Top 10 Strangest Mysteries That Remain Unsolved

Top 10 Strangest Mysteries That Remain Unsolved

Throughout human history, there have been events that have occurred that were out of the norm, mysterious events that left people baffled and were not only strange but also remain unsolved to this day. Here are the ten strangest mysteries that remain unsolved.

10. The Nazca lines- Created between 500 BC and 500 AD in the Nazca desert in Peru, the Nazca lines are a series of giant geoglyphs depicting various symbols. Many of the images are of lines or simple shapes while others are incredibly complex and show creatures such as a condor, a monkey and heron. Over 13,000 lines are covering an area of nearly 130 square kilometers and according to experts each of them was made with basic tools like wooden stakes. The biggest question surrounding these glyphs is why are they here? Some believe they are messages to the gods while others believe that they're meant to catch the attention of extraterrestrials who happen to be passing by the planet. Some view the Nazca lines as too detailed to not have an airborne person overseeing them, adding even more fuel to the mystery.

credit: third party image reference

9. The Shroud of Turin- The Shroud of Turin is a 4.4 by 1.1-meter piece of linen cloth with the image of what many believed to be Jesus of Nazareth on it. The figure has a beard, a mustache, and long hair. He's naked and covering his groin with his hands. He has noticeable marks on his hand's side and forehead that would resemble what Christ would have had after his crucifixion. Many people including a number in the scientific community believed that it's the actual burial shroud Jesus was entombed with after he died on the cross and thus would present when he was resurrected. Of course, this theory is fiercely debated especially after carbon dating conducted in 1988 revealed that the cloth dated back no earlier than 1260. More experts have questioned the reliability of these tests and thus the Shroud of Turin's origin remains a mystery.

credit: third party image reference

8. The Dighton Rock- It was first discovered in the Tonton River in Berkeley Massachusetts. The Dighton Rock is a massive boulder with mysterious symbols carved into it. It's 3.4 meters long, 2.9 meters wide and 1.5 meters high and it weighs over 36 metric tons. Some of the etchings on it are of geometric shapes or humanoid characters though their meaning has still yet to be determined. Nobody knows who carved the designs into Dighton Rock with multiple theorists claiming that they're Native American Norse or even Phoenician symbols. Some even say that the rock is cursed having been created by Satanists and now repels those of faith, making them feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable in its presence. Though it's been moved from the riverbed you can visit the Dighton Rock yourself and see if you can crack the ancient puzzle on it but good luck as nobody as of today has been able to do it.

credit: third party image reference

7. The Piri Reis map- As one of the most mysterious ottoman artifacts, the Piri Reis map should have been discovered in a much more legendary way. Instead, it was found accidentally on October 9th, 1929 by Gustav Adolf Diekmann. He'd been hired to catalog non-Islamic items in the library of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul Turkey. Disman found the Gazelle skin map inside a bundle of materials that had been disregarded and immediately recognized that it was special. Piri Reis's hand-drawn map incorporates the only known copy of Christopher Columbus's world map and various maps from the library of Alexandria. But also mysteriously contains detailed outlines of Antarctica, a continent that wasn't officially discovered until 1820. Just how a Reis's was drawn with such precision is still unsolved to this day.

credit: third party image reference

6. King Arthur- Despite being a popular figure in books, television and film, the biggest mystery surrounding King Arthur is if he ever actually existed. Between the late 5th and early 6th centuries, the once and future king led the forces of Britain against the Saxon invaders. However many similar written works describe the magical Merlin and a sword magically stuck in a stone which hinders any attempt to confirm if the story of Arthur is fact rather than fiction. In truth, King Arthur that people learn about today is an amalgamation of different stories, many of which are undoubtedly made up of fanciful authors. It seems impossible to either prove or disprove that the man was a living person or the creation of a scribe.

credit: third party image reference

5. The aluminum wedge of AIUD- In 1974, a group of construction workers was digging on the banks of the Mew -River near AIUD, Romania. Over ten and a half meters down they found a pair of Mastodon bones and a wedge-shaped object that resembled the head of a large hammer and weighed over 1.8 kilograms. After being examined at the archaeological Institute of Cluj-Napoca, it was revealed that the wedge was made from an aluminum alloy which simply was impossible. The mammoth bones were around 11,000 years old and the wedge was found alongside them making it close to the same age. However, aluminum wasn't discovered until the Year 1808 and wasn't being used in large quantities until around the late 1880s. So how could the aluminum wedge of AIUD exist? We will likely never know for sure.

credit: third party image reference

4. The Bimini Road- The Bimini road was discovered on September 2nd, 1968 by Jacques Mayol, Robert Engel and J Manson Valentine. The three men were diving off the northwestern coast of North Bimini Island in the Bahamas when they came across a series of rounded limestones that formed an 800-meter line running north to south. Located beneath the Atlantic Ocean surface, on average the rocks were about three meters in length and almost all of them were completely flat on top. Further investigation revealed to other pavement like sets of stones running parallel to the Bimini Road. Though many feel that this is evidence of an ancient civilization. Carbon dating revealed that the rocks were about 2,000 to 4,000 years old. No definitive answers have been given in regards to what the Bimini Road was meant for or even who built it.

credit: third party image reference

3. The Mohenjo-Daro- It was considered the most advanced city of its era the mohenjo-daro was established over 4,500 years ago and was one of the biggest settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization. Discovered sometime between 1919 and 1920, the massive city stood just west of the Indus River in Pakistan and underwent massive excavations and restorations until 1965. As more and more of mohenjo-daro was unearthed, it quickly became evident that the city had been evacuated in the nineteenth century when the Indus civilization declined. However, the exact reason for the city's population suddenly abandoning their homes is still under debate. Some archaeologists believe that flooding could have been the reason for the rash exit. However other experts are quick to point out the ahead of its time drainage system that the city already established. Either way, likely, we will never know why mohenjo-daro was abandoned.

credit: third party image reference

2. The Mary Celeste- The Mary Celeste was a 256-tonne American merchant Brigantine that sets sail from New York on November 7th, 1872. Captained by Benjamin Spooner Briggs and carrying nine others including Briggs wife and two-year-old daughter, the ship was headed to Genoa, Italy. But something went wrong. On November 25th, after over two weeks of severe weather conditions, the final log entry was made that morning. 10 days later on December 5th, 1872, the ship was found adrift in the Atlantic near the Azores Island by the De Gracia, a Canadian Brigantine. Though the vessel was found in decent condition and with six months of food provisions on board, it had been completely abandoned. The crew had left much of their personal gear in their quarters, meaning the ship had to been evacuated suddenly. But what happened to them is still a complete mystery.

credit: third party image reference

1. Atlantis- Around the Year 360 BC, people began hearing stories of an ancient city that was lost to the waves. Initially described by Plato, one of the most influential writers of philosophy that the world has ever known. The lost city of Atlantis has been captivating the minds of people for over 2,000 years. Allegedly the island nation lost favor with the gods and a great earthquake sank it deep into the Atlantic. Although the philosopher's story is quite far-fetched, many scholars believe the city in the tale was based on a real nautical superpower. A huge number of people believe that the ancient civilization is still out there, preserved somewhere under the ocean's surface. Then again there are others that believe that the city was a metaphor created by Plato to explain his political theories. Nobody knows for sure and probably never will but perhaps there are Atlanteans still out there waiting to retake the oceans as there own. 

So that was the 10 strangest mysteries that remain unsolved. 

credit: third party image reference