Intro

From rumours of an ancient portal in Peru to prehistoric stone circles in the United States, here are 9 mysterious ancient places that scientists can’t explain.

Aramu Muru

9.

Aramu Muru.

While exploring the Peruvian countryside near lake Titicaca in the early 1990s, mountaineering guide Jose Luis Delgado Mamani found a strange structure that looks almost like a portal.

The abandoned stone carving has a smooth, flat surface and a six-and-a-half-foot-tall, (2 meters) T-shaped alcove.

The roughly 23-foot, (7 meters) stone structure is thought to be an abandoned Inca construction project, but its purpose is unknown.

Known as Aramu Muru and nicknamed “Puerta De Hayu Marca” or “Gate of the Gods”, the structure is the subject of local folklore, claiming that people have disappeared through its doorway.

Indigenous heroes went through the door, becoming immortal and living next to the Gods.

Stories also tell of strange sights near the portal, including “tall men accompanied by glowing balls of lights walking through the doorway”.

Another legend says that Aramu Maru was an Incan priest that used a special golden disk known as the ‘Key of the Gods of the Seven Rays’ to escape the Spanish and fled to the mountains.

The door opened and rumor has is there is still light coming from the tunnel he left behind.

Paranormal enthusiasts claim that they have actually traveled through the portal.

Conspiracy theorists have suggested that Aramu Muru is a multi-dimensional doorway created by aliens.

What do you think it was for?

Let me know in the comments below.

Church of San Giacomo di Rialto

– 8. Church Of San Giacomo Di Rialto, Venice.

Italy has no shortage of old churches, but according to local legend, the church of San Giacomo Di Rialto is the city’s oldest.

The popular version of its history claims that the church was established on March 25, 421, the same day Venice was founded.

Located next to the historic Rialto Bridge, it was built by a carpenter with the help of residents from nearby Padua, according to historical documents dating back to the 14th century.

The strange thing is that the building is missing from a map of Venice that was created in 1097, and its first known mention is in a document from 1152,, suggesting that the church is much newer than it’s rumored to be, But nobody can say with certainty how old it really is.

In addition to its age being a mystery, the church of San Giacomo di Rialto possesses several strange features, including a one-handed clock with a rotated quadrant, putting noon on the left-handed side, where nine o’clock would normally be, and midnight to the right.

The building also contains one of the last few Gothic porticoes in Venice, which bears inscriptions encouraging merchants to be honest at the Rialto market, which took place in front of the church.

There are several quirky things to be found here, but nobody knows much about them.

They are just all surrounded by stories.

Shimon de Bells

7.

Chemin Des Bels.

In 2018, archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) got a nice surprise.

They discovered an exceptionally well-preserved megalithic site in the municipality of Massogny in the southeastern part of the country, Known as Chemin Des Bels.

The site offers extensive insight into the beliefs of the ancient people who lived there long ago.

Ongoing excavations suggest that humans occupied this site- not for centuries, but for thousands of years.

One Neolithic village built around a pre-existing stone megalith complex was traced back to the Cortaillod culture, whose presence in the region dates as far back as 4,300 years.

That’s a really long time ago.

The complex consists of a heavy stone pillar surrounded by smaller stone towers, with the five-ton (4.5 metric tons) centerpiece measuring 11 feet (3.4 meters) long, 3.6 feet (1.1 meters) wide and 3.3 feet (1 meters) high.

Upon close examination, archaeologists noticed that the megaliths bear distinctive engravings of mysterious patterns.

There are 20 cup or scoop marks carved into the large stone, arranged in the shape of a large U. Beneath the U are pitted indentations, and the top of the Megalith contains engravings of intertwined chevrons.

Two of the smaller slabs, both which were intentionally broken, contain geometric engravings forming quadrangular, herringbone and cruciform patterns that appear to be deliberately but haphazardly ordered.

The markings on both the small and large stones were carved in three distinct phases, and evidence suggests that different societies used the megaliths over decades or centuries.

But researchers are unsure what the motivations and beliefs of the engravers were, and it’s possible — perhaps even likely — that we’ll never know.

There’s no way of telling whether the carvings had ritualistic purposes, if they were simply artistic expressions, if they were astronomical in nature or if there was some other reason for creating them.

Kuyang Stone Arrangement

6.

Kooyang Stone Arrangement.

At an undetermined time in history, the Djab Wurrung Aboriginal people arranged a collection of volcanic stones in an eel- or apostrophe-like shape near Lake Bolac in western Victoria, Australia.

