Narragansett | For centuries it was believed that Christopher Columbus was the first man from the Old continent to cross the Atlantic to the New World, but new evidence from a research team from the University of Rhode Island suggests Muslim seafarers might just be the first people to have settled on the shores of America, a possibility that could rewrite history as we know it.

The discovery completely took the researchers by surprise admits professor Evan Yuriesco, in charge of the research team.

“ We were expecting to find traces of prehistoric Native American settlements, as we have in the area for the past decades. We were not prepared to find 9th century clay pots containing ancient manuscripts written in the Arabic language “ he explains.

The team of researchers fell upon what could be the mass tomb of 9th century seafarers. The four skeletons that have been found on the site are in a state of advanced decomposition which could make DNA testing impossible, warns the expert, although the teeth showed premature decay which could explain the cause of death by a poor diet or an unknown illness.

Researchers from Rhode Island University were not expecting a discovery of such a controversial nature

A number of items were also found, as cloths, coins and two scimitars, yet the remaining artifacts were in such a bad state that they are barely recognizable, as rust has destroyed any possible recognizable trace of writing on the swords and coins, and the pieces of cloth having rotten due to age and the extreme humidity of the area.

Two clay pots were also found in a surprisingly good state, one of them containing the precious manuscripts and the other a mixture of unidentified dried spices which, when identified, could bring further proof of the origin of these sea dwellers.

Islamic medieval scholar Karim Ibn Fallah from the University of Massachussets has determined that the age of the manuscripts is from the 9th century based on the Kufic script of the manuscripts. “Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script” he explains. “Kufic developed around the end of the 7th century in Kufa, Iraq, from which it takes its name. The discovery of Kufic scripts in pre-Columbus America is extremely fascinating” he adds, visibly excited.

The documents are thought to be of the 9th century based on the Kufic script of the manuscripts, claim experts

Byron Kent, museologist at the Smithsonian, admits the find is extremely troubling. “There is no question that Arab maps were the best in the world, but none of the existing early maps demonstrates any knowledge of the Americas” he ponders. Even though the burden of historical evidence has been against the idea of Muslim populations traveling across the Atlantic in pre-Columbus times, the expert does not dispute that Muslims could have beaten Columbus to the New World.

“They certainly possessed the technological expertise to have done so; but, until now, there was no reliable evidence that they did. This discovery, however, is compelling proof that they, in fact, did” admits the expert.

Richard Francaviglia of Willamette University and Best Selling author of “Far Beyond the Western Sea of the Arabs…’: Reinterpreting Claims about Pre-Columbian Muslims in the Americas” also admits the discovery is unexpected.

“The premise of pre-Columbian Islam in the New World is attractive because it is so plausible. The navigational accomplishments of Muslims were significant indeed. The record confirms that they rapidly explored and colonized a substantial portion of the Old World by the ninth and tenth centuries CE. Columbus himself was clearly indebted to Muslim seafaring skills, and there is little doubt that Muslims had the technological expertise to have reached the New World”.

Muslim historian and geographer Abul-Hassan Ali Ibn Al-Hussain Al-Masudi (871-957 CE) wrote in his book Muruj adh-dhahab wa maadin aljawhar (The meadows of gold and quarries of jewels) that during the rule of the Muslim caliph of Spain Abdullah Ibn Mohammad (888-912 CE), a Muslim navigator, Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad, from Cortoba, Spain sailed from Delba (Palos) in 889 CE, crossed the Atlantic, reached an unknown territory (ard majhoola) and returned with fabulous treasures. In Al-Masudi’s map of the world there is a large area in the ocean of darkness and fog which he referred to as the unknown territory, which many scholars believe to be the Americas. 

Archeologists from the University of British-Columbia, have discovered the ruins of snow fort in Northern Canada, which they believe was built by the Royal Northwest Mounted Police in the 19th Century.

The scientists, led by Professor James Monroe, were searching the area for the ruins of Fort White, a long lost outpost used by the federal police force of Canada in the 19th Century to monitor the rebellious native tribes of the region.

Flying over the area aboard a helicopter, they located the ruins of an imposing snow structure on a strategic, elevated point near the mouth of the Thelon river, in the Canadian Northwest Territories.

Upon investigating the site, they discovered dozens of artifacts linked to the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, including a hat, a belt buckle, a revolver and two cufflinks.

According to the archeologists, the ruins could be those of the mysterious Fort White, an outpost built in 1891 and used by the predecessor of the Royal Canadian Mounted police until it was abandoned in 1901.

“The site seems to have been designed to hold a garrison of 20 to 30 policemen and to protect them from the cold and from the surrounding native tribes,” Professor Monroe told the Northern Tribune. “We did not expect to find a structure made entirely of snow, but I guess it was the easiest building material to find in the region.”  

Mr Monroe says the ramparts of the fort stood an imposing 5 meters high and were surrounded by ditches, making it an extremely efficient defensive structure against the local native tribes.

This 19th Century cufflink of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police was found in the ruins of a building identified as the fort’s barracks.

The pacification and colonization of the Canadian Northwest were marked by many revolts from the local native tribes.

The desire for independence of Manitoba’s Métis, a mixed blood people of joint First Nations and European descent, erupted in the Red River Rebellion in 1869 and the later North-West Rebellion in 1885.

To avoid any further revolts, the Canadian government created a federal mounted police force and ordered the construction of several forts across the plains.

Fort White was cited in many documents as the northernmost fort built at the time, but both its physical appearance and its precise location remain the subjects of many speculations.

Professor Monroe and his team will return to the site in April to carry a more thorough investigation and try to determine if the snow structure they have discovered is, indeed, the mysterious Fort White.

Cairo, Egypt | A team of archeologists at the University of Cairo lead by Egyptologist Nabir Ibn Al-Sammud has uncovered ancient papyri and a number of stone palettes dating back to 3,500 BC which could prove ancient Egyptians might have lived amongst dinosaurs.

