Unlocking Secrets of the Past: Top 20 Discoveries from Ancient Civilizations

The Fascination with Ancient History

People have always been fascinated about the lives of people who lived centuries before us. Ancient civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians can be studied through surviving artifacts, tools, temples, pottery, and ancient writing. For as far back as can be remembered, there have been discoveries made about the ancient world that can help us learn about the past. With so many years to track back, the study of ancient civilizations never gets dull.

The Greatest Discoveries

With science and technology becoming more advanced every year, archaeologists have been able to make incredible discoveries throughout the world. Let’s take a look at the top 20 discoveries.

1. Tutankhamun’s Tomb – Egypt

The tomb of Tutankhamun, commonly known as King Tut, was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. The best-preserved ancient tomb in the world, it held the mummified remains of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun, his treasures, furniture, and costumes. The discovery was a turning point in modern archeology and unlocked the secrets of ancient Egypt.

2. Rosetta Stone – Egypt

The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 and unlocked the history and language of the ancient Egyptians for modern researchers. The stone revealed that Egypt was ruled by two different types of writing, hieroglyphics, and Greek.

3. Royal Game of Ur – Iraq

Around 2600 BCE, the royal game of Ur was played by the ancient people of Mesopotamia. Discovered in 1926, the game’s royal burial was believed to date back to 2500 BCE. The game helped researchers understand more about board games played in ancient times.

4. Hittite Laws – Turkey

In central Turkey, an incredible stone slab holding ancient laws was discovered in the city of Hattusa, and it is considered one of the earliest known law codes in the world.

5. Pompeii – Italy

In 79 AD, an eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Excavations that took place from the 18th century unearthed the life of ancient Pompeiians whose bodies and belongings were perfectly preserved.

6. Dead Sea Scrolls – Israel

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves near the Dead Sea in 1947. They are considered one of the most significant archeological finds in history, providing insight into the life and practices in Palestine.

7. Machu Picchu – Peru

In 1911, Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu, the ruins of an ancient Inca city in the Andes Mountains. It remains one of the most iconic discoveries of the past century, providing valuable insight into the culture and engineering capabilities of the Inca Empire.

8. Uluburun Ship Wreck – Turkey

Noticed by fishermen in the early 1980s, what followed was the discovery of Uluburun, an ancient shipwreck that had sunk during the Bronze Age, over 3,500 years ago. The ship gave modern researchers insights into the trade routes and practices of ancient civilizations.

9. Hallucinogenic Ritual Vessels – Peru

Research from a Queens College archeologist in Peru unveiled the use of hallucinogenic chemicals by the indigenous population dating back before 1100 BCE.

10. The Moai (Easter Island) – Chile

Disparately isolated from the mainland, Easter Island has treasures dating back centuries before the discovered voyage of European explorers to America. An incredible find was the Moai at Easter Island made by ancient Polynesians between 1100 and 1680 CE.

11. Terra-cotta Army – China

The mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang was discovered in 1974 and has completed an array of treasures and building scales. A discovery of more than 8,000 intricately sculpted figures consisting of warriors, chariots, as well as horses marked a breakthrough discovery for archaeology across the globe.

12. Viking site of Jorvik – York, England

In 1979, construction returned medieval hours at the site of Jorvik, providing important Anglo-Scandinavian cultural heritage information.

13. Chavin de Huantar Temple – Peru

Researchers discovered tunas in Peru, a cultural heritage breakthrough for what is we nowadays called Chavin de Huantar and an insight to their unique religious mythology and architecture.

14. Otzi the Iceman – Italy

A 5,000-year-old post-Ice Age environmental phenomena provided the body of a man designated to the Otzi the Iceman in the snowcapped Alps. Among his remains, researchers found clothing materials, as well as Otzi himself equipped with weaponry supplies.

15. Chateau Gaillard – Castle in France

Trend-setting discoveries include Chateau Gaillard, once the largest castle in Europe, a stable castle stronghold that consolidated architectural rectitude for centuries across the continent.

16. Pyramid Texts of Saqqara – Egypt

Among an enveloping ancient timeworn relief of text archaeologists found images scrawled on the sides of pyramid tombs that provide many historical happenstances of King Numara and the Egyptian Nile River civilization.

17. Gobekli Tepe Site – Turkey

Goebkli Tepe is a discovered incredible archeological site in southeastern Turkey designated piecing an enormous stone township by assembled humans over 11,000 years ago.

18. Pramnian Wine – Albania

Discovered centuries ago with opaque aspects originally hiding its consequential monetary worth, closer inspection in the early 21st century saw trace quantities of historical red dye material meticulously custom-purchased.

19. Avaris in Egypt

Researchers found in an up-to-date excavation that lead to an extraordinary discovery that saw new textual frontiers once obscured on political scandal the era.

20. Perseopolis – Iran

Because of military leaders crucial for success, King Darius I consolidated a wealth of riches for himself and his Achaemenid Empire after consolidation in the structure throughout Perseopolis, his leading mansion in Republican-era Iran.