: Archaeologist Pierre Montet discovered a royal necropolis filled with silver sarcophagi and golden masks in 1939. It rivaled King Tut’s tomb, but the discovery made zero headlines because WWII broke out at the exact same time.
: Tanis was made world-famous by the film Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark as the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.
: You can explore the history of its excavations and the tragic timing of its discovery in National Geographic's piece "The true story of the 'lost city' made famous by Indiana Jones". Which of these two "Tanis" locations : Archaeologist Pierre Montet discovered a royal necropolis
The name refers to two entirely different, world-class scientific sites depending on your area of interest. You can read about both distinct stories below. 🦖 1. The Tanis Fossil Site (North Dakota, USA)
: You can read the original, highly detailed narrative of the discovery in The New Yorker's feature "The Day the Dinosaurs Died" . 🏛️ 2. The Ancient City of Tanis (Nile Delta, Egypt) : You can explore the history of its
: Because the massive mud-brick city is mostly buried beneath the desert, archaeologist Sarah Parcak famously used infrared satellite imagery to map an entire network of its ancient streets and houses from space.
: By studying the growth rings in the preserved fish bones, researchers published a paper proving that the asteroid struck during the Northern Hemisphere's spring . 🦖 1
: Fossilized sturgeon and paddlefish were found with tiny glass beads (tektites) lodged in their gills. These beads rained down from the sky minutes after the asteroid hit.