30 Of The Most Interesting Historical Artifacts To Still Exist

A 1,500-year-old pair of Byzantine-era lady’s sandals was discovered during digs associated with the Marmaray, a commuter rail line, Project in Istanbul. The sandals, which likely belonged to a Greek woman, bear the following message in Greek: “Use in health, lady, wear in beauty and happiness.”

In 2004, archaeologists discovered the swan-shaped Gallic bronze helmet in an excavation of Tintignac in Southern France. Dated to the 1st century BC, the helmet was most likely worn by a wealthy, high-ranking member of society. Although it was excellently crafted from bronze and made to protect the wearer's ears and head, it was probably only used as a ceremonial item.

While replacing a bridge in Kingussie, Scotland, construction workers discovered a 121-year-old time capsule. Buried deep in the foundations of the bridge, the metal box held the following items: a newspaper dated 22 September 1894, a scroll and a bottle of whiskey.

Stamped sourdough bread probably isn’t the first thing you think of at the mention of historical artifacts. The Herculaneum loaf was baked just before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD and discovered in 1930 after the excavation of the House of the Stags. It is currently preserved in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Held by The British Museum, a limestone tablet or ostracon dating back to 1250 BCE offers a fascinating glimpse into the work-life balance of ancient Egyptian workers. 40 employees and their reasons for missing work are inked in red and black New Egyptian hieratic script. Among them are entries like ‘embalming brother’, ‘brewing beer’, and ‘scorpion bit him’.

During the expansion of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway in 2015, construction workers made an interesting discovery: a 1,500-year-old Byzantine church. With a white marble floor and a cross-shaped baptistery, the condition of the elaborate church far surpassed other similar structures discovered in the Holy Land.

The Nazca lines were constructed over 2,000 years ago by people of the Nazca culture. The drawings spanned kilometers and included geometric shapes, straight lines, plants, and animals. Since their discovery in the 1920s, their importance remains a mystery, but some hypothesize they were drawn for astronomical purposes or religious ceremonies.

At least 200 years ago, handprints were carved into the sandstone surface of the White Mountain in Wyoming. They are unlike any other petroglyphs because they’re deeply etched into the stone. While archaeologists are baffled by the prints, visitors feel a compelling connection to those who created them.

In 2014, archaeologists uncovered a lone wooden ski on Digervarden Mountain in Norway. Fast forward to 2021, researchers discovered the second ski buried more deeply in the ice. Both skis were handmade over 1,300 years ago and were not identical due to their individual history of wear and repair.

In 1901, the Antikythera mechanism was discovered among the remains of a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. The hand-powered device is regarded as the first known analog computer and was used to predict eclipses and astronomical positions years in advance. It could also track the cycle of the ancient Olympics.

In 2018, archaeologists unearthed a 15th-century ceramic jar full of bronze coins at a residence belonging to a samurai just north of Tokyo. The coins were most likely acquired over time through trade, as they were from different regions and periods. The exact reason why the jar was buried remains a mystery.

Crafted around 1850 BC, the pyramidion (capstone) of the Pyramid of Amenemhat III in Dahshur, Egypt, was excavated from the sand on the east side of the pyramid in 1900. The pyramidion was carved out of black granite and was intricately inscribed on all four faces. It is now at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Researchers from the Girsu Project uncovered more than 200 tablets at a site in Southern Iraq, dating back to the third millennium BCE. Written in Cuneiform, a Middle Eastern writing system, the tablets detailed all aspects of Sumerian life, including people’s names, their roles, state of affairs, blueprints, maps, and much more. The tablets reveal just how concerned the Akkadian Empire was with bureaucracy.

British builders found a 1943 letter written by a boy named David during the demolition of a chimney. The letter was to Santa and detailed a humble list of things he wanted for Christmas, such as toys and slippers. Contractor Lewis Shaw started the #FindDavid campaign on social media and successfully delivered the letter and wishlist to David.

The Roman Dodecahedron is one of a few historical artifacts that still baffles people today. First found in 1739, over 130 have since been discovered all over Europe. They are small and hollow objects with 12 faces made from copper alloy. With no inscriptions, their purpose isn’t known, and as a result, more than 50 possible explanations have been published to date.

In 1991, a lower Manhattan excavation for a new federal building unearthed a 17th-century burial ground where enslaved Africans were interred between the 1690s and 1790s. The site is considered New York City’s earliest African American cemetery and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1993, followed by a National Monument in 2006.