Astonishingly, the papyri were written by men who participated in the building of the Great Pyramid, the tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu, and mention the use of “beastly creatures” of “enormous size” according to Professor Al-Sammud.

The outlandish claim would have been rapidly dismissed if it did not come from one of Egyptology’s most eminent figures and has definitely come as a surprise to the scientific community.

“ I understand our present view of human history is completely different from what we are proposing, but based on these ancient papyri we must consider the possibility that dinosaurs may have lived amongst ancient Egyptians and were possibly tamed to carry the huge blocks that compose the pyramids ”

– Professor Nabir Al-Sammud, Egyptologist

The Narmer Palette, also known as the Great Hierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found and also believed by some to depict living dinosaurs.

An unexpected discovery

Surprisingly, the discovery of the ancient papyri and 26 stone cosmetic palettes bearing carved decoration and hieroglyphic writings was made in a nearby cave only a few kilometers outside modern Cairo.

The team of researchers believe that the caves had served as a kind of boat storage depot during the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, about 4,600 years ago.

“We unearthed entire rolls of papyrus, some a few feet long and still relatively intact, written in hieroglyphics as well as hieratic, the cursive script the ancient Egyptians used for everyday communication,” explains phD student Fatima Al-Faya.

The papyri also mention “the noble Ankh-haf,” who was known to be the half-brother of the Pharaoh Khufu and is described as overseeing some of the construction of the Great Pyramid.

Ra Nt-Ka, the “God Beast”

The most surprising portions of the ancient texts and stone palettes are concerning Ra Nt-Ka, translated as “God beast” which was presumably tamed and used to carry the large limestone blocks that compose the pyramids.

“For centuries it was presumed that Ra Nt-Ka was possibly a whale, but here we have descriptions of Ra Nt-Ka delving in water as well as on land, and the papyri mention that the animal “of great stature” was used to carry materials used during the construction of the pyramids,” explains Prof Al-Sammud, visibly exhilarated.

“They are described as tamed beasts of burden who “eat of the Niles grass”, whose tail when lashed “can kill an army of men” and “whose necks reach out to the sky”, which lets us believe the creature could depict a species of brontosaurus of some kind” he adds.

Dinosaurs in Egypt

This incredible discovery occurs  decades after paleontologists have unearthed the first fossils of a colossal new species of dinosaur in Egypt, one of the heaviest creatures to have walked the Earth.

Its name, Paralititan, means tidal giant. The long-necked, long-tailed vegetarian could have straddled a modern African elephant, say experts.

“We can’t speculate if this is the species of dinosaur that may have lived amongst ancient Egyptians but fossil remains are fairly prevalent in the Nile region and these amphibious beasts were definitely common in the area at one time” explains fellow Egyptologist, Helmut Ferrlug of the University of Berlin.

One recent skeleton finding in 2014 proved to be a new species of Titanosaurus, a group of long-necked, long-tailed, plant-eating dinosaurs that includes some of the largest animals ever. The period in which Paralititan lived is still a mystery to paleontologists.

Drogheda| A team of archaeologists affiliated with the University College Dublin, have unearthed three skeletons from a previously unknown humanoid species of extremely small size in a wooded area of Eastern Ireland. The specimens measuring between 47 and 61 centimeters are presumably from an entirely new species of humanoid, distinct from modern humans, which would have survived until the 12th or 13th century AD.

The bones which were presumably partially unearthed by a recent rainfall, and were found by three local children who were playing in the area. The young boys immediately contacted the police, believing they had found the remains of murdered children. The medical examiner called on the site, rapidly understood that this was not a modern crime scene, but seemed instead to be an unusual archeological site. He contacted the University College Dublin to ask for help, and the institution sent Professor Edward James McInnes to analyze the discovery.

The bodies of two females and one male were discovered with a small number of artefacts in what appeared to have been a small settlement, near the banks of the river Boyne. The team of archaeologists led by Professor McInnes, has named the species Homo minusculus, which means either ‘Tiny Man’ or ‘Is small in comparison’.

This tiny axe blade was found near the body of the male individual. It is presumed to have been used as both a weapon and a tool.

Various small stone Tools and weapons were found near the bodies, including an axe, two knives, a spear point and even two miniature sewing needles. These items suggest that the Homo Minisculus had only reached a technological level comparable to human hunters-gatherers from the Paleolithic period, as no pottery or metal items have been found on the site. Many bones from various small animals including squirrels, hares, moles and hedgehogs were found near the settlement, many of which bore traces of cooking.

The various dating analyses realized on the bones and artefacts have shown that they dated from somewhere between 1145 and 1230 AD, which means that the species would have coexisted with modern humans for more than 45000 years. This amazing discovery suggests than many tales and stories from the Middle Ages which were considered as fantastic by historians, could indeed be based on real facts. Homo minusculus could have inspired stories of leprechauns, elves and brownies that are common in European folklore.

Professor McInnes and his team believe that Homo minusculus could have disappeared due to the destruction of its habitat by surrounding human communities.

It remains unclear at the moment if Homo Minusculus evolved from Homo erectus, from Homo sapiens idaltu or even from Homo sapiens sapiens, but its morphological similarities with modern humans suggest that it evolved as a separate subspecies towards the end of human lineage.

The explanation for its small size also remains a mystery, but Professor McInnes believes it could be linked to the scarcity of resources during the most recent glacial period which  extended the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 12,000 years ago.

After the discovery of the Homo Floresiensis (that would have stood about 1.1 m in height) in 2003, on the island of Flores in Indonesia, a human subspecies which is believed to have gone extinct about 30000 years ago, this new find proves that many other hominin subspecies did indeed coexist with modern humans for thousands of years.

Romanian archeologists believe they might have unearthed the tomb of Prince Blach the Furious, also known as Blach the Bloodthirsty, a Romanian ruler who’s controversial and short reign is still debated by historians.

Believed to be an illegitimate son of Michael the Brave, who is known to have united and ruled over Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania in the 16th century, his short and cruel rulership over a small principality of Transylvania has stemmed various myths in Romanian folklore and his life has influenced our modern concept of the vampire.

