Random Creepy Artifacts Uncovered By Archaeological Digs (17 items)

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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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  (#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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  (#3) Two Ancient Greek Royal Tombs - Pylos, Southern Greece

  MORE on #Pylos Tombs....
  
  Ancient, Gold-Lined Tombs That May Hold Princesses
  
  Inside the 3,500-year-old tombs, the archaeologists found intricately carved jewelry and human remainshttps://t.co/ogNuulYviB pic.twitter.com/lfrGWpIdm1

  — Hellene Travel (@HelleneTravel) December 20, 2019

  American archeologists Jack L. Davis and Sharon R. Stocker from the University of Cincinnati uncovered two 3,500-year-old Greek royal tombs in the ancient city of Pylos. The tombs are between 28 and 39 feet in diameter and "built in a dome-shape structure known as a tholos."

  The discovery allowed researchers to better understand Mediterranean trade during the Late Bronze Age because of the items found inside the tombs, including "gold-lined floors, a golden seal ring, and a gold pendant with the image of the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor." According to NPR, the finding suggests Pylos traded with Egypt between 1650 and 1100 BCE. 
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  (#13) A Perfectly Preserved 2,600-Year-Old Brain - Near York, England

  In 2008, archaeologists discovered the oldest known remains of a human brain near York, England. Amazingly, the brain was almost perfectly preserved despite being over 2,000 years old.

  It’s thought the brain (which was found packed in mud inside a skull) belonged to a man from 26 to 45 years old who may have been killed by hanging or a sharp blow to the neck.
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  (#10) The Curse of King Tut

  • TV Episode

  Many ancient Egyptian tombs contain inscriptions of curses for those who disturb the sacred resting place. One such inscription reads: "Cursed be those who disturb the rest of a Pharaoh. They that shall break the seal of this tomb shall meet death by a disease that no doctor can diagnose."

  So, it’s no wonder that the many strange deaths following the excavation of King Tut’s tomb became attributed to the Curse of the Pharaohs. In 1923, archaeologists Howard Carter and George Herbert first opened the tomb of King Tut and supposedly unleashed a long-dormant curse. Herbert passed only six weeks later from an infected mosquito bite. Several other members of the expedition perished under strange circumstances or suffered other unhappy fates.
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  (#1) Painted Figures In A 100-Year-Old Mummy’s Coffin - Perth, Scotland

   

   

   

   

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  A post shared by Julie Howden Photographer (@juliehowden) on Feb 28, 2020 at 6:46am PST

  While assessing the 100-year-old coffin of the Perth Mummy, Ta-Kr-Hb, for its Conservation in Action: Saving the Perth Mummy installation, the Perth Museum & Art Gallery discovered "painted figures on the internal and external bases of the trough." The paintings appear to represent Egyptian goddess, Amentet or Imentet, also known as "She of the West" or "Lady of the West." Researchers suspect "The West" might allude to a geographical location, but it is also "primarily a mythological, supernatural reference." 

  Conservators Helena and Richard Jaeschke said:

  Although both the mummy and the coffin have suffered badly during the centuries in the tomb, from grave-robbers searching for amulets to flash floods that washed mud and debris onto the painted coffin, they have survived remarkably well and need careful, patient conservation treatment to enable them to survive for many more years and allow everyone to see the beautiful paintwork on the coffin.

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