What Is Zoroastrianism?

What do Emperor Xerxes, Freddie Mercury, and Ireland’s richest citizen Pallonji Mistry have in common? All of them are Zoroastrians. The ancient religion of Iran. This is one of the oldest ongoing religions and altered the course of history by influencing Judaism, Christanity, Islam, and Greek philosophy.

Zoroastrianism was born in ancient Iran at least 3,500 years ago. It all began around 1500BCE give or take a few centuries with the Prophet Zarathustra or Zoroaster as the ancient Greeks called him and so English speakers do too. While we call the religion Zoroastrianism actual Zoroastrians tend to call it Mazdayasna, meaning Worshipper of Mazda.

But today it has only a fraction of the millions of followers it once had. So what is Zoroastrianism, what do Zoroastrians believe, and where do otters fit into it? Well Let’s find out.

Origin of the Great Wall

Why did the Chinese build the Great Wall? Why was the Great Wall not originally designed to keep out nomadic attacks? How long is the Great Wall exactlay? All of these questions, along with A "Crying Wolf" story of a Chinese king 3,000 years ago and the story of the assassination of the first emperor of China is what we will be discussing in the video below. Enjoy!

Revealing the truth about 1,600 tons of gold at the bottom of Lake Baikal

Explorers have long searched for lost Tsarist treasures dating from the Bolshevik Revolution, when forces loyal to the deposed royal family fled the advancing Red Army.

Legend has it that 1,600 tons of gold – which could now be worth billions of pounds – was lost when anti-Communist commander Admiral Alexander Kolchak’s train plunged into Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake.

On 2009, parts of a train and ammunition boxes were found.

And in recent days, the Mir-2 submersible has discovered “shiny metal objects” 1,200 feet below the surface at Cape Tolstoy. “Deep-sea vehicles found rectangular blocks with a metallic gleam, like gold,” said one source.

Explorers attempted to grab hold of the blocks with a manipulator arm but failed because of loose gravel on the bottom of the lake. Sources say that the submariners know the exact spot and are planning a new mission to determine if they have found the gold.

The Moscow News independent newspaper yesterday ran a story on the find, with the headline: “Lost gold of the Whites found in Baikal”. The story described the lost gold as “one of the great mysteries” of the Russian Revolution.

Kolchak, portrayed in the Russian blockbuster film Admiral in 2008, was a hero in the First World War. He later led the pro-Tsarist White Army against the Bolsheviks after the 1917 October Revolution. He had some early successes but was eventually arrested by Lenin’s henchmen.

They executed him by firing squad in January 1920, reneging on a promise to hand him over to the British military mission in Irkutsk. His body was hidden by revolutionaries under the ice of the Angara River, which flows out of the lake.

Had he escaped, it is likely he would have sought exile in London and brought the gold with him.

If the treasure has been found, it could spark an ugly scramble between the Russian state, descendents of the last tsar, Nicholas II, and nations – possibly including Britain – that could argue they are owed outstanding debts by the fallen Romanov throne.

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/19678...

Archaeologists Uncovered This 2000 Year Old Treasure And What They Found Is Incredible

The sound of lapping waves fills the air as archaeolgist Kutalmış Görkay frantically sweeps away some eye-stinging dust. He and his archaeologists team are hoping to uncover a wondrous archaeological find – but it’s a race against time. If they don’t work fast, after all, the treasure they’re trying to retrieve may be lost forever.

12 Most Incredible Ancient Finds That Change History

There can be no greater ancient discovery than one that changes our understanding of history. Such discoveries are rare, but they do happen, and every time they do, they’re worth paying close attention to. We’ve got a fantastic collection of history-changing discoveries for you in this video, so sit back and enjoy!

Man Sneaks Onto Restricted Island to Visit Uncontacted Tribe: His Story is BIZARRE

Today, we're covering the unbelievable true story of John Allen Chau and his rare contact with a completely isolated tribe: the Sentinelese.

