Egypt
A small artifact that was discovered in a tomb near Saqqara in 1898 and labeled simply as ‘bird
object’ is quite interesting. It was found again, years later, in a basement storage area of the Cairo
Museum of Antiquities. For many years the artifact, catalogued simply as item number 6347, RM
22A, (fig.102) had lay in a small box, almost forgotten and was considered to be small and mostly
insignificant. But the intriguing thing is that the artifact is actually a tiny wooden aeroplane.
It was not until 1969 that an archaeologist by the name of Dr Kalil Messiha noticed the
extraordinary resemblance of the object to modern delta winged aircraft and decided the item was
worth further investigation. A research committee was immediately formed and the findings were
so impressive that the object was put on immediate display in the museum.
Fig.102
Aerodynamic experts later testified that in their opinion, the model was remarkably airworthy
“indicating knowledge of principles of aircraft design which had taken European and American
designers a century of airfoil experimental work to discover.” Some experts noted definite
similarities between the model and the recent NASA developments in oblique-winged aircraft
like the space shuttle design.
Numerous such artifacts have now been discovered, all showing knowledge of advanced
aerodynamics, and in a temple in Abydos in Egypt, there are hieroglyphics near the ceiling that
look very much like modern aircraft in profile. The glyphs closely resemble a helicopter, an
airplane and some kind of hovercraft or flying disc (fig.103).
Colombia
Another miniature flying machine now simply known as the ‘Gold Jet’ (fig.104) was also
discovered in Columbia in South America. The tiny gold object is considered to be well over a
thousand years old and looks very much like a modern plane or space shuttle. It is thought to
come from a pre-Incan culture, possibly the Toltecs or Olmecs, and measures just two inches
long. The artifact has attracted considerable attention due to its extraordinary resemblance to a
modern fighter plane. According to one test pilot a Mr. Jack A. Ullrich: The shape of the wings
and the tapering of the fuselage also suggests the original aircraft it was modeled from was
probably jet powered and capable of supersonic speeds!
Critics say that the object could just as easily represent a bird or flying fish and this could very
well be a possibility. However it’s notable that the object also depicts a triangular upright tail-fin
which has no equivalent in the animal kingdom and provides a strong indication that it is actually
a depiction of a flying machine.
Interestingly, the miniature model even has an insignia on the tail fin such as can be found on
today’s modern fighter planes. This has been likened by scholars to the second letter in Hebrew
alphabet – the letter beth. It has been speculated that the artifact may not have originated in