Ancient Hercules Statue Uncovered In A Roman Sewer Has Archaeologists Unraveling Its Strange History

It was just another day in Rome when a team of workers were fixing up a damaged sewage system. It was a routine job, but when you’re working in a city with as much history as Rome, there’s always a chance that you’ll come across something remarkable. And that’s exactly what happened here, after something unusual caught one of the workers’ attention. This sewer was hiding something truly fascinating — but it wasn’t your regular historical discovery.

15 Weirdest Skeletons Ever found

In the following video we will investigate the 15 weirdest skeletons that have ever been found. Watch the video to find out more!

Scientists Are Finding Artifacts Around the World That Should Never Have Been Found

We’ve unraveled some of the most intriguing mysteries of our past, but there is still a lot more for us to discover. However, finding an artifact doesn’t always mean finding the answers we need. Sometimes, discovering things leads to more unanswered questions.

Let’s take a look at some of the most intriguing archeological finds you might have missed.

From creepy mummy portraits to a precious medieval ring, here are the 15 most mysterious recent archeological finds and artifacts scientists still can’t explain.

What They Discovered Inside a Cave Shocked the Whole World

Caves are mysterious places. These dark, often tight spaces tend to expose many people's fears. You’ll never know what you’ll encounter inside. The darkness and isolation also don’t help make these places look more inviting.

However, there are a lot of things hidden in these dark caverns.

From ancient hieroglyphs to a cave mystery, here are the 15 strangest things found in caves.

This Drone Made a Terrifying Discovery After Spotting This Inside an Old Cave System

There are plenty of reasons why many of us avoid caves. Not only are caves incredibly dark, but they can also get unbelievably cramped. There is a lot of uncharted territory in cave exploration, and it triggers a sense of dread and discomfort in most people.

With these discoveries, it seems like there are more reasons to avoid caves. Let’s take a look at the most horrifying things discovered in caves from all around the world.

From one of the biggest bat caves in the world, to a toxic cave, here are the 15 scary things found in caves.

Scientists Just Discovered a 2 Billion Year Old Nuclear Reactor That Changes Everything

Humanity’s thirst for knowledge knows no bounds. Day by day, experts from all around the world are on the hunt to discover new things about our past, present, and our future. In this video, we’ll look at some of the most incredible things we've found recently.

From a python-eating alligator to ancient ceramics, here are the 15 incredible recent discoveries!

12 Most Incredible Archaeological Finds That Really Exist

Who's ready for another round-up of incredible archaeological finds? We know that we are, and we hope that you are too because we've prepared this video of archaeological wonders for you! The finds in this fact-filled video come from all over the world and almost every point in history, but we've brought them all together, and we're excited to show them off to you. Let's get going.

Bizarre Archaeological Discoveries

In today’s video we will investigate some bizarre archaeological disocveries. Watch the video below to find out more!

12 Most Incredible And Amazing Recent Discoveries

The past few years have been incredible ones when it comes to archaeology. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most of the most incredible discoveries made in the past century have been found within the past decade. We know that’s a bold statement, so we’re going to show you the proof in this video. It’s full of astonishing recent archaeological finds!

10 Crossbreeding Experiments from the Dark Past!

To what extent may man intervene in the course of nature? Where does the line blur between a useful crossbreed and the creation of a Frankenstein monster? Today we're going to take a look at some unique hybrid experiments with you that are leaving us with our jaws on the floor! Especially the 9th point of our video will leave you absolutely stunned! Given the terrifying creatures already being bred in the scientists' labs, we'd prefer a cross between a thumbs up and a subscription from you! And be sure to leave us a comment below and let us know which of these strange hybrids you find the most interesting!

Caral: The Pyramid City In Peru That Predates Egypt’s Oldest Pyramid And The Incas By 4,000 Years

Colossal pyramid structures in the Americas as old as those in Egypt? The Sacred City of Caral-Supe, in central coastal Peru, boasts an impressive complex of ancient monumental architecture constructed around 2600 B.C., roughly the same time as the earliest Egyptian pyramid. Archaeologists consider Caral one of the largest and most complex urban centers built by the oldest known civilization in the Western Hemisphere.

The 1,500-acre site, situated 125 miles north of Lima and 14 miles from the Pacific coast, features six ancient pyramids, sunken circular plazas and giant staircases, all sitting on a windswept desert terrace overlooking the green floodplains of the winding Supe River. Its largest pyramid, also known as Pirámide Mayor, stands nearly 100 feet tall, with a base that covers an area spanning roughly four football fields. Radiocarbon dating on organic matter throughout the site has revealed it to be roughly between 4,000 to 5,000 years old, making its architecture as old—if not older—than the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, the oldest known pyramid in ancient Egypt.

