M.J. Rose

Our imaginations run wild with the thought that quite a bit of the ship’s cargo is still preserved beneath the sediment….

Archaeologists Make Stunning Discoveries at the Antikythera Shipwreck

(io9.com)

“The international team of divers and archaeologists who are investigating the site of an ancient Greek ship that sank more than 2,000 years ago off the remote island of Antikythera have not been disappointed. Not only is the site bigger than they thought, it also contains a treasure trove of artifacts.

First, an explanation for that awesome image you see above. The ship, a luxury cargo vessel carrying Greek treasures from the coast of Asia Minor west to Rome, sank in bad water around 70 to 60 BC in some rather deep water. The ship is located at a depth unsafe for human divers — 55 meters (180 feet) — so the team at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) utilized a diving exosuit. It uses rebreather technology in which carbon dioxide is scrubbed from the exhaled air while oxygen is introduced and recirculated. This allowed the divers to explore the site for up to three hours at a time…”

For the complete piece and some incredible photos, please click here.

Have You Heard of The Concho Stone? Neither had we, and in fact, hardly anyone has heard of it and less so have actually seen it — the stone has been purposefully covered with earth for the last fifty years in order to allude vandals. It may finally be uncovered at last…

Will 5000-year-old Cochno Stone carving see the light of day once more?

(Ancient Origins)

“With dozens of grooved spirals, carved indentations, geometric shapes, and mysterious patterns of many kinds, the Cochno Stone, located in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, is considered to have the finest example of Bronze Age cup and ring carvings in the whole of Europe. Yet, for the last 50 years it has laid buried beneath several feet of earth and vegetation in what was a desperate attempt at the time to protect it from vandals. However, according to a report in The Scotsman, the local council is now considering whether to reveal the spectacular stone once again.

The stone, which measures 42ft by 26ft, was first discovered by the Rev James Harvey in 1887 on farmland near what is now the Faifley housing estate on the edge of Clydebank. It is covered in more than 90 carved indentations, known as ‘cup and ring’ marks.

Cup and ring marks are a form of prehistoric art consisting of a concave depression, no more than a few centimetres across, carved into a rock surface and often surrounded by concentric circles also etched into the stone. The decoration occurs as a petroglyph on natural boulders and outcrops, and on megaliths such as the slab cists, stone circles, and passage graves. They are found mainly in Northern England, Scotland, Ireland, Portugal, North West Spain, North West Italy, Central Greece, and Switzerland. However, similar forms have also been found throughout the world including Mexico, Brazil, and India…”

– See the rest, here.

Coffins in sealed tombs tossed about like toys?

We’re intrigued….

The Mysterious Moving Coffins of Barbados

“Graves and cemeteries are inherently spooky places. Even the best kept and cleanest ones carry with them some intangible air of death and decay. They are reminders of our mortality and where we will end up some day after we’ve cast off our mortal coil. These places are even spookier when they carry unexplained, supernatural mysteries. Graves, tombs, and cemeteries have long been known as places for paranormal or ghostly occurrences, and to find one of the more bizarre cases, one only has to look to the Caribbean paradise of Barbados.

Barbados is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the southern Caribbean Sea and is best known as a sun-kissed, tropical island paradise popular among tourists and travelers aboard cruise ships. It is lesser known for its mysterious burial vault long known for the bizarre and unexplainable phenomena associated with it. In the early 19th century, starting from the year 1807, the Chase Family Vault in the Christ Church Parish cemetery of Barbados, quickly gained notoriety as a hotbed of supernatural activity, and has become one of the most enduring and enigmatic mysteries on the island…”

For the complete piece click here to go to Mysterious Universe.