from ancient archaeological sites lost
burial sites and strange stone fears
there are some archaeological
discoveries that are hard to decipher
stay tuned to number one to find out the
most mysterious unsolved archaeological
discovery and how it still puzzles
archaeologists today
number five death of Alexander the Great
and his final resting place Alexander
the third of Macedonia also known as
Alexander the Great was a Greek military
leader who led the Greeks in an invasion
of Persia and India in the fourth
century BCE after an intense military
campaign
Alexander finally died in Babylon at the
age of 32 but his death throws into
question two mysteries first how did he
die and second where is his body today
there was much speculation around the
cause of his death
and since archaeologists don't have a
body to autopsy they have to rely on the
primary accounts from the time one
theory is that he was poisoned this is
mentioned in a number of primary sources
like works by Diodorus and Justin
however not all are convinced by this
such as the Greek author Plutarch who
dismissed the idea that Alexander was
killed in a poisoning as a likely
conspiracy and fabrication the main
argument against the poisoning theory is
the time that passed between Alexander
falling ill and his death eleven days
later more recent arguments have
suggested that Vera term album a white
hellebore plant could have caused the
delay in death nevertheless as with any
mystery there is always more than one
theory floating around and others have
attributed his death to natural causes
such as malaria or typhoid fever until
someone finds his final resting place
and hopefully enough of his body to
conduct a scientific investigation
archaeologists will simply have to use
the evidence available to argue for or
against different theories but why don't
we know where his body is we should
probably call this number
five-and-a-half as it's really a
question all of its own initially as one
would expect of a great leader his body
was laid to rest immediately after his
death and was visited later by rulers
like Julius Caesar and Augustus but in
the centuries after his death the body
was moved on two occasions and later
lost from the archaeological and
literary record according to the
literary evidence available his body was
laid to rest in a
gold sarcophagus and was on its way to
Macedon when it was seized by Ptolemy
one of Alexander's successors and
temporarily taken to Memphis later told
me the second moved the sarcophagus to
Alexandria where it remained until
Ptolemy the fourth replaced the
sarcophagus with a glass one and used
the original one to create coins his
tomb in Alexander II was open to the
public Intel for unknown reasons it was
closed by Emperor septimus severus after
this its fate is unknown some believe
this so-called Alexander sarcophagus
housed in the Instanbul Archaeological
Museum contained Alexander's remains but
this idea has since fallen out of favor
and his body and final resting place
still remain a mystery hopefully one day
in the near future archeologists or even
an enthusiastic metal detector might
unearth the final resting place of
Alexander the Great and this
archaeological mystery will finally come
to an end
number four linear a Minoan language
mainly associated with the island of
Crete in the Mediterranean linear a is a
form of writing that remains
undeciphered inscribed on clay tablets
it is believed to be the origin of the
later Linear B script that was
successfully decoded in the 1950s
unfortunately although both writing
systems contain some similar symbols
archeologists have been unable to
decipher linear a nevertheless just
because you don't know what something
says does not mean that you can't
investigate it and this is exactly what
archaeologists have done dated 2500 to
1450 BCE the writing style overlapped
with another style known as Cretan
hieroglyphic writing and examples have
been found mainly on Crete but also some
on the agent islands and on mainland
Greece although some archeologists
believe they contain palace or religious
writings until some bright spark manages
to decipher the mysterious writing we
will just have to guess what the writing
contains number three stone spheres of
Costa Rica locally known as las bolas
grandes or the great stone balls in
spanish these mysterious stone spheres
are located on the
Delta and the isla del caño in Costa
Rica one notable archaeological site
where they've been found is palmar Sur
on the southern part of Costa Rica
dating between 300 and 800 seee
the area appears to have served as a
multifunctional site with a settlement
Cemetery monumental architecture and
sculptures
it also contains over 300 Petrus fairs
which create three puzzling questions
what was their function how were they
created and where did the material come
from as with many of these ancient
megaliths and sculptures the exact
function of these spheres remains a
mystery some believe they are grave
markers while others believe they might
have been a form of money but it's not
just a function that's mysterious how
did their makers manage to create such
perfect spheres even in today's age with
significant advances in tools and
techniques it is still remarkably
difficult to craft flawless spheres from
stone by hand
unfortunately the exact method used to
craft them is unknown but some artisans
believe they are some of the finest
examples of precision stone carving in
the ancient world
even if archeologists managed to
determine why and how they were created
it still leaves the question where did
the creators get the granite from while
the nearest source found is many miles
away it doesn't show any signs of
querying which begs the question where
did the material come from with so many
