In 1988, entrepreneur and would-be treasure hunter Gregor Spörri allegedly came across something rather incredible in Egypt: a 15-inch-long (38 cm) mummified finger.

The giant finger, if it was a finger, appeared rather grotesque. Chopped at the bone. Its texture, a dark color, something old and rotten. Peeled at the edges like crumpled paper, a finger nail still intact.

It was said to have been found in the grave of a giant mummy somewhere near the Giza pyramids. Were the finger to belong to a human being, that human would be some 16 feet tall (nearly 5 meters).

Of course, tales have always been told of giants walking the Earth. The Nephilim of the Bible. The Gigantes of Greek mythology. The strange, gigantic skeletons said to have been recovered in Alaska, or the giant mummy of Peru.

However, the origin and validity of this finger, as you can imagine, is muddy. Allegedly, Spörri had to pay an old grave robber from Cairo $300 just to see it and take photographs. The old man handed Spörri the object, a treasure of ancient skin and bone wrapped in old, tired rags.

The Crypto Crew shared a video containing images of the strange curio:

“It was an oblong package, smelled musty,” Spörri said when he told his story to the public in 2012. “I was totally flabbergasted when I saw the dark brown giant finger. I was allowed to take it in hand and also to take pictures. A bill was put next to it to get a size comparison. The bent finger was split open and covered with dried mold.”

Spörri left Egypt after his short encounter with the strange artifact, but in 2009 he returned, compelled to learn more. Unfortunately, the old man had vanished, and with him went the giant finger, never to be seen again. All that’s left are strange photographs.

And just like that, it could all be nothing more than a hoax. Well, not that it was something to be believed in the first place.

But wait.

Perhaps the existence of this giant mummified finger is a clue to a very common question. How were the pyramids built, and why?

Well of course! Giants did it!