360 Video: Inside the Tomb of St. Peter at the Vatican

In this video we will be exploring the inside of the Vatican Grottos, a series of chapels and papal tombs located directly beneath the famous St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. In 360 degrees, the final resting places of popes dating back to the Middle Ages can be viewed on a virtual tour narrated by Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric.

Of the 266 Popes throughout history, approximately 100 of them are buried below the basilica. On the tour, viewers will see monuments to Pope Nicholas the Fifth, Pope Innocent the Seventh, and Pope Paul the Second, among others.

In an exclusive and stunning conclusion to the tour, Yahoo News filmed the tomb of St. Peter, the man Catholics call the “First Pope,” one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. The remains of Peter are located directly beneath the altar where Pope Francis celebrates Mass, and create a literal foundation for the Church and its deep and storied history.

12 Most Amazing Ancient Artifacts Finds

What defines a fantastic ancient artefact find? Is it the value of the artefact in money? Is it the object's age? Is it its rarity? The answer is that it can be all of these things and more, or perhaps even none of them! Fantastic artefact discoveries speak for themselves but allow us to speak for them anyway in this video.

15 Strangest Islands in the World

There are thought to be as many as 670 thousand islands on the planet… with each one having its own unique shape, environment, and history. Not all of them are what you’d expect, though, and there’s a handful that stand out among the rest because of how unusual they are. From bizarre animals, to geological structures, legends, and human developments… it’s time to take a tour of the 15 strangest islands on earth.

The Cochno Stone: This 5,000-year-old Star Map Is Evidence Of A Lost Advanced Civilization

Archaeologists in Glasgow, Scotland, briefly excavated and then reburied a 5,000-year-old slab of stone that contains incised swirling geometric decorations.

The Cochno Stone, which measures 43 feet by 26 feet (13 by 8 meters), contains swirling decorations, also called "cup and ring marks." The stone and its decorations have been known to people in the area since at least the 19th century. Decorations similar to these swirls have been found at other prehistoric sites around the world; however, the examples incised in the Cochno Stone are considered to comprise "one of the best examples" of such art in Europe, according to a statement by the University of Glasgow, which led the new study.

The stone slab was fully unearthed in West Dunbartonshire by Rev. James Harvey in 1887. By 1965, the stone had been vandalized with graffiti and damaged by the elements, so a team of archaeologists buried it beneath the dirt in order to protect the artwork . This summer's two-week re-excavation allowed archaeologists to use modern-day surveying and photography techniques to better record the artwork.

For instance, digital-scanning and mapping experts from the Factum Foundation used cutting-edge 3D-imaging technology to make a detailed digital record of the site, according to the university statement.

The re-excavation also revealed 19th- and 20th-century graffiti etched alongside the swirls, as well as painted lines intentionally made by an archaeologist named Ludovic Maclellan Mann, who worked at the site in 1937. Mann painted lines on the Cochno Stone to help measure the prehistoric artwork and see if there was a link to astronomical phenomena, such as eclipses.

Mann "was trying to prove that the symbols could predict eclipses and were marking movements of the sun and moon in prehistory," said Kenny Brophy, an archaeologist and senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, in a video released by the university. He said that Mann's own data ended up disproving the archeologist's theory.

The meaning of the artwork is still unknown, said Brophy, adding that the vast amount of data gathered this summer may, in time, allow archaeologists to better understand the artifact. He said that the graffiti is also of interest and will help archaeologists better understand what people who lived in the local area thought of the artwork during the 19th and 20th centuries and how they incorporated it into their lives.

While archaeologists had to rebury the swirling prehistoric artwork in order to protect it, Brophy said he hopes that one day it will be possible to create an area where the rock art can be permanently revealed for both tourists and people in the local area to see. Funding will have to be obtained to build a protective area and visitors centre so that people can view the prehistoric artwork without damaging it.

"It is emotional when you have worked on a project such as this, touched it, walked on it and closely examined it, to then rebury it. But for now, that is what we have to do to protect it from the elements," Brophy said in the statement. "Perhaps in the future, this site could be turned into a major tourist attraction in Scotland, with a visitor center — who knows?"

