All 9 Ancient Relics In The Indiana Jones Movies (& Their True Stories)

Indiana Jones has uncovered some incredible artifacts in his franchise, each with their own myths, legends, andin some cases, true stories.

It can be hard to separate fact from fiction in Indy's exciting adventures, but the ancient relics in the Indiana Jones movies have some fascinating stories behind them. On behalf of wealthy clients, his university, and even the United States government itself, Professor Jones has been asked to retrieve ancient artifacts from around the world, and he's often not the only one after them. Indy has gone up against the Nazis, Chinese gangsters, ancient cults, and Soviet spies just to make sure that these sacred objects don't fall into the wrong hands and tempt the fate of the world.

Inspired by the Saturday serials that excited George Lucas and Steven Spielberg as children, the Indiana Jones movies had to emphasize action, romance, and adventure all centered around buried treasure. As they came up with the plot for each exciting tale, they drew from real historical threads and wove them into something to excite audiences and get them interested in other cultures. Taking inspiration from around the world, they found clever ways to bind Indiana Jones to some of the greatest archeological finds the world has ever known.

The Chachapoyan fertility idol is fans' introduction to Indiana Jones as he contemplates how to swap it out for its weight in sand. The six-inch, solid gold representation of the Inca fertility goddess known as Pachamama had been placed in her temple in 64 BC and hidden by the temple priests deep in the jungles of Peru, a rite of passage for any young Chachapoyan warriors brave enough to avoid its traps. If they could gaze upon the idol they would prove themselves true warriors, but if they tried to take it without counterbalancing its exact weight, it would trigger the temple's self-destruct system.

RELATED: 6 Ways Raiders Of The Lost Ark's Opening Scene Establishes Indy's CharacterThe idol featured in Raiders of the Lost Ark is based on the real Dumbarton Oaks birthing figure, so named because of its inclusion in the pre-Columbian collection of artifacts at Dumbarton Oaks. It's intended to depict Tlazolteotl, the Aztec goddess, though its resemblance has been disputed over the years. It's one of the less mystical and more grounded artifacts that kicks off Indy's adventures.

Discovered in 1926 by renowned archaeologist Abner Ravenwood, the headpiece to the Staff of Ra was later given to his daughter Marion, who sold it to Indiana Jones in 1936 for three thousand dollars. When placed upon a simple wooden staff "six kadams high," with one kadam removed in deference to the Hebrew God, the Staff of Ra could be used in the Map Room at Tanis to point to the Well of Souls where the Ark of the Covenant resided. Writing around its peripheral was an ancient form of Hebrew, and explained exactly how to avoid being punished when the Ark was opened.

No headpiece or staff of Ra actually exists, but the artifact works as an important device to move the story forward, and it's a fun way to force Indy to go to Egypt. For the curious, its story canonically continued in Disney theme parks. The headpiece, as worn by Marion Ravenwood, is connected to the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, and can be found in Disney Springs, Florida, where Indy left it behind in the bar of his former aviator, Jock Lindsey.

A biblical artifact associated with incredible power, the Ark of the Covenant was the focus of both Indiana Jones and the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Built in 1400 BC by ancient Hebrews to house the smashed pieces of the Ten Commandments after they were smashed by Moses, God supposedly commanded the Hebrews to carry the gilded chest as they marched towards the Promised Land. Those who carried the Ark were warned not to look at it, because if they did, they would be struck down by the immense power of the relic.

While scholars have debated the true history of the Ark of the Covenant for centuries, its inclusion in Adolf Hitler's plans for world domination makes it fascinating for reasons other than its incredible powers. Hitler was apparently able to overlook the relic's Jewish origins in order to control its divine properties, hoping to make his armies invincible. Indy's lack of greed, as well as knowledge of the Ark's legend, helped him not succumb to its righteous repercussions.

In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it's said that the five Sankara stones got their name from the moment the Hindu god Shiva gave them to Sankara on Mount Kalisa, instructing him to use them in his battle against evil. When the stones were brought together they would glow from the diamonds they contained, a physical representation of Shiva's emergence, signaling warmth and light to friends and devastating destruction to foes. After Sankara died, the stones became scattered and sold by mercenaries over hundreds of years.

