From Pyramids of Giza to Bermuda Triangle, a look at mysteries which have been solved

By Apoorva Puranik

The Mayan Civilisation
The Mayan empire flourished in southern Mexico and Central America for about six centuries. Then, around A.D. 900 Mayan civilisation disintegrated. Speculations behind their disappearances ranged from alien invasions to inter-dimensional transportation. However, two studies in 2012 claimed that drought played a key role in the fall of the civilization. The studies still remain contested.

The Mary Celeste
On December 4, 1872, the unmanned Mary Celeste was found adrift in the Atlantic with its cargo fully intact, strange marks and bloo stains. Initial research suggested that some of the crew had gotten drunk on the ship's cargo of alcohol, and then massacred everyone else on board before departing on the ship's sole lifeboat. It was later revealed that the blood stains weren't blood stains, the marks were due to natural wear and tear, and the alcohol was industrial-grade stuff that wasn't fit for drinking. A more believable theory proposed was one where the Mary Celeste was dragged into a waterspout, which is like a tornado.

Pyramids of Giza
How did workers transport the massive stones to build the pyramids in 2000 BC? This question continues to baffle the world. It has often been called the work of the aliens. However, in 2011, Dutch researchers claimed that the Egyptians placed the heavy stones on a sledge and simply poured water on the sand in front of it, making it easier for the sledges to glide over the sand. The theory didn't find too many takers, though .

Sailing Stones
For years, enormous stones have been moving across the Racetrack Playa of Death Valley National Park in US, leaving engraved trails and no one understood how. However, last year researchers Richard Norris and James Norris placed stones equipped with GPS devices on the same stones and discovered that the very thin ice that trapped the rocks during winter melted in the midday sun. Then the ice, water and rocks were all blown by wind, making it seem as if the stones moved by themselves.