Six Baffling Historical Artifacts

By | October 12, 2018


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The Iron Pillar of Delhi

There are some artifacts in history that historians do not agree on. Although a lot of researchers and code-breakers have tried to prove or disprove them, there are still, to this day, many things that remain a mystery. 

Built during the rule of Chandragupta II, with an advanced metallic composition that is only known to the builders, this Iron Pillar of Delhi is 1,600 years old and hasn’t rusted despite its age. Standing 22 feet high, according to experts, it was probably built by welding pieces of wrought iron together. The iron’s high phosphorus content produces a protective film that covers the surface of the iron which keeps it from rusting. A one-of-a-kind, this pillar has, and still does, puzzle and impress tourists as well as historians, being constructed by the only culture in the world, at the time, to possess the capability. 

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The Piri Reis Map

This map dates back to 1513 AD, which was created by Piri Reis, at least according to the map. Piri Reis was an Ottoman admiral and cartographer. The map outlines the coast of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean Islands, and South America pretty well – no surprise there – but what is so baffling about it is that he also depicts on the map, several places that hadn’t been discovered yet like Nova Scotia, the coast of Antarctica, and the Andes Mountains. How would he know to put these on the map? He must have had some inside information but how would he have gotten it? Piri also referred to other sources like maps from the early Indians, Ptolemaic Egypt, early Arabic maps, and even the lost map of Christopher Columbus.