- 7 weeks ago
From mummified screams to decapitated vikings, the past holds many unsettling secrets. Join us as we explore history's most bone-chilling unexplained discoveries! Our countdown includes mysterious burial rituals, ancient cannibalism, horrific mass graves, and artifacts that defy explanation. Which disturbing find will make you question everything you thought you knew about human history?
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00:00it's almost more chilling that we don't know what happened to her definitely welcome to watch mojo
00:05and today we're counting down our picks for the most unsettling and unexplainable historical
00:09findings from false creek to richmond to the gulf islands the feat made headlines and prompted wild
00:15theories about their origins number 30 book of the dead egypt many cultures believe in an afterlife
00:22ancient egypt was no exception in ancient egypt life doesn't end with death in fact the ancient
00:30egyptians believed that death was just the beginning of a long and arduous journey a journey that could
00:37end with salvation or annihilation the book of the dead has mystified since the middle ages it was
00:43initially believed that the book was made up of all-encompassing religious texts but their purpose
00:47was much darker they supposedly helped deceased souls on their journey to the afterlife and were
00:52filled with spells that would help them take on horrific entities along the way the ancient egyptians
00:57visualized many challenges waiting for them in the afterlife one of the most important was to
01:03successfully undergo this judgment before the tribunal of osiris and be found worthy to become
01:09one of the blessed dead nearly 200 incantations have been identified but that only scratches the
01:14surface the origins of this practice and why it was stopped are still a mystery many surviving texts
01:19are still being translated meaning more secrets about this morbid preparatory practice could be
01:24revealed number 29 crystal skulls mesoamerica or europe no they aren't just from indiana jones
01:31imagine what they could tell us i can't imagine neither could the humans that built this temple and
01:37neither can you believe dr jones is a gift you have yet to receive if you walk into a noteworthy
01:43museum there's a chance you'll see a real anatomically accurate human skull carved in clear
01:48quartz also known as rock crystal while researchers often attribute these artifacts to craftsmen in
01:53europe during the 20th century the strange handiwork has created an enduring mysticism around the skulls
01:59based on which legend you believe they can be aztec mayan or even otherworldly that one day 13 such
02:05skulls will come together as one to solve some of the great mysteries of life
02:09but only if we are morally and spiritually ready to receive them the fact that skulls have become
02:16staples in certain sci-fi media only further blurs their origins even if you don't buy that they're
02:21from ancient civilizations the murkiness around their creation still makes you wonder
02:25number 28 78 000 year old burial site pangayasaidi kenya the pangayasaidi excavation site has been
02:33home to several archaeological discoveries one of the most recent was the 2021 discovery of a 78 000
02:39year old grave containing the remains of a deceased toddler initially we thought it was just another
02:43primate and that is it or a monkey but then when we brought it here in the lab is when they actually
02:50cleaned and they found the first it's unknown who the child was or why they were given an intentional
02:56burial although it suggests to some that the death of a child held special meaning in the community
03:01whether the entire community participated in mourning or whether it was limited is also unknown
03:06it also raises questions about whether the funeral rites came as an instinct or if they had been taught
03:10by an outside group the fact that there was a funerary rite sheds new light on the emotional life of early homo sapiens
03:16regardless it's eerie proof that our ancestors were more similar to us than we thought
03:21number 27 headless bodies and mass grave vradble slovakia the causes of horrific acts that occurred
03:27centuries ago are left to speculation this was the case with a gruesome 2022 discovery in vradble where
03:33a large pit filled with dozens of corpses was found all but one had been decapitated and the skulls
03:38were nowhere to be found the remains date back 7 000 years but beyond that no answers have been found
03:43some believe it was a sudden massacre while others posit that it was a site where headhunters disposed
03:48of bodies one expert has even suggested it was done to help fortify the area it also is possible
03:53that some died of natural causes before being beheaded the truth may never be known number 26
03:59skull-shaped death whistles mexico city mexico imagine making your way through an unknown land
04:04only to hear a symphony of inhuman noises
04:14in some cases it could have been the last thing you ever heard those sounds were produced by skull
04:18shaped instruments now known as death whistles they were first found in the 1990s when one was
04:23discovered being held by a victim of human sacrifice this has led to speculation that they were used to
