Top 10 Scariest Archaeological Discoveries Ever
#10: The Pit of Bones
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In 1987, researchers in the Atapuerca mountains in Spain discovered a cave housing the skeletal remains of at least 28 people. The bones were dated around 430,000 B.C., and after a years-long effort, the researchers discovered that one of the deceased had been murdered. They painstakingly pieced the skull back together and found two head wounds. The age and sex of the victim were unclear, but what could be determined was that they had been repeatedly hit with a blunt object, such as a spear or stone ax. It’s eerie to think that this crime may have gone undiscovered for hundreds of thousands of years.
#9: The Knife-Armed Man
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In 2018, archaeologists in northern Italy discovered some interesting remains at a mass burial site dating back to somewhere between the 6th and 8th centuries CE. One of the deceased was a middle-aged man whose arm had been amputated below the elbow and replaced with a knife. Upon further examination, the researchers found evidence that he had worn the weapon as a prosthesis. The signs of extreme wear on his teeth and an unusual bone ridge in his shoulder all suggested that he had held the knife with straps that he frequently tightened with his mouth. They also found a buckle and some decomposed material, thought to be leather, near the pointy prosthesis. Serious medieval badass or terrifying old-timey serial killer? You decide.
#8: The Scottish Frankenstein Mummies
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The inexplicable is often creepy, as is the case here. In 2001, excavation at a Bronze Age settlement in Scotland uncovered two skeletons, that of a man and a woman. The skeletons were approximately 3000 years old and had been intentionally mummified - in this case preserved in peat bogs to slow down decomposition. Upon closer inspection, however, researchers found something unsettling: the skeletons were composed of parts from a number of bodies. The “woman” was made up of a male skull, female torso and unidentified arm, and the “man” actually comprised bones from 3 separate males. Essentially, a human skeleton jigsaw puzzle with no explanation.
#7: A Prison for Witches
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The introduction of Scotland’s witchcraft laws in the 16th Century led to a series of sensationalized nationwide trials known as the Great Scottish Witch Hunt. In 1597, there were 31 cases in Aberdeen alone. So what’s such a town to do with all these supposed witches? If you guessed “lock them up in the one place a witch might be afraid of entering,” then you’d be right. According to research carried out by historians, it was discovered that St Mary's Chapel, a local church on the outskirts of Aberdeen, served as a detainment facility for the suspects. The building still possesses a two inch iron ring embedded in the wall, which archives have shown was used in chaining up the accused.
#6: Ancient Chemical Warfare
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In 2009, during an excavation of the ancient Roman city of Dura-Europos in modern day Syria, archaeologists found evidence of one of the oldest instances of chemical warfare. During the Siege of Dura-Europos in 256 CE, the resident Romans tunneled into shaft mines dug by their Persian attackers. 20 Romans were killed - not from swords or spears, but a lethal cloud of sulfur dioxide created from burning sulfur and pitch. Once inhaled, the smoke turned to acid in the soldiers’ lungs and killed them. Though chemical warfare may seem to be a more modern technique, its origin clearly dates back a long way.
#5: Franklin’s Lost Expedition
In 1845, two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, set off from England on an expedition helmed by Sir John Franklin. Franklin was a seasoned explorer who wished to travel across the Canadian Arctic, in an exploration of the Northwest Passage. The two vessels, which carried 129 crewmen in total, soon became trapped in the ice and were never heard from again. The sailors on board were exposed to terrible conditions and began dying of various causes including lead poisoning and hypothermia. Later expeditions made some truly gory discoveries among the wreckage that seemed to suggest some of the sailors may have turned to cannibalism when they ran out of food.
#4: Vampire Graves
Upon excavating a 17th century cemetery in Drawsko, Poland, researchers discovered a few odd graves. Some of the deceased had been buried with heavy stones or sickles placed on their necks. It’s thought that these measures were to prevent any posthumous mischief. Traditional Slavic cultures were known to cremate their dead, as they believed only this process would release their souls. But sometime between the 7th and 9th centuries, after missionaries converted them to Christianity, they began burying them instead. This new practice seemed to have provoked certain fears, prompting their attempt to prevent the dead from rising as vampires.
#3: Ashkelon’s Unwanted Babies
Ashkelon in southern Israel was the site of an unfortunate discovery in 1988. Beneath a bathhouse, in a sewer dating back to the late-Roman early-Byzantine era, archaeologists found the skeletal remains of almost 100 newborns. The skeletons showed no signs of injury or trauma, and examination of their teeth indicated they lived for less than three days. It was initially believed that the discarded infants would be female, consistent with sadly widespread practices at that time. However, researchers later determined that the remains found in the sewer had come from both sexes. One possible explanation is that the babies were discarded by sex workers who made their living in the bathhouse.
#2: The Sacrificial Pits of Shimao
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Shimao, a site along the Great Wall of China, is a large, fortified Bronze Age settlement covered with a stepped pyramid. Under the pyramid, archaeologists discovered at least six pits that were filled with numerous human skulls. The skulls belonged to 80 young girls, and are widely believed to have been the result of human sacrifices. Turns out that in ancient China, sacrifices were a common practice for a number of reasons. In some cases, they were made as offerings to the river god Hebo. In others, they were carried out as funeral rites, in which slaves were buried with their owners, or concubines with their lords. However, it is still unclear why exactly these 80 girls were sacrificed.
#1: Australia’s “Murder Island”
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As if Australia didn’t already have enough scary things, there’s also a place dubbed “Murder Island.” Officially named Beacon Island, the site got its alias because of the events of 1629. That year, a Dutch vessel called the Batavia embarked on its maiden voyage, carrying soldiers, sailors and civilians, to what is now Indonesia. A failed mutiny attempt onboard caused a shipwreck, and dozens drowned. A few hundred survivors were left stranded on nearby Beacon Island. Mutineers went on a rampage, murdering 125 of the survivors. Many were sexually assaulted. Almost 400 years after the unfortunate events, scientists were still unearthing the remains of the murder victims, and others who managed to escape the massacre.
