I seem to have an affinity for ancient things and with all the discoveries being made lately in this field, I have found a lot of things to be interested in. Recently the DNA of the ancient Greek people who built those magnificent temples and buildings and carved those incredible statutes was tested and the results seemed to indicate the ones who did this were the same who farmed the land thousands of years before, but it also showed something else. It showed there was cultural contact with people to the north and to the east. The focus was on the Minoan civilization which flourished on the island of Crete from 2,600 BC to 1,100 BC. Scientists said they focused on this civilization, because they were the first ones in Europe who had writing and they also had a level of complexity that had not been seen in earlier civilizations.

It’s always interesting to find out Romans were in a place you didn’t expect them. Recently an entire Roman village was found on the banks of a river in Vienne, which is a city in southeastern France. We know the Romans were in France, but no one knew there had been a Roman village here. The French were very excited and said the reason they felt this way was this site is the biggest they have found in over fifty years. It wasn’t only the size of the site that excited, it was also the fact how well preserved everything was. Finding this site made officials realize the town could date back as far as the first century A.D. The French are giving the archaeologists more time to collect mosaics, take photographs and collect other items. Three buildings are scheduled be erected in the area. The public is going to be given a chance to see what was recovered in exhibitions which are planned for 2019 and 2020.

One of the most incredible things we find from our past are tunnels which were created in the Stone Age and go through mountains. Some of these are complete with stone steps curved archways and it does make one wonder how in the world they could have been created without modern tools. One of the big mysteries is why were these tunnels built in the first place. There have been a couple of suggestions. One says they were built so people could hide from their enemies, but another states they were used for travelers to rest and get away from harsh conditions on the surface. I have to wonder about building tunnels to get out of the weather, it seems a ridiculous idea when one looks at the size of these places and the work which was put into them. The idea one could hide down here from their enemies does have some merit as far as I am concerned. There could be a third reason and maybe more and it might have something to do with religion. Perhaps religious ceremonies were conducted in these tunnels. We may never know the reason for their existence.

Turkey has some very curious tracks in one area. They have been examined by Russian geologists who claim the tracks are about fourteen million years old, but here is the kicker the geologists claimed they were created by vehicles. The tracks are located in the Phrygian Valley in central Turkey. The geologists stated we are dealing with some type of cars or all-terrain vehicles from back in that time. There have been suggestions in the past we are not the first race to appear on the planet earth and maybe not even the second or third. Could this be proof those who believe this could be correct?

Divers diving in the Mississippi River, just south of St. Louis have discovered a treasure hunters dream. They have found a three hundred-year-old pirate ship laying at the bottom the river. They said, “We quickly noticed that this was no ordinary boat, instead it became clear that this was an old sailing ship.” The name of the ship was the Negrito and it vanished in 1708. The ship was captained by a notorious pirate known as Black Eye Dan. For years treasure hunters have been looking for the ship in the South Pacific, no one dreamed it was in the Mississippi River. As one would expect the ship contained gold and jade artifacts and a hundred barrels of moonshine. The divers state they will keep the treasure, but donate the ship to the city of St. Louis so that all can see it. The city is going to display the ship under the famous Gateway Arch. A permanent exhibit is going to be constructed for it. There was a request by the ancestors  of the crew to have the ship returned to Asia, but this request was denied, however free admission will be given to any of these people if they want to see the ship.

This was not the only old ship which has been found lately. The galleon San José was found at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Columbia in the 1980s. The ship was built in 1696 and the Spanish Galleon was sunk in a battle with the English in 1708. It is believed the ship contains treasure worth between 4 and 17 billion dollars in today’s money. This is the world’s richest shipwreck. The ownership is being disputed and a court battle has been raging. The Colombian government has passed a bill giving all rights to the ship and its treasure to Columbia and they are said to be beginning salvage operations leaving the American firm that discovered the ship and offered a 65% 35% deal out in the cold with only a 5% finder’s fee which is going to be taxed at 45%.

Recently a discovery of axe heads and grinding stones was made in Australia. They were found in an Australian cave in the far north and scientists say it proves  humans arrived in Australia about 65,000 years ago which is 18,000 years sooner than had previously been thought. This also changes the date for humans migrating out of Africa. One scientist said, "Because Australia sits at the end of this migration route, we can now use this as a benchmark, and use it to say that people must have left Africa earlier than this."