Finally the Jordan River has dried up, but something terrifying has happened!

Today, we're going to talk about how the Jordan River finally stopped flowing, and then something scary happened. The Jordan River is completely dry. Environmentalists say that the river has a lot of sewage in it and is in danger because of it. Stay with us as we talk about what's going on in more detail.

12 Most Mysterious Finds Scientists Still Can't Explain

We shouldn’t expect scientists or archaeologists to be able to explain all of the secrets of the past and present to us. After all, it’s not like historical records and relics come out of the ground with a handy manual or biography attached to them. If they did, the world might be a much simpler place! We have great affection for mysteries both ancient and modern, though, and we’ve put some great ones together in this video for you.

What Happened To The Lost Legion Of Crassus? The Battle Of Carrhae

Join us on a journey through history as we explore the forgotten story of the Lost Legions of Crassus. In 53 BC, Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus led an army of 30,000 soldiers into the Parthian Empire in pursuit of wealth and glory. However, what followed was one of the greatest disasters in Roman history. During the battle of Carrhae, the army was decimated and Crassus himself was killed in battle. But what happened to the surviving soldiers?

In this video, we delve deeper into the fate of the prisoners of war taken by the Parthians. What was their life like as captives in a foreign land? Were they eventually ransomed back to Rome or did they spend the rest of their lives in Parthia?

We will also uncover the various theories surrounding the disappearance of the Lost Legions, including the possibility of the assimilation of the soldiers into Parthian society, or one that is far far stranger, we delve into the theory that the soldiers ended up in ancient china, in Liqian, and settled there creating a part of ancient romes in China.

The Real Last Kingdom | Bamburgh Castle

Fans of the Netflix series 'The Last Kingdom' will know all about Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the wandering warrior who fights to regain his lost homeland. But did you know that Bebbanburg was a real place during the Anglo-Saxon period? And it still exists, we just call it Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. It's a dramatic setting on the rugged coast of north east England, and easily one of the most iconic castles in Britain.

Uhtred was a real person, too, or at least an Uhtred. The so-called Uhtred the Bold ruled Northumbria from Bebbanburg in the early 11th century, and he was the inspiration behind the Bernard Cornwell character. His story is just as fascinating and action-packed as the fictional tale, and his loyalty was constantly tested by Saxon and Danish kings, just as they are in the series.

Join medieval historian Matt Lewis as he untangles the fact from the fiction, unveiling the real history behind The Last Kingdom.

20 Mythical Creatures That Actually Existed in Real Life

There are so many urban legends and mythological creatures that it’s hard to keep track. From folklore to incredible tales meant to explain the world - we have 20 mythical creatures today that all, in some form or another, existed in real life. There are some incredible stories that all wow and shock, and indeed have for centuries (or even millennia)... but what if these monsters really DID walk the earth? Make sure you watch through to the end for some creatures you’d be surprised to have very humble beginnings... You’ll have to watch to the end to see what we mean!

Who Lives At The Bottom Of The Mariana Trench?

There is one very deep place on our planet it is called the Mariana Trench. You've probably already heard something about it before haven't you. As we were all taught in school Everest is the highest place on earth and perhaps you learned that the Mariana Trench is the deepest and that is probably all you learned the average person's education ends. There few are given a larger account of how and why of this mysterious of this you cannot imagine. What secrets this place hides and how strange are the creatures that live there this deep furrow in the earth is in the west of the Pacific Ocean near the Mariana Islands from which its name is taken the Mariana Trench is a huge v-shaped trough 1500 kilometers long and more than 11,000 metres deep something as tall as Everest could easily be dropped into this vast end near bottomless channel while still leaving.

Joe Rogan: Do We Really Know How Old The Pyramids Are?

Joe Rogan, Jimmy Corsetti & Ben van Kerkwyk discuss vases found in pyramids giving further insight onto the dates that they may have been created.

