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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
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