#21 Tombstone Of Marcus Caelius, The Only Known Example Of Direct Reference To The Varus Disaster During Which 20,000 Men Were Lost To Ambush
#22 The Only Time A Monumental Column Was Erected And Adorned With A Statue That Was Not An Emperor Was The Early 2nd Century Gilded Bronze "Emona Citizen". Housed In The Roman Lapidarium Of The National Museum Of Slovenia
#23 1961 Photo Of A Screw Press Used To Iron Clothes From The Bottega Del Lanarius Or Workshop Of Lanarius In Herculaneum. This Was The Only Artifact Found In The Shop, Along With Bourbon Tunnels. No Other Examples Exist
#25 The Earliest Example Of A Proper “Book”, Written In A Totally Unique Style
Now, if you wanna get super nerdy on archaeology, we asked Feagans to highlight some of the most exciting unearthings in recent history, so you’re welcome:
“I'd say the Whitesands, NM footprints I mentioned earlier are definitely in the top 10 for the last few years. What a phenomenal find! It very neatly gives us confirmation that people made it to North America prior to Ice Free Corridor, probably by boating or rafting around the kelp highway from Alaska to California and beyond.”
“Another exciting find was that of the Endurance, which was possible by the unfortunately low levels of sea ice. The 28-man crew including Sir Ernest Shackleton abandoned the ship in 1915 when it became stuck in the sea ice. It sits in nearly 10,000 feet of water and in remarkably good condition.”
“Another recent discovery that stands out for me is from an excavation in the Andean highlands at Wilamaya Patjxa where a 9,000-year-old burial directly challenges the idea that men are hunters and women are gatherers. This burial has a hunting toolkit and the bones were consistent with that of a young adult female!”
#26 The Misenum Statue Is The Only Surviving Bronze Imperial Image To Have Been Altered As A Result Of Condemnation. Domitian's Facial Features Have Been Severed From The Back Of The Head And Replaced With A New Face Representing Nerva
Lastly, we asked Feagans about the one thing he wishes more people knew and understood about archaeology. Here’s what he had to say:
“Aside from the fact we don't do dinosaurs, I think I'd like people to know that archaeology is about understanding people. People of the past and people of the now. It isn't the silly stuff we see on Ancient Aliens or in Graham Hancock's books. It's really about understanding who people were, why they made the choices they did, how they lived day to day, and what we can learn from their successes as well as their mistakes. Ultimately it's about telling their stories as best we can. As respectfully as we can.”
You can check out more about and from Feagans on his website. But before you do that, why not share some of your insights into whatever you see in this list, or share some artifacts that should have made it up here!