The so-called “Piltdown Man” is an archaeological discovery of the remains of a skull and jaw excavated in 1912 from a grave in Piltdown, a village in East Sussex. They were presented as a “missing link” – a transition between man and ape and as a fossil previously unknown to science. The world was then amazed by this new discovery.
A part of the skull, several teeth and jaws were discovered. The remains were given the Latin name – Eoanthropus dawsoni. The only problem? It was about fraud! There was no “missing link”. The Piltdown Man wasn’t real.
The archaeological hoax of the century
Scientists immediately questioned this discovery. It has been discussed and debated for decades, but no one has been able to neither dispute nor confirm it with certainty.
The finding thus remained controversial until 1953, when, thanks to new technology, it was definitively declared a hoax! It turned out to be made of the lower jaw of an orangutan and the skull of a modern man, writes Allday.com.
The hoax is believed to have been masterminded by the “discoverer” of the Piltdown Man – Charles Dawson, an amateur geologist and lawyer who was among the members of the expedition that “discovered” the fossil. It was he who gathered several distinguished scientists to study the remains he found. He died in 1916, long before the findings were disputed.
The “Piltdown Hoax” is probably the most famous of the archaeological hoaxes. The discovery has been debated for over 40 years and, although Donson was the prime suspect, his responsibility has never been proven with certainty.
The two pyramids in Helinikon were first discovered in the 2nd century BC. mentioned by the Greek geographer Pausanias. Today there is only one, and what particularly attracts the attention of researchers is that it is still unknown how old it is, nor what its purpose was.
Usually when we talk about pyramids we think of those in Egypt, Mexico or Peru, although their presence has been recorded in other parts of the world. One of them is also found in Europe, more precisely in Argolis and what is even more interesting is not a recent discovery at all because the Greek geographer and traveler Pausanias wrote about the existence of not one, but two pyramids in Helinikon as early as the 2nd century BC.
Namely, in his Description of Greece, he talks about two buildings with a pyramidal structure, one of which is located twenty kilometers southwest of the one that still exists today. His opinion was that soldiers who died in the legendary battle fought in Argos were most likely buried there:
“On the road from Argos to Epidaurus, on the right, there is a building similar to a pyramid, on which Argive shields are carved in relief. Here the battle for the throne took place between Praetos and Akrisius; and the duel, they say, ended in a draw and a reconciliation, because neither neither could win. A common grave was built for those who fell, since they were fellow citizens and relatives.”
Modern researchers doubt this hypothesis, primarily because it is a small structure of about 7 m x 9 m with walls rising at an angle of 60 degrees and whose height does not exceed 3.5 m. The first excavations were undertaken by the German archaeologist Theodor Wiegand at the beginning of the 20th century, and his work was continued by researchers from the American School of Archeology in Athens and concluded that the building was a kind of watchtower.
Controversies related to estimated age
More recent research began in the 1990s under the direction of Greek archaeologist Ioannis Lirikas, who estimates that there are at least 20 other similar structures in Greece. He then discovered in their interior pottery from different periods, lamps, glasses, bowls, plates and large pitos – egg-shaped vessels used to store grains and oil. All the findings were so mixed that it was not possible to determine their age.
In addition, the analyzes that Lirikas and his team conducted inside and around the building using the thermoluminescence technique failed to convince other scientists of the accuracy of the data. First of all, the inner blocks were selected for sampling, seven of which were dated to the period between 2500 and 2000 BC, while the estimated age of the two ceramic vessels was between 3000 and 660 BC. This is considered an extremely wide range that suggests that is perhaps even older than the Great Pyramids, but it is also impossible to say with certainty when exactly it was built.
Archaeologists have confirmed one of the legends of Taiwan: the island was once inhabited by dark-skinned and short people. Scientists say that traces of such peoples can be found everywhere – from Siberia to Great Britain.
