Excavations in the Sahara Desert. Interesting finds in the Sahara Desert (photo). Geographical location of the Gobi Desert

A lot has been written about the Gobi Desert and its findings, but I would like to especially note one of them. In an extremely remote area of ​​this arid zone, a skeleton was discovered believed to be that of a giant-sized humanoid. During life, the height of this individual was 15 meters! So whose skeleton did paleontologists discover - a giant man or a space alien?

At the end of the last century, a group of researchers led by Professor Higley carried out excavations in the Gobi Desert, the habitat of. The choice of the excavation site was influenced by legends about a huge giant who once lived in the local gorge. Among the Mongols, this place was considered cursed, and people avoided it.

All that's left of the giant

According to paleontologists, the legends could have a very real basis and, in the end, it was decided to begin excavations. It was assumed that it would be possible to find the bones of someone who the local ancient residents might have mistaken for a giant. But the find turned out to be completely unusual - scientists discovered the skeleton of a giant man.

Incredibly, his height was about 15 meters! Unlike the skeleton of an ordinary person, the giant’s bones turned out to be more elongated, and his skull had both monkey and human features. Based on the shape of the skull, scientists determined that the humanoid had organs of hearing and speech, as well as a fairly developed brain. It is possible that the intelligence of the creature was higher than human.

Perhaps the giant's bones fell to the surface during the erosion of soft rocks by rain, and this was the reason for the emergence of the legend about the huge giant. It is possible that the ancient Mongols could have encountered still living giants.

Local or alien?

The unusual-looking skeleton allowed one of the expedition members to make a statement about the discovery of the remains. As one might expect, the scientific world was skeptical about this statement.

The authoritative magazine “Nature” recalled the facts of counterfeiting of ancient statues, crystal skulls and many other “scientific” sensations. But who would need such a labor-intensive and far from cheap hoax? According to experts, it would take millions of dollars to bring it to life! The hoaxers would have to make the skeleton of a giant, age their craft, bring it to a remote desert region and place it among ancient rocks. According to representatives of the intelligence services, keeping such an operation secret is an unrealistic task.

Some scientists still tried to explain the unusual find. Some researchers believed that the skeleton belonged to a space alien, others - to a biblical giant, and still others - to a representative of an ancient race of giants. The Englishman D. Stanford said that it is necessary to reconsider the entire history of mankind, since such a find contradicts the known order of things.

Stanford spoke of the earthly origin of the giant, whose skeleton was found in the desert. But the English professor Tones classified him as an alien. He stated that, most likely, such a creature did not develop according to the laws of our evolution. Ufologists rejoiced at this statement the most.

Canadian R. Wingley advised to take into account the results of the latest research. It turns out that in the past the earth rotated more rapidly, a day consisted of only nine to ten hours, and their number in a year reached 400. This could have caused the formation of natural gigantism. As an example, we can recall those who once inhabited our planet. The possibility of the existence of giant humanoid individuals cannot be ruled out.

As for ufologists, many of them still believe that the skeleton found in the desert belongs to a space alien. The remains of giants have been found on our planet more than once, but no one has come across specimens of this size before. To some extent, a humanoid of this type is unnatural for our environment. It is possible that this is really a space alien, for example, a Martian. In the meantime, the Gobi Desert is in no hurry to part with its mysteries.

It is no secret to many that the north of ancient Africa in the past was a fairly fertile area. With a large number of rivers, both crossing the current territory of the Sahara Desert and flowing into the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic.

Map 1688 Clickable.

Could medieval cartographers have been wrong when they drew this? Or did they copy everything from one more ancient source?
But whether this unknown North Africa existed in ancient times, or in times closer to us, is not so important for now. Moreover, it is difficult to say when such climate change and accumulation of such amounts of sand occurred. I will dwell on the question of where there is so much sand in the Sahara. And how did it happen, what kind of processes took place, that now this place is a lifeless desert?

Official science says that the Sahara was once the bottom of a huge ancient ocean. Even whale skeletons are found there:

Excavations in Eastern Sahara.
Thirty-seven million years ago, a 15-meter flexible beast with a huge mouth and sharp teeth died and sank to the bottom of the ancient Tethys Ocean.