In 2018, John Allen Chau became obsessed with North Sentinel Island. The Christian missionary was convinced he had to go to the island in order to convert the Sentinelese people, and soon, his obsession became reality - but it didn't end anything like he had possibly expected. Whatever crime that occurred on the island still remains a mystery to this very day, and John's fate still isn't truly known. This true story goes to show why you should NEVER travel to North Sentinel Island.

Join us for a true crime storytime covering the solved case of John Allen Chau.

“Regaliceratops”: New horned dinosaur discovered in Canada

Nicknamed Hellboy, the dinosaur had short horns over the eyes and a long nose horn, the opposite of the features sported by its close relative triceratops.

When fossil experts first clapped eyes on the skull, it was clearly from a strange, horned dinosaur. When they noticed how stunted the bony horns were, its nickname, Hellboy, was assured.

The near-complete skull of the 70 million-year-old beast was spotted by chance 10 years ago, protruding from a cliff that runs along the Oldman river south of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

Painstakingly excavated, cleaned up and measured since then, the fossilised remains have now been identified as a relative of the three-horned triceratops, and the first example of a horned dinosaur to be found in that region of North America.

Like triceratops, the new species was a herbivore. But it sported a more impressive shield, or frill, at the back of its skull, decorated with large triangular and pentagonal plates. The extraordinary features led researchers to name the new species Regaliceratops peterhewsi, a reference to the impressive crown-like frill, and to Peter Hews, a Calgary-based geologist who first spotted part of the skull jutting from the rockface in 2005.

Researchers came up with the Hellboy nickname long before they had liberated the full skull from the cliff face. The main reason was that the rock the fossil was embedded in was incredibly hard, making excavation a hellish, and years-long, task. That job was made even tougher because the Oldman river is a protected fish-breeding ground, meaning the scientists had to erect a dam at the site to prevent debris from the excavation falling into the river.

“It was a coincidence, but when we noticed that the skull had these short horns over the eyes, that really solidified the nickname,” Caleb Brown at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Alberta told the Guardian. In the Hellboy comics and movies, the eponmymous demon grinds his horns to stumps with an electric sander to help him fit in with mere mortals.

But the horns of the dinosaur tell a more interesting story. Triceratops belonged to a group of horned dinosaurs called chasmosaurines. These had a small horn over the nose and two larger horns over the eyes. And while regaliceratops is definitely a chasmosaurine, it has a long nose horn and puny horns over its eyes. These features, opposite to those characteristic of triceratops, are seen in a different group of horned dinosaurs, called centrosaurines, which were extinct by the time regaliceratops came along.

The bizarre mix of features is an example of convergent evolution, where one species evolves bodily characteristics that arose separately in other species through the course of prehistory. Brown and his colleague, Donald Henderson, describe the creature’s remains in Current Biology.

“This is a really interesting new dinosaur,” said Steve Brusatte, a vertebrate paleontologist at Edinburgh University. “It’s a close relative of triceratops, but it’s horns and skull frill are very different. They look a lot more like other types of horned dinosaurs that lived earlier in time, which went extinct before triceratops thrived.

“What it’s indicating is that there was massive convergence between the horns and frills of those horned dinosaurs that were thriving during the final few million years before the asteroid hit and killed off the dinosaurs. Because this new dinosaur is one of the latest surviving horned dinosaurs, living at a similar time as triceratops, it is also telling us that horned dinosaurs remained quite diverse right until the end. To me, this is a strong hint that these dinosaurs were at or near the top of their game when that asteroid fell out of the sky,” he said.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/j...

Ancient Egyptian Royal Tomb Discovered

Egyptian authorities have announced the new discovery of a royal tomb from the 18th dynasty of New Kingdom Egypt.

A joint Egyptian-British archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the New Kingdom Research Foundation made the discovery whilst working on the west bank of the Nile River, in the same region where we find the Valley of the Queens.

The tomb is located in Valley C, one of the western valleys, just behind the so-called Neferure’s cliff-tomb.