unanswered questions archaeologists will
likely never know the true function
behind these stones and it is possible
that they will remain a mystery for
years to come which is always a good
thing as it keeps the archaeologists
busy number 2 gobekli tepe
Turkey situated about seven hundred and
sixty kilometres above sea level in the
southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey
gobekli tepe
is an archaeological site dating back
between the 10th and 8th millennium BCE
its existence was first noted during a
survey conducted in 1963 however
archaeologist Peter Benedict mistook the
only parts of the site above ground at
the time to be stone slab grave markers
an easy mistake to make if you aren't
familiar with local site
and it wasn't until archaeologist Klaus
Schmidt came across the description of
the stone slabs and subsequently began
excavating the site in 1994 that the
true skill of the discovery was known if
Klaus didn't stumble across that
description of the site it's possible
that it could have remained
misinterpreted for years to come
Schmidt's excavations found two distinct
phases of use the earliest phase dated
back to the 10th millennium BCE making
it the oldest known megalithic structure
in the world
in an unprecedented display of ability
this part of the site was made up of
about 20 circles of more than 200
massive t-shaped pillars slightly less
grand the second phase consisted of
smaller pillars that stood in
rectangular rooms with polished lime
floors for unknown reasons the site was
abandoned after the pre pottery
Neolithic VIII period which ended just
over 8,000 years ago like with any good
mystery this site leaves archaeologists
scratching their heads with some of
these pillars weighing between 10 and 20
metric tons how did they lift the
massive blocks let alone transfer them
from the query to the site well
archaeologists believe that would have
taken about 500 people to move the
stones which is a lot of people
considering humans didn't live in big
groups at a time and that also brings up
more questions than it answers why did
so many people group together to create
the site well unfortunately the exact
function of the site remains a mystery
but after excavating the site
Schmidt believed it to be a pilgrimage
destination that attracted worshipper
from up to 100 miles away a considerable
distance to walk especially remembering
that the will wasn't invented until 3500
BCE but who were these people and what
did they believe that made them create
such a massive structure one which
clearly would have taken a lot of effort
to build
luckily Schmidt had an answer for this
as well a cult of the dead although no
tombs or graves were found
Schmidt believed they lay undiscovered
and ironically it wasn't until after his
death the evidence to support his theory
was found only recently in 2017 a human
crania with incisions
was found interpreted as evidence of a
Neolithic school cult even if you accept
Schmidt's theory for why was created and
what it was used for that still leaves
the question how did they move the
blocks and who exactly build the
structure number one Stonehenge England
situated in Wiltshire in the southern
region of England Stonehenge has puzzled
travelers local inhabitants and
archaeologists for centuries although
parts of the site date back to about
3000 BCE the site under winds several
major modifications over a span of 2,000
years before finally falling into disuse
however unlike other archaeological
sites parts of it have always been above
ground and Britain reference to this
site dates back to 1130 AD and this has
resulted in numerous theories as to what
it was used for today the sign is most
famous first astronomical alignments
with thousands of people flocking to the
site to celebrate the summer and winter
solstices even today after centuries of
investigations archaeologists still
debate why it was originally created by
whom and for what purpose
with several modifications throughout
its use it is no simple task to answer
these questions an archaeologists have
come to the conclusion that it was a
multifunctional site that was used for
different reasons at different times
popular theories for its function ranged
from a burial site a UFO landing site an
astronomical calendar all the way to a
ritualistic temple or altar also recent
archaeological investigation suggests it
was part of a much larger archaeological
site that contains numerous ancient
structures which again poses even more
questions than it answers so many
mysteries surround this site why was it
originally built why was it continuously
developed who built it where did the
material come from and how did they
transport them when it comes to how they
built it it is worth mentioning that
some of the stones known as blue stones
originated from a query 140 miles away
in wells now these stones weighed about
two tons how did they move them some
believe they may have been used in other
monuments nearby and
dismantled and brought to will char
while others believe they could have
been brought to the site directly from
the query regardless of which theory you
believe the next question becomes how
did they move them did they move them
over land by placing them on wooden
rolling pillars or did they manage to
create a boat strong enough to hold
their weight unfortunately even though
archaeologists have tried to replicate
the method they haven't been successful
so far and remains one of the most
significant mystery surrounding the site
overall so much remains unanswered about
Stonehenge and with the continuous
discovery of new sites and finds this
sign is likely going to puzzle
archaeologists for years to come which
is likely a good thing as everybody
enjoys a good mystery
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