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The Stargazer: A 5,000-year-old marble statuette of a Stone Age woman looking skywardAstonishing Artifacts Only a handful of these small, sleek, marble figurines carved by enigmatic Stone Age people are known to exist.
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Sleep and Death cista handle: A 2,400-year-old sculpture depicting gods carrying away Zeus' son during the Trojan WarAstonishing Artifacts A small, bronze sculpture depicting a death scene in the Trojan War once graced an Etruscan box.
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Hanging lamp in the form of a sandaled right foot: A 1,600-year-old bronze lamp with multilayered Christian symbolismAstonishing Artifacts This rare, foot-shaped oil lamp had multiple layers of meaning in early Christianity, including symbolizing enlightenment and Christian pilgrimage.
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Mask of Mictlantecuhtli: A 500-year-old mask of the Aztec god of the underworld, who tore apart the dead as they entered his realmAstonishing Artifacts This skull-shaped mask was made to be used in a ritual involving the Aztec god of death.
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Roman bath clog: The world's oldest shower shoes were found at a fort along Hadrian's WallAstonishing Artifacts The Romans were the first to wear clog-style footwear to the baths to protect their feet from the hot floor and to better navigate slippery surfaces.
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Gessel gold hoard: A 3,300-year-old stash of gleaming treasures that's one of the largest Bronze Age hoards from EuropeAstonishing Artifacts The Gessel gold hoard is among the largest treasures ever discovered in prehistoric Europe but has only three pieces of jewelry in it.
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Bead net funerary shroud: A 2,500-year-old beaded veil from Egypt depicting the deceased's transformation into OsirisAstonishing Artifacts This funerary shroud was made from thousands of multicolored beads and woven to represent a human face and a large scarab beetle.
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Daunian kyathos: A 2,700-year-old ceramic cup from Italy decorated with an exuberant-looking, bug-eyed fellowAstonishing Artifacts A pre-Roman ceramic cup or ladle that could inspire kitchenware today — this li'l dude is excited to mix!
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Lion's head pendant: An ancient Egyptian board game piece that was later repurposed into a magical religious object with baboonsAstonishing Artifacts An ancient Egyptian board game piece was repurposed centuries later in Sudan into a dazzling gold-and-amethyst pendant.
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