Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 17 hours ago
From statues that look strangely like aliens to ancient artifacts people still can’t understand how they were made to this day!
5. 1000 Egyptian Statues
An ancient cemetery located in the city of Minya near the Nile Valley in Egypt contains a range of family graves and tombs, and archaeologists began excavations around the area in late 2017. They found the tombs of the priest of Thoth who was the ancient god of wisdom and the moon.
One particular tomb had over 1000 statues as well as four alabaster jars that contained mummified internal organs. The archaeologists also found 40 sarcophagi that they believed belonged to the priest's family members with some bearing hieroglyphic descriptions. They also discovered more statues that depicted ancient priests, several coffins, and other funeral artifacts in yet another tomb. Four amulets holding semiprecious stones were also found, and one had the engraved phrase "Happy New Year."
4. Easter Island's Moai Statues
The Moai Statues on Easter Island are still considered as the most iconic and mysterious archeological discoveries. They are the main attraction of the remote and tree-less Easter Island in Chile. The ancient Rapa Nui people who inhabited the area between 1300 and 1500 A.D carved the statues. In total, 288 moai statues are standing on stone platforms in different regions of the island. Each of the figures stands at 13-feet tall and some weight as much as 80 tons.
The Rapa Nui used rocks from dormant volcanoes to carve the massive figures. It's the enormous size of the statues that make them a wonder because the ancient Rapa Nui people had to have found a way to position and move them around the island. Their D-shaped base is believed to allow the movement of the statues from side to side with the help of very strong ropes. Much more has been discovered about the figures, and a team of UCLA archaeologists who had been studying the moai for 9 years last year revealed that they might have acted as family gravestones of sorts.
3. Terracotta Army
An archaeological team that was excavating a site in Xian, China discovered what's now considered an epic funeral art. However, before the experts stepped in, farmers digging a water well just 0,93 miles from the Qin Emperor's tomb stumbled upon the terracotta figures in 1974. The archaeologists called in to investigate the site found thousands of soldier statues made of clay buried near emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb. The Terracotta army was meant to protect him from the various forces he'd encounter after death. The figures dated back to about 2,200 years ago.
Archaeologists also found assortments of real weapons alongside the clay soldiers. Government laborers and local craftsmen manufactured the terracotta army figures in workshops using local materials. They created the different body parts separately before finally piecing them together. When completed, they placed each statue in the pits in a precise military fashion. The army also occupies different corridors within the three of the four pits at the site. The fourth pit remains empty, but many other parts of Qin Shi Huang's tomb are yet to be excavated.
2. Mummified Monk Statue
It's an unnerving thought that all the ancient statues that have been discovered could possibly hide some unsettling secrets of the past. That's what recent studies are beginning to unveil, and the latest is the 1000-year old Buddha statue revealed to conceal a mummified monk inside. A scan covered the mummy encased inside a cavity within the figure after a private buyer took it to a restoration expert. It's also still unclear how the statue made its way out of China.
Researchers performed a CT scan that revealed the mummy sitting on a bundle of Chinese inscribed cloths. They also found out that the Buddhist monk was called Liuquan and they also believe he practiced self-mummification in readiness for the afterlife. The self-mummification process involves going on a special diet as well as drinking poisonous tea. Researchers also think that the mummy might have stayed exposed for worship in the temple for its first 200 years, and it wasn't until the 14th century when its transformation into a statue began. Presently, the figure is at the Budapest National Museum of Natural History.
1. Karijia Statues
The Utcubamba Valley in Peru is an archaeological site where eight Chachapoyan statues were discovered by the cliffside. The sarcophagi stand at 2.5-meters tall, and they are constructed of grasses, sticks, and clay. They also spot exaggerated jawlines, and they are painted white with overlaid details on their bodies. All the statues also have yellow ochre and red pigment adornment.
Luckily, their inaccessible placement height above a river gorge had a hand in preserving them. An earthquake resulted in one of the eight figures toppling over in 1928. Radiocarbon dating traced the statues back to the 12th century about the time of the Inca conquest.
