An Oopart (Out Of Place ARTifact) is a term applied to dozens of prehistoric objects found in various places around the world that, given their level of technology, are completely at odds with their determined age based on physical, chemical, and/or geological evidence. Ooparts often are frustrating to conventional scientists and a delight to adventurous investigators and individuals interested in alternative scientific theories.
In 1936, a tri-lobed disc was discovered by Egyptologist Walter Brian Emery during an excavation of the Mastaba of Sabu (Tomb 3111, c. 3100–3000 B.C.) in Saqqara. Sabu was the son of the Pharaoh Anedjib (the fifth ruler of ancient Egypt’s first dynasty).
This enigmatic disc was found among pottery, bones, and several other stone implements—objects that Sabu, a first-dynasty noble, wished to take with him into the afterlife.
The device measures about 23.5 inches in diameter and a little over 4 inches in height. Although originally believed to be carved from slate, the disc is actually made of metasiltstone—a material often employed by Egyptian carvers for its ability to withstand thin, detailed work without fracturing. Other vessels found in this tomb are also carved from this hard rock.
Like a wide flat bowl with three thin, raised lobes, the shape of the object immediately suggests a propeller with three blades and a center hole to be placed on an alleged axis. Even for metasiltstone, the details of the disc (especially the three lobes and center cylinder) are incredibly thin. While the disc does not observe perfect symmetry, all its lobes are approximately of equal size and are oriented at 120 degrees from the center. But as to the real function of the object, researchers are still not sure.
While they may not be able to determine what it was, many agree that the artifact could not have been a wheel, as the wheel only made its appearance in recent Egypt, 1500 B.C., during the 18th Dynasty, with the invasion of the Hyksos. However, some engravings, from where it appears wheels are drawn, go back to the fifth dynasty, about a millennium before that period. The Sabu disc, however, is an even greater challenge to Egyptologists because it dates knowledge of the wheel around 3000 B.C. during the time of the first dynasty.
Another even more incredible scenario suggests that the stone disc actually served as a kind of propeller used with hydraulic fins, which would imply that the Egyptians probably already had the technology to build electric motors. While stone might not be a reasonable material for such a device, renowned Egyptologist Cyril Aldred posits the disk is simply a reproduction of a metallic object much older than this one.
Of course, this object is also believed to have served a significantly less incredible purpose. Some believe the disc could simply be the foot of an oil lamp. However, critics of this theory argue that its function as a tri-wicked, ritual lamp is rather unlikely due to the shape and curvature of its lobes, which seem to suggest function rather than mere ornamentation.
So why such an elaborate shape? While it may not have been a propeller of a vehicle, the strange disc may have still been part of some kind of ancient machine—a component for processing grains or fruit, perhaps. Some have even suggested that it may have been part of a generator or battery to produce electricity.
The skill required to carve such an object is also important. If someone were to make such an object today, the technology needed to form such thin, proportional shapes from solid rock would require something like a modern computerized 3D milling machine.
So does this artifact point to a significant remnant (or reproduction) of an ancient technology, or is it merely a decorative specimen showcasing the talent of a skilled stone carver?
Either way, the tri-lobed disc now rests on the first floor of the Cairo Museum where all can appreciate the artifact and wonder to themselves what kind of technology the Egyptians were actually able to create during the early days of their glorious empire.
