21 Fascinating Finds and Discoveries from History

1.

The world we live in has seen some crazy and amazing things at the hands of us mere mortal human beings. From thousands of years of conquests, civilizations, inventions, and more, there is potentially an unlimited supply of relics from the past. Check out this collection of unique, amazing, and intricate artifacts from the past.

2.

The Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg, Duchess of Normandy, attributed to Jean Le Noir. France, before 1349.

3.

Algerian miquelet doglock gun. 1758 or 1759 CE (1172 AH). Wood, steel, silver, coral, copper alloy, gold. Length: 76 3/8 in. (194 cm); Caliber .64 in. (16.3 mm); Weight. 10.5 lb. (4762.7 g). Currently at the Met Museum, NYC, US.

4.

A Mughal emerald and gold ring, 16-17th century CE, sold at Christie's in 2019.

5.

Carbonized loaves of bread from Pompeii and Herculaneum!

6.

Jade Plate with dragon pattern. Song to Liao dynasties (960-1279 CE). Now housed at the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.

7.

Tutankhamun's board game: Senet. 1333 BC, Egypt.

8.

Ceremonial Armor of Charles V, ca. 1512–14. KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA, IMPERIAL ARMOURY.

9.

Pair of Colt 1848 Dragoon Revolvers, gifted by Abraham Lincoln to Abdelkader, Algerian resistance leader and Muslim holy-man, in 1860. Lincoln sent Abdelkader these pistols to thank him for defending Christians from anti-Christian pogroms in the Ottoman Empire.

10.

A treasure containing 4 gold ear hangers dating from from an era of war between Frisia and Holland ca. 1000-1050 and silver coins dating from ca. 1200-1250 was found by a metal detectorist in Hoogwoud, the Netherlands.

11.

3,000-year-old glass bottle with blue and yellow bands. Egypt, New Kingdom, 1336-1213 BC.

12.

7,000-year-old figurines of two women. Tell Halaf, Syria, Halaf culture, 5000-4000 BC.

13.

A skull and sickle toothpick, circa 1630-1660. Elaborately decorated toothpicks had a long tradition. In the Middle Ages they were often made from the claws of birds, especially the bittern, a long-legged water bird.

14.

Ceramic drainage pipe. Xianyang, China, Qin dynasty, 3rd century BC.

15.

A gilded and painted cartonnage mummy mask of a man. From Meir, Roman Period, ca. 30 BCE-395 CE, now housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

16.

Granite bust of Mentuemhat (c. 700-650 BCE). Mentuemhet was a rich and powerful mayor and priest of Thebes and Governor of Upper Egypt who rebuilt the city after the Assyrians destroyed it. Now housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

17.

This small bronze purse (4.3x3.3 cm) was found with six gold coins still inside in the Celtic oppidum (settlement) at Manching, Germany. It was originally sealed with an organic material, presumably a leather strap. Ca. 200 BCE.

18.

Field Armor of Maximilian I (1480).

19.

Golden reliquary statue containing the remains of the 2nd century child saint Sainte Foy (Conques, France). Late 10th to early 11th century with later additions, but also incorporating a late-Roman golden mask.

20.

A 2014-year-old bronze caliper. Xin dynasty, now housed at the Yangzhou Museum in China.

21.

Ivory carving of a man blowing bubbles, and two children. Japan, 1870.

22.

Flintlock rifle, made of steel, silver-gilt, niello, gold, ivory. .56 Caliber, likely made in Kubachi, Dagestan. Arabic inscription on the barrel, "Owned by Abā Muslim Khān Shamkhāl." Currently at the Met, NYC.