From statues that look strangely like aliens to ancient artifacts people still can’t understand how they were made to this day!
5. 1000 Egyptian Statues
An ancient cemetery located in the city of Minya near the Nile Valley in Egypt contains a range of family graves and tombs, and archaeologists began excavations around the area in late 2017. They found the tombs of the priest of Thoth who was the ancient god of wisdom and the moon.
One particular tomb had over 1000 statues as well as four alabaster jars that contained mummified internal organs. The archaeologists also found 40 sarcophagi that they believed belonged to the priest's family members with some bearing hieroglyphic descriptions. They also discovered more statues that depicted ancient priests, several coffins, and other funeral artifacts in yet another tomb. Four amulets holding semiprecious stones were also found, and one had the engraved phrase "Happy New Year."
4. Easter Island's Moai Statues
The Moai Statues on Easter Island are still considered as the most iconic and mysterious archeological discoveries. They are the main attraction of the remote and tree-less Easter Island in Chile. The ancient Rapa Nui people who inhabited the area between 1300 and 1500 A.D carved the statues. In total, 288 moai statues are standing on stone platforms in different regions of the island. Each of the figures stands at 13-feet tall and some weight as much as 80 tons.
The Rapa Nui used rocks from dormant volcanoes to carve the massive figures. It's the enormous size of the statues that make them a wonder because the ancient Rapa Nui people had to have found a way to position and move them around the island. Their D-shaped base is believed to allow the movement of the statues from side to side with the help of very strong ropes. Much more has been discovered about the figures, and a team of UCLA archaeologists who had been studying the moai for 9 years last year revealed that they might have acted as family gravestones of sorts.
3. Terracotta Army
An archaeological team that was excavating a site in Xian, China discovered what's now considered an epic funeral art. However, before the experts stepped in, farmers digging a water well just 0,93 miles from the Qin Emperor's tomb stumbled upon the terracotta figures in 1974. The archaeologists called in to investigate the site found thousands of soldier statues made of clay buried near emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb. The Terracotta army was meant to protect him from the various forces he'd encounter after death. The figures dated back to about 2,200 years ago.
Archaeologists also found assortments of real weapons alongside the clay soldiers. Government laborers and local craftsmen manufactured the terracotta army figures in workshops using local materials. They created the different body parts separately before finally piecing them together. When completed, they placed each statue in the pits in a precise military fashion. The army also occupies different corridors within the three of the four pits at the site. The fourth pit remains empty, but many other parts of Qin Shi Huang's tomb are yet to be excavated.
2. Mummified Monk Statue
It's an unnerving thought that all the ancient statues that have been discovered could possibly hide some unsettling secrets of the past. That's what recent studies are beginning to unveil, and the latest is the 1000-year old Buddha statue revealed to conceal a mummified monk inside. A scan covered the mummy encased inside a cavity within the figure after a private buyer took it to a restoration expert. It's also still unclear how the statue made its way out of China.
Researchers performed a CT scan that revealed the mummy sitting on a bundle of Chinese inscribed cloths. They also found out that the Buddhist monk was called Liuquan and they also believe he practiced self-mummification in readiness for the afterlife. The self-mummification process involves going on a special diet as well as drinking poisonous tea. Researchers also think that the mummy might have stayed exposed for worship in the temple for its first 200 years, and it wasn't until the 14th century when its transformation into a statue began. Presently, the figure is at the Budapest National Museum of Natural History.
1. Karijia Statues
The Utcubamba Valley in Peru is an archaeological site where eight Chachapoyan statues were discovered by the cliffside. The sarcophagi stand at 2.5-meters tall, and they are constructed of grasses, sticks, and clay. They also spot exaggerated jawlines, and they are painted white with overlaid details on their bodies. All the statues also have yellow ochre and red pigment adornment.
Luckily, their inaccessible placement height above a river gorge had a hand in preserving them. An earthquake resulted in one of the eight figures toppling over in 1928. Radiocarbon dating traced the statues back to the 12th century about the time of the Inca conquest.
