The Astronauts of Zurla
c. 1000 BCE · Valcamonica, Lombardy · Italy
WHAT IT IS
Two figures with round, haloed heads like helmets, carved into rock in the Alps. Wikipedia's article on ancient astronauts uses this rock as its lead image.
THE ALIEN READING
Locally nicknamed 'gli astronauti'; ancient-astronaut writers and the History Channel (which filmed here) present them as helmeted visitors.
WHAT THE RECORD SAYS
They are two of more than 140,000 figures carved in Valcamonica over 8,000 years, part of a UNESCO site. Archaeologists read radiant heads as headdresses; the nickname is modern and descriptive. The grooves have been whitened recently, which sharpens them in photographs.
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
- c. 1000 BCE
- PLACE
- Valcamonica, Lombardy · Italy
- MADE BY
- The Camunni
- MEDIUM
- Rock art
- TECHNICAL
- Petroglyph · Rock 1, Zurla, Nadro · Rock Drawings in Valcamonica (UNESCO)
