Starting in the basement of a home owned by a wealthy philanthropist in the 1700s, a network of tunnels descends into the earth beneath the city of Liverpool, their full extent still undiscovered even after fifteen years of exploration. Why did tobacco merchant Joseph Williamson start building them, and just how far do they go? Some people say they were meant to be the final refuge of a death cult in the event of the apocalypse, and the secretive nature of the tunnels don’t do much to refute that theory.

There are no records from Williamson’s time to give experts any clues, and over the centuries, the portions of the tunnels that were penetrated by the public were filled with trash and debris, creating quite a cleanup job for locals working to preserve them. The twisting labyrinth was forgotten for decades before their rediscovery in 2001, and a group called ‘Friends of Williamson’s Tunnels’ has been volunteering to dig them out ever since.

Known for his charity work, Williamson may have just initiated the project to provide work for the many local men who were unemployed after the Napoleonic wars. Some of the tunnels seem to have been built and then immediately bricked up. But this and other maze-like pathways that ultimately lead nowhere could also be an attempt to disguise the true breadth of the tunnel system.

Of course, the most obvious explanation is that Williamson was using them for illegal activity. Smuggling has been the main purpose of similar tunnels around the world, from the drug tunnels at the Mexican-California border to the human trafficking tunnels of Portland, Oregon. It’s impossible to say now whether these particular ones carried illicit goods, were envisioned as emergency bunkers or were perhaps a part of some grand plan to redevelop Liverpool.

The volunteers digging the tunnels have filled over 120 dumpsters with debris since they began, and they still have no idea how much more work is left to complete. Among it they’ve found all sorts of archaeological treasures, from pipes to ceramics. Many of these are now housed in the Liverpool Heritage Center, where excavated portions of the tunnels can be toured.

The remains of large concrete arrows can be found in patches of dirt and grass across the United States from New York to San Francisco. Many locals have wondered what they’re for, seemingly pointing nowhere at all and often located in fairly remote places. They were installed in the 1920s, each accompanied by a fifty-foot tower and a tiny hut, and became obsolete within a decade.

So what were they for? Getting mail delivered in the time period just after the birth of the airplane, but before the wide use of radar and radio communications. The arrows helped guide airmail pilots at night, when flights would otherwise be grounded due to inability to properly navigate. The ability to deliver mail by plane represented a huge step in the evolution of U.S. mail delivery, vastly speeding up a system that had previously relied on stagecoach lines.

The system used fifty-foot beacon towers with rotating lights placed on top of concrete foundations shaped like arrows, usually between 50-70 feet in length. A small hut offered a place to stay for the people who maintained the generators and lights. The beacons were only visible from a distance of about 10 miles.

By the end of the first year of the program, the airmail service had 18 terminal airfields and more than 500 beacon lights in operation along the main mail delivery route, and continued to expand throughout the 1920s. But by 1933, new technology and the high cost of operation during the depression shut the program down. The towers were disassembled for their steel during World War II. A few have been preserved, like the one pictured above at the Western New Mexico Aviation Heritage Museum.

While many of the arrows have since been lost to development, those further afield still offer a (sometimes mystifying) glimpse of the past. The blog Sometimes Interesting has compiled a list with map links to arrows that still remain in New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada and other states.

What bizarre and terrifying ‘treasures’ from long-gone ancient civilizations are still hidden in crypts, caves and deep within the earth? Most archaeologists may spend their days painstakingly brushing sand off pieces of pottery, but occasionally, they unearth evidence of the darker side of humanity – cannibalism, sacrifice, mass murder, deadly paranoia about vampires and witches, and even chemical warfare. These 15 archaeological finds of ancient human remains are among the most grisly, frightening and fascinating.

Vampire of Venice

Among the corpses of medieval plague victims was one very curious find: a skull with a brick shoved so forcefully between its jaws, they were broken. The technique was used on suspected vampires in Europe during this time, especially when natural biological processes after death resulted in dark blood-like liquid streaming from the mouth. Researchers have determined that not only was this elderly woman feared a vampire after her death, she may have been accused of witchcraft before she met her end. Most people didn’t live to be her age, estimated at 60-71 years, and many medieval Europeans believed that the devil gave the elderly powers to cheat death. Older women were particularly suspect because it was assumed that they had little to live for, and were vulnerable to offers of power.

The Screaming Mummies

Imagine opening a sarcophagus to find a mummy that seems to be screaming for all eternity. In the past, when ‘screaming mummies‘ were discovered, archaeologists assumed that they must have been buried alive or killed in some other painful manner. Now, however, they usually agree that mummies are commonly found with their jaws open due to their heads falling back after death. The most famous screaming mummy is Unknown Man E, an Egyptian mummy found in 1886, who could be the murderous son of Ramses III. Another is even more shocking, with its hands covering its face in apparent terror; it was among the remains of the Chachapoya Indians of Peru.