04:28prepare people for their brutal demise others have claimed that they were used during warfare likely as a
04:33way of disorienting their opponents you can imagine the frightening sound if you had 200 or 300 or 5
04:40000 warriors blowing these instruments and drums and trumpets as they were advancing that would be
04:45extremely intimidating one study indicates that the sounds they emitted were designed to be as
04:50terrifying as possible so while it's unclear what they were used for it seems doubtful it was for
04:54anything peaceful number 25 coffin birth from the trepanated woman imola italy a 2010 discovery in italy
05:02revealed multiple medical mysteries in one person a corpse of a young woman from the middle ages
05:06appeared to have experienced coffin birth a phenomenon wherein a decomposing body expels a fetus
05:11she also had a hole drilled into her skull the practice known as trepanation still baffles scientists
05:16today it was used to treat a variety of illnesses with varying results why it was done to this particular
05:21woman is undetermined along with whether or not it contributed to her death it may have been done as a
05:26way of unsuccessfully treating eclampsia however studying other bodies from that period reveals that
05:31hardly anyone had the same surgery which only adds to the enigma of why she got one number 24 destinies
05:37of the soul paris france when arsène oussaint completed his novel in 1879 he could have never
05:43predicted what would come of it he gave destinies of the soul to lorovic boulain who felt that a book
05:49about the soul deserved a matching exterior he went to the psychiatric hospital where he was a student
05:53selected a woman who just passed and used her flesh to bind it it was officially acquired by harvard in
05:581954 where it remained for decades before the skin was removed in 2024 questions about the woman whose
06:05skin was used and how the skin was removed may never be answered while we may never know her name there's
06:09no question that she has a permanent and macabre legacy number 23 portal to the underworld judean hills
06:16israel proof of the afterlife is always being sought after since 2009 taomim cave has been excavated by a
06:23team of archaeologists what they have found is chilling countless oil lamps trinkets a secret
06:28passage and even ancient skulls with some dating back millennia sites proven to be a treasure trove
06:33of artifacts from close to 2 000 years ago and the finds have led interesting theories about the cave's
06:39purpose at that time the collection of items led some researchers to theorize that this cave was viewed
06:44as a portal to the underworld they speculated that necromancers used the cave as a way of carrying out their
06:50dark rituals including bringing people back from the beyond now we have the the traces of what looks
06:58like a pagan ritual with more than 120 oil lamps uncovered their claims haven't been proven yet but
07:06there's still plenty more to find so perhaps we will have an answer someday number 22 the priest of
07:12pocopampa pocopampa peru this is another archaeological site that's been invaluable in teaching us about our
07:18past buried beneath six layers of earth lay a body surrounded by offerings a team of peruvian and
07:23japanese archaeologists said they found the 3 000 year old grave at the pocopampa archaeological site
07:31in addition to human remains researchers also found artifacts including musical instruments and snail
07:38shells it was clear he had influence and he was dubbed the priest of pocopampa his body which dates back to
07:431000 bc was proof that the ancient peruvian civilization had defined leaders what wasn't
07:48understood was his positioning he'd been laid face down and buried in a large deep tomb a position
07:53which had never been seen in peru up until that point work at the site continues as archaeologists
07:59hope to learn more about the people who lived there thousands of years ago it all leads to even
08:04more questions about the priest and what he may have been like in life number 21 sandby borg massacre
08:11sudra sandby sweden even mass acts of violence can be shrouded in ambiguity in 2010 excavation began
08:17on sandby borg and excavators were soon met with the site of just over a dozen bodies at the ancient
08:22ring fort of sandby borg dozens of pre-viking warriors were brutally killed and left to rot where they fell
08:31the death toll is shocking they hadn't been buried making it appear that they'd been slaughtered where they
08:36stood and then were left to rot who perpetrated the attack and why is a complete mystery
08:41some initially believed it could have been a robbery however the discovery of ornate jewelry
08:45disproved that others theorized it was simply a random act of brutality or perhaps even a series
08:49of interpersonal murders which is corroborated by the execution style killings these archaeologists
08:55are quite literally standing on top of an ancient murder site dna testing has begun to reveal more
09:00about the victims which may someday give insight into their attackers as well number 20 the starving of
09:05sakara egypt ancient art has been discovered plenty of times and many have been traced back to a
09:11specific time period or civilization however there are some pieces that still remain elusive and none
