Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries

by Brian Haughton

Despite being enmeshed in a culture steeped in technology and science, the magic and mysteries of the ancient world can still haunt our imagination. Through their architecture, artefacts and deeds, ancient cultures speak to us across thousands of dusty years--from the labyrinthine palace of Knossos on Crete and the lofty pyramids of Egypt to the remotest jungle temples of Peru and the megalithic mystery of Stonehenge. Hidden History brings together a fascinating selection of these ancient enigmas, arranging them into three Mysterious Places, Unexplained Artefacts, and Enigmatic People. You'll discover fascinating facts
The Great Sphinx--Mysticism and archaeology collide in the ongoing debate over this enigmatic monument.
Mystery Hill--Who built the intriguing megalithic complex lying 40 miles north of Boston?
The Antikythera Mechanism--An ancient Greek computer found beneath the Aegean Sea.
The Giant Hill-Figures of England--The Uffington White Horse and other huge chalk figures cut into the English countryside thousands of years ago.
The Queen of Sheba--Clues to the real identity of this mighty ruler famous for her Biblical visit to King Solomon
Newgrange--Hundreds of years older than the Giza Pyramid and Stonehenge. Who were the builders of this Irish megalithic monument? Hidden History fills the gap between archaeology and alternative history using the latest available data and a common sense, open-minded approach. The book discusses not only ancient history's major mysteries, but also some of the puzzles of alternative history--like the "Coso Artefact," the possibility of ancient flight, and the mysterious "Voynich Manuscript"--as well as mysterious peoples from the Magi and the Druids to the Knights Templar and the Green Children. With more than 50 photographs and illustrations, this is the ideal reference work for those interested in the archaeology of these great enigmas.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Ancient History, Science, Archaeology, The United States Of America

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2007

Reviews

[Deren Kellogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love history and I really love historical mysteries. However, it is difficult to find a good book on the subject that is not simply a platform for expressing its author's support for the ridiculous "theories" of people like Erich Van Daniken, Charles Hapgood, or Gavin Menzies. Imagined how pleased I was to discover this volume, and its companion, "History's Mysteries". Haughton writes about fascinating historical questions such as "Who built Great Zimbabwe?" or "Is the Round Tower of Providence, RI evidence for pre-Columbian European voyages to North America?". He writes about these questions without resorting to tales of ancient alien visitations, lost continents (though he does discuss beliefs about Atlantis, Lemuria, and Mu), or ancient technologically-advanced civilizations. Haughton examines the history of these controversies, various theories that have been advanced to explain them, and where opinions now stand on them. Some of these "mysteries" were the products of racism or exaggeration (i.e. the theory that a lost, possibly European or Asian, civilization built the mounds visible today in the Midwestern and Southern US; actually, they were built by Native Americans), others have been largely solved (the supposed historical/spiritual significance of Renne-le-Chateau in France was the product of a hoax), while others remain mysterious (Who were the "Green Children" allegedly found near the English village of Woolpit in the 12th century?)Haughton writes rationally about all of them, providing a wealth of fascinating information while avoiding the stridency so often associated with writing on these subjects. Highly recommended.

[Beril · Rating 2 out of 5]

3 sene sürdü okumam, o arada 2 ev değiştirdim, onlarca kitap okudum, dizi izledim ama bu kitaba elim gitmedi bir türlü. tarihin mistik kısmına gerçekçi bir bakış açısı getirmiş yazar kitapta ama ben sanırım o mistik kısmı daha çok seviyorum ve o kısma inanmak istiyorum. kötü bir kitap değil ama sürükleyici ve merak uyandırıcı hiç değil. efsanelerimin bir bir yıkılışını okumakta zorlandım sanırım.

[Ethan Mingerink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice history buff meets conspiracy theorist nonfiction book. Read this before adding to my classroom library and I think it will be well-loved as it is full of short but interesting analyses of common legends. Highly recommend.

