Secret HistoryS


Pyramid

There's a 'vast underground city' below Egypt's Giza pyramids, scientists' wild theory claims — but experts debunk it as 'fake news'

Nicholas McEntyre
New York Post
Sun, 23 Mar 2025 13:28 UTC
The Pyramids of Giza complex outside Cairo, Egypt.
© sculpies – stock.adobe.comThe Pyramids of Giza complex outside Cairo, Egypt.
Researchers claim they've discovered the legendary Halls of Amenti in a "vast city" beneath Egypt's Pyramids of Giza — a wild theory that has perplexed archaeological experts who dismiss the claims as "fake news."

Italian and Scottish scientists studying the pyramid of Khafre say the "groundbreaking study has redefined the boundaries of satellite data analysis and archaeological exploration," according to spokesperson Nicole Ciccolo.

Aptly named the Khafre Project, Corrado Malanga from Italy's University of Pisa and Filippo Biondi of the University of Strathclyde in Scotland led the expedition to discover the Giza Plateau's second-largest pyramid.
Read More...
Take 2

Thoughts on the new Errol Morris documentary on the Manson murders

Abby Aguirre
Points West
Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:00 UTC
errol morris chaos
© netflix
I didn't expect to be writing a follow-up to my last letter, about the journalist Tom O'Neill's mind-bending book, "Chaos: Charles Manson, the C.I.A., and the Secret History of the Sixties," and the many ways it discredits Vincent Bugliosi's 1974 bestseller about the Manson murders, "Helter Skelter." But I've since watched Errol Morris's film adaptation of "Chaos," released by Netflix this month.

You can read my full response to the documentary in a review published today over at the Los Angeles Review of Books. In short, I found the film to be an unsatisfying departure from the book. Viewers who haven't read "Chaos" may find the film interesting enough; the archival footage is sadly gripping. But the power of O'Neill's book lies in its slow, meticulous amassing of evidence, and in the film, much of this reporting is diminished or left out entirely.

In the weeks since I filed the review, I haven't been able to stop ruminating. I keep thinking of more ways that "Chaos" the film fails to convey the scope of "Chaos" the book. One distortion-by-omission has started to seem important. In the documentary, there's little indication of just how many leads O'Neill followed over the twenty years he spent reporting the book. Viewers who watch the film without reading the book could easily come away with the impression that government involvement is the only theory O'Neill ever seriously considered. This matters, I think, for reasons I'll get to later.

Comment: Tom O'Neill shares his thoughts on X:
See also:

Read More...
Star of David

What's changing in the Middle East

Thierry Meyssan
Voltairenet.com
Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00 UTC
Neti and flag
Benjamin Netanyahu, who hid his relations with Hamas from his people, falsified official documents about October 7, and lied on numerous occasions, is leading his country to failure.
The first consequence of the Israeli massacres in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen is not what we expected. To this day, the criminals in power in Tel Aviv continue their conquest with the weapons they are given. The transformation took place first in Israel itself and in the Jewish diaspora, forcing the IDF to accept an unwritten ceasefire in Lebanon, while benefiting from Washington's help in shifting the fighting to Syria. The Ukrainian and Lebanese fronts merged and moved to Syria.

Why don't we see the massacres in the Middle East?

In recent years, the Israeli peace movement has been dismantled, anti-Semitism has been confused with anti-Zionism, and the narrative of a clash of civilizations has been spread. These three errors prevent us from seeing and understanding what is happening in the Middle East.

The peace movement of Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, no longer exists. Its goal was to make Israel the spiritual and moral center of all Jews, a neutral state modeled on Switzerland, with international security guarantees, and a permanent symbolic international presence. Goldmann, who denounced the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem and not by an international tribunal (which allowed revisionist Zionists to mask their relationship with him), negotiated a just and lasting peaceful coexistence with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and Palestine Liberation Organization President Yasser Arafat, and was even arrested in Israel.
Read More...
Info

'Mystery population' of human ancestors gave us 20% of our genes and may have boosted our brain function

Kristina Killgrove
Live Science
Tue, 18 Mar 2025 09:34 UTC
A novel genetic model suggests that the ancestors of modern humans came from two distinct populations that split and reconnected during our evolutionary history.
DNA Mystery Population
© new-science.ruA new study details how human ancestors mixed with a mystery population 300,000 years ago.
The ancestors of all modern humans split off from a mystery population 1.5 million years ago and then reconnected with them 300,000 years ago, a new genetic model suggests. The unknown population contributed 20% of our DNA and may have boosted humans' brain function.

