anyone know what this could be?

[rich f]

i found it in the middle of nowhere in the woods weird

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[reale bill]

Looks like a device to hold power lines to a pole.

 

[bigfoot1]

looks like the innards of a curling iron or other heating device

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Reale Bill is correct... it is a cable clamp, primarily used on overhead electrical powerlines and telephone lines. They are strictly 20th-Century-to-now. See the photo below.