And the age of the whale was invented and the ancient ocean has a name. If we dwell on this fact in more detail, then I have the following question for the scientific world: in 37 million years, how thick should the soil cover accumulate over the skeleton? Officially, the average soil growth rate is 1-2 mm per year. It turns out that in 37 million years the skeleton must be at a depth of at least 37 km! Even allowing for various erosions, erosion and swelling of rocks, uplifting of the earth's crust - with such an age it is impossible to find skeletons on the surface.
In Egypt there is even the Valley of the Whales, which is included by UNESCO in the list of sites with World Heritage status:

Wadi al-Hitan: Valley of the Whale in Egypt. They write that even the stomach contents of some samples were preserved. This means that not everyone is in a skeletal state, but in a mummified or petrified state. Of course, they won't show this to us.

The remains of other animals found in Wadi al-Hitan - sharks, crocodiles, sawfish, turtles and stingrays

So how could whale skeletons end up on the desert surface? Following this path, the skeletons of dinosaurs are not completely ancient at (at least) 65 million years. Their skeletons are also found on the surface of other deserts, in the Gobi, Atacama (Chile), for example.

Many readers probably already guess about my answer. The whale (or its remains) was brought here by a flood, water from the ocean. Using the source link, you can look at the photo (it’s small, I didn’t post it) of a shell rock, right there in the desert.

Below I want to show some photos of space images from Google Earth:

The territory of the Sahara is not entirely covered with sand. But we are presented with an image of this desert: continuous sands, dunes with rare rocky massifs.

For example, the following plateaus with a rocky desert landscape are often found:

Libya. Link

From above, these places appear to be like this spot-hill, surrounded by sands:

And somewhere there are endless sands and dunes:

But where did so much sand come from across most of the Sahara? In addition to the official version of “the bottom of the Tethys ocean”, there are fantastic ones, like V. Kondratov’s version in his films: Fabric of the Universe. Mine And

In his opinion, all this sand is dumps from the processing of underwater ores by giant alien mechanisms and the dumping of soil from their aircraft. I will not defend or refute this version, but will put forward my own, within the framework of one of the topics of this blog - the flood and its manifestations.

First, let's look at some landscapes of the Sahara that few people know about:

Egyptian desert

Do you think it's somewhere in North America? You're wrong, this is the Sahara, landscapes in Mali. 21° 59" 1.68" N 5° 0" 35.15" W

This is Chad. 16° 52" 24.00" N 21° 35" 31.00" E

There are a lot of such remains

Mali. Link

These rock masses are composed of sedimentary rocks. Their tops are flat

This is what this place looks like from above:

These are remnants close to the surface. It can be seen that these are remnants, islands from an ancient surface. What happened to the rest of the territory? And the rest of the soil was carried away by the flood when the wave passed through the continent. All the washed away soil is the sands of the Sahara. Soil, rocks, washed by water erosion of the flow of grains of sand to grains of sand.

IN this place There are these traces of erosion. But they are parallel, as if washed by streams of water. Maybe this is true?

And here, too, there are the same “furrows” going to the northeast (or southwest). Link

Of course, a possible version of their formation is the deposition of erosion products along the wind rose.

But upon closer inspection, it is clear that these grooves in the rock could only be made by water erosion:

Traces of erosion on a rocky hill

This is my conclusion about the origin of the sands of the Sahara Desert.
But in the process of creating this material, another conclusion emerged. It is possible that mud and mudflow masses emerged from the depths during one event. But more about that next time...

About 9,000 years ago, a humid climate prevailed in parts of the Sahara Desert - the New Stone Age (Neolithic), the time of the appearance of metal tools and weapons. For several thousand years, the Green Sahara has been home to many animals and people. Archaeologists and anthropologists during excavations established the presence of two cultures - Kiffian (8-6 thousand years) and Tenerian (5-3 thousand years). About two hundred burials were found, some of which contained bead jewelry, stone tools and ceramic vessels. During an expedition by paleontologist Paul Sereno in Niger in 2000, dinosaur fossils were found and hundreds of skeletons, including children's, were also discovered. Hunting tools, ceramics and bones of large land animals and fish were found.

A skeleton (6000 years old) was found in the Sahara Desert in Niger (a state in West Africa), its middle finger was stuck in its mouth for an unknown reason.

In the town of In Gall, Wodaabe men dance and sing at a fast pace during the Gerewol festival. Their movements perhaps imitate the suddenness of sandstorms. Gerewol is an annual courtship festival where men try to look as handsome as possible in order to be chosen by the opposite sex of the tribe. Women can choose up to four men, and the one who remains without a partner at this festival will be alone for the entire next year.
(see what others exist)

Archaeologists were excavating far away in Gobero. This region of the Sahara is completely deserted. A small group of archaeologists have set up camp here and are conducting research. It is difficult to imagine that just a few thousand years ago the Sahara was buried in greenery, which is why it received the name Green.

