Case file · Folklore / legend
The Tucson lead crosses
In 1924 Charles Manier and his family dug up 31 lead objects (crosses, swords and ceremonial pieces) with Latin and Hebrew inscriptions near Picture Rocks, outside Tucson, which some took as proof of first-century Mediterranean settlers.
1924 CE · 32.34, -111.25 · status: hoax
The sceptical view
Specialists found the Latin copied from standard textbooks and the objects made in modern times; they are now regarded as a hoax.