[Andre Hermanto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good:
* Some interesting topics (e.g. the grand Pyramid, Petra)

Bad:
* Around half of the topics are either complete fabrication (Atlantis), proven to be fake (Shroud of Turin) or not that interesting (some hills in England).

[Richie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read; 5-10pp survey of current information about pretty much every historical "mystery" you can think of. The author lets you draw your own conclusions instead of being heavy handed with the evidence either way.

[Jessada Karnjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

ท่องประวัติศาสตร์ซึ่งยังซ่อนเร้นอยู่ในหลืบของความไม่รู้ และปริศนาที่ดึงดูดนักประวัติศาสตร์ นักโบราณคดี และนักวิทยาศาสตร์หลายยุคหลายสมัยให้ค้นหาความเป็นมา อาทิ แอตแลนติส จะมีอยู่แค่ใน Timaeus กับ Critias ของเพลโตหรือไม่ เป็นดินแดนที่สาบสูญหรือเพียงอยู่ในจินตนาการ, เปตราแห่งจอห์แดน เหตุใดนครผาหินสลักอันวิจิตรจึงซ่อนตัวอยู่ในทำเลซ่อนเร้น เป็นขุมทรัพย์ (El-Khazneh) เก็บสมบัติของฟาโรห์รึเปล่า หรือเป็นวิหาร หรือหลุมศพกษัตริย์ ยังมีเรื่องราวของ สฟิงซ์ มหาพีระมิด ในอียิปต์ สโตนเฮนจ์ของอังกฤษ แกรนด์แคนย่อนเก็บซ่้อนสมบัติไอยคุปต์รึเปล่า มาชูปิคชูของอินคา หอสมุดแห่งอเล็กซานเดรียที่ว่าถูกเผาทิ้ง มีอยู่จริงหรือนิทาน ใครเผา ยังมีมีสเทอรี่ ฮิล (สโตนเฮนจ์แห่งอเมริกา) ซิลเบอร์รี่ ฮิล ชีเชนอิตซา วิหารกูกัลคันของมายา เขาวงกตคนอสซัสกับตำนานมิโนทอร์ (สิ่งมีชีวิตตัวเป็นคน หัวเป็นกระทิง ชาวเอเธนส์ต้องสังเวยเด็กชายหญิง 14 คน ให้เจ้าตัวนี้ที่เกาะครีตทุกปี ภายหลังถูกสังหารโดยเจ้าชาย Thesues) รูปปั้น moai บนเกาะอีสเตอร์ แผ่นดินมูที่สูญหาย เอลโดลาโด นครเฮลิเก และนิวเกรนจ์ (Newgrange) อ่านเพลินครับ

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gizlenen Tarihten ziyade gizil kalmış,tarihin tozlu zamanlarından hala bize bakan,sırrını çözmek amacıyla araştırmalar incelemeler yapılmış ,üzerine tezler yazılmış medeniyetin tohumlarını ya da gelişim dönemlerini yansıtan Chicen Itza,Maya imparatorluğu,Sfenks,Stonehenge ve Mu,Atlantis kıtası gibi bir çok yapılar ve varlığı hala sorgulanan kıtalar hakkında temel bilgiler sunar Brian Haughton.
Tüm yapıların ortak özelliği gizemli uygarlıkların ilginç günlük yaşantılarını yansıtmaları,insanlık tarihine etkileri ve ilginç oluşumları…Örneğin Chichen Itza Maya ve Toltek Uygarlıklarının yaşantılarını ve matematik,astroloji ve mimarinin mükemmel birlikteliğini sunarak ne kadar ileri uygarlıkta olduklarını gösterir.
Okumanın yanında,yan araştırma da yapmakla zenginlik katarak anlam kazanacak satırlar sunar yazar.
Hediyelik kitap okuması oldu benim için.

[Ken Cartisano · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good solid book. Provides brief (three or four pages on average) descriptions of ancient mysteries and artifacts. Some you've heard of, a few you might not have. The author does not sensationalize his topics and in fact debunks a lot of off-beat speculative theories that aren't supported by the facts. This is nothing at all like an Erik Von Daniken book. Very brief, concise and informative.

