Mini Coffins of Edinburgh

 Have you ever wondered if you discover coffins on a quest to find rabbits?

And that also not of humans but of small dolls?

Well, this is what happened in Edinburg in 1836,

While playing in Arthur's seat, a group of boys stumbled upon a small cave in the rocks. They found seventeen mini coffins inside the cave, each containing a mini-doll.

Yes, dolls, and if you don't believe me check out the National Museum Of Scotland.

Eight of the seventeen coffins that survived are displayed there.

Unique collection to be kept safely in a museum right!

Now coming, to the question why are these coffins are so famous? Could they be a foul joke? or something a child did while playing?

Nah!

Things are never so simple!

Let's start with the dolls, each of the dolls is dressed differently and could be differentiated from one another. They are assumed to be originally small wooden soldier toys. The coffins are so tiny that some of the toys have their limbs removed to fit in. 

Coming to the coffin, each one is approximately 95mm in length and has carvings on their surface that also seem to be different from one another. They were arranged in three tiers, two tiers of eight and one solitary coffin on top.

Though most researchers think that all the coffins are made by the same person the question still remains!

 Why? why would someone make coffins of dolls and why hide them in Arthur's seat of all places?

Let's dive into the different theories behind these Lilliputian coffins.

Since these were discovered in the 1800s of course one of the first theories published in newspapers would be witchcraft and demonology!

How intuitive!

They must have thought something like "These look similar to voodoo dolls so blame the satanic cults!"

This was one of the theories published in The Scotsman on 16th July 1836.

Almost a month later, the Edinburgh Evening Post suggested a new theory. It mentioned an ancient custom of Saxony, where friends who were lost in distant lands were buried in effigy.

Caledonian Mercury, Talked about the existence of a superstition, where sailors lost in the sea were buried in effigies by their wives to give them a Christian Burial.

But these two theories still raise questions why seventeen coffins? or why bury them at a Volcanic hill?

Obviously, no answer was found.

The coffins disappeared for some time after being auctioned off. They reappeared in 1901 when they were donated to the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Society somehow concluded that the coffins could be honorific burials.

But the case didn't stop there!

Of course, if it stopped there with such a simple theory, we Mystery seekers wouldn't have anything to discuss.

Besides, if they were honorific burials why make these dolls so creepy, that the children almost destroyed them.

Five years later in 1906, The Scotsman published another interesting but absurd story. 

The story was relayed by a woman who lived in Edinburgh, her father, was visited by a daft man. who had once drawn on a piece of paper three coffins with dates 1837, 1838, and 1840. following that incident in the autumn of 1837 a relative of her father died, in 1838 his cousin demised, and in 1840 his own brother. After the funeral, the daft man again appeared glaring at him, and then disappeared forever. Even if the article hinted that the daft man could be the original creator of these Arthur seat coffins. But they could also be a mere series of coincidences.

In 1976 Walter Havernick, director of the Museum of Hamburg History, came up with a new theory. according to a German superstition of keeping mandrake roots or dolls in tiny coffins as talismans, he postulated that these coffins could be lucky charms for sailors. Even though charms were still used in 19th-century Scotland, no evidence of such seafaring tradition was found.

I guess you are tired after reading so many theories,

So, now let's discuss the most interesting theory!

The Mystery of Murder Dolls.

Edinburgh became renowned for medical science by the early 1800s. The field of medical science is based on understanding the body's mechanisms, so of course, anatomy plays a vital role in this honorable study. We all know anatomy requires a human body to be dissected. With a rise in medical schools and students, fewer criminals punished with the death penalty, and diseases being treated better, there soon became a shortage of cadavers for anatomical studies.

The news of this soon spread like wildfire among criminals, who saw it as an opportunity, and body snatching from churchyards became a common thing. Thus, most of the criminals shifted to suppliers of dead bodies for medical schools. Among these suppliers, two soon attracted the attention of people, as the bodies they supplied seemed not to come from the graveyards.

The two Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare ran a boarding house in Edinburgh. One day one of their elderly lodgers accidentally died still owing them money. To make up for their losses they sold the body to Dr. Robert Knox. This is how their murderous business started. 

Why murderous?

Because the rest of the bodies they sold none of them were accidental death anymore.

At first, Burke and Hare started abducting travelers then they became sloppy and started murdering townspeople who were easily recognized by others. The small mistake became their doom and William Burke was hanged after Hare confessed to his crimes. In the 10 months of their murder journey, they killed 16 people. After Burke died his body was also dissected and used for anatomical studies. 

How ironic!

Interestingly, a lot of people were admitted to the hospital that day just to observe his body.

So 16 victims and one of their murderers: could this be the answer we are looking for?

Could someone have felt pity and buried the people, murdered in cold blood who never got a proper funeral in this way?

