Archaeological Discoveries By Accident
Archaeological Discoveries By Accident
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
The Aztec Sun Stone
This amazing discovery actually became a national treasure!! Workers got quite a surprise when they were doing some repairs in the central plaza of Mexico City in 1790 and found the Aztec Sun Stone. As they were digging by the Cathedral, they found a massive stone lying flat upside down with blood stains on it. It was covered with representations of Aztec gods and monsters and is not just a calendar, but a sacrificial altar. The carved basalt stone was once part of the Templo Mayor and is 3.58 m (12 feet) in diameter, 98 cm (3 feet) thick, and weighs 25 tons!! It might have been buried underneath the central plaza of the city by the Spanish or the Aztecs soon after the Aztec empire fell in 1521. It’s not really clear who buried it… While it is adorned with astronomical representations, it’s thought to have been primarily used as an altar for human sacrifices to Tonatiuh, the Sun God who might be the god represented in the center of the stone. Fun fact- Aztecs had 2 calendar systems, one was an agricultural calendar with 365 days, each lasting 18 months and 20 days each plus 5 unlucky days. The 260 day calendar described each day in terms of Aztec gods which was a sacred year. Their weeks were 13 days long. The sun stone would have kept record of when the next sacrifice was required- in this case every 52 years. When it was time, priests would light a new fire in the open chest of the victim to ensure that the sun would not die. The Sun Stone is now housed in Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology, where millions of people a year visit to see its beautiful artistry. Kind of a far cry from its original intended purpose.
Alexander the Great Coins
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
In 2015, a team of spelunkers in northern Israel made a surprising discovery hidden away- they found an actual treasure trove of jewellery, coins, and other artifacts that dated back to the time of Alexander the Great almost 2,300 years ago! Amongst the rings, bracelets, and earrings were a number of silver coins with Alexander’s own face on it!! A pretty rare and amazing find all around!!! After handing over the treasures to the Israel Antiquities Authority, the three members of the Israeli Caving Club took archaeologists to the site where they had found them, and there was much further evidence that humans had been living in this cave system for thousands of years. They unearthed pottery and tools that were used during the Chalcolithic period, 6000 years ago, and numerous artifacts that had been left behind over the thousands of years!! Amir Ganor, the Director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery said he was pretty excited that citizens were actually reporting these rare and significant findings!
Roman Villa in a Barn
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
Luke Irwin, from Wiltshire in the UK, was removing the floor in his barn to lay a cable when, to his surprise, he found a mosaic. He stopped his renovation work, and took a photo of it to send to the local council- again another responsible citizen! Within 24 hours they had arrived at his home with archaeologists to investigate further. Experts from the local museum got very excited, and began to carefully excavate the area. It turns out that the mosaic was part of the floor of a much larger Roman building! Over the course of 8 days they continued to carefully reveal the site, which was one of the largest villas to ever be found in the country! It’s thought to have been built at some point between 175 and 220 AD, and was three stories tall. The dig also found a wide variety of artifacts like broaches, coins, pottery, and even a refuse area filled with oyster shells that would have been carried fresh from the coast. The villa was clearly the home of someone very important, perhaps even a governor or emperor, and it’s amazing how great a condition it was in, after collapsing more than 1400 years ago.
Indigenous Australian Artifacts
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
In 2016, while construction workers were preparing the foundations for a section of a new rail line in Sydney, Australia, they unearthed a vast collection of Indigenous Australian artifacts- so much so, that construction of the line had to be suspended until everything could be recovered and protected. In total there are thought to have been more than 50,000 objects, ranging from weapons to tools to adornments. More than 20,000 of them were found within 100 square metres, which, in archaeological terms, is virtually unheard of. It’s thought that the region must have been a ceremonial meeting place, or maybe even somewhere that rival groups would come together to do battle. Either way, it’s an incredibly significant site of Australian history, and the fact that is almost got built over and turned into a train yard upset a lot of people! Many Australians are extremely excited about the find and are hoping to preserve these places not only to share and educate the public but also out of respect.
Lascaux Cave
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
In September of 1940, four boys went out together to explore the Dordogne. They had heard a legend of a secret tunnel that ran under the Vezere river, and set out to find it themselves. While they didn’t find the tunnel, they found something far more archaeologically significant. They had their dog with them, who began sniffing around a sunken hole in the undergrowth. When they saw it, they thought it could be the entrance to the tunnel, so they dug away the earth and squeezed into the tight opening. Instead, they found themselves inside a cave and shone their oil lamp around the walls and the ceiling. The light revealed an extraordinary set of paintings, what the boys described as a “cavalcade of animals larger than life”. They had discovered the Lascaux paintings, an extensive set of cave paintings that is believed to have been painted by early humans more than 17,000 years ago. Soon after, the cave was opened for the general public to visit, and attracted as many as 1700 people a day. Unfortunately, this led to the paintings deterioration, because of all the carbon dioxide, and mold started growing all over the place so it was closed. There is now a replica built near it for visitors and rarely scientists and researchers are allowed to visit the original caves. With almost 6000 different figures of animals, humans, and abstract shapes- the Lascaux cave contains the best preserved examples of such artwork anywhere in the world. It’s thought they represent accounts of past hunting expeditions, and potentially even evidence of rituals that took place at the time. Even remains of ancient musical instruments were found!
