Buzz
Newly discovered facts are pushing historians to dig even deeper into the lives of celebrated individuals and places. Recent revelations include Leonardo da Vinci's lost mother, Rembrandt’s unusual painting technique, and the surprising use of pig fat in the construction of Stonehenge.
But that's just the beginning. Fresh findings have also shed light on a mysterious ancient civilization, offered a peculiar clue about the Nazca Lines, and uncovered a hidden military secret about Alcatraz.
10. The First Napoleonic General
Around two centuries ago, Charles Etienne Gudin was struck by a cannonball. Medical records detailed severe damage to both legs, with his left leg ultimately amputated below the knee.
Gudin was a Frenchman, and also the childhood companion and trusted general of Napoleon Bonaparte. His death was among many others that followed the French failed invasion of Russia in 1812.
In 2019, archaeologists uncovered the remains of Napoleon’s fallen general while excavating beneath a dance floor in Russia. The site, located 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Moscow, revealed a coffin containing a skeleton missing its left leg, while the right leg showed injuries matching Gudin’s battlefield wounds.
The excavation also uncovered evidence that the man had been both an aristocrat and a seasoned military veteran. In this sense, Gudin’s profile fits perfectly. If DNA testing confirms a match with his living descendants, Gudin could become the first Napoleonic general to be rediscovered.
9. An Authentic Schiele
In 2018, an art dealer reached out to expert Jane Kallir, claiming to have discovered an authentic Schiele at a thrift store in Queens. Kallir, however, was not initially thrilled—most rediscovered art by Egon Schiele tends to be forgeries. Schiele created around 300 paintings and 3,000 sketches during his lifetime.
When Schiele passed away from the Spanish flu at the young age of 28, he was one of Austria’s foremost Expressionist artists. Despite her initial skepticism, the dealer had provided photographs, which Kallir found intriguing. She eventually got the pencil sketch to New York and examined it closely, identifying Schiele’s characteristic choice of paper, pencil, and subjects—often nudes.
The sketch depicted a nude figure drawn from a challenging perspective, a rare skill that only a few artists, including Schiele, could achieve. The model was recognized as one of the artist’s frequent sitters.
Kallir became convinced that this drawing was one of Schiele’s final works from 1918, shortly before his death. It appeared to be part of a 22-piece collection, two of which were likely created on the same day as the newly uncovered sketch. The value of this new Schiele is estimated to be between $100,000 and $200,000.
8. The Forged Galileo Book
In 1610, Galileo Galilei released a groundbreaking book that revolutionized our understanding of the universe. Prior to this, it was widely believed that Earth was the center of the cosmos. Galileo’s work challenged this view and solidified his reputation as one of history’s foremost astronomers. The book, titled Sidereus Nuncius, had only 550 copies printed by hand, and only 150 have survived to this day.
In 2005, experts were stunned to authenticate an extraordinary version of Sidereus Nuncius. Unlike the others, this copy contained watercolors painted by Galileo himself. It appeared to be an early proof of the later published book.
The excitement was short-lived when the origin of the book was traced. The individual who presented it was Marino Massimo De Caro, a notorious book thief. After further examination, scholars discovered that the Lincean Academy seal on the book had been forged.
Galileo had been a member of the Lincean Academy, so it was puzzling why someone would forge a seal when the manuscript already bore the astronomer’s signature. This led to the revelation that both the signature and the book were expertly crafted forgeries. De Caro later admitted to faking four additional copies, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.
7. A Grand Palace
In Iraqi Kurdistan, near the Tigris River, a modern reservoir had long submerged ancient ruins. Archaeologists were aware of the site but couldn’t conduct excavations due to the water covering it.
In 2018, a drought revealed a stunning discovery: a grand palace had emerged from beneath the water. While uncovering entirely new cultures is thrilling, finding large structures from civilizations we know little about is even more significant.
The floor slabs and rare painted walls belonged to the Mittani Empire, a Bronze Age civilization that ruled northern Mesopotamia and Syria from around 1500 BC to 1300 BC. While historians know that Egyptian pharaohs treated Mittani royals as equals, much about their everyday life remains a mystery.
The excavation also revealed a collection of clay tablets. Translating these suggested that the palace was part of the ancient city of Zakhiku, which thrived for 400 years starting around 1800 BC. Scholars are still working to decode the tablets, hoping they will provide insights into Mittani politics, economy, and history.
6. Rembrandt's Surprising Ingredient
Plumbonacrite, a lead carbonate mineral, became a popular paint component for 20th-century artists. It had been previously found in the work of Vincent van Gogh as early as 1889. However, its presence in art from the early 1600s was completely unexpected.
In 2019, scientists made an unexpected discovery while investigating the materials Rembrandt van Rijn, a Dutch Old Master, used to create his thick paints. Known for his impasto technique, Rembrandt applied thick layers to give his paintings a three-dimensional effect.