[Mark A. Vierthaler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this. The author presents famous mysteries and legends, discusses the popular theories and stories, and then ends with the (often mundane) truth.

I would love for each section to go into deeper dives, but otherwise a great “pickup and read a few chapters” book.

[João Soares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um misto de mistério com a imaginação do autor.

[Michael Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of fun information, but pretty vague on details and lots of spelling errors.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite interesting, although, like any book of smaller articles, the interesting level varied. I learned new info on several subjects I'd already had some interest in, including Troy, Petra, the Sphinx, and the Shroud of Turin. I also learned about several things I'd never even heard of before, like the "Baghdad Battery", a possible 2000 year old electric battery, and the "Voynich Manuscript", a 200+ page book in a completely uncipherable language. Weird.
Perhaps this shouldn't even be mentioned, but one of my biggest beefs with this book is that it had a high number of typos. A few in a book is understandable; a few on each page is not.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be a conspiracy book, full of ideas about ETs landing in ancient Egypt and then flying to England to draw giant men in the fields. But it wasn't. It did talk about those things, but then he clearly pointed out what evidence, or lack of evidence there is for such things. He also gave a great, concise history about some of Earth's neatest things: the search for Atlantis, Noah's Ark. Stonehenge, Avebury, Eldorado, Troy, the Pyramids. He also talks about mysterious peoples, like the Bog people and the hobbit guys found in Indonesia. The book's from 2008, so some of the things are probably outdated. He should totally do a new updated edition!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

“ Huvitaval kombel on moodsad teaduslikud tehnikad üht mõistatust lahendades loonud mõnikord teisi. ”[13: Sissejuhatus]

“ Peamine probleem paljude spekulatsioonide puhul, mis ümbritsevad seletamatuid iidseid artefakte, on see, et esemed võetakse nende algsest kontekstist välja, selleks et pakkuda tõendit lemmikteooria tõestuseks. ”[14: Sissejuhatus]

“ Kas need veealused leiud Vaikses ja India ookeanis osutuvad unustatud tsivilisatsioonide jäänukiteks või mitte, üks asi on siiski kindel: inimene otsib alati kadunud kodumaad või vaimselt rahuldavamat muistset minevikku. ”[69: Kadunud maa Mu ja Lemuria]

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, this is like any "weird stuff" compilation. The focus, though, is on historical mysteries. Mostly real ones, not manufactured ones. I can't tell you what a relief it is to read a book like this that doesn't mention the Bermuda Triangle. It's also a relief to read a book like this that isn't entirely enamored of woo-woo explanations. Reality is usually far more interesting. I spotted a couple of places where the author was a bit too incredulous, but in the field of weird stuff books, that's pretty good.

[Ami Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and learned a lot of interesting things. A very quick read, while covering several different places, things, and people. If you are interested in learning about ancient mysteries and civilizations, you should read this book. The author does a nice job of staying ( mostly) unbiased, just giving us what facts, stories and theories are attached to each mystery.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a huge history buff, but I enjoyed this because it involved art and mysteries in the ancient civilizations. I will definitely read this again at a later date so I can process and remember all the interesting facts.

[Inara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear and brief summarization of mysteries all over the world. To learn more you will have to do your own research with further publications listed in the appendix of this book. For me it was just a bit too brief and told me nothing I didn´t already know or read in more detail in other books.

[Crystal-lee-m · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief, but interesting descriptions of many mysteries and histories. A book that makes you want to do some research.

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich hatte dieses Buch ja für ein Schulprojekt gelesen, und ich muss sagen es war wirklich interessant.

[Olenka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Познавательная книга

[Velvetink]

tuebl

[Summer Leblanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I learned quite a few new things from this book.

[Kairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mõnus silmaringi avardav ajaviitelugemine. Ei eelda eelnevaid ajalooalaseid teadmisi ja käsitleb mitmeid mitmeti mõistetavaid aga üldtuntud saladuslikke teemasid.