Jimmy Corsetti is the independent researcher behind "Bright Insight" where he talks about ancient mysteries and theories about lost civilizations and what happened to them. Ben van Kerkwyk is an Australian researcher, writer and content creator. He produces the UnchartedX.com website and UnchartedX youtube channel and podcast, producing long-form documentaries on various topics dealing with ancient mysteries

Excavations Launched at the Tomb of Duke Jing of Qi and his 600 Sacrificial Horses

In 1964, a surprising discovery was made in China – a tomb containing the remains of hundreds of horses, arranged neatly in rows. Such a complex burial and large sacrifice clearly indicated that the tomb belonged to a person who held a high place in society. It was soon found that the tomb belonged to Duke Jing of Qi, and that the horse remains were, sadly, a sacrifice made in his honor. Now excavations have resumed at the ancient sacrificial pit and archaeologists are hoping to learn more secrets about the burial, history, and scale of the army in the pre-Qin period.

Duke Jing, Son of a Concubine

From 547 to 490 BC the State of Qi was ruled by Duke Jing of Qi. Duke Jing was given the name Lü Chujiu at birth, and his ancestral name was Jiang. Duke Jing was a title he earned after his death. The Duke was born to a concubine of Duke Ling of Qi, and had an older half-brother named Duke Zhuang. Their father died in 554 BC, and was succeeded by Duke Zhuang.

Cui Zhu, a powerful minister, supported Duke Zhuang, until Duke Zhuang had an affair with Cui Zhu’s wife. As a result, Chi Zhu killed Duke Zhuang in 548 BC. Upon his brother’s death, Duke Jing took to the throne. With Duke Jing on the throne, Cui Zhu and nobleman Qing Feng took control of the state as co-prime ministers. After much turmoil in the State of Qi caused by unrest between Cui Zhi and Qing Feng, Duke Jing appointed Yan Ying as prime minister, and thus began a period of peace and prosperity for the State of Qi.

Duke’s Death Leads to Coup

Duke Jing was married to Princess Yan Ji from the State of Yan. Their son became the crown prince of Qi, although he died during Duke Jing’s reign. Duke Jing had at least five other grown sons – possibly more – but he chose his youngest son, Prince Tu, as the new crown prince. Prince Tu was born to a mother of low status, and he was still a young boy when named crown prince. To ensure his support, Duke Jing ordered the ministers of the Guo and Gao clans to support Prince Tu. The Duke’s other sons were exiled to the remote city of Lai. Soon thereafter, Duke Jing died, in 490 BC. Although Prince Tu was installed on the throne, several clans staged a coup d'etat, and Duke Jing’s son Prince Yangsheng was brought back to take over the throne. He killed Prince Tu, and became known as Duke Dao of Qi.

The Sacrificial Horse Pit of Jing’s Tomb

Duke Jing of Qi was buried at Yatou in Linzi District of Zibo, Shandong Province. On the northern side of the tomb, archaeologists discovered the sacrificial burial of 145 horses in a pit measuring 215 meters long, and surrounding three sides of the tomb.

Several years later, another 106 horse skeletons were found at the tomb, raising the total to 251. The horses are believed to have been young, between 5 – 7 years old when sacrificed.

The horses are believed to have been given alcohol until they became unconscious, and then struck upon the head. Excavations were halted in 2003 due to inadequate preparations, but archaeologists at the time estimated that there may be up to 600 more horses buried in Duke Jing’s honor, along with 30 dogs, two pigs, and six other domesticated animals. While other sacrificial horse remains have been discovered in China, this is by far the largest.

New Excavations Launched

After a 16-year pause, excavations at the tomb of Duke Jing have now resumed and experts will finally be able to confirm the number of horses buried there.

Xinhua News Agency revealed that over 3,000 cultural relics were unearthed during the initial excavations, and more are expected to be found over the next 8 months as archaeologists resume explorations.

The site of the Tomb of Duke Jing of Qi now houses a museum, and is a National Historical and Cultural Site. It is under consideration to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The horse remains are an incredible find, as it is difficult to imagine the complexities of a sacrifice of such a large magnitude. According to historical records, Duke Jing was infatuated with horses, which shows that this sacrifice was made as a gesture of great honor towards the fallen king.

