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Unveiling the hidden chapters of human history! Join us as we explore the most significant archaeological finds that have shaped our understanding of the past. From ancient cities frozen in time to mysterious artifacts that challenged our beliefs, these discoveries have revolutionized what we know about our ancestors. Which remarkable find captivated your imagination the most? Share your thoughts below!
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00:00The stone was a kind of magical discovery.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the 50 archaeological finds
00:08that provided modern humanity with the best glimpses into our collective past.
00:12For this list, we're focusing on discovered treasures as opposed to permanent fixtures
00:16like Machu Picchu or the Pyramids of Giza.
00:19The stones of Machu Picchu were cut so precisely that they snugly fit together.
00:24Number 50. Akrotiri.
00:26Beneath the volcanic cliffs of Santorini, an ancient city slept for 3,500 years.
00:32In 1967, archaeologists uncovered Akrotiri, a prehistoric town frozen in time.
00:37The apocalyptic eruption of Santorini around 1615 BC covered the town of Akrotiri with meters of volcanic debris.
00:47Like Pompeii, it was preserved by volcanic ash, but it's even older.
00:51Inside, researchers discovered shockingly advanced technology.
00:54There were multi-story homes, paved streets, frescoes still bright with color, and an advanced drainage system.
01:02The public sewage system was unique in Akrotiri due to the fact that internal plumbing from buildings within Akrotiri were connected to the sewage system.
01:10Streets and squares stretched across the site, showing a city that once thrived on trade and artistry.
01:15Akrotiri opened a window into the Bronze Age Aegean, revealing how sophisticated early civilizations could be.
01:20Many believed it inspired the legend of Atlantis, since its people vanished before the eruption.
01:26Their fate remains one of history's great mysteries.
01:29It's a privilege to be here, but it's also quite heartbreaking.
01:32Number 49.
01:33The Mummification Workshop of Saqqara.
01:35In 2023, archaeologists made a chilling discovery beneath the sands of Saqqara, Egypt.
01:41They uncovered a 2,300-year-old mummification workshop.
01:45There, ancient embalmers prepared the dead for eternity.
01:47This workshop is the one used for humans, including the beds on which the bodies were washed.
01:52Inside, they found stone beds for the bodies, alongside measuring cups, oils, and resins.
01:58All of the tools of the macabre trade were frozen in time.
02:01The workshop seems to have been built around two tombs, each predating the main dig by hundreds of years.
02:07The find pulled back the curtain on how Egyptians treated death.
02:10While we are all somewhat familiar with mummification thanks to Hollywood, this find is unique.
02:15Researchers now have a window into the practice, helping us to understand the ancient Egyptians more than ever.
02:21Death rituals in the ancient Egyptian civilization were shrouded in mystery.
02:26These discoveries could shed more light on the burial rites.
02:30Number 47.
02:31The Pet Cemetery of Berenice.
02:33Stephen King, eat your heart out.
02:35In 2011, archaeologists uncovered a forgotten cemetery in the ancient port city of Berenice, Egypt.
02:41What made this discovery remarkable is that it wasn't for humans, but for pets.
02:44Animals were just born as gods' creatures and could automatically speak the secret language that gods could understand.
02:52Archaeologists uncovered hundreds of carefully buried cats, dogs, and monkeys.
02:57Many were lovingly wrapped in blankets or nestled in baskets.
03:00Some animals were buried in their ancient collars, lovingly laid to rest by their human companions.
03:05The site is nearly 2,000 years old, dating back to the 1st and 2nd century CE.
03:10That makes it the earliest known pet cemetery on Earth.
03:13It confirms that humans' love for their furry family is as old as modern civilization.
03:19So it was from about 700 BC to nearly 400 AD that you have an intensely active animal cult system in ancient Egypt.
03:30Number 47.
03:31Scarabre.
03:32In 1850, a violent storm hit the Orkney Islands of Scotland.
03:36When the winds died down, something extraordinary was left behind.
03:39These are absolutely amazing.
03:41Hidden beneath the sand dunes was Scarabre, a 5,000-year-old Stone Age village older than the pyramids of Egypt.
03:48Archaeologists uncovered stone houses, beds, shelves, and hearths, all remarkably preserved.
03:54Here the inhabitants would gather about the fire during Orkney's long, dark winters.
03:59Even stone-lined toilets and drainage systems were intact.
04:02Scarabre became one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements in Europe.
04:06It offered historians and scientists a rare glimpse into daily Neolithic life.
04:10Even 5,000 years ago, our ancestors knew the importance of hearth and home.
04:15Number 46.
04:17The Sacrifices of Juanchiquito.
04:18In 2011, archaeologists made a haunting discovery near Chanchan, Peru.
04:23They uncovered the remains of 140 children and 200 llamas buried together in shallow graves.
04:29The site dates back to around 1450 CE, during the height of the Chimu civilization.
04:35This is the largest known child and animal sacrifice site in history.
04:39The sacrifice must have been a societal response by the Chimu to counteract negative effects of nature, of climate,
04:45that affected its political, economic, and maybe its ideology system.
04:49It represents a ritual unprecedented in documented scale.
04:52Researchers believe the Chimu people performed the ceremony during catastrophic flooding.
04:56They think it was meant to calm the weather and save their kingdom from collapse.
05:00When nature turned violent, so did ancient belief.
05:03Number 45.
05:04The Lost Golden City of Aten.
05:06Egypt is famous for its well-documented pyramids, tombs, and temples.
05:10But in 2021, archaeologists uncovered something rarer.
05:14An entire lost city.
05:15I call it golden because it was found in the Golden Age of Egypt.
05:19Beneath the sands of Luxor, they found Aten,
05:22a 3,400-year-old metropolis from the reign of Amenhotep III.
05:25Walls rose from the ground.
05:28Houses, kitchens, and workshops were discovered, still stocked with tools, pottery, and jewelry.
05:33It was as if the occupants had all instantly vanished right before the city was lost to the sands.
05:38We've always believed that ancient Egyptian culture was one of death and resurrection,
05:42but now we know these details about the lives of the ancient Egyptian.
05:46Scholars call it the biggest Egyptian find since King Tut's tomb.
05:50Aten is a direct glimpse into the daily life of ancient Egypt's Golden Age.
05:53We now have a better understanding of ancient Egyptians from palace workers to artisans and cooks.
05:59Number 44.
06:00Europe's oldest map.
06:02Sometimes archaeology rewrites history, not with a new find, but with a new look at an old one.
06:07In 2021, researchers realized a carved stone slab from France wasn't just art.
06:13It was a map, the oldest known map of Europe.
06:16The slab, called the Saint-Bel-Lec slab, dates back to the Bronze Age between 2150 and 1600 BCE.
06:22At the time of the discovery, the broken slab was moved to a private museum and France's Museum of National Antiquities acquired it in 1924.
06:30Etched into the rock are mountains, rivers, and fields, representing a tiny kingdom in western France.
06:36It's the first known terrestrial map in Europe, showing how early rulers organized, controlled, and visualized their land.
