Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Out-of-place Artifacts like the Antikythera Mechanism, Maine Penny, and Roman Dodecahedrons seem mysterious. Let’s examine the real historical explanations behind them.
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Out-of-place Artifacts are any historical object that seems, at a glance, to go against our understanding of historical chronology. Some artifacts appear "too advanced" for the technology of the period they were created, and seem like they’ve fallen out of time.
The mystery of these artifacts has led to a range of wild speculation, involving everything from aliens to time travel. As much fun as it is to think someone with a flux-capacitor popped by and accidentally left a cell phone in ancient Rome, most of these objects have reasonable explanations within archeology and history.
But the real historical and archeological context behind these Out-of-place artifacts and the ancient cultures which produced them can be just as interesting as speculative theories. So, let’s take a look at seven of the most thought-provoking, and uncover how such astounding artifacts were created:
0:00 Intro
0:49 Antikythera Mechanism
2:02 Roman Dodecahedron
2:57 Iron pillar of Delhi
3:58 Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
4:49 The Maine Penny
5:40 Dogū
6:36 Eltanin Antenna
7:28 Outro
Academic Sources:
Antikythera Mechanism - Tony Freeth: scientificamerican.com/article/an-ancient-greek-astronomical-calculation-machine-reveals-new-secrets
Roman Dodecahedron Theories - Mutemandeafcat: mutemandeafcat.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/what-was-the-roman-dodecahedron-used-for
Iron pillar of Delhi - Meg Neal: atlasobscura.com/places/iron-pillar-delhi
Stone Spheres of Costa Rica - Mark Milligan: heritagedaily.com/2021/06/the-mysterious-stone-spheres-of-costa-rica/139375
The Maine Penny - Nick Miller: discoveryuk.com/mysteries/what-is-the-maine-penny-and-does-it-prove-vikings-lived-in-america
Dogū - metmuseum: metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45532
Eltanin Antenna - Rachel Holmes: medium.com/@RachelHolmees/eltanin-antenna-the-mysterious-object-at-the-bottom-of-antarctica-adfcbded344
Credited fair Use Clip from Back to the Future (Part I) | TM & © Universal (1985)
Most images from Wikimedia Commons
♫ Beauty Flow Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 ♫
#CuriousArchive #Artifacts #Mystery
Out-of-place Artifacts like the Antikythera Mechanism, Maine Penny, and Roman Dodecahedrons seem mysterious. Let’s examine the real historical explanations behind them.
---
Subscribe to stay up to date with The Archive: youtube.com/channel/UCweDKPSF65wRw5VHFUJYiow?sub_confirmation=1
Out-of-place Artifacts are any historical object that seems, at a glance, to go against our understanding of historical chronology. Some artifacts appear "too advanced" for the technology of the period they were created, and seem like they’ve fallen out of time.
The mystery of these artifacts has led to a range of wild speculation, involving everything from aliens to time travel. As much fun as it is to think someone with a flux-capacitor popped by and accidentally left a cell phone in ancient Rome, most of these objects have reasonable explanations within archeology and history.
But the real historical and archeological context behind these Out-of-place artifacts and the ancient cultures which produced them can be just as interesting as speculative theories. So, let’s take a look at seven of the most thought-provoking, and uncover how such astounding artifacts were created:
0:00 Intro
0:49 Antikythera Mechanism
2:02 Roman Dodecahedron
2:57 Iron pillar of Delhi
3:58 Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
4:49 The Maine Penny
5:40 Dogū
6:36 Eltanin Antenna
7:28 Outro
Academic Sources:
Antikythera Mechanism - Tony Freeth: scientificamerican.com/article/an-ancient-greek-astronomical-calculation-machine-reveals-new-secrets
Roman Dodecahedron Theories - Mutemandeafcat: mutemandeafcat.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/what-was-the-roman-dodecahedron-used-for
Iron pillar of Delhi - Meg Neal: atlasobscura.com/places/iron-pillar-delhi
Stone Spheres of Costa Rica - Mark Milligan: heritagedaily.com/2021/06/the-mysterious-stone-spheres-of-costa-rica/139375
The Maine Penny - Nick Miller: discoveryuk.com/mysteries/what-is-the-maine-penny-and-does-it-prove-vikings-lived-in-america
Dogū - metmuseum: metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45532
Eltanin Antenna - Rachel Holmes: medium.com/@RachelHolmees/eltanin-antenna-the-mysterious-object-at-the-bottom-of-antarctica-adfcbded344
Credited fair Use Clip from Back to the Future (Part I) | TM & © Universal (1985)
Most images from Wikimedia Commons
♫ Beauty Flow Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 ♫
#CuriousArchive #Artifacts #Mystery