Regarding the discovery, Mostafa Waziri, Head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said: “Current examination on the ceramics and fragmentary inscriptional evidence recovered so far indicates it is the tomb of several members of the royal family of the Thutmosid period of the 18th Dynasty.”

The tomb though is in poor condition and parts of it, including a lot of the inscriptions and paintings have been destroyed by ancient flood waters from the Nile, which filled the chambers with sand and limestone sediment.

The Ancient Ghost Town Of Herculaneum

BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

The Ancient Ghost Town Of Herculaneum: Buried Treasures of the Roman World

When we think of ancient towns obliterated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, Pompeii frequently overshadows its nearby, lesser-known counterpart, Herculaneum. But for those who delve into the ruins of this Roman coastal town, the tales it has to offer are equally, if not more, mesmerizing. Herculaneum, buried under a deep layer of volcanic material, provides a uniquely well-preserved window into the daily lives of its ancient inhabitants.

A Town's Prosperous Beginning

Situated on the western coast of Italy, Herculaneum was a wealthy Roman town, likely founded by the ancient Greeks in the 6th or 5th century BC. Over time, the town prospered, and by the time of its demise, it was a resort town frequented by Rome's elite. Elegant villas lined its streets, and its position by the sea meant trade and commerce flourished.

The Day Vesuvius Erupted

While Pompeii was blanketed with pumice and ash, Herculaneum met a different fate. Pyroclastic flows—swift avalanches of hot gas, ash, and rock—sped down Vesuvius, instantly covering Herculaneum under a 60-foot deep blanket of volcanic material. This rapid entombment had a silver lining: while the high temperatures charred organic materials, the rapidity of the flow and the lack of air and moisture meant that many wooden structures, fabrics, and even food were preserved rather than destroyed.

Rediscovering Herculaneum

For over 1600 years, Herculaneum lay forgotten, buried beneath the modern town of Ercolano. It wasn't until well into the 18th century that excavations began. Unlike Pompeii, where excavations have been extensive, only about a quarter of Herculaneum has been unearthed. But what has been revealed is astonishing.

Insights into Roman Life

Thanks to the unique preservation conditions, Herculaneum offers a more comprehensive picture of Roman daily life than Pompeii. Wooden furniture, frescoes, mosaics, and even scrolls from a library have been uncovered. One significant find is the Villa of the Papyri, which housed hundreds of carbonized papyrus scrolls. Though deciphering these is a challenge, they provide a rare glimpse into Roman literature.

In addition, the town's public buildings, bathhouses, and homes provide insights into Roman architecture, decor, and societal structures. The skeletal remains of those who sought refuge from the eruption, found in the boat houses, have also shed light on Roman diets, diseases, and lifestyles.

An Echo of the Past

Herculaneum, though not as renowned as Pompeii, holds its own treasures and tales. It serves as a poignant reminder of nature's power and the fragility of human life. At the same time, the remnants of Herculaneum provide an incredibly detailed and intimate look into Roman society, serving as a legacy of a bygone era. Today, both Pompeii and Herculaneum are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, attracting scholars and tourists alike to uncover and marvel at their ancient stories.

How did the Ottomans overcome a Civil War? History of the Ottoman Empire (1400 - 1500)

The start of the 15th century in the Ottoman Empire marked the final years of Bayezid I’s reignas Sultan.

In 1400, major tensions began to rise between the Ottoman leader and a Turko-Mongol warlord by the name of Timur. This once cold-war reached a heated climax in 1402 at the Battle of Ankara.

While on his way back through Anatolia to confront the threat of his powerful rival, Bayezid was caught off guard by Timur and his troops as they besieged the city of Ankara, withholding the only source of water for the Ottoman troops and forcing them to engage in battle. By the end of the conflict, Timur’s army prevailed while Bayezid and his sons attempted to make an escape.