That remarkable discovery places Caral as one of the oldest known cities in the Western Hemisphere. Coastal Peru has long been considered one of the six recognized cradles of world civilization, and new archaeological discoveries continue to push back the dates of when the region’s “mother culture” was established. Caral was the first extensively excavated site among some two dozen in a zone along Peru’s central coast known as the Norte Chico area. Archaeologists believe the sites collectively represent the oldest center of civilization in the Americas, one which lasted from roughly 3000 to 1800 B.C., completely uninfluenced by outside forces. It flourished nearly 4,000 years before the start of the powerful Incan Empire.

Its Age Wasn’t Initially Clear to Scientists

Despite Caral’s significance, decades passed between when the first scholars stumbled upon the area, and when they recognized its importance. German archaeologist Max Uhle explored the Supe Valley, but not Caral itself, as part of a wide-ranging study of ancient Peruvian cities in the early 1900s. But it was American historian Paul Kosok, who is largely recognized as the first scholar to recognize and visit what is now known as the site of Caral in 1948. In his 1965 book, Life, Land and Water in Ancient Peru, he referred to the site as Chupa Cigarro Grande, after a nearby hacienda.

The sheer size and complexity of the site, however, led many to believe Caral’s structures were made only more recently, largely leaving it to go ignored. It was only in 1994, when Peruvian archaeologist Ruth Shady of National University of San Marcos started studying the site, that she realized, in the absence of finding any ceramics, that Caral might date before the advent of pot-firing technology.

But Shady needed to substantiate her claims. While excavating the largest pyramid, she and her team found the remains of reed-woven bags, known as shicras, filled with large stones to support the pyramid’s retaining walls. In 1999, she sent the reed samples for radiocarbon dating to veteran archaeologists Jonathan Haas, at Chicago’s Field Museum, and Winifred Creamer, at Northern Illinois University.

The results, published in the journal Science in April 2001, were monumental. Caral, along with other ancient Norte Chico sites in the Supe Valley were “the locus of some of the earliest population concentrations and corporate architecture in South America,” they wrote. At that time, Caral was hailed as the oldest known city in the hemisphere; since then, other Norte Chico sites, dating several hundred years earlier, have been unearthed—and discoveries continue.

The Massive Complex Signals an Advanced Society

Shady, who heads the Caral-Supe Special Archaeological Project, has continued to probe the depths of the long-lost ancient city—which, compared to some highly looted archaeological sites, had remained relatively untouched due to its late discovery. Her finds have revealed a site of epic proportions, one that not only looms large with its massive pyramids, but with other architecturally complex elements including extensive residential units, multiple plazas and an impressive sunken circular amphitheater that would have been large enough to hold hundreds of people. It was there that Shady and her team unearthed the remains of dozens of flutes made of pelican bones, relics of the importance of music to the ancient people of Caral.

Another significant find came in the Gallery Pyramid (or ​​Pirámide de la Galería), which reaches 60 feet tall. On the twelfth step of its central stairway, archaeologists unearthed a quipu, an ancient method of recording information used through Incan times, believed to be among the oldest discovered in the Americas.

That such a highly structured society existed implied the presence of strong leadership and thousands of manual laborers. “In order to set up this city and its monumental buildings according to a coordinated design, prior planning, experts and a centralized government were necessary,” wrote Shady in “The Sacred City of Caral,” a nomination file submitted to Unesco, which inscribed the archaeological site onto the World Heritage List in 2009.

Why It Was Abandoned Remains a Mystery

The existence of such a large and well-organized inland civilization has helped smash the “maritime hypothesis,” or the long-running theory that complex Andean societies evolved first from the coast, where they were heavily reliant on fishing, and only later progressed inland. Dr. Shelia Pozorski, and her husband, Thomas, professors emeriti at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, questioned the maritime hypothesis as early as 1990. But it wasn’t until “archaeological evidence and dates for Caral and other Norte Chico sites became available, that the ‘maritime hypothesis’ was more soundly refuted,” she said. Coastal settlements and inland ones existed and developed at the same time, with Caral larger and more complex than any coastal villages that may have existed in the area before.

The discovery of cotton seeds, fibers and textiles, along with the remains of clam shells and fish bones at the site—as well as a large fishing net that was as old as Caral, found along the coast—helped Shady formulate another theory: The farmers at Caral grew and traded cotton in exchange for fish and shellfish from the villagers along the coast. The end result: production surpluses, local labor specialization and the emergence of political authorities in charge of trading. In short, Caral had a burgeoning model of social and political organization.

While much is known about Caral, perhaps there’s more that’s unknown—including why it developed in such a complex manner, and its relationship to the other ancient Norte Chico sites.

The largest mystery, however, might be why it was abandoned after being inhabited for nearly a thousand years. “There is no concrete evidence indicating that a single event, like an earthquake or large flood, ended the occupation of Caral,” Dr. Thomas Pozorski says. “It is much more likely that several factors contributed to the decline of the state, including internal strife and discord which is very difficult to prove in archaeology.”