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

Tanis: Fossil found of dinosaur killed in asteroid strike, scientists claim

The limb, complete with skin, is just one of a series of remarkable finds emerging from the Tanis fossil site in the US State of North Dakota.

But it's not just their exquisite condition that's turning heads - it's what these ancient specimens are purported to represent.

The claim is the Tanis creatures were killed and entombed on the actual day a giant asteroid struck Earth.

The day 66 million years ago when the reign of the dinosaurs ended and the rise of mammals began.

Very few dinosaur remains have been found in the rocks that record even the final few thousand years before the impact. To have a specimen from the cataclysm itself would be extraordinary.

Sir David will review the discoveries, many that will be getting their first public viewing.

Along with that leg, there are fish that breathed in impact debris as it rained down from the sky.

We see a fossil turtle that was skewered by a wooden stake; the remains of small mammals and the burrows they made; skin from a horned triceratops; the embryo of a flying pterosaur inside its egg; and what appears to be a fragment from the asteroid impactor itself.

"We've got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it's almost like watching it play out in the movies. You look at the rock column, you look at the fossils there, and it brings you back to that day," says Robert DePalma, the University of Manchester, UK, graduate student who leads the Tanis dig.

It's now widely accepted that a roughly 12km-wide space rock hit our planet to cause the last mass extinction.

The impact site has been identified in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Yucatan Peninsula. That's some 3,000km away from Tanis, but such was the energy imparted in the event, its devastation was felt far and wide.

The North Dakota fossil site is a chaotic jumble.

The remains of animals and plants seem to have been rolled together into a sediment dump by waves of river water set in train by unimaginable earth tremors. Aquatic organisms are mixed in with the land-based creatures.

The sturgeon and paddlefish in this fossil tangle are key. They have small particles stuck in their gills. These are the spherules of molten rock kicked out from the impact that then fell back across the planet. The fish would have breathed in the particles as they entered the river.

The spherules have been linked chemically and by radiometric dating to the Mexican impact location, and in two of the particles recovered from preserved tree resin there are also tiny inclusions that imply an extra-terrestrial origin.

"When we noticed there were inclusions within these little glass spherules, we chemically analysed them at the Diamond X-ray synchrotron near Oxford," explains Prof Phil Manning, who is Mr DePalma's PhD supervisor at Manchester.

"We were able to pull apart the chemistry and identify the composition of that material. All the evidence, all of the chemical data, from that study suggests strongly that we're looking at a piece of the impactor; of the asteroid that ended it for the dinosaurs."

The existence of Tanis, and the claims made for it, first emerged in the public sphere in the New Yorker Magazine in 2019. This caused a furore at the time.

Science usually demands the initial presentation of new discoveries is made in the pages of a scholarly journal. A few peer-reviewed papers have now been published, and the dig team promises many more as it works through the meticulous process of extracting, preparing and describing the fossils.

To make its TV programme, the BBC called in outside consultants to examine a number of the finds.

Prof Paul Barrett from London's Natural History Museum looked at the leg. He's an expert in ornithischian (mostly plant-eating) dinosaurs.

"It's a Thescelosaurus. It's from a group that we didn't have any previous record of what its skin looked like, and it shows very conclusively that these animals were very scaly like lizards. They weren't feathered like their meat-eating contemporaries.

"This looks like an animal whose leg has simply been ripped off really quickly. There's no evidence on the leg of disease, there are no obvious pathologies, there's no trace of the leg being scavenged, such as bite marks or bits of it that are missing," he tells me.

"So, the best idea that we have is that this is an animal that died more or less instantaneously."

The big question is whether this dinosaur did actually die on the day the asteroid struck, as a direct result of the ensuing cataclysm. The Tanis team thinks it very likely did, given the limb's position in the dig sediments.

If that is the case, it would be quite the discovery.

But Prof Steve Brusatte from University of Edinburgh says he's sceptical - for the time being.

He's acted as another of the BBC's outside consultants. He wants to see the arguments presented in more peer-reviewed articles, and for some palaeo-scientists with very specific specialisms to go into the site to give their independent assessment.