06:43According to the authors, the findings suggest that we shouldn't underestimate the cartographical knowledge of past societies.
06:48Number 43.
06:49Dragon Man.
06:50In 1933, a laborer in Harbin, China, found a giant human skull while working on a bridge project.
06:57But China was under Japanese occupation, and he feared the discovery would be seized or destroyed.
07:02So he hid the skull in a well.
07:04It remained there for nearly 90 years.
07:06When scientists finally got their hands on it, they were stunned.
07:09You can see all the details.
07:12Nicknamed Dragon Man, the skull had massive brow ridges, huge eye sockets, and a brain as big as ours.
07:19Some believe it's a Denisovan, a mysterious branch of the human family.
07:23The discovery is rewriting our understanding of human evolution in Asia.
07:27It really gives us a new view of human evolution, because it looks like, on our analyses, this is a sister species to Homo sapiens, our own species.
07:35Number 42.
07:36Harappa's Lost Civilization.
07:38History books used to start with Egypt and Mesopotamia.
07:41Then Harappa changed the story.
07:43This is a core from the Arabian Sea, and we're looking to understand the chemical composition of this core,
07:50and to extract from it foraminifera.
07:56In 1921, archaeologists digging in Pakistan uncovered one of the world's oldest and most advanced cities.
08:02Harappa belonged to the Indus Valley Civilization, a Bronze Age culture that rivaled its famous neighbors.
08:07It had planned streets, drainage systems, and massive public buildings.
08:11It was proof that a sophisticated urban society had reigned long ago in the Indus Valley.
08:16The discoveries didn't end with a single lost city.
08:19Archaeologists unearthed evidence of an entire forgotten civilization, stretching across Pakistan and northwest India.
08:25It changed our understanding of ancient civilizations forever.
08:29Number 41.
08:30The Lost Leaders of Jamestown.
08:32For centuries, the founding leaders of Jamestown were missing from history, both figuratively and literally.
08:38That all changed with a shocking find in 2013.
08:42Archaeologists uncovered the graves of four elite colonists, buried inside the remains of Jamestown's original church.
08:48They were involved in the setting up of the Church of England, the establishment of laws,
08:53and the fighting that took place with Indian peoples along the James River Valley.
08:58Thanks to forensic science, dental records, historical clues, and limited DNA testing, researchers identified them.
09:04The group included Captain Gabriel Archer, who may have secretly remained Catholic,
09:09and Reverend Robert Hunt, Jamestown's first Anglican minister.
09:12These men helped shape the first permanent English colony in America.
09:16Little was known about their ultimate fates.
09:18Their discovery brought the faces and stories of early colonial leadership back from the grave.
09:23It's records that are only barely told, and yet these people are so critical in terms of the history of the foundation of this country.
09:30Number 40.
09:31The Herculaneum Papyri.
09:33Some ancient libraries were ultimately burned to ash.
09:36This one turned to stone.
09:37Or, more properly, carbon.
09:39In 1752, explorers near Naples uncovered the Villa of the Papyri, buried by Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
09:47Like the citizens of Pompeii, the collection was carbonized by volcanic ash.
09:51Inside were over 1,800 papyrus scrolls, intact but blackened and hardened by heat.
09:57The paradox is that catastrophic destruction is also exceptionally good preservation.
10:03Today, researchers are using X-ray and AI technology to read the scrolls without unrolling them.
10:09Many scrolls contained the works of Epicurean philosophers, including texts lost for centuries.
10:15The Villa could still hold thousands more texts, waiting patiently under layers of volcanic ash.
10:20In the past, we were able to only imagine what was written in these scrolls.
10:28Now, it's a new word for us.
10:31Number 39.
10:32Kabwe 1 Skull.
10:34Some discoveries happen out in the field through painstaking deliberate research.
10:38This one happened by accident with a pickaxe in a mineshaft.
10:41A century ago, a miner in Kabwe, Zambia, struck something strange in the limestone.
10:45He found a nearly complete human skull fossilized in place.
10:49Scientists called it Kabwe 1, also known as the Broken Hill Skull.
10:53It belonged to Homo heidelbergensis, an early human species that lived between 300,000 and 125,000 years ago.
11:01The lower jaw is unfortunately missing, but it must have been massive and had a nice set of choppers.
11:06The skull had a mix of features, a massive brow ridge and large brain case,
11:11halfway between ancient hominins and modern humans.
11:13It was one of the first ancient human fossils ever found in Africa.
11:17It changed everything scientists thought they knew about human evolution.
11:21Number 38.
11:22The Blombos Cave.
11:23It is every archaeologist's greatest dream to stumble across a find that rewrites human history.
11:28Researchers in South Africa did just that thanks to the dig in Blombos Cave, South Africa.
11:33We're in Blombos Cave, where the evolution of the mind made a great leap.
11:37They found engraved ochre, shell beads, and tools, dating back as far as 100,000 years.
11:43The site contained marvels.
11:45The artifact showed early humans making art, jewelry, and tools.
11:49Given the age of the cave, the meaning was clear.
11:52Humanity's creative endeavors began tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought.
11:57Blombos Cave is considered proof that modern human behavior, creativity, symbolism, culture,
12:03didn't begin in Europe.
12:04It started in Africa.
12:06A great power was discovered here in Blombos Cave.
12:09Number 37.
12:10The Oldest War Monument.
12:12If the Fallout games have taught us anything, it's this.
12:16War never changes.
12:17War.
12:21War never changes.
12:23Excavations in northern Syria proved it in 1988.
12:27Most ancient monuments honor kings or gods.
12:30This one honored fallen soldiers.
12:31At Tel Benet, researchers uncovered a massive stepped white monument built around 2450 BCE.
12:38Inside, they found carefully arranged human remains, mixed with animal bones and weapons.
12:43For years, scholars were not sure what it meant.
12:46But in 2021, researchers re-analyzed the evidence and realized it was likely the world's
12:51oldest war memorial.
12:52It wasn't a mass grave, exactly.
12:54It was a public monument to the dead, a collective tribute to lives lost in battle.
12:58Number 36.
13:00The Earliest Story.
13:01Once, we thought storytelling started with writing.
13:04We were wrong.
13:05It began much earlier, painted on the walls of caves.
13:09You can see here the head of the pig, the tail, and the legs.
13:13More interestingly, the earliest ever human story wasn't found in Europe or Africa.
13:18It was found in the South Pacific.
13:19In 1973, archaeologists began exploring the Maros Pangip Caves in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
13:26Decades later, in 2024, researchers found something that changed everything.
13:30A cave painting more than 45,000 years old.
13:34It is the oldest known narrative art.
13:36They used a mineral pigment, a rock, essentially ochre, which they would pulverize.
13:43It's an ironstone hematite.
13:44They would pulverize the rock, produce a powder, which they would then mix with water and other
13:48substances, other liquids, in order to produce this quite vivid, bright red paint.
13:54It shows human-like figures interacting with a wild pig, telling a story through images.
13:59It predates similar European sites by 20,000 years.
14:02Number 35.
14:04Tombs of the Pyramid Builders
14:06For centuries, it's been common knowledge that the pyramids of Giza were built by slaves.