The Suchomimus dinosaur froze in its lunge. This valuable find was donated by paleontologist Paul Sereno to the people of Nigeria to mark the end of a five-year civil war. Suchomimus was a carnivorous crocodile-headed dinosaur that lived 110 million years ago. More than 20 species of dinosaurs were found by the expedition during its three months in the desert.

The Niger army ensured the safety of the expedition and valuable finds from possible looters in the Sahara Desert. Archaeologists are unearthing a 6,000-year-old human skeleton. More than 250 skeletons, thousands of tools, weapons, pot shards and various decorations were found at the excavation site.

Six thousand years ago, a mother and her two children were buried at this site, holding hands. Scientists discovered that flowers were carefully placed around the deceased. The cause of their death remained a mystery.

Frequent storms in the Sahara Desert, with wind speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, quickly covered the finds with sand and archaeologists had to clear them all over again.

The well-preserved Tenerian skeleton looks as if it simply fell asleep in the sand six thousand years ago.

Dr. Chris Stojanowski and a student from Arizona State University are studying a woman who died at age 20 in the Gobero region of the Sahara.

This Tenerian male skeleton was found with his head placed in a pot. A crocodile ankle bone and a boar tusk were also found at his burial site.

The image of a giraffe carved into stone dates back eight thousand years. The giraffe had what looked like a leash in its nose. This indicates that in those distant times there was already a certain level of domestication of these animals. A unique find was discovered on the top of a granite hill by local Tuaregs; it is about 7000-9000 years old.

Two perfectly preserved Tenerian skeletons were among the first to be found. The skeleton on the right was found with the middle finger in its mouth, and the one on the left was buried in a grave that contained the remains of several other burials.

Interestingly, the ancient sand remembers the last time it saw the light. A scientific expedition took samples of this very sand, digging a hole several meters deep. Later, a US laboratory found out that there was a lake in this place in the desert 15 thousand years ago, during the Ice Age.

The boy Wodaabe leads a herd of cows to water at a well five miles from his house every night. It is possible that this is exactly what his ancestor looked like, whose remains were discovered by archaeologists.

Renowned paleontologist Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago battles a massive 80 mph sandstorm. Unfortunately, he lost and the expedition’s tents were torn from their place and carried across a lifeless part of the desert. Expedition members are accustomed to this set of circumstances; they often wake up with a centimeter layer of sand on their faces.

Two archaeologists cut burlap into strips, which will later be soaked in plaster and wrapped around a hippopotamus skull. This will strengthen and protect the remains of the animal during transportation. This find dates back 1.9 million years. Over the past fifty years, hundreds of different fossils dating back 1-4 million years have been found in these areas.

The photo shows the skeleton of a woman who lay in the sands of the Sahara for several thousand years. This excavation site contained a cemetery the size of two football fields where 250 skeletons were discovered.

Deserts are ideal natural hiding places and hiding places for the strangest and most incredible things. The weather here can be so harsh, dry and hot that not every traveler will dare to cross the endless seas of sand. Treasure hunters quickly lose their enthusiasm under the scorching rays within just a few hours. The absence of the simplest forms of life, in some deserts even bacteria, means that the most amazing objects can survive here much longer than in more familiar conditions for humans. In addition, extreme environments are an excellent opportunity for the emergence of completely new species of animals and plants. Deserts are also an ideal place for suspicious types to do their dirty deeds without worrying about uninvited observers. Get ready - in this collection you will find the strangest finds ever hidden in the sands!

10. Chinese patterns in the middle of the desert

In 2011, users of the Google Earth virtual service discovered unidentified objects in satellite images right in the middle of the sands of the Gobi Desert in the area of ​​the Chinese provinces of Xinjiang and Gansu. At first, amateurs believed the discovery to be paranormal markings similar to geoglyphs from the fields of England, which have attracted particular attention from ufologists since the 1970s. Some of the Gobi drawings turned out to be the outlines of large buildings, but a significant part of the strange compositions of white lines imprinted on the surface of the earth remained unsolved for a long time. What seemed especially mysterious was that these patterns were very large in size and were located in rather remote and practically lifeless areas. Some of the designs stretch from 800 meters to 2.5 kilometers in length!

