples, and the ancient city of Loulan were found buried under the sand, and corpses dating back nearly 4,000 years were also discovered in the area.

In the late 1980s, several well-preserved mummies estimated to be at least 3000 years old were also discovered in the Taklamakan desert. These well-preserved corpses revealed that these people once had long reddish-blond hair and European features. Neither did they appear to be the ancestors of the modern-day Chinese people. Moreover, so, some experts in archaeology now believe that these mummies were once citizens of an ancient civilization existing at the crossroads between Europe and China. 

While this seems to be a big leap in logic, more surprising discoveries are expected to as archaeologists continue to investigate the mysterious and dangerous desert, which could support or refute the hypothesis of a secret ancient world hidden beneath the sand. 

5. The Great Pyramid of China

The story behind the Great Pyramid of China is beyond interesting. For years, the Chinese government has allegedly hindered proper and extensive studies to be performed on the numerous pyramids located near the city of Xi-an. The pyramids are believed to be over 8,000 years old, and one of them is said to be much larger than the world-famous Great Pyramid of Giza.

The knowledge of the existence of several pyramids in China came to popular attention sometime after the Second World War. Many of the stories focused on the “Great White Pyramid” or the Maoling, which is the tomb of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (156-87 BCE) located in Xingping, Shaanxi Province. 

During World War II, U.S. Army Air Corps pilot James Gaussman is said to have seen a white jewel-topped pyramid during his flight between India and China. Fascinated by what he saw, he decided to take several photographs, which he later submitted along with a detailed report to his superiors as soon as he returned to base. Colonel Maurice Sheahan, the Far Eastern director of the Trans World Airline, told a similar eyewitness account, which was published in the March 28, 1947, edition of The New York Times. Over the years, numerous images of the alleged gigantic pyramids in China have been taken by pilots and satellites, providing further confirmation of the existence of these mysterious structures in Asia. 

Given the immense knowledge of geometry and mathematics required to build these pyramids, a glaring question has been raised: Who were the mysterious people that built these Chinese pyramids?

There are those who speculate that the Great Pyramid, as well as the other pyramids standing in the area, were actually built by extraterrestrial beings. According to reports, several European excursions took samples of the objects and metals around these pyramids. Analysis showed a fascinating detail about them: the metallic materials present at the Pyramids have yet to be accurately identified until now, since these metals are made out of materials that are currently unknown to modern science. 

Aside from the five things we have just discussed, there are several other puzzling and strange ancient places and objects in this Far East civilization that are still shrouded in mystery. Many of these places and artifacts are unknown to the Chinese themselves, but should the time come that their hidden mysteries are completely unraveled, they have the potential to rewrite history as we know it. 

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Sources:
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/10-great-ancient-mysteries-of-china/
http://www.ancientpages.com/2015/06/13/underwater-city-unveiling-the-secrets-at-the-bottom-of-fuxian-lake/
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/anhui/travel/2011-05/10/content_12483078.htm
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/unanswered-questions-related-to-the-mysterious-huashan-caves/
http://www.ancientpages.com/2015/09/21/unravelling-mystery-yellow-emperor-connection-regulus/
https://www.ufoinsight.com/worldly-mysteries-chinas-yellow-emperor/
http://www.ancientpages.com/2014/05/21/secret-ancient-world-buried-under-the-vast-takla-makan-desert/
http://www.ancient-code.com/the-great-pyramid-of-china-the-largest-and-oldest-pyramid-on-the-planet/
http://www.ancientpages.com/2015/10/10/mysterious-great-pyramid-of-china-almost-totally-unknown-even-to-most-chinese/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_pyramids#Sensational_claims

The Ourang Medan, The Mystery of the Deadliest Ghost Ship in History

In June 1947, the Dutch freighter S.S. Ourang Medan was traveling along the straits of Malacca, when the ship suddenly sent out a chilling distress signal.