14:10That common knowledge may have been entirely wrong.
14:13We are able now, for the first time, to understand the life of the workmen who built the pyramids.
14:20A dig in 1990 revealed a shocking twist to the familiar narrative.
14:24The tombs of the workers themselves.
14:26These were not slave graves.
14:28They were honorary burials, complete with food offerings and supplies for the afterlife.
14:33The workers were likely skilled laborers, respected for their role in building the pyramids.
14:38We can see titles of people like the overseer of the craftsmen.
14:42They lived in nearby workers' villages, rotated shifts, and ate meat-rich diets, rare for common Egyptians.
14:49The discovery shattered myths and revealed the real workforce behind Egypt's most iconic monuments.
14:54Number 34.
14:55Petra
14:55For centuries, the city of Petra was little more than a legend to anyone outside of Jordanian Bedouins.
15:01It's one of the most beautiful, unusual, and iconic cities in the world.
15:06It was a marvel-only whispered about, lost to the outside world.
15:10Then, in 1812, Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt disguised himself as a Bedouin and stumbled upon its hidden entrance.
15:17What he found was breathtaking, a city carved into rose-red cliffs, with temples, tombs, and an enormous amphitheater all sculpted from solid rock.
15:26Petra was once the capital of the Nabataean kingdom, a wealthy hub for spice and silk trade routes.
15:31By the time of Christ, Petra was the beating heart of a thriving Nabataean empire.
15:37Today, it's one of the most iconic archaeological sites on Earth, and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region.
15:432,000 years ago, the desert bloomed green through the genius of the Nabataeans.
15:51Number 33.
15:52The Voynich Manuscript
15:54Wilfrid Voynich was a Polish artifact hunter and rare book dealer at the turn of the 20th century.
15:59In 1912, he stumbled upon a book like no other.
16:02Once belonging to a 17th-century Czech alchemist, the Voynich Manuscript is an utter mystery.
16:08Carbon dated to the early 1400s, its pages are filled with bizarre illustrations.
16:13The images include strange plants, astrological charts, even women bathing in odd green liquids.
16:19What truly makes the book a mystery, though, is the indecipherable text written in an unknown language.
16:24Cryptologists say the writing has all the characteristics of a real language, just one that no one's ever seen before.
16:30Despite over a century of research, no one has cracked the code.
16:34Some think it's a ciphered medical guide.
16:36Others call it an elaborate hoax.
16:38The Voynich Manuscript remains one of the greatest unsolved puzzles in archaeology and cryptology.
16:43What do you think it is?
16:45Number 32.
16:46Hurrian Hymn Number 6.
16:47Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system, a wedge-shaped script pressed into clay over 5,000 years ago.
16:54So this tablet was written by a very high-quality literary scribe.
16:58Most discovered cuneiform tablets, while significant, are not particularly artistic.
17:02They tend to be records of laws, trade, or taxes.
17:06But in the 1950s, archaeologists in Ugarit, Syria uncovered something different.
17:10Cuneiform music.
17:12Etched onto clay was Hurrian Hymn Number 6, the oldest known piece of written music on Earth.
17:24It dates back to around 1400 BCE and was dedicated to Nikal, goddess of orchards.
17:31The tablet contains lyrics and musical notation for a lyre.
17:34It was an ancient melody transported more than 3,000 years through the sands of time.
17:46Number 31.
17:47The Atlantis of the Sands
17:49For centuries, legends spoke of a lost Arabian city swallowed by the desert.
17:53Western explorers gave it the name The Atlantis of the Sands.
17:56Some thought it was pure myth.
17:58Ubar is the Arabian equivalent of Atlantis, except that instead of sinking in the bottom
18:03of the sea, legend says that the old city disappeared into the desert sands.
18:08Then, in 1992, satellite imaging and excavations in southern Oman uncovered the ruins of Ubar,
18:14a once-thriving trade hub that dealt in frankincense, gold, and spices.
18:18The settlement likely collapsed into a massive sinkhole, sealing its fate beneath the desert.
18:22Ubar was built around 5,000 years ago, 3,000 BC.
18:28And there are many similarities of the ruins in Shazor and ancient documents that describe
18:33the legendary Ubar.
18:35The discovery was a landmark moment in archaeology, one of the first times satellite technology
18:40directly led to the uncovering of a lost city.
18:42The legends, as it turns out, were real all along.
18:46Number 30.
18:47Suantaka Grave
18:48In 1968, a construction crew from Suantaka Vesitorninmaki in Finland was working on water
18:54pipes when they stumbled upon an archaeological marvel.
18:58They found a warrior's grave dating back almost 1,000 years.
19:02There were numerous artifacts buried with the warrior, including a sword and women's jewelry.
19:07The body was laid on a blanket of feathers, wearing women's clothes.
19:11For decades, it was assumed that it was the grave of a warrior woman.
19:15Recent DNA tests have revealed something much more nuanced.
19:19The Suantaka warrior had Klinefelter syndrome, meaning they had both an extra X chromosome
19:23and a Y chromosome.
19:25This warrior was likely non-binary and was clearly an honored member of their community.
19:31Number 29.
19:32The Staffordshire Horde
19:34Nothing like this has ever been found before.
19:41Metal detector enthusiasts around the world received a glowing endorsement for their hobby
19:45in 2009.
19:46Terry Herbert was exploring a field in Staffordshire, England, when he stumbled upon the largest
19:51hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found.
19:55Why me?
19:56Why have I found it?
19:58Why has other people been on this field, detected, and never found it?
20:02Over 3,500 items were discovered, primarily military artifacts such as sword fittings,
20:08helmet fragments, and jewelry.
20:10This one discovery brought historians more than 60% of Anglo-Saxon artifacts currently in
20:16existence today.
20:17Its discovery completely reshaped our current understanding of Anglo-Saxon culture, both in
20:22terms of early Christianity and Anglo-Saxon armies.
20:26The sheer quantity of items, primarily martial in nature, suggested a previously underestimated
20:31level of wealth and status among the Anglo-Saxon elite.
20:34People have said, is this the biggest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found?
20:41No, it's the only Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found.
20:45Number 28.
20:46The Gold Mask at Sanxingdui
20:48Archaeologists have uncovered a collection of ancient relics in southwest China,
20:53including a 3,000-year-old gold mask.
20:56The gold mask of Sanxingdui was discovered in 2021 during the excavation of two sacrificial
21:02pits in Sichuan, China.
21:03This incredible artifact, dating back to around 1200 BCE, is estimated to be over 80% pure gold.
21:10It was likely used either as a facial covering during ritual sacrifice or as a burial mask.
21:17Scientifically, the mask provides insights into the advanced metallurgical techniques
21:21and cultural practices of the ancient Shuhan kingdom.
21:24Historically, it underscores the complexity and diversity of early Chinese civilizations,
21:29challenging established narratives and expanding our understanding of ancient cultural development
21:33in the region.
21:35Experts believe the recent items may shine further light on the ancient Shu state,
21:39a former kingdom conquered in 316 BC.
