When you purchase through data link on our site , we may realize an affiliate committee . Here ’s how it works .
There are some historical enigma that may never be solved , from the date thatJesuswas bear to the personal identity of Jack the Ripper to the location ofCleopatra ’s grave . Sometimes , that ’s because the relevant hollow material has been lost or an archaeologic web site has been destroyed . Other fourth dimension , it ’s because new evidence is unconvincing to come ahead or the surviving evidence is too faint to go scholars to a consensus .
The lack of response only makes these enigmas more intriguing . Here , Live Science takes a look at 20 of these historical interrogation that may never have unequivocal explanation .
Will the 600-year-old Voynich Manuscript ever be deciphered?
Was Mount Everest scaled in 1924?
The first verified individuals to scaleMount Everestwere Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay , who reached the summit on May 29 , 1953 . However , they may not have been the first people to reach the top .
In 1924 , British mountaineers Andrew Comyn " Sandy " Irvine and George Mallory died on Mount Everest . Since then , there has been speculation about whether they may have reached the crest before they perished . In 1999 , climber Conrad Anker found Mallory ’s body at a height of almost 27,000 feet ( 8,229 m ) up the 29,032 - foot - marvelous ( 8,849 m ) stack . In 2024,Irvine ’s understructure , still in its sock and kicking , was discovered by a National Geographic documentary team . A camera the two originally bring with them remains undiscovered . unhappily , it seems unconvincing that we will ever get it on for sure whether the two reached the top before they perished .
What happened to the Mary Celeste?
On Dec 5 , 1872 , the British ship Dei Gratia pull up alongside the Mary Celeste and find it abandoned and adrift about 400 miles ( 644 klick ) E of the Azores . A lifeboat was missing , but there was no equipment casualty to the vessel or sign of any struggle . The 10 rider and crew aboard the watercraft were never construe again , and what happened on board the ship has been a secret ever since . Many theories have been put onward . One suggests that a passing water from the ship ’s cargo of alcoholic drink may have prompted the gang to abandon ship because of fears it wouldcatch fire and foul up up . Another theory is that a waterspout may have threatened the watercraft . To this twenty-four hour period , the mystery has never been solved , it in all likelihood never will be .
What does the Voynich manuscript say?
The 600 - yr - oldVoynich manuscriptis a mysterious leaf-book that contains a series of illustrations and writings . The writings , penned by an unknown writer , have not been trace , and it ’s not light if they make up an unknown lyric , a codification or gibber . endeavor to decode the codex and understand its meaning have been unsuccessful .
Many theory have undertake to explain the textual matter . For exercise , it may be a reference book , a workplace of fiction or an attempt to gain entry into a secret society . It appear unlikely that the leaf-book will ever be deciphered , or it may be unreadable .
Where are the bones of Peking Man?
Bones belonging to a hominin list " Peking Man " were found in 1923 in a cave near the village of Zhoukoudian , near Beijing . Japan invadedChinain 1937 and attempt to ship the fossils to the United States in 1941 , before the plan of attack on Pearl Harbor . The endeavor failed , and the localization of the dodo remain unknown . One theory is that they were sunk while on instrument panel a ship , while another purports that they are buried somewhere in China . While it appear unlikely that the dodo will be find out , recent excavation of the caves near Zhoukoudian are turning up newtools relatedto Peking Man .
Where is Alexander the Great buried?
By the age of 32 , Alexander the Great had swept across Asia , conquering a region from the Balkans to Pakistan and ruling over the biggest imperium in the ancient mankind . Then , in 323 B.C. , he died , and his empire fell like a house of cards . The ruler was felled by an sickness in Babylon . Historical document suggest one of his general brought his eubstance back to ancient Egypt two years later on and thathis physical structure was held in the city of Memphis while a grave was built for himin Alexandria .
However , no one knows exactly where that iconic grave is site . Some have suggested it has sunk beneath the waves , because it was built in the " Palaces District " that is now submerged . If that ’s the showcase , it may have been destroyed by millennia of both human and raw forces , expert previously told Live Science . Even if it were to be found , there would in all likelihood be few name marks proving the tomb belong to Alexander . The ancient historians who described the building of the tomb left fiddling physical verbal description of it , so researcher may need an intact dedication to discover the tomb .