"The fact that we can reconstruct events from hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago just by looking at DNA today is astonishing, and it tells us that our history is far richer and more complex than we imagined," study co-author Aylwyn Scally, a geneticist at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement.

In a study published Tuesday (March 18) in the journal Nature Genetics, researchers presented a new method of modeling genomic data, called "cobraa," that has allowed them to trace the evolution of modern humans (Homo sapiens).

By applying their new method to modern human DNA data published in the 1000 Genomes Project and the Human Genome Diversity Project, the researchers discovered that there were two main ancestral groups that split around 1.5 million years ago, which they called Population A and Population B.

Just after that split, Population A experienced a bottleneck when the population plummeted and likely lost a significant amount of genetic diversity. But Population A grew over time, and Neanderthals and Denisovans branched off from it.

Then, around 300,000 years ago, Population A mixed with Population B, the researchers found. Their genetic analysis suggests that 80% of the genome of all present-day humans comes from Population A, while 20% of our genome comes from Population B.
Read More...
Crusader

The Real Magna Carta

Sean McGlynn
History Today
Mon, 03 Mar 2025 20:29 UTC
magna carta
© Wikimedia Commons19th-century recreation of King John signing the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta of 1215 is celebrated globally as the foundation of modern liberties and rights for its stipulation of equality before the law and its placing of monarchs and rulers under it. However, significant as the 1215 charter is, the document sealed in June of that year between King John and his rebellious barons was a prototype, far from the final version set out in law. That came ten years later in 1225.

The 1215 text was not even named Magna Carta, but the Articles of the Barons. Its 63 clauses agreed between John and the barons arrayed against him did not survive much beyond two months, as the opposing forces were soon back at war with each other. Capitalising on the civil war in England a French invasion followed. John's death in October 1216 did not end the conflict, though a revised Articles of the Barons - with one-third of the original causes dropped - was issued in Bristol in November by the new king, Henry III, then only nine years old. It was only after the defeat of the barons and the expulsion of their French allies a year later that we arrive at 'Magna Carta', the 'Great Charter', when in November 1217 a further four clauses related to forest laws and rights were transferred to a new Charter of Forest Liberties. What was left, the larger part, became the Great Charter, marking the peace settlement at the end of the civil war. But Magna Carta still had one more stage in its evolution before achieving its final form. That came on 11 February 1225.
Read More...
Info

What if ancient statues smelled wonderful? The surprising secrets of Greco-Roman sculptures

oguz kayra
Arkeonews Net
Sun, 16 Mar 2025 02:26 UTC
Diana of Versailles
© Wikimedia Commons
A new study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology has shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of ancient Greek and Roman art: the use of perfumes and aromatic substances in the adornment of sculptures.

Led by archaeologist Cecilie Brøns, this research challenges the long-held belief that these iconic statues were merely visual objects, revealing a rich tapestry of sensory experiences that ancient audiences engaged with.

For centuries, scholars have recognized that the pristine white marble statues we see in museums today were originally painted in vibrant colors and adorned with textiles and jewelry. However, Brøns' study takes this understanding a step further by highlighting the significance of scent in the ancient world. Drawing from classical texts and inscriptions, the research illustrates how these sculptures were not only visual spectacles but also olfactory experiences that enveloped worshippers and spectators alike.

The study emphasizes the ritualistic role of perfume in the adornment of statues, particularly those representing deities. Historical accounts, such as those from the Roman orator Cicero, describe the practice of anointing statues with fragrant oils. In the ancient sanctuary of Delos, inscriptions detail the costs and ingredients of perfumes used to maintain the statues of gods like Artemis and Hera, including olive oils, beeswax, and rose-scented fragrances.

