8 People Who Mysteriously Disappeared

People go missing every single day, but some are more well-known than others. Some are even well-known because of their disappearance. They could be victims of crime, involved in an accident, or they possibly could have taken off on their own. Despite efforts to find these missing people, some were never found, leaving a mystery surrounding their last days and disappearance. Some vanishings have been subject to massive search parties, media sensationalism, dead ends, wild speculation, wrong turns, false accusations, and a few have even been turned into television shows or miniseries. There are certainly more than 8 people who qualify to be on this list, but I’ve chosen to limit it to this number. Someone not on this list who certainly qualifies to be is Judge Crater who disappeared in 1930. Here, in no particular order, are 8 people who mysteriously disappeared.

1)  DB Cooper

A number of movies, TV show plots, songs, and books have been based on the legend of this man. On Thanksgiving Eve, 1971, DB purchased a ticket under an alias, Dan Cooper, and then proceeded to skyjack Flight 305 of the Northwest Orient Airlines (later changed to Northwest Airlines, now part of Delta Airlines) which was bound for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Right after the flight took off, Cooper told a flight attendant that he had explosives in his possession and demanded $200,000 and four parachutes in addition to a refueling truck when they landed at SEA-TAC.

Authorities paid the ransom and gave Cooper the parachutes. After refueling began, he said he wanted the plane to take him to Mexico City. About thirty minutes into the flight, he parachuted from the plane at an altitude of 10,000 feet near Mount St. Helens in Washington state (almost ten years before Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 blowing away a large portion of the volcano).

Not only was he never found, his real identity remains a mystery. It's not even known whether he survived the jump. In July 2016, a two-part special was aired on the History Channel about DB Cooper, where they named Robert Rackstraw as the man behind the mystery. The FBI declared in the same month that they were no longer pursuing him. Rackstraw, a 72 old year man living on a boat in San Diego Bay claims he considered filing a defamation suit against the television channel, but it has never been filed. Whether or not he is DB Cooper remains a mystery.

2)  Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart is probably the most famous missing person in history. As both a pilot and a passenger, her flying exploits made her well-known. In addition to her aviation popularity, she was also a teacher, author, fashion designer, magazine editor, and cigarette spokesperson. In 1937, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan embarked on a trip around the world. On July 2, Earhart sent a radio message asking for help saying they were dangerously low on fuel over the Pacific Ocean. The US Coast Guard sent a cutter, the Itasca, but they were unable to locate the plane. The cutter sent up smoke signals, hoping the pair would see them, but it was no use. Neither the plane nor the two people were found. Earhart's husband funded a private search, but it failed to produce any results. In 1939, Earhart was declared dead in absentia.

There have been numerous theories as to what happened and the resulting searches became the most intensive and expensive in American history at the time. The most common belief is that her plane ran out of fuel and she had no choice but to ditch in the Pacific ocean and subsequently sank. Even after the intensive searches at the time, in 2012 researchers spent another $2.2 million dollars trying to prove Earhart had crashed on a tiny island. Nothing was ever proven.

3)  Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa was president of the Teamsters Union for over ten years. He was corrupt, involved in organized crime, and went to prison in 1967 while remaining president of the Teamsters. However, he resigned his post in 1971 in order to gain release as well as a pardon from then President Nixon. Hoffa was last seen outside a Detroit restaurant where he supposedly met with two organized crime bosses. After his disappearance, he was declared dead in 1982. The circumstances which surrounded his disappearance and subsequent apparent death are still a mystery to this day.

It's believed that he was killed by mobsters the day he disappeared, although a body was never found. There were many stories circulating about his disappearance. According to one mob source, Hoffa was put in a shallow grave on a vacant lot about twenty miles from where he was last seen. The source claims this was supposed to have been a temporary location, but Hoffa's body was never moved. Another often repeated theory says he was buried in what is now the end zone of the NY Giants football stadium.

4)  Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was a famous English explorer for which towns, bridges, rivers, bays, and straits have been named, even though it seems he must not have been a very nice fellow to work for. While exploring, his crew (who were starving, half-frozen, and homesick) became so restless they mutinied due to being unwilling to continue the search after being trapped for several months in ice. The crew put Hudson, his teenage son, and seven other crewmen who were loyal to Hudson in a small boat and set them adrift. They were never seen again.

