Secrets in the Sand - Season 2 Episode 03- Hidden Temple of Athribis
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00:00...then a crypt in Israel.
00:01Four of the rings were around the individual's neck,
00:04and there were others around the arms and the legs.
00:07Who was this person, and why were they buried wrapped in metal rings?
00:11An astonishing discovery is unearthed in the sands of the Egyptian desert.
00:16They noticed strangely smooth limestone blocks on the cliff's façade,
00:21carved right into the landscape.
00:23But what was it?
00:24In the Jordan Desert, researchers unearthed a strange structure with remarkable carved features.
00:31But the most striking thing inside the round rock formation
00:34was two standing vertical stones called steelies,
00:38each with a human face carved into them.
00:41So what were they for?
00:43And how long have they been standing here in the middle of nowhere?
00:47Ancient lost cities.
00:50Forgotten treasures.
00:52Mysterious structures.
00:54As new technology uncovers remarkable tales hidden beneath the deserts of the world,
01:01the secrets in the sand will finally be revealed.
01:17Just a few miles due north of the Jerusalem city center
01:21lies the settlement of Ramat Shlomo, Israel.
01:25During the summer months, this area is blisteringly hot,
01:28with temperatures sometimes reaching almost 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
01:33It's also extremely dry, averaging just under two inches of rain per month,
01:37most of which falls during the wet season from October to April.
01:42Ramat Shlomo is part of East Jerusalem.
01:44It was once part of Jordan, but came under Israeli control
01:47after the Six-Day War in 1967.
01:49Jerusalem is one of the world's oldest cities,
01:54with a history going back over 5,000 years.
01:58Its origins trace back to roughly 3,000 BCE,
02:01with the first settlement near the Gihon Spring.
02:04The oldest mention of Jerusalem is from Egyptian texts dating to around 2,000 BCE,
02:11where it's referred to as Rusalimam.
02:14Given this rich history,
02:16it's no surprise that the area is of keen interest to archaeologists.
02:20A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority
02:24are excavating an ancient complex known as Kirbat al-Masani
02:28in advance of construction work near Ramat Shlomo,
02:32when they unearth a surprise.
02:34Two burial crypts were uncovered,
02:37containing the scattered skeletal remains of several individuals,
02:40including children, women, and men.
02:42But the real shock came when a third tube was found.
02:48Inside were skeletal remains that appeared to be wrapped in metal rings.
02:54Four of the rings were around the individual's neck,
02:57and there were others around the arms and the legs.
03:00But unfortunately, the bones were so severely degraded,
03:04they were only able to recover fragments of the cranium,
03:07a small finger bone, and parts of a femur.
03:09The poor condition of the remains
03:13makes establishing things like the sex of the person
03:15or age at death very difficult.
03:18So the question is, who was this person,
03:20and why were they buried wrapped in metal rings?
03:24The first thing that springs to mind
03:25is that maybe they were a prisoner,
03:27a criminal bound with chains and then executed,
03:30or possibly an enslaved person.
03:33In 2015, construction workers
03:35in the village of Great Casterdon
03:37in the East Midlands of England
03:39discovered the ancient remains
03:41of a man with heavy iron shackles
03:43and a padlock around his ankles.
03:47Radiocarbon dating placed the remains
03:48to between 226 and 427 CE
03:51during the Roman occupation of Britain.
03:54The man was likely between the ages of 26 and 35
03:57when he died,
03:58and the body showed evidence
04:00of a life of physically demanding labor.
04:02It's historical fact that slavery
04:04was an accepted practice
04:06throughout the Roman Empire,
04:07and they were known to change
04:08some of their agricultural slaves.
04:10So the shackled man was probably a farm laborer.
04:13So is it possible that the individual
04:15discovered at Kirbat el-Massani
04:17was also an enslaved person?
04:18Maybe, but there's one key difference.
04:22The slave's body discovered in England
04:24was not properly laid out.
04:26It was found at a strange angle,
04:28lying somewhat on its right side
04:30with the left arm raised up on a slope.
04:33This indicates that maybe the man
04:35was thrown into a ditch
04:36rather than given a proper burial.
04:38On the other hand,
04:40the body at Kirbat el-Massani
04:42was carefully buried
04:43in a grave resting on its back.
