Here are nine incredible recent archaeological discoveries
Oldest known work of art
If you thought the Lascaux cave paintings were the oldest works of art in the world.
Scientists recently discovered a cave painting in Indonesia that’s been dated back to approximately 44000 years ago, which makes it the oldest known work of art on the planet. For years most researchers believed that cave art began in Europe, since we have found most of the extensive examples in France and Spain dating back around 37000 years.
But archaeologists working in Indonesia were suspicious and now that they’ve dated their cave paintings their suspicions have been confirmed. Found in a cave on the island of Sulawesi Indonesia it is helping to rewrite the history of the origins of art using an inventive scientific dating technique called uranium series analysis, scientists from Griffith university in Australia were able to date these Indonesian cave paintings back to over 40 000 years ago. Locals had known about the paintings for years but no one really assumed that they were that old revealed in 2017 now the search is on to find even more of these paintings.
Aztec sacrifices:
Recently in 2019 archaeologists discovered sacred offerings on what was once an Aztec ritual platform. Their incredible find may finally lead to an Aztec emperor’s tomb; so far none have ever been uncovered off the steps of the Aztec’s holiest temple. Archaeologists found a large rectangular stone box in what would have been the center of a circular platform they opened the mystery box with care and discovered a jaguar ornately dressed as an Aztec warrior. Researchers found these new remains in the downtown area of Mexico city, which was once the location of the most revered temple in Aztec culture during the reign of the empire’s most powerful ruler called the temple mayor.
It was 15 stories high before it was raised to the ground in 1521 during the Spanish conquest. In addition to the jaguar dressed up like a warrior they discovered the sacrificial remains of a child dressed up as if he was the Aztec god of war they also found some knives made out of flint. Which were adorned with elaborate jewels and stones along with the remains of a flamingo-like bird and a number of shells and coral? records say that Aztec rulers were cremated and the remains were placed with luxurious offerings and the hearts of sacrificed slaves it is possible that an emperor may be in the box along with the jaguar representing the king as a fearless warrior the contents of the box were laid in their resting place by Aztec priests some 500 years ago.
Temple from a water cult:
Researchers recently uncovered the remains of a temple from 3000 years ago in Peru which they think was used by a prehistoric “Water cult” for fertility ceremonies.
This would place its construction square in the middle of the Stone Age but interestingly this discovery marks the first Stone Age temple discovery in the region. It was located in the Huaca El Toro archaeological site in oyotun peru. It is the first megalithic temple, or one made from large stones, found in this valley, which sits between two rivers that join together and give rise to the Zaña River. The ancient cult, whose member’s worshiped water, likely built the temple in an area where a new river rises as a kind of “territorial symbolism”
From almost two miles away where there was a nearby mountain and although generations likely inhabited this space it appears that people left there around 250 bc. However the chummy people later rein habited the site and used it as an area for tombs however they did find one tomb from the original inhabitant who was buried with a ceremonial ceramic container.
Emperor Nero’s sphinx room:
In 2018 conservationists who were working on the restoration of emperor Nero’s palace in Rome found something completely unexpected a secret underground chamber inside was a series of colorful animal frescoes.
Panther’s centaurs and a sphinx the palace known as the domes aria was built more than 1900 years ago following the fire of 64 A.D. That destroyed large swaths of Rome it was Nero’s pride and joy but hasn’t stood the test of time so well efforts are underway to regain some of its former glory. And this new discovery further shows how enamored with art the emperor was it’s been nicknamed the sphinx room.
By workers because of one of the standout images but there are also murals of flowers leaves fruit aquatic creature’s exotic birds and the god pen. Investigations began in early 2019 and may one day reveal more secrets about one of Rome’s most infamous emperors who is believed to have been responsible for starting the fire in Rome so he could rebuild the city as well as murdering his mother both of his wives and eventually committing suicide at the age of 30.
Ancient humans in Idaho:
In 2019 archaeologists uncovered the remnants of human activity from around 16600 years ago in Idaho.
No less these discoveries shed new light on how humans must have traveled in prehistory indicating where they went as they explored. The Americas they discovered these remnants at cooper’s ferry. An archaeological digging site that’s located around the Salmon River in cottonwood Idaho the thoughts that these new artifacts provoke are certainly evocative via radiocarbon dating techniques. They’ve been dated back to a time when woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers roamed the icy expanses of North America they uncovered a number of ancient artifacts such as four tools.
Which were intended to cut stone bone fragments that belonged to horses and evidence of a fire building apparatus and the dates on these new discoveries are the earliest evidence of human activity in the Americas given the age of humanity this is a remarkable discovery archaeologists generally agree that humanity began some 300000 years ago.
In the middle of Africa, no one is quite sure when humans came to the Americas but the cooper’s ferry findings lend credence to the theory that humans traveled the pacific coast in order to reach America. There might even be a connection between the people at cooper’s ferry and ancient human settlements in Asia scientists are working hard to piece together our ancient past.
Romulus’s tomb archaeologists:
Recently discovered a tomb from millennia ago that the ancient Romans thought of as the burial chamber of Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. While most researchers and historians don’t think that Romulus ever actually existed it’s clear that the tomb was revered as if it was his as the legend goes Romulus along with rebus his twin were the sons of rhea Silvia and the god of war himself.
Mars they were abandoned and then raised by a she-wolf when they were older they restored their grandfather to power and built a city in the area where they were abandoned. But Romulus and rebus didn’t agree on the location, so Romulus or perhaps his supporters killed rebus and he became the first king of Rom.
His tomb was discovered below the roman forum apparently ancient Romans believed that this tomb contained Romulus’s body but the tomb itself was empty when archaeologists found it instead the tomb was a kind of temple that contained an altar and Romulus’s memory.
The USS Nevada:
We all know that navy ships are durable and hard to sink but there may be one ship among all of the navy’s fleet that stood above the rest for decades the USS Nevada made it through World War II even though it was built in 1912.
It made it through a number of other insane trials and tribulations as well surviving nuclear and ammunition tests. The USS Nevada sailed through difficult sections of the ocean it was hit at Pearl Harbor but made it back to fight through the war in 1943. And was going to be used even further before the war came to an end afterwards it was used as a target for nuclear tests at bikini atoll. Surprisingly it made it through finally it was decommissioned and sunk in 1946.
By an aerial torpedo however just a few months ago in 2020 a joint expedition run by search and ocean infinity discovered the remains of the USS Nevada about three miles underwater off the coast of Honolulu and near pearl harbor the ship’s husk shows signs of the shots and torpedoes.
Megalithic Monument:
When you hear about the Neolithic age you probably think about the megalithic structures of Europe. Which are pretty popular but structures in Middle Eastern countries from the same period are less well-known even though they are equally impressive in 2020.
An ancient oasis which contains a number of ruins in Saudi Arabia they discovered a large triangular platform in the middle. Nowhere no one is yet sure as to the nature of this strange platform, but researchers think that it was probably used to some sort of ritualistic end built in a few steps around the 6th millennium B.C. Megalithic peoples might have used the platform for funeral purposes or to celebrate key astrological events. They think this because they determined the ages of the human remains they found near the platform as well as in the tombs they uncovered close by these findings.
Temple of Nageswara Swami:
Recently villagers in a tiny Indian village unearthed a remarkable discovery the remains of a well-preserved temple that had been lost to time since the 1850.
It was found in Perumallapadu, which is a village in the Nellore district of India in about 1850A.D. The village was rendered unlivable because the nearby Penna River was rising and kept flooding the village. When everyone moved away the sand dunes engulfed the temple hole elders told stories of a temple lost in the dunes, so people decided to go look for it. They were able to locate the brick temple which is dedicated to lord Nageswara better known to the english-speaking world as lord shiva. Researchers estimate that the temple was built some 300 years ago.
