00:00It's dark, and it's hot, and it's difficult to breathe deep underground in Karowi Mine
00:06in the heart of Botswana.
00:08It's been countless hours since your shift started, and yet another rock in your hands
00:13doesn't look promising.
00:15On the other hand, there is a tiny chance that it's the largest diamond you've ever
00:20found.
00:21You decide to inform your Canadian bosses from Lucara Diamond Corp, and bingo!
00:27The stone you've found turns out to be a breathtaking 2,492 carat diamond, the second
00:34largest ever found.
00:37Now the average engagement ring size is 1.7 carats.
00:41It means that just this diamond could be enough to supply rings for more than 1,465 brides.
00:48You can compare the size of the previous stone with the size of a fist.
00:53And the weight of this priceless giant is over a pound.
00:57Its value hasn't been determined yet, but how about we speculate a bit?
01:01So another diamond from the same mine, called the Constellation, was sold for $63 million
01:08in 2016.
01:10And that was only 813 carats, less than a third of this new one's size.
01:17The only other discovered diamond that's larger is the famous Cullinan Diamond.
01:22It was discovered in South Africa back in 1905 and weighed 3,106 carats.
01:29Now calculate how many engagement rings we could make out of it, and write the number
01:33down in the comments.
01:35Sadly, it was later cut into several smaller diamonds, as some of those pieces are now
01:41part of the British Crown Jewels.
01:44Interestingly, once there was an even larger diamond-like stone, a black diamond called
01:50Carbonado.
01:52It was found above ground in Brazil in the late 1800s.
01:56The coolest thing about it is that it may have come from a meteorite.
02:00The Sergio Carbonado, which is the stone's name, was broken into smaller pieces.
02:05They wanted to use it in industrial drill bits because it's one of the toughest materials
02:10on Earth.
02:11This new diamond was actually found with the help of advanced technology.
02:15The company used an X-ray system called Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray Transmission to detect
02:21the stone.
02:22This isn't the first record-breaking diamond Lucara has found at the Karowi mine.
02:28Back in 2019, they discovered the Suelo Diamond, which was 1,758 carats.
02:35At that time, it was the second largest diamond in the world.
02:39Luxury brand Louis Vuitton later purchased the gem for an undisclosed sum.
02:45And before that, in 2015, they found the Lacedi La Rona diamond at the same mine.
02:52It weighed 1,109 carats and brought the company $53 million in 2017.
03:00Diamonds aren't the only amazing thing you can find in the ground.
03:04The better and deeper you dig, the rarer objects you're likely to discover, like an ancient
03:10lipstick for example.
03:12It might be the oldest lipstick in the world since it's about 5,000 years old.
03:18This deep red lip paint was found in a stone vial in southern Iran.
03:23The vial actually popped up in 2001, but it took researchers until recently to figure
03:28out what it really was.
03:31Because it's not like modern lipstick in a tube, people likely applied it with a brush.
03:37Researchers are happy since this find could give us a glimpse into what women from the
03:42Bronze Age might have done to stand out.
03:45Those from elite societies probably applied this lipstick to look glamorous and show off
03:50their high status.
03:52Now here's the backstory of the vial.
03:55It came from a 3rd millennium BCE graveyard and was linked to the powerful Marhazi civilization.
04:02It was a big deal in that part of Mesopotamia at the time.
04:06The graveyard was uncovered after flooding and unfortunately, looters got their hands
04:10on many items.
04:12But luckily, the authorities managed to recover this particular piece.
04:16The vial caught scientists' attention because it was different from other items they'd
04:21found.
04:22Normally they'd come across grey, compact substances in similar containers.
04:27But when they opened this particular one, a loose, fine powder spilled out.
04:32It was dark greyish-purple in color, nothing like what they'd seen before.
04:38When the researchers analyzed the powder, they found out that it was made with hematite
04:42which gave it a rich, deep red color.
04:46It also had other ingredients like vegetable oils and waxes, making it really similar to
04:51what you'd expect in a modern lipstick.