04:47So if they likely weren't
04:48an enslaved person or a prisoner,
04:50there has to be another explanation
04:52for why this individual
04:53was buried laden with metal rings.
04:56Maybe it's something a little strange
04:58or involving superstition.
05:00In 2022, a team of archaeologists
05:02from Nicholas Copernicus University
05:04in Turand, Poland
05:06were excavating an ancient castle
05:08when they uncovered
05:09something truly bizarre.
05:11On a riverbank adjacent to the castle,
05:14they noticed human bones
05:15sticking out from the ground.
05:17But here's where it gets really weird.
05:19After an excavation,
05:21they found that the individual
05:22was buried with a semicircular sickle
05:25pinned around their neck.
05:27And that's not all.
05:29The skeleton's big toe on the left foot
05:31had a rusted old triangular padlock
05:34attached to it.
05:37Analysis of the remains
05:38revealed that they belonged to a female
05:40between the ages of 17 and 21.
05:42And she had the Kimmerle anomaly,
05:44which is a condition
05:45where an extra piece of bone
05:47forms on the first cervical vertebra.
05:49This could have led her
05:50to fainting regularly
05:51or having mental health issues,
05:54which could have been seen
05:55as evil behavior.
05:57Reports of vampire sightings
05:59and attacks became widespread
06:00across medieval Europe.
06:02And unusual measures were taken
06:03to ensure that suspected vampires
06:06could not rise from the dead.
06:09Some individuals were buried
06:10with large stones around their necks.
06:13Others were buried face down.
06:15And some, like the woman in Poland,
06:17were pinned down with metal objects
06:19and secured with locks.
06:21So could this explain the body
06:23found at Kirbat el-Masani
06:25that was chained with metal rings?
06:28It's possible,
06:29but the timeline and location
06:31are problematic.
06:32Most vampire burials
06:33took place in Europe
06:35during the Middle Ages
06:36right up until the 18th century.
06:38We know from the grave goods
06:40and the geology of the site
06:42at Kirbat el-Masani
06:43that the bodies there
06:44are likely from the 5th century CE,
06:47almost a thousand years
06:48before the vampire scare in Europe.
06:51So there has to be another reason
06:52for the rings on the body.
06:54The team at Kirbat el-Masani
06:56investigates the grave site further
06:58and makes another surprising discovery.
07:01Along with the rings,
07:03iron plates were found
07:04where the stomach would have been.
07:05This person was effectively
07:07covered in metal,
07:08which could suggest
07:09that it was some kind of
07:10crudely made body armor.
07:11So maybe this is a warrior's grave.
07:14That's a possibility,
07:15but all that metal
07:16would have been really cumbersome.
07:18It would have been heavy.
07:19I can't see somebody
07:20being able to move around
07:21or fight effectively
07:22with metal rings
07:23weighing down their arms and legs.
07:26Plus, if this person
07:27was going to get
07:28a warrior's burial,
07:29you would expect to find
07:30things like swords
07:31or arrows or spears with them,
07:33at least a helmet.
07:35There's nothing like that here.
07:37As the excavation nears completion,
07:40the scope of the complex
07:41at Kirbat el-Masani
07:42comes into view.
07:44This place is huge.
07:46They unearthed three apses
07:47assumed to be part
07:48of a church or monastery
07:50built with finely cut
07:51limestone blocks.
07:53There are also rooms
07:54believed to have been an inn,
07:56which makes sense
07:56given that the site
07:57is near the main road
07:59that led from Jaffa
08:00and Lydda to Jerusalem.
08:03The complex is believed
08:04to have been built
08:05between 350 and 650 CE,
08:08when Christianity was becoming
08:09the dominant religion
08:10in the region
08:11and Jerusalem
08:11was a spiritual center,
08:13attracting pilgrims
08:14from far and wide.
08:15This period also saw
08:18the spread of monasticism,
08:19a devout way of life
08:21where people detached
08:22from the world
08:22to focus on spiritual concerns
08:25and lived in monasteries
08:26like Kirbat el-Masani.
08:29This period also saw
08:30the growth of asceticism.
08:32Basically, that's
08:33avoiding anything pleasurable.