Source: https://www.history.com/news/caral-peru-no...

The Ancient and Medieval African Kingdoms: A Complete Overview

The African Kingdoms goes over the BOTH the Ancient and Medieval periods of African history. It is meant to be an overview.

It begins with a general look at Africa's different natural regions, before getting into Ancient Africa (the Nubians, kingdom of Axum, the smaller cultures in North and West Africa, and the Bantu migrations), and then Medieval Africa (African religion, the coming of Islam, the Ethiopian Empire, the Swahili Coast, West African Empires, the Central and Southern kingdoms), and ending with daily life, slavery, and arts and culture.

The Rise and Fall of the Empires

In this video, we explore the fascinating history of the rise and fall of empires throughout the ages. From the ancient empires of Greece and Rome to the more recent empires of Britain and France, we delve into the reasons behind their rise to power and their eventual decline.

Through this journey, we examine the cultural, economic, and political factors that played a crucial role in the rise and fall of these empires. We also take a closer look at some of the most iconic empires in history, such as the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Mongol Empire, and explore their lasting legacies.

Join us on this exploration of the past as we visit some of the most significant landmarks and ruins of these empires, from the Acropolis to the Colosseum, from the Great Wall of China to the Taj Mahal.

First Look Inside the Great Pyramid Queen's Chamber Northern Shaft

The Great Pyramid of Egypt is the most well studied ancient structure in the entire world, which makes it all the more strange that for 20 years there has been important information concerning this structure that is missing from the public domain, and that’s pictures, footage and a full description of the inside of the Queen’s Chamber Northern Shaft.

It is discussed in a 2014 paper written by Dr Zahi Hawass, which is part of a publication by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities titled 'Quest for the Dream of the Pharaohs. The paper includes a description and a few black and white photographs, but is incredibly difficult to get hold of.

This shaft is critical in just about every Great Pyramid hypothesis and even if it isn’t, it can’t go unnoticed. Any pyramid researcher who tries to explain the finer details of the Great Pyramid must explain the four so-called air shafts in a logical way, but how can any hypothesis have any merit if nobody even knows what the inside of Queen’s Chamber Northern Shaft looks like? Thankfully we can change that with this video.

A friend of the Ancient Architects channel has supplied me with 51 colour photographs taken from the Pyramid Rover robot, which explored the shaft in 2002, as well as a copy of the original mission report. With this, we can now see the shaft in its entirety and learn more about this elusive pyramid shaft. Here I'll add a disclaimer: The "Never" on the thumbnail image refers to 99.9% of viewers of this channel. Some people have obviously seen them but not many.

Most people will never have seen these pictures before, but they will be of interest to anybody researching the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Not only do we learn about the exact shape and rock type, but we also learn of a number of new anomalies, previously not discussed.

The Unspeakable Things Pope John XII Did During His Reign

“Our” pope, John XII, ruled over Western Christendom from 955-963 some six hundred years after Pope Damasus. Damasus had been appointed by the Emperor Theodosius, but by the time of John XII, popes were elected by the people of Rome. Well, that's kind of misleading, for while the people of the city did vote for the pope, the vast majority of those votes were bought by powerful families who either had a son or other family member “running” for the position. Essentially, the position of pope went to the highest bidder. What's more the candidates for the position were oftentimes not exactly “paragons of virtue.”

As a matter of fact, some of them, like John XII did not know or care much about religion at all. What many popes and their backers cared about was POWER, and in the Middle Ages, the pope was considered infallible. In other words, he could make no mistakes, at least as far as it concerned most the people. Kings and emperors were another matter, and at many times in history, the popes were tools of those who held military power. The pope, however, held the balance, for winning the pope over to your side was costly. In return for his support, rulers often had to pay bribes, give up land and at least to some degree, listen to what the pope “suggested”, for the pope had the ultimate weapon – excommunication. Being “excommunicated” meant that a person was no longer able to take part in Church rites. The practices, such as Holy Communion, confession, and attending Mass. Without these rites and practices, a person could NOT ever ascend to Heaven, and could not, at least in theory, associate with any Christian, and all of the Christians in Western Europe at the time were Catholic.

The pope had tremendous power. John XII Before he took his “papal name” of John, he was known as “Octavianus.” His father, the powerful ruler of Rome, Duke Alberic II, named him after the first Roman emperor, Octavian – also known as Augustus, for Alberic wanted his son to follow him not only as the political leader of Rome, but as pope. Alberic's family, the Tusculum clan, had ruled the area for decades. They were rich, powerful and respected, and Alberic himself was well-loved. After his death in 954, the rich and powerful in Rome made certain that Octavianus was elected pope, and the 18 year old became one of the most powerful and richest men in the world as “John XII.”