The remaining crewmen who made it back to England were arrested and charged with the murder of Hudson. They escaped without being punished due to lack of details surrounding their captain's death. However, it's generally believed that he and the eight others who were marooned with him died while aboard the open boat, a scenario which was immortalized by the painter John Collier.

5)  Theodosia Burr Alston

Theodosia Burr Alston was the eldest child of Thomas Jefferson's Vice President, Aaron Burr. In addition, she was also married to South Carolina's Governor at the time, Joseph Alston. Aaron Burr was disgraced after being formally accused of committing treason. Five years after the fall of her father, she lost her son. She went into such deep mourning that it affected her health. The only bright spot for her was that her father was to be allowed to return to the US after being exiled to Europe.

In 1812, Alston boarded the Patriot, a schooner with an intended destination of New York. She was to be reunited with her father on that New Year's Eve. She traveled alone due to her husband, who had only recently been sworn in, being unable to accompany her due to his duties as governor. The schooner never made it to its destination. Some believe the vessel capsized or sank due to a major storm which had been documented to be in the area at the time. Others believed it was captured by pirates. Whatever happened to it, neither the vessel nor its passengers were ever seen again.

6)  Heinrich Muller

Heinrich Muller is considered to be among some of the most disgraceful people of the twentieth century, if not of all time. He joined Nazi Germany's state police, the Gestapo, in 1933. He quickly moved up the ranks to chief and in 1939, he formally joined the Nazi Party. Part of Muller's acts included helping to advance false information used in the justification of invading Poland as well as helping to carry out the Holocaust.

Muller was last observed on May 1, 1945, which was a day before Hitler took his own life. No one knows what happened to him, but most believe he died around that time. Hitler's pilot, Hans Baur, claimed Muller had said that he knew the Russian's methods and that he had no intention of allowing them to take him prisoner. From that day on, there hasn't been any sign of him. He is the highest ranking member of the Nazi party who wasn't known to be captured or killed, his whereabouts remaining a mystery.

7)  Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller was the best-selling recording artist from the late 1930s to the early 1940s, making him one of the most iconic big band leaders ever. Miller volunteered to join the US Navy after the US entered World War II, but he was turned down. He then tried to volunteer for the army and, eventually, was accepted into the Army Air Corps (on September 18, 1947, the Army Air Corps became the United States Air Force, its own military service separate from the Army). In December 1944, Miller and two others were to fly to Paris, France, in order to make arrangements for his band to play concerts for US troops.

His plane disappeared while flying somewhere over the English Channel. Neither Miller, the other two occupants, nor the plane were ever found. Rumors circulated that he was an American spy and the Germans had shot down his plane. In 2014, the Chicago Tribune reported that the most likely cause of their disappearance was a plane crash caused by a faulty carburetor. The carburetor in question was said to have been defective when used during cold weather and had a history of icing up and causing crashes.

8)  Frank Morris

Of the 36 inmates who had tried to escape from Alcatraz over the 29 years it was in operation as a federal penitentiary, 5 are still listed as missing, but presumed to have drowned although no bodies were ever found. Of the others, 23 were captured, 6 shot/killed, and 2 drowned. Of the 5  missing, Frank Morris is the most famous.

Morris grew up an orphan, spending most of his formative years in foster care. At 13, he was convicted of his first crime. He continued to break the law and was arrested for many crimes by the time he reached his late teens, such as armed robbery and narcotics possession. Morris was considered extremely intelligent at the time, ranking in the top two percent of the general population with an IQ of 133. He served time in several prisons and was eventually sent to Alcatraz in 1960.

Morris and 3 other inmates planned their escape, but only Morris and 2 brothers, John and Clarence Anglin, were able to carry out their plans. Prison officials believe the 3 drowned, but evidence over the years points to their survival. In fact, a letter was sent in 2013 to the San Francisco Police Department, claiming the writer was John Anglin. He went on to claim that he, his brother, and Morris had all escaped from Alcatraz in June 1962, albeit barely. He said he was 83 years old and had cancer. He went on to explain that Morris had died in 2008 and that his brother had died in 2011. However, the letter couldn't be verified, but it's been proven that an escape could have succeeded at the time. Clint Eastwood portrayed Frank Morris in the 1979 movie, Escape From Alcatraz.

