00:00You know how it goes.
00:02As the years pass, common knowledge slips away faster than you can say, what's that
00:06thingamajig for?
00:08Just think, our grandkids will probably be scratching their heads over the buttons on
00:12our old school phones!
00:14So it's no wonder that some ancient artifacts have got us all stumped too!
00:20Take a look at this funky object.
00:23Any guesses on what it is?
00:25A musical instrument, a toy, or maybe something out of this world?
00:30Beats me, and even the experts have no exact answer.
00:33This little guy is a Roman dodecahedron, discovered by some amateur archaeologists near Lincoln,
00:39England.
00:40It's shaped like a fist and made of a mix of metals.
00:44Now as for what this thingy was used for, that's the million dollar question.
00:49Supposedly, these guys were all the rage back in the day in Northern Gaul and Roman Germany.
00:55According to some ancient maps, similar dodecahedrons have turned up in Europe, Britain, and even
01:00along the Maritime Silk Road in Southeast Asia.
01:05The plot thickens as more and more of these dodecahedrons pop up.
01:10Some had wax inside, leading scientists to think they were candle holders.
01:14Others think they might have been used for knitting gloves, since none have been found
01:19in warmer regions.
01:20There's even one found in Geneva with zodiac signs etched on it, sparking some woo-woo
01:25theories about fortune-telling.
01:28And now a fresh discovery has got everyone's head spinning.
01:32Could this be some kind of sacred tool for the Romans?
01:35Who knows?
01:36Maybe it's the first multi-tool ever, invented way before Swiss army knives were a thing.
01:43Carved stone balls from Scotland are another historical mystery.
01:47They most likely date back to the late Neolithic period and come in various types, from sandstone
01:53to granite.
01:54They're all roughly the same size and have intricate, evenly spaced patterns of circular
01:59bosses or knobs.
02:01Most of these designs have 6 bosses, but the number can range from 3 to 160.
02:07Some of these balls are more skillfully crafted than others, and a few even have extra decorations.
02:13There are over 400 carved stone balls and mostly found in Scotland, although some have
02:18turned up in Northern England and Ireland.
02:22These stone balls rarely show signs of damage or use, and there are no clues that would
02:26give away their function.
02:28Most experts think they weren't practical tools, but had some symbolic or social importance.
02:34Probably a sign of power or prestige within their communities.
02:39The Fulcton drums are the three stone cylinders from Neolithic Britain, discovered in the
02:44late 19th century in a burial mound in East Yorkshire.
02:49Nothing similar has been found anywhere else in the British Isles, from any prehistoric
02:53period.
02:54Each drum is decorated with unique designs covering the sides and domed tops.
02:59The decorations are mostly geometric, arranged in panels with stylized human faces peeking
03:04out from two of the drums.
03:07Recent studies of the artifacts using new technologies show that the designs had been
03:11carved and re-carved over time.
03:14A team of experts also analyzed the composition of the drums, and it turns out that they were
03:19made from local chalk.
03:23In the Late Bronze Age in Europe, long before coins became common, finely crafted metal
03:28objects served as portable wealth and symbols of high status.
03:33Across Europe, archaeologists have found all sorts of artifacts.
03:38From gold adornments worn by elites to large bronze cauldrons used in feasts.
03:43Beautifully decorated gold rings discovered in Wales are among these items.
03:48They're known as lock rings and may have been used to hold hair.
03:52Now they're flattened after spending nearly 3,000 years underground.
03:56They used to have cone-shaped openings at each end.
04:00They were found at different times, but were likely worn as a pair and buried together
04:04in a single hoard.
04:07Other Roman artifacts made of the copper alloy were first cataloged as lunate pendants.
04:13But during a recent re-examination, experts found that these items were actually small
04:18mortar and pestle sets, known as cosmetic grinders.
04:23They were used to grind minerals for makeup and were specifically designed for applying
04:27liner and shadows to the eyes.
04:30They were mistaken for pendants because of suspension loops that allowed them to be carried
04:34on a cord.
04:35These cosmetic sets from the first century of the current era were unique to Britain.
04:40They prove the influence of imported cosmetics and beauty trends from the Mediterranean and
04:45Roman provinces, including Egypt.
04:49The Salzburg Cube, also known as the Wolfsegg Iron, was discovered in the late 19th century
04:55in Austria.
04:56It doesn't really look like a cube, but is more like a rounded object with two flat sides.
05:02On the middle, it has a groove, and the surface is covered with pits and craters.
05:07Workers accidentally found this artifact when they blew apart a piece of coal.
05:12The coal seam it came from is thought to be over 60 million years old.
05:17The Salzburg Cube moved between museums, mysteriously vanished in the early 20th century, and then
05:23showed up again.
05:25Some researchers thought it must be a Victorian-era candlestick holder, but still, no one knows
05:30the true story of the cube or its current location.
05:36Archaeologists have unearthed an incredible historical find in Pakistan, an ancient sphinx
05:42estimated to be around 12,500 years old.
05:45The region where it was found was once a busy center of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.
05:51It had advanced urban planning, intricate art, and sophisticated drainage systems.
05:56The discovery of the ancient sphinx is a good example of their progressive art.
06:01We all know of the Great Sphinx of Giza, but what was the significance of the sphinx in
06:06the Indus Valley culture?
06:09Their sphinx has designs and carvings that show scenes with their daily activities, which
06:14means it may have had a more complex role than a symbol of power or guardian.
06:19It could stand for a balance between humans and nature, or even a deity associated with
06:25agriculture.
06:27Arraka in Chile sits on the sandy dunes of the Atacama Desert, known as the driest desert
06:34in the world.
06:36Long before this coastal town was built in the 16th century, the Sinchoro people called
06:41this region their home.
06:43Archaeologists found hundreds of their mummies.
06:45Radiocarbon dating showed that these mummies are over 7,000 years old, which makes them
06:512,000 years older than the famous Egyptian mummies.
06:55The Sinchoro used special techniques to preserve the mummies, not just relying on the dry climate
07:00for that.
07:02And unlike the Egyptians, they didn't just do it for the elite members of their society,
07:06but for everyone, no matter what age or status they had.
07:10The local people living in Arraka now are so used to finding mummies in their backyards
07:15that they don't feel weird about living among them.
07:19In the winter of 1850, a powerful storm with extra high tides hit the west coast of Orkney,
07:26Scotland.
07:27The wind and waves ripped away the surf, covering a mound and revealed stone-built structures
07:32beneath.
07:33A local antiquarian decided to dig up the village that he thought was from the Iron
07:38Age.
07:39He managed to unearth the remains of four houses and many artifacts from two villages.
07:45The villages had been buried under sand, so everything was really well preserved.
07:50Carbon dating wasn't a thing back then yet, so it was tricky to tell the exact age of
07:55the villages.
07:56Almost a century later, with new tech, researchers were finally able to tell that the place was
08:01actually from Neolithic times.
08:04You can still see stone dressers and box beds in the prehistoric houses.
08:09Archaeologists and historians working on the famous Terracotta Army think that it might
08:14have been inspired by or modeled on ancient Greek sculptures.
08:19It would mean there was a cultural contact between East and West much earlier than we
08:24thought, long before the Silk Road trade route.
08:27There was probably Western influence in China during the era of its first emperor, who took
08:33the throne in 246 before the current era.
08:37Before that time, China didn't have a tradition of building life-sized sculptures.
08:42Other terracotta soldiers were much smaller, less than 10 inches tall.
08:47Greek artists might have even been present to train Chinese sculptors!
08:51That's it for today!
08:53So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:57friends!
08:58Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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