Pile of Headless Vikings

Evidence of a shocking massacre was discovered when archaeologists unearthed 51 thousand-year-old skulls – along with another pit containing their headless bodies – in Weymouth, UK. Found in 2009, these young male Vikings were brutally slain sometime between 910 and 1030 CE. Analysis of their teeth confirmed that they were from Scandinavia. They were likely war captives of the Anglo-Saxons, executed by having their heads hacked off.

Neanderthal Cannibals

The bones of twelve neanderthals found in a cave in Spain were cut and snapped, indicating that they were likely ‘processed’ by fellow neanderthals as food. The possible family group, which included three adult males, three adult females, three adolescents, two children and an infant, is one of the most significant examples of cannibalism among neanderthals. “There are many different markings in many different bones in all 12 individuals, including traditional cut marks to disarticulate bones and remove muscle insertions, snapping and fracturing of long bones to extract the marrow,”researcher Carles Lalueza-Fox told LiveScience.

Bathhouse Baby Disposal

How and why were the bones of nearly 100 infants discarded like trash in a late Roman, early Byzantine sewer beneath a bathhouse in Israel? Found in 1988 in Ashkelon, the remains indicate that the babies died before three days of age, and show no signs of disease or skeletal malformation. While scholars hypothesized that the babies were girls, since female infanticide was common during that time, tests have since shown that many were male. The reasoning behind their death is still a mystery.

The First Leper

The earliest archaeological evidence of leprosy is found in a 4,000-year-old skeleton unearthed in India in 2009. Leprosy is difficult to study because the bacteria that causes it is tricky to culture for research, and scientists are still unsure of exactly when and where it originated. This skeleton was not only the oldest leper ever found, it was also the first evidence of leprosy in ancient India, supporting the idea that the disease migrated between Africa and Asia during a period of urbanization, growing population density and new trade routes.

Murdered Bog Bodies

The peat bogs of northwestern Europe have turned out to be one of the richest sources of ancient human remains in the world, preserving bodies so perfectly that they sometimes still contain blood and stomach contents. ‘Bog bodies‘ such as the Grauballe Man, pictured, date from 8,000 B.C.E. to the early medieval period. It seems that these people were not buried in the peat bogs, nor did they simply die there – they died violently. Researchers believe they were most likely sacrificed, or executed as punishment for crimes or perceived flaws.

Skulls Used as Cups

Three human skulls found in Gough’s Cave, Somerset, England were carefully worked into the shape of bowls, indicating that they were used to drink from. At 14,700 years old, these are the oldest skull cups ever discovered, and they were surrounded by other human remains that had been snapped to get to the marrow inside, suggesting cannibalism.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Frightening Archaeological Finds 15 Odd Human Remains

The only ancient city ever built upon a coral reef, Nan Madol is a marvel of ancient engineering so complex, no one can figure out how it was conceived and built starting in the 8th or 9th century CE. Nan Madol is located off the island of Pohnpei in the present-day Federated States of Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean, and consists of nearly 100 small artificial islands bordered by tidal canals.

The people who built it – the Saudeleur – ruled these islands for more than a millennium, yet there is nothing left of them but legend and the crumbling black basalt ruins. No art, no carvings, no writing. They were known to be deeply religious, tyrannical and cruel, and the remains of their civilization are often viewed with fear and superstition by modern-day Pohnpeians.

The Nahnmwarki people, who overthrew the last Saudeleur leader and killed the islands’ inhabitants, found themselves unable to withstand the difficult lifestyle of living at Nan Madol, which required food and fresh water to be brought over from the main island.

The ruins have been abandoned for hundreds of years. Often called the Venice of the Pacific, Nan Madol’s canals and islands were constructed starting in the 8th century, but its most iconic megalithic architecture came later, in the 12th and 13th centuries. Historians and archaeologists don’t know how the giant stones were transported and lifted into place; most Pohnpeians still believe the lore that credits magical flying abilities for the city’s construction. Another folktale tells of giants large and strong enough to move the rocks.

The total weight of the black rocks that make up the city’s construction is estimated at 750,000 metric tons, an average of 1,850 tons a year over four centuries. The basalt ‘logs’ that make up the high walls can weight as much as 50 tons each. What’s even more mysterious is the Saudeleurs didn’t have pulleys, levers or metal to aid in the process.

Unlike the similar ruins of Easter Island, Nan Madol is not a significant tourist draw, mostly due to the face that it has not yet been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Through this designation, Nan Madol would receive the funding necessary to rehabilitate the ruins and support a new tourism industry.

