The most Amazing Archaeological Dig Sites

Strange and amazing archaeological digs have given rise to mythical modern adventurers like Indiana Jones, Laura Croft and Benjamin Gates. These characters have captured the imagination of several generations and evoked a renewed interest in archeology and ancient history. This has been a great money boom for movie makers, movie theaters, toy manufacturers and story tellers.

The tales are of course fictional and far from the truth or any reality, right?

Perhaps that is a wrong supposition, as it is said life is stranger than fiction. Most legends, myths and tall tales are based upon some truth that usually has been embellished and exacerbated over time.

Archaeological digs present almost daily new information about what we believe to true and what we believe to be fiction. The truth is out there’. As the X-Files used to say and it is quite amazing!

The Vatican in Rome and the most significant archaeological organization in the world, The Smithsonian Institute (which is a federal agency) have been in control of some of the most fabulous archaeological digs and finds in modern times. Unfortunately, as some films have portrayed, these organizations have kept from the public some of the most amazing archaeological discoveries for various reasons. They have at times contrived to control people and write history their way for their purposes, fearing the truth would threaten the socio-political credibility of governments and the religious veracity of “the church”.

There is credible documentation concerning the Smithsonian’s complicity is truth alteration and suppression beginning in 1881, when John Wesley Powell and Cyrus Thomas (both with the Smithsonian) rejected the Dispersion of Culture theory and adopted the Isolationism Theory. This war of academic schools of thought fought vehemently over the heritage of the Native Northern American Indigenous Tribes and their non-involvement with South American civilizations.

Take a look at just 3 amazing archaeological digs that may enlighten you as they give new possibilities to history the way we thought is was.

Archaeological digs involving ancient mounds in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Western Tennessee and many other areas along the Mississippi River Valley have uncovered advanced cultures that pre-date the North American Indian Nations by 100’s of years. These digs have also revealed that the mound-builders had contact with very amazing people. Some of the finds in the burial mounds were of extremely tall men, as the skeletons were 7 to 8 feet in height and they were buried in their amour and with swords and caches of jewels and gold.

THE SPIRO MOUNDS DIG

This was one of the most amazing archaeological finds of the 20th century and it made news around the world in 1933. The Spiro Mound excavation in Oklahoma uncovered a “tall man in full armor.with a pot of thousands of pearls and other artifacts” (Nexus New Times Vol 2, Number 12). Now where are the artifacts from this dig today? Maybe in a crate in the Smithsonian, I wonder? Unfortunately the dig also attracted many looters and adventure seekers who robbed the site of many of the most valuable artifacts and treasures. We do know that this was a sophisticated socio-religious community that thrived from 400 AD to 1450 AD.

For the adventure seeker in you go visit the Spiro Mounds for an up close view of Oklahoma’s only state archaeological park and one of North America’s most amazing archaeological digs.

THE ALEUTIAN ISLAND of SHEMYA GIANTS

Here is another amazing archaeological find on one of the isolated Aleutian Islands of the Bering Strait.

In the 1960’s on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show’, one of his guests (Ivan Sanderson, a zoologist known to research the unusual) told the story of a letter he had received from an Army engineer stationed on the Aleutian Island of Shemya during World War II. The tale told about the construction of airfields, which bulldozed several mound areas where human remains were found. The interesting thing was the human bones were huge. The heads measured 22 to 24 inches (that was from the base to the crown of the head) and most modern human heads measure 8 inches. Another weird finding was that the skulls had all been trepanned. Sanderson believed the artifacts had been taken by the Smithsonian, stored in a vault in the depths of the national archives and never put on display.

It appears that Shemya was not the only Aleutian Island where giants were found. Various military and government scientists facilitated digs during the 1930’s and 1940’s throughout the Aleutian chain. The Washington Post archives ran article October 5, 1936 about the Skull finds: “Dr. Hrdlicka, Curator at Institute, Discovers Western Hemisphere’s Largest Cranium on Excursion to Aleutian Islands. Aleutian Skull Of Record Size in Smithsonian”. The article states the skeleton was over 7 feet tall and found with 5 female skeletons next to it.

The National Museum of Natural History has records dated in the 1940’s that document bone, ivory and stone tools found with giant skeletons on the Aleutian Islands. It is very interesting that several of these 1940 dig sites are now covered over with a military bases!

Further information about this archaeological find can be seen in NAGPRA data, where a complete inventory of the human remains is reported, with the objects supposedly being stored at the 116th Air Support Group, United States Air Force, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Ak.

STONEHENGE REVISITED DIG

Hot off the wire for all junior archeology buffs is the latest dig at Stonehenge in England and what it is revealing. The archaeologists are reporting that they are unearthing areas that have not been dug in decades and going deeper than excavated in the past. A current dig sponsored by the BBC, is excavating samples from the deeply buried “bluestones” or sockets placed there by the ancients.

The group of scientists gathered for this dig is concentrating on more precise dating of when the stones were brought to the site and especially the “bluestones”. This will help the science community give a better explanation about Stonehenge.

The new studies and data have lead researchers and archaeologists to believe it was a religious center and “place of healing” way before the huge stones were erected on the site. President of the Society of Antiquaries recently stated, we believe “a prehistoric Lourdes’ was set up at Stonehenge”. This is especially gathering popular sanction in the academic schools of thought because of the “bluestones”, which have been historically associated with having healing properties.
Stonehenge was built it is believed around 3100 BC and the “bluestones” , so named because of their blue-black color, were put into place around 2600 BC. This dig it is hoped will answer many questions about Stonehenge and the strange stones. Hopefully it can answer two old questions about why were the stones transported over 150 miles, to this location and was this site more than an “astronomical clock”, as many believe?

There have been no digs since 1964 that have involved the inner circle area and with all the modern scientific advances since that dig this one should be very revealing.

These are only 3 of the amazing archaeological digs from the past and present that are really interesting to research and read more about. Indiana Jones is not the only professor uncovering strange mysterious ancient artifacts and Von Dainken is totally out there in “never-land” with his study of strange archeology.

And my question is still remains what lies buried in the archives of the Smithsonian Institute ( and Vatican Vaults) that “some people” do not what us to find or know about?