The realm of prehistory remains largely untouched by the scientific community, yet sites and artifacts have emerged around the world, nullifying current history books and baffling academics everywhere.
The numerous unexplained archaeological sites and artifacts remain a puzzling mystery to scientists but have too much hard evidence to dismiss.
Discovering the unknown is an exciting prospect. In books, films, and stories around the world are children’s tales that are left behind as children enter into adolescence and that are forgotten in adulthood; however, our world remains full of mystery and captivating perplexities.
1) The Bell in the Coal
In 1944, a 10-year-old boy in West Virginia dropped a lump of coal onto the ground, and to his surprise a metal bell was revealed inside. The coal was bituminous, a 300-million-year-old coal reports Dr. John D. Morrid at the Institute for Creation Research. Upon further examination and analysis of the bell, it was discovered to be comprised of an unusual mix of metals, different from any known means of production today, or on record.
2) The London Hammer
A hammer, the exact function of which remains unknown, was found in a creek bed by two hikers in London, Texas, in 1936. According to Historic Mysters the hammer is six inches long, and an inch in diameter. The hammer’s handle was wood, and the headpiece was iron, part of which was encased in limestone upon its discovery. The rock strata was dated to be between 110 and 115 million years old, reports Glen J. Kuban at Paleo.cc. Though much debate has ensued about the origin and function of the hammer, the largest question is how the hammer became encased within the multimillion-year-old rock to begin with.
3) The Sailing Stones of California
Near Death Valley are the mysterious sailing stones of the Racetrack Playa, a dry lakebed. Stones leave tracks behind them for as far as 1,500 feet, according to the National Park Service; however, no one has ever seen them move. Many of the stones weigh several hundred pounds, and they leave their mysterious trails across the dry, flat ground. Though the movement of the stones is evident, how they move—or what moves them—continues to perplex scientists.
4) Mammoths in North America
Discovered in Vero Beach, Fla., on a 3-inch bone fragment was an etched drawing of a mammoth or mastodon. Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Institute dated the drawing to be 13,000 years old. The artifact is the oldest ice age art depicting an animal with a trunk. Mammoths were not originally believed to have been in North America during this time.
5) The Footprint and the Trilobite
In June of 1968, an amateur fossil collector made the discovery of a lifetime, stirring ripples across the scientific community. A mere 43 miles west of Delta, Utah, is a fossilized footprint stepping on a trilobite, an extinct marine arthropod. The foot—wearing size 13 shoes—stepped on a living trilobite that was 10 1/4 inches long and 3 1/2 inches wide, according to The Unexplained Net, and Books Fact. Trilobites are known to have gone extinct around 280 million years ago, and according to the current scientific human timeline, the existence of humans, let alone ones who wore shoes, would not have existed in that remote age. The age of the fossil is estimated to range between 200 and 600 million years.
6) Pyramids All Over America
Pyramids are most commonly associated with Egypt and South America but not usually North America; however, several pyramids have been discovered in multiple states. One site: Pyramidsinamerica.com documents several of these sites in great detail,and the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site documents, and preserves perhaps most recognized, mound is near St. Lewis, Ill., and was aptly named Monks Mound by Trappist Monks who lived nearby. Monks Mound is 92.8 feet high and has four terrace levels. Although its top is flat, the shape of its side resembles that of pyramids in Egypt and South America as well as in China. Just who built the pyramids, and their exact ages, remains unknown.
7) Mystery Hill
Also known as America’s Stonehenge and dated as far back as 1,000 B.C., Mystery Hill is located 40 miles north of Boston, Mass., and 25 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The site is the oldest megalithic ruins in the United States, spanning across 30 acres of hillside with a chaotic maze of tunnels that run through the site. According to Unmuseum, the caves and buildings that have astronomical significance with the summer solstice have also been discovered. A large sacrificial stone and an oracle chamber suggest that rituals were a part of whatever civilization was responsible for its construction.
8) The Tower at Newport
Located in the middle of a resort in Newport, R.I., stands a 28-foot-tall, 24-foot-wide stone tower, according to the Newport Tower Museum. The tower’s architect remains unknown and has been the topic of many debates—theories of the architect’s origin range from Vikings to Chinese. Despite the excitement it generates in the scientific community, most passers-by are unaware of the mystery that surrounds the tower.
9) Piri Reis Map
The Piri Reis map was commissioned by Turkish Admiral Piri Ibn Haji in 1513 and was later found by a retired U.S. Navy captain who made a hobby out of collecting old maps. The map has several strange and unexplained features, including a full and accurate outline of South America, despite Columbus having discovered the New World only 21 years earlier. Perhaps the most fascinating feature of the map is its clear mapping of the Queen Maud Land coastline, off the Antarctic coast. The Queen Maud Land coastline does not exist in records until 1820, when seismographic technology was used to map it, according to Steve Dutch, a professor at the University of Wisconsin. The coastline is completely under a sheet of ice, as it was in 1513. How both the South American and Antarctic coastlines were successfully mapped and recorded at that time remains a mystery to this day.
10) Graves of Giants
In biblical text they were called Nephilim. Journals of sailors and explorers have reported numerous accounts of them, and today many of the remains found around the world match the description of a giant humanoid. In several places around the United States, mass graves of these giant bones have been discovered. One such grave was reported in Augusta, Ky., according to internet archives in 1921 when several skeletons were unearthed between the mouths of the Locust and Bracken creeks. Some of the skeletons were as large as two-story houses, and all of the bones were petrified—an odd occurrence, in addition to the fact that they could stand over 18 feet tall. Little recognition has emerged from the scientific community of this discovery, despite thousands of giant skeletons being unearthed around the world. Today the graves of giants continue to bewilder many archaeologists, scientists, and historians.