Images via wikimedia commons + CT Snow

A stone monument with instructions for apocalypse survivors, lurking ominously in a field in rural Georgia.  A castle comprised of stones that each weigh several tons, built with stunning precision by a single man – using no heavy equipment. These and five more strange and dazzling attractions are scattered throughout America, inspiring conspiracy theories, head-scratching and a whole lot of open-mouthed awe. From unexplained archaeological sites to bizarre modern creations, all of these mysterious man-made wonders of America are awesomely weird.

The Georgia Guidestones, Georgia

(images via: stephanie alice rogers)

Deep in the rural countryside of northeast Georgia is a mysterious stone monument intended for survivors of an apocalypse. Designed and commissioned in the late 1970s and early ’80s by an organization that never identified itself, the Georgia Guidestones warn those who would attempt to rebuild civilization to do so with care – in eight languages, including Babylonian Phoenician, Ancient Greek and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

“Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature. Guide reproduction wisely – improving fitness and diversity. Rule passion – faith – tradition – and all things with tempered reason. Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts. Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court. Avoid petty laws and useless officials. Balance personal rights with social duties. Prize truth – beauty – love – seeking harmony with the infinite. Be not a cancer on the earth – leave room for nature – leave room for nature.”

Why did they choose the unremarkable location of Elberton, Georgia? Why is the monument designed to track astronomical events like solstices? What is in the time capsule buried deep beneath the soil on the site? We may never know. The vaguely eugenic language of the monument and the strange circumstances of its creation have given rise to conspiracy theories involving everything from the New World Order to secret Satanic societies, with some speculating that a powerful international organization plans to decimate world population levels. The monument has been repeatedly vandalized, mostly with Christian-themed graffiti. The markings seen on these photos, taken in 2009, have since been removed. Get the whole story about the Guidestones at Wired.

Coral Castle, Florida

(images via: wikimedia commons)

How is it possible that one man managed to move all of these massive hunks of sedimentary rock into a sprawling stone structure, all by himself? Latvian ‘eccentric’ Edward Leedskalnin spent over 28 years building the Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida, after he was jilted by his 16-year-old fiance. Leedskalnin originally built the castle in Florida City, which is the southernmost city in Florida that’s not on an island, but actually moved the whole thing 10 miles up the coast in 1936 to preserve his privacy. He worked on it until his death in 1951, and it’s now a public attraction.

Leedskalnin, who claimed that magnets helped to cure him of terminal tuberculosis, shifted each of the several-ton megalithic stones into place, carving some into shapes like moons and planets. Altogether, the castle consists of 1,000 tons of stone including walls, sculptures, furniture and a tower. The stones fit together with no mortar, using just their own weight to keep them together, and the craftsmanship is so precise that no light passes through the joints.  The entire collection of Leedskalnin’s creations survived a direct hit from Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

So how did he do it? A few local teenagers claimed that they watched him move the stones as if they were as light as helium balloons. Leedskalnin refused to reveal his methods, saying only that it was easy once you know how. He hinted that his methods were supernatural, stating that he had discovered “the secrets of the pyramids.” Experts believe that he used traditional methods like block and tackle, a system of pulleys.

The House on the Rock, Wisconsin

(images via: alistair, chrisL_AK 1 + 2)

This might just be America’s most bizarre attraction. Absolutely jam-packed with crazy, The House on the Rock is a massive complex with dozens of themed rooms full of creepy dolls, statues, automated musical instruments, Christmas themed decor, and dusty, dilapidated knick-knacks of all kinds. Located north of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, the house and gardens were designed by Alex Jordan, Jr. beginning in 1923. As the story goes, Jordan drew out the plans for the first building, Villa Maria, and excitedly showed them to famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who replied “I wouldn’t hire you to design a cheese crate or a chicken coop.”

There’s doubt as to whether this story is true for various reasons, but it’s fun to imagine that Jordan took that as a challenge, producing a crazed complex combining beautiful gardens and interesting architecture with incredibly surreal interiors. The house sits on Deer Shelter Rock, a natural column that’s 60 feet tall, and features a cantilevered ‘Infinity Room’ with a glass cut-out in the floor, jutting out 218 feet into a ravine.

The House on the Rock is also home to the world’s largest indoor carousel, a 200-foot model of a fanciful sea creature, a huge collection of Santa Clause figures and many, many more exhibits. New attractions are still being added today.

The Underwater Pyramids of Wisconsin

(images via: vinzcha)

Conspiracy theorists will tell you that the lost pyramids of Rock Lake, Wisconsin are evidence of paranormal or extraterrestrial activity – some even calling it ‘Atlantis in Wisconsin’. Archaeologists will tell you that they’re the remains of Native American architecture that have since become submerged. Whether you’re in the former camp or the latter, these underwater structures are intriguing.