Property owner AMLI is credited for the discovery of a Columbian Mammoth tusk fossil at their apartment development site in Seattle. Regarded as the largest and most intact tusk discovered in Seattle, paleontologists estimated it to be over 60,000 years old, with its exact age to be determined using carbon dating. It was carefully removed for preservation by the paleontologists and eventually found a home at the Burke Museum of Natural History.

In 2020, oil workers found Woolly mammoth remains while working on an oil field on the Yamal Peninsula near the Arctic Circle in Russia. The skull and tusk were the second-largest mammoth discovery that year, likely due to global warming induced permafrost thaw in the region. 

While building an apartment building in Philadelphia’s historic district in 2017, construction workers unearthed two dozen intact coffins and human remains. Experts dated the remains, belonging to over 60 individuals, to the 18th century. The site is believed to be a decommissioned burial ground for the First Baptist Church, established in 1707. When the church relocated to a larger location in 1860, all remains should have been transferred to the Mount Moriah Cemetery. How or why these were left behind is unknown.

In 2006, construction workers discovered a 2,500-year-old Mayan ball court while working on construction for a housing project in Merida, Mexico. The court, described as 70% intact, is 82 ft long and 15 ft wide. Archaeologists also linked it to a ballgame which held deep cultural and religious meaning in Mayan society.

In 2013, at a construction site in Wellington, British archaeologists discovered the foundations of a 12th-century mansion no one knew existed. During the dig, they also uncovered ceramic roof tiles and floor tiles with intricate designs similar to the ones at Glastonbury Abbey. These suggested the mansion was of high status and historically significant.

In 2019, construction workers in the Tama township located in northern Sohag, Egypt, discovered the long-lost temple of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV while drilling for a new sewage drain. The 2,200-year-old temple from Ptolemy IV’s reign (221 to 204 BC) bears inscriptions reading “Ptolemy IV” along its limestone walls, together with imagery of animals and birds.

In 2013, construction workers unearthed a 15th-century hospital in Madrid during an excavation for a new Apple Store. Four years earlier, other construction workers at a neighboring site had uncovered the ruins of an adjoining church. It is believed the hospital was used to treat plague patients before being demolished in the 1850s. 

In the 1898 excavation of the tomb of Pa-di-l'men, the Saqqara Bird was discovered. The wooden model bird is dated to 200 BCE and has a wingspan of 18 cm. From a ceremonial object to a toy, the bird has many suggested purposes. Another hypothesis is that it is a model aircraft, but there is insufficient evidence to support this theory.

In 2017, reindeer hunters on a mountain in southern Norway discovered a Viking sword made of high-quality iron. Archaeologists believe the high altitude (5,381 ft above sea level) and the mountain’s cold, dry conditions helped preserve the sword. They also think the sword may have been lost over 1,100 years ago by a Viking journeying through the rough terrain during a blizzard.

An Obsidian blade was discovered by the Wilder brothers after an earthquake in Northern California unearthed it. It is said to have been used ceremonially by the Karuk people. Some members of the Karok tribe claim these blades are still used today.

On Christmas Day in 2016, 54,000 Augsburg residents had to be evacuated from their homes while explosives experts worked to defuse a RAF b**b from WWII found under a construction site. If detonated, the 2-ton b**b could have destroyed all buildings within a mile radius. The unexploded b**b was one of many discovered in Europe and Asia multiple years earlier.

Discovered in 1938 by Chinese professor Chi Pu Tei, the Dropa stones allegedly detail the story of an extraterrestrial spacecraft carrying Dropa people that crash-landed on Earth. Chinese archaeologists translated the stones’ hieroglyphic-type markings, and their findings were purportedly published in Tsum Um Nui’s academic journal. However, no records of this journal have ever been found, and others question the existence of both Chi Pu Tei and Tsum Um Nui.

In 2011, an archaeologist named Ryan Gray uncovered a burial site at the French Quarter during a test dig for a pool installation at Vincent Marcello’s residence. The remains were part of the St. Peter Cemetery in New Orleans, where other skeletons were found in the 80s. Gray excavated all the coffins and transported them to Louisiana State University for further examination.

Located in the eastern corner of the Kaaba, the Black Stone dates back to the time of Adam and Eve and is an Islamic relic revered by Muslims. Believed to absorb the sins of all who touch it, the artifact plays a central role in some Islamic pilgrimage rituals.