100 Mysterious Artifacts That Scientists Can't Date

Not every mystery is about what an artifact is—sometimes it’s when it is. This episode brings together 100 objects that refuse to sit on a timeline: pieces with no organics for radiocarbon, finds pulled out of context, items restored so many times the clues are gone, and “collection” pieces with lost field notes. We compare methods when dates disagree—thermoluminescence, uranium-thorium, dendrochronology, stratigraphy, patina growth, corrosion and isotope ratios—and show why some results collide. Expect stone spheres from Costa Rica, the Phaistos Disc, the Nebra sky disc debates, desert glass, anchor stones without provenience, the Wolfsegg “iron” curiosity, and more.