When I was a teen and the time came to decide what my career should be, I wanted to be an archaeologist for a while. If I had kept that dream, I could've become one of the 7,720 professional archaeologists in the U.S.
You might think that we already dug up the most significant historical artifacts that there are, but archaeology is a path that keeps on giving. For example, a national gas distributor in Lima, Peru claims that they have been responsible for around 2,200 discoveries in the past 20 years.
But this time, we would like to dedicate a post to the most disturbing and scary archaeological finds. Courtesy of the history and archaeology professionals who shared their knowledge in two Quora threads, Bored Panda brings you the times they dug up something that maybe would've been better off buried.
#21
Vampire of Venice. Among the corpses of medieval plague victims was one very curious find: a skull with a brick shoved so forcefully between its jaws, they were broken. The technique was used on suspected vampires in Europe during this time, especially when natural biological processes after death resulted in dark blood-like liquid streaming from the mouth. Researchers have determined that not only was this elderly woman feared a vampire after her death, she may have been accused of witchcraft before she met her end. Most people didn’t live to be her age, estimated at 60-71 years, and many medieval Europeans believed that the devil gave the elderly powers to cheat death. Older women were particularly suspect because it was assumed that they had little to live for, and were vulnerable to offers of power.
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8points
#22
The Underground Labyrinth of Death
Using tiny remote-operated robots, archaeologists working at Chavin de Huantar in Peru have discovered a network of 35 interlocking underground tunnels, which contained the remains of at least three individuals that may have been sacrificed in “rituals [involving] drugs, noise and light manipulation.”
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7points
#23
Skulls Used as Cups. Three human skulls found in Gough’s Cave, Somerset, England were careful worked into the shape of bowls, indicating that they were used to drink from. At 14,700 years old, these are the oldest skull cups ever discovered, and they were surrounded by other human remains that had been snapped to get to the marrow inside, suggesting cannibalism.
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6points
#24
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
Found in 1948 on the shores of the Dead SEA. The scrolls are dated 1400 years older than any other biblical manuscript. 350 years before Christ.
Before this skeptics would claim the book of Daniel and Isaiah were written after Jesus came because both books prophecy so factually and extensively about Christ. THE GREAT ISAIAH SCROLL was part of what was found and Is a complete copy of the book of Isaiah that is word for word what you have in your Bible! There is Parts of every book in the Hebrew Bible found in the scrolls save Ezra.
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5points
#25
Ninety-four years later, archaeologists would uncover their perfectly preserved bodies as well as various other odds and ends during a dig at the Alsatian town of Carspach
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4points