Discoveries That Could Change History

While we may all enjoy what is taking place in the contemporary world right now, whether that be the books being written or some chart-topping Netflix productions; the players and teams that dominate the multi-billion sports industry, distinguished actors who have made Hollywood a household name, or the current technological cauldron that features Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning, our fascination with history still does not seem to be going away anytime soon. Perhaps it could be because of our close association with the current events. Familiarity, as is often mentioned, breeds contempt. But when it comes to the pyramids of Egypt, for instance, our curiosity antennas are suddenly on overdrive. Fortunately, our obsession with history has unearthed quite a number of dazzling discoveries. In this article, we reveal seven discoveries that could change history.

Discovery Of 4,500-Year-Old Sumerian Palace In Iraq

Sumeria, according to several historical records, is the civilization that invented the art of writing. That was approximately 3400 B.C. Of course, it was rudimentary and made use of reeds and clay tablets. However, it was truly epoch-making and gave us such celebrated literary marvels as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Well, in what could deepen our understanding of the Sumerian Civilization, archeologists in 2022 discovered the ruins of the lost Sumerian Palace of the Kings. Besides the incredible palace, archeologists unearthed more than 200 clay tablets as well as the main temple dedicated to the Sumerian god, Ninĝirsu. The discoveries were made in the ancient city of Girsu, one of the first cities on Earth and a major center of Sumerian culture and society. The palace is thought to contain a shrine to Gilgamesh, the best-known of all ancient Mesopotamian heroes. This discovery could help fill gaps in the Epic of Gilgamesh itself and give us a closer peek into the Cradle of Civilization.

Gunung Padang: Could This Be A Lost Ancient Civilization Finally Found?

When we think of ancient civilizations, we tend to romanticize such ancient civilizations as the Sumerian Civilization, which goes back approximately 4,500 B.C., and is credited with giving us the written word; the Indus Valley Civilization, which goes back approximately 3,300 B.C., and whose cities are thought to have sheltered up to 50,000 residents, and of course, the Ancient Egyptians, who built amazing pyramids and invented a system of hieroglyphics. Well, what if there is a civilization that predates all these? Interestingly, this might just be the case. In the Southeast Asian country of Indonesia, there is a hill called Gunung Padang — whose top is strewn with stone-age columns. What lies beneath this hill, however, could possibly be one of the oldest structures on Earth. These ruins contain human-made chambers that are thought to be up to 26,000 years old. If the ongoing excavations reveals the ruins of an ancient civilization, that civilization could predate the Ice Age. This could change history forever because historians have always believed that civilizations sprung up after the last major Ice Age, about 11,500 BCE.

A Sri Lankan Cave Provides The Earliest Evidence Of Bowhunting In Southeast Asia

Archeologists believed the earliest evidence of bowhunting in Southeast Asia dated to 32,000 years ago. However, this assumption could be discarded if the latest revelation from a Sri Lankan cave is anything to go by. Scientists have now discovered hundreds of arrowheads around a Sri Lankan rainforest cave known as Fa-Hien Lena. Scientists believe South Africa still presents the earliest evidence of bow-and-arrow technology; a 64,000-year-old invention. However, the recent Sri Lankan discovery, which archeologists have tentatively dated at 48,000 years, may push Southeast Asia’s bow-and-arrow technology closer to that of South Africa. But it is not just that. This discovery may also prove that the cave’s inhabitants made and wore clothes. Previous to this, archeologists often associated cloth-wearing to colder regions of the world.

An Egyptian Tunnel May Finally Reveal Cleopatra’s Tomb

Immortalized in literature by some of history’s finest authors such as William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw, Cleopatra, to a history enthusiast, is the embodiment of love, wit, charisma, and of course, beauty. Shakespeare wrote that.age could not “wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety." By all accounts, Cleopatra has been among Ancient Egypt’s most intriguing personas. His love affair with Mark Anthony is among the most written and talked about in all history. Historians know that when Mark Anthony died in her arms, Cleopatra committed suicide, and procured death from the fatal bite of a venomous snake. However, her tomb has hitherto been an elusive mystery. That could change following the discovery of a network of underground tunnels in Egypt’s ruined city of Taposiris Magna archeologists hold may lead to the discovery of Cleopatra’s tomb.

Roman Military Camps In The Arabian Desert Reveals Hitherto Unknown Military Campaign

Once upon a time, the Nabataeans, Arabian nomads from the Negev Desert, controlled large swathes of the Middle East, right from modern-day Israel, to the northernmost parts of the Arabian Peninsula. They were known for their splendid irrigation systems as well as their ingenious networks of water capture. The Nabataeans would establish their capital in Petra, a city tucked away in the rugged desert canyons— prevalent in the southwestern corner of Jordan. Petra, in its glory days, was among the most important trading cities. That was between the 4th century B.C. to the first century A.D.— before Rome would finally take possession of the city. While it has always been known that the transfer of power was bloodless, the discovery in the area of fortified military camps by the University of Oxford researchers could upend all we have known — and reveal a hitherto unknown military campaign.

A Discovered Christian Monastery In UAE May Indicate Earlier Presence Of Christianity In The Arab World

If you have heard or read that early Christians were hurried out of the Gulf, forced to convert, or slaughtered like bulls, you are not alone. This has always been the predominant perception. However, if recent discoveries on a natural island situated off the coast of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates is anything to go by, we might have been dead wrong. In a remarkable discovery, archeologists recently unearthed an ancient Christian monastery in the area. Among the finds were a single-aisle church, rooms that appear to hold a baptismal font, and an oven, possibly for baking communion bread. According to carbon dating samples, the monastery’s foundation was laid anywhere between 534 A.D. and 656 A.D., a couple of years before the birth of Prophet Muhammad. Now, this is what could be incredible: The Arabs-built monastery seemed to have just been abandoned. There is zero evidence of violence. This points to a period when Christianity and Islam peacefully coexisted, and upends previous convert-or-perish notions.

DNA Reveals That The Nomads Who Pushed China To Erect the Great Wall Were Multi-ethnic

Scientists who sequenced the genomes of individuals buried in the cemeteries dug up along the western boundaries of the Xiongnu empire —  in present-day Mongolia —found extreme levels of genetic diversity. The Xiongnu empire was among the first to control the Eastern Eurasian Steppe and boasted extensive trade networks that stretched to Egypt, Rome, and Persia. According to Chinese historical records, the Chinese put up the Great Wall to protect themselves from repeated attacks by the Xiongnu nomads. Since the Xiongnu were a nomadic people, and therefore supposedly inferior, at least according to widely-held notions about nomads, they had often been misunderstood. The latest finding, therefore, sheds light on how the  Xiongnu grew as a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual entity — to the ultimate pinnacle of power.

The Takeaway

Every breathing human being, to an extent, is a historian. We all want to know where we came from, right from our great-grandparents to the dim reaches of time. We want to know how people lived before us, what kind of cities they built, and what kind of beliefs they held. If we figure this out, we may just figure out a piece of our collective selves. Fortunately, thanks to science, and to technological advancements, we have been discovering a lot about our history. Some of these discoveries could alter history as we know it. From the Egyptian tunnels that may direct us to Cleopatra’s tomb, to ancient civilizations that possibly predate the Sumerian Civilization by centuries, we have much to learn and even much more to unlearn.