5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

Including an explanation of how Richard III died
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2014 5:56 AM CDT
5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week
Scientists examine a colossal squid arm at a national museum facility on Sept. 16, 2014, in Wellington, New Zealand.   (AP Photo/Nick Perry)

A pair of affectionate skeletons and a deep-sea find near the Golden Gate Bridge are among the week's intriguing discoveries:

  • Divers Find Ghost Ships Near San Francisco: Researchers uncovered three historic shipwrecks dating back to the decades following the Gold Rush. They are among the more than 300 ships thought to have wrecked in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary—also known as the "graveyard of ships"—which spans 1,300 square miles off the coast of Northern California. Searchers even turned up a "mystery wreck."

  • Skeletons Holding Hands for 700 Years: Archaeologists in England digging at a 14th-century burial site made an unexpected discovery: A couple buried together holding hands had remained that way all this time. The man and woman were found at the site of an ancient chapel in Hallaton, along with nine other skeletons. Scientists plan further study to see whether they can determine the cause of death—and why they were buried where they were.
  • Huge Monument Older Than Pyramids, Stonehenge Discovered: What's longer than a football field and probably older than much of Stonehenge, as well as the Egyptian pyramids? According to scientists, an ancient, crescent-shaped stone monument recently identified in Israel. One of the researchers thinks he knows what inspired the monument's unusual shape.
  • Scientists Defrost, Dissect Rare Colossal Squid: After thawing an animal that had been frozen for eight months and some careful maneuvering with a forklift to get it into a tank, scientists were finally able to take a good look at the best-preserved specimen of the elusive colossal squid ever discovered. The 770-pound creature was hauled up by a fishing boat in the Antarctic, and one part of the squid's body was in especially good shape, a rarity.
  • Bones Reveal Brutal Truth About Richard III's Death: He wasn't a hunchback, he had a bad case of roundworms, and his final moments were brutal ones: The life and, more specifically, death of England's King Richard III has come into sharper focus following the most recent research on his skeletal remains. Turns out, his end might have been different had he not lost his helmet in battle.
Click to read about more discoveries, including what artificial sweeteners can do to your blood sugar. (More discoveries stories.)

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