10 Mysteriously Out of Place Artifacts

Unveiled

Watch 10 Mysteriously Out of Place Artifacts - Unveiled on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Modern humans are somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 years old.

00:05And over the course of our species' lifetime, it's fair to say that we've achieved a lot.

00:09However, so much of what we've done on Earth is still inevitably shrouded in mystery,

00:14mostly because we've only had reliably recorded human history for around 5,000 years or so.

00:20As a result, it can be tricky to trace our line back to ancient times.

00:24And every so often, something comes up that just completely dismantles what we thought we knew.

00:29The history of exploration and discovery is littered with moments and objects that

00:33seemingly defy description. Over time, we've uncovered items that clearly do exist,

00:39but quite how they exist is unknown. This is Unveiled.

00:44And today, we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Mysteriously Out of Place Artifacts.

00:49For this list, we're looking at strange artifacts that have been found in places they don't belong

00:53with no explanation as to how they got there.

00:5610. The Nebra Skydisk

00:58The gold and patina representation of the cosmos found on this UNESCO-recognized bronze disc

01:03is currently considered the oldest and most authentic of its kind.

01:06This visual rendition of the universe features stars, either the moon or the sun,

01:10as well as either meteorological phenomena or various galaxies.

01:14Weighing under 5 pounds and measuring less than 12 inches in diameter,

01:18the skydisk was discovered by looters-slash-treasure hunters in the German state of Saxony-on-Halt in

01:231999. But the most mind-boggling thing is that despite dating back to the Bronze Age,

01:28the artistic technique that was used doesn't resemble any of those known to come from the

01:32Unyatitza culture of that time. That and the metal seem to come from different origins.

01:37So then what's it for and where did it really come from?

01:419. Coventry Cubes

01:43In May 2020, Will Reed and his sons were stunned when they dredged up

01:4760 ornate cubes with their hands in a river in Coventry, England while magnet fishing.

01:52The cubes are made of lead and feature unusual engravings and symbols,

01:56so naturally Reed promptly took to the internet to help unravel the mystery.

01:59The cubes are now believed to be part of a Hindu prayer ritual,

02:02which involves carving the cubes to invoke the protection of certain gods when thrown into

02:06running water. This hasn't been confirmed, and more than that, it's unclear why so

02:22many of them should make their way into the exact same spot of the river So in England of all places.

02:278. Roman Dodecahedrons

02:29These mysterious 12-sided objects have been discovered across all of Europe,

02:33spanning the territory of the former Roman Empire. Since the 18th century, over a hundred

02:38of them have been found. But despite their prevalence, there are no records to explain

02:42what they actually are. It seems that their purpose was so obvious and widely known to the

02:47Romans that no one ever bothered to write it down. The most popular theory is that they were

02:51used for knitting, but there are many more explanations. They could be ornaments, they could

02:56be measuring devices, they may have been used in alchemy, and some evidence suggests one was used

03:01as a candle holder. 7. The Piri Reis Map

03:04History records that the Antarctic coast was definitively sighted in the early 1800s,

03:09which is why it's so unusual that this 16th century map seems to show the Antarctic landmass.

03:15Created by famed Ottoman cartographer Piri Reis, it's based on dozens of contemporary maps,

03:20most of which do not survive. It shows the extent of European exploration in the Americas,

03:24but a bizarre landmass appears to be jutting out of the middle of modern-day Brazil.

03:29This has led to speculation that Antarctica was known about long before its official discovery,

03:34though the discrepancy in how far north the mass appears cannot be ignored. Most likely,

03:38it's the hypothetical supercontinent Terra Australis Incognita, which was widely believed

03:43to exist at the time, but who can say? 6. The Saqqara Bird

03:48Plenty of unusual things have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and one of the weirdest

03:53may be the famed Saqqara bird. This wooden model is believed by Egyptologists to depict a bird,

03:58though many have merely pointed out its similarity to airplanes. Others believe

04:03it's evidence that ancient Egyptians had advanced aircraft. It's not the only time

04:06artifacts have been identified as planes, either. The Kimbaya airplanes are a set of

04:10golden items found in Colombia, currently on display in the Museum of Gold. Although

04:15archaeologists think they're highly stylized models of insects and fish,

04:18it's hard to deny that they look more like vehicles than animals.

04:215. The Maine Penny This coin was unearthed in

04:25Maine in the 1950s, which isn't especially remarkable. But, astonishingly, it was later

04:30identified as being an 11th-century Viking penny from the reign of King Olaf III of Norway. This

04:36would seem to imply that Vikings landed in New England hundreds of years before Columbus came

04:40along. It's been suggested that the penny may have found its way south from settlements in

04:44Greenland and Newfoundland during trades with Native Americans. However, it's also been suggested

04:49by some that the penny may have simply been planted at the site as part of an elaborate hoax.

04:544. The Tecahi Calixtla Huaca Head Moving much further south, potential evidence

04:59of Roman exploration may have been found in Mexico City in the 1930s. Archaeologists agree

05:04that this terracotta head appears to be a distinctly Roman artifact, which suggests

05:08ancient Romans managed to sail all the way to the Americas. If this is true, it challenges many

05:13things we thought we knew about American history. However, researchers have not been able to rule

05:17out the possibility that the head, though it is genuinely Roman, was brought over by European

05:21sailors much later. But, it was found underneath a pre-colonial building constructed in the 15th

05:27century, so it could still predate Columbus. 3. The Kensington Runestone

05:33More evidence of Vikings in America may be the Kensington Runestone.

05:36This enormous slab of rock was unearthed near Kensington, Minnesota back in 1898.

05:41It's covered in Nordic runes and has been translated by scholars to a message describing

05:46an ill-fated expedition south from Vinland. But, experts have been skeptical of the runestone from

05:51the beginning, saying that the rune translation is closer to 19th century Swedish rather than the

05:5614th century Swedish it's claimed to be. Considering it was found in the 1800s by a

06:00Swedish immigrant, Olaf Olman, it initially seems like the runestone is a hoax. However,

06:06nobody has been able to completely debunk it. 2. The Baghdad Battery

06:11You'd be forgiven for thinking this relic is just a simple ancient jar. Found in 1938,

06:16the unusual contents of this clay jar immediately attracted attention. Within was a copper tube and

06:21iron rod, and some evidence of electroplating. This had led to theories that the jar is in fact

06:27a battery, and it's been evidenced that a similar object when recreated was capable of generating an

06:32electric current. However, others say that there is no definitive evidence of electroplating,

06:37a process that wasn't invented until the 19th century, and that it may have been used to store

06:42ancient scrolls instead. Before we unearth our mysterious number one pick, here are some

06:47honorable mentions. 1. The Lake Winnipesaukee Stone

06:50What does this stone mean, and is it ancient or a modern hoax?

06:532. The London Hammer How did a man-made hammer get embedded in

06:57400 million year old limestone? 3. The Bay of Jars

07:02How did these Roman jars end up in Rio, and are they actually Roman at all?

07:061. The Antikythera Mechanism In 1901, this mechanism was

07:11discovered in a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera. It's since been described

07:15as the world's oldest computer, constructed out of bronze at least 2,000 years ago. But for decades,

07:21the purpose of this device eluded scientists. It's now believed that the mechanism was used

07:26to calculate the movements of the celestial bodies, to predict eclipses among other astronomical

07:31phenomena. However, it's still baffling how the ancient Greeks, advanced as they were,

07:35managed to invent something like this, and then for the technology to completely disappear until

07:40the modern age. How could something this incredible vanish from history?

07:44What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments,

07:47check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell

07:52for our latest content.

Category

Transcript

Recommended