Believed to have suffered from schizophrenia and paranoia, possibly induced by a head injury at a young age and also by lead poisoning, he also suffered from a form of lycanthropy, a medical condition which gave him abnormally large teeth and especially large canines, giving him a fierce and demonic appearance.

“ Historical literature describes him as a cruel and sanguinary ruler, who indulged in gutting his people alive, especially children, and even taking part in ritual human sacrifices where he partook in eating human flesh, organs and even drinking his victim’s blood ”

– Marius Belvani, archeologist

Hundreds of scattered skeletons were also unearthed near the tomb, leading archeologists to believe they might be the bodies of his victims

The quest for immortality

Although experts do not agree on why these ritual sacrifices took place, it is believed by various experts he was possibly a follower of a small sect whose leader was known as Garund, a controversial self-proclaimed mystic and subject of Zoroastrism.

Garund was a sect leader at the time which was later impaled but presumably came back to life according to his followers.

He is known for burning several Christian churches at the time, practicing animal sacrifices, even possibly human sacrifices according to some experts.

He also claimed that immortality could be attained through certain rituals, the practice of cannibalism and the drinking of human blood.

Although Blach the Furious only ruled for three years before he was confined to a cell for the rest of his life after burning sixty-three peasants alive in one night and killing three of his wives in an 18-month period, his legacy lives on as his gruesome reign has inspired many authors of science fiction and horror literature throughout history.

Alice Springs| A team of archaeologists working for the Australian National University, who were proceeding to an excavation near the sandstone rock formation of Uluru, has unearthed the ruins of a large precolonial city dating back to more than 1500 years ago. The important number of tombs and artefacts already discovered on the site suggests that it could have been the capital of an ancient empire, completely unknown to historians until now.

The site which was first noticed on satellite pictures taken in October 2013, using a newly developed ground-penetrating radar. The images revealed many 90° angles and various common geographic figures over a 16 km² area, leading the team of scientists to direct some archaeological excavations on the spot, starting in May 2014. Over the last few months, many structures have been unearthed including what looks like a royal palace, a few temples, large rainwater reservoirs, workshops and dozens of houses.

287 individual tombs have already been discovered in a small necropolis located just outside the ancient city. The bodies are mostly of proto-aboriginal origins, but also surprisingly include a few Polynesian and Asian individuals.

Professor Walter Reese, in charge of the site, claims that the extent of the site and the superposition of various layers of constructions, suggests that it was occupied for 400 to 500 years, from approximately 470-80 AD, up until the 9th Century. He believes that the city could have held between 20000 and 30000 inhabitants, making it the most important center of civilization in the Southern Pacific at the time.

“This was certainly the capital of a vast empire, that practised some sort of international trade” says Mr Reese. “The fact that we have discovered some bodies of various origins suggests that this state could have been a very influential throughout the Pacific islands and Southeast Asia. We have found many objects on the site that were obviously imported from other regions, like rice, flax or lacquer.”

The various artefacts gathered from the site suggest that the city flourished thanks to some form of control over various gold mining operations in Southern Australia. The precious metal was purified and transformed by the hundreds of goldsmiths of the city before being traded for various other goods through  an extensive network reaching as far as New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and even China and India.

Thousands of artefacts have been recovered, including some 756 items made of gold. This bowl weighting 2.8 kilograms was found inside one of the temples.

Professor Reese believes that the city could have been abandoned after some climatic changes in the 9th Century brought a dramatic decrease in the level of rainfall, making the city unsustainable.

Suez| Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry announced this morning that a team of underwater archaeologists had discovered that remains of a large Egyptian army from the 14th century BC, at the bottom of the Gulf of Suez, 1.5 kilometers offshore from the modern city of  Ras Gharib. The team was searching for the remains of ancient ships and artefacts related to Stone Age and Bronze Age trade in the Red Sea area, when they stumbled upon a gigantic mass of human bones darkened by age. 

The scientists lead by Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader and associated with Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, have already recovered a total of more than 400 different skeletons, as well as hundreds of weapons and pieces of armor, also the remains of two war chariots, scattered over an area of approximately 200 square meters. They estimate that more than 5000 other bodies could be dispersed over a wider area, suggesting that an army of large size who have perished on the site.

This magnificient blade from an egyptian khopesh, was certainly the weapon of an important character. It was discovered near the remains of a richly decorated war chariot, suggesting it could have belonged to a prince or nobleman.

Many clues on the site have brought Professor Gader and his team to conclude that the bodies could be linked to the famous episode of the Exodus. First of all, the ancient soldiers seem to have died on dry ground, since no  traces of boats or ships have been found in the area. The positions of the bodies and the fact that they were stuck in a vast quantity of clay and rock, implie that they could have died in a mudslide or a tidal wave.

The shear number of bodies suggests that a large ancient army perished on the site and the dramatic way by which they were killed, both seem to corroborate the biblical version of the Red Sea Crossing, when the army of the Egyptian Pharaoh was destroyed by the returning waters that Moses had parted. This new find certainly proves that there was indeed an Egyptian army of large size that was destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea during the reign of King Akhenaten.

For centuries, the famous biblical account of the “Red Sea Crossing” was dismissed by most scholars and historians as more symbolic than historical.

This astounding discovery brings undeniable scientific proof that one the most famous episodes of the Old Testament was indeed, based on an historical event. It brings a brand new perspective on a story that many historians have been considering for years as a work of fiction, and suggesting that other themes like the “Plagues of Egypt” could indeed have an historical base.

A lot more research and many more recovery operations are to be expected on the site over the next few years, as Professor Gader and his team have already announced their desire to retrieve the rest of the bodies and artefacts from was has turned out to be one of the richest archaeological underwater sites ever discovered.

Kuwait| A 67-year old sheperd looking for one of his animals, stumbled upon what could be one of the most astonishing discoveries of modern archeology. The man noticed a barely visible entrance to a group of caves covered with prehistoric art depicting many humans and animals, but also a few live dinosaurs, bringing many questions concerning the chronology of the extinction of these gigantic creatures.

