‘Astronaut’ carved into 16th Century cathedral sparks wild time travel theories

Salamanca Cathedral in Spain dates back as early as the 12th and 13th centuries and boasts a number of ornate carvings – including a mysterious “astronaut” on one of its walls

The ancient Salamanca Cathedral in western Spain has a mysterious modern carving (Image: Getty Images)

Time travel believers have spotted a mysterious astronaut carved into an ancient church, sparking wild theories.

Salamanca Cathedral in Spain is made up of two churches, the oldest of which dates back as early as the 12th and 13th centuries, while the newer part was built in the 16th century.

The stunning place of worship is one of the city of Salamanca’s most popular, not only for its impressive history and stunning architecture but also for a strange phenomenon – a spaceman carved into its exterior wall.

The cosmonaut can be seen leaning against carvings of leaves wearing a stone space suit, complete with a helmet and space boots, fuelling conspiracy theories the statue could be proof of time travel existing.

The curious spaceman has given rise to time travel theories (Image: Getty Images)

“Astronaut at Salamanca Cathedral: This statue is affirmed as absolute proof of time travel,” one Twitter user wrote.

But while the puzzling space cadet may have some people convinced, there is in fact a simple explanation for the phenomenon.

The astronaut is a recent feature of the ancient building and was carved into its walls while the church underwent restoration work in 1992, when artist Jeronimo Garcia decided to add a few modern touches to the structure, including the spaceman.

The stunning cathedral was renovated in the 1990s (Image: Getty Images)

Other more contemporary additions to the church include a dragon eating an ice cream, a lynx, a bull, a stork, a rabbit and a crayfish.

But although this time travel rumour might have a simple explanation, others are harder to solve.

Last month, the Daily Star reported eagle-eyed art lovers had spotted what appeared to be an iPhone in a painting from nearly 90 years ago.

The astronaut was inspired by modern man’s missions to space in the 20th century (Stock) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Umberto Romano painted Mr Pynchon And The Settling Of Springfield in 1937, about 70 years before the first edition of the Apple smartphone was released.

But despite the time discrepancy, fans insist they can see a man in the bottom right corner of the mural holding what looks like a very modern piece of tech to his face, even gripping it in his palm with his thumb free as you would to scroll through Instagram or Twitter.

A 1930s painting has also been the subject of time travel speculation as of yet after one figure was spotted holding an iPhone (Image: US Postal Service)

Many have tried to guess what the mobile-like item could be, with some suggesting it could be a knife or a mirror.

Romano died in 1982 – before most people even had a mobile phone – so sadly we may never know what the primitive piece of tech was supposed to be.