History’s mysteries

Here are listed some of the interesting ones :

(1) Archaeologist Nicholas Reeves of the University of Arizona said this week that the Egyptian PHAROAH TUTANKHAMUN’S  tomb in the Valley of the Kings may be part of a larger complex that also houses a secret tomb containing the remains of his mother, QUEEN NAFERTITI, and her riches.  He made this announcement after studying high-resolution scans of the walls of the burial chamber, which revealed cracks suggesting the presence of two passages that were blocked and plastered to conceal their existence.

(2) SECRET CITY OF PATITI :  The story of EL DORADO, a city full of gold hidden in the South American rainforests, is one of the world’s most enduring legends.  It refers to the lost Incan city of PATITI, which emerged after a 40-year-war between the Spanish and the Incas of Peru.  The war ended in the 1570s.  The Spanish won, but when they entered the city, the Incans had disappeared with their vast reserves of gold.  The hunt for the treasure is still on.

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(3) TREASURE TROVE OF KING JOHN “The Bad” :  A treasure trove of King John “The Bad” ———– who is said to have amassed a fortune in jewellery and gold through theft —– is rumoured to have been mislaid in 1216.  While travelling to Norfolk in UK, his soldiers got trapped in marshes and mud flats and died.  The King’s riches also disappeared.

(4) DECIPHERING COPPER SCROLL :  The Copper Scroll is a first century AD treasure inventory found in the caves of Qumran, Israel, in 1952.  Among 64 stashes are 65 bars of gold on the 3rd terrace in the cave of the old Washers House…… 70 talents of silver in wooden vessels in the cistern of a burial chamber in Matia’s courtyard.  The search continues.

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(5) THE TOMB OF EMPEROR QIN SHI HUANG :  Emperor Huang (260-210 BC) was entombed in a vast underground city in China, surrounded by thousands of life-sized terracotta warriors that were discovered in 1974.  But, more than 40 years later, only a fraction of the site has been excavated.  Local legends say the tomb is surrounded by poisonous rivers of mercury.  Huge quantities of treasure —– and the Emperor’s body —– may be waiting to be discovered.

(6) OAK ISLAND MONEY PIT :  This 140-acre island in Nova Scotia, Canada, is among the most excavated sites in the world.  The legend dates back to 1795 when 16-year-old Daniel McGinnis noticed a circular mark on the island, as if a pit had been dug and filled in again.  Excited, he got digging, going down to 9.1metre.  But, he didn’t unearth any treasure.  Since than, excavations have reached 72metres ——- with US President Franklin D Roosevelt among many to dig there.

———NEWSICLE

Roopkund lake

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Locally known as MYSTERY LAKE, it is a high altitude “glacial lake” in Uttarakhand State of India, and lies in the lap of TRISHUL massif and is famous due to hundreds of “human skeletons” found at the edge of the lake.  The place, located at an altitude of 16,499ft, is uninhabited.  The lake is surrounded by rock-strewn glaciers and snow-clad mountains, making it a good trekking destination.

A shallow lake, having a depth of about 2metres, ROOPKUND LAKE has attracted attention by having human skeletal remains easily visible at its bottom when snow melts.  There are many theories and opinions, from purely spiritual to purely scientific ones, which explain the existence of the skeletal remains that date back to the 9th century CE.  Because of these skeletons, the lake is also sometimes called SKELETON LAKE.

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The human skeletons were rediscovered in 1942 by a Nanda Devi game reserve ranger —— H. K. Madhwal, although there are reports about these bones from late 19th century.  The remains are visible in the clear water during a one-month period when the ice melts.  Along with the skeletons, objects like wooden artefacts, iron spearheads, leather slippers, rings were also found.  Later studies found the time of mass death around the9th century.

The local legend says that the King of Kanauj, Raja Jasdhaval, with his pregnant wife —– Rani Balampa, servants, dance troupe an others went on a pilgrimage to Nanda Devi’s shrine and the group faced a hailstorm and the entire party perished near ROOPKUND LAKE.  Though the numbers were not ascertained what was not determined was where the group was headed. There is no historical evidence of any trade routes to Tibet in the area, but ROOPKUND is located on an important pilgrimage route of the Nanda Devi cult, with Nanda Devi Raj Jat festivities taking place approximately once every 12 years.