Moreover, the poet Callimachus provides insight into the practice, describing the statue of Queen Berenice II of Egypt as "moist with perfume," indicating that this tradition extended beyond divine figures to include royalty and esteemed individuals. Festivals, such as the Floralia in Rome, further enriched the sensory experience, as fragrant garlands of roses and violets adorned these statues, creating an immersive atmosphere for worshippers.
Read More...
Info

Discovery of graphics on a stone block that could be more than 200,000 years old


Marbella City Council
Wed, 12 Mar 2025 13:10 UTC
Ancient Carvings
© Marbella City Council
The Department of Culture, Education, and Historical Heritage reports the discovery of graphic designs on a stone block that could be more than 200,000 years old, as part of an archaeological excavation at the Coto Correa site in Las Chapas. This area, known in specialized studies for housing the oldest remains in the city, is protected archaeologically, as some stone tools were accidentally discovered in the 1950s, dating back to the early Paleolithic.

The work and its subsequent analysis have provided insight into the geological evolution of the site, as well as the archaeological discovery of a set of stone tools carved into one of its strata. Of this set, discovered in 2022, a block of gabbro stands out, marked with lines, giving it an exceptional character. The significance of this discovery is twofold: on the one hand, it confirms the presence of settlers in Marbella during the Early Middle Paleolithic, a period little known in Spain and unprecedented in the province of Malaga. Furthermore, it provides this unique stone, which contains a set of graphic representations of human origin that could be 100,000 years older than the oldest cave art depictions.
Read More...
Info

Traces of Neanderthal habitation discovered in Qamari Cave in Iran


Islamic Republic News Agency
Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:37 UTC
Ancient Cave
© IRNAArchaeologists find evidence of Neanderthal habitation dating back 40,000 to 80,000 in Iran's western province of Lorestan.
Khorram Abad - Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of Neanderthal habitation dating back 40,000 to 80,000 years in Qamari Cave, located in Khorramabad in the southwestern province of Lorestan, an official announced.

Ata Hassanpour, the director-general of Lorestan's Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Department, said on Monday that the excavations, which began on February 12, have uncovered stone tools, remains of hunted animals such as ibex and deer, and evidence of fire use, strongly suggesting Neanderthal presence.
Read More...
Archaeology

Oldest Bronze Age settlement in the Maghreb uncovered, predates arrival of Phoenicians by centuries

Owen Jarus
Live Science
Sat, 08 Mar 2025 21:51 UTC
bronze age morocco oldest settlement
© HBenattia / CC BY SA 4.0New findings at Kach Kouch reveal that agriculture and trade flourished during Maghreb’s Bronze Age, centuries before the Phoenicians arrived.
An archaeological site in the area dates back about 4,200 years.

Archaeologists in Morocco have discovered the remains of a 4,200-year-old settlement that predates the Phoenicians — a surprise given that this region was thought to be uninhabited at that time.

The Phoenicians are famous for settling northern Africa and later battling Rome, but new excavations at the archaeological site of Kach Kouch reveal that northwestern Morocco was inhabited long before the Phoenicians arrived around 800 B.C.

The finds challenge "the notion of north-western Africa as terra nullius [uninhabited area] prior to Phoenician arrival," a team wrote in a study published Feb. 17 in the journal Antiquity. The excavations also suggest that when the Phoenicians arrived, they didn't just take over the site. Instead, evidence indicates that ancient people there built houses using a mix of Phoenician and local architectural styles.
Read More...
Info

4,000 years of wisdom: Women's rights and inheritance in the Kültepe Tablets

Leman Altuntaş
Arkeonews Net
Sat, 08 Mar 2025 17:02 UTC
The Vase of İnandık.
© Anadolu AgencyThe Vase of İnandık.
The Kültepe Tablets, discovered in the ancient site of Kültepe (ancient Kanesh) in central Anatolia, are approximately 4,000 years old and provide invaluable insights into the social, economic, and legal aspects of life during the early Bronze Age. One of the most striking features of these tablets is the prominent role that women played in various facets of civilized life, particularly in matters related to rights and inheritance.

The Kültepe tablets reveal that women were active participants in economic activities. They engaged in trade, owned property, and managed businesses. This level of involvement indicates that women were not merely passive figures in society but rather influential agents who contributed to the economic stability of their families and communities. The presence of women in commercial transactions highlights their agency and the respect they commanded in the marketplace.

The head of the Kültepe Excavation, Professor Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu stated: "Kültepe provides us with one of the largest private archives for the ancient world. Among the documents dating back 4,000 years, we primarily find commercial records. Every event and activity related to trade has been documented here. We can say that everything of value has been recorded. Within this collection, which includes commercial documents, there are also special tablets. These records reflect the daily lives of people at that time and document financial transactions during conflicts of interest.'
Read More...