"All Officers, including the Captain, are dead. Lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead."

This first message was followed by a series of indecipherable Morse code sequences until finally, a last ominous transmission:

"I die." 

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Ourang Medan's grim SOS was picked up by British and Dutch listening posts around Sumatra and Malaysia, who worked together to determined where the signal was coming from and alerted nearby ships.

American merchant ship Silver Star was first to reach Ourang Medan. They waived and shouted at the vessel to check for signs of life above deck. But there was no answer. Only eerie silence.

The US ship decided to send out a rescue team to board the ship to look for survivors. But what they found was a blood-curdling nightmare.

The entire Dutch crew was a ghastly pile of corpses – eyes wide open in horror, mouths are frozen in an eternal scream, arms stretched out as if saying stop as if saying no more.

Inside, they found the captain with the same twisted expression on his face as that of his men, dead on the bridge of the ship. Now nothing more than a dead captain, leading a dead ship.

His once strapping officers are now cold corpses straggled on the wheelhouse and chartroom floor. Even the ship’s dog wasn't spared a horrific death.

But the most harrowing is finding the radio operator, fingertips still on the telegraph where he sent his dying message.

After seeing the chilling devastation on board, the Silver Star decided to tow the Ourang Medan to port. But it wouldn't make it to shore, as thick clouds of smoke started rising from the lower decks and interrupted the rescue.

The crew barely had time to sever the line and move to safety, before the Ourang Medan exploded. The blast was apparently so big that the ship “lifted herself from the water and swiftly sank,” taking with it all the answers to its mysterious end to the bottom of the sea.

Or so the story of the Ourang Medan goes.

Some details may differ slightly in each version of the story. Like it happened in February 1948 instead of June 1947. Or that the waters that day were choppy instead of calm. And that the crew wasn't just dead, but they were decomposing at a faster rate. 

While in some versions, the details are, well, too detailed. Like one of the two American ships that heard the distress signal was named The City of Baltimore. That the smoke from the lower deck before the explosion came exactly from the Number 4 hold. Or that the poor canine aboard was a small terrier.

But whichever version of the story you've heard (or told), the basic plot points remain the same - Ourang Medan's entire crew met a gruesome and inexplicable death, and then very conveniently blew up and sank to the bottom of the ocean, leaving us all with an unsolved nautical macabre mystery.

So what happened to the Ourang Medan?

Theory #1: It was a cover up.

The most commonly pointed out loophole in the tale of the Ourang Medan is the vessel's lack of paper trail.

The Lloyd's Shipping registers don't have any mention of the ship. It's not in The Dictionary of Disasters at Sea that covers the years 1824-1962. It wasn't in the Registrar of Shipping and Seamen either.

There's no trace of it in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Nothing in the Dutch Shipping records in Amsterdam. The Maritime Authority of Singapore also doesn't have the ill-fated ship in any of their records. 

In other words, the Ourang Medan was a ghost ship, even before it gained notoriety as one. Because there's no tangible proof that it even existed.

But as espousers of this legend would explain, it's because the Ourang Medan is part of a transnational government cover-up involving the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, China, the United States, and possibly many others.

They believe that the ship was deliberately expunged from all maritime records because it was being used to smuggle a secret cargo of lethal nerve gas to Japan.

Saying the Ourang Medan's voyage is linked to Army Unit 731 founded by Japanese bacteriologist Shirō Ishii, whose main objective was to bring back a weapon of the chemical, gas, or biological variety, that could win the war in their favor.

But as the Geneva Protocol of 1925 prohibited the use of all chemical and biological weapons in war, the only way a large shipment of poisonous gas could make it across the other side of the world without raising any suspicion from authorities is by loading it as inconspicuous cargo, in an old, beat up Dutch freighter.  

This theory also provides a convenient and somewhat plausible explanation for the grisly death of the Ourang Medan's crew. With that much hazardous chemicals on board, a gas leak would've certainly led to the immediate death of everyone in the ship.