Was there a real King Arthur?
The tarradiddle of King Arthur has been told and retold legion times over more than 1,000 years . Camelot , the knight of the one shot table , the wizard Merlin and the sword Excalibur are all famous parts of the Arthurian tale .
However , if King Arthur did really live , the realism was in all probability less wizard . The earliest surviving account date to the 9th century and say of a loss leader ( perhaps not even a baron ) who fight several battles against the Saxons ; even the truth of these report is arguable .
There are a numeral of sites in Britain that legends connect to King Arthur , such asTintagel , a coastal site that was supposedly King Arthur ’s home ; but mining have not confirmed whether Arthur ever lived there or even existed . in the end , it seems improbable that scholars will ever recognize for certain whether there was a tangible King Arthur or whether the human beings was purely fictional .
The last image taken of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine leaving for the North Col of Everest.
What happened to the “vanished” colonists at Roanoke?
On July 22 , 1587,John White arrived to Roanoke Islandwith another 120 citizenry along with him . A few month later on , he sail back to England , hoping to restock on badly ask supplies . But when he finally returned three years later , every last house physician had vanished .
The only clue to their possible whereabouts ? The mysterious Logos CROATOAN carved on a palisdae , and another CRO carve on a tree diagram . White assumed the residents had traveled to Croatoan Island , which is now call Hatteras Island . But a storm mishandle in and prevent White from reaching the island , and he never raised enough money for another search .
Some documents suggest Chief Powhattan killed some of the colonists , but there ’s no archaeologic evidence to back that up . Other theories purpose the residents were attack by the Spanish or that the colonists only died of rude cause . Whatever the character , the fate of the colonists is " the biggest unresolved mystery in American history,“William Kelso , emeritus director of archeology and research at the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation , previously told Live Science .
A depiction of the Mary Celeste at sea.
Where is William Kidd’s treasure hidden?
William Kidd , more unremarkably know as Captain Kidd , was an notorious Scotch privateer who sailed the seas in the late 1600s . He was commission to arrest pirates by the British administration but was in the end hang for plagiarization himself in 1701 .
Before his disgraceful death , Kidd fascinate and plundered many ships . But the one that get him in hot water was the Quedagh Merchant , a ship with an English captain navigate with French regulative paper ( known as pass ) and carry good belong to the nobleman of the Mughal Emperor ’s lawcourt in South Asia , Frederick Hanselmann , an submersed archaeologist at Indiana University , wrote in his book " Captain Kidd ’s Lost Ship : The crash of the Quedagh Merchant " ( University Press of Florida , 2019 ) . This caused the British to brandmark Kidd as a buccaneer . When Kidd found out , he sail to New York on another vas in an attempt to clear his name . TheQuedagh Merchant was abandoned shortly after Kidd left , and its wreck was found in 2007 .
Kidd claim he pilfered around 100,000 British pound ( around $ 20 million today ) and bury it somewhere , offer to trade in the location for his life-time , according to a letter he save to the British government , which is now in theBritish National Archives . The offer was refused , and he was do . To his die breathing place , Kidd argued he was a lawful privateersman who had only ever despoil targets approved by the pate . But he was hung and his trunk covered with pitch shot and twitch in an iron coop displayed over the Thames . Either way , none of this treasure has ever been recovered , and likely never will be .
A statue of Peking Man at Zhoukoudian, China.
Who was Jack the Ripper?
In 1888 , Jack the Ripper killed at least five cleaning woman in London , mutilating their bodies . A number of letters , supposedly from the Ripper , were sent to law taunting officer ' drive to find the Ripper . ( Whether any of them were really written by the Ripper is a topic of debate among scholarly person . ) The name " Jack the Ripper " comes from these letters .
gratuitous to say , the Ripper was never find , and over the years , dozens of people have been brought up as possible nominee . In his 2012 book " Jack The Ripper : The Hand Of A Woman , " John Morris suggest that a woman name Lizzie Williams was the Ripper , although other Ripper experts upchuck doubt on it . It appears improbable that the dead on target identity of the Ripper will ever be have it away for certain .
Where is Jimmy Hoffa?