The Evolution of Squid

Molluscs are usually the simplest of creatures often not having blood vessels, sometimes even lacking a proper brain. But one group of animals challenges this, Squid and their other Cephalopod cousins, cuttlefish and octopus. Surviving multiple mass extinctions bouncing through the turmoil of the planets changing environments the cephlapods were shaped and warped from an often simple group of creatures into very advanced forms. Some incredibly alien to us like their multiple brains and limbs, while others were convergent evolution like their closed circulatory systems and camera style eyes. But always with a twist reminding us how distantly related these creatures are from us. Their story is the evolution of molluscs turning into super molluscs.

Bronze Age Mountain Kings | The Maykop Culture

The Maykop (or Maikop) Culture was a Bronze Age people of the Caucasus mountains who traded with the ancient civilization of Uruk Mesopotamia and the Yamnaya steppe herders.

When the famous Maykop Chieftain's kurgan was excavated in 1897 it was almost 11m high and more than 100m in diameter. Inside were astonishing treasures of gold, silver, arsenical bronze, and precious stones from distant lands.

This ancient king of the northern mountains was wealthy beyond belief. His tunic had 68 golden lions and 19 golden bulls applied to its surface. He wore necklaces with 60 beads of turquoise, 1,272 beads of carnelian, and 122 golden beads. Under his skull was a diadem with five golden rosettes of five petals each on a band of gold pierced at the ends.

How did this remote kingdom acquire such wealth? What did they eat, what weapons and tools did they use, and what language did they speak?

Who were the mysterious people Soviet archeologists called the Steppe Maykop (or Steppe Maikop)?

And how did the Maykop culture influence the Yamnaya culture to their north?

A Makeshift Casket of Sea Shells and Antlers: The 6500-Year-Old Grave of the Unfortunate Ladies of Téviec.

Téviec would be a rather anonymous island located somewhere in Brittany, France, if it wasn’t for its great archaeological value thanks to the many finds – mainly from the Mesolithic Period – that have been excavated there. These finds include the skeletons of two women, dated between 6740 and 5680 BC, who may have been violently murdered.

Archaeologists Put Téviec on the Mesolithic Map

Téviec is one of the very few known Mesolithic sites in Brittany, along with Pointe de la Torche, Hoëdic and Beg er Vil on the Quibe. It has been the subject of a biotope protection scheme for the past 35 years. Therefore, landing on the island has become a troublesome task for contemporary archaeologists, since it is generally prohibited from 15 April to 31 August.

That wasn’t always the case, though. From 1928 to 1934, archaeologists Marthe and Saint-Just Péquart discovered and excavated a culturally and archaeologically rich Mesolithic site on the island, dated to between 5700 and 4500 BC. According to most historians, this is considered the end of the Mesolithic period in western France and it overlaps with the beginning of the Neolithic period.

The main finds at the site were substantial middens formed of oyster and clam shells and ten multiple graves containing 23 skeletons, including adults and children. Among the shells were the remains of animals as well, such as dogs, crabs, fish, lobsters, seabirds, deer, and boar among others. Due to the acidity of the soil in the location, the bones have been remarkably preserved, even though many of the skeletons showed clear signs of brutality and violence, including one with an arrowhead embedded in its spine.

The Unfortunate Ladies of Téviec

The most fascinating and mysterious of all discoveries, however, is undoubtedly the grave that includes the skeletons of two women aged 25–35, dubbed the "Ladies of Téviec.” Their bodies were buried delicately in a pit that was partly dug into the ground and coated over with debris from the midden. The corpses had been protected all these centuries by a roof made of antlers and supplied with pieces of flint, boar bones, and jewelry made of sea shells such as necklaces, bracelets, and ringlets for their legs. The grave collection was unearthed from the site as a whole and is now on display at the Muséum de Toulouse, where its restoration in 2010 earned several awards.