08:35Asceticism is a word
08:36that's sometimes used
08:37interchangeably with monasticism,
08:40but it's not the same.
08:41Ascetics practice
08:43extreme self-denial,
08:44whereas monks
08:46isolate themselves
08:47from the world.
08:48Neither of them
08:49sound very fun.
08:51The most stringent ascetics
08:52practiced self-inflicted pain
08:54and voluntary suffering,
08:55and one of these practices
08:56was to limit mobility
08:58by wrapping themselves
08:59in heavy metal chains,
09:00like the ones found
09:01with the remains
09:02at Kirbat el-Masani.
09:04So given this,
09:05the grave likely belonged
09:06to an ascetic
09:07who also happened
09:08to be a monk
09:08and probably lived
09:09in isolation
09:10at the monastery.
09:11But who was he?
09:14Searching for answers
09:23at Kirbat el-Masani,
09:25the team salvages
09:26what little remains
09:27of the skeleton
09:27and turns it into the lab
09:29for analysis.
09:30The results are startling.
09:33They recovered a single tooth,
09:35and analysis of the enamel
09:36showed the presence
09:37of amylex,
09:38which is a protein
09:39encoded on the X chromosome.
09:41Also notable
09:42was the absence of amyly,
09:44which is present
09:45only in males,
09:46meaning this was a woman.
09:49While the use of chains
09:51by male ascetics
09:52from this era
09:52is widely known,
09:54this is the first
09:55archaeological evidence
09:56that women engaged
09:57in self-torture
09:58during the Byzantine period.
10:00An amazing discovery.
10:02Females tended to practice
10:04less extreme forms
10:06of asceticism
10:06by fasting,
10:08meditating,
10:09and praying.
10:10So just who was this woman
10:11that took her beliefs
10:12to such lengths?
10:14Historical records indicate
10:15that women in the Roman Empire
10:17began practicing asceticism
10:19as early as the 4th century CE
10:22as a spiritual pursuit
10:24that likely began
10:25with the nobility.
10:26Many churches and monasteries
10:28were founded in Jerusalem
10:29by wealthy women
10:31from the Roman aristocracy
10:33looking for a spiritual connection
10:35as a way of atoning
10:36for their lavish lifestyles.
10:38But some of them
10:39took it a step further.
10:41Two well-known ascetics
10:42were Melania the Elder,
10:44a Christian saint
10:45from a noble family,
10:46and her granddaughter
10:47Melania the Younger,
10:49who founded convents
10:50in the Kidron Valley
10:51and on the Mount of Olives
10:53located near Jerusalem's
10:54old city.
10:56Melania the Younger
10:57was known
10:57for her extreme practices.
10:59Which included
11:00confining herself
11:01in a wooden box
11:02that restricted
11:03all movement.
11:05Some female ascetics
11:06from the time
11:07even went so far
11:08as to disguise themselves
11:09as men.
11:11Pelagia the Penitent,
11:12recognized as a saint
11:13by several churches,
11:14was a former sex worker
11:16who turned to Christianity
11:17and led a life
11:18of self-denial,
11:19fasting,
11:20and prayer
11:20disguised as a man.
11:22This at least suggests
11:23that monastic life
11:24was sometimes
11:25simply not available
11:26for women.
11:27As for who
11:28the chained woman
11:29founded Kirbat el-Masani
11:31was,
11:32that is still a mystery.
11:34And there may be
11:35more forgotten
11:36female ascetics
11:37hidden beneath
11:38ancient monasteries.
11:40The discovery of the female
11:42remains at Kirbat el-Masani
11:44challenges traditional
11:46historical narratives
11:47by showing that women
11:48engaged in extreme
11:50religious practices
11:51in the Byzantine era
11:52and hints that female
11:54asceticism may have been
11:56much more widespread
11:57than previously believed.
11:59just over four miles
12:08from the modern city
12:09of Sohaj
12:09on the western bank
12:11of the Nile,
12:12the cliffs of Athrabis
12:13rise up
12:14from the desert floor.
12:15When you think of Egypt,
12:17you think of the desert.
12:17And that's because
12:1896% of that country
12:19is exactly that.
12:21But,
12:22if you know where to look,
12:23you can also find
12:24huge swaths
12:25of fertile land there.
