Who wrote a 600-year-old book in a script that no one has ever been able to read?
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Ancient mysteries
Lost builders, strange machines and unread books, dated and examined. 4 case files, each with its sources.
Why did ancient Peruvians draw giant animals in the desert that are best seen from the air?
Open the case filePhoto: Unukorno, CC BY 3.0
How did ancient Greeks build a geared machine that modelled the sky, more than 2,000 years ago?
Open the case filePhoto: Logg Tandy, CC BY 4.0
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Who carved giant stone pillars 11,000 years ago, before anyone had farms, writing or the wheel?
Open the case filePhoto: Kerimove, CC0
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Ancient mysteries case files
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UNEXPLAINEDThe Voynich Manuscript: The Book No One Can Read
A 600-year-old illustrated book, written in a script found nowhere else. More than a century of codebreaking has not read a word.
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CONFIRMEDThe Nazca Lines: Giant Drawings in the Desert
Ancient Peruvians scratched giant animals and lines kilometres long into the desert. In 2024, AI found 303 more.
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CONFIRMEDThe Antikythera Mechanism: An Ancient Greek Computer
A lump of corroded bronze from an ancient shipwreck turned out to hold 30 gearwheels that modelled the Sun, Moon and planets.
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CONFIRMEDGöbekli Tepe: Older Than Stonehenge by 6,000 Years
Hunter-gatherers carved giant stone pillars more than 11,000 years ago, before farming, writing or the wheel.
How we check every story
We work from primary sources: original records, peer-reviewed research, space agencies, museums and government documents. Each case shows its sources and ends with an honest verdict. When something is unexplained, we say so.