Ghosts of the Old World: Ancient Artifact Pictures to Make Your Hair

The chilling gold leaf death mask now known as the "Mask of Agamemnon" was unearthed from an ancient shaft tomb in Mycenae in the 1870s by an archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann. Though the origin and ownership of the mask have been called into question -- for example, it is believed to be from the 16th century B.C., making it too old to belong to the true Greek king Agamemnon, if there was such a person -- it is an intriguing clue into how the ancient Mycenaeans felt about death and the afterlife. The outer shape of the skull is pressed nearly flat. The eyes appear at once both opened and closed. In short, it's worth a shiver or two. Read on to see more of the creepiest and most unexplainable traces left behind by the unfathomable people of the distant past.