21:42Number 27.
21:44The Benin Bronzes
21:45In the last years of the 19th century, thousands of people came to London to see an intriguing
21:50new exhibit.
21:52The Benin Bronzes weren't so much discovered as they were plundered.
21:56During an 1897 punitive expedition to the Kingdom of Benin, the British army stole over
22:015,000 figurines, tablets, carved tusks, and ancient sculptures.
22:06Some artifacts date as far back as the 13th century.
22:09They represent centuries' worth of the cultural, religious, and history of modern-day Nigeria.
22:15The very existence of these works of art represented a challenge to the dominant ideas of the time.
22:22Ideas that underpinned an empire.
22:24The Bronzes spent a century shuffling around European collections.
22:28The metallurgical techniques were impressive.
22:31And as records have been in sophisticated civilization, the Bronzes are priceless.
22:35Ongoing efforts persist to return these culturally significant artifacts to Nigeria from British
22:41and other Western institutions.
22:43Today, the Benin Bronzes are the face of a broader movement to address historical injustices
22:48and restore cultural heritage to former colonies.
22:51There's a widespread recognition in the museum sector and beyond that these artifacts
22:55should be returned to Benin City.
22:58Number 26.
22:59The Neolithic City of Shemao
23:01The city of Shemao was initially discovered in 1976 in Shanxi, China.
23:06At first, it was mistaken for a small settlement, potentially even a segment of the Great Wall.
23:1135 years later, excavations revealed the ruins of a vast and ancient city dating back to around 2300 to 1800 BCE.
23:20So when we came to this part of the palace, we found a lot of mural paintings.
23:28But because the wall collapsed, a lot of the mural paintings were falling on the ground.
23:35Covering four square kilometers or roughly 1.5 square miles,
23:39Shemao has a shockingly complex layout for the period as well as impressive stone wall fortifications.
23:44This is maybe one of the earliest such city layouts that we have discovered in China.
23:52Thousands of artifacts have been discovered in the ruins,
23:55as has a 230-foot-high pyramid, the former home of Shemao's ruling caste.
24:00Shemao's discovery has revolutionized our understanding of the development of early Chinese civilization.
24:05Its advanced architecture, evident social complexity, and artistic achievements
24:10provide crucial insights into the urbanization of subsequent civilizations in the region.
24:15Number 25. Homo Naledi in Rising Star Cave.
24:19This was a paleo-anthropological equivalent of winning the lottery.
24:24A team of scientists led by famed paleo-anthropologist Lee Berger
24:28entered Rising Star Cave in South Africa in 2013.
24:31When they exited, they brought a major find with them,
24:34out into the light of day for the first time in hundreds of thousands of years.
24:39In a remote chamber, scientists found a horde of hominin fossils
24:43that challenged their understanding of human evolution.
24:46The fossils, dating to about 335 to 236,000 years ago,
24:51were of a previously unknown species with a mix of primitive and modern traits.
24:56Deemed Homo naledi, this new species indicated the coexistence of multiple hominin species.
25:02The find has profound implications for the study of human ancestry.
25:05This distant cousin of modern humans also lived alongside our ancient ancestors.
25:10All of those are going to have a profound impact,
25:13not just on our study of Homo naledi,
25:16but on our view of ourselves in nature.
25:20Number 24. Derinkuyu.
25:22The discovery of the world's largest underground city, Derinkuyu,
25:25happened by complete accident.
25:27In 1963, a Turkish citizen in Anatolia discovered a hidden room behind his basement wall
25:33after his chickens kept vanishing.
25:35This triggered an excavation of the area to reveal the hidden city that is a thousand years old.
25:40Subsequent explorations revealed an extensive multi-level complex,
25:44extending over 85 meters or 280 feet deep,
25:48capable of housing thousands of people.
25:51Dating back to at least the 8th century BCE,
25:54Derinkuyu features ventilation shafts, storage rooms, chapels, and living quarters.
25:59The complex's main purpose appears to have been a shelter for citizens during raids.
26:03Its discovery shed light on ancient engineering and urban planning.
26:07Its ancient citizens clearly developed sophisticated emergency management plans for surviving disasters.
26:13The Cappadocia region is known for subterranean safe havens,
26:17and it's speculated that Derinkuyu may have connected many of them.
26:21Derinkuyu offered invaluable insights into the daily life,
26:24culture, and defensive strategies of early Turkish civilizations.
26:28Number 23. Aztec Calendar Stone.
26:31The Piedra del Sol, or Aztec Sunstone,
26:34was discovered in 1790 during repairs on the Mexico City Cathedral.
26:38This massive monolithic sculpture, dating to the late 15th century,
26:42acted both as a calendar and a cosmological map.
26:45Both served as central pillars of Aztec culture.
26:49Its intricate carving stone depict the sun god Tonatio,
26:52surrounded by symbols representing cosmic cycles and deities.
26:56The sunstone's discovery provided crucial insights into Aztec astronomy,
27:00religious beliefs, and timekeeping.
27:02It's become an iconic representation of Mesoamerican civilization.
27:05It is the epitome of the Aztecs' advanced knowledge
27:08and the centrality of the sun in their religious practices.
27:11Number 22. Neanderthal Genome in Vindia Cave.
27:16The Neanderthal genome was essentially discovered
27:18thanks to the discovery of 38,000-year-old remains found in Vindia, Croatia.
27:24Analysis of the bones began in 1997 when scientists first extracted DNA.
27:29It marked the first successful recovery of Neanderthal genetic material ever.
27:33As technology advanced, so did our understanding of genetics.
27:38By 2010, the entire genome of Neanderthal DNA was sequenced.
27:42This groundbreaking work revealed that Neanderthals interbred with early modern humans,
27:47contributing 1 to 4 percent of non-African human DNA today.
27:51The discovery significantly advanced our understanding of human evolution.
27:55Over the past about 10 years or so, there's been a revolution
27:58in our ability to read DNA from ancient fossils.
28:03And this has revealed some amazing things about recent human evolutionary history.
28:08The sequencing shed light on our shared ancestry, genetic diversity,
28:11and the adaptive traits humans have inherited from Neanderthals.
28:15Those traits still influence modern human biology and health today.
28:19And it's a diverse array of traits.
28:21So traits involved in the immune system, traits involved in our skin,
28:25but also traits, psychiatric traits.
28:28Number 21.
28:29The Easter Island Moai
28:31The Moai are a collection of over 1,000 massive stone statues
28:35located on Easter Island far off the coast of Chile.
28:38They were first recorded by European explorers in 1722
28:42when Dutch navigator Jakob Rochefin arrived.
28:45Subsequent visits by explorers, including English Captain James Cook,
28:49sparked international interest.
28:50The statues were carved and placed by the Rapa Nui people between 1400 and 1650.
28:56The enormous heads that dot the landscape
28:58are the lasting legacy of this ancient society.
29:02They are believed to be physical representations of their ancestors,
29:06holding spiritual significance.
29:07They are an engineering wonder, averaging 14 tons apiece.
29:12The effort to construct these monuments
29:14and move them around the island must have been considerable.
