Mysterious Odd Metal Object Appears On The Coast Of North Carolina – What Is It?

An odd, metal object has suddenly appeared on the coast of North Carolina and it’s not the first time unusual objects have been rising out of the waters on the outer banks.

Dubbed Shelly Island by locals, due to the abundance of shells found on the virgin sand, the mysterious island appeared following a wild storm early in the summer. It quickly became a popular destination over the summer, even gaining the interest of NASA, which took satellite pictures of its growth.

Shelly Island

The Shelly Island does not longer exist because according to recent reports it now connects at low tide to Cape Point, which belongs to Cape Hatteras National Seashore. A stream of water about 20 feet wide and 6 inches deep flowed between the two land bodies at high tide.

Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac says that by late August, the island was just short of mile long and 450 yards wide, totaling 27 acres. He says it wasn’t connected to land as of last week.

Object found on beach at Shelly Island Dare County Emergency Management. This one was only a model, a real bomb turned up one week later. Image credit: Charlotte Observer

Our waters are full of intriguing objects and some of them have been visible om the former island. In July this year, a suspected bomb washed ashore. The object cause evacuation and emergency crews were keeping people a minimum of a mile away from the object.

Scientists are now examining another curious object found on the same coast. It’s a, barnacle-covered object that was found under a pile of shells. The object is heavy and looks a bit like a large metal bowl.

The nature of the object remains a mystery for now. It could be something precious and of historical value, but it’s also possible the bowl is a more modern and common than we think.

It looks like a chalice or large cup and it appears to have been underwater for a long time.

Photos of the object were examined in late August by historian Jami Lanier at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and she was stumped.

“I cannot say for sure what this object is, but my initial thought was some type of watercraft instrument,” said Lanier. “It is hard to tell with the encrustation.”

Lanier intends to send the photos to a regional archaeologist for further study.