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![]() | Her body, surrounded by jewelry, gold ear flares, a copper ceremonial ax, a silver goblet and weaving tools fashioned from gold, was found in a private chamber. Her skeleton revealed that she had a strong upper body and spent most of life seated, indicating that she could had been a weaver — a position of great renown among the Wari, who revered textiles more than gold and silver. |
![]() | Experts spent 220 hours hand-crafting the features of the noblewoman, who was at least 60 years old when she died, using a 3D-printed cast of her skull and data on her bone and muscle structure. | ![]() |
![]() A winged creature adorns an ear ornament worn by an elite Wari woman. | The Wari lords have long been overshadowed by the later Inca. But in the 8th and 9th centuries A.D., the Wari built an empire that spanned much of present-day Peru. Their Andean capital, Huari, became one of the world's great cities. At its zenith, Huari boasted a population conservatively estimated at about 40,000 people. Paris, by comparison, had just 25,000 residents at the time.![]() | ![]() |
| In 2016 more than 60 skeletons inside a tomb were found, including three Wari queens buried with gold and silver jewellery and brilliantly-painted ceramics. Many mummified bodies were found sitting upright - indicating royalty.![]() | ![]() |
![]() | The archaeologists say the tomb was found in El Castillo de Huarmey, about 280km (175 miles) north of Lima. Forensic archaeologist Wieslaw Wieckowski says the way other bodies were positioned indicated human sacrifice. In all, the archaeological team has found the remains of the Wari queens, gold pieces, ceramics and skeletons about 1,300 years old. | ![]() |
![]() | Six of the skeletons in the grave were not in the textiles. They were placed on the top of the other burials in very strange positions. Experts believe that they were sacrifices. The Wari civilization thrived from the 7th to 10th centuries AD, conquering all of what is now Peru before a mysterious and dramatic decline. | ![]() |
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![]() Sandals, gold sheet, New Kingdom, circa 1479–1425 BCE. | The most famous golden sandals came from the tombs of the queens of Thutmose III. The 18th-dynasty ruler buried his wives in sandals of sheet gold, engraved and embossed to mimic luxury leather footwear. Golden sandals were often accompanied by small golden “caps” for the fingers and toes. These are called finger and toe stalls. They protected the extremities of the mummy. According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the dead were supposed to be entombed as complete bodies. |
![]() Tutankhamun's sandals. | ![]() |
![]() | In 2016 researchers found a mass grave near Athens containing 79 skeletons. The wrists of the skeletons were all bound in iron shackles. Archaeologists believe they were part of a mass execution. | ![]() |
![]() | The skeletons were found in the Falyron Delta necropolis, between Athens and the port of Piraeus. It’s believed the victims were part of a failed coup plot, supporters of Cylon, who attempted to take over Athens. Cylon was an Athenian noble who attempted to seize power in the city in 632 BCE, where his father-in-law, Theagenes, was tyrant. The coup was opposed, and Cylon and his supporters took refuge in Athena's temple on the Acropolis. Cylon and his brother escaped, but his followers were cornered by Athens' nine archons and killed. |
| The grisly find is a rare and extraordinary one. Greece’s Central Archaeological Council announced construction of an underground “shell” which will permanently protect and display the skeletons. | ![]() |
![]() | As one of the most famous drivers in Roman history, Scorpus earned huge amounts of money. Scorpus is also known for dying young, at 26. Scorpus was a slave, as were many charioteers, and was born in Spain. | ![]() |
![]() ![]() | Eventually he bought his freedom, becoming a libertus (freed slave). Although the cause of Scorpus' death is unknown, it is likely to have been in one of the numerous crashes that occurred during chariot races. The Romans called these naufragia "shipwrecks".![]() | ![]() |
![]() | The Gold Penny, or Mancus of 30 Pence, was unearthed by a metal detectorist in a field near West Dean in March 2020. Weighing 4.82g, it was struck between 802 and 839 during the reign of Ecgberht, King of the West Saxons. Thought to be the only late Anglo-Saxon gold coin in private hands, it is expected to fetch between £150,000 and £200,000 at auction on 8 September. Struck at a West Saxon mint, the coin bears the King's title 'Ecgbeorht Rex' around a monogram of the word Saxon. Only eight other known gold coins were struck in England between 630 and 1257, seven of which are now held at the British museum. |
![]() | Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii in ash and pumice, advanced imaging technology is bringing to life the victims of the devastating eruption. About 2,000 people died in Pompeii, yet only 1,150 individuals have been discovered since the mid 19th-century excavations. Pompeii was buried under 8 to 9 feet of material with bodies encased in layers of hardened pumice and ash. Scientists found that their decayed corpses left voids. They poured plaster into the cavities, creating plaster casts of the impression in the ash. | ![]() |
![]() | The pictures of horror and death are now being investigated for the first time with a 16-layer CAT technology. Among the victims scanned was a boy about four years old. The boy was found next to an adult male and female, likely his parents, and to an infant who appeared to be asleep on his mother's lap. CT scans revealed his clothes and striking details of his skeleton. | ![]() |
![]() | The investigation also showed that many victims, who were rushing out of their houses in a desperate attempt to escape, were killed by severe head injuries, most likely rubble that fell from collapsing buildings and roofs. Results also suggest that Pompeii's people were healthy, with nearly perfect teeth. | ![]() |
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![]() | Zach Moore found the gold coin on July 16 in about 30 feet of water. The last Atocha gold coin was recovered from the site in 2001. The coin is the 121st Atocha gold coin found. It may be worth as much as $90k. ![]() |