The only logic against this theory is that their victims were predominantly women but toys were male.  Then again premade soldier toys.

Or is there some other story behind the miniature coffins? feel free to comment below.

If you don't know Arthur's seat is associated with the legendary King Arthur, not only that it was the home to the Celtic Voltadini Tribe in 400AD. 

Obivously, a story like this will attract a lot of creative attention. Ian Ranking, wrote  in his thriller book 'Fall', "Plenty of people over the years have come up to me with their excited notions of plots for my next book. I’ve found precious few of them to be helpful, or viable, but I was intrigued by these ‘little dolls’… which is how I made the acquaintance of the Arthur’s Seat coffins… As soon as I saw them, I knew they would make a great story, especially as no one had come up with an incontrovertible interpretation of their meaning. In other words, there was a story to tell about them…"

In 2006 the novel was adapted for television, and replicas of the coffins were produced. These replicas often replaces the originals when they were required to be presented somewhere else.

The mystery continues...

In December 2014, the museum received a beautiful replica of the coffin cryptically named XVIII, attached to it was a note which quoted the climax from a chilling short story 'The Body Snatcher' by Robert Louis Stevenson.

These tiny coffins will continue to attract more attention in the future. We can just hope for this mystery to be solved one day.

Blue rose belles

( Archie) 

The Ankh

Egyptian mythology has always been fascinating, the pyramids, the mummies, the biographies, and the controversies of Alien connections make it a pandora's box for mystery seekers. 

But today our topic is not the mummies, pyramids, or heck even the Aliens.

Today we are going to talk about a certain symbol of ancient Egypt.

a symbol that everyone has seen, even if they have no idea about Egyptian mythology.

The Ankh.

The Ankh is related to almost all the Egyptian gods and goddesses, but with each figure, the Ankh receives a new meaning

The Ankh is the symbol of life.

But what is life?

Is it the cycle of life and death 

or it is the story of birth,

Maybe it is the energy that keeps us alive 

or the source that created it all

Life is complex

So let us start little by little

Most theories suggest that the Ankh represents the womb, where life grows. The complex union of male and female gametes causes the creation of life. 

                                      

Moreover, it signifies the balance of nature, the circle represents the cycle of nature. The simple understanding of everything that nature created makes its way back to it again. So that a new life can be created again and the cycle of life continues.

The cross symbolizes the material plane.

It also symbolizes the afterlife and thus was used during mummy formation and on the sarcophagi, so the person could easily travel to the other world. 

The symbol is strongly connected to all the gods of Egypt even Anubis.

But with each god, the meaning of the symbol changed slightly,

Isis

The story of Isis is the most important one, as the origin of Ankh as the key of life.

So the story goes something like this

Osiris who is a god came to Egypt to rule as a king, he proclaimed new laws, taught them new techniques of farming, and so on. Under his reign, the Egyptian empire flourished and he soon became for his wisdom and kind heart. His fame and fortune soon caused envy in the heart of his brother Seth.

So Seth killed him in a really creative way, he took the measurements of his brother while he was sleeping, careful not to wake him or the goddess Isis, his wife. 

With the measurements, he ordered to make a beautiful chest that was exactly the size of Osiris. A few days later he threw a party and invited Osiris as guest of honor. There he played a game that anyone who could fit in the chest could keep it. when it was Osiris turn he shut the chest close and locked it up. then he and his friends threw the chest in river Nile. 

Isis after learning about Osiris's death, went in search of his body. She found the chest and retrieved his body, she wanted to do the last rites of her husband so she went to arrange for the rituals after burying him near the banks so that no one found him. Seth went to check if the chest had drifted far away when he stumbled upon Osiris's body, Infuriated he cut up the body in fourteen pieces and distributed them in various parts of Egypt. 

Isis came back with her sisters to perform the last rites of her husband, when she discovered the body missing, so she transformed into a bird and flew all over Egypt and collected the pieces of his body. With the help of her sisters, she was able to stitch the body up and then covered him with bandages. After performing the rituals Osiris came back to life, but he said that he couldn't stay in the living world and would become the king of the underworld, he also mentioned that the child Isis was carrying would avenge his death and bring justice to Egypt.

Horus defeated Seth and became the king of Egypt, In the battle his one eye was damaged but got revived again.

In the Egyptian images where the ritual to revive Osiris is performed Isis is seen carrying the Ankh, she holds it over Osiris' body giving the breath of life to him. A lot of scholars believe that it was the first time the Ankh made its appearance.

Anubis

Anubis is portrayed as the god of death, He is also one of the gods who assisted in the resurrection of Osiris. The Ankh of Anubis symbolizes the protection of the dead, Anubis is also given credit for the invention of the process of mummification. He guides the souls into the afterlife and protects the tombs from predators and pests that can harm the dead body.