By the time Indy is tasked with finding the Sankara stones, with several buried beneath Pankot Palace, they were already thought to be more myth than reality. In many ways, the Sankara stones helped Temple of Doom change the Indiana Jones franchise with their mystical properties. Though they were invented for the movie's plot, they're a composite of several real items; Yooperlite, a fluorescent rock in Michigan, closely resembles the illuminated Sankara stones, while the story surrounding the stones themselves is derived from the Shiva Lingams devoted to Shiva, found throughout India.

Featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as an artifact sought after by Indiana Jones during his boyhood adventures in Utah, the Cross of Coronado was a golden crucifix encrusted with jewels that once belonged to Emperor Justinian II. Named after the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, who obtained it from the legendary Hernando Cortés in 1526, rumors persist that a piece of the True Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified is contained within its glittering body. When Coronado went in search of the Seven Cities of Gold, he lost the cross in his quest, and it wound up in a burial site in the United States of America.

It was in 1912 that two scouts, Indiana Jones and his friend Herman discovered the cross after treasure hunters had infiltrated the caves hoping to find what conquistadors had hidden there. While Indy wasn't able to retrieve it that day, he would find it again in 1938 when he was a famous archaeologist and able to place it in the Spanish Collection at Bartlett College. While the artifact was entirely fictional and created for the film, it does draw on real historical figures to add authenticity, though their ages would not have aligned.

Said to be the cup used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper as well as what caught his blood after he was pierced by the Lance of Longinus, the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was steeped in biblical lore while also later being tied to Arthurian legend. Thought to be a gilded chalice worthy of the King of Kings, the cup that was said to grant immortality to anyone who drank from it was actually a humble carpenter's utensil made of clay. Though he might have been remiss in some parts of his Bible studies, Indy knew how to select the right chalice at the conclusion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

RELATED: Indiana Jones: Why Elsa Really Picked The Wrong Cup In Last CrusadeThough narratives of the Grail differ, Joseph of Arimathea took the Grail with him to Great Britain and placed it in what would become Glastonbury Abbey, until it was lost for a thousand years and eventually found by the one and only King Arthur. Eventually, it would come under the protection of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword, and be protected by an ancient member of the Knights Templar until someone worthy came to claim it in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon. The power of the Grail allowed Henry Jones Sr. a peaceful passing of a natural death, and a little more time for the ones boys.

Thanks to the obsessive research gathered by Professor Harold Oxley in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the gods of the Ugha tribe were discovered to be thirteen interdimensional beings from "the space between spaces," with crystalline skeletons and skulls that possessed incredible psychic abilities. Conquistadors, such as Francisco de Orellana, believed to be hunting for the lost city of El Dorado, eventually found Akator, and with the removal of one of the skulls became homicidal thanks to its influence, ensuring that one skull ended up in Chauchilla Cemetery for Oxley to find.

Oxley's meticulous notes, which lead Indiana Jones on the path set forth by his mentor, feature a skull with powerful magnetism and psionic abilities. Though they don't possess anything like that, the skulls upon which the film's versions were based can be found throughout the ancient Aztec culture. Experts still wonder how they were created so perfectly from clear and milky crystal with no discernable seams.

The Dial of Destiny is the latest big artifact of interest to Indiana Jones and his enemies in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Supposedly built by Archimedes in 213 BC, based on everything we know about Indy 5, the 2,200-year-old artifact is based on his Antikythera Mechanism, and was found during the final years of WWII on a train by Professor Jones and his associate Basil Shaw. Eventually, Shaw started to be impacted by the device, but not before telling his daughter about its ability to alter history.

Helena Shaw teamed up with Indiana Jones to prevent the Dial from ending up in the wrong hands, such as Jürgen Voller, a Nazi turned NASA research scientist who was determined to find it for himself. Not only did he want to recreate the world in his own image, but he also wanted to correct some of Hitler's "mistakes." Indiana Jones will have some serious choices to make when he encounters the Dial and has the means to make a few of his own mistakes right.

Also known as the Spear of Destiny and the Holy Lance, the Lance of Longinus was said to be the lance that pierced the side of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion and mention in the Gospel According to John. Said to be discovered by Peter Bartholomew during the First Crusade in 1098, it supposedly inspired Crusaders to improve their offensive strikes against the Muslim armies. It was said that whoever held the spear could alter the fate of the world.

The Lance of Longinus is reportedly going to be in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, though it's unclear exactly how it will fit into the plot. It could be used to counteract the Dial's powers, or in conjunction with them as part of its mechanism to make it a super weapon. Either way, it represents a return to the biblical relics of the Indiana Jones trilogy and incorporates a beloved story from the Indiana Jones comics.