Random Creepy Artifacts Uncovered By Archaeological Digs (17 items)

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  (#14) A Pit Filled With Children's Bones And Severed Limbs - Bergheim, France

  In the village of Bergheim, France, which sits along the French-German border, archeologists came across an unsettling discovery in 2012. While surveying the area to prepare for new construction, they came across roughly 5 acres of pits - called "silos" - filled with human bones. One of these pits stood out to researchers because it was filled with dismembered human bones, including hands, arms, and fingers - all of which showed the marks of amputation.

  The bodies of several children and one infant were also discovered there. Dating back over 5,000 years, the appearance of the remains is likely the result of judicial sentencing that the individuals might've received. War is another possibility. The bones of the children, however, remain unexplained.
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  (#15) The Remains Of A Woman With Teeth In Her Pelvis - Catalonia, Spain

  In 2013, Spanish archeologists made a shocking discovery near Lleida in Catalonia: the remains of a Roman woman who passed around 1,600 years ago and had fossilized teeth growing out of her pelvis. The teeth - which harken to the myth of the vagina dentata - are the result of something called ovarian teratoma, a benign tumor that can develop in the ovaries. Although harmless, the tumor is formed from germ cells, the precursors to egg cells, and can have some really weird consequences, including growing hair, teeth, and bones, among other things.

  This body presents the earliest known example of this particular condition.
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  (#5) 20 Sealed Coffins - Luxor, Egypt 

  Archeologists discovered more than 20 ancient Egyptian coffins in the city of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile, in a necropolis called Al-Assasif. Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities noted in a news release that the multilevel tomb is "one of the largest and most important discoveries" of the last few decades. Each of the colored wooden coffins appears to be fairly well-preserved. They were stacked to create two layers, still closed, and "in a distinct state of conservation" with the inscriptions intact.

  The city of Luxor was once the ancient city of Thebes and its ruins were found on Luxor soil. During pharaonic times, kings and noblemen were buried in Al-Assasif. Though the historical period of the tomb is undisclosed, archaeologists have previously uncovered items from the 18th dynasty in Al-Assasif. 
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  (#16) 1,000-Year-Old Remains Of A Young Man - Sligo, Ireland

  In 2015, the 1,000-year-old remains of a 17-to-20-year-old man were discovered beneath a tree in Sligo, Ireland. While this is interesting in and of itself, the young man's body also showed the characteristic signs of a violent end; in fact, archeologists discovered knife wounds to the ribs.

  The body, which had become entangled in the tree's roots over the centuries, was ripped in half when the tree toppled. Researchers believe the youth received a formal, Christian burial, but little is known what brought about his violent end.
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  (#6) Sir John Franklin Expedition Bones - Canadian Arctic

  In 1845, Sir John Franklin led two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, on a voyage meant to chart the Arctic. Franklin had participated in two earlier Arctic expeditions, earning the title Commanding Officer. Unfortunately for Franklin, this expedition would prove to be his last.

  The ships became stuck in ice - not an unforeseen event for polar explorers, but in this case, unseasonably cold summers meant they were trapped there longer than expected. In 1848, the crew mysteriously decided to leave their ships (which were still full of food) and undertake a desolate 1,000-mile trek to a trading port on Hudson Bay.

  Research suggests the explorers may have suffered from a variety of maladies, including tuberculosis, scurvy, hypothermia, and pneumonia, and these might have caused them to become deranged or confused, leading to poor judgment and the decision to walk away from their food stores.

  Most shocking of all, cut marks found on several bones from the area suggest that the crew resorted to cannibalism for survival: "not only did the starving explorers cut flesh off the bones of their fallen comrades, they also cracked open the bones to suck out the marrow."
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  (#11) Mutilated Remains Of People Thought To Be Vampires - Górzyca, Poland

  Three 14th-century bodies excavated in Górzyca, Poland, showed clear signs of posthumous mutilation. Fear of vampires is the likeliest reason. The remains had been decapitated and punctured at the spine, with their heads wedged between heavy stones. Folklore of the times prescribed such measures to prevent the deceased from rising again.

  It’s likely the people suffered from diseases in life that caused them to be singled out as supernatural or evil in some way. According to researchers, they suffered from kyphosis, an unnatural rounding of the back and a deformation some might have attributed to them being vampires. Others may have suffered from cholera.

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