Prof Brusatte says it's possible, for example, that animals that had died before the impact were exhumed by the violence on the day and then re-interred in a way that made their deaths appear concurrent.

"Those fish with the spherules in their gills, they're an absolute calling card for the asteroid. But for some of the other claims - I'd say they have a lot circumstantial evidence that hasn't yet been presented to the jury," he says.

"For some of these discoveries, though, does it even matter if they died on the day or years before? The pterosaur egg with a pterosaur baby inside is super-rare; there's nothing else like it from North America. It doesn't all have to be about the asteroid."

There's no doubting the pterosaur egg is special.

With modern X-ray technology it's possible to determine the chemistry and properties of the egg shell. It was likely leathery rather than hard, which may indicate the pterosaur mother buried the egg in sand or sediment like a turtle.

It's also possible with X-ray tomography to extract virtually the bones of the pterosaur chick inside, to print them and reconstruct what the animal would have looked like. Mr DePalma has done this.

The baby pterosaur was probably a type of azhdarchid, a group of flying reptiles whose adult wings could reach more than 10m from tip to tip.

Mr DePalma gave a special lecture on the Tanis discoveries to an audience at the US space agency Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center on Wednesday. He and Prof Manning will also present their latest data to the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in May.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environme...

Discover the Hell Pig, one of the most hideous and vicious animals ever to have lived

Ever heard of a hell pig?

Yes, they’re a real thing. At least, they were. While these “terminator pigs” are (thankfully) no longer roaming upon the Earth’s crust, the fossil record tells a riveting story of these gargantuan, scary-looking creatures and also reveals enchanting details of the way the world they inhabited appeared. Today we’re going to rut around in the terrifying biology of hell pigs to better understand the mystifying past of this planet’s evolution and extinction events. So let’s dig in – the facts are quite bristly!

Terrifying Creatures From The Past

Hell pigs, biologically known as entelodonts, are extinct, giant pig-like creatures that roamed the forests and plains of North America and Eurasia. These vertebrates were in existence for 18.2 million years, common in the appropriate regions from the middle Eocene period up until the early Miocene.

Entelodonts are big-bodied, even-toed ungulates. Based on skeletal reconstruction, they had long snouts and slender legs. The largest known skeleton belongs to the North American Daeodon shoshonensis – clocking in at a whopping 6.9 feet tall to the shoulder. Archaeotherium is a species of entelodont that was an endemic species to North America as well, surviving in the great plains and as far south as modern-day texas in the Eocene and Oligocene epochs – around 35 million years ago.

Entelodont species had full jaws of teeth. And in larger species, they showcased a bison-like hump in order to hold up their large and heavy heads.

These hell pigs have gained a newfound fascination in popular culture due to various documentaries on National Geographic and the BBC, respectively. With the work of CGI and informed, imaginative recreation, these programs can bring images to life for average viewers to better visualize hell pigs. This way, our brains can better comprehend what paleontologists work to describe. It’s no surprise that modern audiences are fascinated with such strange creatures – large, somewhat familiar-looking, but utterly strange and exotic, too.

How These Creatures Survived

So, now that everyone’s excited about these terminator pigs, how is it that these animals lived, thrived, and survived?

Entelodonts are omnivores, meaning they munched on plants like herbivores and snacked on meat like carnivores. Paleontologists can make a lot of inferences from the structure of the animal’s teeth. In the case of hell pigs, their front teeth include heavy incisors and long canines. Their back teeth are flat molars. Due to our understanding of their jawbones and jaw muscles, these beasts could likely open their mouths surprisingly wide – to an angle of perhaps 150 degrees – similar to hippos.

They were most likely “aggressive omnivores” and scavengers. And based on skeletal remains, paleontologists guess that across the landscapes of Europe, North America, Eurasia, and Asia, these creatures consistently used their impressive jaw structure for “yawning” confrontations, biting, and jaw wrestling contests. Additionally, females most likely slammed their heads into their rivals’ bodies.

