Ancient Structures, Locations and Objects There is a lot of news about ancient sites lately. One which caught my eye was an article which stated the mystery of how the giant statues on Easter Island were moved has been solved. There are nine hundred of these massive statues on Easter Island, which is an island off the coast of Chile. For hundreds of years scientists have wondered about these statues and why they were created. The statues are called moai and were created by the Rapa Nui people who nearly entirely disappeared from the island. Scientists are claiming the carved statues were raised with pullies and “walked” to where they were installed by a coordinated team of workers. It is estimated the statues were created between 1200 to 1600 AD. Some of the stone statues are thirty-three feet high. It is thought the natives were able to drink a mixture of fresh and salt water since there was not enough fresh water to sustain the 20,000 or so people who lived there at the time. There is a remark about this recorded by the Spanish when they went to the island in the 18th century. Some scientists now believe the moai mark the areas where the water is drinkable and not too salty for them to drink. This will require more investigation however. For thousands of years people have been wondering how the Egyptian Pyramids were constructed. All sorts of theories have been put forth including some which claim they didn’t build the pyramids at Giza, but a more ancient race did. French archaeologists think they have discovered a ramp which was used for the construction. There have been many theories in the past about how the Egyptians may have used ramps and they differ in regard of what the ramp would look like. For example, some say it must have wrapped around the pyramid, while others believe it was very long with a slight angle. What the archaeologists found was a system Egyptians were said to have used over 4,500 years ago in a quarry to move heavy stones. It had a central ramp with stairs on either side with post holes along the stairs, which ropes would have been attached to. It is said this system would have allowed the two and one-half ton stones to be pulled up grades of 20 percent or more. Very weird statues have been found in an abandoned city in Peru named Chan Chan. The statues are about three feet tall, have skin colored faces which are really clay masks, and rough dark brown bodies. A passage way was found in the city and the statues line both sides and are made of wood. The statues have been estimated to be at least 750 years old. This was a capital city at one time when Chimu was in power. It is said the city was also very wealthy. The city had nine citadels and high walls. It was conquered by the Incas. Today it is only three miles from the city of Trujillo. When the Spanish discovered the city, which had previously held 60,000 people before the Inca conquest, it was just about totally abandoned. It is always exciting when something unusual is discovered. One of the things archaeologists like is finding objects which are ancient yet in great condition. Probably many of them think about a dream find, and it looks like this is just what might have happened. A group of ancient ships has been found in the Mediterranean Sea. What makes this so unusual is the fact they are in good to great condition. There are 58 shipwrecks in the area and the lack of oxygen in the water had left the ships much like they were before the days they sunk. One scientist said, “I would call it, probably one of the top archaeological discoveries of the century in that we now have a new story to tell of a navigational route that connected the ancient Mediterranean.” Along with the ships which sank over a period of years, cargo is being found which gives us a better idea of how people lived and what they used. It is amazing to me how many truly ancient cities are being discovered. Some are in better shape than others and the discoveries range from almost complete preservation such as the cities discovered in South and Central America to ruins discovered in other places. A few years ago, an ancient city was discovered in Turkey. It had been hidden under weeds and thorns, and was found in the southern province of Antalya. The city was known as Lyrboton Kome. It is 2,200 years old. The city had been one of the first to extract olive oil. The city formed under the direction of Arete, a powerful woman who helped found the olive oil foundation. It had been home to more than one hundred olive oil factories. Turkey is planning to turn the city into an archaeological park. It is one thing to find an ancient city buried in the jungle somewhere, but to find one with tens of thousands of structures is more than incredible, it is fantastic. Such was the find in Guatemala when scientists used jungle penetrating lasers and found this Mayan city. The city had been abandoned for at least 1,000 years. It is thought its population had originally been millions. So far the size with the information available seems to be 2,100 square miles, but if more is discovered that estimate will also increase. When archaeologists realized the size of this city and the amount of structures so far, they were shocked, because this would have been the largest city of its day. Rome at its height only held about one million people. The amount of people who lived here from 650 AD to 800 AD is estimated to be between 7,000,000 to 11,000,000. This is far more than live in New York City today. These facts are causing many new questions to be asked. Swiss scientists have made an incredible discovery. It is a bronze hand with a gold cuff. What makes this discovery so monumental is the fact the hand is at least 3,500 years old, making it the oldest bronze artifact representing a human body part ever found. The hand had been given to scientists by two treasure hunters. Archaeologists went back to where the hand was found to search the location and they found a man in a badly damaged grave. There were pieces of gold plate near him and a bronze spiral. They also found a finger from their bronze hand which confirmed the hand had come from this grave site.
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