The Mysterious Wedge of Aiud
The Aluminum Wedge of Aiud is a wedge-shaped metal object discovered in 1974 near Aiud, Romania, on the banks of the Mures River. The artifact, which weighs five pounds, is made almost entirely of aluminum and is believed to be at least 11,000 years old, based on its proximity to mastodon bones. The wedge’s composition includes 89% aluminum, along with other elements like copper, silicon, zinc, lead, cadmium, nickel, and trace amounts of other metals. It is encased in a thin layer of oxide and resembles the foot of a landing gear, leading to speculation about its extraterrestrial origins. The object remains undisclosed and is not on display to the public. n 1974, a group of construction workers made a strange discovery in central Romania. While working on the shores of the Mures River near the town of Aiud, they stumbled upon three objects 33 feet (10 meters) deep in a sand trench. Two of them were identified as the fossilized bones of a prehistoric elephant, while the third object looked like a wedge made of very light man-made metal.
The mysterious metal wedge measures 7.8 inches (20 centimeters) long, 4.9 inches (12 centimeters) wide, and 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) thick. It was initially assumed to be the end of an aluminum axe.
When Romanian authorities examined the items, they revealed that the bone fossils were 2.5 million years old while the aluminum piece was 250,000 years old. What makes it puzzling is the fact that aluminum was hard to create even by the 19th century.
- It was discovered by workers while digging a trench along the Mures river in Romania in 1974.
- It was found next to mastodon (distantly related to Elephants) bones.
- Researchers who have had the time and opportunity to examine the object believe it is not a natural formation.
- Aluminum production requires an enormous amount of heat, 1,000 degrees actually.
- Two separate laboratories tested the artifact but both laboratories received almost identical results. The object was tested in the Archaeological Institute of Cluj-Napoca, n Lausanne, Switzerland.
- It is composed of 89 percent out of aluminum but also has traces of copper, zinc, lead, cadmium, nickel and smaller traces of other elements.
- Aluminum isn’t found freely in nature, thus must be manufactured, but it has not been produced until the 1800s.
- Even though its exact age is perhaps a debate among scholars, if the aluminum wedge was the same age as the mastodon bones it would make this mysterious piece at least 11,000 years old.
- Geological evidence places the aluminum wedge to be at least 10,000 years old.
- The oxidized layer coating has shown that the artifact is more likely to be around 400 years old, still placing way before aluminum was produced. The dating technique utilized to obtain the age of the artifact was not released.
- The wedge was stored in a museum up until 1995.
- Pseudoarchaeologists and Ufologists believed that this finding is evidence of extraterrestrial beings visiting Earth in the past.
- Floring Gheorgita a known Romanian ufologist believes that this item is actually a landing gear of an alien spacecraft.
- According to research the exact composition of the artifact is as follows: aluminum (89%) Copper (6,2%), silicon (2,84%), zinc (1,81%), lead (0,41%), tin (0,33%), zirconium(0,2%), cadmium (0,11%), nickel (0,0024%), cobalt (0,0023%), bismuth (0,0003%), silver (0,0002%), and gallium (in trace amounts).
