The Little Saucer of Silpho Moor
In 1957, men walking on a Yorkshire moor found a small metal saucer. Inside were thin copper sheets covered in strange symbols: a message from someone called Ullo.
What was reported
In November 1957, three men crossing Silpho Moor, near Scarborough, saw something glowing and found a small saucer-shaped object about 45 centimetres across. Inside, they said, were 17 thin copper sheets, inscribed with symbols resembling hieroglyphs.
The 'message' was translated by a UFO enthusiast as coming from an alien named Ullo, who warned humanity about the misuse of nuclear power. The story was a sensation in the British press. The saucer vanished from public view for decades.
Explanations offered
Tests on the metal showed it was ordinary material from Earth, and the case is widely seen as a hoax, made in the age of the first nuclear weapons and Sputnik. The saucer itself was lost from view for many years.
- When
- Found in November 1957
- Where
- Silpho Moor, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK
- Witnesses
- Three men who found it, then the press
- Status
- Hoax
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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