Flying carpets, levitating mortars, and speed boots: These magical vehicles outdo even Elon Musk’s wildest fantasies.

Ancient cultures around the world tell stories of strange objects witnessed flying in the sky. But are these tales fiction, or might people living thousands of years ago actually have seen extraterrestrial crafts descending from the heavens?

According to ancient Ethiopian texts, King Solomon of Israel gave the Queen of Sheba a flying carpet, and traveled on one himself throughout the Middle East. And Chinese mythology explains that the god Huang Di emerged from the belly of a fire-breathing dragon to become China’s first emperor. Could these accounts of unknown flying objects really be descriptions of misunderstood technology involving mysterious crafts? What were our ancestors really describing in their ancient stories?

Magic Flying Carpet

Magic carpets are a form of transportation most notably found in oriental tales. These carpets are known also as flying carpets, as they transport their owners from one place to another through the air. Whilst magic carpets are perhaps most commonly associated with the stories found in the Thousand and One Nights , magic carpets have also been mentioned in the writings of different civilizations at various points of time in history.

It seems that King Solomon of Israel is the earliest known historical figure to be associated with magic carpets.

According to legend the Queen of Sheba gifted King Solomon a green and gold flying carpet studded with precious jewels, as a token of her love. It is said that a flying carpet was woven on an ordinary loom, but its dyes held spectacular powers. Made from a special type of clay with magnetic properties (and since the earth is a magnet) it held the ability to hover several hundreds of feet above the ground.

Other stories say it was God who bestowed Solomon with the magic carpet. The carpet flew swiftly, bringing Solomon from Damascus to Media in just a few hours. The iconic carpet was extremely large, with room for up to 40,000 men. Then one day, God became irritated by Solomon’s pride-fullness. God shook the carpet in the wind, sending all 40,000 men into the air, and presumably to their deaths.

Russian painter Viktor Vasnetsov illustrated the tales featuring a flying carpet

In Russian folk tales, Baba Yaga can supply Ivan the Fool with a flying carpet or some other magical gifts (e.g. a ball that rolls in front of the hero showing him the way, or a towel that can turn into a bridge). Such gifts help the hero to find his way “beyond thrice-nine lands, in the thrice-ten kingdom”.

Speed Boots

Hop o' My Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré

Speed-boots or Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boot allows the person wearing them to take strides of seven leagues per step, resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid in the completion of a significant task.

Russian folklore has a similar magic item called fast-walker boots, which allows the person wearing them to walk and run at an amazing pace.

Can these magic boots be evidence that our ancestors witnessed high advanced alien technology?

Levitating mortar

Illustration to Russian fairy tale Marja Moverna © russkajaskazka ( Image Source

In some old Slavic accounts, Baba Yaga or witch is a wizened hag who rides in a floating mortar that is directed in flight by its pestle.

How could one explain the mechanics behind a witch in a levitating mortar? The most appealing explanation would be a jet drive, or some other kind of advanced flying machine.

Flying ship

Ship of the line by Eddie Bennun EddieBennun ( Image Source

Sightings of what our ancestors often referred t as “sky ships” or “cloud ships” have been occurring since the dawn of recorded history. Alexander the Great and his vast army allegedly observed three soaring discs, which were described as “shining silvery shields, spitting fire around the rims,” during the siege of Tyre in 329 BC. These “shields” were said to have annihilated a stone wall with a lightening-like beam weapon.

The old Chinese book, ‘Collection of Old tales’, complied in the 4th century AD includes an interesting story from the times of Emperor Yao when You Yih and Chang Ngo went to the moon. An enormous ship appeared on the sae at night with brilliant lights which were extinguished during the day. It could also sail to the moon and stars, hence its name ‘a ship hanging among the stars’ or ‘the boat to the moon’. This giant ship which could travel in the sky or sail the seas was seen for 12 years.

Could above encounters indicate that otherworldly spacecraft have been soaring across Earth’s skies for thousands of years? Perhaps all these strange flying objects mentioned in old texts are nothing else but description of highly advanced technology possessed by our ancient ancestors…

featured image: Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov