 Most people are aware of the crystal skulls, the best of which hidden away within the Smithsonian. Perfectly carved from solid pieces of crystal, their origins, purpose, or indeed possible function remain a mystery. What many are not aware of, however, is the astonishing archaeological discoveries which have recently been made in Spain. A remarkable set of crystal weapons found within megalithic tombs, at a site known as Valencina de la Concepci. Archaeologists investigating this site have uncovered a vast array of crystal arrowheads, an exquisite crystal dagger blade, along with a number of other artifacts. Found within an enormous megalithic structure, constructed out of large slabs of slate, the resting place of at least 25 once clearly very important individuals, along with their extraordinary smorgasbord of grave goods. Included within the finds was another mystifying number of shrouds, claws made of tens of thousands of perforated amber beads. Just how they managed to fashion these mysterious crystal weapons remains unclear. A number of investigators have remarked that great skill must have been required to produce these unique rock crystal weapons. The rock crystal dagger blade in particular was found in the upper level of the structure. Its morphology is not unheard of in the Iberian Peninsula, although, however, all the samples recorded anywhere else were made from flint and not crystal. Furthermore, and perhaps even more intriguing, is the fact that the crystal is of unknown origins. Detailed and thorough analysis being unable to successfully pinpoint the original whereabouts of this magnificent crystal. Given the technical skill and difficulties involved in creating the objects from such a material rather than simple flint, their purpose, and indeed manufacture, has been a tough thing for academia to explain. However, it is unlikely that any funded academic would presume, like we can, that these highly advanced perfectly manufactured weapons could in fact be far earlier artifacts, created by a civilization with far greater capabilities than those of known prehistory. Supporting this hypothesis is that despite these objects being found relatively frequently within the burials of the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, crystal implements disappear from later funerary monuments within the early Bronze Age, a quote, truly striking development, researchers say, as it would seem the use of this raw material as grave goods was almost entirely abandoned, end quote. The reason for this remains a mystery. However, is it possible, as mentioned, that these were merely a discovered relic of a bygone era, thus making their availability limited? This would therefore make it appear as though there was a sudden halt in their mysterious and unexplained manufacture, while all the while, in reality, the manufacturing of these objects occurred at a different time in our history. Scotland is a country which holds many mysterious tales of ancient beings who were said to once dwell within the astonishingly beautiful highlands. From fairies to ancient sea monsters, many a legend is said to be found here, including the odd piece of compelling evidence to back up such claims. However, our next Scottish mystery of focus is abundant with evidence. In fact, the evidence left surrounding this mysterious ancient technology is actually the mystery itself. Over 200 years ago, archaeologists exploring the ancient ruins found to dot the rural countryside began to notice a remarkable characteristic of about 60 mysterious structures found dotting the Scottish highlands. Made using rocks with no mortar, instead the rocks on the outer layer of these structures upon completion went through an as yet unknown process of vitrification. The builders of these extreme ancient forts were somehow able to heat the stones to such a degree that the outer layer actually turned to glass, fixing the stones in place and making them virtually impenetrable to erosion, meaning that the true age of these miraculous structures may be far, far older than we are led to believe. Although for the first 250 years of study, these forts were presumed to have been exclusive to Scotland, thanks to the results of the research they have actually begun to turn up in other regions of the world, most specifically Western Europe. With such overwhelming evidence in the face of adversity, academia, it would seem, have reluctantly been resigned to agreement with the extremely controversial facts displayed within these ancient stone forts. Quote, no lime or cement has been found in any of these structures, all of them presenting the peculiarity of being more or less consolidated by the fusion of the rocks of which they are built. This fusion, which has been caused by the application of intense heat, is not equally complete in the various forts, or even in the walls of the same fort. In some cases, the stones are only partially melted and calcined. In others, their adjoining edges are fused so that they are firmly cemented together. In many instances, pieces of rock are enveloped in a glassy, enamel-like coating, which binds them into a uniform hole, and at times, though rarely, the entire length of the wall presents one solid mass of vitreous substance. It is not clear why or how the walls were subjected to vitrification, end quote. Although the explanation put forward after examining these facts could be seen as a desperate attempt to continue to deny the existence of a highly aware, highly capable, intercontinental ancient civilization, which once flourished here on our planet. Who built these forts? What clearly advanced yet ancient heat technology did they use to turn the outer casing stones to glass? With the pace of such discoveries being revealed to the world increasing, it is only a matter of time before we find out. Every now and again, you stumble across an artifact, an ancient relic so astonishing with such an enigmatic history and indeed properties. Only the most reliable of sources will suffice in satisfying doubts regarding authenticity, which will inevitably surround such objects. Impossible artifacts are extremely hard for some to digest, especially those with careers built around a paradigm, which said objects suggest were constructed upon a lie. Sir David Brewster must have experienced this personally, yet regardless he still courageously brought the object before the dragons, or more specifically, the American Journal of Science. Quote, I have to bring before the section an object so incredible, only the strongest evidence could render the statement at all probable. It is an authentic ancient rock crystal lens, end quote. Roughly translated, Sir David had put his neck on the line for the truth, a truth which speaks of ancient advanced technologies. Discovered amongst the ruins of the treasure house at Ninenova, it had lay, undoubtedly for many centuries, possibly even millennia, within the ruins of this once magnificent city. Although many have attempted to discredit the lens as a mere ornament, Sir David Brewster has courageously fought on regardless, arguing against such claims by stating that the convex nature of the lens, along with mysterious ancient gases and liquids which were once encased within the lens, made it a once efficient optical magnifier. It still has the remnants of twelve cavities upon it, which once contained some form of liquid or gas. Ten had been opened through damage over the eons, yet remarkably, two were seemingly still intact. The surface of the remaining cavities, Sir David claimed, were speckled with amazingly iridescent spots, far more vivid than a peacock spot, known now as the Nimrod Lens. Italian scientist Giovanni Petinato of Rome proposed in Babylonian astronomy that the lens was used by the ancient Assyrians as part of their telescope, explaining their detailed knowledge of astronomy, in particular, Saturn. The ancient Assyrians were able to see Saturn, believing it to be a god, surrounded by a ring of serpents. The British Museum's curator proposed that the lens could have been used as a piece of inlay, perhaps for furniture, or for magnification purposes, such as starting fires. Yet no mention of the mysterious gaseous fluids which were said to have once filled the original relic. Unfortunately, we may never know what happened to the authentic liquid-filled original artifact, and although it is claimed that the Nimrod Lens is on public display at the British Museum, it is rarely spotted. We find the claims made by Sir David Brewster to have been highly compelling, though, unfortunately, they may never be taken further. We have in the past covered the astonishing ancient high technology, still present within the gas-filled lens of Nineveh, along with this proof of an ancient civilization's knowledge of glass-blowing and convex lens-making. There is seemingly many more examples that have quietly been found, studied, and pushed into the archives of museums worldwide. In particular, those found within the ancient sites upon Crete. Although many a sleuth has discovered this fact, and have subsequently investigated these claims and indeed proofs of an ancient civilization's astute awareness and past ability at creating these perplexing reading lenses, lenses of a surprisingly high quality. The first exposure of this truth came from a most unlikely of sources. That being the July issue of the British Journal of Physiological Optics in 1930, which contained a communication from a Mr. H. L. Taylor in, quote, the origin and development of lenses in ancient times, which ascribes the development of the lenses to the Cretans of 1800 BC. His examination of the museums of the Eastern Mediterranean has led him to the conclusion that ivory and steatite, the materials used for beads prior to 2000 BC, later replaced with rock crystals, onyx, agate, and cornelian. The discovery of the magnification produced by a bead of rock crystal, he believes, led to the production of lens-shaped beads and eventually of lenses, such as those of the Royal Gaming Board found in the palace at Nossus, the best of which now rests within the archives of the museum Candia within Crete. Their magnification ability has been recorded at between five and eight diopters and are planoconvex in shape. These quality lenses were then transported out of the area to the mainland, including Troy, Tyre, Nineveh, and the United Kingdom, end quote. However, any explanation as to how these ancient artifacts were indeed created remains unknown, or indeed untold, the closest anyone dare tread is claiming they are of natural rock crystal origins and developed accidentally. Regardless, their existence is undeniably highly compelling. Due to the abundance of unexplainable ancient high technology and the advanced architectural abilities which we share found all over the world, in addition to the missing knowledge as to how these feats were once achieved, one must conclude that not only did the human species once experience a global catastrophe, but were also, seemingly, in global contact prior to said event. If this be the case, and the evidence we continue to present does indeed support such hypothesis, one would presume that we would see gaps in geological data, along with the forager paradox we recently shared in our was Darwin wrong special, which is the gap in population growth which one would expect to observe in the data to be present if our hypothesis be true. Intriguingly, it would seem that this gap has now also been discovered, in the history of the human genome, and instead of being coined a paradox, they have instead been labeled a ghost population. According to the British media outlet The Guardian, quote, scientists have found evidence for a mysterious ghost population of ancient humans who lived about a half a million years ago and whose genes live on in people today. Traces of the unknown ancestor emerged when researchers analyzed genomes from West African populations up to a fifth of their DNA appear to have come from the missing relatives. Scientists suspect ancestors of interbred with the yet to be discovered archaic humans tens of thousands of years ago, much as ancient Europeans once made it with Neanderthals, end quote. In other words, there are gaps in our genetic development, which supports the past experience of catastrophe and explains the loss of ancient knowledge. It continues, quote, in the people we looked at, they all had ancestry from this unknown archaic population, said Shiram Sankara Raman, a computational biologist who led the research at the University of California in Los Angeles. Unlike today, the world was once home to many related species or subspecies of human, and when they stumbled upon one another, mating was not out of the question. As a result, modern Europeans carry a smattering of Neanderthal genes, while indigenous Australians, Polynesians, and Melanesians carry genes from Denisovans, another group of archaic humans. Previous studies have hinted that other ancient humans once roamed Earth, but without any fossils or DNA to pour over, researchers have struggled to learn more about them, end quote. We believe these fossils, if found, and they most probably have, due to them not fitting modern paradigm, would either unfortunately be misdated or simply vanish. Regardless, we find Shiram's compelling and reinforcing research of a now lost ghost civilization highly compelling.