From civilizations that have disappeared forever, many mysterious artifacts have remained that do not fit into the framework of generally accepted history. However, they exist, and they can be seen in many museums around the world, including those that are near us.
1. Astronaut from rhinestone
The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (USA) houses a mysterious rock crystal figurine. It was created in the Hittite kingdom in 1500-1200. BC. The quality and care of the figurine is surprising, as well as the fact that it strikingly resembles an astronaut in a helmet.
2. Feodosia earrings
The Hermitage contains the famous earrings found in 1853 during excavations on the outskirts of Feodosia. The earrings represent a complex composition in which there are various ornaments and a tiny chariot driven by the goddess of victory - Nika. Moreover, winged Geniuses fly next to the horses, and at the edge of the chariot there is a warrior with a large shield in his hand. Interestingly, it is possible to see many of the smallest details only with magnification. This microtechnique is still surprising, especially since scientists have found out that earrings were created by the ancient Greeks as early as the 4th century BC. The earrings are made from microscopic grains that can only be seen with a strong magnifying glass. The best jewelers tried to create something similar, but no one managed to repeat the unique technology of the ancient Greeks, which was called grain. The smallest grain of gold melted when heatedas a result, the art of the ancient Greeks was recognized as unsurpassed, and all attempts to unravel its secret ceased.
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3. Baghdad battery
In June 1936, a mysterious "battery" was discovered in Baghdad - a 13-centimeter vessel, the neck of which was filled with bitumen. Inside the vessel was a copper cylinder with an iron rod. The discoverer of the battery, Wilhelm König, suggested that it could create an electric current of one volt. Koenig reviewed other exhibits in the Baghdad Museum of Antiquities and was surprised to see silver-plated copper vases dating back to 2500 BC. e. As Koenig suggested, silver was deposited on them by an electrolytic method. Koenig's version that the find is a battery was confirmed by the American professor J. B. Perchinski. He created an exact replica of the "battery" and filled it with wine vinegar. A voltage of 0.5 volts was recorded.
4. Heavenly disc from Nebra
The Celestial Disc from Nebra is a bronze artifact with a diameter of 30 cm, created around the 17th century BC. e. It is located in the Archaeological Museum of the city of Halle (Germany). The disc is covered with a green patina, which depicts the Sun, Moon and 32 stars in gold, including the Pleiades cluster. Its discovery is one of the biggest archaeological sensations of the 21st century. It was found in 2001 - and not during excavations, but on the black market in Switzerland. The police detained the sellers during a special operation, after which they spent several months in prison. During the investigation, black diggers said that they found the disc in 1999 with a metal detector in the town of Nebra, 60 km from Leipzig. There were also found two bronze swords, two hatchets, a chisel, and fragments of spiral bracelets.
5. Ayud artifact
In 1974, near the Romanian city of Ayud, on the banks of a river, a group of workers in the sand at a depth of 10 meters discovered three objects. Two of the objects were the bones of mastodons, and the third was a piece of metal. It resembled a wedge in shape and had several carefully machined holes. The analysis showed that the artifact is a complex alloy of 12 different elements, the main of which is aluminum - it contains 89% by volume. The remaining 11% are copper, silicon, zinc, lead, tin, zirconium, cadmium, nickel, cobalt, bismuth, silver. It is curious that for the first time aluminum was obtained only in 1825. The Ayud artifact is amazing both in itself and due to the fact that it was found along with the bones of mastodons, the last of which became extinct 10,000 years ago. Now the artifact is in the Museum of the History of Transylvania in the city of Cluj.
6. Stone sculpture from Elche
This sculpture is known as the Lady of Elche. It was found in 1897 near the Spanish city of Elche. The date of its creation, scientists attributed to the IV-V centuries BC. Soon after the discovery of the statue, the Louvre bought it, and in Paris the lady from Elche made a real sensation. She later returned to Spain and is now kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid. Many theories have been put forward as to who is depicted on this statue and who created it, but no version has been conclusively proven. There is even a curious opinion that this is a princess from Atlantis. It is interesting that it is believed that this is a lady with a complicated haircut, but it is possible that this is a man wearing something strange, maybe even some kind of device …
7. Portland vase
The Portland Vase is an enigmatic glass vessel from antiquity on display in the British Museum. Presumably the vase was made at the end of the first millennium BC. This decorative vessel is made of double-layered dark blue and white glass, which depicts figures of gods and mortals. The vase was found in the Middle Ages near Rome, for a long time it belonged to the Dukes of Portland, from where it got its name. It is curious that many craftsmen tried to reproduce this vase, but the most skilled carvers and glassblowers did not succeed. The technology for its creation has not yet been clarified.
8. Lycurgus Cup
The British Museum also houses another rare antique glass vessel known as the Lycurgus goblet. It is so named because it depicts the death of the Thracian king Lycurgus, who was entangled and strangled by vines for insulting the god of wine Dionysus. The unique feature of the cup is that it can change color depending on the lighting and the drink that is poured into it. Scientists have long tried to unravel the mystery of the goblet and found that the glass is literally "impregnated" with particles of silver and gold, which are about 50 nanometers in diameter. Neither historians nor physicists have a clue of how nanotechnology was applied in antiquity.
9. Phaistos disc
This artifact, found at the beginning of the 20th century, still remains one of the greatest secrets of the past. It is kept in the archaeological museum of the Cretan city of Heraklion and is the most popular exhibit here. It is a terracotta disc 15 cm in diameter and 2 cm thick. On both sides there are spirals, which are divided by transverse lines into fields. Each such field contains from two to seven images - a total of 259 mysterious signs on the disc. It turned out that the signs depicted on it were embossed with stamp seals, and not drawn by hand. The manufacturing technology of these stamps remains a mystery. They are created from a solid unknown material - with great care and detail. And this complexity allows us to consider the disc the oldest printed text in the world.
10. Mysterious stone from the Phaistos Palace
This thing is also kept in the archaeological museum of Heraklion. It was found in the Phaistos Palace, in the same place as the famous Phaistos disc. The find dates back to 1800-1700 BC. Its description says that it is a stone for sacrifices. But its true purpose may be very different. The quality of this product and the precision of its manufacture are surprising. On the neighboring shelves there are things that were created much later, but processed rather roughly, the same artifact was made perfectly even, the processing seems to be done by a machine. There are other similar artifacts in this museum. But it is curious that the most mysterious of them are forbidden to photograph, of which the author of the article was personally convinced.
Natalia Trubinovskaya