29:17But no one knows exactly why the Rapa Nui people undertook such a task.
29:23Their discovery highlighted the complexities of isolated human societies
29:26and the impacts of environmental challenges on human civilization.
29:30Preserving the statues has become an international project
29:33as Easter Island is under grave threat from climate change.
29:36While this site was first noted in 1963,
29:43its importance wasn't recognized until decades later.
29:46In the mid-90s, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt realized that the stone slabs in the area
29:52were the tops of prehistoric megaliths and began excavating.
29:56During the intensive dig, Schmidt and his team
30:00began to unearth dozens of additional giant stone monoliths
30:04covered in intricate carvings.
30:07Some weighing as much as 20 tons.
30:09What he unearthed was a site of massive circular structures on stone pillars
30:14dating all the way back to the Neolithic period.
30:17The megaliths at Gobekli Tepe are the world's oldest,
30:20erected as early as 9500 BCE.
30:23No one really knows what the site was used for,
30:27but the carved reliefs provide glimpses into prehistoric religious practices.
30:31Gobekli is a beautiful story.
30:33It was the first temple in the world, the birthplace of religion.
30:37It carries with it a certain mysticism that sparks the question, why?
30:41What we do know is that Gobekli Tepe is one of the world's oldest human settlements,
30:46marking the transition from nomadic lifestyles to permanent habitation.
30:50Number 19. The oldest footprints in North America.
30:54In 2018, human footprints were found in British Columbia, Canada
30:59that dated back about 13,000 years.
31:03At the time, these were the oldest footprints discovered in North America.
31:07But just a few years later in 2021, that record was shattered.
31:12The footprints show how humans coexisted with large, wild animals.
31:18Many are of children and reveal a story about everyday life and play.
31:23Archaeologists working in New Mexico's White Sands National Park
31:26unearth tracks that are between 21,000 and 23,000 years old.
31:31Not only does this almost double the record for oldest footprint in North America,
31:36it also completely restructures our understanding of early North American settlement.
31:40The new footprint suggests humans came before the ice-blocked migration
31:45and came to the southwestern U.S. up to 23,000 years ago.
31:49Prior to this game-changing discovery,
31:51most experts dated the continent's earliest habitation to between 11,000 and 13,000 years ago.
31:58Number 18. Richard III's Grave.
32:01This controversial figure ruled as King of England and Lord of Ireland until 1485,
32:07when he died in the Battle of Bosworth Field.
32:09With his death, the Wars of the Roses came to an end,
32:13and with it, the Middle Ages in England.
32:15His reign was later immortalized in Shakespeare's eponymous play.
32:19As Shakespeare put it,
32:20My kingdom for a horse.
32:22But Richard had lost his steed in battle,
32:25and he fell dead on the ground.
32:31The last British king to die on the field of battle.
32:34Following Richard III's death,
32:36his corpse was quickly buried and lost to time.
32:39Until 2012.
32:41That year, researchers discovered the foundations of a medieval church
32:45underneath a modern parking lot,
32:46and it was there that they found the skeleton of Richard III.
32:50But this is where he was discovered.
32:52His well-preserved skeleton was buried without a coffin or a shroud.
32:56A combination of markings on the bones and genetic analysis
33:01proved what the experts had hoped for.
33:03After more than five centuries,
33:06we had finally found one of England's most notorious rulers.
33:10Number 17.
33:11Madaba Map
33:12In the late 19th century,
33:14construction began on a new Greek Orthodox church
33:17in Jordan's capital city of Madaba.
33:19While building the new structure,
33:21workers unearthed an ancient mosaic
33:22on the floor of the existing church.
33:24Right at the center of it
33:26is this piece of showing Jerusalem.
33:31When we look at Jerusalem,
33:33you can see the walls going around.
33:35This mosaic is now known as the Madaba Map,
33:38and it shows parts of the Middle East.
33:40Dating to the 6th century,
33:42the map contains the oldest known depiction
33:44of both Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
33:47Not only that,
33:48but it was used extensively to locate sites mentioned in the Bible,
33:52and it is currently the oldest geographic floor mosaic in the world.
33:56But also, if you look, you'll see other cities.
34:00We have Jericho here,
34:01we have Ascalon and Gaza represented here as well.
34:07Right at the top,
34:09you'll see the Dead Sea.
34:11Number 16.
34:12The Serapium of Alexandria
34:13Serving as the greatest library of its age,
34:16the Library of Alexandria attracted scholars to Egypt
34:19and served as the ancient world's symbol of knowledge.
34:23In its prime,
34:24the Library of Alexandria
34:25housed an unprecedented number of scrolls
34:28and attracted some of the Greek world's greatest minds.
34:31It proved so popular
34:32that a so-called daughter library
34:34was later created called the Serapium of Alexandria.
34:37The Serapium lasted a bit longer than its famous father,
34:40and it was finally destroyed in the year 391.
34:44The site later became a Muslim cemetery.
34:46In the mid-1940s,
34:48the foundations of the Serapium were discovered.
34:50And with it,
34:51one of the greatest centers of learning in human history was unearthed.
34:56Number 15.
34:57Nossos
34:57Found on the Greek island of Crete,
35:00Nossos is often regarded as the oldest city in Europe.
35:03And that's saying something.
35:05Featuring a massive and world-renowned palace complex,
35:08Nossos was the primary capital of the ancient Minoan civilization,
35:12which inhabited both Crete and other Aegean islands.
35:15However, very few know that around the palace,
35:18there was a very extensive settlement,
35:20the largest urban center in Crete and mainland Greece.
35:24The civilization prospered from about 3500 BCE
35:27to 1100 BCE.
35:29But it's believed that Nossos had been inhabited since the Neolithic period.
35:34An amateur archaeologist named Minos Calochirinos
35:37discovered the location of Nossos in 1878,
35:40and the ancient site was unearthed by Sir Arthur Evans
35:43throughout much of the early 1900s.
35:46Sir Arthur Evans began the first systematic investigation
35:50of the archaeological site,
35:52and brought to light the so-called palace of King Minos,
35:56the center of a hitherto unknown civilization.
36:00Number 14.
36:01Ötzi
36:01Just imagine mountaineering through the Alps
36:04when you stumble across an ancient human corpse
36:07embedded in a glacier.
36:08This is exactly what happened to German tourists
36:11Helmut and Erika Ziemann in September of 1991.
36:14Piker's Erika and Helmut Simon
36:16decided to take a shortcut down from the peak.
36:19As they passed a rocky gully,
36:26they made a grisly discovery.
36:27They found what is now known as Ötzi the Iceman,
36:31a natural mummy dating to about 3230 BCE.
36:36Ötzi is the oldest natural mummy in European history,
36:39having died about 5000 years before he was found preserved in ice.
36:44Regardless, the body is in remarkable condition,
36:47considering its age,
36:48and it's provided researchers an incredible glimpse
36:51into Copper-aged Europeans and their lifestyles.
36:54For sure we want to know about how he died and why he died,
36:57because it's also such a spectacular finding,
37:00this mummy, such an old mummy,
37:02it's the only one we have here in this region.