The trucker union leader known for his involvement in organise crime melt in Oakland County , Michigan , on July 30 , 1975 , and was declare legally dead in 1982 . The indistinguishability of his killer(s ) and the location of his body are on-going closed book . police force and forensic anthropologist have searched a number of site in Detroit and Oakland County to no avail .
One populartheorywas that Hoffa ’s body was buried beneath Giants Stadium in New Jersey . However , this theory has been debunked . On Oct. 25 and 26 , 2021 , FBI agent call a former landfill in New Jersey to conduct a " site survey,“according to The New York Times . The resume is a follow - up to a deathbed confession by a landfill worker claiming that masses had charged he and his father with sink Hoffa ’s eubstance in a sword barrel under the dump in 1975 . The agents apparentlydidn’t find the sword barrel .
" Nothing of evidentiary value was discovered during that search , " Mara Schneider , an FBI spokeswoman in Detroit , saidaccording to The Guardianin July 2022 . " While we do not currently previse any extra activity at the web site , the FBI will stay to prosecute any viable lead in our endeavor to situate Mr Hoffa . "
A sculpture of Alexander the Great riding his horse Bucephalus in Thessaloniki, Greece. Alexander the Great is buried somewhere in the ancient city of Alexandria, but no one knows where his tomb is located, or if it even exists.
The identity of his killer is also unclear . Before his destruction in 2006 , Richard " The Iceman " Kuklinski , a off man , claim to have pour down Hoffa and dump his trunk in a flake one thousand , The Guardian report . An author refer Philip Carlo chaffer Kuklinski in prison house before he died and wrote a book on Kuklinski ’s confession . After the book fare out , a bit of constabulary officers cast dubiousness on the confession in media interviews . As the year go by , it appear progressively unbelievable that Hoffa ’s remains will ever be found .
Where is Cleopatra’s tomb?
Ancient writers take that Cleopatra VII and her devotee , Mark Antony , were buried together in a tomb after their deaths in 30 B.C. The author Plutarch ( A.D. 45 to 120 ) compose that the grave was locate near a temple of Isis , anancient Egyptiangoddess , and was a " eminent and beautiful " monument containing treasure made ofgold , Ag , emerald , drop , ebony and ivory .
The localization of the tomb remains a mystery . In 2010 , Zahi Hawass , Egypt ’s former antiquities rector , bear excavations at a site near Alexandria now call Taposiris Magna , which contains a number of grave date to the epoch when Cleopatra VII rule Egypt . While many interesting archaeological find were made , Cleopatra VII ’s grave was not among them , and there is no evidence thatthe tombis located there , Hawass said . Archaeologists have remark that even if Cleopatra ’s grave does make it to this mean solar day , it may be heavily plundered and unidentifiable .
Who killed JFK?
This is one of the biggest mysteries in American story that will never be resolved to everyone ’s satisfaction . On Nov. 22 , 1963 , President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald ( although some theorize that he was n’t the only shooter ) . On Nov. 24 , 1963 , before Oswald could stand trial , Oswald was fatally inject by club possessor Jack Ruby . Ruby died of lungcanceron Jan. 3 , 1967 .
Related:10 persistent Kennedy assassination theories
The most wide accepted explanation is that Oswald killed JFK on his own and Ruby bolt down Oswald , on his own volition . Ruby ’s tell motivation was to save Jacqueline Kennedy " the discomfiture of [ Oswald ] come back to trial . " However , there are still a meaning routine of professional and unpaid historiographer who do not concord with this account , and since JFK ’s last legion alternative explanation have been brought forward . Given that pregnant Modern evidence is unlikely to appear , a unwavering consensus will probably never be gain .
The King Arthur statue Gallos by Rubin Eynon stands on a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall in the U.K.
Was Caesarion truly Caesar’s son?
In 47 B.C. , Cleopatra VII give birth to a Logos named Caesarion whom she claimed was the son ofJulius Caesar . Cleopatra list Caesarion as Colorado - ruler of Egypt in 44 B.C. , and make it artistic production draw mother and son as co - rulers .
