Strange Objects and Artifacts
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Objects · Hebrew Bible and EthiopiaArk of the CovenantBuilt to the exact measurements in Exodus and covered in gold, this chest could kill. When oxen stumbled and a man reached out to steady it, he was struck dead on the spot; one claim places it at Aksum, in Ethiopia. The only outside scholar known to have seen the object there called it an empty wooden box.Texts · Hermetic and Arabic alchemyEmerald TabletIn the oldest telling, the tablet is found in an underground chamber, held in the hands of an old man seated on a throne; its dozen or so lines, credited to Hermes, became the founding charter of European alchemy: "That which is below is like that which is above." The earliest known version is Arabic. Where did it come from?Objects · Greece and RomeHephaestus' golden maidensIn the oldest Greek epic, the smith god Hephaestus has tripods that roll to meetings on their own, plus golden women with minds, voices and skill who help him walk. This was written about 700 BCE or earlier. Did Greeks imagine artificial helpers long before machines, or is it only divine craft? Read Homer's lines.Objects · Egypt and geologyLibyan desert glass (Tutankhamun's scarab)The scarab at the center of Tutankhamun's jewelry is carved from glass far older than any pharaoh. Geologists say it formed about 29 million years ago, when sand melted at temperatures higher than any volcano reaches; pieces still lie scattered across the Great Sand Sea. What kind of blast from the sky could do that?Objects · The AmericasMaya Long CountThe Maya counted days from a start date placed in 3114 BCE, and on December 21, 2012 the count rolled over a big cycle. Only one known inscription mentions that date, and it predicts no doom. Yet one stela reportedly pushes the numbers far beyond the age of the universe. How big can a calendar get?Objects · Jewish mysticismMerkabah (throne-chariot)Ancient rabbis ruled that the first chapter of Ezekiel was too dangerous to teach openly. The Talmud tells of four men who entered a mystical "orchard": one died, one went mad, one became a heretic, and only Rabbi Akiva came out in peace. What did the vision of a fiery throne-chariot do to them?Objects · Sumer and Babylon; modern speculationNibiruIn Babylon, Nibiru was a name of the god Marduk, who "upheld the paths" of the stars. In modern lore, it is a hidden planet that would knock the solar system off course; the 3,600-year orbit people quote comes from a number unit, say Assyriologists. What did the Babylonians actually point at in the sky?Objects · Jewish, Christian and Islamic legendSeal of Solomon (Solomon's ring)In the Testament of Solomon, an archangel gives Solomon a ring engraved with a five-pointed star and tells him to lock up the demons of the earth and use them to build Jerusalem. Each captured demon must confess which angel can defeat it; the Bible never mentions the ring. So where did the story come from?Objects · Sumer and BabylonSharurIn a Sumerian epic from around 2100 BCE, a mace talks. Sharur brings its god news of a monster, flies over the mountains to scout the enemy, returns to brief him, and gives tactical advice, about four thousand years before anyone built a scout drone; scholars call it a personified divine weapon. What does a weapon say mid-battle?Objects · NorseSkidbladnirSnorri describes a ship big enough to carry every Norse god with their weapons, one that always catches a fair wind and folds up like a napkin to fit in a pouch. Dwarves forged it in the same workshop as Odin's spear. Is it engineering fantasy or something older? See what the texts say.Objects · ChinaThe Qigong (Jigong) flying cartA Chinese text compiled around 290 CE says a people from a far country built flying carts that ride the wind. One landed in the reign of King Tang, who had it taken apart so his people would not see it. Ten years later, an east wind came. What happened to the visitors then?
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