The thing that shocked archaeologists the most though, was the blatant violence and brutality the two women sustained before they died. Scientists examining the skeletons concluded that one of them had suffered five blows to the head, two of which were possibly fatal, and had also received at least one arrow shot between the eyes. The other body also had traces of injuries, but not as violent as the body of her “friend.” In recent years, however, this diagnosis is debated by some archaeologists, who claim that the immense weight of the soil above the grave may have been the cause of damage for the skeletons. An obvious question that probably occurs upon reading this is: How could the weight and composition of any soil – no matter how heavy it might be –ever justify an arrow shot between the eyes? It doesn’t make any sense, does it?

A Very Cold Case: Attempts to Solve the Téviec Mystery Almost 6,500 Years Later

In 2012, replicas of the two skeletons were laid for the first time on a mortuary slab of Toulouse Natural History Museum, during an exhibition titled Prehistory: The Investigation , which became a big hit in France.

“When you create an exhibition, you need to create an atmosphere and a lot of TV shows are about CSI and forensics and they always start with a forensics table – and here it is,” said Dr. Francis Duranthon, the director of the Toulouse Natural History Museum, pointing to the mortuary slab.

In the city of Toulouse alone, more than a hundred thousand people visited the exhibition, while in Paris two hundred thousand people watched closely the attempt of the scientists to solve this prehistoric mystery.

Isotope analysis of the two women’s teeth showed a diet of seafood and meat. That caused scientists to speculate that the two females possibly came from a small community that farmed, harvested the sea, and hunted. The exhibition also revealed that this was probably a community where women fulfilled a more domestic role. “It is unusual to find women killed this way during this period,” said Duranthon and added, “What we know is that at least two people were involved in these killings.”

According to several academics, raids in order to steal food were pretty common back then and they suggest that the two unlucky women could have been victims of a bloody raid. However, some historians claim that what possibly killed the women was a long series of unfortunate meteorological phenomena. Droughts back then would usually decimate a farming community, while an extreme hailstorm destroyed crops, and people would see these as signs that the gods needed to be appeased. Thus, the two women might have been sacrificed as victims of a ritual murder, slain by people they knew - or even family members.

So, what really happened to the “Ladies of Téviec”? As it’s the case with many historical mysteries throughout the centuries…We will probably never know!

Source: https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/ma...

Admire The 3000-Year-Old Condom Of The Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun: Archaeologists Are Amazed

When Tutankhamun’s tomb was first discovered in 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter was stunned by the astonishing array of grave goods – more than 5,000 artifacts were left for the boy king to use in his afterlife. But amongst all the gold, silver, ebony, ivory , precious jewelry, weapons, furniture, fine linen and rare perfumes, a small piece of cloth caught the eyes of the experts; it was King Tut’s condom and, apparently, it was deemed essential for him to take into eternity.

Tutankhamun’s condom, which contained traces of his DNA, consisted of a sheath made of fine linen, soaked in olive oil, and attached to a string that would have tied around his waist. Dated to 1350 BC, it is the oldest known condom in existence. If the condom was used for contraceptive, rather than ritual purposes or the prevention of disease, it is unlikely to have been very effective. Indeed, the remains of two fetuses were also found in his tomb, and genetic testing revealed King Tut was the father.

The ancient Egyptians had other methods of contraception too. The Kahun Medical Papyrus (known also as the Gynaecological Papyrus), which has been dated to around 1825 BC, recommends the use of a mixture of crocodile dung and some other (now unknown) ingredients as a contraceptive. This mixture would then be formed into a pessary. According to one hypothesis, the dung of crocodiles is alkaline in nature, thus acting as a spermicide.

The Egyptians may have been among the first civilizations to use condoms, but others soon followed. In ancient Rome, condoms were made from linen and animal intestine or bladder. The ancient Chinese fashioned sheaths from silk paper soaked in oil. In Japan, they used tortoise shell or animal horn that was used to cover the glans only. The archaic Djukas tribe of New Guinea had a female condom made from a specific plant. Muslims and Jews during the Middle Ages covered the penis in tar or soaked it in onion juice.

