00:00Summers in the Middle East get so hot that they change the landscape dramatically and
00:04make entire cities resurface from the past.
00:07That's what happened in 2018 when the city built by a mysterious empire on the Tigris
00:12River was finally released from its water trap.
00:17Archaeologists rushed to the location as they didn't want to miss a rare chance to excavate
00:21the site and learn more about the history of the place.
00:25They believe they've found the Bronze Age city, Zakikou, founded over 3,000 years ago
00:31and fully submerged in the 1980s when a dam was built in its place.
00:35It used to be a busy hub for the Mitanni Empire for caravans on the popular trade route.
00:41It had water, which is a rarity in the area, and it was a guarantee for success.
00:46We know very little about the once-powerful empire as scientists haven't found any written
00:50chronicles in the excavated sites.
00:53That's why the archaeologists were thrilled to find an entire palace for the local ruler.
00:58Several years later, when the area became free from the water again, they found some
01:03fortifications to protect the city from foes.
01:06The highlight of their expedition was finding a huge public storehouse for trade goods and
01:11harvests, piles of wheat and barley, and imported metal and wood.
01:16Bread was the staple food for the locals, and they also loved big pots of vegetable
01:21soups and stews for lunch.
01:23Each household kept sheep, goats, cows, and pigs, so they had a steady source of milk
01:28and meat for special occasions.
01:31All the constructions found so far were built from bricks molded from mud.
01:35The walls that were underwater for over 40 years are so well-preserved as if they went
01:40down yesterday.
01:42The royal palace stands out as it's larger than the other constructions, has thicker
01:46walls and even pavements made of baked mud bricks that were sealed to be waterproof.
01:51The local king must've been in good relations with the emperor of the larger empire, of
01:56which Akiku was dependent.
01:59Traders who lived in the city collected wooden beams and took them to storehouses.
02:04The beams arrived down the Tigris River from the forests in the mountains in the north
02:08and east of Mesopotamia.
02:10Merchants came here to sell their goods, and then crossed the Tigris on their way to the
02:15borderlands.
02:16Sakiku was thriving as a center of commerce for about six centuries until it was hit by
02:21a massive earthquake in 1350.
02:24Archaeologists found five ceramic vessels holding over 100 clay tablets made close after
02:30the earthquake.
02:31It's almost a miracle that small tablets of unfired clay managed to survive underwater
02:36for decades.
02:38People who created those must've carved notes on clay while it was still wet.
02:43They wrote about anything, from newly stored harvests to notes for other kingdoms.
02:48Then they would let the message dry in the sun.
02:51Scribes even had to learn a different language so that everyone outside the city could read
02:56it.
02:57Scientists believe the tablets they found used to be part of a private archive.
03:01They hoped to decipher the notes to learn more about the history of Sakiku and the whole
03:05empire after the terrible earthquake.
03:09The damage to the buildings was so enormous that it was impossible to restore Sakiku to
03:14its former glory.
03:16And if there had been any survivors, they must've left the city.
03:20Several decades later, the Assyrians, who also lived in Mesopotamia, settled here.
03:25They built their houses on the ruins of the abandoned city and used whatever structures
03:29they could find from the previous residents as outer walls.
03:33But they stayed here only for 50 years, then decided to build a new capital on more fertile
03:38soil to make some good cash from agriculture.
03:43Archaeologists working in Sakiku had to halt excavations when the water levels went back
03:47up and covered the city.
03:49They sealed the ruins in tight-fitting plastic sheets and put stones and gravel on top.
03:54They hope it will help protect the priceless site from water erosion and prevent it from
03:59disappearing again.
04:00They realize how important water from the dam is for the region, but if it recedes again,
04:06they say they'll definitely continue the excavations.
04:11There was a bustling community in today's Talimakan Desert in China around 1,600 years
04:17ago.
04:18It lived along the Naya River, which ran through the desert for miles and got its water from
04:22the melting snow in the mountains.
04:25After 3 years of work in the area, archaeologists and scientists managed to dig up 8 tombs in
04:30the desert.
04:31Thanks to the desert heat, the clothes and artifacts inside them were almost as good
04:36as new.
04:37The people who wore those must've lived in the ancient city of Naya.
04:41Naya used to be part of a prosperous kingdom at the heart of the Silk Road trading route
04:45and had a population of over 3,000 people.
04:48Then desert sands went rogue and swallowed the city whole.
04:53Archaeologists only found the ruins of Naya in the early 20th century.
04:58Scientists from different countries have tried to solve its mysteries.
05:01It looks like the tombs discovered at the end of the 20th century belonged to the wealthy.
05:06There were some expensive items inside – a quiver and bow, metal arrowheads, gold earrings,
05:12and a glass bead necklace, a lacquer box with a comb, makeup, and a sewing kit in one of
05:18the tombs.
05:19There was also some silk of top quality, and even the bright colors like green and yellow
05:24haven't faded on it.
05:26The fabric also had Chinese characters with quotes from historical books, which helped
05:31scientists identify the period in which it was made.
05:35Archaeologists later found a large dwelling site and the clearing of three ruined buildings.
05:39It will probably take many more years to understand why the city had fallen and what happened
05:45to its people.
05:49Saudi and French archaeologists teamed up near Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, and
05:54stumbled upon an ancient settlement dating back 8,000 years.
05:58The scientists used all sorts of cool tech, like laser scanning, drones, and aerial photography,
06:04to unearth this Neolithic-era gem.
06:07They found the settlement in a local archaeological hotspot.
06:11Among the treasures they uncovered were a stone temple, remnants of an altar, and over
06:162,000 graves.
06:18All these finds tell us about ancient practices and rituals.
06:22The team also found the foundations of four massive buildings, corner towers, and open-air
06:27courtyards, all with underground reservoirs to store water for agricultural use.
06:33There was also a smart irrigation system with canals and cisterns, which let the city thrive
06:38in one of the driest deserts in the world.
06:41Rock drawings etched into the nearby mountain depicted the daily life of the locals.
06:46The excavations have been going on in the area for over 40 years, and scientists still
06:51keep finding new artifacts to answer more of their questions.
06:55Fishers have stumbled upon ancient bones, tools, and artifacts that are 9,000 years
07:00old on the North Sea floor.
07:03British and Dutch archaeologists and paleontologists rushed to see the finds as they were hoping
07:08it could be evidence of the submerged Doggerland.
07:11And they weren't disappointed.
07:13There were even perfect sets of footprints left by Mesolithic people who lived here.
07:1812,000 years ago, during the last major ice age, the British Isles weren't islands at
07:23all.
07:24There was a landmass made of many hills, marshlands, and dense forests that connected them to the
07:29European continent.
07:31That landmass was Doggerland, where a prehistoric hunter-gatherer society lived and thrived.
07:37But then, the sea levels started going up at the speed of 3 to 6 feet a century as glaciers
07:43were slowly but surely melting.
07:45The locals had to move to areas that today belong to England and the Netherlands.
07:50Experts decided to learn more about the history of Doggerland, using data from oil companies
07:55working in the North Sea.
07:57So far, they've created digital models of what the area of 18,000 square miles might
08:03have looked like before it vanished beneath the waves.
08:06They still need to analyze samples of ancient insects and plants and the DNA of animals
08:11to get a full picture.
08:13That's it for today!
08:14But – hey!
08:15– if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends!
08:19Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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