37:04Number 13.
37:05Mohenjo-Daro
37:06A large human settlement dating to 2500 BCE,
37:11Mohenjo-Daro is one of the oldest cities
37:13in the world.
37:14Located in modern-day Pakistan,
37:16Mohenjo-Daro was one of the most ambitious cities of its day,
37:19complete with street grids,
37:21a sewage system,
37:22and many other ingenious feats of engineering.
37:24The city of Mohenjo-Daro
37:25rivaled the ancient civilizations
37:27in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
37:30Archaeologists believe
37:31that over 35,000 people
37:34once occupied the city.
37:36It was a remarkable settlement
37:37that showcased the creativity
37:39and boundless imagination of humanity.
37:41Unfortunately,
37:42Mohenjo-Daro was completely abandoned
37:44around 1900 BCE,
37:46as the local Indus civilization
37:48went into a decline.
37:49It remained lost to time
37:51until the 1920s,
37:52when an officer of the
37:53Archaeological Survey of India
37:55located the ancient city.
37:5760 years after its discovery,
37:59Mohenjo-Daro was named
38:00a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
38:02So far,
38:03only 10% of the city
38:04has been unearthed.
38:06The authorities have stopped digging
38:07because they don't have the resources
38:09to preserve
38:10what has so far been discovered.
38:12Number 12,
38:13the Antikythera Mechanism.
38:14If it hadn't been discovered
38:16when it was in 1901,
38:19no one would possibly believe
38:20that it could exist
38:22because it's so sophisticated.
38:24This mysterious object
38:25was found submerged
38:26in Grecian waters
38:27at the turn of the 20th century,
38:29located inside an ancient shipwreck.
38:31The strange device
38:32was already 2,000 years old
38:34when it was found.
38:35And despite being eroded
38:36by the sea for all that time,
38:38it was still eventually identified
38:40as the world's oldest computer.
38:42Finally, another century
38:44after its discovery,
38:45and we now know
38:46definitively what it did.
38:48It was a device used to chart
38:50the positions of celestial bodies
38:51so that the ancient Greeks
38:53knew when eclipses would happen.
38:54Some have argued
38:55that it's so complex,
38:57the Greeks couldn't have made it at all.
38:59There are even some
39:01who say it must have been created
39:03by aliens.
39:05It took a 3D reconstruction
39:06of the entire device in 2021
39:08to get a better understanding
39:10of how it worked,
39:11though its purpose
39:12was suspected for decades.
39:14Number 11.
39:16Troy.
39:16For centuries,
39:18historians debated
39:19not only whether
39:20the Trojan War actually happened,
39:22but also whether
39:23the lost city of Troy
39:24ever existed at all.
39:26It's a story
39:27that's been told
39:28and retold
39:28by poets and actors
39:30for thousands of years.
39:32But is it real?
39:35Did the city of Troy
39:37actually exist?
39:39The Trojan War
39:40is the focus
39:40of one of ancient Greece's
39:42most famous epic poems,
39:43Homer's Iliad,
39:44and legendary Greek heroes
39:46like Achilles
39:47and Odysseus
39:48fought in it.
39:49But,
39:49Troy's location
39:50became lost knowledge.
39:52Throughout the 1800s,
39:53many researchers argued
39:55that Hisarlik,
39:56a site in western Turkey,
39:57was probably
39:58the elusive city.
39:59Throughout the 20th century,
40:01scholars have become aware
40:02that we can't even be sure
40:04that Troy
40:05is indeed this Troy.
40:07Finally,
40:07after decades of debate,
40:09experts came to a consensus
40:10that yes,
40:11Hisarlik is
40:12in all likelihood Troy.
40:14Unfortunately,
40:15we've yet to find
40:16conclusive evidence
40:17that the Trojan horse existed.
40:19But,
40:19Troy's identification
40:20was hugely important
40:22for historians.
40:23The idea
40:25that the Greeks
40:26would have in fact
40:27built a large wooden horse
40:29hidden inside it
40:30and had it
40:30dragged inside of Troy
40:32is certainly
40:33possible.
40:36But,
40:36it kind of
40:37strains your fragility
40:39a little bit
40:39that someone really
40:41could have
40:41pulled that off.
40:43Number 10.
40:44Tutankhamun's Tomb
40:45Tutankhamun's burial chamber
40:48is filled with
40:48magical decoration.
40:50But,
40:51beside it,
40:51the rest of the tomb
40:52is left bare.
40:54This simple tomb
40:55is unlike
40:56any other royal tomb
40:57in the valley.
40:59The Valley of the Kings
41:01is the final resting place
41:02of many ancient
41:03Egyptian pharaohs.
41:04But,
41:05throughout its history,
41:06a number of tombs
41:07have fallen victim
41:08to grave robbers.
41:08This is the Egyptian
41:10red list
41:10of the missing pieces.
41:12We are already missing
41:13from museums
41:14and sites
41:15and everywhere in Egypt.
41:18And we give it to Interpol
41:19to stop any piece of them
41:21if they're moving
41:21from a country to a country.
41:23Tutankhamun's tomb
41:24was different.
41:26Remarkably,
41:26though grave robbers
41:27did break in
41:28shortly after it was
41:29initially sealed up,
41:30most of its contents
41:31were intact
41:32when archaeologists
41:33found it in 1922.
41:34Over 5,000 priceless artifacts,
41:38including golden statues.
41:41In the burial chamber,
41:42the pharaoh's mummy,
41:44wearing a golden death mask,
41:46was placed inside a coffin
41:48made of more than
41:49200 pounds
41:50of solid gold.
41:52Today,
41:52Tutankhamun's gilded mask
41:54makes him arguably
41:54the most famous
41:55and recognizable pharaoh
41:57in history.
41:58Considering Tutankhamun
41:59only reigned
41:59for about 10 years
42:01and died
42:01between the young ages
42:02of 18 and 19,
42:03that is quite the legacy.
42:05This modest tomb
42:06was jammed full
42:07of all the royal possessions
42:09that were usually
42:10buried with a king.
42:12It can't have been
42:13meant to be
42:14all jumbled up like that.
42:16People are just trying
42:16to cram
42:17as much stuff as possible.
42:19Along with the mask,
42:20the tomb also contained
42:21a statue of Anubis,
42:23the god of the dead,
42:24and a dagger
42:24made from a fallen meteor.
42:27Number 9.
42:28Sutton Hoo
42:28One of the most remarkable
42:30medieval graves
42:31anywhere in Europe
42:32was excavated
42:33in England
42:34in 1939.
42:35Well, I'd say
42:36it's the biggest
42:37archaeological discovery
42:38ever made
42:40in this country.
42:41So it is
42:42an immense responsibility
42:43to look after the site,
42:46but also
42:46really what we're
42:48trying to do
42:48at Sutton Hoo
42:49is tell
42:50more people about it.
42:52The owner
42:53of an estate
42:53in Suffolk,
42:54Edith Priddy,
42:55enlisted some archaeologists
42:56to find out
42:57what was underneath
42:58the burial mounds
42:59on her property.