09:16are more unsettling than the starving of sakara depicting two figures with enlarged heads and malnourished
09:21forms the seemingly simple statue is yet to be understood it hails from an indeterminable age and
09:26creator and the inspiration behind it is equally obscure there's even an undeciphered inscription on the
09:31back adding to the uncertainty some experts believe it could be a representation of two
09:35people who have been conquered no one has yet been able to understand the strange work keeping this
09:39particular piece of history just outside our grasp number 19 headless vikings dorset england workmen on
09:47the weymouth relief road dug back into a hawthorne hedge they uncovered a secret that was a thousand
09:52years old decapitation has been a standard execution practice throughout the past and in many cultures
09:57that doesn't make finding those on the receiving end any less upsetting in 2009 archaeologists came across
10:03the carcasses of dozens of vikings who had all been messily beheaded you see 50 plus skeletons but
10:10not just skeletons just the bodies lying strewn thrown into a pit and the heads separate in a pile
10:17to one side which immediately tells you they've been beheaded you know this is not a mass grave of
10:22people who died naturally this is an execution it's unknown why they met such violent fates or even when
10:27the mass punishment took place the leading theory is that they were attempted invaders who were made into
10:31the ultimate example it was made even darker when they realized that there were 54 bodies but only
10:3651 heads at the scene meaning the remaining three had been taken the pit is a testament to the extreme
10:41methods of a bygone era number 18 surrey ghost car surrey england not every unexplained find comes from a
10:48bygone nation there are some from the 21st century that remain a mystery and one may be proof of a real
10:53life ghost story in 2002 police in surrey received the reports of a crash on the a3 they went to investigate
10:59and were perplexed when they couldn't locate the supposed accident after traveling down the road
11:03they were met with a truly chilling sight a vehicle with a deceased motorist inside further examinations
11:08revealed that the victim was a young man who disappeared months beforehand while that was
11:13solved there's no logical explanation for the non-existing crash that had initially been reported
11:17while the authorities claim it was a coincidence others are convinced it was paranormal activity
11:22number 17. rujum al-hiri golan heights syria a temple a burial site perhaps an observatory there's
11:30no clear answer to the question of what rujum al-hiri in the golan heights close to the syrian
11:35border was used for despite their size some megaliths remain a complete historical mystery hidden within
11:41syria the enormous rujum al-hiri has both amazed and unsettled those who observe it it consists of several
11:47large stone circles with intricate patterns and a mound in the center rujum al-hiri means an arabic
11:52stone heap of the wild cat experts say it's at least five thousand years old and associate it with
11:58the calcolithic era it's made out of more than 40 000 basalt stones although it was first surveyed
12:04in the 1960s the purpose behind it is undetermined various hypotheses have been brought forward ranging
12:09from a site for various religious purposes to a place where the dead were laid out to be picked
12:14cleaned by birds before being disposed of on the one hand it's very hard to uh to identify to
12:20to understand when it was built on the other hand anyone can tell anything the area has been looted
12:25ridding it of all other physical evidence without that it's hard to discern much about the structure's
12:30use making it a potentially permanent mystery number 16 tiny coffins arthur seats scotland what on earth
12:37what happened in edinburgh that would occasion the burial of 17 little coffins with 17 little figures
12:44modern tech and devoted archaeological teams have led to better understanding of many discoveries made
12:48in the 20th and 21st centuries some items obtained before these advancements aren't quite as lucky
12:53in 1836 a group of boys entered a cave where they found tiny coffins with odd figurines inside according to
12:58contemporary accounts they were supposedly um laid out in a layer of eight and another layer of eight
13:05in one clip um the boys as all boys don't play with them and it would appear that some of them were
13:10damaged and in fact destroyed so all we have now and all we have on display are eight left it was clear
13:16they'd been there for some time already at the time people were baffled and that hasn't changed
13:21the best estimate is that their visual renditions of the infamous burke and hare murders committed a decade
13:26prior even that is contested as the killers primarily targeted women whereas the figures in the coffins
13:30depict men another theory is that they represent people of sailors who died at sea regardless of
13:37our progress we're still just as lost as those who originally found them number 15 xin chui's corpse
13:43hunan china this is the best preserved ancient body ever found the process of decay is constant yet