8 People Who Mysteriously Disappeared

People go missing every single day, but some are more well-known than others. Some are even well-known because of their disappearance. They could be victims of crime, involved in an accident, or they possibly could have taken off on their own. Despite efforts to find these missing people, some were never found, leaving a mystery surrounding their last days and final disappearance. Some vanishings have been subject to massive search parties, media sensationalism, wild speculation, dead ends, wrong turns, false accusations, and a few have even turned into television shows or miniseries. Here, in no particular order, are 8 people who mysteriously disappeared.

1)  DB Cooper

A number of movies, TV show plots, songs, and books have been based on the legend of this man. On Thanksgiving Eve, 1971, DB purchased a ticket under an alias, Dan Cooper, and then proceeded to skyjack Flight 305 of the Northwest Orient Airlines (later changed to Northwest Airlines, now part of Delta Airlines) which was bound for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Right after the flight took off, Cooper told a flight attendant that he had explosives in his possession and demanded $200,000 and four parachutes in addition to a refueling truck when they landed at SEA-TAC.

Authorities paid the ransom and gave Cooper the parachutes. After refueling began, he said he wanted the plane to take him to Mexico City. About thirty minutes into the flight, he parachuted from the plane at an altitude of 10,000 feet near Mount St. Helens in Washington state.

Not only was he never found, his real identity remains a mystery. It's not even known whether he survived the jump. In July 2016, a two-part special was aired on the History Channel about DB Cooper, where they named Robert Rackstraw as the man behind the mystery. The FBI declared in the same month that they were no longer pursuing him. Rackstraw, a 72 old year man living on a boat in San Diego Bay claims he considered filing a defamation suit against the television channel, but it has never been filed. Whether or not he is DB Cooper remains a mystery.

2)  Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart is probably the most famous missing person in history. As both a pilot and a passenger, her flying exploits made her well-known. In addition to her aviation popularity, she was also a teacher, author, fashion designer, magazine editor, and cigarette spokesperson. In 1937, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan embarked on a trip around the world. On July 2, Earhart sent a radio message asking for help saying they were dangerously low on fuel over the Pacific Ocean. The US Coast Guard sent a cutter, the Itasca, but they were unable to locate the plane. The cutter sent up smoke signals, hoping the pair would see them, but it was no use. Neither the plane nor the two people were found. Earhart's husband funded a private search, but it failed to produce any results. In 1939, Earhart was declared dead in absentia.

There have been numerous theories as to what happened and the resulting searches became the most intensive and expensive in American history at the time. The most common belief is that her plane ran out of fuel and she had no choice but to ditch in the Pacific ocean and subsequently sinking. Even after the intensive searches at the time, in 2012 researchers spent another $2.2 million dollars trying to prove Earhart had crashed on a tiny island. Nothing was ever proven.

3)  Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa was president of the Teamsters Union for over ten years. He was corrupt, involved in organized crime, and went to prison in 1967 while remaining president of the Teamsters. However, he resigned his post in 1971 in order to gain release as well as a pardon from then President Nixon. Hoffa was last seen outside a Detroit restaurant where he supposedly met with two organized crime bosses. After his disappearance, he was declared dead in 1982. The circumstances which surrounded his disappearance and subsequent apparent death are still a mystery to this day.

It's believed that he was killed by mobsters the day he disappeared, although a body was never found. There were many stories circulating about his disappearance. According to one mob source, Hoffa was put in a shallow grave on a vacant lot about twenty miles from where he was last seen. The source claims this was supposed to have been a temporary location, but Hoffa's body was never moved. Another often repeated theory says he was buried in what is now the end zone of the NY Giants football stadium.

4)  Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was a famous English explorer for which towns, bridges, rivers, bays, and straits have been named, even though it seems he must not have been a very nice fellow to work for. While exploring, his crew (who was starving, half-frozen, and homesick) became so restless they mutinied due to being unwilling to continue the search after being trapped for several months in ice. The crew put Hudson, his teenage son, and seven other crewmen who were loyal to Hudson in a small boat and set adrift. They were never seen again after the ship left them behind.

The remaining crewmen who made it back to England were arrested and charged with the murder of Hudson. They escaped without being punished due to lack of details surrounding their captain's death. However, it's generally believed that he and the eight others who were marooned with him died while aboard the open boat, a scenario which was immortalized by the painter John Collier.

