Mysterious Discoveries Found Frozen In Ice
High among the rugged peaks of the Alps, 5,000 years ago, a wounded man is desperately pulling an arrow from his shoulder, while dragging his feet across unforgiving terrain. Half a millennium ago, 3 Inca children are handed over to high priestesses, to be prepared for a chilling ritual atop an icy volcano. Fast forward to today, and these once-forgotten souls re-emerge, their bodies hauntingly preserved by ice, opening windows into the past. These 10 mysterious discoveries found frozen in ice will rattle your stomach and excite you at the same time.
10 Mysterious Discoveries Found Frozen In Ice and Time
Join us as we uncover these mysterious discoveries frozen in time – stories that challenge history and blue the line between life and death.
1. 32,000-year-old flower seeds that came back to life
Imagine this, 32,000 years ago, an Ice Age squirrel buries a secret stash of flower seeds somewhere near the Kolyma River, in northeastern Siberia. These weren’t just any seeds – they belonged to a delicate and beautiful flowering plant that is scientifically- known today as Silene stenophylla.
For thousands of years, these tiny seeds lay perfectly preserved in ice, chilling next to the bones of mammoths, bison, and woolly rhinoceroses until 21st-century scientists dug them up from 124 feet beneath the Siberian permafrost. And they thought….why not try to bring them back to life?
So, they extracted tissue from these ancient seeds and, through meticulous in-vitro cultivation, successfully regenerated the plants. The resurrected Silene stenophylla not only grew and flowered but also produced seeds of their own with some slight morphological differences from their modern counterparts. It just makes you wonder about the resilience of life, doesn’t it?
2. Worms that took a 46,000-year-old nap
Don’t you sometimes feel like you could just nap forever? Well, this 46,000-year-old nematode (which is just fancy talk for roundworm) could teach us a lesson or two about power napping. Meet Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, a microscopic critter that was frozen solid under the Siberian permafrost for about 46,000 years.
The worm was found curled up in cryptobiosis, which is a state of extreme inactivity – no eating, no metabolism, just suspended animation. According to professor Philipp Schiffer from the University of Cologne, when scientists thawed this prehistoric worm, it sprung back to life, as if life rebooted itself after so long in the twilight zone between the living and the dead.
And just to be sure, scientists used radiocarbon dating to confirm the frozen soil surrounding the worm was indeed around 46,000 years old. While we’ve known that nematodes are impressively resilient – some even bouncing back after decades frozen in Antarctica or dried up in deserts – this Siberian worm smashes all previous records.
This finding is helping scientists unravel interesting genetic secrets about extreme survival strategies, offering valuable insights, especially as climate change ramps up. Despite the whole excitement around these incredible resurrections, some scientists remain skeptical about exactly how old these nematodes are, questioning the precision of their dating methods.
But nevertheless, it’s still cool to think that a worm could defy death by taking a multi-millennia snooze, isn’t it?
3. A piece of Mars is one of the most mysterious discoveries found frozen in ice
In December 1984, a team of American meteorite hunters discovered a peculiar-looking rock in Allan Hills, Antarctica. Scientists analyzed its chemical composition and identified it as originating from Mars. Nicknamed ALH84001, it is considered one of the oldest known Martian meteorites, estimated to have crystallized from molten rock some 4 billion years ago.
Furthermore, chemical analysis showed that it had formed at a time when Mars had liquid water on its surface.Scientists continued studying ALH84001, and in 1996 they reported discovering microscopic structures that looked like fossilized bacteria.
This finding sparked global excitement over the possibility of ancient microbial life on Mars, even prompting then-President Bill Clinton to publicly address the potential groundbreaking discovery.
4. Three little Inca children
High in the Andes Mountains, between Argentina and Chile, lies the dormant Llullaillaco volcano, with a remote, icy 6,739 m (22,110 ft) peak. On March 16, 1999, archaeologist Johan Reinhard and his team made a challenging ascent to the peak where they excavated a small chamber buried deep beneath rock and ice.
What they discovered there astonished the world – three young perfectly-preserved Inca mummies – a 13-year-old girl nicknamed Llullaillaco Maiden, and two younger children, the Llullaillaco Boy and Lightning Girl. Research showed that these children had been ritually sacrificed around the year 1500 as part of a “capachoca” ceremony, which was an important religious ritual practiced by the Inca civilization.
Detailed biochemical analysis of their hair showed they were fed coca leaves and chicha (a fermented maize beverage) roughly 6 months before the ritual sacrifice. According to historians, these children known as “acllas” (the chosen ones), were probably separated from their families and placed under the guidance of priestesses for these special ritual preparations.
The substances they consumed spiritually prepared them and also calmed them for the eventual sacrifice. The 13-year-old girl, in particular, appears to have been unconscious during the final moments, as she was found in a relaxed, seated posture with chewed coca leaves still in her mouth. Due to the extreme cold and dry conditions, the bodies of these poor little children remained extraordinarily preserved, appearing so peaceful, as if they were sleeping.
Argentina declared these mummies National Historic Properties in 2001, and since 2007, they have been exhibited at the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology in Argentina.
5. A 39,000-year-old frozen mammoth
On the frozen shores of Siberia, tusk hunters made an astonishing discovery – a young, wooly mammoth perfectly mummified by millennia of permanently frozen ground, also known as permafrost. They named her Yuka, after the nearby village of Yukagir, and she quickly became the best-preserved mammoth in paleontological history.
Her lower jaw, tongue and even internal organs were incredibly preserved. Visible signs of predatory attacks led scientists to deduce a tragic demise at around the age of 6 to 8. What’s even more mind-blowing is that scientists managed to extract flowing blood from her veins – which suggests that mammoth blood may contain some sort of natural antifreeze properties, allowing it to remain fluid even after so much time.