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ROOPKUND is a picturesque and beautiful tourist destination, and one of the important places for trekking in GARHWAL District, located near the base of two Himalayan peaks :  TRISHUL (7,120m) and NANDA GHUNTI (6,310m).  A religious festival is held at the alpine meadow of BEDNI UGYAL every autumn, with nearby villages participating.  A larger celebration, the Nanda Devi Raj Jat, takes place once every 12 years at ROOPKUND, during which Goddess Nanda is worshipped.  Roopkund Lake is covered with ice for most of the time during the yea.  However, the journey to Roopkund is an enjoyable experience.  All along the way, one is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides.

There are different routes for a trek to Roopkund.  Generally, trekkers and adventurers travel to LOHAJUNG or WAN by road.  From there, they climb a hillock at WAN and reach RAN KI DHAR.  There is some flat area where trekkers can camp for the night.  If the sky is clear, one can see TRISHUL PARBAT from Bedni Bugyal.  The next camping spot is at Bedni Bugyal, which s 12-13km from Wan.  There is a huge grazing ground for mules, horses and sheep.  There are two Temples and a small lake that add to the beauty of this place.  One can see many Himalayan peaks from Bedin Bugyal bridge.  Trekkers then go up to BHAGWABHASA, which is 10-11km from Bedni Bugyal.   The climate here is hostile for most of the year. One gets a closer view of Trishul and other peaks higher than 5,000mts.  Many waterfalls are visible on the extreme slopes of the surrounding mountains.

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From Bhagwabhasa, trekkers either go to Roopknd and come back, or they go SHILA SAMUNDAR (Sea of Stones) via JUNARGALLI Col Pass, which is just above the lake, and then proceed with the trek up to HOMKUND.

ROOPKUND’S skeletons were featured in a National Geographic documentary “RIDDLES OF THE DEAD : SKELETON LAKE”.

Hercule Poirot returns

Hercule Poirot is coming back in a new thriller THE MONOGRAM MURDERS, which will be published next month.  The last Poirot novel was published in 1975.

Authorized by the family of Poirot’s late creator, Agatha Christie, Sophie Hannah, a crime thriller writer, has breathed new life into the Belgian Detective.

In this tale, Poirot plunges into a mystery —– set in 1920’s London —–a diabolical clever puzzle, that will test his brilliant skills, and baffle and delight Christie’s fans and new generations of readers discovering Poirot for the first time.  Sophie Hannah’s books have ben published in 24 countries.

On September 14th, top crime authors, including Sophie Hannah, will gather on the English Riviera, birth-place of Christie, for the new Agatha Christie International Festival.

——–Kounteya.Sharma@timesgroup.com.

Hercule Poirot

He was a fictional detective created by AGATHA CHRISTIE.

Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie’s most famous and long-lived characters, appearing in 33 novels, one play–BLACK COFFEE, and more than 50 short stories published between 1920-1975.  Poirot has been portrayed on radio, on screen, for films and T.V., by various actors including John Moffatt, Albert Finney, Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina and David Suchet.

Poirot’s name was derived from two other fictional detectives of the time :—MARIE BELLOC LOWNDES’ Hercule Popeau and FRANK HOWEL EVANS’ Monsieur Poirot.  A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.  Poirot also bears a striking resemblance to A.E.MASON’s fictional detective, Inspector Hanaud of the French Surete, who first appeared in the 1910 novel—-AT THE VILLA ROSA, and predates the first poirot novel by six years.

Poirot was a FRANCOPHONE.  He first appeared in the MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES (1920) and exited in CURTAIN (1975).  His appearance and propinquities :  He was hardly more than 5ft.4inches, but carried himself with great dignity.  His head was exactly the shape of an egg.  His moustache was very military.  He was very neat.  He had green eyes that are repeatedly described as “shining like a cat’s”, when he is struck by a clever idea, and dark hair.  However, many of his screen incarnations are portrayed as ‘bald’ or ‘balding’.  Mention is made of his patent-leather shoes.  He is very fastidious.  he uses pince-nez reading glasses.  He suffers from sea-sickness.  He is extremely punctual and carries a TURNIP POCKET WATCH.  He is also persnickity about his personal finances, preferring to keep a bank balance of 444pounds, 4shillings and 4pence.  He is fond of classical music, particularly MOZART and BACH.

David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective—-Poirot in the ITV series 1989 until in June, 2013, he announced he was bidding farewell to the role.