5)  Theodosia Burr Alston

Theodosia Burr Alston was the eldest child of Thomas Jefferson's Vice President, Aaron Burr. In addition, she was also married to the South Carolina's Governor at the time, Joseph Alston. Aaron Burr was disgraced after being formally accused of committing treason. Five years after the fall of her father, she lost her son. She went into such deep mourning that it affected her health. The only bright spot for her was that her father was to be allowed to return to the US after being exiled to Europe.

In 1812, Alston boarded the Patriot, a schooner with an intended destination of New York. She was to be reunited with her father on that New Year's Eve. She traveled alone due to her husband, who had only recently been sworn in, being unable to accompany her due to his duties as governor. The schooner never made it to its destination. Some believe the vessel capsized or sank due to a major storm which had been documented to be in the area at the time. Others believed it was captured by pirates. Whatever happened to it, neither the vessel nor its passengers were ever seen again.

6)  Heinrich Muller

Heinrich Muller is considered to be among some of the most disgraceful people of the twentieth century, if not of all time. He joined Nazi Germany's state police, the Gestapo, in 1933. He quickly moved up the ranks to chief and in 1939, he formally joined the Nazi Party. Part of Muller's acts included helping to advance false information used in the justification of invading Poland as well as helping to carry out the Holocaust.

Muller was last observed on May 1, 1945, which was a day before Hitler took his own life. No one knows what happened to him, but most believe he died around that time. Hitler's pilot, Hans Baur, claimed Muller had said that he knew the Russian's methods and that he had no intention of allowing them to take him prisoner. From that day on, there hasn't been any sign of him. He is the highest ranking member of the Nazi party who wasn't known to be captured or killed, his whereabouts remaining a mystery.

7)  Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller was the best-selling recording artist from the late 1930s to the early 1940s, making him one of the most iconic big band leaders ever. Miller volunteered to join the US Navy after the US entered World War II, but he was turned down. He then tried to volunteer for the army and, eventually, was accepted into the Air Force. On December 1944, Miller and two others were to fly to Paris, France in order to make arrangements for his band to play concerts for US troops.

His plane disappeared while flying somewhere over the English Channel. Neither Miller, the other two occupants, nor the plane were ever found. In 2014, the Chicago Tribune reported that the most likely cause of their disappearance was a plane crash caused by a faulty carburetor. The carburetor in question was said to have been defective when used during cold weather and had a history of icing up and causing crashes.

8)  Frank Morris

Of the 36 inmates who had tried escaping Alcatraz over the 29 years it was in operation as a federal penitentiary, 5 are still listed as missing, but presumed to have drowned although no bodies were ever found. Of the others, 23 were captured, 6 shot/killed, and 2 drowned. Of the 5  missing, Frank Morris is the most famous.

Morris grew up an orphan, spending most of his formative years in foster care. At 13, he was convicted of his first crime. He continued to break the law and was arrested for many crimes by the time he reached his late teens, such as armed robbery and narcotics possession. Morris was considered extremely intelligent at the time, ranking in the top two percent of the general population with an IQ of 133. He served time in several prisons and was eventually sent to Alcatraz in 1960.

Morris and 3 other inmates planned their escape, but only Morris and 2 brothers, John and Clarence Anglin, were able to carry out their plans. Prison officials believe the 3 drowned, but evidence over the years points to their survival. In fact, a letter was sent in 2013 to the San Francisco Police Department, claiming the writer was John Anglin. He went on to claim that he, his brother, and Morris had all escaped from Alcatraz in June 1962, albeit barely. He said he was 83 years old and had cancer. He went on to explain that Morris had died in 2008 and that his brother had died in 2011. However, the letter couldn't be verified, but it's been proven that an escape could have succeeded at the time.

10 Of History's Overlooked Mysteries

History is filled with mysteries, some small scale like the origins of a book and others on a very large scale such as the disappearance of an entire civilization.

I recently came across a list of 10 historical mysteries that don't seem to get too much attention.

The Tarim Mummies

An archaeological excavation beneath the Tarim Basin in western China unearthed more than 100 mummified corpses dating back more than 2000 years.  Even though dug up in China, when a college professor viewed the mummies in a museum, he was shocked to discover they had blonde hair and long noses.  In 1993, he returned to the museum to collect DNA samples from the mummies.  Tests validated his belief, showing that the bodies were of European genetic stock.  Ancient Chinese texts from as early as the first millennium BC mention groups of Caucasian people living in the far east, but there is no mention on any living in the Tarim Basin.