12:26And one of those places
12:27is an area
12:28surrounding Athrabis.
12:31This is because
12:31the Nile River
12:32carries sediment
12:33thousands of miles
12:34northwards
12:35through Egypt
12:36towards the Mediterranean.
12:38And when the river floods,
12:39these sediments
12:39are dispersed
12:40across the valley,
12:41turning the sand
12:42into rich soil.
12:45Today,
12:4595% of Egyptians
12:47live within a few miles
12:49of the Nile's banks,
12:51a pattern that stretches
12:52back thousands of years
12:54to ancient Egyptians
12:56who built their largest cities
12:58along the river.
12:59A group of archaeologists
13:01is investigating
13:02the cliff's base
13:03as part of an ongoing excavation
13:05when they spot
13:06something strange.
13:08They noticed
13:09strangely smooth
13:11limestone blocks
13:12on the cliff's facade.
13:14On closer inspection,
13:15they realized
13:16they were actually
13:17looking at the remains
13:18of a structure
13:19carved right into
13:21the landscape.
13:22As the team
13:23brushes away
13:24centuries of sand,
13:25they reveal figures
13:27carved into the limestone.
13:29Two stand out
13:30as particularly unusual.
13:32These two figures
13:33have human bodies
13:34and the heads of animals.
13:36One is an ibis
13:37and one is a falcon.
13:38They're surrounded
13:39by carvings
13:40of Egyptian gods.
13:41And at first,
13:42you might think
13:42that they're gods too.
13:44But they're actually
13:45beings known as deacons.
13:47In ancient Egypt,
13:49deacons represented
13:5036 small constellations
13:52of stars.
13:53Each deacon
13:54corresponded to
13:55about 10 degrees
13:56of sky.
13:57So with 36 sections
13:58of 10 degrees each,
14:00you got a full
14:01360 degree panorama.
14:03And by tracking
14:04the deacons
14:04as they moved
14:05through the sky,
14:06Egyptians were able
14:07to keep track
14:08of what the date was.
14:11Each of the 36 deacons
14:12was associated
14:13with a particular deity.
14:15In the case
14:16of the deacons
14:16of Athrabas,
14:17the falcon-headed god
14:18may have been linked
14:19to the sky god Horus,
14:20while the ibis head
14:21might evoke Thoth,
14:22god of writing
14:23and wisdom.
14:24Though we can't be sure,
14:26but we're left wondering,
14:27why were they carved here?
14:29320 miles from Athrabas,
14:31in the northern reaches
14:32of the Nile Delta,
14:34a team of archaeologists
14:36working in the ruins
14:37of the ancient city
14:38of Kafr al-Sheikh
14:39come across the work
14:41of some of Egypt's
14:42earliest astronomers.
14:44They found
14:45a vast complex
14:46built from mud bricks
14:48spanning more than
14:4910,000 square feet
14:51that contained
14:52a huge limestone sundial
14:55built out of
14:5615-foot blocks.
14:58This sundial
14:59acted like a clock
15:00allowing the ancient
15:02Egyptians
15:02to track the time
15:04throughout the day.
15:06Researchers also found
15:07several other tools
15:09that indicated
15:10that this building
15:10was also used at night.
15:12One of them
15:13was a marquette,
15:14which was essentially
15:15a weight attached
15:16to a wooden handle
15:17that helped
15:17ancient astronomers
15:18track the alignment
15:19of the deacons
15:20across the night sky.
15:22Researchers were able
15:23to date the site
15:24to the 6th century BCE,
15:26making it the oldest
15:27known observatory
15:28in all of ancient Egypt.
15:30Could this site
15:31at Athrabas
15:32have been built
15:32around the same time
15:33as part of that society's
15:35curiosity about the stars?
15:38The deacons
15:38aren't the only figures
15:39carved into the limestone.
15:40The team also spotted
15:42the silhouette
15:43of a pharaoh
15:43known as Ptolemy VIII,
15:45one of ancient Egypt's
15:46most volatile rulers.
15:48Ptolemy VIII's reign
15:50was incredibly chaotic
15:52and led to the empire's
15:53economic collapse.
15:55He was constantly
15:56at odds with his siblings,
15:58driving his own brother
15:59out of the country
16:00to keep the throne.
