Colombia Jet

Description: This small toy like model, about 2 in length and made of gold, was found in a tomb in Colombia. When first discovered it was called a zoomorph (animal looking). The object is on display in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. Six other similar objects have been found in discovered in Venezuela and Peru, and Costa Rica.

Mainstream Theory: The Smithsonian Institutes display explanation reads, gold artifact, a stylised insect, from the Quimbaya culture, Antioquia province, Colombia, ca. 1000-1500 AD.

Alternative Theory: Dr. Ivan Sanderson, a scientist from the United States, studied the object and said it looked too mechanical, like an airplane, to be a natural object. J.A. Ulrich, an expert on aircraft, also looked at the object and admitted that it closely resembled a Swedish SAAB jet. In 1994, three Germans, Algund Eenboom, Peter Belting and Conrad Lübbers, decided to create a scale model of the airplane. During their research they found that the object was much more like a modern space shuttle or the supersonic Concorde than an insect. The replica was completed in 1996 and was aerodynamically stable and flew. Another one was built with a jet engine added and it also flew.