13:50still unpredictable even when it comes to people the corpse of noblewoman xin chui is one of the best
13:55examples she died as far back as 168 bce and yet her body's remarkably well preserved when she was
14:01unearthed she still had her flesh and organs making it possible for an autopsy to be performed this is
14:05something you never even find in egypt tutankhamen for example comes out as a sort of shriveled shriveled
14:12up little desiccated corpse compared with the extraordinary preservation of this woman her body had been
14:18carefully prepared using different methods you'd think that would be a perfect explanation for her
14:22condition yet other cadavers buried in similar fashion it still decayed making her a true anomaly
14:28analysts are still doing all they can to study her and ensure her preservation meaning she could be
14:33just as intact another millennia from now there was a consensus that immortality was there to be taken
14:40if only you could get the formula right number 14 codex gigas bohemia czech republic upon first glance
14:47this may not seem like anything other than a large book but in reality the massive three foot long
14:52behemoth holds much more significance the codex gigas contains a translation of the bible amongst other
14:57works and a now infamous visual depiction of satan but if you open the book with the devil exposed the
15:02opposite page is an illustration of a heavenly city perhaps herman was making a point live a life of sin and
15:08this is the fella you meet after you die the truth behind the manuscript's origins is murky at best
15:13according to legend it was written by a monk on death row who vowed to record all of human
15:17knowledge in a single night in exchange for his life the only issue an attempted rewrite revealed
15:22that the text alone would take two decades of non-stop writing disproving the original claims and
15:27leaving the author's true identity one of history's best-kept secrets one thing for sure is that it was
15:32and still is the largest illustrated medieval manuscript ever created and yes inside it was a drawing of the
15:39devil number 13 pit of arms bergheim france finding any body parts is already stomach turning realizing
15:46there's an even amount only adds to the distress in the 2010s researchers in france came across a
15:50pit containing intact carcasses on top of a pile of severed arms it's been deduced that the arms
15:56primarily belonged to adults and that they were tossed in soon after removal exactly who the victims
16:00were is still unspecified along with what happened to them following the sudden amputation the bodies
16:05being dated back to the late neolithic period only adds to the confusion as there are no other
16:10recorded cases of limb removal from that time the only explanation offered up is that it was an act
16:15of ancient war but even that is still questioned number 12 shackled skeletons athens greece this is
16:22no ordinary resting place archaeologists are still working to determine who they are and why they are
16:28there the days of the past weren't always easy to live in some findings make that all the more clear
16:33such as the 2016 discovery of a mass grave in athens however the skeletons weren't just buried all 80
16:38were shackled in place and appeared to be screaming in spite of their positioning they had all been
16:42buried in a traditionally respectful way while dna testing could eventually reveal more for now
16:47experts have put forth the idea that they had attempted a coup and paid the price for their failure
16:51the first reliably dated event in athenian history in the seventh century bc a failed coup attempt
16:58led by the noble silent whose supporters were executed after he fled they may not know for
17:03sure but one thing is clear the gruesome sight is pure nightmare fuel for practically everyone that
17:09lays eyes on it number 11 cursed stolen amethyst kanpur india alan was convinced the gem was cursed
17:17rampant colonialism of the past has ensured that many artifacts have been removed from their countries
17:21of origin sometimes permanently there may be one case where a stolen item supposedly fought back
17:26after an amethyst was taken from kanpur india its new owner was met with his swift downfall that was
17:32only the beginning each keeper was met with tragedy from taking their own life to losing their voice
17:37its final keeper edward haran allen even tried throwing it away and it still somehow made its way
17:42back to him desperate for relief he had it locked away until after his own passing now it sits safely
17:47within a museum but some still stay away believing that the supposed curse is still in place coming home
17:52we drove through the most amazing storm that i've ever witnessed the lightning was flushing on both
17:59sides of the car and my wife was shouting at me throw that damn jewel away you should never have
18:04brought it with you number 10. a porpoise's grave chapelle domhue guernsey unearthing a grave is
18:10unnerving enough but seeing anything other than a person inside is even scarier while studying the island
18:15chapelle domhue one archaeologist came across one of the strangest finds in recent times a grave containing the
18:22shriveled remnants of a porpoise the animal was consumed during medieval times but given the