“At first, we thought these were modern grafitis” explains Abdul Al-Shalafi, the paleontologist recently named in charge of the site, “but the carbon dating analysis revealed that they were in fact, older than the rest of the drawings. It seems that these were probably the first images drawn in the cave, and they seem to relate to the earliest period of development of this settlement.”

These amazing work of arts combined with dinosaur bones discovered on the spot, bring aa all new perspective to the theories concerning the disappearance of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. It now seems plausible that humans could actually have coexisted with these incredible creatures until a few hundred thousand years ago.

“These prehistoric pictograms seem to illustrate dinosaurs being hunted by humans” adds Mr Al-Shalafi. “This could mean that humans are actually to blame for their extermination. This is certainly a revolutionnary new perspective and it will certainly be hard for many historians and archeologists to accept.”

Memphis, TN | A group of volunteers cleaning up the shores of the Mississippi River near the biggest city in Tennessee have stumbled upon the remains of an ancient boat encrusted in mud.

A team of archeologists from the University of Memphis that was rapidly called to the site, confirmed that the ship is most certainly a Viking Knarr, suggesting the Norse would have pushed their exploration of America a lot further than historians previously thought.

The heavily damaged ship was found near the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers and lies on a private property.

It has a length of about 16 meters, a beam of 4.5 meters, and a hull that is estimated capable of carrying up to 24 to 28 tons, a typical size for this type of ship.

Knarrs were naval vessels that were built by the Norsemen from Scandinavia and Iceland for Atlantic voyages but also used for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during an era known as the Viking Age, that goes approximately from 793 to 1066 AD.

They were clinker built, which means the overlapping of planks riveted together. It was capable of sailing 75 miles (121 km) in one day and held a crew of about 20 to 30 men.

One of the only artifacts on the site, this sword was probably abandoned after it broke, suggesting a violent battle.

This new discovery could be one of the oldest evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, and it certainly brings to mind the famous colony of “Vinland” mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas. 

This mythical colony would have been established by Leif Ericson around the same period as the settlement at l’Anse aux Meadows, in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the most famous site of a Norse or Viking settlement in North America outside Greenland.

Butternuts found in the Newfoundland site had already suggested that the Norse had explored the continent because they do not grow naturally north of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, hundreds of kilometers away from any known Viking settlement.

The carbon dating of the new ship estimates that it dates from between 990  and 1050 AD, approximately the period associated with Vinland and the various Canadian sites (L’Anse aux Meadows, Tanfield Valley, Avayalik Islands).

This could mean that the that the Viking had actually developed a far wider trade network in the Americas that what was traditionally believed.

Unfortunately, very few other artifacts have yet been found on the site, suggesting the crew must have most likely abandoned the ship and continued on foot.

Professor James Milbury, who leads the research team working on the site, believes the Norse could have been killed by Chickasaw natives.

More searches are to be expected in the area over the next few years, as scientists will now certainly try to look for any artifacts or historical traces that could lead them to understand what happened to the crew of the ship.

Many myths from local native tribes will also be analyzed by historians from the team to see if they could hold useful information, as both Chickasaw and Choctaw mythologies include many stories of fights against “red-haired devils”.

Kuwait| A 67-year old sheperd looking for one of his animals, stumbled upon what could be one of the most astonishing discoveries of modern archeology. The man noticed a barely visible entrance to a group of caves covered with prehistoric art depicting many humans and animals, but also a few live dinosaurs, bringing many questions concerning the chronology of the extinction of these gigantic creatures.

“At first, we thought these were modern grafitis” explains Abdul Al-Shalafi, the paleontologist recently named in charge of the site, “but the carbon dating analysis revealed that they were in fact, older than the rest of the drawings. It seems that these were probably the first images drawn in the cave, and they seem to relate to the earliest period of development of this settlement.”

These amazing work of arts combined with dinosaur bones discovered on the spot, bring aa all new perspective to the theories concerning the disappearance of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. It now seems plausible that humans could actually have coexisted with these incredible creatures until a few hundred thousand years ago.

“These prehistoric pictograms seem to illustrate dinosaurs being hunted by humans” adds Mr Al-Shalafi. “This could mean that humans are actually to blame for their extermination. This is certainly a revolutionnary new perspective and it will certainly be hard for many historians and archeologists to accept.”

Memphis, TN | A group of volunteers cleaning up the shores of the Mississippi River near the biggest city in Tennessee have stumbled upon the remains of an ancient boat encrusted in mud.

A team of archeologists from the University of Memphis that was rapidly called to the site, confirmed that the ship is most certainly a Viking Knarr, suggesting the Norse would have pushed their exploration of America a lot further than historians previously thought.

The heavily damaged ship was found near the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers and lies on a private property.

It has a length of about 16 meters, a beam of 4.5 meters, and a hull that is estimated capable of carrying up to 24 to 28 tons, a typical size for this type of ship.

Knarrs were naval vessels that were built by the Norsemen from Scandinavia and Iceland for Atlantic voyages but also used for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during an era known as the Viking Age, that goes approximately from 793 to 1066 AD.

They were clinker built, which means the overlapping of planks riveted together. It was capable of sailing 75 miles (121 km) in one day and held a crew of about 20 to 30 men.

One of the only artifacts on the site, this sword was probably abandoned after it broke, suggesting a violent battle.

This new discovery could be one of the oldest evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, and it certainly brings to mind the famous colony of “Vinland” mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas. 

This mythical colony would have been established by Leif Ericson around the same period as the settlement at l’Anse aux Meadows, in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the most famous site of a Norse or Viking settlement in North America outside Greenland.

Butternuts found in the Newfoundland site had already suggested that the Norse had explored the continent because they do not grow naturally north of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, hundreds of kilometers away from any known Viking settlement.

