16 Greatest Discoveries Preserved in Ice!
Scientists are just now discovering precisely what the frozen fields of the Arctic or dizzying heights of our mountains have in store. Chip away the surface, and you’ll be amazed by the fifteen craziest things found in ice!
1. Remnants Of The Vikings
We all know that the Vikings were the ultimate warriors- ruling the seas and pillaging any land they could lay their hands on, but did you know that our ancient Viking overlords live on… in the glaciers?
2. Mammoth Parts
These fierce and furry prehistoric beasts dominated the Arctic roughly 39,000 years ago, and traces of them still remain trapped in polar ice. Perfectly preserved Wooly Mammoths have been dug up in Siberia and Alaska, and Mammoth brains were unearthed as well.
3. Sabretooth Tigers
These creepy kitties have been found just about everywhere in the Arctic Circle- meaning that their territory was vast and unchallenged back in the day. Although the last Sabretooth Tigers finally died off 10,000 years ago.
4. A Mummified Canine
Ancient times were tough, even for man’s best friend, as our number twelve pick illustrates. The Siberian specimen is estimated to have perished at a mere two months old and still has his fur and whiskers.
5. Otzi Man
Otzi Man was chillin’ high up in the frosty Alps for over 5,000 years before he was discovered and brought down to ground level. An ancient Austrian, this accidental mummy was so well preserved that scientists could even determine what kind of health problems he had.
6. An Ichthyosaur Graveyard
Ichthyosaurs are the stuff of night terrors. These aquatic assassins were mighty monsters with huge beaks and jagged teeth that they used to tear apart lesser marine animals in prehistoric times.
7.A WWII Military Plane
Greenland’s glaciers hold more than meets the eye, as explorers discovered when they chanced upon the remains of a P-38 Lightning fighter. The plane was part of a larger squadron that vanished over the landmass during the Second World War and explained what happened to those ill-fated planes.
8. A Frozen Battlefield
What crazier than a World War Two military plane? How about an entire frozen battlefield! During the darkest days of the First World War, battles were raged in the Italian Alps. This wintery war front was bloody, blisteringly cold, and utterly miserable.
9. Treasure
Our number seven pick gives a whole new meaning to the term “buried treasure.” Instead of uncovering rubies, sapphires, and emeralds deep in the sand of some idyllic beach, one French mountain climber found it trapped in the icy reaches of Mont Blanc.
10. Ancient Poop
Potty humor aside, ancient poop is one of the most essential items ever unearthed from the ice. Poop holds the key to many prehistoric mysteries, piecing together information on what sort of animals roamed the ancient world and what they ate.
11. A Whole Bunch Of Grasshoppers
You heard us right. Millions of grasshoppers are trapped in a Montana glacier, and we have no idea why. There are so many of the pesky hopper that the glacier has been nicknamed “Grasshopper Glacier.”
12.An Entire Lake
Our number four pick is just straight-up weird. Deep below two miles of sheer ice lies something that defies logic completely: a subglacial lake. If your brain is screaming “does not compute,” you’re not alone. The Russian scientists who discovered the lake in 2012 were equally in awe.
13. A Huge Mountain Range
Lakes aren’t the only geographic formations lurking beneath huge sheets of ice. There is a gargantuan mountain range in polar Antarctica that you can barely make out through all of the piled-up snow. Called the Gamburtsev Mountains, these seemingly petite peaks barely poke out of the ice sheet.
14. Human Sacrifices
Ancient people were well known for murdering other ancient people to appease the gods. Poor, unfortunate souls were tossed into volcanoes, drowned, and in some cases- left up in the mountains as tributes for the earth gods. The Incan Empire was especially fond of human sacrifices.
15. Ancient Bacteria
What you can’t see can absolutely hurt you. Ancient bacteria trapped in polar ice contains some of the worst nasties on the planet, including a vile strain of anthrax that killed a twelve-year-old boy when it was unearthed. Melting ice means that we need to wrestle with new bacterial strains.
