1. Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
At this spot was discovered by paleontologist Mary Leakey, Homo Habilis, the two-million-year-old ancestor of Homo Sapiens, us! This was the final proof that all human life began and spread from one continent, Africa.
2. Roman Bath, England
Around one hundred infant skeletons were found under a Roman bath in Israel. No one knows whether they were sacrificial offerings or not. Perhaps this was the kind of barbarism that led to the formation of Judaism, in opposition to the violence of the indigenous peoples.
3. An ancient city, Honduras
When archaeologists found an ancient and mysterious city with homes, statues, and a water system, in Honduras, the government kept the location a secret - to prevent the site being destroyed by eager tourists. Let's hope they let us know soon because I am very keen to have a look, and I promise I won't harm anything.
4. The Nazca Lines, Peru
The Nazca lines can only be seen from a great height, therefore they were unknown until the 1920s, having been made many centuries earlier, for some unknown purpose. They form some very interesting shapes, as you can see.
5. A subterranean city, Turkey
This hidden metropolis in Turkey, or under Turkey, was able to accommodate some 20,000 people. Perhaps they felt safer under the ground away from the awesome heat in that part of the world.
6. The world's wealthiest sunken treasure boat, Colombia
When the British navy sank the San Jose galleon near Colombia they were actually making the greatest deposit in banking history. Unfortunately, they can not lay claim to the beauty because of the timeless law of finders keepers. So Colombia will have a windfall of around a billion dollars once they gather all this wealthy ship's riches from the ocean depths.
7. Baghdad Battery
Some claim this is just a vase for storing scrolls. However the more wonderful theory is that this was actually a 2,000 year old electrical battery. If true this would mean a serious rethink of ancient man's scientific nous.
8. The Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls discovery was the greatest in literary history, since it unearthed hundreds of mainly Hebrew texts long since forgotten. Many have religious significance and have provided researchers with boundless opportunities for understanding the history of Judaism and Christianity.
9. Screaming Mummies
People used to wonder why mummies look like they are screaming, the possibility that they suffered a horrible death was so frightening a possibility though that some people never wanted to find out. But apparently the reason is simple: after death the head drops back, opening the jaw.
10. Sacsayhuaman
These stones were actually cut without modern devices and machines yet fit in such a way that it is not possible to slide a sheet of paper between them. It took 70 years for 20,000 men to work at this site.
11. Newgrange, Ireland
If you want to come here during the winter solstice of December 21st to see the chamber illuminated from the inside you will have to win the lottery arranged just for the purpose, since only 50 people will be permitted. This structure with no known purpose was built around the year 3000BC, making it older than even Stone Henge.
12. Blood sacrifice
It was paintings such as this that revealed the terrible truth about American human sacrifices, yet some only believed when gruesome archaeological discoveries undeniably confirmed the truth.
13. The Grauballe Man, Denmark
It is believed that this male was also a ritually slain victim. His body is so incredibly preserved 2,300 years after his death at the age of 30, due to its location in a peat bog which prevented oxidization.
14. The Terra Cotta Warriors, China
This army of individually carved warriors serve to protect their emperor, who was reputed to be China's first. Accompanying him on his journey to the afterlife are also dancers and even horses.
15. The Rosetta Stone, Egypt
This stone is written in 3 languages, which helped scholars finally decipher how to read ancient Egyptian. The Rosetta Stone has since become proverbial for a discovery that unlocks the secrets of history.
16. Gobekli Tepe, Turkey
Originally believed to be a 6,000 cemetery, prolonged excavation actually revealed it to be the world's first ever cathedral built on a hill.
17. The Sunken Skulls' Tomb, Sweden
This prehistoric tomb site has so far yielded 11 buried skulls of ancient hunters. Whether they are enemies slain in battle, or beloved family is still unknown.
18. The Olmec Colossal Heads, Mexico
These amazing sculpted boulders are said to represent local rulers. But the incredible thing about them is their scale. Each one weighs around 50 tons.
19. The Voynich Manuscript, Italy
Whoever wrote this book left the instructions elsewhere. No one knows what the words actually mean since it is written in a unique and still as yet undecipherable code.
20. Rapa Nui, Easter Island
The amazing Moai statues that are almost the only remains of the former inhabitants of Easter Island are quite unique. Their elongated faces thrill visitors to this bizarre and mysterious island in the middle of the Pacific.
21. The Library of Ashurbanipal, Iraq
When this library was discovered, historians rejoiced at their luck. Arranged by King Ashurbanipal, the library contains 30,000 clay tablets containing information on the several important civilizations that ruled in these territories: the Assyrians, Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians.
22. The Headless Vikings of Dorset, England
In England, people often believe the Vikings were the brutal ones, but one grizzly story painted a much greyer picture of history. In Somerset, 2009, were discovered 54 decapitated Viking skeletons who had been overpowered by Anglo-Saxon locals.
23. The Vampire of Venice
This poor woman actually had a brick forced through her mouth at her death. This was meant to stop her feeding on plague victims, meaning she was considered a witch-vampire.
24. The first chemical warfare in history
Chemical warfare was invented by the ancient Persians when they filled this tunnel with fiery sulfur and bitumen, killing scores of Roman soldiers. The year was 256AD.
25. The Antikythera Mechanism, Greece
No one has yet worked out how the Greeks built this device, and it took them 70 years to even figure out what it was. It was, in fact, a machine which accurately tracked the movement of the heavens with a rotating hand, rather like a clock. This would put the invention of the clock back some 1500 years. Simply staggering.
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