Origins Explained is the place to be to find all the answers to your questions, from mysterious events and unsolved mysteries to everything there is to know about the world and its amazing animals! 1. Pompeii, Italy There are many scary stories in history, but the story of Pompeii is one that we just can’t get over. This is the city that was built in the fertile valley near a volcano, Mt. Vesuvius. When it erupted, it caught people by surprise and buried the city in soot and ash and left it covered and perfectly preserved for hundreds of years. Now much of it has been uncovered and it is a sad historical marvel and many people were frozen in time forever. 2. Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Sticking with Africa, let's head to Zimbabwe, which holds one of the biggest mysteries of the continent. It's called ... Great Zimbabwe. Yeah, does not really sound mysterious, does it? But don't let that fool you, there's more to this than you might think. 3. Thonis, Egypt If you're bi
7. Desert Cones The thing about secrets is that once they’re uncovered, they’re not a secret anymore. But, near El Gouna, Egypt, in the sands that surround the area, there is a secret that keeps getting rediscovered. You see, in 2014, people used Google Maps to look at the Sahara Desert and its surrounding areas and noticed some odd cone shaped markings in the sand.
As they zoomed out, they noticed a massive pattern that was too precise to be random. The cones were actually forming a spiral pattern. But what was even more surprising was the size, it was 100 feet in diameter in the center, and the area that contained the spiral was a million square feet. So what was it??
Of course everyone was speculating it was the remains of a newly discovered civilization or ancient aliens. Well, ironically, it was a human who did this. You see, this pattern was actually an art piece done in 1997. It’s called Desert Breath, and was made under the watchful eye of Danae Stratou. It apparently took years to make, which given the desert setting I can believe. Ironically though, people keep forgetting about it, which is why when it was rediscovered in 2014 it caused a stir. Hopefully people will remember it this time, but if not, it’s not the worst thing in the world.
6. The Nabta Stones When it comes to building things that are theoretically impossible for the times, the Egyptians hold the record. In southern Egypt there are ancient megalithic structures that are believed to be a type of calendar circle. The stone structures of Nabta Playa are considered by archaeologists to be the oldest known astronomical alignments of megaliths in the world. What’s more, the people of Nabta Playa apparently dragged them over 1 kilometer to their final resting place even though the stone blocks are over 9 feet tall. Still not impressed?
Well, if you compare these to Stonehenge, this humongous stone complex was made thousands of years before that. Not only did it have a megalithic calendar marking the summer solstice and the constellations in the night sky. There were also stone circles, tombs, slabs of stones and other things archaeologists are still uncovering. There are so many questions when it comes to these stones. Why did the Egyptians feel the need to build these?
How long did it take them? What exactly did they do there? Even though it dates back at least 7000 years, it was only rediscovered in 1972.
5. It’s Not Exactly What You Think Lets start off with some interesting facts about the Sahara Desert that you might not have known. For example, even though it is considered the largest desert on Earth, that’s technically not true. Antarctica is scientifically a desert too, a snow desert, but one nonetheless. But still, if were talking sand deserts, the Sahara is king. By the way, Sahara means desert in Arabic. Which means the name translated is literally desert, which is why technically you should just say “The Sahara” but no one is going to call you out on it, unless they are super annoying. In English you can say it. Another fun fact, while the Sahara is known for its heat, as it should be, the nights in the Sahara are the exact opposite at certain months of the year. Between December and February, it can actually drop to below freezing temperature, sometimes way below. And there’s even been cases of snow covering certain sand dunes. Cool huh?
Also, despite the deserts reputation for harshness and death, it actually has a lot of fertile lands in it. You just have to know where to look. Oasis aren’t everywhere mind you, but it’s enough to make you wonder how it happened. Some of it is man-made, while other aspects of it are caused by underground rivers. Because of this, over a thousand species of plants live in the Sahara. Oh, and one last thing. The Sahara? Technically isn’t made up of all sand. About 30% of it is pure sand, and the rest is gravel. The more you know, right?
4. The Magic Lake When you are dehydrated and have been wandering around the desert for a while, you might start seeing things that are aren’t there, like a lake. A mirage can be very deadly depending on how you react to it. But, imagine people’s surprise when an actual lake appeared near Tunisia in 2014, and not only was it real, it was massive. How massive?
