Mercury Rivers and Bitten Bones: Uncover the Contents of 5 Strange Graves

Have you ever watched Indiana Jones or Lara Croft exploring a tomb and asked "isn't that a bit unrealistic?" Well, some of these graves would fit right in! Let's take a look at...

• The Flooding Tomb of a Water Cult
• The Mercury Rivers of Emperor Qin
• The (Biochemical) Curse of the Mummy
• The Shadows in the Sand
• The Gladiator Bones Bitten by a Big Cat.. in Britain

The Flooding Tomb of a Water Cult

It may sound like an obscure level in a video game, but in 2011 archaeologists in Peru uncovered an unusual pre-Incan tomb built (it's believed) by a water cult. Why would they think that, you ask? Well, the tomb is multi-leveled and seems to have been designed to partially flood!

On the upper level of the tomb they found the 800-year-old remains of a priestess from the Lambayeque culture, accompanied by eight other bodies. The lower level contained a further four bodies, but this layer sat below the water table and had thus flooded.

You might be wondering if that's just a coincidence, but the bodies were adorned in jewelry with wave-like designs and accompanied by a collection of seashells. Furthermore, while the priestess was found in a sitting position above the water, those below were lying down... all of which suggests the tomb's watery nature was quite intentional!

The Mercury Rivers of Emperor Qin

You've probably heard of China's terracotta warriors, but that's not the only marvel that seems to be buried in the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi. The writings of ancient historian Sima Qian claim that (in addition to a pottery army) the tomb complex was protected with booby traps and featured a massive map... with the rivers picked out in mercury.

It's worth pointing out Emperor Qin died before Sima Qian was born, but the scholar put a lot of effort into his work and at least some of the details seem to be supported by archeology. One particular element mentioned is a massive map of China - and element is the right word, as Sima Quin writes that water was simulated by the liquid metal mercury.

Tantalizingly, multiple studies have found mercury levels in the soil above the tomb to be significantly higher than in the surrounding areas. That doesn't necessarily mean that the tomb featured mercury rivers - the madness-inducing metal was sometimes used in alchemical medicine as an elixir of life, thus making it a desirable grave good... but if I were a dying emperor looking to make an incredible tomb for the afterlife, making an map of my domain and filling the rivers with an elixir of life would be a good start!

The (Biochemical) Curse of the Mummy

The ancient nobility of Egypt are known for mummification, exotic grave goods and impressive architecture for the afterlife... but after the discovery of Tutankhamun (and death of expedition financier Lord Carnarvon) curses were added to that list.

Now, the curse of the mummy may be a work of pure fiction (statistical analysis suggests there's no significant difference in the survival rates of expedition members that entered Tutankhamun's tomb and those who didn't) but that doesn't mean to say that Egypt's necropolises don't hold a plethora of hidden biological and chemical hazards.

It's pretty easy to see where biohazards could creep in. For a start, you have mummified human remains which (despite being preserved) can still be hosts for Aspergillus niger (black mold) and Aspergillus flavus (capable of causing the deadly invasive aspergillosis or producing some powerful carcinogens.) Tomb walls can also be a breeding ground for bacteria that can get into the lungs, while animals can bring in their own pathogenic offerings - for example, bat droppings can contain infectious Histoplasma fungi.

Moving on to the chemical, many of the substances used to preserve Egyptian mummies can prove dangerous to the errant explorer. The slow breakdown of bitumen, resins, plant material and human remains can release a cocktail of tomb gasses that could prove deadly in the right circumstances - sealed sarcophagi have been known to contain ammonia, formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide!

The Shadows in the Sand

Excavating the sandy-soil of Sizewell in England to make way for a nuclear power plant, archeologists uncovered the eerie silhouettes of long dead humans and animals picked out in sand.

This isn't the work of some demented artist, but the effects of acidic soil on organic remains. Over time, the corrosive conditions destroy bone and break down organic matter... but the resulting chemical stew helps bind the sediment into the shape of the bodies. They exist as darker and firmer patches (sand-stains) in the ground that still hold their shape from life.

One such Anglo-Saxon burial is particularly strange - two humans laid out side by side with a horse. Plenty of grave-goods (including weapons, shield bosses, a bowl and a cup) were found around the bodies, while the horse itself was buried with bridal, harness and copper decorations running down the head and spine. Though described as a princely burial, the bodies suffered the same fate as the others and each (including the horse) have been reduced to a shadow in the sand!

The Gladiator Bones Bitten by a Big Cat.. in Britain

So, you've probably heard that Roman gladiators sometimes fought wild animals (up to and including lions) in the arena. The evidence for this comes from mosaics, carvings and ancient writings, but these stories haven't had much physical evidence to back them up... until now.

There's a Roman-era graveyard in York, Britain, which seems to be filled with a certain kind of occupant - young, well-built men, typically showing signs of extreme violence. Many were also decapitated - a fairly common practice for dispatching critically-wounded gladiators in Roman England.

One bone found amidst the graves bore strange puncture marks unlike those of a weapon strike, however... so researchers compared the damage to bones gnawed by animals, eventually concluding that the culprit was a big cat such as a lion or leopard. Suffice to say, you don't get those wandering around northern England.

The tooth marks were on a hip bone, which need not have been fatal - but the lack of healing implies that the bone's owner died around the same time as sustaining the injury. On a similar note, the color of the fractures and the presence of bone chips suggest the bite didn't occur long after death. One theory is that another attack felled the unfortunate human and the big cat was dragging a meal away from the melee.

A trained Roman gladiator who fought animals was known as a venatore, and the bone may be from one of these specialists. It's also possible that the bone came from a condemned criminal being put against wild beasts. Either circumstance would have required deliberately importing and maintaining a big cat in the cold, damp English climate!

Thanks for reading - you might also like...

• Disturb These 5 Real-Life Vampire Graves at Your Peril...
• Grim Hybrids and Mummified Scarabs: Explore 6 Strange Sets of Animal Remains
• Golden Tongues and Solar Barques: The Strange Grave Goods of Egypt's Mummies

Sources and Further Reading:

• Ancient Tomb Built to Flood—Sheds Light on Peru Water Cult?
• Flowing rivers of mercury
• Mercury as a Geophysical Tracer Gas - Emissions from the Emperor Qin Tomb in Xi´an Studied by Laser Radar
• Egypt's 'King Tut Curse' Caused by Tomb Toxins?
• The mummy's curse: historical cohort study
• Princely burial amazes nuclear site archaeologists
• Sizewell Link Road, Theberton
• The best evidence yet that Roman gladiators fought lions: a bite mark
• Bite marks on York skeleton reveal first evidence of ‘gladiators’ fighting lions