However, it wouldn't explain why the rescue crew from Silver Star wasn't affected by the poisonous gas when they boarded the ship.

Or why, like the Ourang Medan, there’s no mention of the Silver Star in Lloyd's register.

Theory #2: It was carbon monoxide poisoning.

American author and inventor of the term Bermuda Triangle, Vincent Gaddis, speculates that it was carbon monoxide poisoning is the answer to the mysterious deaths of the Ourang Medan crew.

According to his theory, burning fuel from a malfunctioning boiler system produced carbon monoxide fumes that poisoned the crew.

When breathed in carbon monoxide enters the bloodstream and prevents red blood cells from carrying oxygen around the body. At high levels, carbon monoxide can cause dizziness, vomiting, seizures, loss of consciousness, and even death. 

The trouble with this theory is that Ourang Medan is not an enclosed space. Fumes could've simply escaped into the atmosphere, and lives of the crew working the upper decks of the ship would've been spared.

Theory #3: It was pirates.

What's a story about a ghost ship without pirates, right?

There are theories claiming that pirates invaded the Ourang Medan and killed everyone on board, which although doesn't explain some accounts saying that there were no visible wounds on the victims' bodies, it does fit with the Strait of Malacca's long history with piracy as far back as the 14th century.

Because of its geography - narrow and dotted with many islets - it makes it ideal for a surprise attack towards ships using it as the trade route to China and Europe.

Theory #4: Ghosts

One of the most repeated, but arguably, also the most inconsequential detail in the story of the Ourang Medan is the extreme chill the rescue team felt as soon as they entered the hull of the ship, despite it being 110°F outside.

Inexplicable drop in temperature plus the frightened expressions on the crew's faces set in a vast, unforgiving sea, equals ghosts did it.

There aren't many supporters of this theory, but what's a ghost ship story without a ghosts-did-it theory?

Theory #5: Aliens

You might think that the alien theory is the most far-fetched, the most uncreative, the most cop out theory explaining the phenomena of the Ourang Medan, but it's a very popular theory, with entire books dedicated to it.

The story of the Ourang Medan has all the elements of a good mystery - inexplicable deaths, unknown assailants, world powers, war, pirates, ghosts, and multiple highly-plausible conspiracy theories. 

Which is probably why it still fascinates us to this day, even if it's already been dismissed by historians, researchers, and the casual internet fact-checker alike as a hoax.

But if it's good enough for the CIA to release a document in 1959 saying, that the Ourang Medan holds the key to many of the sea's mysteries, including that of sightings of huge fiery spheres that come from the sky and descend into the sea, then, it's certainly a hoax worth retelling.

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Sources:
1. Death Ship: The Ourang Medan Mystery, http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2011/11/death-ship-the-ourang-medan-mystery/
2. The Myth of the Ourang Medan Ghost Ship, 1940, http://skittishlibrary.co.uk/the-myth-of-the-ourang-medan-ghost-ship-1940/
3. S.S. Ourang Medan, http://www.crime-mystery.info/great-mysteries/ss_ourang_medan/the_hoax
4.S.S. Ourang Medan, https://www.historicmysteries.com/ourang-medan/
5. CARGO OF DEATH, https://web.archive.org/web/20070205223141/http://www.neswa.org.au/Library/Articles/A%20cargo%20of%20death.htm
6. LETTER TO<Sanitized> FROM C.H. MARCK, https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80R01731R000300010043-5.pdf
7. Did the Ourang Medan “ghost ship” exist?, https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/20263/did-the-ourang-medan-ghost-ship-exist
8. The SS Ourang Medan: Death Ship (Updated), https://shortoncontent.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/the-ss-ourang-medan-death-ship-updated/
9. Mysterious Death at Sea: the Disturbing Discovery at the S.S. Ourang Medan, http://weekinweird.com/2011/07/17/mysterious-death-sea-disturbing-discovery-s-s-ourang-medan/
10. The Mammoth Book of Unexplained Phenomena: From bizarre biology to inexplicable astronomy, https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=YHCeBAAAQBAJ&lpg=PT263&dq=Vincent%20Gaddis%20ourang%20medan&pg=PT263#v=onepage&q=Vincent%20Gaddis%20ourang%20medan&f=false
11. Vincent Gaddis, http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/eng/Vincent_Gaddis
12. Crime on the high seas: The World's Most Dangerous Waters, http://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/15/worlds-most-pirated-waters.html
13. The World's Most Dangerous Waters, http://time.com/piracy-southeast-asia-malacca-strait/

