The Nampa Image found at a depth of 300 feet: Out-of-place Artifacts (OOPArt)

During the drilling of a well in Nampa Idaho in 1889 a tiny figurine made of baked-clay was brought up in amongst the debris churned out by the huge drill bit. The object is a one inch long figure of a man with one leg broken off at the knee, possibly from coming into contact with the drill bit. The possibility of the object being a hoax is extremely doubtful as it was extracted from a depth of about 300 feet making the possibility of someone planting it there highly unlikely.

Today the controversial little object remains the property of Charles F Adams and is still displayed in a glass case at Boise’s Park Museum in Boston. Scientists still cannot agree whether the object is a genuine relic or merely a unique little ‘oddity.’

Similar finds have been made in other drilling operations. In 1852 a well driller in Whiteside County Illinois retrieved a copper ring and another copper device shaped like a boat hook from 120 feet below the surface and in 1971 and drill bit brought up a bronze coin from a depth of 114 feet just outside Chillicothe Illinois.