When you hear the word "cult," you might picture a group of individuals sequestered in a compound and persuaded that the end of the world is near. Cults, however, were treated more seriously and frequently included entire populations in ancient times. This list focuses on findings that were previously unknown and that furthered the mystery or gore of what was already known. Here are some interesting facts about ancient cults that you probably didn't know, like how to boil a head properly and a sinister tale penned by a priest.
10 A Rare True Cross Scroll
The practices and ideologies that surround the True Cross (the cross on which Jesus died) are referred to as the "Cult of the Cross." An incredibly rare relic was found in 2021. Sadly, it was a parchment that was intimately associated with this period in Christian history rather than a splinter from the True Cross.
The 500-year-old scroll has been known to researchers for a long time. It could never be examined, though, as it kept vanishing into the hands of private collectors. The item, which was just found, included a feast of stunning pictures that added to our understanding of the Cult of the Cross. However, two additional facts shocked the researchers.
First of all, very few of these prayer scrolls from daily worshipers' unfurling, touching, and kissing still exist today. The fact that one of them is still standing after 500 years is impressive in and of itself. Then there is the close connection to the True Cross mythology. The Norfolk monastery Bromholm Priory is where the prayer list was probably made. Because it was believed that the priory's own cross held a piece of the True Cross, this location previously drew pilgrims. The cross, known as the Rood of Bromholm, is no longer there but is shown as a crucifixion artwork in the scroll.
9 A Cult Buried with Their Pharaoh
Archaeologists discovered a temple in 2021 while they were excavating at Saqqara, an ancient Egyptian burial site. Three warehouses were arranged in a row on one side of the stone temple. Items found in these neighboring shafts and mud-brick storage spaces shed light on a cult that revered a royal couple.
The temple was a monument erected in Queen Nearit's honor. The structure was situated next to the pyramid of her husband, Pharaoh Teti, who ruled Egypt from approximately 2323 BC to 2291 BC. The bodies of people who belonged to the cult were in the shafts, which were also close to the pyramid. They seemed to want to remain close to the pharaoh even after his death.
The cult appeared to have thrived for more than a thousand years. A few of the things discovered inside the burial tunnels offered hints as to what was important to them. A remarkable papyrus that was 4 meters (13 feet) long and contained a chapter from the "Book of the Dead," a map of the afterlife, was discovered. Other items demonstrated that people revered the gods Osiris and Anubis and called their children after members of the royal family.
8 A Religion Older Than the Incas
The intricate culture known as the Incas, which governed the pre-Columbian Americas from Chile to Columbia, is still a mystery to us. However, a culture that was even more enigmatic and complex existed long before the Incas. Little is known about the Tiwanaku state, which was this empire.
Khoa Reef in Bolivia's Lake Titicaca was investigated by researchers in 2013. The Island of the Sun, where the Incas built ceremonial structures and offerings as well as a pilgrimage destination, is close to the reef. But when Inca-era artifacts were discovered close to the reef, it helped restore a significant portion of Tiwanaku culture. In other words, they had a mysterious religion that was 500 years older than that of the Incas.
The Tiwanaku people not only arrived at the lake before the Incas did, but they also constructed their offerings such that they would float in the lake. Anchors discovered close to the goods provided this hint. Pumas-shaped incense burners, gold decorations, shell and stone trinkets, and juvenile llama carcasses were among the offerings. All of this suggested that the Puma and the god Viracocha (discovered on gold medallions) were also significant religious symbols to the Tiwanaku and that they performed complex ceremonies from boats.
7 Ramses II Had a Ram Cult
A terrible scene was recently discovered during excavations at the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos. In honor of Pharaoh Ramses the Great, 1,200 rams were slain in a single ritual in the distant past, and their heads were left behind.
It goes without saying that the discovery of the ram heads in a storage room is an extremely exceptional one. One animal still had a bell around its neck, and several of the skulls were still covered in linen. Unable to hold back, someone jostled the object, and miraculously, after being silent for 2,000 years, it rang. The uncommon object's decoration with god-related symbols suggests that it may have been made expressly for the rite.
But in the end, the discovery suggests that Ramses II was the center of an Aries or ram religion. One that might have continued to worship the beloved king for a thousand years after his passing. In 1279 BC, Ramses II ascended to the throne and ruled for nearly 70 years. He was so well-known for his many accomplishments that nine other pharaohs also decided to use the name Ramses.
6 A Mysterious Skull Cult
Turkey's Göbekli Tepe is a well-known ancient site. The construction was completed around 11,000 years ago, and the builders were renowned for their elaborate carvings, massive pillars, and huge stone rings. But they also left some unsolved questions behind. Despite the fact that the location resembles a town, there are no graves or other signs that humans even lived there.
It doesn't follow that no human remains were discovered. 691 pieces of human bone have come to light over the years. However, seven bits of skull from three people left specialists baffled. They were initially discovered in a backfill mixture inside a stone building. The reason the skull bones ended up there is unknown. On the fragments, there were deliberate carvings and drill marks that suggested a skull cult existed at Göbekli Tepe, but these markings provided little information about the significance of the cult.