And because of its size, it could fit a lot of people. While investigations are still going on to find out how the lake was formed, one popular theory suggests that it was because of an underwater spring that was unearthed because of mining operations. The problem here is that the area is known for Phosphate mines, so if the water came up through those mines, it could be radioactive. Another problem is that soon after the waters arrival, the color of it went from a pure turquoise to a sludgy green. Now, there’s not real sludge in the water, it’s actually algae, which is a sign that the water itself is not getting replenished. Because of this development, there have been warnings that disease could be gotten from swimming in the water. This hasn’t been proven yet though, and the lake is still open for business by decree of the Tunisian government. Though they have sent warnings about swimming in it.
3. Desert Glass is something you most likely see every single day. It’s used to make windows, windshields glasses, and so many more things. But, you wouldn’t expect to find it in certain places. Like for example, in the world’s biggest desert. Yet, that’s exactly what happened. December 1932, a man named Patrick Clayton, who worked for the Egyptian Geological Survey, was driving through the Sahara, and he heard something that didn’t sound quite right. Driving on sand is a relatively soft experience, right?
But, instead, he heard a crunching sound. So, he stopped the car and looked under his tires to find there was glass underneath them. And not ordinary glass, but pure glass. Glass with a yellow-green tint, that apparently had iridium in it. Sand can be turned into glass. That’s pure science.
However, to do so, you’d need to raise the temperature to 3300 degrees Fahrenheit, and while the Sahara is certainly hot, it’s not that hot. In fact, you’d have to start digging to the Earth’s core to find temperatures like that. Naturally, once this glass was discovered, it launched an investigation as to what happened to cause this, and the explanations given are both cosmic and terrifying. One explanation is that this sand-to-glass event occurred via a meteorite impact. The force and heat of the impact could have been enough to turn the sand to glass.
However, scientists debate whether this is true because there were other desert meteor impact sites that don’t have that same glass. And some of these sites don’t have the signs of a meteor strike. The other explanation is really out there, but it does have some evidence. Some believe that an ancient weapon caused an event that raised the temperature to the degrees necessary to turn sand into glass. Why do they say that?
Well, when the New Mexico atomic bomb tests were being done, glass was formed from the heat. An engineer saw these shards of glass, and noted they were similar to the ones in Africa, which he had seen...50 year before. Now, the problem with this theory is that the event that caused the Sahara Desert glass to form would’ve had to have been much more intense than those nuclear bombs. So, the question remains, how did the glass get formed? I don’t know, and many are still trying to find out the answer to that question.
2. Kingdoms Beneath The Sand One of the biggest things that the Sahara Desert is known for is its sand. It’s everywhere!
The sand has helped hide and preserve some interesting secrets. Looking at it from above, we have found some very old secrets. Satellite imagery has found some very interesting markings in the desert. These marks are very direct and specific, and they look kind of like pyramids. Very, very old pyramids. Here’s the problem, they aren’t Egyptian pyramids, they appear to be much older. So that begs the question, what exactly are we looking at here?
More questions arise when you see that there are more of these massive imprints in the sands of the Sahara. Some are triangular but others are circular, and the size of these imprints are massive. Some are estimated to be 100 feet wide, and others are 300 feet wide. A running theory is that these were once part of an ancient civilization, one that existed long before the Egyptians or other native tribes that lived in the areas that now make up the Sahara.
Getting even deeper into the lore, some people think that these structures are proof of the Great Flood mentioned in the Bible and the story of Noah. They see this as proof that all kingdoms were washed away during the flood, and that these imprints are the remains of what used to be there. You might be asking me right now, Why hasn’t this been researched yet?
Expeditions were planned, but they just never got off the ground, and until one of them is fully funded, this is hands down one of the biggest secrets and mysteries that the Sahara holds.
1. The Eye Of The Sahara I definitely saved the best for last, because this mystery is something that’s been around for quite some time, but was only discovered once we started taking pictures from space. I give to you, the Eye of the Sahara. Let’s start off with size, this eye is massive, in fact, its 25 miles across, which is why it can be seen from space. Why were astronauts looking for it in space?
In 1965, the Gemini IV team were told to look for potential impact craters from meteors, as they could help tell the history of Earth in many ways. So, when the Eye of the Sahara was found, they thought it was that. But once they started studying it, they realized that wasn’t the case because there wasn’t enough melted rock in the area. The current theory actually comes from Canada, where they believe that several geological instances came together to form this natural beauty.
And make no mistake, this thing, whatever it is and regardless of how it was formed, is beautiful. That’s what makes it so mysterious, only the desert knows how this thing was made. The eye has become a landmark of sorts in the desert, and even the astronauts in space came to love the eye because it broke up the monotony of looking at sand for such a long time. Either way though, no matter how the Eye of the Sahara was formed, or what it is exactly, it most definitely is a treasure to be appreciated.
