There is no end to the number of mysteries that surround us. We take a look at eleven mysteries from around the world!
Over the last few decades, miners in South Africa have been digging up mysterious metal spheres that measure approximately an inch or so in diameter. What's interesting is that some of the spheres are etched with three parallel grooves running across the centre. Two types of spheres have been found here - one is composed of a solid bluish metal with flecks of white and the other is hollowed out and filled with a spongy white substance. It is estimated that the rock in which they were found is Precambrian, that is, it dates back to 2.8 billion years ago! Who made them and for what purpose is unknown.
THE ICA STONES
Beginning in the 1930s, the father of Dr Javier Cabrera, cultural anthropologist for Ica, Peru, discovered many hundreds of ceremonial burial stones in the tombs of the ancient Incas. Dr Cabrera himself has collected more than 1,100 of these stones, which are estimated to be between 500 and 1,500 years old and have become known collectively as the Ica Stones. The stones bear etchings. Some depict picture idols and others depict practices such as open-heart surgery and brain transplants. The most astonishing etchings, however, clearly represent dinosaurs - brontosaurs, triceratops, stegosaurus and pterosaurs. While sceptics consider the Ica Stones to be a hoax, their authenticity has not been proven as yet.
THE ARK OF COVENANT
This Ark is considered to be the greatest of all hidden treasures and it is believed that its discovery would provide indisputable truth that the Old Testament is true. Its recovery remains the goal of every modern archaeologist and adventurer. According to the book of Exodus, the Ark is made of shittim wood (similar to acacia) and is covered in gold inside and out. It is topped by a mercy seat made up of two gold cherubs. It is believed to have supernatural powers.
THE DROPA STONES
In 1938, an archaeological expedition led by Dr Chi Pu Tei into the Baian-Kara-Ula mountains of China made an astonishing discovery. In some of the caves, buried under a lot of dust, the explorers found hundreds of stone disks. Measuring about 9 inches in diameter, each had a circle cut into the centre and was etched with a spiral groove. The spiral grooves are composed of tiny hieroglyphics that tell the incredible story of spaceships from some distant world that crash-landed in the mountains. The ships were piloted by people who called themselves the Dropa and the remains of whose descendants, possibly, were found in the cave.
THE GIANT BALL OF COSTA RICA
Workmen hacking and burning their way through the dense jungles of Costa Rica to clear an area for banana plantations in the 1930s stumbled upon dozens of stone balls, many of which were perfectly spherical. They varied in size from as small as a tennis ball to an astonishing 8ft in diameter and weighing 16 tons! Although the great stone balls are clearly man-made, it is unknown who made them, for what purpose and, most puzzlingly, how they achieved such spherical precision.
Fossils appear in rocks that were formed many thousands of years ago. Yet there are a number of fossils that just don't make geological or historical sense. A fossil of a human hand print for example, was found in limestone estimated to be 110 million years old. What appears to be a fossilised human finger found in the Canadian Arctic also dates back 100 to 110 million years ago. And what appears to be the fossil of a human footprint, possibly wearing a sandal, was found near Delta, Utah, USA in a shale deposit estimated to be 300 million to 600 million years old. Were sandals invented at that time? It's a mystery that's not been solved.
Angel hair is a rare phenomenon that has so far defied explanation. It is made up of silken threads that rain down on to the Earth, but if you reach out to touch them, they will vanish before your eyes. It is a worldwide phenomenon with the most regular occurrences seen in North America, New Zealand, Australia and Western Europe. There is no known explanation for what causes this substance, or even what it is made up of. Speculations are that angel hair comes from spiders or another type of silk-spinning insect and even UFOs have been associated with it. Because of its sensitive nature, angel hair cannot be collected or analysed.
The Nazca Lines are geoglyphs and geometric line clearings in the Peruvian desert. They were made by the Nazca people, who flourished between 200BC and 600AD, along rivers and streams that flow from the Andes. The desert itself runs for over 2,240kms along the Pacific Ocean. The area where the Nazca Lines are found is called the Pampa Colorada (Red Plain). It is 24kms wide and runs some 59kms parallel to the Andes and the sea. Dark red surface stones and soil have been cleared away, exposing the lighter-coloured subsoil, showing off the lines. These lines form geometric shapes that seem like depictions of animals and plants in stylised forms. The Nazca Lines became of interest to anthropologists after they were seen from the air in the 1930s. Little is known about who created these lines or why they were created.
THE LOST TOMB OF GHENGIS KHAN
Genghis Khan was a Mongol warrior from Central Asia who combined the different tribes and nations of his native lands into a potent army and used it to conquer an empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. The location of the tomb of Genghis Khan has been the object of much speculation and research. The site still remains undiscovered.
Also spelled Machu Pichu, a Quechua name meaning 'Old Peak', it is a pre-Columbian Inca city located at a height of 7,970ft on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru. Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire, and was abandoned less than 100 years later as the empire collapsed under Spanish conquest. Although the citadel is located only about 80kms from Cusco, the Inca capital, it was never found and destroyed by the Spanish, as were many other Inca sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew to enshroud the site and few knew of its existence. In 1911, Yale historian and explorer Hiram Bingham brought the "lost" city to the world's attention. On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was voted as one of the New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World.
STONE CIRCLES AT CASTLERIGG
Situated in an open bowl between rolling hills, this Megalithic construction appears as a perfect picture postcard. The Castlerigg Stone Circle, also known as Keswick Carle or Druid's Circle, is one of the oldest in Britain. It was built in around 3,000BC and comprises 38 stones of various heights placed in a slightly oval shape. The largest stone is over 8ft tall, but the majority of them are less than 5ft high. Although five of the stones have collapsed, the site is in a remarkably good condition. It has a feature unique among stone circles in Britain. Inside the ring of rocks, 10 smaller stones are placed in a rectangular arrangement called 'The Cave'. There is also a slight mound in the centre, which is believed to be a burial chamber. The site also has qualities which make it suitable for use as an astronomical observatory, although an unpolished stone blade found near the circle suggests it may have been used as a centre of trade for the area's Neolithic axe industry. There is also a local legend that says the stones were never built to any design, but were actually men who turned to rock by fear of a local monster.