04:54Apparently, back in the Bronze Age, makeup was a sign of luxury and superior status in
05:00that area.
05:01It showed off wealth and power, especially in elite circles.
05:06By the way, the researchers don't want to claim for sure that this is the world's
05:10oldest lipstick, because who knows, something older might turn up someday.
05:17How about we move to Bulgaria right now and do some digging there?
05:21Ah, wait, there's no need to take a spade and dirty your hands.
05:25An amazing discovery is already waiting for you.
05:29There they've found a large marble statue.
05:31It's almost 7 feet tall, which might depict Hermes, a Greek deity.
05:37But the craziest thing is that it was buried in an ancient sewer for around 2,000 years!
05:43The statue is in really good shape, especially the head, which is super well-preserved.
05:49There are some cracks in the hands, but overall, it's in surprisingly great condition, according
05:54to the scientific director of the excavation.
05:57And here's how they found the statue.
05:59The team was doing a routine dig in southwestern Bulgaria, near the Greek border.
06:05This area used to be part of the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica, which dates back to the
06:104th century BCE.
06:13While digging, the researchers stumbled upon the statue's marble foot.
06:17From there, they carefully uncovered the rest of it.
06:20It was a total surprise for them, since they didn't expect to find anything like this.
06:27Right now, the team is working on safely removing the statue from the sewer.
06:32It's really heavy, so they're using a crane to lift it out and transport it to the History
06:36Museum in Petric.
06:38Once they restore and conserve it, the plan is to put it on display.
06:43Experts are very excited about this find.
06:45It could teach us more about the local culture in Heraclea Sintica, which isn't a very well-known
06:51ancient site.
06:53Now if you're dreaming of making discoveries like this one but don't have a degree, don't
06:58lose heart.
06:59Even an amateur can make a scientific breakthrough.
07:01For example, you could find a Roman dodecahedron.
07:05It's this weird, mysterious, 12-sided metal object about the size of a grapefruit.
07:11And no one really knows what they're used for.
07:14Historians have been scratching their heads about these things for centuries.
07:19This particular dodecahedron was discovered last summer in a farmer's field near Norton
07:23Disney, about 35 miles southeast of Sheffield.
07:27A group of volunteers had already found Roman coins and brooches in the area, so they knew
07:33the field might hold more treasures.
07:36A geophysical survey had shown areas underground where the Earth's magnetic field was disturbed,
07:42hinting that something might have been hidden there.
07:45The team started digging trenches during a two-week excavation.
07:49From the second to last day, in Trench 4, someone spotted the dodecahedron.
07:55Richard Parker, the group's secretary, was nearby making tea when he heard the shout.
08:00He said they were all shocked because they hadn't found much metal, and then, boom, that
08:06awesome artifact simply popped up.
08:09The extra cool thing about that dodecahedron was that it was complete, which is rare.
08:15Many others found before were broken or incomplete, plus it's larger than usual.
08:21Roman dodecahedrons can be as small as a golf ball, but this one is closer to a grapefruit.
08:26Now the dodecahedron is on display at a local museum.
08:32So far, over 100 Roman dodecahedrons have been found in northwestern Europe, mostly
08:37in former Roman territories like the Gallo-Roman regions.
08:41They date back to somewhere between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE.
08:46Each one is a hollow metal shell, usually made of bronze.
08:50It has 12 faces with differently sized holes on each face.
08:54Around the holes, there are concentric rings imprinted into the metal, and at every corner
08:59where the faces meet, there's a small stud.
09:02There's no writing on them, and nothing in Roman texts mentions them at all.
09:08That's why nobody knows what these dodecahedrons were for.
09:11There are loads of theories.
09:13They could have been toys, dice, mace heads, or even tools for measuring distances in Roman
09:19artillery.
09:20Some people even think they were used for knitting gloves or even figuring out dates
09:25using the stars.
09:26But most of those ideas don't really hold up, so the mystery remains.
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