The carbon dating of the new ship estimates that it dates from between 990  and 1050 AD, approximately the period associated with Vinland and the various Canadian sites (L’Anse aux Meadows, Tanfield Valley, Avayalik Islands).

This could mean that the that the Viking had actually developed a far wider trade network in the Americas that what was traditionally believed.

Unfortunately, very few other artifacts have yet been found on the site, suggesting the crew must have most likely abandoned the ship and continued on foot.

Professor James Milbury, who leads the research team working on the site, believes the Norse could have been killed by Chickasaw natives.

More searches are to be expected in the area over the next few years, as scientists will now certainly try to look for any artifacts or historical traces that could lead them to understand what happened to the crew of the ship.

Many myths from local native tribes will also be analyzed by historians from the team to see if they could hold useful information, as both Chickasaw and Choctaw mythologies include many stories of fights against “red-haired devils”.

Alice Springs | A team of archaeologists working for the Australian National University, who were proceeding to an excavation near the sandstone rock formation of Uluru, has unearthed the ruins of a large pre-colonial city dating back to more than 1500 years ago.

The important number of tombs and artifacts already discovered on the site suggests that it could have been the capital of an ancient empire, completely unknown to historians until now.

The site which was first noticed on satellite pictures taken in October 2013, using a newly developed ground-penetrating radar.

The images revealed many 90° angles and various common geographic figures over a 16 km² area, leading the team of scientists to direct some archaeological excavations on the spot, starting in May 2014.

Over the last few months, many structures have been unearthed including what looks like a royal palace, a few temples, large rainwater reservoirs, workshops and dozens of houses.

287 individual tombs have already been discovered in a small necropolis located just outside the ancient city. The bodies are mostly of proto-aboriginal origins, but also surprisingly include a few Polynesian and Asian individuals.

Professor Walter Reese, in charge of the site, claims that the extent of the site and the superposition of various layers of constructions, suggests that it was occupied for 400 to 500 years, from approximately 470-80 AD, up until the 9th Century.

He believes that the city could have held between 20000 and 30000 inhabitants, making it the most important center of civilization in the Southern Pacific at the time.

“This was certainly the capital of a vast empire, that practised some sort of international trade” says Mr Reese. “The fact that we have discovered some bodies of various origins suggests that this state could have been a very influential throughout the Pacific islands and Southeast Asia. We have found many objects on the site that were obviously imported from other regions, like rice, flax or lacquer.”

The various artifacts gathered from the site suggest that the city flourished thanks to some form of control over various gold mining operations in Southern Australia.

The precious metal was purified and transformed by the hundreds of goldsmiths of the city before being traded for various other goods through an extensive network reaching as far as New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and even China and India.

Thousands of artifacts have been recovered, including some 756 items made of gold. This bowl weighing 2.8 kilograms was found inside one of the temples.

Professor Reese believes that the city could have been abandoned after some climatic changes in the 9th Century brought a dramatic decrease in the level of rainfall, making the city unsustainable.

Suez | Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry announced this morning that a team of underwater archaeologists had discovered that remains of a large Egyptian army from the 14th century BC, at the bottom of the Gulf of Suez, 1.5 kilometers offshore from the modern city of  Ras Gharib.

The team was searching for the remains of ancient ships and artifacts related to Stone Age and Bronze Age trade in the Red Sea area when they stumbled upon a gigantic mass of human bones darkened by age.

The scientists led by Professor Abdel Muhammad Gader and associated with Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, have already recovered a total of more than 400 different skeletons, as well as hundreds of weapons and pieces of armor.

The remains of two war chariots were also discovered scattered over an area of approximately 200 square meters.

They estimate that more than 5,000 other bodies could be dispersed over a wider area, suggesting that an army of large size may have perished on the site.

This magnificient blade from an egyptian khopesh, was certainly the weapon of an important character. It was discovered near the remains of a richly decorated war chariot, suggesting it could have belonged to a prince or nobleman.

Many clues on the site have brought Professor Gader and his team to conclude that the bodies could be linked to the famous episode of the Exodus.

First of all, the ancient soldiers seem to have died on dry ground, since no traces of boats or ships have been found in the area.

The positions of the bodies and the fact that they were stuck in a vast quantity of clay and rock imply that they could have died in a mudslide or a tidal wave.

The sheer number of bodies suggests that a large ancient army perished on the site, and the dramatic way by which they were killed, seem to corroborate the biblical version of the Red Sea Crossing when the army of the Egyptian Pharaoh was destroyed by the returning waters that Moses had parted.

This new find certainly proves that there was indeed an Egyptian army of large size that was destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea during the reign of King Akhenaten.

For centuries, the famous biblical account of the “Red Sea Crossing” was dismissed by most scholars and historians as more symbolic than historical.

“This astounding discovery brings undeniable scientific proof that one the most famous episodes of the Old Testament was indeed based on a historical event,” Professor Gader said during the press conference.

“It brings a brand new perspective on a story that many historians have been considering for years as a work of fiction and suggesting that other biblical stories like the Plagues of Egypt could indeed have a historical base.

A lot more research and many more recovery operations are to be expected on the site over the next few years, as Professor Gader and his team have already announced their desire to retrieve the rest of the bodies and artefacts from was has turned out to be one of the richest archaeological underwater sites ever discovered.

Drogheda | A team of archaeologists affiliated with the University College Dublin, have unearthed three skeletons from a previously unknown humanoid species of extremely small size in a wooded area of Eastern Ireland.

The specimens measuring between 47 and 61 centimeters are presumably from an entirely new species of humanoid, distinct from modern humans, which would have survived until the 12th or 13th century AD.

The bones which were presumably partially unearthed by a recent rainfall, and were found by three local children who were playing in the area.

The young boys immediately contacted the police, believing they had found the remains of murdered children. The medical examiner called on the site, rapidly understood that this was not a modern crime scene, but seemed instead to be an unusual archeological site.

He contacted the University College Dublin to ask for help, and the institution sent Professor Edward James McInnes to analyze the discovery.

