EXPLAINEDBEINGS · SCULPTURE & ARTEFACTS
The Salamanca Cathedral Astronaut
Carved 1992 · New Cathedral of Salamanca · Spain
WHAT IT IS
A spaceman in a full suit and boots carved into the doorway of a sixteenth-century cathedral. It is real, and it was added in 1992.
THE ALIEN READING
Shared for years as proof that sixteenth-century builders, or their visitors, knew what an astronaut looks like.
WHAT THE RECORD SAYS
It was carved during the 1992 restoration as a twentieth-century signature, alongside a lynx, a bull and a dragon eating ice cream (Lead Stories; Snopes).
WHERE IT STANDS
Explained. Historians and archaeologists account for what it shows. The alien reading is a modern one.
STATUS IS OUR CURRENT ASSESSMENT, NOT A VERDICT · REVIEWED 3 OCT 2026
THE RECORD
- DATE
- Carved 1992
- PLACE
- New Cathedral of Salamanca · Spain
- MADE BY
- Stonemason Miguel Romero
- MEDIUM
- Sculpture
- TECHNICAL
- Carved stone · Puerta de Ramos · 1992 restoration
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The Ubaid 'Lizard People'
c. 4000 BCE
FOLIO 06 · EXPLAINED
The Goggle-Eyed Dogū
c. 1000–400 BCE
FOLIO 07 · EXPLAINED
The Sanxingdui Stalk-Eyed Mask
12th–11th century BCE
FOLIO 09 · EXPLAINED
The Goddess on the Throne
5700–4500 BCE
FOLIO 10 · EXPLAINED
The Hooded Spirits
Early 3rd century AD
FOLIO 25 · EXPLAINED
The Paisley Abbey Xenomorph
Carved 1991