wtf

30 Insane Historical Items People Discovered

The world is a garbage dump -- but in a good way! Until we start launching our garbage into the outer reaches of the solar system, anything and everything we produce gets left somewhere on the planet. And covered in dirt. Or partially buried. Or left in an attic. And the best thing about living in a garbage dump is it's chock full of cool, historical artifacts to be amazed by.

1.

Crystal spearhead found in a 5,000-year-old megalithic tomb in Spain. The tomb had the remains of 25 individuals, several of whom had consumed a poisonous substance.

2.

Wonderful 2000-year-old sapphire ring presumably belonged to Roman emperor Caligula, thought depicting his fourth wife Caesonia.

3.

An early example of a successful cranioplasty (Peru, ca. 400 CE). The patient survived, as evidenced by the well-healed in situ cranioplasty made from a gold inlay. Now on display at the Gold Museum of Peru and Weapons of the World in Lima.

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4.

2300 years old Scythian woman's boot preserved in the frozen ground of the Altai Mountains.

5.

Detail of the Hercules armor of the Emperor Maximilian II of Austria. Made in 1555, it's now on display at the Kunsthistorisches museum in Vienna.

6.

A gun hidden within a bible, made for Francesco Morozini, Doge of Venice (1619-1694). The owner of the bible could pull the silk bookmark to shoot while the book was still closed. Now on display at the Museo Correr in Venice.

7.

First ever drawings of the moon made by Galileo Galeili after observing it through his telescope in 1609.

8.

2000-year-old Roman face cream/lotion. Dating back to II AD. Object was found in the temple complex dedicated to Mars. It's world's oldest cosmetic face cream and it has finger marks in the lid.

9.

A Viking era ring inscribed with the words 'for Allah', found in the grave of a woman who was buried 1200 years ago in Birka, 25 km west of modern-day Stockholm. The ring constitutes a unique material evidence of direct contact between the Vikings and the Abbasid Caliphate.

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10.

A cabin on board the Aachen, a 19th-century steamship hit by a torpedo in July 1915. Now located at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

11.

Oldest surviving pair of Levis jeans, 1879.

12.

An amateur treasure hunter with a metal detector turned up a Medieval, gold ring that was set with a sapphire stone in Sherwood Forest—haunt of the legendary (or real) Robin Hood. Experts have examined the ring and believe it may date to the 14 th century.

13.

Thirteen-year-old Israeli goes foraging for mushrooms, stumbles upon a Byzantine burial inscription.

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14.

3400 yo painter's palette from ancient Egypt, Amenhotep III era.

15.

9000 year old cave painting in Tassili cave Algeria. Depicting a shaman during psychedelic mushroom use.

16.

1,500-year-old Ceramic Maya Figurine with Removable Helmet, from El Perú-Waka', Petén, Guatemala.

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17.

Small sculpture of death with a bow made in 1520 Germany.

18.

Curious Artefacts: Hitler's Telephone, one of the deadliest weapons of all times [1000x562]

19.

The Veiled Christ, a 1753 marble sculpture by Giuseppe Sanmartino exhibited in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples. Due to its incredible detail, there was a legend that said that the statue was covered by real veil and slowly transformed over time into marble via chemical processes.

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20.

Breastplate Armor of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, 1549.

21.

Bowl with Fish, Iran, probably Kashan (late 13th–mid-14th century).

22.

Ancient ‘Beware of Dog’ Sign From 2,000 Years Ago. A mosaic in front of a Roman poet's house in Pompeii, 1st Century AD. "Cave Canem"/caveat canine/beware of dog.

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23.

Stockings, 1830, cotton/silk.

24.

Top hat worn by Abraham Lincoln the night he was shot. Now on display at the National Museum of American History.

25.

The Rape of Proserpina is a large Baroque marble sculptural group by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, executed between 1621 and 1622. Bernini was only 23 years old at its completion. Now on display at the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

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26.

A newspaper ad from 1865 of an 18 year old man looking for a wife.

27.

Samurai helmet (kabuko) shaped like an octopus. 1700s, Japan.

28.

A 17th century ottoman three-mast tent made of silk and gilded leather. Now on display at the Turkish Chamber in the Dresden Armoury.

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29.

Incan Wall, a fine example of master Stonemasonry. Cuzco, 1400's.

30.

A Roman toddler's footprint in a red clay tile, imprinted as it was drying ~2000 years ago. Vaison-la-Romaine (ancient Vasio Vocontiorum).

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