The Voynich Manuscript

This is quite possibly the most unreadable book in the world.  The 500-year-old, 240 page manuscript was discovered in 1912 at a library in Rome.  It contains illustrations and writing in an unknown language.  The best cryptographers have been unable to decipher the text, but statistical analysis of the writing shows that it does seem to follow the basic structure and laws of a working language.

Who Was Robin Hood?

The possible real-life existence of a bandit living in the forest who stole from the rich and gave to the poor is more plausible than the legendary King Arthur and a magical sword named Excalibur.  The historical hunt for the real Robin Hood has discovered several candidates including Robert Hod, a fugitive in Yorkshire who went by Hobbehod as well as Robert Hood of Wakefield.  The name Robin Hood eventually became synonymous with being an outlaw.  His identity would later become even murkier as various authors wove more characters into the tale such as Prince John and Richard the Lionhearted.

The Carnac Stones

As with the construction of Stonehenge, it was a backbreaking task for the people responsible for the Carnac Stones.  On the coast of Brittany, in northwestern France, there are over 3000 megalithic standing stones arranged in exacting lines and spread out over 12 kilometers (7.2 miles).  The local myth explains them as a Roman legion on the march when the wizard Merlin turned them to stone.  The identity of the Neolithic people who build them is unknown.

The Bog Bodies

Hundreds of these ancient bodies have been discovered buried around the northern wetlands of Europe.  Researchers who inspected them have found tell-tale signs of torture and medieval foul play.  These clues have led some to suspect that the dead were victims of ritual sacrifice.  [I recall reading about an incident in England, I think in the 1800s, where a body was found in a bog and it was so well preserved that the locals believed it to be a recent murder which resulted in a police investigation.]

Disappearance Of The Indus Valley Civilization

The ancient Indus Valley people were India's oldest known civilization.  Their bronze-age culture stretched from western India to Afghanistan with a population of over 5 million.  Their abrupt decline rivaled that of the Mayans.  Excavations in 1922 uncovered a culture that maintained a sophisticated sewage drainage system and immaculate bathrooms, but found no evidence of armies, slaves, social conflicts, or other vices prevalent in ancient societies.

The Lost Roman Legion

After an underachieving Roman army led by General Crassus was defeated by Persia, legend says that a small band of POWs wandered through the desert and were captured by the Han military.  An Oxford historian who compared ancient records claimed that the lost Roman legion founded a small town near the Gobi Desert named Liqian, which is Chinese for Rome.  DNA tests are being conducted to hopefully explain some of the residents' green eyes and blond hair. [Which leads one to wonder if there is a connection with the Tarim Mummies.]

Fall Of The Minoans

The fall of the Minoan Empire has proven just as puzzling as the collapse of the Roman Empire.  Approximately 3,500 years ago, life on Crete was disrupted by a huge volcanic eruption on the neighbor island of Thera.  Ancient clay tablets show that the Minoan Empire continued for another 50 years.  Theories about their demise include a blanket of ash devastating their crops and another one says their weakened society was left vulnerable to an eventual Greek takeover.

Lost City Of Helike

The Greek writer Pausanias wrote about a great earthquake that destroyed the city of Helike followed by a tsunami that swept away what remained.  The once flourishing city had been a worship center devoted to Poseidon.  No trace of this legendary society existed outside of ancient Greek texts until 1861 when a bronze coin was found showing the head of Poseidon.  In 2001, the ruins of Helike were located beneath coastal mud and gravel.  Work is currently under way to unearth what some consider the real Atlantis.

Rongorongo

Rongorongo is an indecipherable hieroglyphic writing used by the early inhabitants of Easter Island, often referred to as the other Easter Island mystery.  Rongorongo appeared mysteriously in the 1700s, at a time when no other neighboring oceanic people had any type of written language.  The language was lost along with the best hopes of deciphering it when early European colonizers banned it because of its pagan roots.

10 Of History's Overlooked Mysteries

History is filled with mysteries, some small scale like the origins of a book and others on a very large scale such as the disappearance of an entire civilization.

I recently came across a list of 10 historical mysteries that don't seem to get too much attention.

The Tarim Mummies

An archaeological excavation beneath the Tarim Basin in western China unearthed more than 100 mummified corpses dating back more than 2000 years.  Even though dug up in China, when a college professor viewed the mummies in a museum, he was shocked to discover they had blonde hair and long noses.  In 1993 he returned to the museum to collect DNA samples from the mummies.  Tests validated his belief, showing that the bodies were of European genetic stock.  Ancient Chinese texts from as early as the first millennium BC mention groups of Caucasian people living in the far east, but there is no mention on any living in the Tarim Basin.