16:02He married his older sister,
16:05but they feuded constantly
16:07and he went so far
16:09as to kill their own son
16:11out of spite.
16:13But the real tipping point
16:14came when he decided
16:15to marry his niece,
16:18a move that sparked
16:19a full-blown civil war.
16:22Ptolemy hung onto his position
16:24by the skin of his teeth,
16:26often relying on diplomatic support
16:28from Rome to keep him in power.
16:30Experts date the structure
16:31at Athrabas
16:32to the 2nd century BCE,
16:34during the reign of Ptolemy VIII,
16:36hundreds of years
16:37after the observatory
16:38at Tafra el-Sheikh was built.
16:40So why did the pharaoh
16:42leave his mark
16:43on this particular structure?
16:45As work continues
16:46on the ruins
16:47from Athrabas,
16:48the archaeologists realize
16:50for the first time
16:51the true extent
16:52of what they have uncovered.
16:54This structure is enormous.
16:56It's over 150 feet wide
16:58and it's made up
16:59of these two
17:00symmetrical columns.
17:02Unfortunately,
17:03both of those columns
17:04have been damaged
17:04by a nearby limestone quarry.
17:06So today,
17:07they're only about 15 feet tall.
17:09But it's believed
17:11that they once towered
17:13up to 60 feet above.
17:15We know that ancient
17:16Egyptian pharaohs
17:17frequently commissioned
17:18grand architectural projects
17:20to showcase their power
17:21and demonstrate
17:22their devotion to the gods.
17:24Massive structures
17:25that took decades to complete
17:26and were often initiated
17:28at the very start
17:29of a pharaoh's reign.
17:31Could the site of Athrabas
17:32represent a continuation
17:33of this tradition?
17:34Is it possible
17:35that this was intended
17:36to serve as the tomb
17:37of Ptolemy VIII himself?
17:47A short distance
17:49from Athrabas,
17:50a local police station
17:51receives a call
17:52that leads to
17:53a shocking discovery.
17:55Police learn
17:56that a small gang
17:57is illegally excavating
17:59a small mound
18:00near a known
18:01archaeological site.
18:03When they investigate,
18:05they're astonished
18:06to find an exceptionally
18:08well-preserved tomb.
18:11Inside,
18:12they find a central lobby
18:13and a small burial room
18:14with detailed funerary rites
18:17depicted on every single wall.
18:19In the burial room,
18:20there are two limestone sarcophagi,
18:23each containing a mummy.
18:24These mummies were likely
18:26a married couple
18:27and probably really important
18:29in the area
18:29because they were surrounded
18:31by dozens of grave offerings,
18:33including more than 50
18:35mummified animals.
18:37They also had cats,
18:38they had dogs,
18:39they even had eagles,
18:40and they had hundreds
18:42of fragments of pottery
18:43and all of it
18:45was just meant
18:46to travel with that couple
18:47into the afterlife.
18:50Researchers are able
18:51to date this extraordinary tomb
18:53back more than 2,000 years
18:55to the tail end
18:56of the Ptolemaic period.
18:58The graves are evidence
18:59that high-profile
19:00Ptolemaic burials
19:01took place extremely close
19:03to Athrabas.
19:04Based on this,
19:05it's even more likely
19:06that the structure
19:06buried in the cliff face
19:08is another impressive tomb.
19:09But there are problems
19:11with this theory.
19:12For one,
19:12many believe
19:13that Ptolemy VIII
19:15is likely buried
19:16closer to Alexandria,
19:18which was the capital
19:19at the end of his reign,
19:21and the resting place
19:22for many of his relatives.
19:24Another theory suggests
19:26that Ptolemy was buried
19:27in Cyrene,
19:28a Libyan colony
19:29that he once ruled.
19:31In the ancient city
19:32of Ptolemaeus,
19:33a grand tomb
19:34was discovered
19:35that some believe
19:36may have been intended
19:37as his final resting place.
19:39Ultimately,
19:40we still don't know
19:41where Ptolemy is buried.
19:43So,
19:44if the structure
19:45at Athrabas
19:45probably isn't
19:47Ptolemy's tomb,
19:49what else could it be?