Tracks of these hell pigs have been preserved in the prehistoric mud of watering holes – preserved through the millennia and now protected by the US Government through the parks system. There’s something poetic about the preserved footsteps of such a terrifying creature – like some sort of riveting echo of the past and a clue the scientists are trying to follow to learn more about them.

Hell Pigs With A Strategy

Researches have identified “meat caches” in Wyoming, attributed to hell pigs based on bite marks consistent with their jaw measurements. The evidence suggests that these creatures would behead their prey and then delve into the meatier, articulated rear halves of their prey. They would then stockpile “articulated thoracic leftovers” in these cashes for later. So not only are these hell pigs big and scary with gaping wide mouths – but they were also quite strategic, from the sounds of it. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad there’s no chance of encountering one of these meat-eating, jaw-crushing creatures on a casual hike, that’s for sure.

These prehistoric eras left evidence of plenty of other terrifying beasts that stalked the floodplains of Nebraska or the steppe of Mongolia, too. For example, living at the same time as entelodonts were nimravid sabertooths and the dreaded “bear-dogs” also known as amphicyonids. These apex predators defined food chains and broader ecosystems.

Why Did The Hell Pigs Go Extinct?

Obviously, hell pigs are no longer with us (though certain pigs and boars could certainly qualify for the title with aggressive behavior), and truly, most animals that have walked the planet already are extinct – a humbling fact to take into consideration. Historically this is due to mass extinctions brought on by extreme natural disasters. Today, of course, we are losing. terrifying levels of key species due to human greed and ignorance. But back to the hell pigs – why did the entelodonts disappear specifically?

Dinohyus hollandi, for example, is one of the larger entelodont species that inhabited the flood planes of Nebraska. Other animals in the region at the time include land beavers and gazelle-like camels. Their fossils are rare in comparison to other contemporary creatures – suggesting that they were not particularly social animals. Indeed, the fractured evidence of most fossilized skulls suggests that violent confrontations between individuals were quite regular. This theory impacts different stages of the animals’ life cycle.

Entelodonts inevitably killed each other in certain situations. But there are a whole host of other environmental factors that most likely led to these species’ extinctions. The discipline of paleontology often works in theory. And since there is so much mystery around these prehistoric eras and what went on in various landscapes. Extinction events can co-inside with warming or cooling temperatures, global disturbances such as volcano eruptions or asteroid collisions. Even diseases and non-adaptive biological traits can impact a species ability to survive.

Mysteries Yet To Be Solved

Humans continue to uncover fossils. These remains will provide answers to how certain creatures lived and died, and perhaps, why they eventually went extinct. In the case of entelodonts, a tooth was uncovered as recently as March 2020. A student in Mississippi found a strange, black-colored rock, that in fact turned out to be a hell pig tooth dating back to “the Oligocene some 26 million years ago”. Remember, you are walking past and moving through prehistoric landscape all the time! There’s no telling what you might find when you know what to look for.

Are They Related To Modern Pigs?

As you may have guessed, it turns out that entelodonts are actually more closely related to hippo. This is true in spite of their common names. However, ungulates are a wide category of creatures. In looking at the composite, hypothesized images of entelodonts, our brains do quickly connect them to animals we know. Examples include pigs, warthogs, hippos, and even rhinos.

A recent study even connects the evolutionary chain of these hell pigs to that of whales. This study led to the forming of the taxonomical clade of Whippomorpha or Cetancodontamorpha. Have you swam down the incredible story that is the evolutionary process of our modern-day, beloved giants of the sea? You may be surprised at the incredible story that scientists pieced together!

Either way, there is still plenty of mystery surrounding entelodonts. The more you learn about these fascinating creatures, the clearer it becomes that these are no true pigs from hell. Actually, they are an incredible piece of our planet’s evolutionary history. They are a glimpse into the depth of transformation that has taken place through natural selection.

Source: https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/...

The True story of the Shieldmaiden Lagertha | Vikings

Lagertha is featured in the show Vikings and is portrayed as a warrior with unmatched skill. But how did she actually live according to the sources? In Saxo Grammaticus’ book the Deeds of the Danes, some of her life is outlined.