HISTORY. The most macabre archaeological finds.

I propose to recall the most frightening archaeological finds. Some of them turned the notion of the centuries past.

The Italian girl is a "witch"

This finding itself, perhaps, is not the most creepy. But it is an illustrative example of how in medieval Europe struggled with "witches". In the south of Italy, the commune of San Calogero, in 2015, a skeleton belonging to a girl aged 15-17 was found. There lived a "sorceress" about the 9th-15th centuries. It was burnt, the body was thrown into a pit, and the grave itself was covered with heavy plates, so that "the witch could not rise." In addition, other methods of combating "otherworldly forces" were used. Victims, for example, beheaded, put a brick in their mouth or dismembered them.

Scientists analyzed the remains and came to the conclusion that the deceased was not quite well. The unfortunate patient suffered from a hyperopia, which was the result of iron deficiency anemia. The girl's face was obviously rather pale, and besides, she periodically fainted. Probably, it was the disease that caused the accusations of witchcraft. And such a fate in the Middle Ages could comprehend anyone. By the way, a year earlier in the same area archaeologists found the remains of a thirteen-year-old girl, buried face down. This circumstance also suggests thoughts of accusations of witchcraft.

On the photo: Skeleton of the 13-year-old "witch" / © Pinterest

Ötzi

The Ötzi ice man is one of the most famous mummies of all time. Found it quite by accident: German tourists stumbled upon a mummy in the Ötztal Alps in 1991. The remains were preserved so well that at first they took Ötzi for the deceased climber. However, as subsequently shown by radiocarbon analysis, the age of the find is approximately 5300 years. Thus, before us is the oldest of the mummies found in Europe. It looks Ötzi, like a creature from other worlds. As for the cause of the death of an ice man, scientists point to an arrow launched into his shoulder. The tip went very deep, and the unfortunate man could not pull it out.

A really terrible find was when she was associated with a series of mysterious deaths that occurred with people who in one way or another contacted with Ötzi. Someone became a victim of an accident, someone fell under the avalanche, and some became victims of various diseases. Meanwhile, the "curse of Ötzi" was skeptically received by experts. In the end, thousands of specialists worked with the mummy, and only a small part of them became victims of accidents.

On the photo: Ötzi / © Cult-turist

Babies of Ashkelon

Probably, this is one of the most frightening finds of all time. It was made in 1988 during excavations in Ashkelon, located in the south of Israel. In the center of attention of scientists was the Roman sewer collector, where the waste from local baths. Under one of these institutions, thousands of bones belonging to babies were found: in all, it is believed that the remains of about 100 children were found there. Scientists believe that it was not a bath, but a kind of institution where newborns were killed. Now this sounds wild, but at that time the child was considered inanimate immediately after birth, and if his father did not recognize it, then the baby could be killed.

According to one version, among the murdered were the children of local prostitutes, and the institution itself was a public house. In this case, the male babies were killed at once, but girls could be left to join the ranks of the "priestesses of love" in the future. In general, in the Roman Empire, infanticide was quite common. One of the first to condemn this custom was the Greek-Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (about 25 BC - about 50 AD). Subsequently, this practice was severely blamed by adherents of the Christian religion.

On the photo: Ashkelon National Park / © Wikipedia

Mummy from Qilakitsoq

Qilakitsoq is an archaeological site on the Nuusuak Peninsula, located in the western part of Greenland. The monument gained fame after an eerie discovery, made in 1972. In the ice grave were found the remains of eight Eskimos, which date back to 1475. At the same time, four bodies survived extremely well: it happened because they were buried under a rock at a low temperature. So in this case there was lyophilization.

In the first of the graves (next to it was found one more) were found the bodies of six adults and two children. Especially eerie was the mummy of a six-month-old baby, who, according to the traditions of the Eskimos, could be buried alive. Probably, this is one of the most terrible finds in the history of archeology. We add that with high probability the child suffered from Down's syndrome. If we talk about adults, their mummies, among other things, are notable for tattoos on their faces. In the 2000s, a DNA analysis was carried out, revealing family ties between the buried.

Note that the burial contained a lot of information about the culture of the Eskimos. In particular, clothes made from skins of deer and other animals are well preserved. In total, scientists identified 78 items of clothing. Now four of the found mummies can be seen by visiting the National Museum of Greenland.

On the photo: Mummy of a six-month-old baby / © Wikipedia

"Screaming Mummy"

And this amazing finding was made quite a long time ago: the "screaming mummy" was discovered in 1886 by the French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero. Mysterious "Man E" (just such a designation was found) was buried in the Valley of the Pharaohs, about 500 km south of Cairo. Nearby were people of the royal family, but the sarcophagus with the remains of "Man E" was different from all the others. He was simple and not decorated. In addition, the mummy was wrapped in the skin of a sheep, and this animal in Ancient Egypt was considered unclean. But most researchers puzzled the appearance of "Man E": it seemed that the mummy exudes an almost tangible pain.

On the photo: "Screaming" mummy from Ancient Egypt / © Bigpicture

But who was this man? And why was he buried next to the rulers of Egypt? Scientists believe that the mummy may belong to the eldest son of Pharaoh Ramses III (1184-1153 BC). The fact is that a number of attempts were made against this ruler, in which, in particular, his son and wife took part. It is believed that some participants were spared, others were cut off by noses, and someone was executed. The son of Pharaoh was supposedly allowed to take poison: this is the reason for the painful expression of a person's face. But there is one more, more frightening guess. Some researchers believe that the unfortunate was buried alive, which explains the appearance of the mummy. The tomb did not contain the name of the buried. Consequently, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the path to immortality for this man was "ordered". We add that there are other examples of "screaming" mummies. Something similar, in particular, can be seen in the museum of the Mexican city of Guanajuato.