The answer turned out to be not as sensational as many would have liked. These drawings in the middle of the Chinese desert once served as markings for spy satellites so that spacecraft could navigate and calibrate their lenses using them. Having at their disposal data on the distances and angles of specific sections of giant patterns, satellite pilots could compare their other calculations with them and correct the focusing of cameras. By the way, these satellites were not secret, and such a practice is not so unique for China. A similar system of satellite interaction with landmarks has existed in the Casa Grande, Arizona area since the 1960s.

9. Ancient Egyptian funeral boat

Among the ancient Egyptians, burying some type of vehicle along with a deceased person was a fairly common practice. For example, as many as 6 chariots were found in the legendary tomb of King Tutankhamun. Other members of noble families chose to be buried with the boats. However, even simple peasants and artisans tried to observe this tradition, buying the cheapest ships before death, so that in the afterlife they would not be left without a means of transportation. But the 4,500-year-old ship discovered in the Sahara Desert in the sands of the Abusir necropolis was completely extraordinary!

The boat, excavated in 2016, was 18 meters long, just a few meters shorter than the length of warships of the time. The vessel was made of high quality wood, and therefore it was perfectly preserved until the day of excavation. The strangest thing was that the craft was not buried in the grave of a noble Egyptian or military leader. On the contrary, the body of a common man was discovered at the excavation site. How could a poor man afford such a ship? How could the family of an ordinary Egyptian afford to buy a practically military ship or even pay for its transportation to the burial place of a relative? The answers to these questions may still be hidden somewhere in the shifting sands of the Sahara.

8. Cemetery of marine mammals in the middle of the desert

Since we're talking about tombs... Ships buried in the sands far from sea or river shores are not the most unusual objects that have ever been found in deserts. In the Chilean Atacama Desert there is a hill symbolically named Cerro Ballena (Whale Hill). This place is located at an altitude of 40 meters above sea level, and it was discovered in 2010 during the construction of a new road. Workers found here the remains of almost 40 prehistoric and a collection of bones of other marine inhabitants (ancestors of modern dolphins, fur seals and even ancient relatives of billfish). The prehistoric natural necropolis was striking in its scale and raised many questions among paleontologists. How could several dozen animals of such different species die almost simultaneously in the same place and be so well preserved?

The most likely explanation is that whales, fish and other marine animals have been dying here for a long time, and the builders discovered such a massive accumulation of bones due to work in the high area. Apparently, this discovery has been waiting in the wings for about 6-9 million years. Scientists believe that the cause of this mortality could be poisoning from toxic algae. One way or another, as a result, the list of attractions in Chile was replenished with a very remarkable cemetery of prehistoric animals.

7. The unexpected discovery of a new lake in the middle of the sands of Tunisia

The appearance of the desired lake surface in the middle of the desert horizon is one of the most common hallucinations if you have long been lost in the hot sands and are severely dehydrated. The mind clings to the hope of survival, and the brain sends the person mirages, which ultimately turn out to be an optical illusion. However, this time, in the middle of the Tunisian desert, people discovered a real lake. In July 2014, 25 kilometers from the city of Gafsa, travelers discovered a new lake, and it turned out to be a small reservoir with an area of ​​approximately 10,500 square meters and a depth of 18 meters.

Naturally, having heard about the new oasis, many travelers were drawn to the reservoir. When you are in the desert, where the heat reaches 40 degrees Celsius and above, you really don’t want to miss the opportunity to relax and cool off in some water. However, the new lake turned out to be not the best place for swimming due to its proximity to phosphate mines. It likely came from underground springs associated with old mines, meaning the water here is contaminated with carcinogens and potentially radioactive substances. The Tunisian authorities have not yet banned swimming in the new lake, but in the end everyone is responsible for their own health...

6. Egyptian sand cone geoglyphs

Now let's go back to Egypt. In 2014, the public was shocked by satellite images from the popular Google Maps service. Unusual spiral patterns were discovered near the Red Sea resort of El Gouna (El Guana), and they clearly consist of man-made conical shapes. In total, the pattern covers approximately 93,000 square meters, and the diameter of the central cone is about 30 meters.

To the great regret of lovers of mysticism, ufologists and other dreamers, the composition turned out to be the result of the work of a creative team that called the pattern “Breath of the Desert.” The sand masterpiece was built back in 1997 under the supervision of the Greek artist Danae Stratou, and its implementation took several years of work. It seems that people too quickly forgot about such a large-scale project of enthusiasts.