Alien Engravings
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
Local legends near the Mexican cities of Veracruz and Puebla, speak of a mysterious ship that has lain in the caves of the region forever and has inspired countless people to explore them, hoping to find the truth. This is why a group of hikers went looking in the caves in 2017, leading them to find something completely unexpected. In the underground complex, they found a number of artifacts such as inscribed golden stones, and sharp fragments- but the most startling discovery came in the form of 2 jade stones. These stones had carvings that appear to be alien beings in contact with a pre-Hispanic culture. The stones have since become known as the “Stones of First Contact”, with many believing they depict the Mayan civilisation interacting with other worldly visitors. Did life from another planet really visit the earth a thousand years ago, or are the alien-like depictions that are frequently seen in Mayan carvings simply their way of representing the gods that they worshipped? No-one knows for certain, but it sure makes you wonder! Also…that alien ship might also still be out there for you to find!
Native American Spears
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
In 2017, Tom Maynard, an excavator from Connecticut, was clearing some land where a new house was going to be built. He noticed some unusual objects in the ground, though, and took a closer look. He immediately realised that he had found something significant, and called in local experts to help. What he had unearthed were Native American artifacts that were more than 1,200 years old. The area along the river used to be a popular place for camps, because of their easy access to food and water supplies, and the site Maynard dug up would have been where they threw away their garbage. There were hundreds of clam, oyster, and whelk shells, as well as hand carved spears that would have been attached to a bow for hunting. This discovery helped to further understand how people used to live and survive in the region, and really shows what an organised community they were. So pay attention to the ground, you never know what you might find!
Iraqi Coins
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
Quite often, ancient artifacts are actually uncovered by dramatic rains or cliffs collapsing, etc. which can be pretty amazing, especially since no one was looking for them in the first place. Last February of 2018, a torrential rainstorm hit an archaeological site in the Babylon province of Iraq. Instead of being a disaster, it brought not one, not two, but 75 important artifacts to the surface. They included coins, metal objects, and terracotta pottery, all of which dated back to the 3rd century BC. They were immediately sent off for testing to see if any other clues could be found as to who left them there. This wasn’t the first time rain had uncovered something in Iraq, with a similar thing happening in 2017 in a Muslim sanctuary that was dedicated to Abraham. On this occasion, more than 1000 ancient artifacts were uncovered- which just goes to show that you don’t need technology and equipment to make major discoveries as long as you look carefully, and have a little bit of assistance from the weather.
The Rosetta Stone
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
While most Egyptian artifacts are found by people purposefully looking for them, perhaps the most important find in all of Egyptology was made purely by accident. Pierre Bouchard, a French captain, was overseeing the restoration of a fort near the town of Rosetta in 1799 during the Napoleonic wars. During these works, his men found a 3 foot- 9 inch block of basalt rock that was inscribed with three different distinct types of writing. He realised this was something truly significant, but the stone soon fell into the hands of the British following the French surrender of Egypt in 1801. Now known as the Rosetta stone, it has proved crucial to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs and has made it possible to understand other writings that have been found. The stone is inscribed with the same phrases in Greek, which was also spoken by the Egyptians towards the end of the empire, as well as Egyptian demotic and hieroglyphics. The Rosetta stone was, and still is, regarded as the most important archaeological find ever, and without it we would still know nothing about the ancient Egyptians. No other reference for their language has ever been found.
Venus de Milo
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| Archaeological Discoveries By Accident |
The last artifact on our list is one of the most highly regarded sculptures from Ancient Greece, and most recognisable the world over- the Venus de Milo. This story starts in 1820, when a French naval officer enlisted two sailors from his ship to help him dig in the ground at the site of an ancient theatre on the island of Milos. As they dug, he saw a local farmer, who was collecting rocks for his farm, suddenly stop in amazement at something. He had found a part of the statue and, recognising its beauty, the Officer paid the farmer a bribe to help him retrieve the other pieces of the statue that were inside an arched enclosure. He knew he had found something important, but he was unable to take it for himself. It would take a large payment from France’s ambassador to the Ottoman empire to acquire it, and it was eventually gifted to King Louis the eighth in 1821- before being given to the Louvre museum, where it remains today. The statue is incomplete, and is missing its plinth, along with its arms and hands, one of which is thought to have held an apple. In ancient Greece, when it was on display, it would have been painted and covered in jewels, possibly at the entrance to a temple or gymnasium. It is one of the most revered artworks in the world because of both its beauty, and the efforts by the French to ensure everyone knew how great it was following their efforts to get it in the first place. It was especially protected and revered following the loss of another stunning sculpture, the Venus de Medici after Napoleon lost the war.