Rama Setu: The Bridge Between Myth and History

source: hindutva.info

Roughly 1500 years old, narrated in 24,000 verses, and told in 480,000 words, the Sanskrit epic Ramayana forms part of the single most significant body of literature in ancient Indian lore—the Itihasa. Along with Ramayana, the Itihasa consists of another Sanskrit epic in Mahabharata and a collection of olden lore and legends in the Puranas.
 
Ramayana is an epic poem that chronicles the story of how Prince Rama rescued his wife Sita from the Demon King Ravana. Despite being considered as deeply meaningful literature, most experts agree that Ramayana is a product of mythology, rather than an artifact of actual history; in most recent years, however, this previously unshaken academic assumption has become the subject of much historical controversy.

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source: ThoughtCo

In Ramayana, the great Hindu poet and sage Valmiki makes a great mention of Rama Setu, a bridge across the ocean that connects India and Sri Lanka. Ramayana tells the story of how Prince Rama was forced into relinquishing his throne as the crowned prince of Ayodhya. Following his dethronement, the former prince, along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, went into exile; the three spent fourteen years traveling across the deep forests of ancient India. As events unfolded, however, all hell broke loose when, in one of their forests journeys, Rama’s wife Sita was abducted by the Ten Headed Demon King Ravana.
 
To get his wife back, Rama gathered a large army that consists of a group of monkey soldiers called the Vanaras. In the story, Rama led his army from the mainland, which is modern day India, into the Island of Lanka, which is modern day Sri Lanka, where Sita has been held captive by the demon king. There, he waged war against the Demon King Ravana; a battle of epic proportions broke out. But in the end, Rama was able to destroy Ravana. The tale concludes with the return of Prince Rama and Sita to their home kingdom of Ayodhya, where the prince was finally crowned as the new king.

In Ramayana, Rama was initially unable to lead his forces of Vanaras across the ocean to the Island of Lanka. As such, the prince sought the help of the Sea God who gave him the precise instructions on how to build a bridge across the ocean; these included seeking the help of the Vanaras in constructing a floating bridge. The Vanara complied to Rama’s request by constructing a causeway made of rocks and boulders. The Vanaras did this by writing Rama’s name onto the stones, rocks, and boulders, and tossing them into the ocean.  It took the Vanaras five day to complete the bridge Rama Setu. Once in place, Rama used the Rama Setu to move his army across the ocean, and into the Island of Lanka.

source: Dr. Rita Louise

Because Ramayana has always been considered a work of fiction rather than an actual record of the past, the Rama Setu or Rama’s Bridge, in turn, was always believed to be a fictional bridge rather than an actual bridge. But in recent years, thanks to advanced satellite imaging technology, NASA has revealed photos of a land formation that appears to have been a causeway of sorts. These strips of land, although broken, appear to have, at some point in the past, extended across the ocean, thus bridging a part of modern day India into modern day Sri Lanka.
 
Today, this land formation is best known as Rama’s Bridge, in reference to the Rama Setu mentioned in the Ramayana. Rama’s Bridge is a long stretch of land connection that consists shoal and sandbank; it bridges the Rameswaram Island in India and the Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. 