42:59What they uncovered
43:01was astounding,
43:02so much so
43:03that the story
43:03inspired a 2021 film,
43:05The Dig.
43:06That's a ship.
43:10How do you mean a ship?
43:12Well, that's a ship
43:13that's been buried
43:14in the mound.
43:16Why would anyone
43:17want to bury a ship?
43:19Well, I expect
43:20because that's a grave.
43:22The most promising mound
43:23contained an entire
43:24long ship
43:25and innumerable artifacts,
43:27including pieces of armor
43:28made of gold
43:29and other Anglo-Saxon relics.
43:31Though it's one of the UK's
43:32most impressive
43:33archaeological discoveries,
43:34it's still not entirely clear
43:36whose grave it actually is.
43:38Shortly after the inquest,
43:39which ruled
43:40that all the items
43:41found in the Sutton Hoo
43:42burial mound
43:42lawfully belonged
43:43to Edith Priddy,
43:45Priddy donated
43:45the entire collection
43:47to the British Museum.
43:48It's among the most
43:49valuable donations
43:50of its kind,
43:51and the collection itself
43:52remains at the heart
43:53of the museum.
43:54Most evidence suggests
43:55it was the final
43:56resting place
43:57of a famous East Anglian king,
43:59Redwald,
44:00who ruled the region
44:01around 1,400 years ago.
44:03Number 8.
44:04Alduvai Gorge
44:05This isn't one specific
44:07archaeological location,
44:08but an entire locality
44:10housing some of the most
44:11important works
44:12relating to paleoanthropology,
44:14or the study of early humans.
44:16Found in the northeast corner
44:17of Tanzania,
44:18Alduvai Gorge
44:19has been invaluable
44:20in our understanding
44:21of early human culture
44:22and evolution.
44:23Telling us is
44:24that there's a lot
44:25out there
44:25to be found.
44:27We actually don't have
44:28the whole story
44:29of human evolution.
44:31Researchers have unearthed
44:32ancient stone tools
44:33and hominid fossils.
44:35Occupation of the site
44:37is believed
44:37to stretch back
44:38nearly two million years
44:40when it was inhabited
44:41by an archaic human species
44:42called Homo habilis.
44:44And then these other things
44:45which are generally
44:46termed Homo habilis
44:48after the species
44:49that Lewis Leakey
44:50named at Alduvai in 1960.
44:52Without Alduvai Gorge
44:53and its riches
44:54of archaeological material,
44:56our understanding
44:57of archaic humans
44:58would be much more limited.
45:00Number 7.
45:01The Cave of Altamira
45:02If you're interested
45:04in early humanity,
45:05then you cannot go wrong
45:06with the Cave of Altamira.
45:08This is the Museum of Altamira.
45:10It was built
45:11right next to the cave,
45:13where the original
45:14cave paintings
45:15dating back
45:16to the Paleolithic era
45:18were discovered.
45:20The original cave
45:21has been closed
45:22to preserve
45:23its archaeologically
45:24important remains.
45:26Archaeology has uncovered
45:27many notable caves
45:28relating to ancient humanity,
45:30including Lascaux
45:31and another
45:31in the small Spanish town
45:32of Artales.
45:34But nothing beats Altamira.
45:36Also located in Spain,
45:37this cave houses
45:38numerous prehistoric
45:39drawings and paintings,
45:41most of which
45:42depict local animals.
45:43After the site
45:44was discovered in 1868,
45:46the suggestion
45:46that the paintings
45:47were prehistoric
45:48was met with some skepticism,
45:49not only owing
45:50to the nature
45:51of the drawings,
45:52but also because
45:53no other prehistoric
45:54cave art
45:54was known to exist
45:56in Europe.
45:57We're also interested
45:57in whether or not
46:00human symbolic behavior
46:01coincides,
46:02for example,
46:02with language,
46:04or whether
46:04human symbolic behavior
46:06in fact dates
46:07right back
46:07to the point
46:08at which we start
46:09looking like humans.
46:10But the research
46:10eventually prevailed,
46:12and it's now believed
46:12that the paintings
46:13are around 36,000 years old.
46:16Number six,
46:17the Terracotta Army.
46:19This is one of the most
46:20significant archaeological finds
46:22of all time,
46:23and it was discovered
46:25completely by accident.
46:26And they find
46:27some pieces
46:28of the pottery.
46:36They also find
46:37the head
46:38of the Terracotta Warriors,
46:39and the team,
46:40archaeological team,
46:41came to this area,
46:42and they start to dig.
46:44The Terracotta Army
46:45was first uncovered
46:46in the Shanxi province
46:47of western China
46:48by a group of farmers
46:50in the 1970s.
46:51The army resides
46:52within a tomb
46:53constructed over 2200 years ago
46:55as the resting place
46:57of Qin Shi Huang,
46:58the first emperor of China,
47:00which is why
47:01it's so elaborate.
47:02He was its first emperor,
47:05and his empire
47:06became his fortress,
47:08protected by a great wall.
47:12The legend says
47:13he was a tyrant.
47:15Driven man by power.
47:17In the parts
47:18we've been able
47:18to excavate,
47:19there are over 8,000 soldiers
47:21made out of clay,
47:22there to guard
47:23Emperor Qin
47:24in the afterlife.
47:25Row upon row
47:26of warriors,
47:28hundreds of secret
47:29subterranean soldiers,
47:31all life-sized
47:32and built to be immortal.
47:35But even more astonishing
47:36is the fact
47:37that the entire necropolis
47:38is believed to be
47:39almost 40 square miles
47:40in size,
47:41with most of the site
47:42hidden in vaults
47:43that aren't yet accessible.
47:45Number 5.
47:46The Dead Sea Scrolls
47:48Written mostly in Hebrew,
47:50the Dead Sea Scrolls
47:51are some of the oldest
47:52Abrahamic religious texts
47:53in existence.
47:54A young shepherd
47:55is herding goats
47:56in Qumran
47:57near the Dead Sea.
47:59Passing a cave,
48:00he throws a stone
48:01to scare a wayward animal
48:02back to the flock.
48:04And here's something shatter.
48:08Curious,
48:09he enters the cavern
48:10and discovers
48:1110 clay jars
48:12holding 7 ancient scrolls.
48:18They were discovered
48:19in a cave in the West Bank
48:20in the mid-1940s.
48:21But in the decades since,
48:23we've continually found
48:24more and more scrolls
48:25ready to be translated
48:26in a handful
48:27of additional caves.
48:28The scrolls themselves
48:30talk of the battles
48:31of the great teacher
48:32of righteousness
48:32who led the community
48:34into the wilderness
48:34with the teacher of lies.
48:37The scrolls are so significant
48:39because they've allowed
48:40historians and theologians
48:41to chart the development
48:42of the Bible
48:43much more accurately
48:44and provided new information
48:46about the dawn of Christianity
48:47thousands of years ago,
48:48as well as the history
48:50of Judaism
48:51and the Holy Land.
48:52Now we're becoming
48:53much more attuned
48:54to how very Jewish
48:56Jesus was.
