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10 copper artifacts that scientists discovered the secrets of the ancients
Copper is one of the first metals with which people began to work around 5000 BC, during the so-called copper era (the chalcolithic period), when there was a radical transition from primitive Neolithic to Bronze stone technology. For millennia, copper has been the main engine of the global economy. The most common prehistoric metal artifacts from copper alloys still surprise archaeologists.
1. The Lost Treasure of the Copper Scroll
On March 14, 1952, an archaeologist discovered a mysterious copper scroll that contrasted sharply with all the other Dead Sea scrolls found earlier in the Qumran caves. The material of the scroll, its author, script, language and style indicate that he ended up in cave number 3 at a different time than 14 other scrolls made of parchment and papyrus. According to Professor Richard Freund, “the copper scroll is probably the most unique, the most important and least understood among the Dead Sea scrolls.” Continue reading
Strange ancient artifacts, the origin of which no one can explain
The world is full of strange and mysterious artifacts. Some are almost certainly hoaxes, the others are connected with real stories. In our review of the 10-ka real artifacts, the origin of which scientists can not explain today.
1. The Sumerian Kings List
During excavations in Iraq on the territory of ancient Sumer, a manuscript was found, which lists all the kings of this state. The researchers initially thought that this was a common historical document, but later it turned out that many of the kings were mythological characters. Some rulers who should have been included in the list were missing from it. Others were attributed to incredibly long periods of rule or mythical events associated with them, such as, for example, the Sumerian version of the Great Flood and the exploits of Gilgamesh.
2. Gigas Codex (or Devil’s Bible) Continue reading
Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of a man who used a knife instead of a prosthetic arm
Who among us does not remember the formidable captain Hook, the inveterate enemy of Peter Pan? Literature and cinema is replete with characters whose distinctive detail was the presence of such an unusual prosthesis. But more recently, Italian archaeologists discovered an amazing find. They found the skeleton of a man who, apparently, used a knife to replace an amputated hand.
It is difficult to believe in the authenticity of such a find: an analysis of the bones of the skeleton suggested that this person lived in the 6th – 8th centuries. There is no need to speak about any professional medicine or even about the observance of basic sanitary standards during this period. Continue reading
