The oldest map in Europe, a "lost golden city" in Egypt and a massive geoglyph in India that may be the world's largest are just some of the archaeological discoveries that were reported in 2021. Despite all the problems associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, scholars made numerous finds, and in this countdown Live Science takes a look at some of the best history and archaeology stories of 2021.
A massive geoglyph, possibly the world's largest, was found in the Thar Desert in India, covering an area of about 51 acres (20.8 hectares) near India's border with Pakistan. It consists of several spirals and a snaking line that goes back and forth.
A hike along the geoglyph's lines would make for a journey of 30 miles (48 kilometers). The geoglyph is estimated to date back around 150 years, but its purpose is unclear. The geoglyph is difficult to see from the ground, and it was first detected by a team of scholars who were analyzing the landscape using Google Earth.
