We humans have been on the planet for a long time and throughout our history, thanks to our explorative and creative nature, we have created a multitude of tools to serve our various requirements over the eons. 

We have also been recording our discoveries and inventions in many different form since times unknown. Cavemen used to do it by making simple drawings on the walls of the caves and today we do it on the internet among other means. 

The fabric of human history, though well recorded, has countless holes in it, meaning, there is a lot of missing information and every now and then we come across objects that were lost in time about which we have little idea or no idea as to their history or purpose. 

Let’s take a look at 3 such objects that have left us completely baffled. 

1. The Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript is a mysterious book, the writer and origin of which is unknown. Not only that, it is written in a language that nobody knows and has been indecipherable till now owing to the fact that it’s writing system is unlike any other language in our recorded history.

The mysteries do not end there. It also contains lots of illustrations and symbols that nobody has been able to make sense of. Also, it contains numerous drawings of what seem like plants that again, no one has been able to identify.

Researchers have determined that the parchment used in the book is made of calf skin and using carbon dating, have suggested that it was written in the early 15th century, possibly in northern Italy. 

The best cryptographers have unsuccessfully tried to break the code behind this book leading many to believe that the book might be a hoax. A meaningless and purposeless book that just exists. Others disagree. In any case, it certainly is one of the most interesting objects ever discovered. 

2. The Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism is an analogue computer of sorts that dates back to the ancient Greek period, possibly around 200 BC. It was discovered in the early 20th century when it was recovered from the Antikythera shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. 

It was only in the late 20th century that researchers were able to identify the object as an analog computer which was used for astronomical purposes like determining the position of sun and moon and the movement of other planets in the sky along with predicting solar and lunar eclipses. 

The mystery regarding this object is that the mechanism used in it is very much like a clock which was invented more than a thousand years after the object invention. Based on what we know about the ancient Greeks, the object shouldn’t even exist in the first place. 

So, how did the ancient Greeks manage to create such a sophisticated piece of machinery? No one knows. Also, it’s mentions are no where to be found in the writings of that period. 

Recreation of the antikythera mechanism

3. Ancient Aircraft Figurines

Image Credits

In the 1950s, the Columbian government sent North American researchers some 2500 year old ancient artefacts to analyse them and possibly provide answers to many pressing questions. 

Out of all these gold artefacts, some were really peculiar because they looked like aircrafts. After some careful analysis, researchers dated these artefacts to around 800 B.C. so it seemed really strange that people from back then would make anything that resembled the design of a plane. 


This was also shown on History channel’s ‘Ancient Aliens’ series which suggested the idea that maybe those ancient civilisations were visited by aliens who were flying in similar machines. In 1996, two German model aircraft constructors built an exact replica of this artefact by increasing the size by a factor of 16 and surprisingly, the model flew which showed that aerodynamics was understood by the ancient people. 

Many people however, disagreed with this conclusion and stated that it was a mere coincidence and that the aircraft like artefacts may just be based on fish or birds, but then fish and birds don’t have a rudder shaped part. Who knows how these artefacts came to be. It remains a mystery till today.