Then it was remembered in 2009, when Danai's references appeared in the press that a ditch had been dug around the central pyramid and filled to the very brim with water. Of course, in the desert, water does not stay for long, and therefore, during the rediscovery of this place already in 2014, only sand mounds and pits remained here, collected in an orderly sequence in the shape of a spiral.

5. Remains of a kangaroo with “horns”

In the Australian Nullarbor Desert in the coastal region in 2002, during excavations, a whole collection of skeletons was discovered, which local media dubbed “strange kangaroos.” The remains belonged to a species of large animal, much larger than ordinary kangaroos. These bizarre vertebrate creatures not only had massive claws specially adapted for digging, but also unusual processes above their eye sockets. At first, scientists decided that these were horns, but they were too small and barely protruded above the level of the forehead. The next version sounds more plausible - they were probably a kind of brow ridges that protected the eyes from foreign objects, injuries and the scorching rays of the sun. Experts also noted that the unknown species of kangaroo had a bulbous, bulbous nose. Be that as it may, a study of the skeleton indicates that the creature was a herbivore and would not pose any danger to people if it lived to the present day.

4. These magic circles have haunted scientists for many years

Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? But don’t rush to imagine something completely fabulous. In fact, the whole mystery of this place is connected primarily with the fact that there is literally no life in the mysterious geoglyphs, and therefore the origin of these African patterns has been haunting the minds of researchers for a long time and does not give them peace.

Strange circles were discovered in the Namib Desert (Namib, a region of the southeastern coast of Africa, most of the dunes are located in Namibia) and in Australia. The patterns are found in vegetated areas where the soil is fertile enough for unpretentious flora, but for some reason no grass grows within these circles. Ufology enthusiasts immediately suspected alien intervention, but skeptical scientists have long linked their theories to the influence of wind and fires. However, the researchers’ versions could not explain why grass has not grown here for several decades. Nature abhors a vacuum, and a 75-year period for sharply defined lifelessness in the midst of lush grasses seems simply incredible and even fabulous. As a result, in 2012, experts admitted that they were unable to understand the reasons for the appearance and preservation of these mysterious patterns. No plausible versions existed until 2017.

Today, the most viable theory is that the combination of desert circles is the site of empty termite colonies, which are located at just the right distance from each other, given the insect species' penchant for competition and territoriality. There is also another one. Perhaps the vegetation disappeared in places due to the fact that the root system of nearby grasses greatly influenced the distribution of water from underground sources. Since shrubs draw out all the moisture available to them, areas are formed where there is no moisture at all, which means there are no conditions for grass to appear there either. Although none of these theories can explain why the circles have not been overgrown for so long. At least these versions are somewhat more plausible than fairy-tale conspiracy theories, the machinations of fairies, or that these are alien beacons.

3. Works of ancient people

These patterns on the earth's surface were first noticed in 1927 by the British pilot Percy Maitland, but for a long time the mysterious patterns were of almost no interest to the public. On the territory of Jordan, in the area of ​​​​the Azraq oasis, hundreds of mysterious geoglyphs, the width of which is 25-30 meters, were discovered on the ground. Outwardly, they resemble patterns of wheels, and the Bedouins called these patterns “the work of ancient people.” There are 2 more of these giant wheels in the Black Desert region of Jordan, and archaeologists believe that they are about 8,500 years old. This means that the mysterious artifacts are older than the oldest pyramid in the world, which makes them even more mysterious objects.

The purpose of these objects is still unknown. One of the most popular versions is that there was once an ancient cemetery here, but this claim has never been proven and remains controversial. The patterns are built from stones and presumably represent some kind of symbols. According to the most popular opinion, these designs are associated with the astronomical knowledge of the ancient inhabitants of this region, since most of the spokes of the “wheels” of the Azraq oasis are extended towards the sunrise during the winter solstice.

Similar but simpler ground markings have also been found in Saudi Arabia. The huge stone triangles have been studied so little that scientists do not even know the approximate date of their origin. In addition to the triangles, other strange artifacts were also discovered here - man-made formations in the shape of the letter “U”, carved into the ground or assembled from over three hundred stones. The finds were later dubbed gates. It seems that these geoglyphs are completely unique, since such structures are not found anywhere else outside of Saudi Arabia. Scientists are still shrugging their shoulders and cannot explain the purpose of all these marks.