The whole thing is 656-feet-long (200 meters).

Although archaeologists have not dated the ancient site, it’s a significant indigenous landmark in the area.

It’s believed to be 1500 years old, Known as the Kooyang Stone Arrangement.

The formation’s proximity to the eel-filled Lake Bolac points toward a ceremonial relationship between ancient Aboriginal clans and eel farming, says local resident, Neil Murray.

During ancient times, as many as 1,000 indigenous people gathered annually to harvest and feast on eels, and the “stone eel” may be where they congregated for ceremonies to ensure a bountiful harvest.

The farmer whose land the arrangement sits on had a long-standing agreement with the local Aboriginal people to ensure that they could access and care for the stones, But the property owner passed away, and his son, who inherited the land, Adrian Mcmaster, recently destroyed part of the eel’s tail to treat a thistle infestation that had taken over.

Upon learning that he had partially ruined a sacred site, Mcmaster was apologetic and claimed that he had done so unknowingly, despite the Kooyang Stone Arrangement being an officially registered Aboriginal landmark and its importance being well-known to the community.

The matter is currently under investigation and Mcmaster received an order not to cause further damage to the site.

Under the Aboriginal Heritage Act, knowingly damaging an indigenous heritage site can carry a fine of up to $300,000.. 5.

Chalcatingo

Chalcatzingo Located in the southern portion of Mexico’s central highlands, in the Valley of Morelos, is Chalcatzingo an ancient site dating back to the time of the oldest known Mesoamerican civilization.

The Olmecs First settled around 1500 Bc.

Chalcatzingo saw the emergence of a complex culture around 900 Bc, The Olmec culture, whose heartland was in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, is largely a mystery to experts, But elements of their architectural and artistic styles found at Chalcatzingo indicate that its settlers were of Olmec origin or had close ties to the civilization.

Artifacts unearthed at Chalcatzingo feature depictions of big-toothed wildcats, indicating that the residents shared in the Olmec worship of the jaguar.

The images include renderings of big cats with odd features, like beaks, and engaging in strange and scary acts, including one carving that shows a ferocious jaguar disemboweling a human.

It appears as though the settlement was situated along an intersection of trading routes that connected the Olmec with Mesoamerican societies throughout Mexico.

At its peak, Chalcatzingo had an estimated 500-1,000 inhabitants who cultivated staple crops like maize, using water from a nearby mountain stream to nourish their terraced fields.

When the Olmec civilization collapsed around 500 Bc, Chalcatzingo experienced an abrupt decline.

Researchers believe that numerous environmental factors contributed to the Olmecs’ demise elsewhere, and, although these events did not directly affect Chalcatzingo, its residents likely endured a cultural decline and economic hardships from decreased trade and contact with other factions of the civilization.

The extent of the Olmec culture and their ethnic origins are unknown, and we only know what the Aztecs called them, leaving the culture’s self-designated name, a mystery Experts know little about their religion beyond jaguar worship and the use of symbols that seems to convey an organized belief system and priesthood of some sort.

And now for a house built on a cemetery.

But first wanted to say a quick thank you to Meg Luna and Chico Bartlett.

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Stephen Harris House

We have many more videos like this coming up.

4.

Stephen Harris House.

In 1763, a well-to-do merchant named Stephen Harris built a house over a French Huguenot burial site on Benefit Street in Providence, Rhode Island.

You know what they say: never build your house over a cemetery.

He fell on hard times immediately after construction was finished, losing several of his merchant vessels at sea, and endured an ongoing string of hardships thereafter.

Legend goes that several of Harris’s children died and others were stillborn.

His wife became severely mentally ill and was confined to the home’s second floor, where she reportedly shrieked and yelled out the window in French, despite not knowing the language.

Rumours spread that a live birth has never occurred inside the house, which still stands today.

The house remained in the Harris family for generations because they were unable to sell it and it fell into disrepair by the 1920s when the area became a slum.

Then, in the 1970s, the current homeowner purchased the house and restored it.

They seem to be happy there and have even responded to the home’s alleged curse with humor by putting up gatepost signs in French.

But old legends die hard and curious visitors still find their way to the house, where the owner typically allows them five minutes to look around.

Would you let tourists come visit your house?

Let me know in the comments below.

The disturbing dwelling inspired horror writer Hp Lovecraft’s 1937 short story The Shunned House, which incorporates elements of history and folklore into a disturbing supernatural tale loosely based on Harris’s experiences.

