National Geographic | THE COMPASS

National Geographic

THE COMPASS

This week, we investigate the mysterious side of history. Find out if science has solved one of history’s greatest adventure mysteries, discover an intact Viking ship burial that held riches—and a surprising mystery, and hear from the archaeologists seeking out the mystery behind 500-year-old "spines on sticks."

A picture of Amelia Earhart's belongings.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH LEEN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Why does Amelia Earhart still fascinate us?

The missing aviator embraced the modern world—in technology, women's rights, and celebrity culture.

THE "AMELIA COMMUNITY"

More than a hundred men, women, and children sailed from England to North Carolina in 1587 to build a new settlement. Three years later they had vanished, leaving few clues of their fate.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK THIESSEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Newfound survivor camp may explain fate of the famed Lost Colony of Roanoke

Find provides “compelling evidence” to help solve one of America’s oldest historical mysteries.

CLUES TO THEIR FATE

Soviet investigators examine the tent belonging to the Dyatlov Pass expedition on February 26, 1959.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE DYATLOV MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

Has science solved one of history’s greatest adventure mysteries?

The bizarre deaths of hikers at Russia's Dyatlov Pass have inspired countless conspiracy theories, but the answer may lie in an elegant computer model based on surprising sources.

MYSTERY SOLVED?

IN 2019 BOB BALLARD SEARCHED FOR AMELIA EARHART. IN A DIFFERENT EXPEDITION BALLARD DISCOVERED THE REMAINS OF JFK'S WWII PATROL BOAT.

TRUE OR FALSE?

CLICK TO SEE IF YOU'RE RIGHT!

Etruscan letters form the Linen Book of Zagreb, later torn into strips to use as bandages to wrap an Egyptian mummy.

COURTESY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF ZAGREB, PHOTOGRAPH BY IGOR KRAJCAR

What was the mystery message written on the mummy's wrappings?

A puzzle confounded Egyptologists when an unidentified ancient language was found on a mummy's bandages in the 1800s. Solving it took decades but rewarded scholars with valuable insight into the authors—the Etruscans.

ETRUSCAN ENIGMAS

GOOD READS

1.

Find mosaics and mystery in an outpost of the Roman empire

2.

DNA study deepens mystery of lake full of skeletons

3.

An intact Viking ship burial held riches—and a surprising mystery

4.

Behind the mystery of Saint Valentine’s bones

A display of multiple sticks with vertebrae arranged on them.

PHOTOGRAPH BY C. O'SHEA

Archaeologists seek out mystery behind 500-year-old 'spines on sticks'

A new study of threaded vertebrae from Peru reveal they were memorials to the horrors of European colonization witnessed by Indigenous communities.

REPLACING BELIEFS

WHERE WILL WE JOURNEY TO NEXT?

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