After analyzing three of his finest works with X-rays, the presence of plumbonacrite was unmistakable. This ingredient is now added to the list of compounds Rembrandt used, including linseed oil and lead white pigment. It’s likely that he introduced plumbonacrite by mixing oils with litharge or lead oxide.
5. The Pigs of Stonehenge
When Stonehenge was being built, workers resided at nearby Durrington Walls. After decades of excavating the site, new findings in 2018, including ceramic fragments and animal bones, suggested that the builders mostly ate cooked pork. A third of the pottery displayed traces of pig fat—quite a substantial amount.
Some researchers disagreed with this interpretation. While the pots were large, they weren't large enough to accommodate a whole, unbutchered pig. Most of the bones at Durrington came from complete animals. Signs of burning indicated that the pigs had been roasted in their entirety over an open fire. It’s clear the meat was consumed, but the 2019 study proposed that the pots were used to catch the fat dripping from the spit as the pigs roasted.
Interestingly, the lard from the roasted pigs may have been used as a tool in the construction of Stonehenge. Earlier research had shown that it was possible to use grease to move the massive stones. In 2018, a group of 10 people successfully moved a 1-ton stone at nearly 1.6 kilometers per hour (1 mph) by greasing it.
4. Female Viking Warrior Was Slavic
Leszek Gardela, a Scandinavian researcher, explored the presence of female Viking warriors. He uncovered several potential examples, including the highly publicized discovery of a female Viking warrior’s grave in Denmark.
The discovery of her gender stirred much attention. Unlike any other burial in the cemetery, hers contained an unusual mix of items—a 10th-century coin and an axe. The axe, in particular, appeared frequently in the graves of women with known associations to military forces of their time. This led to speculation that she might be evidence of Viking women also engaging in battle.
In 2019, Gardela revisited the woman's axe, and this reexamination could shift the narrative once again. The artifact, a 1,000-year-old axe, was identified as distinctly Slavic. Similarly, the grave itself—a chamber tomb housing a coffin—also pointed to a Slavic origin.
Gardela theorized that the woman may not have been a Viking, but rather a Slavic individual, potentially from present-day Poland. Additionally, during that period, Slavic warriors were known to be present in Denmark, and the island where she was buried had a significant presence of these people during the Middle Ages.
3. The Alcatraz Tunnels
The renowned Alcatraz prison is located on an island near San Francisco. However, it wasn't always known as a facility for criminals. In the past, it also served as a lighthouse and a military fortification.
In 2019, a team of researchers visited the island to investigate its history before it became a prison. They weren't expecting groundbreaking findings, considering the island was relatively small and unlikely to conceal significant structures.
To avoid the expense and potential damage of excavating, the team used radar and laser technology to explore beneath the surface. The scans uncovered surprising results—tunnels and structures dating back to the 1860s. These underground features—including bombproof sections, rooms, vaulted tunnels, and air ducts—were relics from Alcatraz’s military past.
The preserved remnants were in excellent condition, with some only a few inches beneath the surface. The fort was originally constructed to protect San Francisco from potential attacks. Over the years, it vanished entirely. The discovery of its intricate architecture is a valuable addition to the ongoing effort to piece together the full history of Alcatraz.
2. Identity Of Da Vinci’s Mother
The renowned Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci was raised by his father, Ser Piero da Vinci, a well-known lawyer. Ser Piero was not married to the woman who gave birth to Leonardo. Historians generally agree that her name was likely Caterina, a common name among slaves during that period. Some have speculated that she might have been a slave from North Africa or Turkey.
In 2017, Martin Kemp, an expert on Leonardo, went through some overlooked records stored in Florence and Vinci, Italy. Kemp theorized that Caterina was a local girl. The documents uncovered a destitute orphan named Caterina di Meo Lippi, who lived near Vinci.
In July of 1451, Ser Piero visited the region, and Kemp discovered evidence that the 15-year-old Caterina gave birth to his child on April 15, 1452. Using property tax records, Kemp found connections suggesting that the da Vinci family provided her with a dowry, enabling her to marry someone else, and that Ser Piero later assisted her husband with a legal matter.
1. Foreign Birds At Nazca
The Nazca Lines continue to baffle researchers. No one knows the exact reason why the pre-Inca civilizations created the enormous drawings of animals, shapes, and plants between the 4th and 10th centuries AD. In 2019, a group of Japanese researchers turned their attention to the bird-shaped geoglyphs. With their expertise in ornithology, they concluded that many of the species had been misidentified.
One of the most recognizable images in Nazca is that of the hummingbird. However, it is not actually a true hummingbird, but a hermit, a subgroup of the hummingbird family. Two other bird figures, once thought to represent a coastal guano bird and just a generic bird, were identified in the 2019 study as pelicans.
Despite the team's careful use of anatomical references and scientific illustrations, they were unable to fully identify the remaining 13 bird geoglyphs. Some of these were believed to depict non-native species.
The three birds reclassified by the team were definitely not local species. The researchers proposed that the inclusion of exotic birds in the Nazca Lines could be significant, possibly offering crucial insights into the lines' mysterious purpose.