The bodies of two females and one male were discovered with a small number of artifacts in what appeared to have been a small settlement, near the banks of the river Boyne.

The team of archaeologists led by Professor McInnes has named the species Homo minusculus, which means either ‘Tiny Man’ or ‘Is small in comparison’.

This tiny axe blade was found near the body of the male individual. It is presumed to have been used as both a weapon and a tool.

Various small stone Tools and weapons were found near the bodies, including an axe, two knives, a spear point and even two miniature sewing needles.

These items suggest that the Homo Minisculus had only reached a technological level comparable to human hunters-gatherers from the Paleolithic period, as no pottery or metal items have been found on the site.

Many bones from various small animals including squirrels, hares, moles, and hedgehogs were found near the settlement, many of which bore traces of cooking.

The various dating analyses realized on the bones and artifacts have shown that they dated from somewhere between 1145 and 1230 AD, which means that the species would have coexisted with modern humans for more than 45000 years.

This amazing discovery suggests that many tales and stories from the Middle Ages which were considered as fantastic by historians could indeed be based on real facts.

Homo minusculus could have inspired stories of leprechauns, elves, and brownies that are common in European folklore.

Professor McInnes and his team believe that Homo minusculus could have disappeared due to the destruction of its habitat by surrounding human communities.

It remains unclear at the moment if Homo Minusculus evolved from Homo erectus, from Homo sapiens idaltu or even from Homo sapiens sapiens, but its morphological similarities with modern humans suggest that it evolved as a separate subspecies towards the end of the human lineage.

The explanation for its small size also remains a mystery, but Professor McInnes believes it could be linked to the scarcity of resources during the most recent glacial period which extended the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 12,000 years ago.

After the discovery of the Homo Floresiensis (that would have stood about 1.1 m in height) in 2003, on the island of Flores in Indonesia, a human subspecies which is believed to have gone extinct about 30000 years ago, this new find proves that many other hominin subspecies did indeed coexist with modern humans for thousands of years.

A US Supreme Court ruling has forced the Smithsonian institution to release classified papers dating from the early 1900’s that proves the organization was involved in a major historical cover-up.

The cover-up allegedly destroyed evidence showing giant human remains in the tens of thousands had been uncovered all across America.

The pieces of evidence were ordered to be destroyed by high-level administrators to “protect the mainstream chronology of human evolution at the time” according to the court ruling.

The allegations stemming from the American Institution of Alternative Archeology (AIAA) that the Smithsonian Institution had destroyed thousands of giant human remains during the early 1900’s was not taken lightly by the Smithsonian who responded by suing the organization for defamation and trying to damage the reputation of the 168-year old institution.

During the court case, new elements were brought to light as several Smithsonian whistleblowers admitted to the existence of documents that allegedly proved the destruction of tens of thousands of human skeletons reaching between 6 feet and 12 feet in height, a reality mainstream archeology cannot admit to for different reasons, claims AIAA spokesman, James Churchward.

«There has been a major cover up by western archaeological institutions since the early 1900’s to make us believe that America was first colonized by Asian peoples migrating through the Bering Strait 15,000 years ago, when in fact, there are hundreds of thousands of burial mounds all over America which the Natives claim were there a long time before them, and that show traces of a highly developed civilization, complex use of metal alloys and where giant human skeleton remains are frequently found but still go unreported in the media and news outlets» he explains.

A giant human femur uncovered in Ohio in 2011 by the American Association for Alternative Archeology, similar to the evidence presented in court

A turning point of the court case was when a 1.3-meter long human femur bone was shown as evidence in court of the existence of such giant human bones.

The evidence came as a blow to the Smithsonian’s lawyers as the bone had been stolen from the Smithsonian by one of their high-level curators in the mid-1930’s who had kept the bone all his life and which had admitted on his deathbed in writing of the undercover operations of the Smithsonian.

«It is a terrible thing that is being done to the American people,» he wrote in the letter.

«We are hiding the truth about the forefathers of humanity, our ancestors, the giants who roamed the earth as recalled in the Bible and ancient texts of the world».

The US Supreme Court has since forced the Smithsonian Institution to publicly release classified information about anything related to the “destruction of evidence pertaining to the mound builder culture” and to elements “relative to human skeletons of greater height than usual”, a ruling the AIAA is extremely enthused about.

«The public release of these documents will help archaeologists and historians to reevaluate current theories about human evolution and help us greater our understanding of the mound builder culture in America and around the world» explains AIAA director, Hans Guttenberg.

«Finally, after over a century of lies, the truth about our giant ancestors shall be revealed to the world» he acknowledges, visibly satisfied by the court ruling.

The documents are scheduled to be released in 2020 and the operation will be coordinated by an independent scientific organization to assure political neutrality.

Manchester, NY | A team of archaeologists excavating a drumlin known as  Mormon hill or the Cumorah, in western New York, have discovered a set of gold plates which they believe could be linked to the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith Jr.

The scientists, led by Professor Abraham Jones, are associated with the Brigham Young University’s faculty of archaeology.

They were using advanced metal detectors, lasers and other ground-penetrating imaging technology to look for underground structures when they noticed a small cave-like cavity.

They dug up the entrance, which was buried under a dozen feet of rocks and dirt, and explored the very exiguous cavern.

The walls and ceiling were covered with ancient traces of soot, presumably from torches, suggesting the cave had been visited many times in the past.

On top of a large flat stone resembling an altar, they found what looks like a book made of metal plates.

The scientists explored the mysterious cavern, but have not been able to recover any other artifact. They have found, however, a few signs of human activity like the ashes of two ancient campfires.

The “book” is made of a set of twelve metal plates, each measuring six inches (15 cm) in width, eight inches (20 cm) in length approximately half an inch (1.27 centimeter) in thickness.

The plates are made of a copper-gold alloy and are held together by three D-shaped rings, forming a sort of book.  The entire volume measures a total of nearly six inches [15 cm] in thickness and weights 59 pounds (26.76 kg).

