The Baghdad Battery was discovered in the village of Khuyut Rabbou’a in 1936. Tests conducted on this ancient battery have shown that they were in use from around 250 BC to 224 BC. The terracotta pot included an asphalt stopper which also worked as its cover.
This asphalt stopper has an iron rod attached to its center that was surrounded by a copper cylinder. Surprisingly, the Baghdad Battery was capable of producing around 1.1 Volts of electricity. Archaeologists are still trying to determine where and how this battery was used.
Mesoamerican Pok ta Pok
Archaeologists often have a deeper purpose behind their digs - learning and understanding the culture behind their finds. In this case, they discovered details about a sport enjoyed by a civilization which is today called “Pok ta Pok.” This arose from the discovery of other ancient Mesoamerican sites. As of today, more than 1,300 ball courts for this sport have been found.
This sport, however, did not only serve as a game to be played but also served many ritualistic and political purposes in the same region. The rules of the game are not exactly known today, but it was speculated that it probably was very similar to racquetball.
The Perperikon Vampire
Nikolai Ovcharov discovered a skeleton while excavating the ruins of Perperikon. The collected evidence suggests that this skeleton died around 700 years ago. This city was inhabited since 5,000 BC but was only discovered 20 years ago. The skeleton had an iron rod through it.
The custom of driving an iron rod through is believed to be done to stop an evil being from rising from the dead. There were also recorded cases of some people that were accused of being vampires and then killed.
The Oldest Footprint
In a cave in Chauvet, in the Ardeche region in France, what is thought to be the oldest footprint, was found. Presumably, it is believed to be a 30,000-year-old print of a foot of a child, and nothing so astonishing has been found since.
Estimating the age of the footprint can only be done by analyzing the findings and dating the organic materials, like the soil, that is found around it. The print shows that although so evolution has changed the human body, the foot, and its prints remain very much the same.
Dorset Vikings
One group of archaeologists discovered one of the most shocking mass burial sites to ever be found. They uncovered 51 heads and 54 skeleton bodies that were believed to be from Scandinavian Vikings in Weymouth, England. It was shocking because the heads were buried separately from the bodies.
Tests have shown that these bodies were from around 970 to 1025 AD. Further analysis of these human remains has shown that all of them were males. The remaining skeletons have also shown a lot of gruesome injuries, which makes many believe that these were bodies of Vikings that were captured when trying to invade the Anglo-Saxon territory.