An unexpected find
From generation to generation in Taiwan, the legend about the dark-skinned dwarf people was passed down. Its members lived high in the mountains and spoke an incomprehensible language, and then mysteriously disappeared. Until recently, there was no material evidence of this myth. At the same time, scientists doubted that dark-skinned people could once have lived on the island. The Taiwanese natives were believed to be Austronesians, who came there from China. They moved to new territories about five thousand years ago, and then moved throughout Oceania. This year, however, a joint expedition of archaeologists from Australia, Vietnam and Japan found an unusual tomb of a woman in the cave complex of Xiaoma, on the east coast of the island. The deceased was buried in a sitting position, with her knees firmly pressed against her head, that is, in a manner that is not in accordance with the tradition of that region. The results of the radiocarbon analysis showed that the remains of that woman are about six thousand years old, but the scientists were most surprised by her dimensions.
“The length of the femurs was 35 centimeters. The skull was much smaller than usual. Based on those proportions, anthropologists concluded that the woman was no taller than 140 centimeters”,
said the head of the expedition, University of Guam professor Mike Carson.
Archaeologists immediately realized that they were representatives of a legendary people of short stature, and further analyzes of the remains convinced them of this.
“The skull’s DNA testifies that it is genetically close to African specimens from a similar period. Its size and shape are reminiscent of the Pygmies who lived in the territory of modern South Africa,”
the research results stated.
Mike Carson’s team is convinced that the woman from Siaoma Cave is a member of the Negritos, the indigenous people of Asia who came there from Africa. Members of that group are many peoples in the Philippines, some natives of Australia and the Andaman Islands. All of them are characterized by short stature (from 140 to 150 centimeters) and dark skin. Now, when the Taiwanese legend has been confirmed, scientists have an equally important task – to clarify why the Negritos disappeared from the island. For now, they believe that they were suppressed by the Austronesians who settled there.
They are not that small after all
Experts state that stories about dwarf peoples are characteristic of almost all regions of the world. In Europe, for example, stories about gnomes are known, whose prototype, according to many mythology lovers, are the Picts – a tribe that inhabited the northeast of Scotland in the first centuries of our era. Their character was greatly popularized by the poet Robert Louis Stevenson. In his ballad “Heather Ale” (“Heather’s Honey”) the Picts are represented as short people living in underground caves. There are also those who believe that it was the Picts that served John Tolkien as the basis for the creation of Hobbits – dwarf humanoid beings that inhabit Middle Earth. The author himself, however, denied such conclusions in numerous accompanying notes for his legendarium.
The history of the Picts is for the most part riddled with questions. “There are two points of view regarding their origin. According to the first, the Picts are the indigenous inhabitants of Britain, who came there in the early Bronze Age. Based on that, they could be considered the first representatives of Indo-Europeans in Europe. According to another point of view, which is more realistic, they were a Celtic tribe that separated from their relatives quite early,” says historian Klim Zhukov. The main source for the culture of the Picts is the numerous stones with inscriptions that they left in the entire territory they inhabited. Their language has not been deciphered to this day, so it is impossible to read those inscriptions carved into the stone.
However, the memories of their enemies were preserved. Until the 5th century, the dwarf people actively waged war against the Roman Empire. In the works of ancient historians and politicians, memories of “people of short stature” can be found. The revelations of recent years, however, completely deny this fact. In 2016, archaeologists found the skeleton of a man in the village of Rosmark in the north of Scotland, who was determined to have died between 430 and 630 AD. “In that period, the region was inhabited by the Picts.” The man whose skeleton was found had a very solid build and was quite tall for that time – 167 centimeters,” said a participant in the expedition, University of Leicester professor Simon Gunn. Three years later, in another Scottish settlement, Muir Ord, scientists excavated a large necropolis. All the tombs date back to the 7th century, but the main discovery was that the average height of the deceased was between 160 and 170 centimeters. Based on that, it could be said that the legendary ones were not as small as it seems to us.
