Weird Finds That Give Us More Questions Than Answers

Bright Side

Amateur archaeologists in eastern England found something super weird while digging through old Roman stuff: a bronze object with 12 flat faces, about the size of a fist. It turned out to be a Roman dodecahedron, an object that's been confusing experts for centuries. Since the first one was found in 1739, around 130 have been discovered all over Northern and Western Europe. Despite being from Roman times, no one knows what they were used for—there's nothing written about them or any pictures of them in ancient texts. This mystery just gives us more questions than answers, and it's not the only one of its kind!  Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00You know how it goes.

00:02As the years pass, common knowledge slips away faster than you can say, what's that

00:06thingamajig for?

00:08Just think, our grandkids will probably be scratching their heads over the buttons on

00:12our old school phones!

00:14So it's no wonder that some ancient artifacts have got us all stumped too!

00:20Take a look at this funky object.

00:23Any guesses on what it is?

00:25A musical instrument, a toy, or maybe something out of this world?

00:30Beats me, and even the experts have no exact answer.

00:33This little guy is a Roman dodecahedron, discovered by some amateur archaeologists near Lincoln,

00:39England.

00:40It's shaped like a fist and made of a mix of metals.

00:44Now as for what this thingy was used for, that's the million dollar question.

00:49Supposedly, these guys were all the rage back in the day in Northern Gaul and Roman Germany.

00:55According to some ancient maps, similar dodecahedrons have turned up in Europe, Britain, and even

01:00along the Maritime Silk Road in Southeast Asia.

01:05The plot thickens as more and more of these dodecahedrons pop up.

01:10Some had wax inside, leading scientists to think they were candle holders.

01:14Others think they might have been used for knitting gloves, since none have been found

01:19in warmer regions.

01:20There's even one found in Geneva with zodiac signs etched on it, sparking some woo-woo

01:25theories about fortune-telling.

01:28And now a fresh discovery has got everyone's head spinning.

01:32Could this be some kind of sacred tool for the Romans?

01:35Who knows?

01:36Maybe it's the first multi-tool ever, invented way before Swiss army knives were a thing.

01:43Carved stone balls from Scotland are another historical mystery.

01:47They most likely date back to the late Neolithic period and come in various types, from sandstone

01:53to granite.

01:54They're all roughly the same size and have intricate, evenly spaced patterns of circular

01:59bosses or knobs.

02:01Most of these designs have 6 bosses, but the number can range from 3 to 160.

02:07Some of these balls are more skillfully crafted than others, and a few even have extra decorations.

02:13There are over 400 carved stone balls and mostly found in Scotland, although some have

02:18turned up in Northern England and Ireland.

02:22These stone balls rarely show signs of damage or use, and there are no clues that would

02:26give away their function.

02:28Most experts think they weren't practical tools, but had some symbolic or social importance.

02:34Probably a sign of power or prestige within their communities.

02:39The Fulcton drums are the three stone cylinders from Neolithic Britain, discovered in the

02:44late 19th century in a burial mound in East Yorkshire.

02:49Nothing similar has been found anywhere else in the British Isles, from any prehistoric

02:53period.

02:54Each drum is decorated with unique designs covering the sides and domed tops.

02:59The decorations are mostly geometric, arranged in panels with stylized human faces peeking

03:04out from two of the drums.

03:07Recent studies of the artifacts using new technologies show that the designs had been

03:11carved and re-carved over time.

03:14A team of experts also analyzed the composition of the drums, and it turns out that they were

03:19made from local chalk.

03:23In the Late Bronze Age in Europe, long before coins became common, finely crafted metal

03:28objects served as portable wealth and symbols of high status.

03:33Across Europe, archaeologists have found all sorts of artifacts.

03:38From gold adornments worn by elites to large bronze cauldrons used in feasts.

03:43Beautifully decorated gold rings discovered in Wales are among these items.

03:48They're known as lock rings and may have been used to hold hair.

03:52Now they're flattened after spending nearly 3,000 years underground.

03:56They used to have cone-shaped openings at each end.

04:00They were found at different times, but were likely worn as a pair and buried together

04:04in a single hoard.