The plates are covered with mysterious symbols, very similar to the  “reformed Egyptian” characters, written by Joseph Smith Jr. on the document known as the “Anthon Transcript”.

Many of the symbols on the plates found by the archaeologists are identical to those drawn by the prophet, in 1928.

LDS scholars have hypothesized that the reformed Egyptian writing could have developed from other modified Egyptian scripts such as hieratic, a priestly shorthand for hieroglyphics.

Joseph Smith Jr. is said to have found similar golden plates on September 22, 1823, in a hill near his home in Manchester, New York.

He claimed that an angel named Moroni had directed him to a buried stone box, containing a set of gold plates, covered with strange symbols.

Smith translated the text of the Book of Mormon over the next several years by using a seer stone, which he placed in the bottom of a hat and then placed the hat over his face to view the words written within the stone.

He finally published the book in 1830, which was meant to be a complement to the Bible.

This new discovery could be the most important material and historical proof ever found, to back the claims of Joseph Smith Jr.

Professor Jones and the scientists from Brigham Young University will now perform an extensive series of tests and analysis to determine if the plates could indeed be linked to the prophet.

Alice Springs | What could be the largest human skeleton ever discovered has been unearthed by a team of archeologists from the University of Adelaide at the Uluru archeological site near Ayers rock in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, reports the Adelaide Herald this morning.

The gigantic hominid specimen that measures an incredible 5.3 meters tall (17 foot and 4 inches) was discovered near the ancient ruins of the only megalithic civilization ever discovered in Australia, which makes the discovery twice as puzzling admits professor Hans Zimmer of the University of Adelaide.

“The discovery of the Uluru archeological site last year already took us by surprise, but this new find is just jaw-dropping” he admits, visibly dumbfounded.

“Theoretically, a five-meter-tall hominid cannot exist. How did this occur? How is this possible. Although this discovery is fascinating, we are left with more questions than answers” he concedes.

The discovery of a 5-meter tall human skeleton near Ayers rock is the largest skeleton ever found and leaves scientists with “more questions than answers” concedes Hans Zimmer, professor of Archeology at the University of Adelaide

Some experts have hypothesized that the specimen might have suffered from an extreme case of gigantism, a condition caused by the over-production of growth hormones, a theory professor Hans Zimmer dismisses as “pure speculation”.

“Only further research can help us uncover the truth behind this anomaly of nature. Until we have found more skeletal remains, we should not rush ourselves into hazardous explanations” he told local reporters.

“We have found several incomplete skeletons, of which the bones were also of gigantic size. It seems a major catastrophe has completely washed away all traces of this lost and unknown civilization” he notes.

“This specimen is apparently not unique, it is but a question of time before we find a similar specimen” he firmly believes.

The Uluru archeological site, unearthed in 2014 by a team of researchers from the Australian National University, led to the discovery of a previously unknown megalithic civilization that could help solve the mystery of the estranged discovery.

“We have unearthed last February a megalithic block that is estimated to weight an approximate 80 tons.

The basalt qualities of the monolith are found only 200 km away.

How did they move this huge block hundreds of kilometers into the desert, what technologies did this civilization use? We cannot properly answer these questions at the present moment” admits John Thomas Buckler, head archeologist during the 2014 excavation.

Some specialists believe a major catastrophe is the cause of the destruction of the Uluru civilization, turning the whole region from a rich fertile land into a sterile desert at the time

“Ferrous deposits are found all over the Australian desert, which possibly proves some sort of meteorite impact in the region” explains Sydney-based researcher, Allan DeGroot.

“The analysis of geological deposits confirm a large impact in the region between 3,500 and 2,500 years ago” admits the leading expert.

“The catastrophic destruction revealed by traces of vitrification and high levels of radiation at the ruins of the Uluru archeological site clearly lead us to believe both events are intimately linked together” he concludes.

The radioactive qualities of the skeleton remains have made the scientists work extremely complicated, but Hans Zimmer’s team hopes international cooperation with other major universities could help solve the enigma of the giant remains much sooner by giving the team access to technologies that are not available in Australia for the moment.

Washington, D.C. | Recently released remote sensing photography of NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission in Antarctica led to a fascinating discovery when images revealed what some experts believe could be the existence of a possible ancient human settlement lying beneath an impressive 2.3 kilometers of ice.

The intriguing discovery was made during aircraft tests trials of NASA’s Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) lidar technology set to be launched on the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) in 2017, that aims to monitor changes in polar ice.

“There’s very little margin for error when it comes to individual photons hitting on individual fiber optics, that is why we were so surprised when we noticed these abnormal features on the lidar imagery,” explains Nathan Borrowitz, IceBridge’s project scientist and sea ice researcher with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“As of now we can only speculate as to what these features are but the launching of ICESat-2 in 2017 could lead to other major discoveries and a better understanding of Antarctica’s geomorphological features” he adds.

Although NASA scientist Nathan Borrowitz claims the infrared images are definitely intriguing, other experts claim they are clearly the proof of ancient human engineering

A human settlement buried under 2.3 km of ice

Leading archeologist, Ashoka Tripathi, of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Calcutta believes the images show clear evidence of an ancient human settlement beneath the ice sheet.

“These are clearly features of some sort of human-made structure, resembling some sort of pyramidal structure. The patterns clearly show nothing we should expect from natural geomorphological formations found in nature. We clearly have here evidence of human engineering. The only problem is that these photographs were taken in Antarctica under 2 kilometers of ice. That is clearly the puzzling part, we do not have any explanation for this at the moment,” he admits.

“These pictures just reflect a small portion of Antarctica’s total land mass. There are possibly many other additional sites that are covered over with ice. It just shows us how easy it is to underestimate both the size and scale of past human settlements,” says Dr. Tripathi.

Remnants of a lost civilization

Historian and cartographer at the University of Cambridge, Christopher Adam, believes there might be a rational explanation.