This ruler belonged to a long line of Greek Macedonians whose ancestor is Ptolemy I, one of the most trusted lieutenants of Alexander the Great. The Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt from 323 BC. to 30 B.C. and most of its rulers remained faithful to Greek culture. In fact, Cleopatra was known as one of the first members of this dynasty to speak the Egyptian language. Although she came from the Ptolemaic family, which cultivated incestuous marriages, she did not have certain physical defects. On the contrary, in addition to her physical beauty, she was also gifted with a very good intellect when it comes to diplomacy and head of state. It is interesting that although she was staying in Rome, during the murder of Julius Caesar, the government did not prosecute her.
Cleopatra, along with Mark Antony, took her own life in 30 BC. after Octavian’s forces exiled them to Alexandria. While Antony is believed to have stabbed himself in the stomach, Cleopatra’s method is less well known. Legend has it that she died after letting a poisonous snake bite her hand, but the ancient chronicler Plutarch claims that what really happened is unknown. He says that Cleopatra is known to have hidden poison in her combs, and the historian Strabo states that she probably applied a deadly cream. With this in mind, many scientists suspect that she used a needle dipped in some kind of poison.
A tunnel discovered under an Egyptian temple
Kathleen Martinez, an archaeologist from the University of Santo Domingo, has been searching for Cleopatra’s lost tomb for almost 20 years. Now she believes she has made a crucial breakthrough. Martinez and her team discovered a 1,305-meter tunnel, located 13 meters underground, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently, and architectural design experts called the discovery an engineering marvel. “The excavation revealed a huge religious center with three sanctuaries, a sacred lake, more than 1,500 objects, busts, statues, gold objects, a huge collection of coins depicting Alexander the Great, Cleopatra and Ptolemy,” Martinez told CNN. .
“The most interesting discovery is the complex of tunnels that lead to the Mediterranean Sea and submerged structures that have not yet been explored,” she added.
Exploring these underwater structures will be the next phase of her search for the lost tomb of the Egyptian queen – a journey that began for her in 2005.
“I admire Cleopatra as a historical figure. She was a victim of Roman propaganda, with the aim of spoiling her image,” Martinez said.
“She was an educated woman, probably the first to be formally taught at the Museum in Alexandria, the cultural center of her time,” says Martinez, who noted that she admired Cleopatra as a student, but also as a person who spoke several languages, was a philosopher and a mother. .
When her partner, the Roman general Mark Antony, died in her arms in 30 BC, Cleopatra took her own life soon after by allowing herself to be bitten by a snake, according to popular belief. That moment has been immortalized in art and literature – but, more than two millennia later, little is known about where their remains actually are.
A series of clues led Martinez to believe that Cleopatra’s tomb could be located in the Temple of Osiris in the ruined city of Taposiris Magna, in northern Egypt, where the Nile River empties into the Mediterranean Sea. As he explains, Cleopatra in her time was considered the human incarnation of the goddess Isis, as Antony was considered the embodiment of the god Oris, Isis’s husband.
I will discover hope from dreams
Martinez therefore believes that Cleopatra may have decided to bury her husband in the temple in order to keep everything in line with this myth. Of all the 20 temples around Alexandria she has studied, she says no other site, structure or temple has such a perfect combination of conditions for this – as the temple of Taposiris Magna. In 2004, Martinez presented her theory to Zahia Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist who was then Egypt’s minister of antiquities. Her project was approved a year later. And after years of searching, Martinez feels he’s getting closer to his dream discovery. Excavations so far have revealed that the temple was dedicated to Isis – which Martinez believes is another sign that the lost tomb is nearby.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Egyptian coast has been affected by earthquakes for centuries, causing parts of Taposiris Magna to collapse and sink under the waves. Although “it’s too early to know where these tunnels lead,” Martinez believes that if they lead to Cleopatra, it will be the most important discovery of the century.
News and Science 
Leave a comment