The Rongorongo script, the disappearance of the city of Helike, who Robin Hood really was… these are just some of the mysteries that humanity has yet to solve.
The Greatest Unsolved Mysteries in Human History
1. The Rongorongo Script
Considered another enigma of Easter Island, Rongorongo is the name of a hieroglyphic script created by the island’s first inhabitants. Rongorongo mysteriously appeared in the 1700s, at a time when residents of neighboring islands had no written language. This language has long since vanished, making the deciphering of the script seemingly hopeless. European colonizers banned the language due to its perceived pagan origins among the islanders.
2. How Did the City of Helike Disappear?
The Greek writer Pausanias described the scene of a terrifying earthquake that destroyed the city of Helike in one night, followed by a terrible tsunami that submerged all that remained of the once prosperous capital.
This capital of the Achaean League was a major center for the worship of the sea god Poseidon. Besides ancient Greek texts, there was no sign that this city ever existed until an archaeologist discovered Helike coins engraved with the head of Poseidon.
In 2001, two archaeologists identified the location of Helike beneath a layer of mud and gravel. Excavation work is ongoing, and scientists hope to learn about the rise and fall of the city, which some consider to be the legendary city of Atlantis.
3. The Bog Bodies
To date, hundreds of mummies – primarily from the Iron Age – have been discovered in the peat bogs of northern Europe. Most of these incredibly well-preserved mummies date back up to 2,000 years and bear traces of torture and violence. These chilling marks lead scientists to hypothesize that they were victims of ancient ritualistic sacrifices.
4. The Collapse of the Minoan Civilization
While historians continue to uncover more reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire, mystery still shrouds the disappearance of the Minoan Civilization. Approximately 3,500 years ago, an earthquake on the island of Thera was thought to have wiped out all life on Crete, the origin of the story about a king and the monster that devoured him. However, clay tablets discovered by archaeologists indicate that this empire still existed for about 50 years after the earthquake before vanishing completely. Theories about its collapse include a layer of volcanic ash leading to crop failure, or that they were conquered by the Greeks.
5. The Carnac Stones
The Stonehenge monument in England remains a mystery to scientists, but the Carnac alignment on the coast of Brittany in northwestern France is perhaps even more intriguing.
Over 3,000 megalithic stones are arranged in a perfect line stretching more than 12 km. Local legend tells that these stones are a Roman legion petrified by the wizard Merlin. One scientist, who has studied the site for over 30 years, hypothesizes that these stones were a tool for predicting earthquakes. The identity of the Neolithic people who constructed this monument still remains a mystery.
Who Was Robin Hood?
Historians continue to search for the legendary figure of Robin Hood, a forest outlaw who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, and the list of suspects is quite long. Among them are a fugitive named Robert Hod in Yorkshire, Hobbehod, and a Robert Hood from Wakefield. Filtering out names becomes increasingly complex because “Robin Hood” became a generic term for an outlaw, as in the case of William Le Fevre, who later changed his surname to RobeHod, according to court records. The search for this legendary figure is further complicated by later storytellers who embellished the narrative with additional characters, such as Prince John and Richard the Lionheart.
6. The Disappearance of a Roman Legion
After a less-than-stellar Roman army under General Crassus was defeated by the Parthians, it is believed that a small group of war prisoners wandered across the desert and eventually joined a Han Chinese army 17 years later. The 1st-century Chinese historian Ban Gu recorded an encounter with a strange army fighting in a “fish-scale” formation, a characteristic of the Roman military.
An Oxford University historian compared ancient documents and suggested that the Roman remnants built a small town called Liqian near the Gobi Desert (a Chinese transliteration of “Roman”). Scientists are currently conducting DNA tests to prove this hypothesis and to explain some characteristics of the current descendants: green eyes, blond hair, and a fondness for bullfighting.
7. The Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich manuscript is perhaps the most unreadable book in the world. This 500-year-old artifact was discovered in 1912 in a library in Rome, consisting of 240 pages of entirely unknown script and illustrations. Cryptographers have tirelessly tried to decipher this strange writing, but no one has succeeded. Some even consider it an ancient prank. However, analysis of the book suggests that the handwriting appears to follow the structures and rules of a real language.
8. The Tarim Basin Mummies
During an excavation beneath the Tarim Basin in western China, archaeologists discovered over 100 mummies more than 2,000 years old. Victor Mair, a university professor, was so surprised to encounter mummies with blond hair and long noses at a museum exhibition that in 1993 he returned to collect DNA samples.
DNA testing strengthened his hypothesis that these mummies possessed European genetic markers. Ancient Chinese texts from the 1st century BCE mention groups of white settlers called Bai, Yeuzhi, and Tocharians. However, there is still no explanation for why these people appeared here.
9. The Disappearance of the Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization stretched from western India to Afghanistan and had a population of up to 5 million people. It is the oldest known civilization of India. It wasn’t until 1922, when John Marshall excavated the city, that he discovered an incredibly “hygienic” culture. It had extremely complex drainage systems and perfectly designed bath tanks. What is strange is that there is no archaeological evidence of the existence of an army, kings, slaves, social conflict, or other common ancient vices.
10. The Star of Bethlehem Mystery
Many questions surrounding this star still need answers.
For Christians, the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem (the Christmas star) is a religious event that requires no explanation.
For nearly 2,000 years, this brightest star has remained a mystery. For scientists and non-Christians, many questions surrounding this star still need answers. From ancient times, the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem has attracted the attention of researchers in the fields of astronomy, history, and archaeology.
The great German astronomer Johannes Kepler believed that this star was a conjunction of two planets forming a new star. Modern scholars suggest it was an unidentified flying object. However, the scientific basis for these theories remains unconvincing to date. Therefore, the Star of Bethlehem continues to be a mystery.
Do any of these historical mysteries particularly intrigue you, or are there others you’d like to know more about?
