Archaeologists have discovered mysterious “phantom” footprints that only appear after it rains and vanish when exposed to sunlight.
Recently, a team of archaeologists stumbled upon these bare “phantom” footprints imprinted on the sand near Hill Air Force Base in the Great Salt Lake desert, Utah (USA). These footprints date back at least 10,000 years, when the area was still a vast wetland.
Mysterious footprints found in the white sand desert. (Photo: SA).
These unusual ancient traces have attracted the attention of scientists for a very special reason: They only appear after it rains and gradually “disappear” as the surface dries under sunlight.
Initially, the research team found only a few footprints. However, after scanning the surrounding area with ground-penetrating radar (GPR), they discovered at least 88 individual footprints from both adults and children.
It is known that the Great Salt Lake desert was once covered by a vast saline lake, similar to the largest lake of the same name in the Western Hemisphere. However, over time, the lake has dried up due to climate change that the Earth experienced at the end of the Ice Age.
During this period, the lake was inhabited by humans, which was also the ideal time for them to leave their footprints on the surface.
“Ancient people seemed to have walked a lot here, on shallow water and sand that quickly filled their footprints, just like what we encounter at beaches,” said Daron Duke, the archaeologist and lead researcher.
Mysterious “phantom” footprints in the desert.
However, the footprints do not completely disappear but are preserved due to a layer of mud underneath. “Beneath the sand is a layer of mud that retains the imprints much like when we stamp ink onto paper,” Duke explained.
To explain why the phantom footprints suddenly “appear” when it rains, Duke suggested that as raindrops fall, the water quickly gets absorbed deep into the underlying sediment.
This causes the ground to return to its normal color, and the footprints imprinted in the dark mud become visible, standing out against the surrounding white sand.
Using radiocarbon dating methods, researchers hope to analyze small remnants of organic material left in the sediment, thus uncovering previously unknown characteristics of ancient humans.
This new discovery could also serve as an “ancient diary,” documenting the entire process of human settlement in the area, providing significant insights in the field of archaeology.