However , whether the child was sincerely Caesar ’s son is uncertain . Caesar never recognize the child as his own . One of Caesar ’s friend , Gaius Oppius , even wrote a pamphlet refuse that Caesarion was Caesar ’s son . Cleopatra VII died by self-destruction after she and Mark Antony were vote down by Octavian in 30 B.C. and Caesarion was kill not long after that .
With no corpse of Julius Caesar or Caesarion surviving , it is unlikely that scholar will ever be able to determine , with sure thing , whether Caesar was truly Caesarion ’s father .
When John White returned to the Roanoke colony with supplies from England, he found all the people gone — and just the word “CROATOAN” carved nearby.
Is the Copper Scroll treasure real?
In 1952 , a copper color scroll was found by archaeologists in a cave , along with other Dead Sea Scrolls , at thesite of Qumran . As its name paint a picture , the writing was engraved onto a Cu scroll . The scroll record a vast amount of hidden amber and silver treasure .
The scroll dates back more than 1,900 class to a time when theRoman Empirecontrolled the Qumran surface area . There were a number of revolts against Roman rule at the sentence the scroll was write , and scientist have hypothesized that the hoarded wealth was hidden to prevent its capture by Roman forces . Whether the gem is real , where exactly it was hidden , whether it was ever launch and whether it could still live today are all mysteries that will in all probability never be work out .
Fate of the Ark of the Covenant
In 587 B.C. a Babylonian regular army , under King Nebuchadnezzar II , capture Jerusalem , dismiss the city and destroy the First Temple , a construction used by the Judaic hoi polloi to worship God . The First Temple contain theArk of the Covenant , which carried tab register the 10 Commandments .
The lot of the ark is unclear . Ancient sources argue that the ark was either pack back toBabylonor hidden before the city was captured . It ’s also possible that the ark was put down during the city ’s sacking . In any event , the ark ’s positioning is unknown . Since the fade , a number of stories and legends about the ark ’s portion have been told . One story suggests the ark eventuallymade its way of life to Ethiopia , where it is kept today . Another history enunciate the ark was divinely hidden and will not look until a christ arrives .
When was Jesus born?
While many Christians today celebrate Dec. 25 asthe birth of Jesus , he likely was not bear on this daylight . The dateDec . 25 may have been chosenbecause it ’s snug in clock time to Saturna lia , a Roman fete that observe the god Saturn . The early record of Dec. 25 being the natal day of Jesus date to the fourth 100 A.D. — more than 300 years after his birth . Another estimate is that early Christians chose Dec. 25 because it is nine months to the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. they viewed as Jesus ' excogitation .
Ancient records suggest that early Christians were never capable to agree on a escort when Jesus was give birth and even today many Orthodox Christians lionise Jesus ' natal day as being on Jan. 6 or 7 . In the last , it is unconvincing that the date of Jesus ' birth will ever be known — in fact , even the precise year is not certain , although learner generally fit that it was sometime around 4 B.C.
Were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon real?
Ancient writer distinguish a rattling serial publication of gardens constructed at the ancient metropolis of Babylon in mod - day Iraq . Supposedly make by Nebuchadnezzar II ( sovereignty circa 605 to 562 B.C. ) , the gardens impressed some ancient author so much that they called the garden a " marvel of the earth . " Around 250 B.C. , Philo of Byzantium publish that the Hanging Gardens had " plant life cultivated at a height above ground level , and the rootage of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the globe . "
So far , archaeologistswho have excavated Babylon have been ineffectual to ascertain the cadaver of a garden that meets this description . This has left archaeologists with a question : Did the hanging gardens really exist ? In 2013,Stephanie Dalley , a researcher at the University of Oxford , proposed in a book that the gardens were really located at theAssyriancity of Nineveh . Over the past two decades , both Babylon and Nineveh have suffered damage from war and looting , and it seems unlikely that this whodunit will ever be full solve .
Was there a real-life inspiration for Atlantis?
Writing in the quaternary century B.C. , the Greek philosopher Plato told a story of a land named Atlantis that existed in the Atlantic Ocean and purportedly capture much of Europe and Africa in prehistoric sentence . In the story , the prehistorical Athenians strike back against Atlantis in a conflict that ends with Atlantis vanish beneath the waves .
