Kircher's 1669 map of Atlantis.

Ancient mysteries are mysteries that originate in the ancient world. Image File history File links Athanasius_Kirchers. ... Image File history File links Athanasius_Kirchers. ... Athanasius Kircher (sometimes spelt Kirchner) (May 2, 1601?–27 November 1680) was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology and medicine. ... // Events Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary. ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of an island first mentioned and described by the classical Greek philosopher Plato in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... Look up mystery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the span of recorded history starting roughly 5,000-5,500 years ago, see Ancient history. ...

Ancient mysteries

• Antikythera mechanism: An ancient mechanical device of advanced craftsmanship variously described as a clock, analog computer or orrery. It dates from the 1st century B.C. when it may have been plundered from Athens by Roman general Sulla. Since its rediscovery in 1900 there has been ongoing speculation and research into its origin, internal functioning, application and relation to modern devices.
• Atlantis: A legendary land from one of Plato's dialogues, its whereabouts are unknown. It may never have existed and simply been a storytelling device.
• Dorchester Pot: Purportedly a 100,000-year-old metal pot of unknown provenance, it disappeared in the 19th century making further research impossible.
• Dwaraka or Dwarka (an underwater city): This is one of the mysteries from Hindu mythology. The accounts from Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana suggests that the city submerged under the sea shortly after Krishna departed for heavenly abode. The city was described as one of the planned cities of that time. The recent underwater studies conducted by ASI (Archeological Survey of India) show strong evidences of existance of such city dated to the 2nd millenium BC.
• Egyptian pyramids: While it is generally agreed that pyramids were burial monuments, there is continued disagreement on the particular principles that might have given rise to them. One theory that has gained a degree of acceptance is that they were designed as a type of "resurrection machine." The Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens and one of the narrow shafts that extends from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid of Giza points directly towards the center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been designed to serve as a means to launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode of the gods.
• Garden of Eden: A legendary place from Genesis, where the first man and woman supposedly dwelt. Its location, if it existed, is unknown.
• Greek fire: The secret compound acting like modern napalm was a weapon of Byzantium. Knowledge of its composition and method of manufacture was lost in the Middle Ages.
• Great Flood: Many cultures have stories about a Great Flood.

Nazca line figures in Peru.

• Land of Punt: The African region regularly visited by ancient Egyptians cannot be identified with certainty.
• Nazca Lines: It is not known why the Nazca culture constructed many desert figures that were essentially invisible to themselves.
• Phoenicians in Brazil: Some believe that Phoenician navigators had reached Brazil in ancient times, leaving several archaeological and linguistic traces in the country [1] [2] [3].
• Stonehenge: Stonehenge is a henge and its fame comes not only from its archaeological significance or potential astronomical role but also in its less tangible effect on visitors, what Christopher Chippindale describes as "the physical sensation of the place," something that transcends the rational, scientific view of the monument. Some have theorized that it represents the female sexual organs (article from The Observer) or have identified a phallic shape in the Heelstone. Alfred Watkins found three ley lines running through the site and others have employed numerology dowsing or geomancy to reach conclusions regarding the site's purpose. Some New Age and Neo-Pagan followers see Stonehenge as a sacred place of worship.
• Tyrian purple: The ancient method of mass-producing the purple fabric dye is unknown and cannot be reproduced.
• Adam's Bridge: The ancient bridge on the seas between Sri Lanka and India supposedly built by the Hindu God Rama 117000 years ago, that is mentioned in the ancient epic Ramayana. Photograph taken by NASA show the presence of a submerged bridge.

The Antikythera mechanism (main fragment) The Antikythera mechanism (Greek: O μηχανισμός των Αντικυθήρων transliterated as O mÄ“chanismós tōn AntikythÄ“rōn) is an ancient mechanical analog computer (as opposed to most computers today which are digital computers) designed to calculate astronomical positions. ... A small orrery showing earth and the inner planets An orrery is a mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the solar system in heliocentric model. ... The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (Latin: L·CORNELIVS·L·F·P·N·SVLLA·FELIX) ¹ (ca. ... Year 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of an island first mentioned and described by the classical Greek philosopher Plato in the dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Vase Mined from Dorchester, Massachusetts In 1851, a zinc and siver vase was mined from solid rock in Dorchester, Massachusetts. ... Dwarka is a city in Gujarat, India. ... Dwarka   is a city and a municipality in Jamnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from μυολογείν mythologein to relate myths, from μύος mythos, meaning a narrative, and λόγος logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra The (Devanagari: ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . ... The Vishnu Purana is one of the oldest of the Puranas (dating to maybe the 5th century), containing some 23,000 shlokas, presented as a dialogue between Parasara with his disciple Maitreya. ... Krishna with Radha, 18th C Rajasthani painting Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, in IAST ) is a deity worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism. ... The Archaeological Survey of India is an Indian government agency in the Department of Culture that is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of cultural monuments. ... (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) Events Second dynasty of Babylon First Bantu migrations from west Africa The Cushites drive the original inhabitants from Ethiopia, and establish trade relations with Egypt. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza with Khafres pyramid in the background. ... A pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. ... The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and the largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt in Africa ( ). The oldest and only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the World, it is believed to have been constructed over a 20... Pharaoh was the ancient Egyptian name for the office of kingship. ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן  ; Arabic جنة عدن ) is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, lived after they were created by God. ... Genesis (Hebrew: ‎, Greek: Γένεσις, meaning birth, creation, cause, beginning, source or origin) is the first book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. ... Greek fire was a burning-liquid weapon used by the Byzantine Greeks, typically in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning even on water. ... A simulated Napalm explosion during a 2003 air show. ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city, which, according to legend, was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... This article is on mythology involving great floods. ... Image File history File links Nazca_monkey. ... Image File history File links Nazca_monkey. ... The Nazca Lines are gigantic geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches 53 miles or more than 80 kilometers between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. ... The Land of Punt, which the Ancient Egyptians called Ta Netjeru, meaning Land of the Gods, was a fabled and exotic site in eastern Africa, which carried on extensive trade with Ancient Egypt, China and Arabia. ... The Nazca Lines are gigantic geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches 53 miles or more than 80 kilometers between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. ... Phoenician sarcophagus found in Cadiz, Spain; now in Archaeological Museum of Cádiz. ... For other meanings of Stonehenge, see: Stonehenge (disambiguation) Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. ... A henge is a roughly circular or oval-shaped flat area over 20m in diameter which is enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. ... Christopher Chippindale is a British archaeologist, most well-known for his work on Stonehenge. ... Alfred Watkins (1855 – April 15, 1935) is noted as being a scholar of ley lines. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian religions. ... Murex brandaris, also known as the Spiny dye-murex The chemical structure of 6,6′-dibromoindigo, the main component of Tyrian Purple A space-filling model of 6,6′-dibromoindigo Tyrian purple (Greek: , porphura), also known as royal purple or imperial purple, is a purple-red dye made by the... Ramas Bridge (Ram Setu in Hindi) , also called Adams Bridge is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India. ... Lord Sri Rama (center) with wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman. ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ...

Books

• The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World: Unlocking the Secrets of Past Civilizations by Brian M. Fagan (Editor). (2001) ISBN 978-0500510506

See also

• Digging for the Truth
• Josh Bernstein
• List of unsolved problems in Egyptology
• OOPArt
• Peter James
• Pseudoarchaeology
• Relics attributed to Jesus