At least three pyramid-shaped structures are known to be on the bottom of Rock Lake, though nobody seems to have captured them clearly on camera, perhaps due to the murkiness of the water. It seems that the mounds may have been built by the Azatlan natives at a time when the water levels were lower, as there are similar mounds on dry land in nearby Azatlan State Park. Sonar scans in the 1980s allegedly showed a number of unusually shaped structures, and the water was clear and low enough in the 1990s to confirm that they were man-made.

America’s Stonehenge, New Hampshire

(images via: nikisublime)

‘Stonehenge’ is a bit of a misnomer for this site in New Hampshire, as it doesn’t consist of monoliths like the famous monument in England, but rather stacked stones. And it may not be quite as mysterious as its namesake, but it’s still pretty interesting. Nobody knows quite how this archaeological site might have been created, or when, or by whom. Theories range from the practical to the bizarre, from experimental land-use practices of farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries to ideas about pre-Columbian origins. Some of the rocks are arranged to match up with astronomical events like solstices.

Also known as ‘Mystery Hill’, America’s Stonehenge is currently open to the public as a free tourist attraction. The first notice of it appeared in a print of the 1907 History of Salem, New Hampshire, which referred to it as “Jonathan Pattee’s Cave. He had a house in these woods 70 years ago; took town paupers before the town farm was bought. This is a wild but beautiful spot, among rough boulders and soft pines, about which the most weird and fantastic tale might be woven. There are several caves still intact, which the owner used for storage purposes.”

William Goodwin, who purchased the property in 1937, was convinced that there was a much stranger explanation for the stones. He believed they were proof that Irish monks lived there long before Christopher Columbus arrived in what would become America. Others see similarities to Phoenician architecture. Carbon dating has been unable to distinguish between possible Native American activity in the area, and the activities of the farmers.

H.P. Lovecraft visited ‘Mystery Hill’ in the 1920s or ’30s, and used it as inspiration for his story “The Dunwich Horror.”

Art at the Denver International Airport, Colorado

(images via: enkrates, vasenka, denver international airport)

Nearly every airport has murals, statues and plaques, but most of us are too harried to take a good look. The next time you pass through Denver International Airport in Colorado, you’re going to want to lean in and examine some of the things that are painted on the walls. They’re downright bizarre – and some might even say they’re frightening.

Why, for example, does one of the murals depict a gas-mask-wearing, gun-wielding Nazi soldier looming against a destroyed landscape, surrounded by grieving women holding apparently dead children? The soldier’s sword is even piercing a dove, the symbol of peace. In the midst of a utopian-looking scene with people from various nations are the ends of swords and other weapons partially covered in flags. Another mural shows dead kids in coffins. It’s not hard to see why some people find them disturbing enough to weave fantastical explanations involving the Illuminati and an intentional reduction in world population levels.

And it’s impossible to miss another strange piece of art at this airport: the giant blue horse statue that rears up on its hind legs on the roadway approach to the terminal. Dubbed ‘Blue Mustang’, the sculpture inspired reactions of shock and horror when it was unveiled in 2008. The 32-foot-tall horse has demonic-looking red eyes and creepy black veins all over its body. This statue actually killed its creator, Luis Jiminez, when a portion came loose and hit him while he was working on it.

Furthermore, the runways are shaped like a swastika, and a Masonic capstone mentions the ‘New World Airport Commission’, an organization that doesn’t seem to exist. It’s certainly enough to make one wonder just what the designers of the airport and its decorations were thinking.

The World’s Tallest Treehouse, Tennessee

(images via: stephanie alice rogers)

Said to be the world’s tallest treehouse at 97 feet in height, Minister Horace Burgess’ sprawling creation in Crossville, Tennessee is quite a sight to behold. Scraps of wood are nailed on with seemingly no rhyme or reason, overlapping in chaotic explosions of lumber.  From the ground you can glimpse the pinnacle, topped with a spiky parapet, above the very highest branches of the oaks that are nearly swallowed by the structure. A 12-foot-diameter, 80-foot-oak serves as the main support, with six additional trees included as well.

The treehouse was made almost entirely from salvaged scrap materials by Burgess himself – acting, he says, on the will of god. “I built it for everybody,” he told USA Today. “I was praying one day, and the Lord said, ‘If you build me a treehouse,  I’ll see that you never run out of material.'”

Clearly, running out of material has never been a problem. Burgess is in his 19th year of working on the treehouse, and continues to nail wood onto it today. The treehouse has ten floors and features a sanctuary with pews, an altar and a podium. The sanctuary is also used as a basketball court. Stained glass windows, paintings and various odd art installations litter the maze-like interior along with graffiti, dirty mattresses and other signs of habitation. Burgess sometimes allows homeless people to take shelter inside.

Burgess estimates that he has used 258,000 nails on the project, and spent about $12,000. He keeps it open to the public for free, and it gets about 400-500 visitors each week.