10. Olmec Colossal Heads
A series of 17 stone heads located on Mexico’s Gulf Coast constitute some of the most mysterious known artifacts in the world. Although they’re known as the Olmec Colossal Heads, it’s not known for sure whether these massive monuments were truly created by the Olmecs.
9. Animal Armor
Horses have helped humans on the battlefield for over 5,000 years. From ridden warfare to pulling chariots, war horses were a powerful and important part of military strategy, and they needed protection accordingly.
8. Witch Bottles
Throughout England and in parts of the U.S., archaeologists have discovered something called witch bottles, which are small vessels filled with various materials, including nails and personal items, that are thought to ward off evil spirits.
7. Voynich Manuscript
Perhaps best-described as a yet-unsolved, centuries-old puzzle, as well as the “world’s most mysterious book,” the Voynich Manuscript is a 15th-century codex written in an unknown language that has not been detected among any other known artifacts.
6. Maine Penny
Out of place artifacts, or OOParts for short, are artifacts that do not match either the date and/or place that they are associated with. While many OOParts appear to be nothing more than the product of over-imaginative conspiracy theorists, there are also scientifically credible artifacts that still baffle the experts.
5. Wedge Of Aiud
Like the Maine Penny, the Wedge of Aiud is also an out-of-place artifact, or OOPart. However, its authenticity is far more heavily disputed by the scientific community. Discovered in Aiud, Romania in 1974, the artifact is a four-to-five pound (1.8-2.3 kg) aluminum wedge supposedly dating back 11,000 years, long before aluminum was discovered.
4. Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone
Another hotly-debated OOPart is the Lake Winnipesaukee Mystery Stone, an egg-shaped quartzite stone containing a series of carved symbols, which was discovered in 1872 in Meredith, New Hampshire by workers digging a fence post.
3. The Calixtlahuaca Head
Discovered by archaeologist José GarcÃa Payón in 1933, the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head is a terracotta head featuring alleged Roman features that was found oddly out-of-place in Mexico’s Toluca Valley, roughly 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Mexico City.
2. Fetter Lane Hoard
It’s no secret that the vast Roman Empire reached England, so it’s also no surprise that an Ancient Roman coin occasionally appears in archaeological digs. But in 1908, a group of workers found an entire hoard of 46 such coins in a pot while digging foundations for a house in Fetter Lane, and it is, indeed, unusual to find Roman coins in quantities this large anywhere in England.
1. London Hammer
Discovered in 1936 in London, Texas, the London Hammer is an iron and wood artifact that was found embedded in a 400-million-year-old rock concretion. While the object dates back somewhere between 700 years and modern times, based on inconclusive carbon dating methods, how it ended up inside such an old rock formation remains a mystery.
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