大象传媒

Amazing, strange and sometimes accidental discoveries

130,000-year-old-toothImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

This is the tooth that is 130,000 years-old!

The tooth fairy could be in trouble over this discovery!

What's thought to be a 130,000 year-old child's tooth has been discovered in a Laos cave in Southeast Asia.

Scientists believe the tooth could help prove that an extinct type of human known as the Denisovans once lived in Southeast Asia.

Very little is known about the Denisovans but scientists studying the tooth say it is from a human female aged between three to eight years of age.

1. A stormy discovery!

Image source, Getty Images
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Storm Hannah washed away sand to uncover this prehistoric forest

There's lots of things storms do but would you expect it to uncover a forest thousands of years old?

Well that's exactly what Storm Hannah did in 2019, revealing a forest buried under water and sand more than 4,500 years ago.

The remains can be found on the west coast of Wales and were uncovered by the low tides and high winds brought on by Storm Hannah.

2. King's secrets

Image source, Dr Benjamin Pohl
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Benjamin with his discovery

When Dr Benjamin Pohl was looking through old papers at a library, he couldn't believe what he found...

He discovered a very rare royal charter from the time of King John, whose reign lasted from 1199 until 1216.

It was found in a library run by Durham University and is an impressive find because so few of them have survived.

3. It came from outer space...

Image source, Central Michgan University

Now this story is out of this world - in 2018 a man discovered that a rock he was using as a doorstop for 30 years was in fact.... a meteorite!

A professor was asked to confirm what the rock was.

She confirmed that it was the biggest bit of meteorite she'd ever looked at in her career and it was found that the rock could be worth $100,000 - around 拢77,000!

4. A 'hole' new world

Image source, Getty Images
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Some people find pennies down wells... other people find thousands of ancient statues

In 1974, a group of Chinese farmers were digging a deep-water well near to the site of an Emperor's tomb.

As they dug further, they came across an incredible figure made entirely out of clay - a soldier ready for battle!

Archaeologists came to the site and soon discovered not one, not two, but thousands of clay soldiers buried underneath the site!

Talk about a well-y good discovery!

5. From a poo-tiful find...

Ummm, well where do we begin with this one?

Yep - it's a poo! And it was discovered in 1991 by archaeologists digging in a car park.

This is no ordinary poo however, it is thought to be 1,000 years old and to have come from a human.

Shortly after its discovery, it was put on display in a museum - showing that one person's 1,000 year old rubbish is a 21st century treasure!

6. ...to a pott-tiful find

Image source, Hansons Auctioneers
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The 4,000-year-old Indus Valley Harappan Civilisation pottery jar sold for 拢80 at auction

In 2018 a man in Derbyshire discovered that his 拢4 toothbrush pot bought from a car boot sale was very special.

It was a piece of pottery an incredible 4,000 years old. That pot was definitely made to last!

7. I do declare!

Image source, Getty Images
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A man found an 1820 copy of the Declaration of Independence in a thrift shop

It's not everyday that you walk into a local charity shop and come away with one of the most important documents in your country's history!

Nearly thirty years ago, a man paid $4 for a painting in a thrift shop in Pennsylvania, America, because he liked its frame.

The last thing he expected to find when he looked behind the painting in the frame was a copy of the Declaration of Independence - a super famous statement written after the separation of the United States of America from Britain.

The document was eventually auctioned for the incredible price of $2,420,000 in 1991 - that's the equivalent of more than 拢3,227,000 in today's money!