19:50As researchers
19:51finally unearthed
19:52the full facade
19:54buried in the cliffside,
19:55the building's
19:56striking silhouette
19:57points to
19:58fresh possibilities.
20:00The two towers,
20:01joined by a shorter building,
20:02is an iconic staple
20:04of ancient Egyptian architecture
20:05known as a pylon.
20:06These pylons
20:07were built
20:07to symbolize
20:08the horizon.
20:09The towers
20:10each represented
20:11a huge mountain,
20:12and the space
20:13between the two
20:13showed the valley
20:14in which the sun set.
20:16They also share
20:17a close resemblance
20:18to the hieroglyph
20:18Akhet,
20:19which translates
20:20to horizon,
20:21and shows a sun setting
20:22between two large hills.
20:24The ancient Egyptians
20:25were obsessed
20:26with the concept
20:28of the horizon,
20:29in part because
20:30it represented
20:31a constant threat
20:32to one of their
20:33oldest and most
20:34important gods,
20:36Ra.
20:38It was believed
20:40that at night,
20:41Ra would descend
20:42below the horizon,
20:43where he entered
20:44the underworld
20:45and was forced
20:46to battle
20:47a giant serpent
20:48known as Apophis.
20:50Only if he won
20:52would the sun
20:53rise again.
20:55Pylons like the one
20:56at Athrabas
20:57were a literal
20:58representation
20:58of a boundary,
21:00and were positioned
21:00at the entrance
21:01to some of Egypt's
21:02grandest temples.
21:04Most of these temples
21:05were built
21:05to house Egyptian gods
21:07who were channeled
21:08through sacred sculptures
21:09and rituals.
21:10Priests would tend
21:12to these temples
21:12conducting ceremonies
21:14throughout the year
21:15to appease the gods
21:16in an effort
21:17to maintain peace.
21:19So, if the temple
21:20at Athrabas
21:21is one of these houses,
21:22the question becomes,
21:24which god
21:25was it built for?
21:27Having revealed
21:28the entirety
21:29of the temple facade,
21:30researchers are drawn
21:32to one last set
21:33of figures
21:33etched into the stone.
21:35Alongside the pharaoh
21:36and the deacons
21:37is the figure
21:38of a man
21:38holding a flail.
21:40This is Min,
21:41the god of male fertility,
21:42one of the most important
21:43deities of ancient Egypt,
21:45which relied heavily
21:46on agriculture.
21:48Each year
21:48before the harvest season,
21:50images of Min
21:51would be brought
21:51out of the temples
21:52and into the fields
21:53to bless the crops.
21:55The cult of Min
21:56grew extremely strong
21:58in the area
21:59surrounding Athrabas
22:00and enormous festivals
22:02would have been held
22:03in his honor.
22:05You would think
22:06this would make him
22:07the star attraction
22:08of the hidden temple,
22:10but this isn't the case.
22:12There are two other gods
22:14etched into the reliefs.
22:16One is a woman
22:17with the head of a lion
22:18and the other
22:19is a young boy.
22:20These are Min's wife
22:21and son,
22:22Repet and Colanthes.
22:24In fact,
22:24it's a Repet
22:25that appears to be
22:26taking center stage
22:27with the pharaoh
22:28making offerings
22:28to her and her son
22:30rather than
22:30to her husband.
22:32It's unclear exactly
22:33what kind of role
22:34Repet or her son
22:35would have played
22:36in the local community,
22:37but it likely
22:38would have been related
22:39somehow to fertility.
22:40What is known
22:41is that before
22:43the Greeks labeled
22:44this place Athrabas,
22:45Egyptians called it
22:47Hut Repet
22:48or Domain of Repet.
22:50So it may well be
22:52that this temple
22:53once stood
22:54at the center
22:55of an entire town
22:56dedicated
22:57to that lion-headed goddess.
23:00Today,
23:01the Athrabas site
23:02stretches over 75 acres.
23:05Most of the area
23:06is still covered
23:07by a layer
23:08of limestone rubble,
23:09but researchers
23:10are confident
23:11that their ongoing efforts
23:12will one day
23:13uncover the entirety
23:15of this stunning,
23:16long-forgotten complex.
