In 1888, archaeologists found the largest infant mass grave to ever be discovered in an ancient Roman sewer that ran underneath the modern Israeli city of Ashkelon. They found at least 97 infant skeletons in that mass grave.
The reason for this mass burial is still unknown as further examination of the remains has shown that the babies were healthy and did not seem to have any illnesses during the time of their deaths. It was not uncommon in the Roman culture to abandon babies as they believed that newborn babies still could not be considered fully human.
Antikythera Mechanism
The Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient Greek analog computer. It was composed of more than 37 moving gears that are made of bronze. It was used by the Greeks to predict the positions of heavenly bodies and could predict when eclipses would next occur.
The Antikythera Mechanism was found inside a sunken ship in the seas near the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901. The tests conducted on the Antikythera Mechanism have shown that this instrument was created around 150 to 100 BC. The technology behind this device remained a mystery until the fourteenth century, when a similar device was found.
Andrewsarchus
Andrewsarchus is an extinct mammal that lived during the middle Eocene epoch (41 to 48 million years ago) in Inner Mongolia, China. It was only discovered when its skull and a few of its other bones were found in 1923. The shape of the skull vaguely resembled that of a wolf, which indicates that this animal was a predator.
The size of its three-foot-long skull indicates that it was the world’s largest predatory Mammal. Due to the lack of bones found, however, we still do not know anything about what the rest of its body might have looked like.
Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich Manuscript was handwritten on animal skin or vellum, using an unknown writing system. Tests conducted on this manuscript have shown that it may have been written during the early 15th century, during the time of the Renaissance.
Many experts, including professional cryptographers and code breakers, have studied the written text in an attempt to understand the meaning hidden away in the strange lettering. However, until now, no one has ever been successful in doing so. This led many to think that the text in this manuscript does not really mean anything and was a hoax.
Gobekli Tepe
The Gobekli Tepe was discovered in an ancient city in southeastern Turkey by Klaus Schmidt. It is made from very large carved stones that are believed to be as much as 11,000 years old. What is amazing about this discovery is that the prehistoric people who built it had not yet even developed metal tools at the time.
It is composed of more than 200 huge stone pillars that are arranged in 20 circles. Each of these stone pillars has a height of around 20 feet and weighs as much as 20 tons. It is believed to be the world’s first temple.