The Voynich Manuscript

This is quite possibly the most unreadable book in the world.  The 500-year-old, 240 page manuscript was discovered in 1912 at a library in Rome.  It contains illustrations and writing in an unknown language.  The best cryptographers have been unable to decipher the text, but statistical analysis of the writing shows that it does seem to follow the basic structure and laws of a working language.

Who Was Robin Hood?

The possible real-life existence of a bandit living in the forest who stole from the rich and gave to the poor is more plausible than the legendary King Arthur and a magical sword named Excalibur.  The historical hunt for the real Robin Hood has discovered several candidates including Robert Hod, a fugitive in Yorkshire who went by Hobbehod as well as Robert Hood of Wakefield.  The name Robin Hood eventually became synonymous with being an outlaw.  His identity would later become even murkier as various authors wove more characters into the tale such as Prince John and Richard the Lionhearted.

The Carnac Stones

As with the construction of Stonehenge, it was a backbreaking task for the people responsible for the Carnac Stones.  On the coast of Brittany, in northwestern France, there are over 3000 megalithic standing stones arranged in exacting lines and spread out over 12 kilometers (7.2 miles).  The local myth explains them as a Roman legion on the march when the wizard Merlin turned them to stone.  The identity of the Neolithic people who build them is unknown.

The Bog Bodies

Hundreds of these ancient bodies have been discovered buried around the northern wetlands of Europe.  Researchers who inspected them have found tell-tale signs of torture and medieval foul play.  These clues have led some to suspect that the dead were victims of ritual sacrifice.  [I recall reading about an incident in England, I think in the 1800s, where a body was found in a bog and it was so well preserved that the locals believed it to be a recent murder which resulted in a police investigation.]

Disappearance Of The Indus Valley Civilization

The ancient Indus Valley people were India's oldest known civilization.  Their bronze-age culture stretched from western India to Afghanistan with a population of over 5 million.  Their abrupt decline rivaled that of the Mayans.  Excavations in 1922 uncovered a culture that maintained a sophisticated sewage drainage system and immaculate bathrooms, but found no evidence of armies, slaves, social conflicts, or other vices prevalent in ancient societies.

The Lost Roman Legion

After an underachieving Roman army led by General Crassus was defeated by Persia, legend says that a small band of POWs wandered through the desert and were captured by the Han military.  An Oxford historian who compared ancient records claimed that the lost Roman legion founded a small town near the Gobi Desert named Liqian, which is Chinese for Rome.  DNA tests are being conducted to hopefully explain some of the residents' green eyes and blond hair. [Which leads one to wonder if there is a connection with the Tarim Mummies.]

Fall Of The Minoans

The fall of the Minoan Empire has proven just as puzzling as the collapse of the Roman Empire.  Approximately 3,500 years ago, life on Crete was disrupted by a huge volcanic eruption on the neighbor island of Thera.  Ancient clay tablets show that the Minoan Empire continued for another 50 years.  Theories about their demise include a blanket of ash devastating their crops and another one says their weakened society was left vulnerable to an eventual Greek takeover.

Lost City Of Helike

The Greek writer Pausanias wrote about a great earthquake that destroyed the city of Helike followed by a tsunami that swept away what remained.  The once flourishing city had been a worship center devoted to Poseidon.  No trace of this legendary society existed outside of ancient Greek texts until 1861 when a bronze coin was found showing the head of Poseidon.  In 2001, the ruins of Helike were located beneath coastal mud and gravel.  Work is currently under way to unearth what some consider the real Atlantis.

Rongorongo

Rongorongo is an indecipherable hieroglyphic writing used by the early inhabitants of Easter Island, often referred to as the other Easter Island mystery.  Rongorongo appeared mysteriously in the 1700s, at a time when no other neighboring oceanic people had any type of written language.  The language was lost along with the best hopes of deciphering it when early European colonizers banned it because of its pagan roots. 

10 Of History's Overlooked Mysteries

History is filled with mysteries, some small scale like the origins of a book and others on a very large scale such as the disappearance of an entire civilization.

I recently came across a list of 10 historical mysteries that don't seem to get too much attention.