2. Giant Murray Man

This 4-kilometer white engraving in southern Australia near the city of Adelaide is a true masterpiece by unknown artists who painted a giant hunter throwing a stick in the middle of the desert. The geoglyph was discovered in 1998, and someone clearly had to work hard to create these outlines, because digging 30-centimeter trenches the width of an entire road in such a vast area is not an easy task. It was possible to view this extraordinary image of an ancient hunter only from the air at an altitude of 3000 meters, and experts still do not know who, how and when did it. By the way, Marree Man is so big that he even got into the Guinness Book of Records.

Most likely the author of the composition is Bardius Goldberg (Australian artist). This assumption is based on the fact that he himself once shared with the press his desire to portray something similar. The man claimed that his work would be visible from space, and that he had already begun consultations on the design of his new creative project. However, there is no information about the start of work, the hiring of performers or the rental of equipment, and Goldberg himself died back in 2002. There is no evidence of his involvement with the Murray Man, and the man himself will no longer be able to shed light on his relationship to this object. When researchers began asking local residents about the largest geoglyph on the planet, many began to claim that they had participated in its creation. But experts are still baffled by how this masterpiece managed to remain completely unnoticed and unknown for so long.

1. The disemboweled body of Ryan Singleton

The last item in this collection will not be as mystical as the previous ones, and is not related to archeology or the mysteries of antiquity. Instead, you will find the tragic story of a young American.

In 2013, the body of 24-year-old Georgia native Ryan Singleton (Georgia) was discovered by hikers in the Mojave Desert, California. The guy worked in the modeling business and did not hide from anyone that he was homosexual. At the time of the discovery of his body, he had been wanted for 2 and a half months. The body was found in an unusual condition - the deceased Singleton was missing eyes, lungs, liver, kidneys and heart. No evidence was found at the scene that would help lead to the culprit or understand what happened.

Missing organs most often testify in favor of dealers working in the black market of transplantology. However, the police dismissed this option, since the official report of forensic experts indicates that the missing entrails were eaten by wild animals. But this version also has its drawbacks. For example, it is not clear why the model’s body is practically undamaged, which does not fit in with the habits of hungry animals. Ryan was gutted too neatly.

The victim's family suspects that either the guy made enemies in the modeling and entertainment business, or he was killed because of his sexual orientation in a fit of hatred. And if the guy died a non-violent death, then why in the middle of the desert and alone? The investigation is still ongoing.

She was just over twenty. One child is five, and the other is eight. Maybe they were suddenly overtaken by a sandstorm or a mysterious disease. Or maybe they just couldn't live without each other. And someone loving buried them in such a way that even after five thousand years the mother stretches out her arms towards her children to forever embrace them in her arms on a carpet of flowers.

Of course, we will never know for sure what happened to this family. But how interesting it is, armed with archaeological evidence, to try to restore a picture of the life of our ancestors!

Or rather, not quite ours. We are talking about the Sahara, where an international team of researchers is excavating Stone Age burials. Several thousand years later, a story about the vicissitudes of the fate of the ancient inhabitants of Africa was published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Bird's eye view of the excavation sites. In the foreground: Pleistocene dunes (that is, those that arose before the end of the last ice age about 10 thousand years ago), where settlements of Stone Age people were discovered. In the background on the right: the archaeological camp (photo by Sereno et al./PLoS ONE).

In those days, the Dark Continent was not yet divided into two parts by an endless desert, and in these places fertile lands bloomed, antelopes grazed and hippos frolicked. And people settled around large but shallow (up to 8 meters) lakes - with fish and crocodiles.

In total, about two hundred burials were found in Gobero, in the Niger River region. These excavations are a rare case when scientists were able to reconstruct in sufficient detail a picture of people’s lives over several millennia.

Ancient Africans left behind not only burials, but also garbage dumps (very valuable to scientists) and household items, in particular ceramics.

The desert, merciless to the living, has mysteriously preserved traces of a vanished civilization. Right down to the table sets of that time – mollusk shells neatly arranged by the housewives.

And there were quite a few people in these parts after the Sahara swallowed them up - which could not but affect the safety of the remains.

The numbers on the map at the top indicate excavation sites (13 in total). Below is a reconstruction of the relief in the Gobero area around 8 thousand years BC (illustration by Sereno et al./PLoS ONE).