Warangal Fort

3. Warangal Fort.

While this is not your typical solid-wall fortification, this elaborate construction was built as a stronghold for the ruling dynasty Located in the southern Indian state of Telangana.

Warangal Fort once had three circular fortifications surrounded by a moat, but it was meant more as a show of power for the Kakatiya Dynasty more than actual physical defense.

King Ganapathi built Warangal Fort at the very beginning of the 13th century and it was actually finished by his daughter During the 16th century.

The early rulers of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty destroyed the fort and it remains in ruins to this day.

Some structures, such as the grand Shiva temple that once existed at the site, have disappeared.

In fact, some believe that there were as many as 365 Shiva temples once at the site, which have been lost to history.

It is most famous for its carved stone architectural features that show off the great skill of the architects and craftsmen.

There are four enormous gateways, and there were once 45 pillars that would have also been decorated.

It’s most likely that the site would have also been an enormous religious place.

Warangal Fort attracts many visitors who come to admire the structures’ detailed stone carvings and ornamental arched gateways that survive hundreds of years after their creation.

Cerro

2.

Cerro Sechin.

In 1937,, a pair of Peruvian archaeologists discovered the vast ruins of what appears to be the ancient capital of the Casma/Sechin society that lived throughout coastal northern Peru and in the valleys of the Casma and Sechin rivers, Dating back to 2400 Bc.

The prehistoric archaeological site is known as Cerro Sechín and is located within the larger Sechin Alto Complex, which sits atop a granite hill 168 miles (270 km) north of the modern-day capital city of Lima.

It contains megalithic architecture, a stepped pyramid surrounded by buildings and a 13-and-a-half-foot tall, (4.15 meters), retaining wall around the perimeter, featuring hundreds of graphic Bas-relief depictions of human sacrifice.

The wall, which was built later in the site’s history, contains shocking images of victorious warriors armed with weapons and their brutally dismembered dead victims.

Whoever carved the reliefs spared none of the gory details, making sure to include severed limbs and heads, scattered organs, skewered eyeballs and bones.

Cerro Sechín seems to have been an administrative and ceremonial center that served political and religious purposes, but little is known about the culture who built it, leaving experts with little to go on when it comes to interpreting the violent artwork.

The images may reference warfare or a specific battle or rebellion, or they may be more spiritual in nature, perhaps portraying demigods and other mythical characters.

Based on the level of detail in the carvings, some have suggested that the site served as a lab for anatomical studies.

Either way, it’s clear that the Casma/Sechin culture had an advanced knowledge of the human body for its time.

Cerro Sechín was abandoned for unknown reasons around 800 Bc, roughly the same time that other ancient ceremonial and public centers in the region declined.

Gunjiwamp

1.

Gungywamp Located in a forest less than an hour outside of New Haven, Connecticut, the Gungywamp site contains evidence of hundreds or even thousands of years of human occupation Characterized by multiple stone chambers, rock piles, rings of stones and mysterious carvings.

The ancient settlement is filled with a confusing mixture of Native American and colonial artifacts, with the oldest finds dating as far back as 2000 Bc.

Among the most notable finds at Gungywamp are a stone chamber featuring the astronomical alignment of the equinoxes and a formation of large quarried stones arranged in two concentric circles.

There are also multiple stone chambers that archaeologists believe were root cellars but truthfully do not know the purpose of.

Other discoveries include Native American pottery fragments and arrowheads, as well as colonial-era China buttons, coins, tobacco pipes, glass bottle and window fragments, bricks and animal bones, But none of these artifacts are helpful in determining what the stone chambers were used for.

On the surface, it’s clear that the 100-acre, (40 hectares) site was repurposed multiple times throughout its history, But archaeologists have struggled to make sense of the muddled mess of structures and artifacts or put together a precise timeline or order to Gungywamp’s occupation.

One of the more far-flung theories put forth mostly by non-academic investigators is that the settlement is of pre-Columbian Celtic origins and was built in the 6th century by Christian monks fleeing persecution in Europe, But no evidence points toward this as a likely possibility, despite the discovery in Newfoundland, Canada, in recent years, of a pre-Columbian Norse population in North America.

Some people even believe that there are alien connections to Gungywamp, citing the alleged presence of energy vortexes at the site, based on occasional detectable spikes in electromagnetic activity, which geologists more convincingly attribute to the quartz, granite and magnetite rocks at the site.

But in all fairness, the mysteries surrounding Gungywamp and modern scholars’ failure to come up with a more comprehensive explanation of its history open the door to these types of beliefs.

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