6 Objects That Shouldn't Exist (And What They Really Are)

A geared computer pulled from a Roman-era shipwreck. A clay jar from Iraq called an ancient battery. A Roman cup that turns from green to blood red. Bronze objects nobody can explain, a disc with the oldest known picture of the sky, and a book no one can read. Each one comes with a legend. Each one also has a file: what the evidence actually shows. We open six case files and put the legend and the evidence side by side. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open: six objects, six legends 0:39 File 1: The Antikythera mechanism 2:23 File 2: The Baghdad Battery 3:51 File 3: The Lycurgus Cup 5:04 File 4: Roman dodecahedra 6:25 File 5: The Nebra sky disc 7:56 File 6: The Voynich manuscript 9:27 The pattern, and which file gets solved first SOURCES Antikythera: Freeth et al. 2006, Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05357 Freeth et al. 2021, Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84310-w https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_... Baghdad Battery: BBC News 2003 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_Battery Lycurgus Cup: British Museum https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o... Barber and Freestone 1990, Archaeometry https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.1990.t... Freestone et al. 2007, Gold Bulletin https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03215599 Roman dodecahedra: Guggenberger 2013, Mathematical Intelligencer https://doi.org/10.1007/s00283-013-9403-7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dodeca... Nebra sky disc: Pernicka et al. 2020, Archaeologia Austriaca https://doi.org/10.1553/archaeologia104s89 Ehser et al. 2011, Eur. J. Mineralogy https://doi.org/10.1127/0935-1221/2011/002... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebra_sky_disc Voynich manuscript: Bowern and Lindemann 2021, Annual Review of Linguistics https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistic... Beinecke Library MS 408 https://collections.library.yale.edu/catal... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manu... IMAGE CREDITS (Wikimedia Commons; public domain, CC0 and CC BY only; images cropped, graded and animated) Antikythera fragments A-C: Logg Tandy, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=16464... https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=18254... https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=18254... Antikythera photos: Tilemahos Efthimiadis, CC BY 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=30172368 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=30172360 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=30172362 Lycurgus Cup photos 01-06: Vassil, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Categor... Nebra sky disc and hoard swords: Shonagon, WFS.Berlin, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Categor... Voynich manuscript pages: public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Categor... Ctesiphon, Iraq, 1932: unknown, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=2281009 Roman dodecahedra: Eamonn O'Mahony, Naddoddr, Vassil, Romainbehar, CC0; Wuselig and Tongeren museum, public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Categor... Antikythera wreck salvage: unknown, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=36561631 Antikythera Youth: Gary Todd, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=78353307 NAMA Machine d'Anticythère 1: Marsyas, CC BY 2.5 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=469865 Antikythera CT figure (Sci Rep 2021): Freeth et al., CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=10137... 19th century Hipparchus engraving: L. Sargent, C. Kreutzberger, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=13464... Clock of St. Alban's Abbey: OneWithNoSins, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=15893... The Iraq museum, Baghdad, 1932: American Colony Photo Dept, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=93166061 Pile de Volta: Gillard, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=2708608 Incantation bowl (Met Museum): unknown, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=65096224 Lycurgus Cup, top view: Chappsnet, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=14294... Nebra find site: PantheraLeo1359531, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=11681... https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=11679... Bush Barrow and Nebra comparison: Ario1234, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=15778... Wilfrid Voynich at Soho Square: unknown, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=62337273 Beinecke Library Highsmith: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=31402980 Beinecke Library interior 2: Ragesoss, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=904514 Maps, timeline, cards and the jar cross-section diagrams are original graphics. Diagrams are schematic and not to scale. Map data: Natural Earth (public domain). Theories such as lost technology or ancient visitors are presented as claims, not facts. Narration is a synthetic AI voice. Music is original. #AncientMysteries #History #Archaeology