23:28The unrelenting
23:30Syrian desert
23:31spans more than
23:32200,000 square miles
23:34of West Asia,
23:36including parts
23:36of Saudi Arabia,
23:38Syria,
23:39and 85%
23:40of Jordan's landmass.
23:41The Syrian desert
23:43is one of the most arid
23:44and hottest deserts
23:46in the world,
23:46with summer temperatures
23:48frequently reaching
23:49over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
23:51The dry landscape
23:53in southeastern Jordan
23:54is made up
23:55of sandy plateaus,
23:57occasionally broken up
23:58by mountain ranges
23:59and river valleys
24:01called wadis.
24:03While there's evidence
24:03of human activity
24:04in Jordan
24:05going back
24:06to the Paleolithic period,
24:07large sections
24:08of the country
24:09were first settled
24:10by nomadic tribes
24:11like the Canaanites
24:12and Shasu
24:13in the Bronze Age
24:14between 3200
24:15and 1200 BC.
24:17These settlements
24:18were consolidated
24:19into kingdoms
24:20for hundreds of years
24:21until the classical period,
24:23when Jordan came
24:24under Greek
24:25and Roman influence.
24:26Not surprisingly,
24:29there's been
24:29a wealth of discoveries
24:30found beneath
24:31the sand
24:32of Jordan's deserts.
24:33The most famous
24:34is the Rose City of Petra,
24:36made up of rock-cut tombs
24:38and advanced water systems.
24:40In the north,
24:41the Roman city of Jerash
24:42was revealed
24:43to contain a hippodrome
24:44and the Temple of Artemis.
24:48A team of archaeologists
24:49is busy at work
24:51in the southwestern
24:52Badia region of Jordan
24:53when they come across
24:55a surprising discovery.
24:57They were surveying
24:57an area between
24:58the Al Jaffer Basin
25:00and a nearby mountain range
25:02in a fairly open
25:03and flat section
25:05of the desert
25:05and discovered
25:06a circular enclosure
25:08made from rocks
25:10and stones
25:11with an altar-like formation
25:13in its center
25:14as well as
25:15a stone hearth
25:17with traces
25:18of burnt charcoal.
25:22In addition
25:23to the altar and hearth,
25:25there were several
25:25smaller stones
25:26in the shape
25:27of animal figurines
25:28placed around the perimeter.
25:30But the most striking thing
25:32inside the round rock formation
25:33was two standing vertical stones
25:36called steelies,
25:37each with a human face
25:39carved into them.
25:41The first one stood around
25:43two feet,
25:44three inches tall
25:45and bore a simple set of eyes,
25:47nose, and mouth.
25:48The taller one
25:49at over three and a half feet
25:50displayed a larger human face,
25:52along with a number
25:54of vertical lines
25:55carved beside it
25:56in a unique design
25:57or pattern.
25:59So what were they for?
26:01And how long
26:01have they been standing here
26:02in the middle of nowhere?
26:12Samples from the structure
26:13in the southwestern
26:14Badia region of Jordan
26:16are taken for radiocarbon dating.
26:18Over 15 samples
26:21were collected
26:22from the charcoal remains
26:23found among the hearth's
26:25rocks and stones.
26:26The results
26:27were uniformly consistent,
26:30putting the site
26:31at around 7,000 B.C.,
26:33which falls
26:34in the early Neolithic period.
26:38The Neolithic era
26:39spans more than five millennia,
26:41from 10,000
26:42to 4,500 B.C.E.
26:44So it encompasses
26:45a lot of change
26:47in human activity.
26:49In Jordan,
26:49just like in other places,
26:51there was a slow transition
26:52from tribal hunter-gatherer societies
26:55to cultures
26:56with domesticated animals
26:57and agricultural settlements.
26:59Further examination
27:00of the strange formation
27:02reveals a possible clue.
27:05The circular arrangement
27:06of the structure
27:07plus the altar-like formation
27:09in the center
27:10suggested
27:11it may have been connected
27:13to an ancient ritual
27:14or ceremony.
27:16And that line
27:16of thinking
27:17was supported
27:18by the anthropomorphic nature
27:20of the two stone carvings.
27:23The practice
27:24of giving human characteristics
27:26to non-human entities
27:27has been around
27:28for millennia,
27:29whether it's animals,
27:31deities,
27:31or completely inanimate objects
27:33such as rocks and stones.