Source: https://www.livescience.com/56287-ancient-...

An Empty Dancing Structure | African Voodoo Dance (Zangbeto)

This Africa dance is called the Zangbeto and it's the African Voodoo dance of the people of West Africa. Trust me you won't forget what you see. Voodoo is a religion that is practiced by the people of the coastal region of Ghana, Togo Benin and Nigeria and the Zangbeto is their main Police force. This dance is a show of power.

A Student In Venice Found One Of The Oldest Swords Ever – And It’s A Weapon Steeped In Mystery

Victoria Dillard Molina, an italian postgraduate student enrolled at the Kapha Scara university in Venice, is taking a break from her coursework on this November day in 2017. She is going to an Armenian monastery that is perched on a small island in the Venetian Lagoon. There are many of them.

However, as she explores the early 18th-century building, she notices a sword in a glass display case. The student in Venice discovered one of the oldest swords ever made. She stressed that she had not actually been to the island monastery to study when she found this mysterious weapon. Dillard Molina told the live science website in March 2020 that the trip was enjoyable. She went on to say that this was her first trip to the island, but finding the sword shed would require a long and careful investigation. Along with other items, the sword that had intrigued and alarmed molina had now been identified as medieval. This indicated that it was most likely centuries old.

Yet, the youthful understudies field of study was the early bronze age. Solara molina's research in her thesis dealt with grave goods, including weapons buried with high-status individuals 1000 years ago. As she explained to CCN, “I immediately noticed the 17-inch sword and its alleged age”. Considering that she had firmly concentrated on imperial burial places in the close to eastern districts of the Aegean Anatolia in the Caucasus, its nothing unexpected that she could recognize an abnormality in the blades depiction. Indeed, dr. Molina had researched the history and development of swords in the ancient near east, as stated in a press release issued by Khari university in February 2020. Yes, that was the focus of both her master's thesis and her phd work.

Therefore, it was actually a stroke of luck that someone so knowledgeable had discovered the sword at the monastery, and the sword's actual history would prove to be an intriguing tale. However, the island's name, which translates to "Saint Lazarus of the Armenians," begs the question of why there was ever an armenian catholic monastery on a small island in the Venetian Lagoon in the first place. However, Armenia is 1700 miles to the east of Venice. Actually, the monastery was once a colony for lepers. Since he is the patron saint of lepers, the name "Lazarus" comes from him.

Between the 12th and 16th centuries, the island was used as a leper sanctuary before being abandoned for a while. That returns us to the appearance of an Armenian priest in Venice in 1715. The monk marketer had been forced to leave his homeland due to Turkish invaders' persecution. In addition, he established a convent and a church in the modin region, which was under venetian control, in 1701. Mecca had to flee once more when hostilities with Venice broke out in Greece.

Archaeological digs above the clouds: Exposing new chapters in our ancient history

Have you ever wondered what secrets the skies hold about our ancient past? Thanks to groundbreaking technology called lidar, archaeologists can now unlock past mysteries in a way that was once impossible. With lidar, massive areas of land can be scanned in just a few hours, revealing incredible archaeological finds that might have otherwise gone undiscovered for centuries.

Today we will explore the exciting world of lidar and the big archaeological digs happening in the sky.

This Rock Violate All The Laws Of Physics

Think rocks are boring? Think again! Not only do they batter the heck out of scissors in a good old-fashioned game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” but they can also be in rather peculiar shapes. These are the 20 most unreal rock formations!

Beauties Of The Past Brought To Life | Blanche Monnier, Pauline Chase

Throughout history, people have been fascinated by beautiful women. While black and white photography was a largely underdeveloped technology in the 19th or early 20th century, beautiful and iconic women of that era managed to shine through in a very poignant fashion. With the technology of today, we can now see these elegant and beautiful women of the past as they were meant to be seen. Let's watch a few examples of beauties from the bygone era come back to life in a very touching way.

This Gecko Has Been Trapped In Amber For 100 Million Years

Researchers at the University of Oregon state and the Natural History Museum in London confirmed that they had found the oldest known gecko fossil with life-like pieces after 100 million years of the amber-buried skeleton.