18:26close proximity to the sea it would have been much easier for the remains to be disposed of there
18:30for one to not only be buried but given a proper grave is unheard of and unsettling certainly some
18:35effort was was made uh in uh was taken to sort of cut it out nicely whether it was simply forgotten
18:41or stashed there by a monk who wasn't allowed to indulge in the meal the truth behind the creature's
18:46odd final resting place may never be revealed we shall see uh what we can get out of the the
18:51remains itself number nine the unidentified man of sligo sligo ireland it may seem impossible to
18:57disappear in this day and age but some still managed to slip through the cracks in 2009 an
19:02unidentified man was found in sligo ireland and thanks to his efforts to disguise his name and
19:06hometown he may remain that way posing under the name peter bergman he traveled to the town where he
19:11was seen in person and captured on cctv it appears that he used a false name he certainly used a false
19:17address there are no passports or have been no passports issued to a male of that name fitting
19:24that description or that age profile anywhere in mainland europe america and south america even with
19:31the extensive footage who he is and how he passed remain an enigma it was clear from early morning that
19:36he had a purple plastic carrier bag he would have that each time that he left the hotel going out in
19:43and around sligo and when he returned on each occasion he didn't appear to be carrying any bag
19:48though he washed up on shore there were no signs of drowning foul play was also ruled out in the
19:53years since no family or friends have come forward and the case was never extended beyond ireland
19:58meaning he may remain anonymous forever he may have had the belief that his remains would have been
20:02washed out to sea and may never have been found number eight mass grave ashkelon israel some
20:09discoveries lead to excitement but others are simply harrowing while exploring the sewers beneath
20:13the roman bath house in ashkelon one man found what he initially believed were chicken bones as he
20:18found more he came to the horrific realization that instead of birds they actually belonged to multiple
20:23babies when he took them to an anthropologist it was found that they had all been healthy and less
20:26than a week old before dying while infanticide was common in that period most were carried out via
20:31exposure rather than being intentionally harmed the gut-wrenching area serves as an unfortunate
20:36reminder that even the most vulnerable members of society could still be treated with abject cruelty
20:42number seven utzi the iceman utzdal alps austria he's the oldest human specimen we have that is so
20:49complete he's so well preserved he continues to generate this body of information there are some
20:55missing links within our evolution but each find makes it easier to fill them in that still doesn't
20:59make it any less creepy to come across a mummified form especially one as preserved as utzi he's in such
21:04good shape that when he was first spotted it was assumed that he had recently died in reality he
21:08lived thousands of years ago making him europe's oldest known natural human mummy his cause of death
21:13is widely contested some argue that he succumbed to the elements while others have insisted he bled out
21:18radiologists reviewing his x-rays spotted something strange that had escaped everyone else's notice
21:25an arrowhead lodged deep in the iceman's shoulder the theories don't just begin and end with his
21:33expiration the detective of other people's blood on his garments has revealed he resorted to violence
21:38in an effort to survive what's incredible about the utzi story is that as technology's gotten better and
21:44better it's the gift that keeps on giving we can keep going back to this sample and it yields new
21:51mysteries and new insights number six lake of skeletons rupkund india for most of the year the
21:56lake's waters are frozen but during the summer months as the snow and ice slowly melt away
22:04a bizarre spectacle is revealed when you think about the contents of a lake you picture fish seaweed
22:10and maybe garbage not a large cluster of bones yet over 300 deceased people have been found inside the
22:15lake rupkun since 1942. it was first assumed that japanese forces were the culprit until an
22:21investigation uncovered that they were much older than originally believed more questions were unearthed
22:26as more remains were pulled from the body of water some were dated as far back as 800 ce and many were
22:31from different locations we have thousands of human bones scattered around the shores of this lake
22:37and that really is something which is exceptional the scariest part plenty of skeletons still remain in
22:42the lake and can be seen when the ice melts reminding people of their mysterious demise and
22:47terrifying tourists at the same time number five screaming mummy theban necropolis egypt in egyptian
22:53theology a man couldn't enter the afterlife without his name so there's something disturbing about the fact
23:00that he was left anonymous several mummies have been recovered in egypt but not all have been identified if