48:57Very devout Jew.
48:59And that's the heart
49:00of Christianity.
49:01They are unquantifiably important
49:03and still have a lot
49:05to teach us.
49:06There's really no way
49:06of predicting
49:07what the next discovery
49:08is going to be
49:09or what it's going to come from.
49:10I think it's fairly reasonable
49:12to guess there will be something.
49:15Surely there will be something.
49:16Number 4.
49:17Pompeii.
49:17Among the most famous ruins
49:19in the world,
49:20Pompeii was destroyed
49:22by a devastating eruption
49:23from Mount Vesuvius
49:24in the year 79 AD.
49:26The village was left forgotten
49:28until the 16th century,
49:30over 1,500 years later
49:32because it had been
49:33completely buried
49:34underneath volcanic ash.
49:35It took just 18 hours
49:37for Pompeii to be buried
49:39under millions of tons
49:40of volcanic ash and pumice.
49:44An entire living city
49:46wiped out.
49:47But that ash kept Pompeii
49:48largely intact
49:49when it was finally excavated,
49:51with people frozen in place
49:53where they died
49:53during the disaster.
49:55The point is
49:55we have a great opportunity here
49:57because we have a snapshot
49:58of the society.
50:00We might have slaves,
50:01we might have
50:02upper-class people,
50:03and we can find out
50:04if there have been
50:05big differences.
50:07Today,
50:07it's one of Italy's
50:08most popular tourist attractions
50:10and a tremendous source
50:11of Roman history.
50:12As tragic as the story is,
50:14Pompeii has taught us
50:16more about Roman life
50:17than many other
50:18ancient archaeology sites
50:19anywhere in the world.
50:21Pompeii has regained its pride
50:22and continues to share
50:24its stories with people
50:25from all around the world.
50:28Number 3.
50:29The Library of Ashurbanipal
50:30Famous writer H.G. Wells
50:32once called
50:33the Library of Ashurbanipal
50:34quote,
50:35the most precious source
50:36of historical material
50:37in the world.
50:39And he wasn't far off.
50:40English historian
50:41and traveler
50:41Austin Henry Layard
50:43found the ancient library
50:44in the remains
50:45of a palace in 1849.
50:47While the actual building
50:48had been destroyed,
50:49many of the library's
50:50old texts
50:51were still intact,
50:52though most were in fragments.
50:54It consisted of
50:55over 30,000 clay tablets,
50:57which provided
50:58an enormous wealth
50:59of information
51:00relating to ancient civilizations
51:01of the Middle East.
51:02The tablets date
51:03to the 7th century BCE.
51:06Perhaps the greatest find
51:07within the Library
51:08of Ashurbanipal
51:09was the Epic of Gilgamesh,
51:11which is widely considered
51:12to be the oldest piece
51:14of literature
51:14in human history.
51:16Inscribed on crumbling
51:17clay tablets
51:18was a 4,000-year-old story.
51:21So riveting,
51:22the first person
51:23to translate it
51:24started stripping
51:26from excitement.
51:27Number 2.
51:28Lucy
51:28Several famous fossils
51:30have revolutionized
51:31our view of early hominins.
51:33Discovered in 1924
51:35in South Africa,
51:36the Tong Child,
51:37a skull of an
51:38Australopithecus africanum,
51:39was described as
51:40quote,
51:41the missing link
51:42between ape
51:43and human.
51:44Although,
51:44anthropologists
51:45initially resisted
51:46the idea
51:46that humans
51:47had evolved in Africa.
51:48Some scientists
51:49even went so far
51:50as to suggest
51:51it was perhaps
51:52just a baby gorilla
51:53and that
51:54the Tong Child
51:55would
51:55bear little out
51:58on anything
51:59other than
52:00the origins
52:01of apes themselves.
52:02Eclipsing the Tong Child
52:03in renown
52:04is Lucy,
52:05the 3.2 million-year-old
52:07remains of an
52:08Australopithecus afarensis.
52:10Unearthed in 1974
52:12in Ethiopia,
52:13she was named
52:14after the Beatles song
52:15Lucy in the Sky
52:16with Diamonds,
52:17which the research team
52:18was playing on repeat.
52:19The completeness
52:20of her remains
52:21gave us much more
52:22information
52:22on the evolution
52:23of bipedalism
52:24and brain size.
52:25We now have
52:26400 specimens
52:28of Lucy's species
52:29Australopithecus afarensis,
52:31named after
52:32the Afar region,
52:34and we know
52:35that there are
52:35very large individuals
52:36which were males
52:38and the smaller ones
52:39are certainly females.
52:41In 1994,
52:42Ardi,
52:43the skeleton
52:43of an
52:44Ardipithecus ramidus,
52:45thought to be
52:464.4 million years old,
52:48was also found
52:49in Ethiopia,
52:50becoming the most
52:51complete early
52:52hominid specimen
52:52ever discovered.
52:53The pelvis reconstruction
52:55has confirmed
52:56that Ardipithecus
52:57was bipedal,
52:59a major step forward
53:00in the investigation.
53:02Before we continue,
53:03be sure to subscribe
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53:12If you're on your phone,
53:13make sure you go
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53:14and switch on notifications.
53:18Number 1.
53:19The Rosetta Stone
53:20For centuries,
53:22archaeologists
53:23had absolutely
53:23no idea
53:24how to decipher
53:25ancient Egypt's
53:26complex hieroglyphics.
53:27Jean-Francois
53:28Champollion in France
53:29and Thomas Young
53:31in Britain
53:31both believed
53:32that the Rosetta Stone,
53:34as it was called,
53:35held the key
53:36to deciphering hieroglyphs.
53:39But the Rosetta Stone
53:41did not yield
53:41its secrets easily.
53:43Without a starting point,
53:44they were unable
53:45to understand
53:46the inscriptions
53:46on Egyptian monuments
53:48and artifacts.
53:49But that all changed
53:50with the discovery
53:51of the long-lost
53:52Rosetta Stone
53:52in 1799,
53:54an enormous slab
53:55of stone inscribed
53:56with everything needed
53:57to start translating.
53:58This seemingly
53:59insignificant rock
54:01would forever change
54:02our understanding
54:03of mankind's past.
54:05The text it contained
54:06wasn't actually
54:07all that interesting,
54:09but the same passage
54:10was written three times
54:11in different languages,
54:12and one of those languages
54:14was ancient Greek.
54:15The Greek section
54:16told of the tablet
54:17having the same information
54:18written in all three.
54:20While Greek
54:21was easily understood,
54:23several obstacles
54:23stood in the way
54:24of using it
54:25to translate
54:26the two Egyptian scripts.
54:28By using the Greek,
54:29which is still widely understood
54:31by researchers,
54:32we were able
54:32to decipher
54:33the hieroglyphics
54:34and unlock the secrets
54:35of ancient Egyptian writing.
54:38Did we forget
54:38a discovery
54:39that deserves
54:40to be unearthed?
54:41Let us know
54:41in the comments below.
54:42The language
54:43and mysteries
54:44of the ancient Egyptians
54:45can now be understood.
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