When the first well-documented outbreak of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis occurred in the 15th century among French troops, the need for something to protect against disease became more essential, and linen sheaths soaked in a chemical solution were widely adopted. In addition to linen, some condoms during the Renaissance were made out of animal intestines or bladder. The condom was revolutionized in the early 19th century with the introduction of rubber. By 1850, several rubber companies began the mass production of condoms, and the rest is history.

Source: https://www.ancient-origins.net/weird-fact...

This warship is so well-preserved that looking at it is like taking a trip back in time

Explorers and marine archaeologists have located galleons and warships from the 16th century on the bottom of the sea before. But the discovery of the 97-foot-long Swedish galleon the Mars has gotten people particularly excited for several reasons.

First of all, the ship at the bottom of the Baltic Sea is astoundingly well preserved. So much so that looking at it is like a trip back in time.

Johan Ronnby, a professor of maritime archaeology at Södertörn University in Sweden, told National Geographic that he would like to leave the Mars on the seafloor and “use three-dimensional scans and photographs to share the wreck with the world.”

Ronnby has gotten help in his research efforts from Richard Lundgren — part owner of Ocean Discovery, a company of professional divers that assists in maritime work.

Lundgren had been searching for the Mars for 20 years. He wasn’t alone. Finding the Mars was an obsession with many people because of the fame of the boat — and the supposed curse surrounding its discovery.

The Mars was the largest and most feared warship of its time, named after the Roman god of war. The leader of the Swedish navy, it was sunk during its very first naval engagement.

It all begins with King Eric XIV of Sweden and his desire to increase the naval power of his country. He ordered the construction of one of Europe’s first large, three-masted ships.

The King commanded his admiral to take the Mars out as part of a huge fleet aimed at Denmark and Lubeck (part of modern Germany) and sink ships using its artillery.

At first it seemed to dominate with its 800 men and 107 guns. But on the second day of the battle, enemy ships hurled fireballs onto the Mars and disabled it before sending the boarding parties. A fire may have occurred in the Mars‘ gunpowder stores, and that might have set the loaded cannons off.

Whatever led to the destruction, the Mars sank on May 31, 1564, off the coast of a Swedish island called Öland. It came to rest on the seafloor tilted to its starboard side.

For centuries the curious searched for the wreck without success. Legend has it the Mars was protected by a special curse.

The story goes that a specter rose from the depths to guard the Mars against ever being discovered. It was not found until 2011, when some divers located the wreck in 246 feet of water.

Lundgren announced that the ship had been found. “The site is virtually littered with cannons,” he said to the press. The discovery in its hull of silver coins minted the year before the battle by the Swedish king helped confirm its identity.

Since then research has focused on studying the wreck, gaining as much information as possible.

“If this is the Mars, it is a truly significant find,” said Andreas Olson, head archaeologist at the Royal Swedish Maritime Museum, in an interview. “When it comes to maritime history it really can be seen as the ‘missing link’ in the chain of what we know about historic shipbuilding.” Since 2011, research work has been underway, bringing back to life the 16th century.

King Eric XIV, while intelligent and inspired, was believed to have suffered from insanity. He was not only warlike but attacked people in his own kingdom, sometimes murdering his enemies with his own hands. For a time, he tried to woo Elizabeth I by long distance, but she declined him.

The King was deposed in 1568 by his nobility, held in prison, and died in 1577. Later tests showed high levels of arsenic in his body, leading to the belief that he was poisoned.

Why is his ship so miraculously well preserved?

“Low levels of sediment, slow currents, brackish water, and the absence of a mollusk called a shipworm — responsible for breaking down wooden wrecks in other oceans in as little as five years — combined to keep the warship in remarkable condition,” reported National Geographic.

Source: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/09/17/...

Lost Treasures From Mythology!

Check out these LOST Treasures From Mythology! From powerful weapons used by the gods to mythical treasures that may actually exist, this top 10 list of amazing treasures from norse & greek mythology is magical!