At first glance, the object in this photograph looks almost like a strange piece of stone.
It is small enough to fit in one hand, unusually heavy-looking for its size, covered with a rough, lumpy texture, and seemingly hard enough to resist being crushed. The photographs show it from several angles, including one beside a coin for scale.
The setting makes the discovery even more interesting.
The person who found it says they work for an airline and discovered the object in an aircraft cargo pit. In the background of the main photograph, part of an aircraft engine is visible, making the whole discovery seem even more mysterious.
So what exactly could this strange object be?
Based on its appearance, one plausible explanation is an old, dried mud-based insect nest—such as a mud-dauber or related solitary wasp nest—that became extremely hard after the mud dried and compacted.
The photographs alone, however, are not enough to identify it with certainty.