23:05the theory surrounding one ends up being true then it will be physical proof of a supposed coup
23:09referred to his unknown man e this mummy has become known for one defining feature
23:14a permanent scream it can be assumed that whoever died did so in anguish his punishment the worst of
23:20all ancient egyptian curses to deny him happiness in the afterlife he was never properly mummified it
23:28suggested that it could be the body of pentaware a prince who plotted to assassinate his own father
23:33and was forced to take his own life after his trial some experts have concluded that for the screaming
23:38man to be buried in this manner means that whoever he was must have died in disgrace with more dna
23:44testing the answer should soon be clear potentially solving one of history's oldest mysteries number
23:50four neanderthal cannibalism goyer caves belgium we're still learning more about some of our earliest
23:56known ancestors making every new bit of information vital even if it's unsavory the neanderthals lived in
24:02these very caves around 40 000 years ago their remains were discovered in the middle of the 19th
24:09century in the goyer caves of belgium researchers stumbled upon stomach turning evidence of early
24:15life there they came across assorted parts belonging to at least five different people but in unusual
24:20condition they'd been skinned and filleted revealing clear signs of cannibalistic activity while the
24:25verdict is still up for debate reindeer scraps were located under the same condition the bones were
24:30fractured like the bones from reindeer and horses that were found at the entrance of the cave probably
24:35to extract the marrow we found traces of cutting on these bones to disarticulate to remove the flesh
24:41if they were cannibalized then it would be one of the earliest confirmed cases of the practice
24:46nevertheless even if it is confirmed that would still leave the question of whether it was done out
24:50of desperation or plain desire for human flesh number three severed human feet british columbia canada we
24:57begin tonight with a mystery unfolding on a bc beach a human foot has once again been discovered this
25:04has become one of the most puzzling grotesque mysteries of recent times since 2007 over a dozen
25:09severed feet have washed up on the shore of north america each one is still wearing a shoe adding to
25:14the suspicious appearance there was a foot i would appear at that point to be a foot in a sock in a
25:20running shoe it's the 13th foot found in british columbia since 2007. some have been identified but
25:26others still remain elusive to this day the one silver lining is that authorities have ruled out
25:31foul play but that still doesn't explain how they were removed so easily while undecomposed the bizarre
25:36phenomena has even led to people leaving decoy feet on the beach bringing about even more questions
25:41with a foot showing up as recently as 2023 it's clear this modern day conundrum is far from over
25:47number two jigsaw skeleton outer hebrides scotland most cadavers can enter the identification process
25:53shortly after being found in this case that may be impossible it all started when a mummy in the
25:58fetal position was discovered in 2001. as it continued to be worked on scientists began to
26:03notice odd discrepancies they were soon met with a shocking realization what they thought had been a
26:07single woman was actually three separate people combined together so you were surprised to put it
26:13mildly if anyone had asked me i would have just dismissed it and said complete fantasy yeah and even when
26:21we came up with our results initially some people were very skeptical what's even more upsetting is
26:27that the bodies had been dead for some time before being sewn together historians believe this could
26:32be a sign of a lesser known mummification ritual and we hope they're right because any alternative would
26:36be even more horrifying this is actually them figuring out what happens when you die it isn't the end
26:44there's something beyond but it's also a series of quite complicated states before we continue be
26:52sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the
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27:02your settings and switch on notifications number one wearing skulls salango ecuador it doesn't get more
27:10chilling than this in times of war everyone's affected even those too young to understand what's
27:15happening in the 2010s an ancient site in ecuador was being excavated leading to a truly grotesque find
27:20they have found the corpses of two infants wearing the skulls of other children as helmets the reasons
27:25behind the bizarre practice are still up in the air but some believe it could have been an attempt at
27:29protecting their souls post-mortem however that still doesn't explain where or how they got the
27:34skulls and if they had to harm anyone in the process the macabre discovery is sickening and
27:38fascinating all at once proving how little we truly know about life back then which of these
27:43discoveries unsettled you the most let us know in the comments below but if the motive behind the
27:47mass murder at sanby borg wasn't military or a robbery what was it
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