A group of paleontologists got stuck in the local sands back in 2000 - in search of dinosaur bones. The work had already come to an end when one of the group members, Paul Sereno from the University of Chicago, convinced his colleagues to continue the excavations - he really liked the elusive outlines of something on the horizon.

The scientist almost let him down. Having gotten closer to the suspicious place, the researchers discovered human remains that were visible to the naked eye under a layer of sand. They look very ancient.

We managed to dig up about fifteen skeletons right off the bat. And almost like a dead man's chest - ancient artifacts that can be more valuable than any treasure.

In general, paleontologists were forced to give way to anthropologists and archaeologists. And some have retrained themselves.

Dr. Sereno managed to involve the National Geographic Society of the United States in the project, under whose patronage excavations began in 2003 (photo by Mike Hettwer/National Geographic).

Using their experience in finding dinosaurs, the researchers did not excavate in the traditional way - with a shovel and a brush, but resorted to a new technique: they fixed the sand around the remains with a special compound, and then used a plaster to make a “mummy” and remove the entire skeleton.

Despite the relative safety of the settlements, the desert climate also had disadvantages: dry winds pretty much battered the remains, ridding them of the smallest particles of tissue that archaeologists needed so much. The sands also created other difficulties: they are loose, which precludes dating the remains using rock deposits.

Scientists had to use strontium isotope analysis in intraosseous material - primarily taken from teeth. Another important source of information was the remains of plant pollen on pottery, stone tools, bones and in general.

In the end, despite all the difficulties, this is what we managed to find out.

A mid-Holocene garbage heap. In addition to isotope and pollen analysis of individual sites, comparative craniometric analysis of the remains with other human remains found in Africa was carried out, as well as luminescence analysis to date various objects, such as this garbage heap (photo Sereno et al./PLoS ONE).

The “human” history of the Sahara began about 10 thousand years ago, when the last ice age finally ended, giving birth to a new geological era - the Holocene.

The first hunter-gatherer-fishermen came to Gobero about 8 thousand years ago and lived there for one and a half thousand years - until approximately 6200 BC. Scientists attributed them to the Kiffian culture.

These were people of the so-called transitional period - from a nomadic to a settled way of life, and they were already burying their relatives. By the way, one of the burials became the oldest known object of its kind in Africa - it dates back to 7500 BC.

By the way, some scientists have suspicions that the Tenerian culture could have come under the influence of the ancient Egyptians: during excavations, minerals were discovered that can only be found in the northern Mediterranean (photo Sereno et al./PLoS ONE).

Despite the fact that agriculture had not yet penetrated the Kiffians, they were distinguished by a surprisingly impressive physique: the height of both men and women averaged about two meters.

Apparently, the Africans felt confident even on a fish diet - harpoons for hunting giant five-meter catfish were discovered at the excavation site. Things were completely different in the Sahara then. The retreating glacier filled the desert with life.

But then the great dryness came again and lasted for a thousand years: from 6200 to 5200 BC.

What happened during this millennium is not entirely clear, but after the drought, when the water returned to the desert, completely different people began to live there. They were less outstanding in stature, more slender and had elongated, narrow heads.

But the “kids,” whom scientists nicknamed Tenerians (named after the Tenere desert), have become more advanced. Hunters acquired sophisticated tools, and their homes were filled with art objects, including those made of ivory and mollusk shells.

But the greatest surprise was the complexity and variety of funeral rituals. It was the Tenerians who so touchingly buried the young woman and her children.

“The Sahara is one of the most interesting laboratories for studying human responses to climate change,” says anthropologist Susan Keech McIntosh of the University of Houston. “In this case, the quantity and quality of the remains give us an unprecedented level of detail in understanding the processes that took place at that time” (photo by Sereno et al./PLoS ONE).

On a fabulous carpet of fragrant buds. Dr. Sereno’s paleontological skills came in handy: researchers discovered a large amount of pollen in the burial, and of completely different colors.

However, impressive ritual practices are not the most surprising thing. For burials, people separated by several thousand years chose the same place: their graves, interspersed with each other, are scattered across two ancient dunes.

But not everyone is convinced of the independence of the two populations. Some researchers, on the contrary, see this as the main discovery and the main mystery at the same time.

For example, Joel Irish from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks believes that a more detailed comparative analysis of the “old” and “new” Goberians is needed. In his opinion, these could well be the same people who first left and then returned. True, slightly modified.