Case file · High strangeness
Abydos 'helicopter' hieroglyphs
A ceiling beam in the temple of Seti I at Abydos bears signs that look like a helicopter, a submarine and a jet. Photographs spread online from the late 1990s.
1997 CE · 26.18, 31.92 · status: explained
The sceptical view
It's a palimpsest. Seti I's titulary was carved, filled with plaster and recarved for Ramesses II. The plaster fell out, and the overlap of the two inscriptions created the shapes.