04:07Other Roman artifacts made of the copper alloy were first cataloged as lunate pendants.

04:13But during a recent re-examination, experts found that these items were actually small

04:18mortar and pestle sets, known as cosmetic grinders.

04:23They were used to grind minerals for makeup and were specifically designed for applying

04:27liner and shadows to the eyes.

04:30They were mistaken for pendants because of suspension loops that allowed them to be carried

04:34on a cord.

04:35These cosmetic sets from the first century of the current era were unique to Britain.

04:40They prove the influence of imported cosmetics and beauty trends from the Mediterranean and

04:45Roman provinces, including Egypt.

04:49The Salzburg Cube, also known as the Wolfsegg Iron, was discovered in the late 19th century

04:55in Austria.

04:56It doesn't really look like a cube, but is more like a rounded object with two flat sides.

05:02On the middle, it has a groove, and the surface is covered with pits and craters.

05:07Workers accidentally found this artifact when they blew apart a piece of coal.

05:12The coal seam it came from is thought to be over 60 million years old.

05:17The Salzburg Cube moved between museums, mysteriously vanished in the early 20th century, and then

05:23showed up again.

05:25Some researchers thought it must be a Victorian-era candlestick holder, but still, no one knows

05:30the true story of the cube or its current location.

05:36Archaeologists have unearthed an incredible historical find in Pakistan, an ancient sphinx

05:42estimated to be around 12,500 years old.

05:45The region where it was found was once a busy center of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.

05:51It had advanced urban planning, intricate art, and sophisticated drainage systems.

05:56The discovery of the ancient sphinx is a good example of their progressive art.

06:01We all know of the Great Sphinx of Giza, but what was the significance of the sphinx in

06:06the Indus Valley culture?

06:09Their sphinx has designs and carvings that show scenes with their daily activities, which

06:14means it may have had a more complex role than a symbol of power or guardian.

06:19It could stand for a balance between humans and nature, or even a deity associated with

06:25agriculture.

06:27Arraka in Chile sits on the sandy dunes of the Atacama Desert, known as the driest desert

06:34in the world.

06:36Long before this coastal town was built in the 16th century, the Sinchoro people called

06:41this region their home.

06:43Archaeologists found hundreds of their mummies.

06:45Radiocarbon dating showed that these mummies are over 7,000 years old, which makes them

06:512,000 years older than the famous Egyptian mummies.

06:55The Sinchoro used special techniques to preserve the mummies, not just relying on the dry climate

07:00for that.

07:02And unlike the Egyptians, they didn't just do it for the elite members of their society,

07:06but for everyone, no matter what age or status they had.

07:10The local people living in Arraka now are so used to finding mummies in their backyards

07:15that they don't feel weird about living among them.

07:19In the winter of 1850, a powerful storm with extra high tides hit the west coast of Orkney,

07:26Scotland.

07:27The wind and waves ripped away the surf, covering a mound and revealed stone-built structures

07:32beneath.

07:33A local antiquarian decided to dig up the village that he thought was from the Iron

07:38Age.

07:39He managed to unearth the remains of four houses and many artifacts from two villages.

07:45The villages had been buried under sand, so everything was really well preserved.

07:50Carbon dating wasn't a thing back then yet, so it was tricky to tell the exact age of

07:55the villages.

07:56Almost a century later, with new tech, researchers were finally able to tell that the place was

08:01actually from Neolithic times.

08:04You can still see stone dressers and box beds in the prehistoric houses.

08:09Archaeologists and historians working on the famous Terracotta Army think that it might

08:14have been inspired by or modeled on ancient Greek sculptures.

08:19It would mean there was a cultural contact between East and West much earlier than we

08:24thought, long before the Silk Road trade route.

08:27There was probably Western influence in China during the era of its first emperor, who took

08:33the throne in 246 before the current era.

08:37Before that time, China didn't have a tradition of building life-sized sculptures.

08:42Other terracotta soldiers were much smaller, less than 10 inches tall.

08:47Greek artists might have even been present to train Chinese sculptors!

08:51That's it for today!

08:53So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

08:57friends!

08:58Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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