And hear this, Yuka also rekindled the dream – and controversy – of cloning. Some South Korean researchers have conducted some experiments using the mammoth’s tissue samples, with the goal of resurrecting this long-extinct giant. Of course, the implications of such work reach beyond paleontology, also touching on topics of ethics. Should we attempt to bring back creatures from extinction, given the potential impacts on existing wildlife, natural balance and the well-being of the cloned animals themselves.
6. An airplane which can still fly is one of the most mysterious discoveries found under ice
Picture this – it’s July 1942. In the heat of World War II, 6 Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and 2 Boeing B-17 bombers find themselves trapped in Greenland’s merciless weather. Forced to make an emergency landing, the aircrafts were soon swallowed by snow and ice. Luckily, the crew were rescued, but the planes remained buried for what seemed forever.
However, 50 years later, adventurers from the Greenland Expedition Society dug out 264 feet of solid ice to uncover one of these forgotten fighters. They named it “Glacier Girl”. Using some pretty-advanced technology, they carved deep ice tunnels, disassembling and retrieving her piece by piece. They transported the pieces to Kentucky, where Glacier Girl underwent an extraordinary revival, finally lifting off once more in October 2002.
Today she keeps captivating audiences worldwide.
7. A Top-Secret Cold War Military Project
In the shadow of the 1959 Cold War tensions, the US Army developed the “Project Iceworm” beneath Greenland’s ice. Their goal was to build a fully-functional base hidden beneath the ice that could secretly store hundreds of nuclear missiles within striking distance of the Soviet Union.
Dubbed “Camp Century” as cover, the project was quietly abandoned after engineers realized that Greenland’s ice was too unstable. The Army thought their secret abandoned ice fortress would remain buried forever.
But then, half a century later, fate intervened. In 2017, forgotten remnants of this covert mission surfaced unexpectedly in a … surprise, surprise…. Danish freezer. These remnants were perfectly preserved plant fossils stored in inconspicuously-looking jars labeled “Camp Century sub ice”. Intrigued, researchers from the University of Vermont looked into their history, quickly realizing they had proof of this secret Cold War project.
But, the discovery in itself is important, as it shows that Greenland experienced an almost ice-free period within the last million years. So the ice there was not so stable after all. The recovered samples contained traces of isotopes such as aluminum and beryllium, showing how long these fossils had been exposed to sunlight.
Furthermore, these findings raised some concerns about global climate change, as a complete melt of Greenland’s ice sheet would raise global sea levels by approximately 24 feet (or 7 meters).
8. $330,000 worth of jewels is one of the best mysterious discoveries found frozen in ice
On the icy slopes of one of Europe’s highest mountains – Mont Blanc – a French mountaineer discovered a peculiar little metal box shining from the ice. When he opened it, it revealed nearly 100 precious stones, such as emeralds, rubies and sapphires worth roughly €246,000.
Each stone was carefully wrapped and marked “Made in India”. But what the young mountaineer did next will leave you speechless.
Understanding the historical and maybe emotional weight of his find, the climber entrusted the jewels to local police. And so it started an international effort to locate the victims’ surviving relatives. After 8 years of investigation by French and Indian authorities failed to locate any family members, the precious stones were formally divided between the finder and local authorities, according to the French law. Therefore, the climber was awarded half of the precious stones.
Now, imagine yourself in the climber’s shoes – would you have handed over the gems, or might you have felt tempted to keep them?
9. A 6,000-year-old whole forest
Hidden behind the melting ice in Yellowstone lies a lost world. A 6,000-year-old Whitebark pine forest once flourished in this area, in an environment remarkably similar to today’s climate. Scientists discovered these fossilized trees perfectly preserved beneath ice patches and concluded that they perished after volcanic eruptions triggered a severe cooling 5,000 years ago.
Now as the ice melts, we can see these silent giants offering profound insights into historical climates and ecosystems. These trees were more than just silent witnesses to their environment – they provided refuge for humans and wildlife.
10. A frozen man who lived between 3400 and 3100 BCE
High among the rugged peaks of the Otztal Alps, situated between Austria and Italy, 5,300 years ago, a solitary figure moved cautiously along a mountain path. Known today as Otzi, this man, approximately 45-years-old, had lived a hard life as a high-altitude shepherd or copper smelter, given the high levels of copper and arsenic found in his hard.
One fateful day, Otzi’s journey took a dangerous turn. Caught in a territorial dispute, he was fleeing an ambush, as suggested by third-party blood traces found on his clothes.
Whatever the case, a swift arrow, shot through the thin mountain air, pierced deep into his left shoulder, severing crucial blood vessels and nerves. Bleeding heavily, Otzi desperately pulled at the arrow shaft, managing only to remove it partially. But his strength was waning, as he dragged his feet across the unforgiving terrain. Eventually, he collapsed face down on the cold alpine ground. The surrounding snow and ice quickly claimed his body, preserving him in astonishing detail for millennia. His final resting place was silent, unknown and undisturbed.
Then, on a crisp September day in 1991, two German tourists stumbled upon Otzi’s frozen body at an elevation of about 3,210 meters. The discovery rattled their stomachs, but they quickly called the authorities. That’s how Otzi became the world’s best-preserved natural mummies. His remarkable preservation, including clothing, tools, and even stomach contents, has provided scientists with incredible insights into what life was like during the Copper Age.
Today, Otzi rests at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, where he shows a haunting image of a man forever caught between life and death, silently bearing witness to humanity’s ancient past.