29LABs

1.”The Terracotta Army”

Excavated in 1976, Pit 2 stands about 20 meters north to Pit 1. As the highlight of the whole mausoleum, it uncovers the mystery of the ancient army array. It consists of four units, measuring 94 meters east to west and 84 meters south to north and 5 meters deep., forming a 6000 sq. meter built-up area.

Pit 1 is the largest and most impressive – the size of an airplane hangar. It is believed to contain over 6,000 terracotta figures of soldiers and horses, but less than 2,000 are on display. All the most impressive Terracotta Army pictures were taken in Pit 1.

All soldiers and horses face east in a rectangular array, each one either armed long spear, dragger or halberd. The vanguard appears to be three rows of infantry who stand at the easternmost end of the army. Close behind is the main force of armored soldiers holding weapons, accompanied by 38 horse-driven chariots.

On the southern, northern, and western side there stand one row of figures serving as the army’s defense wing. Standing in front of such a grand ancient army array, one would feel the ground shake to the footsteps of the advancing soldiers.

Every figure differs in facial features and expression, clothing, hairstyle, and gestures, providing abundant and detailed artifacts for the study of the military, cultural, and economic history of that period.

2.”The Black Death Pit”

A 14th-century mass burial pit full of victims of the Black Death has been discovered at the site of a medieval monastery hospital, according to archaeologists.

Researchers uncovered 48 skeletons — 27 of which were children — at an “extremely rare” Black Death burial site in Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom, they said. DNA testing of teeth that were uncovered at the site revealed the existence of plague bacteria, the scientists said.

The bubonic plague (commonly called the Black Death) was one of the worst pandemics in human history, killing an estimated 75 million to 200 million people in Europe and Asia during the 1300s, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

3.”The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb”

King Tut’s buck-toothed face was unveiled today for the first time in public — more than 3,000 years after the youngest and most famous pharaoh to rule ancient Egypt was shrouded in linen and buried in his golden underground tomb.

The mystery surrounding King Tutankhamun — who ruled during the 18th dynasty and ascended to the throne at age 8 — and his glittering gold tomb has entranced ancient Egypt fans since Carter first discovered the hidden tomb, revealing a trove of fabulous gold and precious stone treasures and propelling the once-forgotten pharaoh into global stardom.

He wasn’t Egypt’s most powerful or important king, but his staggering treasures, rumors of a mysterious curse that plagued Carter and his team — debunked by experts long ago — and several books and TV documentaries dedicated to Tut have added to his intrigue.

Archeologists in recent years have tried to resolve lingering questions over how he died and his precise royal lineage. In 2005, scientists removed Tut’s mummy from his tomb and placed it into a portable CT scanner for 15 minutes to obtain a three-dimensional image. The scans were the first done on an Egyptian mummy.

The results ruled out that Tut was violently murdered — but stopped short of definitively concluding how he died around 1323 B.C. Experts, including Hawass, suggested that days before dying, Tut badly broke his left thigh, an apparent accident that may have resulted in a fatal infection.

4.Screaming Mummies of Guanajuato”

When science fiction author Ray Bradbury first visited the sleepy town of Guanajuato, Mexico in 1947, he was shocked and horrified.

“The experience so wounded and terrified me, I could hardly wait to flee Mexico,” he said of the trip. “I had nightmares about dying and having to remain in the halls of the dead with those propped and wired bodies.”

5.”The Headless Vikings of Dorset”

In June 2009, archaeologists made a shocking discovery in the seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset, England. While excavating in preparation for the anticipated Weymouth Relief Road, archaeologists discovered a mass grave containing the remains of 54 dismembered skeletons, and 51 skulls in a pile within a disused Roman quarry.  This curious find led many to wonder who these individuals were, and why they were killed in such a gruesome manner. Through scientific testing and analysis, archaeologists concluded that the remains belonged to Scandinavian Vikings. The sheer size of this burial is particularly surprising, as “[a]ny mass grave is a relatively rare find, but to find one on this scale, from this period of history, is extremely unusual,” said David Score of Oxford Archaeology

6.”The Vampire of Venice”

A female “vampire” unearthed in a mass grave near Venice, Italy, may have been accused of wearing another evil hat: a witch’s.

The 16th-century woman was discovered among medieval plague victims in 2006. Her jaw had been forced open by a brick—an exorcism technique used on suspected vampires in Europe at the time.

Inserting objects—such as bricks and stones—into the mouths of alleged vampires was thought to halt the spread of disease.

7.”The Chilling Discovery of a Decapitated Roman Teenager Buried with a Chicken”

The two children whose skeletons are shown in this photograph were both under 10 years of age, and were probably buried at the same time. An earlier burial of a baby was found at a slightly lower level in the space between them. Archaeologists found these burials in the floor of a house at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic agricultural settlement in Turkey that was continuously occupied between 8000 BCE and 6400 BCE. Many of the settlement’s hundreds of houses contained multiple burials. The pits, which were sealed with white plaster lids, lay beneath raised platforms where people slept and worked, living close to their ancestors. Some of the houses were ritually closed and collapsed upon the death of an important family member. According to analysis of skeletons found at Çatalhöyük, life expectancy averaged 34 years for men and 28 years for women.

8.”The Sacrificed Children of the Chimú Culture”

More than 140 children and 200 young llamas appear to have been ritually sacrificed in an event that took place some 550 years ago on a wind-swept bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in the shadow of what was then the sprawling capital of the Chimú Empire.

Scientific investigations by the international, interdisciplinary team, led by Gabriel Prieto of the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo and John Verano of Tulane University, are ongoing. The work is supported by grants from the National Geographic Society.

While incidents of human sacrifice among the Aztec, Maya, and Inca have been recorded in colonial-era Spanish chronicles and documented in modern scientific excavations, the discovery of a large-scale child sacrifice event in the little-known pre-Columbian Chimú civilization is unprecedented in the Americas—if not in the entire world.

9.”The Devil’s Tower: A Mass Grave of Burned and Broken Children”

10.”The Mummies of San Bernardo”

Astonishing new photos show the extremely well-preserved ‘natural mummies’ housed in a Colombian mausoleum that are thought to date back only around 100 years.

More than a dozen of the bodies are on display in glass cases at a mausoleum in San Bernardo, Colombia, high within the Andes and 40 miles southwest of the country’s capital Bogota.

Why they’re so well-preserved is a mystery, although some experts think it’s because of the local climate and altitude, which could affect the chemical composition of the earth and act like a natural embalmer.

However, locals think it’s due to a native diet that includes guatila, also known as chayote, a green, spiky fruit — although this theory does not account for why the mummies’ clothes are in a good state of preservation too.