Explore 462 Mystery Collections - Atlas Obscura
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A heavily redacted section of an 1899 letter from veterinary surgeon Frederick Smith to his wife Mary Anne.
mystery

How Archivists Deal With Redactions, Codes, and Scribbles

Sometimes, obscurity leads to surprising intimacies.
Cara Giaimo December 15, 2017
Moons, octopuses, mysteries, waves, and shots that delighted the Atlas Obscura staff.
mystery

Wishlist: Mysterious Packages, A Moon for Your Room, and Shots With Hamilton

Check out the coolest stuff our staff recommends this week!
Eric Grundhauser December 15, 2017
Pamashto, Peru

Ceremonial Center of Pamashto

A circle of stones on a hilltop in Peru’s high jungle, aligned with the winter solstice and largely ignored by archaeologists.
A slate whetstone found during railroad construction.
vikings

Found: A Runic Inscription on a Viking Whetstone

Experts in Norway are asking the public to help tell if it is a name or something more sinister.
Vittoria Traverso December 6, 2017
The pronking springbok on the reverse side of a Krugerrand.
mystery

Found: A Fortune in Gold Coins in a Box of Donated Food

At a retirement home in Germany, 109 South African Krugerrands in an unexpected place.
Vittoria Traverso December 1, 2017
mystery

How Did a Lobster Get a Pepsi Logo on Its Claw?

A satisfying explanation is elusive.
Vittoria Traverso November 30, 2017
Wilmington, England

The Long Man of Wilmington

This giant geoglyph of mysterious origins is now the site of neo-pagan rituals.
Reconstruction of <em>The Enchanted Pose</em> involving X-rays of the four works that were made from it.
paintings

Found: The Last Piece of a Jigsaw Masterpiece by René Magritte

The fourth and final part of a painting hidden under other paintings ends an 80-year mystery.
Vittoria Traverso November 15, 2017
One side of the seal shows two nude lovers embracing.
Norwich, England

Balthild Seal Matrix

This unusual 7th-century Frankish seal offers more questions than answers about its past.
The tauroctony in the Mithraeum at Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
cults

The Ancient Roman Cult That Continues to Vex Scholars

The Mithraic Mysteries worshipped a pagan god from subterranean temples buried throughout the empire.
Kerry Wolfe November 13, 2017
computers

The Gibberish That Sparked One of the Internet's Oldest Unsolved Mysteries

More than 20 years later, the true meaning of the Markovian Parallax Denigrate remains elusive.
Eric Grundhauser November 10, 2017
The columns looking out over the Venetian Lagoon.
Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Lost Third Column

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.
The carved seal, at just 1.4 inches, is a remarkable achievement.
art

Found: A Rare Carved Stone That Could Rewrite Art History

A miniature masterpiece from the Greek tomb of the "Griffin Warrior."
Vittoria Traverso November 7, 2017
collections

How ‘Photo Detectives’ Have Helped Reveal Irish History

The National Library of Ireland asked the public for help, and the public provided it.
Vittoria Traverso November 2, 2017
On the night of April 25, 1849, a violent fire destroyed the Province of Canada's first parliament building.
politics

Destroyed by Fire in 1849, Canada's First Parliament Building Gives Up Its Secrets

Odor control was a significant concern.
Vittoria Traverso October 26, 2017
Two pages from the Luneborch Prayer Book, a rare 15th-century illuminated manuscript that was mysteriously returned to the George Peabody Library 40 years after it had gone missing.
libraries

The Saga of a Long-Lost 15th-Century Illuminated Prayer Book

The Luneborch manuscript vanished, and was lost for decades only to reappear again in a mysterious package.
Vittoria Traverso October 25, 2017
The "map" petroglyph
San Martín, Peru

Petroglyphs of Polish

This set of mysterious petroglyphs in the Peruvian jungle could shed light on centuries-old activities in the region.
Al Bidya Mosque.
Al Bidya, United Arab Emirates

Al Bidya Mosque

The oldest surviving mosque in the UAE has mysterious origins and unusual architecture.