"The Coso Artifact is a spark plug found encased in a lump of hard clay or rock on February 13, 1961 by Wallace Lane, Virginia Maxey, and Mike Mikesell while they were fossicking for geodes near the town of Olancha, California and long claimed as an example of an out-of-place artifact. Following its collection, Mikesell destroyed a diamond edged blade cutting through the rock containing the artifact and discovered the item.[1]

Virginia Maxey, one of the people who discovered it, said that a geologist she had spoken to had said that the nodule had required at least 500,000 years to achieve its form, based on an examination of the fossil shells that encrusted the specimen. However, the identi...

"The Coso Artifact is a spark plug found encased in a lump of hard clay or rock on February 13, 1961 by Wallace Lane, Virginia Maxey, and Mike Mikesell while they were fossicking for geodes near the town of Olancha, California and long claimed as an example of an out-of-place artifact. Following its collection, Mikesell destroyed a diamond edged blade cutting through the rock containing the artifact and discovered the item.[1]

Virginia Maxey, one of the people who discovered it, said that a geologist she had spoken to had said that the nodule had required at least 500,000 years to achieve its form, based on an examination of the fossil shells that encrusted the specimen. However, the identity of the geologist remains a mystery, and his findings have appeared to have never been published.[1] It is well documented that the nodule surrounding the spark plug may have accreted in a matter of years or decades as demonstrated by examples of very similar iron or steel artifact-bearing nodules, which are discussed and illustrated by Cronyn.[2] "

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