Many of the world’s famous tourist spots carry intrigue and mystery. Often these places boast grand structures and monuments, which offer no logical explanation as to how the original settlers could have crafted them, leaving experts baffled. Below is a list of ten of the most mysterious places in the world.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is the most architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle ever constructed. The stones are situated in Salisbury, Wiltshire and were built between 2000 and 3000 BC. It’s origin and meaning have gathered more focus than many other prehistoric monuments, as the bluestone used to create the circle was discovered to have been transported 150 miles to reach the site. It attracts over a million tourists every year, many of whom gather for the annual summer and winter solstice.
Plain of Jars
The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape containing thousands of stone jars spread in clusters across the Xieng Khouang province of Laos, and are believed to have been created by travelling Indian tribes. The jars have been dubbed the Asian version of Stonehenge, though much smaller, measuring up to ten feet high. Local legend claims they were made of congealed-water buffalo skin, and made to store alcohol for a giant that lived nearby. Experts believe they may have been involved in ancient funeral ceremonies.
Teotihuacan
The holy city of Teotihuacan, ‘The place where gods were created,’ is situated thirty miles northeast of Mexico City, and was one of the largest cities in the Western Hemisphere before the 1400’s. The city was home to one-hundred thousand people before having been over by the Aztecs, several pyramids are located on site, including the Pyramid of the Sun – the third largest in the world. There has been no depiction of a ruler, and no tomb of a monarch has ever been found. The city is visited by millions of tourists every year.
Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are a series of large ancient geoglyphs etched into desert sands, found south of Peru’s city of Ica. There are hundreds of these ground drawings with different size variations, best seen from an airplane or surrounding foothills. The reason behind these drawings’ existence remains unknown, but the most recent theory suggests they are a labyrinth for spiritual journeys taken by shamans or Nazca gods.
Moai, Easter Island
The Moai are monolithic human statues – among the most famous statues in the world, created by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island in Eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. There are eight-hundred and eighty-seven in all, and most have heads three-eighths the size of the whole statue, each weighing at around 12.5 tonnes. Yet somehow the Rapa Nui were able to move them around the island from platform to platform.
Baalbek, Lebanon
The Baalbek in Lebanon is the location of the largest temple built during the Roman Empire. Among the ruins left behind from the siege of the Byzantine Empire, was the Stone of the Pregnant Woman – also known as the Stone of the South. This stone block weighs 1000 tons with a 900-metre distance from the temple complex. In the 1990’s a second monolith was discovered nearby and weighed even heavier at 1242 tons. A third was discovered in 2014 at a more gigantic size, weighing over 1600 tons, making it the largest stone block ever carved.
The alleged Bosnian Pyramid
The Bosnian Pyramid is said to be the first European pyramid found in the town of Visoko. This site has no evidence of human construction, with teams of geologists, scientists and archaeologists concluding that the hills are natural formations. Yet a Bosnian, American archaeologist Semir Osmanagic claimed to have ‘found a paved entrance plateau and discovered underground tunnels.’ Excavation of the site continues.
Yonaguni Monument, Japan
The ‘Yonaguni Submarine Ruins,’ is a submerged rock formation discovered in 1987 off the coast of Yonaguni, Japan. Everything about the star-shaped platform element of its appearance is artificial, and research in the ensuing years concluded that the structure is in fact a man-made monolith carved from a natural formation. Geologists found that the ruins are at least 6000 years old.
The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle is a vast area of over half a million square miles in the Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircrafts, ships and mariners have all mysteriously disappeared, giving its nickname the Devil’s Triangle. Scientists now say there was no mystery, and that the tragedies were all caused by bad weather, heavy air and sea traffic, and human error.
The Skirrid Mountain Inn, Wales
The Skirrid Mountain Inn, is situated in the scenic are of the Brecon Beacons, and is the oldest, and apparently most haunted pub in wales. It’s history dates back to the Northern conquest, as its flooded with stories of Gaelic past. It is said to have once been a courthouse where criminals were hung under the command of hanging judge George Jeffreys. It has since become a popular tourist stay, with many visitors undergoing ghost hunts.