But how does he protect the tombs

Well, the answer is Ankh

An Ankh is kept in the coffin along with the mummies. Some people say that the ankh emits very high-frequency vibrations, these are inaudible to human ears but not to the sensitive ears of animals. These sounds drive away the animals and insects and protect the bodies from decaying. 

This is also a reason why the Ankh was majorly used as an amulet by the people. It drives away the predators and protects the travelers. But it should be noted that unlike the Ankh nowadays which are made as jewellery set from metals the Ankh in those days was made from gold and several other elements. The composition of Ankh is still not understood.

So the Ankh that you find in stores nowadays cannot be used as an amulet.

Many claim that the key to using Ankh is Melanin, a skin pigment, that serves as a semiconductor.

The Ankh as a Source of Energy

The Ankh has many functions and one of them is the production of energy.

Some researchers claim that the structure of Ankh can be used to generate electricity. 

The energy is self-generative and can be used to power complex devices, It may not be clear how it functions but there are articles that show it's possible.

The Pyramids stand as proof that people in ancient times were much more advanced than nowadays, So making a device that is self-driven and generates energy wouldn't be that hard for them?

Meanwhile, whenever an ancient structure or device seems so advanced, Alien theories suddenly spread like fire, and at other times people refuse to believe in extraterrestrial beings.

Well, let's forget the Ankh for a minute, 

What is the source of energy necessary for a living?

The Sun

Without the sun the solar system wouldn't be there, Earth wouldn't be there, and neither would we.

There are two forms in which this energy from the sun reaches us, Photons and Electromagnetic Waves. 

So can the Ankh represent the sun

Yes

If the horizontal portion is taken as the horizon the loop as the pathway of the sun, rising and setting and the vertical portion as the portal of life or energy, then we get the ankh as a representation of solar energy.

So, when we talk about life, it is not only the lives of humans but the energy that sustains the living world on Earth also.

This is why Ankh is such an important symbol, it is able to represent almost all the concepts of life.

Another important theory is the connection of Ankh with the River Nile.

The pyramids had underground passages which led to underground canals containing the water of the river Nile. Many believe that the key to open these passages was shaped like the Ankh.

Since water is a vital element for life

So, the key that holds the power to open the water channels Can also be referred to as the 'key of life'

The Ankh is also a symbol that establishes the connection between the physical and spiritual world or physical and spiritual energy.

The pharaoh underwent extensive rituals, before ascending the throne, 

The pharaohs were partial gods, who could easily connect to the spiritual world. In many of the paintings, the Egyptian gods are seen holding the Ankh at the lips of Pharaohs giving them the power to rule the kingdom. 

Scholar Adele Nozedar writes: 

"The volume of meaning that can be squeezed from such a simple symbol is awe-inspiring. The ankh represents the male and female genitalia, the sun coming over the horizon, and the union of heaven and earth. This association with the sun means that the ankh is traditionally drawn in gold - the color of the sun - and never in silver, which relates to the moon. Putting aside the complexities of these separate elements, though, what does the ankh look like? Its resemblance to a key gives a clue to another meaning of this magical symbol. The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was as meaningful as the present one and the ankh provided the key to the gates of death and what lay beyond."

Like every symbol in history, the Ankh has its' origin and controversies related to it.

The Ankh is believed to have originated in the 30th to 29th century BC. Egyptologist Sir Alan H Gardiner believes the Ankh derived from the strap of a sandal while Egyptologist E.A. Wallis Budge believes it derived from the belt buckle of goddesses Isis, also known as the knot of goddess Isis.

The knot of Isis symbolizes the female genitalia and fertility, many scholars agree with this theory. 

One theory that I don't agree with is that the Ankh is the Egyptian cross.

Oh, come on the Ankh was way before Christianity came, and no aspect joins the two, except maybe both are holy symbols. 

The Cross emerged from a place where people were brutally killed, while the Ankh represents a symbol of life.

Besides the cross is a masculine symbol and Ankh is a feminine one.

So there are not many positive things that connect the two.

You can argue how Jesus was resurrected like Osiris but Jesus was resurrected after he was brought down from the cross while the Ankh gave the breath of life to Osiris

The Ankh played a vital role in Egyptian mythology and culture, to date it is seen as one of the most popular symbols of ancient times.

Blue Rose Belles

(Archie)

(Let me know your views on the Ankh in the comment section.)

UNRAVELING THE TITANIC MYSTERY

 

THEY SAID THE SHIP WAS UNSINKABLE, YET IT SANK!

2 AM on the morning of 15 April 1912, the RMS Titanic sank, drowning 1,500 people with it.

The question that the majority of us ask is, " HOW THE SHIP SANK?". 

The answer to that question is simple, " The ship hit an iceberg causing irreparable damage to it, which led to its drowning."

But what if the question I ask is, "Why did the ship drown?"

Confused right!