Rama’s Bridge extends to 50 kilometers long; and although most of it is submerged underwater, it forms a solid, albeit intermittent, pathway that connects India to Sri Lanka. The records kept in Rameswaram temple indicate that the bridge remained above sea-level and was passable on foot until sometime in the 15th century when it was finally submerged in water by a great storm.

Both the peoples of India and Sri Lanka has long been aware of the existence of the bridge as made apparent by the prominence of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. Since time immemorial, the sea that separates India and Sri Lanka has been referred to as Sethusamudram, which directly translates to sea of the bridge. 

People in the West, on the other hand, first heard of Rama’s Bridge through Ibn Khordadbeh, a Persian cartographer who lived in the 9th century. The cartographer made a mention of the bridge in his Book of Roads and Kingdoms; in the book; he called it Set Bandhai, which means Bridge of the Sea. 

In the early 19th century, a British cartographer prepared a map of the area and referred to the bridge as Adam’s Bridge; the name was derived from an Abrahamic-Islamic myth that speaks of Adam falling into a mountain in Sri Lanka and using the bridge to cross to mainland India. 

source: Writer's Block - WordPress.com

A good number of Orthodox Hindus believe that the existence of Rama Setu is in itself an unmistakable and undeniable proof of the Ramayana being a part of actual real-life history. To bolster its perceived historical value, believers have put out historical inscriptions, travel guides, dictionary references, and even old maps that validate the existence of Rama Setu as the same exact bridge featured in Ramayana.  

In 2002, NASA released photographs that show an almost unbroken chain of limestone shoals between the southeastern coast of India and the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka; these photos renewed the mythohistorical interests in Rama’s Bridge. Since then, many mainstream scientists, historians, and academics have repeatedly tried to debunk the pseudo-historical claims that surround the existence of Rama’s Bridge, making it clear that the structure in question wasn’t so much of a man-made bridge but a natural land formation of sorts. 

There remains much debate and conflicting claims on the origin and nature of the structure. Among the most prominent theories offered by mainstream science is that Rama’s Bridge is, in fact, a chain of barrier islands that resulted from the natural process of sand deposition and sedimentation that has occurred over long periods of time. Another explanation offered by mainstream scientists is the possibility that the landmasses of India and Sri Lanka may have been connected at some point in time in the old world, making Rama’s Bridge an ancient shoreline. 

In a rather confusing fashion, various scientific studies offer different definitions on what Rama’s Bridge is; it has been described as a chain of shoals, an extended stretch of coral reefs, a sequence of barrier islands, a sandbar, and a narrow strip of land, among other things. For all the speculations and explanations offered by the mainstream sciences, much of the scientific community has yet to arrive at an acceptable consensus on what Rama’s Bridge is exactly. 

Over the years, modern day scientists, historians, and academic researchers have repeatedly made clear what  Rama’s Bridge is not. Rama’s Bridge was not, at any point in time, a manmade structure; Rama’s Bridge, despite its name, is not the same mythohistorical bridge referenced in Ramayana; and perhaps most importantly, Rama’s Bridge was not constructed by the Vanana’s, nor was it built by any other ancient civilization of magical monkey soldiers 2,500,000 ago, as the Sanskrit epic suggests. But what if. What if we remain open to the possibility, however unlikely, that Rama’s Bridge was, in fact, all of these things? What effect then does it have on us, on sense history, and on our perceived understanding of the world? 

At present, it is widely regarded in the academe that civilized life on the planet began about 4,800 years ago. Scientists, historians, and academic researchers, among others, point to the fact that there is no substantial body of evidence whatsoever that supports the existence of a civilization predating ancient Sumerian and Egyptian societies, both of which are considered to be earliest civilizations in prehistory. 

