This Mysterious Hammer is Alleged to be Millions of Years Old | Gaia Skip Navigation Log In Sign Up HomeYoga Yoga Home Yoga Practices Yoga Series Yoga Lifestyle Yoga Teachers Yoga Pose Library Fitness & Pilates MeditationSeries Gaia Originals All Other Series Docs & FilmsTopicsNew VideosEvents+ Events+ Home Watch On Demand Watch Live Articles ... RecipesAlternative HealingFood & NutritionEnergy HealingLongevity & WellnessTransformationSpiritual GrowthPersonal DevelopmentExpanded ConsciousnessSeeking TruthMetaphysicsSecrets & Cover UpsAncient OriginsParanormal & Unexplained Is The London Hammer An Ancient, Out of Place Artifact? 5 min read By Lisa Trank | September 20, 2019 | Seeking Truth , Ancient Origins , Anomalous Archeology AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis53 AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis53 What could be so unusual, or controversial about the discovery of an iron hammer encased in rock? After all, archaeologists have discovered historical artifacts for as long as humans have been searching for their ancient roots. But what happens when an object defies historical study and appears to exist in the mysterious realms between worlds, as a kind of time traveler? For what is known as the “London Hammer,” the world has been wrangling with a seemingly ordinary household tool; one steeped in mystery, archaeological wonder, and for many, unanswered questions. Alleged to date back more than 400 million years, the London Hammer, or as it is also called, the London Artifact, can be looked at as a study in how the modern and ancient worlds can connect, and collide. How else can we explain that an obviously human-made instrument linked to the late 1800s never rusted, despite the wood transforming into coal? How could the London Hammer withstand normal aging impacts such as oxidation, and what explanations can be made for it having been found in a rock formation that precedes human existence? Perhaps it’s best to start where the London Hammer was supposedly discovered – the tiny town of London, Texas. London Hammer; From Texas to the World Stage For Max and Emma Hahn, it was a summer day like many others. In 1936, the Texas couple took a hike along Red Creek near London, Texas, a tiny community located in the center of the Lone Star State. But the hike was like no other the Hahns had ever experienced. Not because of the weather, or the beauty of the landscape, but because they discovered a strange piece of wood encased in what seemed to be an unusual formation of rock. Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayUnmuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently behind liveLIVERemaining Time -0:00 1xPlayback RateChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedCzechAudio TrackQuality LevelsPicture-in-PictureFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. It wasn’t until 1947 that their son broke through the rock and uncovered what was attached to the wooden handle — an iron-headed hammer. For close to four decades, the hammer remained a local oddity and relatively unknown, until it came to the attention of Carl Baugh, a Young Earth creationist after an article was published on the artifact in the Bible-Science Newsletter in 1983. Baugh was influential in a form of creationism which believes that Earth and all its forms of life were created by a deity’s supernatural acts 6000-10,000 years ago. He promoted the hammer as proof of an antediluvian discovery, which remains in an exhibit at Baugh’s Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas. Of equal interest to archaeologists, the London Hammer posed a scientific dilemma. What could possibly explain how a modern instrument was encased in ancient, prehistoric Ordovician rock from between 65-135 million years ago? There are many who doubt where the hammer was supposedly found; others claim the rock formation is consistent with the minerals and sediments of the surrounding area, putting the claim of the rock dating back to hundreds of millions of years ago in doubt. Others claim that the hammer could have been discarded and the rock formation occurred through the natural process of petrification. Carbon 14 dating of the hammer’s wooden handle would provide a pathway to best determine the age of the rock, as well as the hammer. Unfortunately, the hammer’s owner, Baugh, has only conducted private testing and has to date not published the results. The strongest criticism of the Baugh’s pre-flood theory comes from Glen J. Kuban, former creationist, computer programmer, and paleontology enthusiast, who states that “no clear evidence linking the hammer to any ancient formation has been presented.” Despite this, there are certain facts about the London Hammer which do shed some light on the mysterious tool. The Science Behind the Mystery Objects such as the London Hammer are commonly referred to as Out of Place Artifacts, or OOParts, anomalous objects that bring into question geology, archeology, and the natural history of the Earth. The physical facts of London Hammer are as follows: The Hammer measures at six inches in length with a diameter of one inch. The metal is made up of 96.6% iron, 2.6% chlorine, and 0.74% sulfur. The iron head has not rusted since it was discovered in 1936. The wooden handle is unmineralized with small traces of carbonization While the exact discovery location has not been verified, the lack of sharp nicks seems to confirm that it was not chiseled from a larger rock formation, but found loose, as the Hahns claimed. There is much debate surrounding the London Hammer’s origin remains unanswered. Was the artifact hit by a meteorite that formed around the tool? According to what is known about the chemical composition of a meteor, the formation’s composition would seem to discount this theory. Some counter this by asserting the existence of an ancient, advanced civilization that left behind tools eerily similar to those of a more modern era. The most well-known argument refuting the London Hammer’s provenance in an ancient time comes from J. R. Cole from the National Center for Science Education who wrote in 1985 that: “the stone concretion is real, and it looks impressive to someone unfamiliar with geological processes. How could a modern artifact be stuck in an Ordovician rock? The answer is that the concretion itself is not Ordovician. Minerals in solution can harden around an intrusive object dropped in a crack or simply left on the ground if the source rock (in this case, reportedly Ordovician) is chemically soluble.” The mystery surrounding the London Hammer remains. For those who believe, the hammer represents a kind of mystical time traveler. For others, it is a geological wonder. Whatever the belief, the London Hammer does represent our unquenchable thirst for knowledge, meaning, and connection to a larger order. The Anomalous History of Humanity Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently behind liveLIVERemaining Time -0:00 1xPlayback RateChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedCzechAudio TrackQuality LevelsPicture-in-PictureFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.Close Modal DialogThis is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. About the Author Lisa Trank began writing after many years as a performing artist – an actress and singer – and is happy to bring those years of crafting characters and storytelling into her writing life. In addition to Gaia, her work has been published in the Saturday Evening Post, University of Denver Journal, Salon, Tablet, Kveller, MindBodyGreen, and in a number of anthologies. Lisa is also an author marketing and platform building consultant. Her clients have been featured in “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” PBS Newshour, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Colorado Matters, Common Ground, and more. LisaTrank.com Read More Next Article Archeologists Puzzled by Hundreds of Egyptian Tombs from Pre-Dynastic Era 5 min read By Gaia Staff | May 25, 2021 | Seeking Truth , Ancient Origins , Anomalous Archeology AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to MoreAddThis A new discovery from ancient Egypt has been made, with more than 100 tombs found from a pre-pharaonic era. Egyptian archeologists have unearthed more than 100 burial tombs at an ancient site in a Nile Delta province. This new find includes 68 tombs dating to the pre-dynastic period from 6,000-3,150 B.C., as well as five oval-shaped tombs from the Naqada III period that spanned from around 3,200-3,000 B.C., and 37 rectangular graves from the second intermediate period when the Hyksos people ruled ancient Egypt. Archeologists also found human remains of adults and children and pottery in the graves, but as archeologists make significant findings like this around the world, what makes this one stand out? 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