The Tarim Mummies

An archaeological excavation beneath the Tarim Basin in western China unearthed more than 100 mummified corpses dating back more than 2000 years.  Even though dug up in China, when a college professor viewed the mummies in a museum, he was shocked to discover they had blonde hair and long noses.  In 1993 he returned to the museum to collect DNA samples from the mummies.  Tests validated his belief, showing that the bodies were of European genetic stock.  Ancient Chinese texts from as early as the first millennium BC mention groups of Caucasian people living in the far east, but there is no mention on any living in the Tarim Basin.

The Voynich Manuscript

This is quite possibly the most unreadable book in the world.  The 500-year-old, 240 page manuscript was discovered in 1912 at a library in Rome.  It contains illustrations and writing in an unknown language.  The best cryptographers have been unable to decipher the text, but statistical analysis of the writing shows that it does seem to follow the basic structure and laws of a working language.

Who Was Robin Hood?

The possible real-life existence of a bandit living in the forest who stole from the rich and gave to the poor is more plausible than the legendary King Author and a magical sword named Excalibur.  The historical hunt for the real Robin Hood has discovered several candidates including Robert Hod, a fugitive in Yorkshire who went by Hobbehod as well as Robert Hood of Wakefield.  The name Robin Hood eventually became synonymous with being an outlaw.  His identity would later become even murkier as various authors wove more characters into the tale such as Prince John and Richard the Lionhearted.

The Carnac Stones

As with the construction of Stonehenge, it was a backbreaking task for the people responsible for the Carnac Stones.  On the coast of Brittany, in northwestern France, there are over 3000 megalithic standing stones arranged in exacting lines and spread out over 12 kilometers (7.2 miles).  The local myth explains them as a Roman legion on the march when the wizard Merlin turned them to stone.  The identity of the Neolithic people who build them is unknown.

The Bog Bodies

Hundreds of these ancient bodies have been discovered buried around the northern wetlands of Europe.  Researchers who inspected them have found tell-tale signs of torture and medieval foul play.  These clues have led some to suspect that the dead were victims of ritual sacrifice.  [I recall reading about an incident in England, I think in the 1800s, where a body was found in a bog and it was so well preserved that the locals believed it to be a recent murder which resulted in a police investigation.]

Disappearance Of The Indus Valley Civilization

The ancient Indus Valley people were India's oldest known civilization.  Their bronze-age culture stretched from western India to Afghanistan with a population of over 5 million.  Their abrupt decline rivaled that of the Mayans.  Excavations in 1922 uncovered a culture that maintained a sophisticated sewage drainage system and immaculate bathrooms, but found no evidence of armies, slaves, social conflicts, or other vices prevalent in ancient societies.

The Lost Roman Legion

After an underachieving Roman army led by General Crassus was defeated by Persia, legend says that a small band of POWs wandered through the desert and were captured by the Han military.  An Oxford historian who compared ancient records claimed that the lost Roman legion founded a small town near the Gobi Desert named Liqian, which is Chinese for Rome.  DNA tests are being conducted to hopefully explain some of the residents' green eyes and blond hair. [Which leads one to wonder if there is a connection with the Tarim Mummies.]

Fall Of The Minoans

The fall of the Minoan Empire has proven just as puzzling as the collapse of the Roman Empire.  Approximately 3,500 years ago, life on Crete was disrupted by a huge volcanic eruption on the neighbor island of Thera.  Ancient clay tablets show that the Minoan Empire continued for another 50 years.  Theories about their demise include a blanket of ash devastating their crops and another one says their weakened society was left vulnerable to an eventual Greek takeover.

Lost City Of Helike

The Greek writer Pausanias wrote about a great earthquake that destroyed the city of Helike followed by a tsunami that swept away what remained.  The once flourishing city had been a worship center devoted to Poseidon.  No trace of this legendary society existed outside of ancient Greek texts until 1861 when a bronze coin was found showing the head of Poseidon.  In 2001, the ruins of Helike were located beneath coastal mud and gravel.  Work is currently under way to unearth what some consider the real Atlantis.

Rongorongo

Rongorongo is an indecipherable hieroglyphic writing used by the early inhabitants of Easter Island, often referred to as the other Easter Island mystery.  Rongorongo appeared mysteriously in the 1700s, at a time when no other neighboring oceanic people had any type of written language.  The language was lost along with the best hopes of deciphering it when early European colonizers banned it because of its pagan roots.