Experts point out that the absence of evidence supporting the existence of a far older civilization plays directly in favor of the currently accepted timelines of civilizational and cultural development. This is where the growing interest in Rama’s Bridge and Ramayana comes in. 

source: HubPages

According to Hindu tradition, the events that unfolded in Ramayana took place during the Treta Yuga, which is presently considered a mythological period that began 2,165,000 years ago and lasted until 869,000 years ago. If we set aside, any mythical exaggeration alluded to in Ramayana, then assuming the possibility that Rama’s Bridge was, at some level, humanmade would place the structure well outside the accepted timeline; the existence of which would consequently imply the existence of a civilization that far predates ancient Sumerian and Egyptian societies. 

Although Rama is central to the unfolding of events in Ramayana, it is not exactly the crowned Prince of Ayodhya that makes for the most significant variable in the mythohistorical debate that surrounds Rama’s Bridge; It is, in fact, his army of monkey soldiers---The Vanaras. Around 2,500,000 years ago, at very doorstep of the Treta Yuga, human evolution was kick-started by the existence the genus Homo, with the Homo Habilis being the first primates that were able to wield tools. And by about 1,800,000 years ago, Homo Erectus started to walk the Earth. 

Archaeological sites that held the bones of Homo Erectus repeatedly reveal that these early humans coexisted in small communities; they lived in huts; they wore clothes, and they fashioned tools made of stone. Homo Erectus, in other words, showed early signs of a developing civilization---traits previously unheard of in predecessor primate groups. 

These ape men, so to speak, literally existed within the Tetra Yuga period.  As such, it might not be too far of a stretch to see the possible connection between today’s accepted history and the cherished mythology in the Ramayana. It’s not too far of a stretch to see the possible connection between these primitive human beings that we know, for a fact, existed in the past, and the Vanaras--builders of the ancient bridge that today rests in the waters of myth, magic, and history. 

The Legendary Curse of Samurai Muramasa Blades

Swords of renown are the objects of many mystical, heroic, and even tragic legends. Fueled by tales of bloodshed and conquest, stories about various swords throughout history have grown to fantastical proportions, combining fact and fiction until the two are indistinguishable.

In ancient Japan, swords were regarded as the “Soul of the Samurai,” and symbolizes a Samurai’s power and prowess. To the samurai, the possession of this dangerous instrument instills a feeling and air of self-respect and responsibility. Carrying the sword is a symbol of what the samurai upholds in his mind and heart – loyalty and honor. And because these weapons were placed in such high regard, so were the swordsmiths that forged them.

The esteem placed on Japan’s ancient swordsmiths was so tremendous that some of them, at one point or another, became as widely acclaimed — if not more so — than as the samurai wielding their creation. And among the greatest and most legendary of Japan’s swordsmiths was Muramasa Sengo.

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Background on Muramasa Sengo

Muramasa Sengo lived and pursued his sword-making craft during the Muromachi Period – between the 14th and 15th century AD - in feudal Japan’s Ise Province, in a the Kuwana town. He founded the Muramasa school and passed down his sword-making art and style to students. This legacy continued for 200 years. Both Muramasa and his sword-making school were known for their extraordinary quality and sharpness of their blades, making their weapons greatly prized and highly sought after by warriors and generals in the early 1500's.

Muramasa was an incredible swordsmith to the point that people regarded him as one of the finest swordsmiths who ever lived. Although he had incredible talent, he was also known to have a troubled mind. Aside from the quality and sharpness of his swords, he also gained notoriety for his rather volatile nature, and some believed a dark curse or evil spirit emanates from his weapons.

The Curse of the Muramasa Blades

The rumors regarding the supposed “curse” of the Muramasa blades mainly originated from the abrasive and venomous personality of Muramasa himself. Besides being a brilliant swordsmith, he supposedly sometimes went insane, bursting into violent rages and lashing out at whoever was nearby. This unbalanced mind bordering on complete madness, a relentless drive for perfection, and a violent passion for crafting deadly swords gave birth to weapons possessing his genius, intense determination, and insane bloodlust.

