25 Amazing Artifacts That Will Make You Love History Even More (26 photos)

There have been dark times in history, but people have always remained people. Behind every superstition there were amazing inventions, behind every bad idea there was human ingenuity. So it’s worth taking a look at the legacy of our ancestors. We’ve collected impressive and sometimes bizarre relics from different eras.





1. 1500-Year-Old Women's Sandals



During archaeological work before the construction of the railway in Istanbul, a pair of women's sandals were found, which are about 1500 years old. On the sole there is an inscription in ancient Greek: "Use in health, ladies, wear in beauty and happiness."

2. 3,200-year-old worker attendance chart, Egypt





The British Museum holds a limestone tablet (ostracon) dating back to 1250 BCE. Forty people and their reasons for absence are written in red and black ink in hieratic script. Among them are entries such as "embalmed brother," "brewed beer," and "was bitten by a scorpion."

3. Tintignac's "Swan Helmet"



In 2004, archaeologists found a Gallic bronze helmet in the shape of a swan during excavations in Tintignac, southern France. The headdress, dating to the first century BCE, likely belonged to a wealthy and high-ranking individual. Although it provided adequate head and ear protection, it was likely only worn ceremonially.

4. A 121-Year-Old Time Capsule



While renovating a bridge in Kingussie, Scotland, workers stumbled upon a time capsule. Left in the foundations of the bridge, the metal box contained the following items: a newspaper from September 22, 1894, a scroll, and a bottle of whiskey.

5. Bread from Herculaneum



Sourdough bread is probably not something you associate with historical artifacts. The Herculaneum pastry was baked shortly before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD and was discovered in 1930 during excavations. The find is currently kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

6. A 1,500-Year-Old Byzantine Church



In 2015, while widening the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, construction workers discovered a Byzantine church that was about 1,500 years old. The building, with its white marble floor and cruciform baptistery, was in excellent condition compared to other similar buildings in the Holy Land.

7. Roman Dodecahedron



The Roman Dodecahedron is a mysterious artifact first discovered in 1739. More than 130 similar copper alloy figures with 12 faces have been found in Europe, but their purpose remains unknown.

8. Viking Skis



In 2014, archaeologists found a single wooden ski on the Norwegian mountain Digervarden. Seven years later, in 2021, they found a second one. Both skis, handcrafted over 1,300 years ago, are unique. Each has its own history of wear and tear and repair.

9. Nazca Lines, Peru



The giant geoglyphs in Peru were created over 2,000 years ago by the Nazca culture. The drawings stretch for kilometers and represent geometric shapes, straight lines, plants and animals. Since their discovery in the 1920s, the meaning of the images has remained a mystery. Scientists believe that they may have been created for astronomical purposes or religious ceremonies.

10. Pyramid of Amenemhat III



The pyramidion (capstone) of the pyramid of Amenemhat III in Dahshur (Egypt), built around 1850 BC, was excavated from the sand in 1900. The black granite stone was completely covered in hieroglyphic writing. It is now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

11. Bronze coins



In 2018, archaeologists found an ancient 15th-century jug in a samurai's residence in northern Tokyo. It was filled with bronze coins from different regions and eras. The vessel was discovered in the samurai's residence. How and why the jug was buried remains a mystery.

12. Akkadian tablets



Researchers from the Girsu project have found more than 200 tablets in southern Iraq. They date back to the third millennium BC and are written in cuneiform, an ancient Near Eastern writing system. The tablets describe in detail all aspects of Sumerian life: people's names, their roles, social relations, drawings and maps.

13. The Antikythera Mechanism



In 1901, a mechanism was discovered among the wreckage of a sunken ship off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. The device dates back to approximately the second half of the 2nd century BC. It was used to calculate the movement of celestial bodies and determine the dates of 42 astronomical events.

14. A 60,000-Year-Old Mammoth Tusk



The owner of the AMLI property was lucky enough to find a tusk from the Columbus mammoth on the territory of a residential complex in Seattle. According to experts, it is more than 60,000 years old. Paleontologists carefully removed the find, and it is now stored at the Burke Museum of Natural History.

15. Medieval Hospital in Madrid



In 2013, a 15th-century hospital was discovered during the construction of an Apple store in Madrid. Four years earlier, the ruins of a church were unearthed on a neighboring site. It is believed that the institution served as a treatment facility for plague patients. The building was later demolished in the 1850s.

16. Mammoth Skull and Tusk



In 2020, workers stumbled upon the remains of a mammoth at the Novoportovskoye oil and gas condensate field in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The skull and tusk were the second valuable find in the region this year. This is likely due to the melting of permafrost due to global warming.

17. 17th Century African Burial Site



In 1991, a 17th century burial site was discovered in Lower Manhattan during construction of a new federal building. It was the first African American cemetery in New York City. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993 and a National Monument in 2006.

18. Ball Court, Mexico



In 2006, while building a housing complex in Merida, Mexico, workers discovered a 2,500-year-old ball court. The stadium, which is 70% preserved, is 25 m long and 4.5 m wide.

19. Bird from Saqqara



In 1898, during the excavation of one of the burial grounds of Saqqara, a figurine made of sycamore wood was found. The bird dates back to 200 BC and has a wingspan of 18 cm. Possible purposes range from a ceremonial object to a toy. According to another hypothesis, this is a model airplane, but there is insufficient evidence to support this theory.

20. 1,100-Year-Old Viking Sword



Locals in Norway have found an ancient sword while hunting reindeer. Scientists believe the weapon was well preserved due to the cold, dry climate. The Viking likely lost it over 1,100 years ago while walking through rough terrain during a snowstorm.

21. Temple of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV



In 2019, workers from the Egyptian village of Tama, north of Sohag, stumbled upon the ancient temple of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV. The limestone walls of the 2,200-year-old structure bear the inscription “Ptolemy IV,” as well as images of animals and birds.

22. Dropa Disks



Disks found in 1938 by Chinese professor Chi Pu Tei allegedly tell of an alien ship with the Dropa people crash-landing on Earth. Researchers translated the hieroglyphs, and their findings were published in the scientific journal Tsum Um Nui. However, these records were never found, and the existence of Chi Pu Tei and Tsum Um Nui is highly questionable.

23. Obsidian Ceremonial Blade



The Wilder brothers found an obsidian blade after an earthquake in Northern California. According to legend, the Karuk indigenous tribe used such items in ceremonies.

24. Unexploded Ordnance from World War II



On Christmas Day 2016, 54,000 residents of the German city of Augsburg were forced to flee their homes while bomb disposal experts tried to defuse a bomb from World War II. The 1.8-tonne British ordnance was found during construction work in the historic part of the city.

25. The Black Stone of the Kaaba



The Black Stone, embedded in one of the walls of the Kaaba, is a sacred relic and a symbol of unity for the entire Muslim world. They say that the stone was originally white, but when the Archangel Gabriel brought it from heaven, it turned black from human sins.