Archaeologists spend most of their lives seeking to unravel the mysteries of the ancient world. But some of the biggest discoveries are made by people like you and me, and they don’t even realize the importance of the discovery. Have you ever imagined finding catacombs in your own garden? Keep scrolling to see these unique discoveries.
#1. Lascaux Paintings.
The 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat was responsible for the discovery of the Lascaux entrance in France. Surprised, he returned to his friends and discovered that the walls of the hitherto unknown cave were lined with animal figures.
The cave was opened to the public in 1948, but precisely for this reason, the Upper Palaeolithic paintings began to lose their original shape. Later, they were restored and today it is only possible to visit the place with permission.
#2. An entire city discovered when renovating a house.
When buying an old home, there are many surprises you can find. You never know what you’ll find inside old furniture, under the floor, buried in the yard, or elsewhere in the new home.
However, one of the only things that doesn’t even cross your mind is finding a completely unfamiliar city within your new home. And that’s exactly what happened to a man in 1963 who, breaking down a wall at his home in Turkey, ended up discovering a series of tunnels that formed an underground city, right in the center of Cappadocia.
Derinkuyu Underground City, as it is known today, is multi-storey, with a complex ventilation system that ensures that the people living below do not die from lack of oxygen.
#3. A Roman mosaic in the courtyard.
Briton Luke Irwin accidentally discovered an ancient Roman mosaic in his backyard.
During the excavation, they found a 45-centimeter thick layer below the surface that had very light mosaic pieces. The discovery allowed to expand the knowledge of British history when the place was dominated by the Romans.
#4. Did hobbits exist?
A group of Australian and Indonesian archaeologists was looking for evidence of human migration from Asia to Australia when they unintentionally discovered a very different skeleton, similar to the Hobbits J. H RR Tolkien.
Was it a human dwarf or a different species? The mystery still remains. The skeleton, as well as the skull, was unusually small.
The skeleton was of a woman and was discovered in the Liang Bua cave, on the island of Flores, Indonesia, in 2003.
#5. The man from Grauballe: a special mummy.
Two workers were digging as usual when one realized that he had touched something different. It was the mummy of the Grauballe man, and his hair, nails, and fingerprints were intact, even after centuries. Experts dated the mummy as late 3rd century BC. C.
In 1955, the mummy was transferred to the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark for public display.
#6. Worker unearthed the treasure of Quilderico I.
The image above reveals the signet ring that was once part of the treasure of Quilderico I. It is a gold ring 27 m in diameter, indicating that its owner had very fat fingers.
The discovery was made in 1653 in Tournai, Belgium. Along with the ring, he also found about 100 coins, gold swords, horse accessories, among other trinkets.
#7. Farmer discovers a giant woolly mammoth.
James Bristle and his other farmer friend were on a normal day at work in the field when they discovered they had hit something. What they didn’t even imagine was the presence of a huge 15,000-year-old woolly mammoth. The discovery came in 2015 in Michigan, USA, when a skull with two huge vertebrae was found.
#8. Horses and carriages in the tomb of the Zhou dynasty.
Scientists and archaeologists believe that this tomb belonged to one of the noble families of the Zheng state (806-375 BC). The grandeur of this discovery is commendable, as the grave diggers led by Ma Juncai attested.
The excavation took place in central China, in the city of Xinzheng, where dozens of carriages and nearly 100 horse skeletons dating back to 2,400 years ago were found. One of the highlights of this excavation was a chariot that was 2.4 m long and 1.7 m wide and adorned with bronze and bones.
Can you imagine finding a unique archaeological site in your home? The world is a place full of surprises. Share this note so that everyone is attentive, they may be the next to find something this unique.