The strangest thing, though, is this. The inhabitants of Göbekli Tepe produced magnificent buildings and artwork. The heads, in contrast, were poorly sculpted. Perhaps the deep grooves made it possible to add ornaments, or the skulls were purposefully deformed to exact revenge on the deceased.
5 The Temple That Became a Tomb
The Carmona Necropolis in Spain is crammed with burials dating from the first to second centuries AD. The Elephant's Tomb—one of its most well-known buildings—contains an elephant statue that was discovered inside. When archaeologists first examined the site, it was evident that this wasn't your typical six-foot-under burial. Instead, the building's intricate construction suggested that it served a role other than that of a tomb. Eventually, Spanish archaeologists found solid proof that a cult had formerly occupied the building. The "tomb" did, in fact, resemble a Mithraeum, a temple honoring the Roman god Mithras.
For instance, during the spring and fall equinoxes, sunlight would have entered the window, filling the chamber's center with brightness and perhaps illuminating a god statue that is no longer there. Scorpio and Taurus, two of the most significant constellations in the cult, were likewise in line with the structure. It also had a fountain and a room divided into three portions in common with other Mithraeums.
According to experts, the devotees' enthusiasm in the temple began to wane at some time. The Mithraeum was transformed into a tomb after the cult abandoned it.
4 Inca Worshipers Weren’t Equal
The Inca created a complex solar cult around the beginning of the 15th century to worship the Sun. However, in the late 1990s, researchers discovered something that had never been documented before—something that wasn't very flattering. Many of their rituals and beliefs have reappeared recently. In other words, not all members of the cult were treated equally when they worshipped.
The finding of substantial stone pillars was the catalyst. Due to records stating that they previously stood in the Inca capital of Cusco, archaeologists have known that the Inca had such ritual pillars for centuries. The solstices in June and December, which were significant days on the cult's calendar, were noted on these pillars as the Sun's position near the horizon.
Researchers discovered the first set of these solar pillars while exploring the Island of the Sun, a popular Inca ritual site in Lake Titicaca. They also found an adjacent platform. According to all available research, both qualities were intended to distinguish the upper and lower groups during rites. The remainder gathered on the platform to witness the spellbinding spectacle of the Sun setting directly over their rulers and the pillars as the king and other high-ranking people worshiped inside the sanctuary. The elite's dominance would have been further solidified by such a spectacle.
3 A Naughty Story
A mysterious old papyrus was decoded in 2012 by experts. The poem wasn't your normal tale that glorified a king or a god; instead, it was written in an ancient language of Egyptian called Demotic. Nope. It was a sexually explicit tale. The author may possibly have been a priest, according to researchers. It was not a case of a perverse priest penning erotica in his free time, though. The papyrus may have instead fulfilled a very significant purpose.
There is singing, feasting, drinking, and ritual sex in the made-up tale. These are all acts of worship, not revelry, being performed in the name of the Egyptian goddess Mut. The story wasn't intended to be entertaining, in other words. The discovery instead shows that such "cult fiction" was present to let priests talk more easily about taboo subjects like sex rites.
2 A Cult the Size of Poland
A survey crew discovered a few rectangular stone buildings in northwest Saudi Arabia in the 1960s. Nobody understood the size and cult-related significance of the structures at the time; they were later given the name "mustalil." It wasn't until lately that intriguing details about the ruins started to come to light.
Over 300,000 square kilometers (116,000 square miles), approximately 1,600 mustalil were discovered. Some of them had more stones than the Eiffel Tower, making them heavier. Some of them were as large as two football fields and as long as four. The ancient monuments were all 7,000 years old, making them older than Stonehenge and the Giza pyramids.
Their construction revealed the builders' familiarity with local resources and engineering as well as their general belief in the necessity of making sacrifices. Numerous animal skulls were crammed inside the mustalil's tiny chambers. This indicated that the sacrifices took place somewhere else because no other body pieces were discovered. The discovery of ritual objects at the location adds credence to the theory that this enigmatic cult once covered a territory the size of Poland.
1 How to Boil a Head
Archaeologists were conducting field research along the Red Sea's coast in 2019. The team came across the temple ruins while excavating Berenike, an ancient Egyptian port. The two-room shrine was decorated and designed in an Egyptian style, however the previous worshippers were not Egyptians. They belonged to the enigmatic Blemmyes, a semi-nomadic tribe.
It was intriguing to notice that the temple suggested that the Blemmyes had embraced Egyptian ideas since nothing is known about them. In this instance, the structure was used to worship the falcon-headed Egyptian deity Khonsu. The discovery also exposed the cult's head-boiling protocol.
It is improper to boil a head in here, according to an inscription that was discovered inside the temple. Since numerous falcon skeletons that had been severed from their heads were discovered inside, it is safe to believe that the cult did not cut off the heads of people but rather of birds. The commandment also suggested that before sacrificing falcons to Khonsu, devotees had to boil them. It's possible that the heads were also cooked, but only outside the temple's holy boundaries.