Muramasa’s swords were said to have a life of their own. There are tales claiming that the swordsmith had made a deal with the devil to make the deadliest and most powerful weapons. Aside from that, Muramasa allegedly had the habit of whispering a prayer to the gods that his swords would become the “greatest destroyers.”

The swords created by Muramasa were believed capable of possessing their wielders and pushing them beyond the brink of murderous rage. Stories say these swords boost swordsmanship, super strength, and resistance to damage and pain! The cursed Muramasa swords are believed to thirst for blood and if not satisfied with enough blood from enemies, they would turn on their owner forcing them to commit suicide for appeasement!

If a Muramasa blade was drawn, that sword would ruthlessly demand blood before it could be placed back into its scabbard, which meant almost certain doom for its wielder if no one else was around for the weapon to unleash its bloodlust upon. There are also claims that a sheathed Muramasa sword would call to be unleashed and compel their owners to kill!

Although the Muramasa swords were irrefutably effective weapons proving reliable in battle, the dark curse surrounding them allegedly made these weapons just as dangerous for its wielders and those around them. The swords were believed to hardly discriminate between friend and foe, using their owners only as mere instruments to help them kill people — even the wielders’ allies, friends, and family. It was also quite common to hear about owners of Muramasa swords going insane, with their minds bent to or destroyed by the demonic will of their weapons. Sometimes, these warriors ended up killing themselves to escape the curse and the madness that come with the swords.

Banning of the Muramasa Blades

Even with the “evil” reputation of the Muramasa blades, the swords remained popular in Japan, with Muramasa Sengo’s school of sword-making enduring for the next 200 hundred years. It was only during the reign of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the last feudal government in Japan, that Muramasa’s blades fell out of favor.

The shogun believed that the Muramasa swords were cursed, and blamed them for the demise of many of his allies, friends, and relatives. The Shogun's father, Matsudaira Hirota, as well as his grandfather, Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, were apparently both cut down by their retainers who were in a murderous trance while wielding such swords. Tokugawa even claimed that he was also cut by a Muramasa katana that was carried by one of his samurai guards while he inspected his ranks. His own wife and adopted son were also allegedly executed using a Muramasa sword.

These gave rise to the legend that Muramasa’s blades possessed the curse and power to kill members of the Tokugawa family. As a result of this, the Shogun decided to ban the ownership of Muramasa blades. Many of them were melted down, but some were also hidden away. The Shogun took the ban so seriously that those who were caught in possession or keeping Muramasa blades were punished severely.

One notable case was that of Takanak Ume, the Magistrate of Nagasaki. In 1634, the magistrate was found to have hoarded as many as 24 Muramasa blades, and because of this, he was ordered to commit “seppuku” – a ritual suicide by disembowelment.

Despite the harsh punishments imposed upon those who were caught to be in possession of Muramasa swords, there were those who insisted on keeping their blades, even going so far as to change the markings on these blades to avoid detection from authorities. And because these swords were thought to have a special affinity for killing members of the Tokugawa family, there was also a heightened demand for the Muramasa blades among the Shogun's enemies. Thus for profit, lesser swordsmiths made fakes and today it's difficult to verify the authenticity of surviving Muramasa blades.

Were the Muramasa Blades really cursed with a bloodthirsty evil spirit or were the stories just a byproduct of their crazed popularity back then? Were the violence and killings really the fault of the swords or was it the warriors' own thirst for power?

Nevertheless, Muramasa Blades today still embody the superior Japanese sword-making skills and are present in today’s pop culture. Magical and powerful weapons based on these legendary swords are found in many Asian medias from video games to anime and even in western Marvel comics.

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Sources:

• http://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/curse-samurai-muramasa-blades-002878?nopaging=1
• http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/bsd/bsd18.htm
• http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2017/03/the-mysterious-cursed-and-magic-swords-of-japan/
• http://www.muramasa.us/muramasa.html
• http://listverse.com/2013/11/16/10-mysterious-swords-from-legend-and-history/