The tiny foot of this ancient lizard also displays the tiny “lamellae” or sticky headdress hairs, that to this day give modern geckos their unusual ability to cling to surfaces or run across a ceiling. Research programs around the world have tried to mimic this bizarre adhesive capability, with limited success.

This gecko’s running days are over, however, as only the foot, toes, and part of a tail are left in the stone. The rest might have become lunch for a small dinosaur or another predator during an ancient fight in the tropical forests of Myanmar during the Lower Cretaceous Period, from 97 million to 110 million years ago.

The find is at least 40 million years older than the oldest known gecko fossil, shedding additional light on the evolution and history of these ancient lizards that scampered among the feet of giant dinosaurs then and still are common in tropical or sub-tropical regions all over the world.

The findings were just published in Zootaxa, a professional journal.

“It’s the unusual toe pads and clinging ability of some geckos that make them such a fascinating group of animals, so we were very fortunate to find such a well-preserved foot in this fossil specimen,” said George Poinar, Jr., a courtesy professor at OSU and one of the world’s leading experts on insects, plants and other life forms trapped in amber, a semi-precious stone that begins as tree sap.

“There’s a gecko society, gecko clubs, just a lot of interest in these animals because of their unusual characteristics,” Poinar said. “So there are a lot of people pretty excited about this.”

Based on the number of lamellae found on its toe pads, this gecko was probably a very small juvenile of what would have become a comparatively large adult, possibly up to a foot long, the researchers say. Modern geckos get no more than about 16 inches long, although it’s possible there were larger species millions of years ago.

The juvenile gecko found in the fossil was less than an inch in length when it died – possibly by being eaten or attacked since only partial remains were found.

The discovery has been announced as a new genus and species of gecko, now extinct, and has been named Cretaceogekko. It had a striped pattern that probably served as camouflage.

There are more than 1,200 species of geckos in the world today, common in warm or tropical regions, including parts of the southern United States. They are frequently kept as pets, and often are welcome in the homes of some tropical residents because they help control insects. Some are very colorful. They use long tongues to lick, clean, and moisturize their eyes.

“Geckos are territorial, and when I lived in Africa in the early 1980s we used to have them in our house,” Poinar said. “They are pretty friendly and don’t bother humans. Certain individuals would move into the house, we’d give them names, and they would run around the house, catch mosquitoes, help control bugs. They would crawl across the ceiling and look down at you.”

The new study provides evidence that geckos were definitely in Asia by 100 million years ago, and had already evolved their bizarre foot structure at that time. The amber fossil was mined in the Hukawng Valley in Myanmar, and during its life, the gecko probably lived in a moist, tropical forest with ample opportunities for climbing.

The ability of geckos to walk on vertical walls or even upside down is due to the presence of thousands of “setae” on their toes, very tiny, hairlike structures that have tips which attach to surfaces by van der Walls forces. It’s a type of incredibly strong, dry adhesion shared by virtually no other group of animals.

It’s not known exactly how old this group of animals is, and when they evolved their adhesive toe pads. However, the new study makes it clear that this ability was in place at least 100 million years ago, in nature. Modern research programs still have not been able to completely duplicate it.

Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley reported earlier this year that they have developed a new “anti-sliding” adhesive that they said was the closest man-made material yet to mimic the ability of geckos – they think it might help a robot climb up the side of walls. A research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this year created a waterproof adhesive bandage inspired by geckos, that may someday be used in surgery. And of course, geckos have become an advertising icon for the insurance company Geico.

This study is just one of many in which Poinar and colleagues have used the unusual characteristics of amber to study ancient life forms and develop information on the ecology of ancient ecosystems.

As a stone that first begins to form as sap oozing from a tree, amber can trap small insects or other life forms and preserve them in near-perfect detail for observation millions of years later.

Source: https://archaeology-world.com/this-gecko-h...

The Most Unbelievable Recent Finds

In the following video we will be exploring the most unbelievable recent finds around the world. Watch the video to find out more!