On the 12th day of September, 1889, a little-known event occurred on Wallis Sands Beach, near the town of Rye, New Hampshire.

Locals were shocked to discover the sudden appearance of the remains of several bizarre objects at the shoreline. Protruding from the sand were the ruinous hulls of large, unidentifiable craft, the likes of which no one had ever seen.

Within hours, fully half the town had gathered to investigate and explore the curious objects.

Local amateur inventor and photographer Archibald Harris, with his then-new Kodak #1 roll film camera and an improvised flotsam tripod, captured seven images of the scene.

The following morning, the relics were gone.

These are those images.