Best Relic

The Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient Greek geared device from around 100 BC, used to model astronomical cycles and predict eclipses.

The Riace Bronzes are two life-size Greek bronze warriors found off Calabria, Italy, in 1972 and dated to the 5th century BC.

Magna Carta is a 1215 English royal charter limiting King John's power, notable as a foundational text for later constitutional law.

Winged Victory of Samothrace is a Hellenistic Greek marble statue from around 190 BC, notable for its dynamic depiction of Nike on a ship's prow.

The Alexander Sarcophagus is a richly carved 4th-century BC tomb from Sidon, named for battle scenes showing Alexander the Great.

Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia is the NASA capsule that carried Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins to the Moon and back in 1969.

Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle was the NASA craft that landed Armstrong and Aldrin at Tranquility Base on July 20, 1969.

The Wright Flyer was the powered aircraft flown by Wilbur and Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk in 1903, making the first controlled sustained flight.

The Black Stone is a sacred stone set in the eastern corner of the Kaaba in Mecca, touched or saluted by pilgrims during the Hajj.

The Bayeux Tapestry is an 11th-century embroidered cloth from Normandy, notable for depicting William's 1066 conquest of England.

The Venus de Milo is a Greek marble statue of Aphrodite found on Melos in 1820, celebrated as a major Hellenistic sculpture.

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is a Roman bronze emperor on horseback, rare because it survived medieval melting.

Otzi the Iceman is a naturally mummified man found in the Alps in 1991, dating to about 3300 BC and preserving clothing, tools, and tattoos.

Codex Sinaiticus is a 4th-century Greek Bible manuscript, notable as one of the earliest near-complete copies of the Christian Bible.

The Charioteer of Delphi is a Greek bronze statue dedicated after a chariot victory at the Pythian Games around 474 BC.

The Aztec Sun Stone is a basalt Mexica monument carved in Mexico around 1500, notable for its calendar imagery and central solar deity face.

Laocoon and His Sons is an ancient marble group found in Rome in 1506, notable for its dramatic scene from Trojan War legend.

Codex Vaticanus is a 4th-century Greek Bible manuscript in the Vatican Library, among the most important witnesses to the Septuagint and New Testament.

Vostok 1 Descent Module was the Soviet capsule that carried Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, on April 12, 1961.

The Ain Ghazal Statues are Neolithic plaster figures from Jordan, made about 7200-6250 BC and among the earliest large human sculptures known.

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was a three-wheeled automobile patented by Karl Benz in Germany in 1886 and widely regarded as the first practical car.

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth kept in Turin Cathedral, notable for its faint image of a crucified man and a radiocarbon date range of 1260-1390.

The Great Isaiah Scroll is a Dead Sea Scroll from Qumran, copied around the 2nd century BC and preserving the complete Book of Isaiah.

The Sarcophagus of the Spouses is a 6th-century BC Etruscan terracotta coffin showing a reclining married couple at a banquet.

The Sutton Hoo Helmet is an early 7th-century Anglo-Saxon helmet from Suffolk, notable for its ornate face mask and elite ship-burial context.

The Dresden Codex is a pre-Columbian Maya bark-paper book, notable as the most complete surviving Maya codex and a major source on astronomy.

The Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng is a set of 65 bronze bells from Hubei, China, notable for its 5th-century BC musical sophistication.

The Houmuwu Ding is a Shang bronze ritual cauldron from China, notable as one of the largest ancient bronzes known, weighing about 832 kg.

Galileo's telescope was an early refracting telescope used in 1609 to observe the Moon and Jupiter's moons, helping transform European astronomy.