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Ancient Mysteries

Was the Sphinx originally a lion ? The Sphinx in Egypt might have originally had the face of a lion, it is claimed. And it could be much older than previously thought, investigations led by a British geologist suggest. Egyptologists have long argued the monument outside Cairo, which has the head of a pharaoh and the body of a lion, was built soon after the first pyramid - around 4,500 years ago. But geologist Colin Reader found that rain erosion on the Sphinx's enclosure suggests it was built many years before. A sunken palace on the Giza plateau provides further evidence that there was activity in the area before the building of the pyramids, Mr R... (Read more..)

Ancient Mysteries

The mystery of the screaming man | Submitted by C Jordan: For almost 130 years, the 3000 year old mummified remains of a man, his face contorted into an agonising scream, has perplexed scientists and Egyptologists alike. Does modern science now have the answers about this tormented soul?In 1881, 300 miles south of Cairo, in the Deir El Bahri valley, tombs, hidden from the world for centuries were uncovered.Here were discovered the remains of some of Egypt's greatest pharaohs: Rameses the Great, Seti I and Tuthmosis III.Yet puzzlingly amongst these great pharaohs in an unmarked and unadorned sarcophagus lay the body of a man whose face was frozen i... (Read more..)

Ancient Mysteries

Expedition uncovers ancient citadel in Peru A team of archaeologists on Tuesday announced they had discovered a fortified citadel in the remote Amazonian rainforest of northeast Peru that appears to be from the pre-Inca era. The main encampment comprises circular stone houses overgrown by lush jungle over an area of five hectares (12 acres), said archaeologist Benedict Goicochea Perez, quoted by the official Andina news agency. The citadel sits atop a chasm that the former inhabitants may have used as a lookout to spy on approaching enemies, said Goicochea Perez. Rock paintings cover some of the fortifications, and next to the dwellings are large platform... (Read more..)

Ancient Mysteries

First credit crunch traced back to Romans , | | Politicians searching for historical precedents for the current financial turmoil should start looking a bit further back after an Oxford University historian discovered what he believes is the world's first credit crunch in 88BC.The good news is that Philip Kay knows how the Romans got themselves into financial bother. The bad news is no one knows how they got themselves out of it."The essential similarity between what happened 21 centuries ago and what is happening in today's UK economy is that a massive increase in monetary liquidity culminated with problems in another country causing a credit crisis at home.... (Read more..)

Ancient Mysteries

Hoaxes from the holy land Israeli authorities called it "the fraud of the century": fakes passed off as archaeological finds with biblical ties. The most notorious object was the James ossuary, a limestone box inscribed in Aramaic with the words "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." Five men were charged, and the trial has been dragging on for three years. But it may all be crashing to a halt. A few weeks ago, the judge -- who is hearing the case without a jury -- told the government lawyers he's not convinced the objects are forgeries and suggested they consider dropping the matter. If the authorities can't make their case, experts warn ... (Read more..)

Ancient Mysteries

Ancient Mysteries

'Buddha's skull' found in Nanjing Chinese archaeologists have claimed that a 1,000-year-old miniature pagoda, unearthed in Nanjing, holds a piece of skull belonging to Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. The pagoda was wedged tightly inside an iron case that was discovered at the site of a former temple in the city in August. The four-storey pagoda, which is almost four feet high and one-and-a-half feet wide, is thought by archaeologists to be one of the 84,000 pagodas commissioned by Ashoka the Great in the second century BC to house the remains of the Buddha. Ashoka, one of India's greatest emperors, converted to Buddhism after waging a bl... (Read more..)

Ancient Mysteries

New evidence found for Herod's tomb site Israeli archaeologists excavating what they believe is the tomb of biblical King Herod said Wednesday they have unearthed lavish Roman-style wall paintings of a kind previously unseen in the Middle East and signs of a regal two-story mausoleum, bolstering their conviction that the Jewish monarch was buried here.Ehud Netzer, head of the team from Jerusalem's Hebrew University, which uncovered the site at the king's winter palace in the Judean desert in 2007, said his latest finds show work and funding fit for a king."What we found here, spread all around, are architectural fragments that enable us to restore a monume... (Read more..)

Ancient Mysteries

Iron age slab shows belief in soul seperation Archaeologists in southeastern Turkey have discovered an Iron Age chiseled stone slab that provides the first written evidence in the region that people believed the soul was separate from the body. University of Chicago researchers will describe the discovery, a testimony created by an Iron Age official that includes an incised image of the man, on Nov. 22-23 at conferences of biblical and Middle Eastern archaeological scholars in Boston. The Neubauer Expedition of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago found the 800-pound basalt stele, 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide, at Zincirli (pronounced “Zin-jeer-... (Read more..)