While no serious scholar believes that this story is literally true , some have hypothesise that the legend could have been pep up , in part , by existent events that fall out in Greek history . One possibleness is that the Minoan civilisation ( as it ’s now called ) , which flourished on the island of Crete until about 1400 B.C. , could have inspired the story of Atlantis . Although Crete is in the Mediterranean , and not the Atlantic , Minoan settlements suffered considerable damage during the eruption of Thera , a vent in Greece .
Additionally , archaeologists discover that the Minoans were finally whelm ( or pressure to link up with ) a group of people foretell the Mycenaeans , who were base on mainland Greece . It ’s unlikely that this argument will ever be to the full settle .
This illustration, “Captain William Kidd in New York Harbour, 1696,” by Jean Leone Gerome Ferris, shows the infamous Scottish privateer charming women onboard his ship, the Adventure Galley.
What was Jesus really like?
The earlier surviving gospels date to the 2d one C , almost 100 year after the life of Jesus . The want of surviving first - C texts about Jesus leave biblical scholar with a number of questions . When were the gospels write ? How many of the chronicle really took place ? What was Jesus like in real animation ?
archaeologic investigations of Nazareth , Jesus ' hometown , reveal more about the surroundings where he maturate up . In recent geezerhood scientists discovered a first - century sign of the zodiac that , centuries after Jesus ' time , was venerated as being the business firm that Jesus grew up in , but whether it was actually Jesus ' house is unnamed .
Although new enquiry will provide more penetration , bookman recall it ’s improbable they will ever fully know what Jesus was really like . However , in 2018 , a research worker publish an illustration of whatJesus may have calculate likebased on archeological information and ancient text that draw Jesus ' coevals in Judea and Egypt . The researcher drew from imaging on ancient coin and Egyptian mummy paintings , and found that Jesus in all likelihood had brown eyes , black-market hair and olive - brown pelt . He may have been about 5 feet , 5 inches ( 1.65 measure ) magniloquent , which was the norm for male adults base on skeletal clay in that era .
Jack the Ripper killed and mutilated the bodies of at least five women in late 19th-century London.
Where is the Holy Grail?
The Holy Grail , the cup that Jesus drank from at his last supper with his disciples before his crucifixion , has never been found and almost certainly never will be . In fact , it was n’t until the Middle Ages that there was much interest in it , after those writing some of the King Arthur account described the lookup for the Holy Grail as a pursuit that King Arthur and his knight took on .
There are no serious scholarly attempts to find the Holy Grail , although it persist in to be democratic in fiction , being used as a secret plan gadget in picture like the 1989 movie " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , " where it was used to heal Indiana Jones ' father after he was shot by a Nazi collaborator .
earlier put out on Live Science on Aug. 16 , 2016 and republished with updated information on July 19 , 2023 and March 18 , 2024 .
Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa went missing in 1975. The FBI is once again on the hunt for his body in a former New jersey landfill.
The Death of Cleopatra, 1785.
President John F. Kennedy rides in the presidential motorcade with First Lady Jackie Kennedy, near Dealey Plaza in Dallas just before he was shot.
Here we see a sunk relief of Cleopatra (Cleopatra VII) and her son Caesarean on the the south wall of the Temple of Hathor, Dendera, Egypt.
Here is strip 11 of the Copper Scroll, which describes a vast hoard of hidden gold and silver that likely is imaginary.
A digital rendering of the Ark of the Covenant. The bible has detailed descriptions of this holy object, but it was lost millennia ago and will likely never be recovered.
“The Adoration of the Christ Child,” by Gerard van Honthorst.
This 16th-century engraving, by Dutch artist Martin Heemskerck, shows the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” with the Tower of Babel in the background.
The lost city of Atlantis is almost certainly a myth. It was first described by Plato in the fourth century B.C. and rumored to have conquered Europe and Africa in ancient times.
Historians have created a rough outline of Jesus' life, but will probably never confirm what he was like. However, they do have thoughts on how he likely looked, positing that he had brown eyes, olive skin and black hair.
The Holy Grail is a chalice that Jesus and his disciples supposedly drank from at the Last Supper. Interest in this cup only emerged during the Middle Ages, at which point various legends about its powers emerged.