The map of Turkish admiral Piri Reis in 1513 AD shows the “ice less” coastline of Antarctica

“One of history’s most puzzling maps is that of the Turkish admiral Piri Reis in 1513 AD which successfully mapped the coastline of Antarctica over 500 years ago. What is most fascinating about this map is that it shows the coastline of Antarctica without any ice. How is this possible when images of the subglacial coastline of Antarctica were only seen for the first time after the development of ground-penetrating radar in 1958? Is it possible Antarctica has not always been covered under such an ice sheet? This could be evidence that it is a possibility” he acknowledges.

« A slight pole shift or displacement of the axis of rotation of the Earth in historical times is possibly the only rational explanation that comes to mind but we definitely need more research done before we jump to any conclusion.”

ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2), part of NASA’s Earth Observing System, is a planned satellite mission for measuring ice sheet mass elevation, sea ice freeboard as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics, and is set to launch in may 2017.

Cairo, Egypt | A team of archeologists at the University of Cairo lead by Egyptologist Nabir Ibn Al-Sammud has uncovered ancient papyri and a number of stone palettes dating back to 3,500 BC which could prove ancient Egyptians might have lived amongst dinosaurs.

Astonishingly, the papyri were written by men who participated in the building of the Great Pyramid, the tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu, and mention the use of “beastly creatures” of “enormous size” according to Professor Al-Sammud.

The outlandish claim would have been rapidly dismissed if it did not come from one of Egyptology’s most eminent figures and has definitely come as a surprise to the scientific community.

“ I understand our present view of human history is completely different from what we are proposing, but based on these ancient papyri we must consider the possibility that dinosaurs may have lived amongst ancient Egyptians and were possibly tamed to carry the huge blocks that compose the pyramids ”

– Professor Nabir Al-Sammud, Egyptologist

The Narmer Palette, also known as the Great Hierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found and also believed by some to depict living dinosaurs.

An unexpected discovery

Surprisingly, the discovery of the ancient papyri and 26 stone cosmetic palettes bearing carved decoration and hieroglyphic writings was made in a nearby cave only a few kilometers outside modern Cairo.

The team of researchers believe that the caves had served as a kind of boat storage depot during the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, about 4,600 years ago.

“We unearthed entire rolls of papyrus, some a few feet long and still relatively intact, written in hieroglyphics as well as hieratic, the cursive script the ancient Egyptians used for everyday communication,” explains phD student Fatima Al-Faya.

The papyri also mention “the noble Ankh-haf,” who was known to be the half-brother of the Pharaoh Khufu and is described as overseeing some of the construction of the Great Pyramid.

Ra Nt-Ka, the “God Beast”

The most surprising portions of the ancient texts and stone palettes are concerning Ra Nt-Ka, translated as “God beast” which was presumably tamed and used to carry the large limestone blocks that compose the pyramids.

“For centuries it was presumed that Ra Nt-Ka was possibly a whale, but here we have descriptions of Ra Nt-Ka delving in water as well as on land, and the papyri mention that the animal “of great stature” was used to carry materials used during the construction of the pyramids,” explains Prof Al-Sammud, visibly exhilarated.

“They are described as tamed beasts of burden who “eat of the Niles grass”, whose tail when lashed “can kill an army of men” and “whose necks reach out to the sky”, which lets us believe the creature could depict a species of brontosaurus of some kind” he adds.

Dinosaurs in Egypt

This incredible discovery occurs  decades after paleontologists have unearthed the first fossils of a colossal new species of dinosaur in Egypt, one of the heaviest creatures to have walked the Earth.

Its name, Paralititan, means tidal giant. The long-necked, long-tailed vegetarian could have straddled a modern African elephant, say experts.

“We can’t speculate if this is the species of dinosaur that may have lived amongst ancient Egyptians but fossil remains are fairly prevalent in the Nile region and these amphibious beasts were definitely common in the area at one time” explains fellow Egyptologist, Helmut Ferrlug of the University of Berlin.

One recent skeleton finding in 2014 proved to be a new species of Titanosaurus, a group of long-necked, long-tailed, plant-eating dinosaurs that includes some of the largest animals ever. The period in which Paralititan lived is still a mystery to paleontologists.

Chitral| Archaeologists excavating at a prehistoric site in the Hindu Kush mountains, have discovered what could be the most ancient proof of intentional use of a psychoactive substance by humans. While searching the site of a Paleolithic settlement estimated to be 120 000 years old, scientists discovered seeds, resin and ashes, associated to the indica subspecies of the cannabis sativa plant.

Discovered on the shores of the Kunar river in December 2013, in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the site is one of the oldest ever found in South Asia. According to Professor Muzaffar Kambarzahi of the National Institute of Historical & Cultural Research (NIHCR) of the Quaid-i-Azam University, in charge of the team of scientists excavating the site, the various caves composing the settlement would have been inhabited for more than 2500 years during neolithic period. The historian has already elaborated a theory to explain the presence of cannabis on the site:

“According to the location and context in which the cannabis was found, leads us to believe it was used for ritual purposes. It seems that the occupants of the site threw large quantities of leaves, buds and resin in the fireplace situated on the far end of the cave, filling the entire site with psychotropic smoke.”

A chemical analysis executed on a small pottery jar found in the tomb of what seems to be a local chieftain or shaman, revealed that the vessel contained cannabis resin, also known as hashish, suggesting the plant was also associated with burial ceremonies and possibly other sacred rituals.

A wide variety of different Tools have been found on the site, including hand axes, knives, scrapers, spear points, sickles and querns.

The oldest evidence of the inhalation of cannabis smokes known before the discovery of this new site, is to be found in the 3rd millennium BCE, as indicated by charred cannabis seeds found in a ritual brazier at an ancient burial site in present day Romania. In 2003, a leather basket filled with cannabis leaf fragments and seeds was found next to a 2,500- to 2,800-year-old mummified shaman in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Evidence for the consumption of cannabis has also been found in Egyptian mummies dated about 950 BC. Cannabis is also known to have been used by the ancient Hindus of India and Nepal thousands of years ago. The herb was called ganjika in Sanskrit.