Well, you see, we all know the basic story that the media wants us to know and ignore the small details hidden within and what best place to hide than in plain sight.

The three adjectives that I want to use for the story of Titanic are creepy, tragic, and suspicious.

THE SUSPICION

Did you know the stack of binoculars onboard was never used?

The key to that room was not even on the ship!.

 The key never reached the ship due to some last-minute changes.

So, the lookers had to completely rely on their eyesight, not to mention the thick fog of the Atlantic would make it almost impossible to see. the lookers Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee didn't see the iceberg until 37 seconds before hitting it.

It's funny to see that the key that could have saved so many lives, was sold at an auction in 2010 for  $130,000.

Was it a mistake or a well-planned mistake?

According to one of the survivors, a lifeboat drill was to be held on Sundays, but it was canceled on the first Sunday, which also happens to be the last Sunday, 14th April 1912.

The answer to, "Why the drill never happened?" drowned with the captain.

The very next question is about the scarcity of lifeboats,

 "Why were only 20 lifeboats on the ship carrying over 3,330 people?"

Even if the crew was overconfident, at least they could have kept enough boats to accommodate seventy percent of the people. There were supposed to be 60 lifeboats, but the number decreased before the voyage. According to the crew, the lifeboats would hinder passengers from enjoying the ocean view.

Stupid right! 

When you see people putting luxury and aesthetics over safety.

A telegram reached the ship, informing it about the icebergs ahead, but the message was ignored as spam?

The SS. California, although nearby, never came to aid the Titanic.

A missing key, An ignored warning, a Scarcity of lifeboats, and the help that never came, can all of them be ignored as mere coincidences.

You may ask me why would drowning a ship be planned?

 

Well, Titanic had some really influential men abroad, one of them was the richest man of that time, who went down with the ship. It could be a plot to wipe out some dangerous competitors.

THE PREDICTION

Now comes another twist to the story. The prediction.

Do you know that the fall of Titanic was predicted?

Almost 14 years before the ship went on a maiden voyage, a book was published called 'Futility' by Morgan Robertson, it was based on a fictional ship called Titan, that drowned on her first maiden voyage in the North Atlantic after it hit an iceberg. Not only the name and tragedy are similar but the Titan was imagined to be the largest ship, the most magnificent and unsinkable, and it also had a scarcity of lifeboats as the crew was overconfident. The book was renamed in 1912 as 'The Wreck of the Titan or Futility'.

I mean a lot of catastrophes have been predicted before like Corona but was the sinking of Titanic really predicted or the story of Titan was taken as a framework for the Titanic tragedy.

Confused!

Let's put it this way. If you are planning mass murder and want to show it as an accident, lure your victims with a promising offer, then make the accident. In this case, Titanic was made hype, the influential men wanted to be on the ship to show off they were capable enough to be on the most prestigious ship of that time. The couples wanted to make their honeymoon memorable to be on a famous ship and the last, passengers in third class just wanted the experience to tell stories to their grandchildren.

Now comes another rumor, the ship was already damaged before it hit the iceberg, it was damaged before even it started the voyage. The damage happened due to burning coal and not hitting an iceberg. Once the captain knew of the damage he started speeding the ship, so they could reach the land before a disaster.

Another theory claims that it wasn't even Titanic that went on sail, It was her twin sister the Olympic, a notorious accident-prone vessel. It was a desperate attempt to defraud the company insuring the ships.

It seems far-fetched, but the ship was really speeding up before it hit the iceberg. So could the sinking be pre-planned?

But the story of the sinking ship is not unique.

Another fictional story also had a similar storyline, written by journalist  W.T. Stead, who tragically died when the Titanic sank. 

It's scary right! how you write a tragic story and it becomes your own tragedy. 

A creepy coincidence occurred with  Revered Charles Morgan. He fell asleep and dreamed of turbulent waves in the sea and a dark sky with a long-forgotten hymn playing in the background. he woke up but when he fell asleep again the dream returned. He was so moved by the dream, that in the service that evening he played the hymn. It seemed so inappropriate at that time. As it was an inland church and the hymn was 'For those in peril on the Sea' and the date was 14 April 1912.

THE CURSE

Could the Titanic be cursed? Did you know that eight people died during the construction of the ship? A plaque memorizing them was discovered in Belfast.

A nurse Violet Jessop was called the luckiest or unluckiest woman on board she survived the fall of Titanic and also the fall of Britannic.

Did you know the 'Heart of the Ocean' that was portrayed in the film, is very similar to the Diamond of Doom?

THE CONCLUSION

So, how to conclude this mystery?

The story is obviously tragically surrounded by some eerie stories

But what about the suspicions that pose a red flag to ruling it out as mere coincidence or accident?

What do you think should be the conclusion? 

Comment below.

Blue Rose Belles

(Archie)

(Video from National Geographic.)