Found in Tushpa, Turkey in 1973, which is now known as Toprakkale this figure carved out of yellowish-brown stone is thought by many to depict some sort of ancient astronaut attached to a rocket.

Tushpa, was once the capitol city of the Kingdom of Urartu, a kingdom lost to time. While little is known of it’s origins or the people that lived there, we do know from other sources that they were renowned metal workers, spoke a language that was thought to be close to Hurrian, and wrote in Assyrian cuniform.

Today it is stored in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum and has yet to ever be put on public display.

While to our modern eyes it does look rocket shaped, it could also be something else completely. Though it is worth noting that fireworks and blackpowder explosives were very much known about and used long before it became popular in western countries.

For instance in 1633 it was reported that Lagâri Hasan Çelebi attached around 140 lbs of black powder to a 7-winged rocket and launched himself into the sea.

Upon his return he was richly rewarded by the Sultan Murad IV. His brother Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi was said to have made a similar flight with a glider the previous year.

Perhaps, the infamous Rocket Man was a carving of a similar attempt thousands of years earlier. Or perhaps, like many have speculated it’s not a rocket at all.