27:36Many ancient cultures
27:38imposed human traits
27:39as a form of storytelling
27:41to pass down myths
27:42and folklore.
27:43But it also had
27:44a deep spiritual
27:45and religious significance.
27:48One of the earliest examples
27:50of this
27:50was found
27:51at Gobekli Tepe,
27:53a settlement in Mesopotamia
27:54in what we now call Turkey.
27:56It was inhabited
27:57from roughly 9500
27:59to 8000 B.C.,
28:01also the Neolithic period.
28:03And it featured
28:04a large stone circle
28:05with pillars
28:06decorated with carvings
28:07of human features
28:08like arms,
28:09hands,
28:10and clothing.
28:11The carvings
28:12provided archaeologists
28:13with rare insights
28:14into a possible
28:15prehistoric religion
28:16as well as
28:17the iconography
28:18of the period.
28:20Since the stone circle
28:21at Gobekli Tepe
28:22didn't appear
28:23to have a function
28:24connected to hunting,
28:25farming,
28:25or dwelling,
28:26it was believed
28:27to be a communal
28:28or spiritual gathering place.
28:31If that were the case,
28:32it would make it
28:33one of the world's
28:34first known temples.
28:35So is it possible
28:36that the strange discovery
28:37in Jordan
28:38served a similar purpose?
28:40A detailed analysis
28:42of the two stone carvings
28:44leads to a surprising connection.
28:47The human faces depicted
28:49were carved
28:50in simple,
28:51clean lines
28:52consistent with
28:53other carvings
28:54of that period.
28:56But it was
28:56the curious pattern
28:58etched beside
28:59the face
28:59of the larger stone
29:00that became
29:01the focus.
29:03Two lines
29:04in a V-shape
29:05coming together
29:06to create
29:07an enclosed circle
29:08like a keyhole.
29:10What could it mean?
29:12Well,
29:13given that the stone structure
29:14was carbon dated
29:15to 7,000 B.C.,
29:17the keyhole shape
29:19was ultimately identified
29:20as being the same shape
29:22as a Neolithic hunting trap
29:24called a desert kite.
29:25Desert kites were stone walls
29:29often hundreds of feet long
29:31that converged
29:32into a round,
29:33contained space.
29:34They were built
29:35by nomadic tribes
29:36during the hunter-gatherer phase
29:38of the early Neolithic period
29:40and used to trap animals
29:41like deer and gazelles.
29:44Hunting parties
29:45would drive herds
29:46into the open end
29:46of the kites
29:47and down
29:48into the confined space
29:49where other members
29:50of the party
29:51corralled the animals
29:52for slaughter.
29:52They were named
29:54in the 1920s
29:55by British Royal Air Force pilots
29:57flying across the region.
29:59They remarked
30:00on their resemblance
30:01to kites
30:01and the name stuck.
30:03To date,
30:04there have been
30:04over 6,000
30:06of these ancient animal traps
30:07identified
30:08across the Middle East.
30:09But were any of them
30:11connected
30:11to the southeastern body
30:12a rock circle?
30:13A larger survey
30:23is conducted
30:24to include
30:24the surrounding area
30:25and it doesn't take long
30:27to find answers.
30:29Sure enough,
30:30the surrounding desert landscape
30:32showed evidence
30:32of multiple desert kites
30:34shaped much like
30:35the one carved
30:36next to the face
30:37on the stone.
30:38So there's a strong
30:38connection between
30:39the items found
30:40inside the rock circle
30:41and the hunting methods
30:43of the Neolithic nomads
30:44who built it.
30:46The bigger picture
30:47that emerged
30:48was of a hunting campsite
30:50featuring several
30:51large desert kites.
30:53The rock circle
30:54served as
30:55the spiritual center
30:56for the hunters,
30:57a place to engage
30:59in ceremonies
31:00or rituals
31:00connected to
31:01the upcoming hunt.
31:03The presence
31:04of the altar,
31:05hearth,
31:06and smaller
31:06carved animal figurines
31:08likely all played
31:09a role
31:10in these rituals.
31:10Whether it was
31:13to invoke
31:13supernatural forces
31:15for a successful hunt
31:16or to bring out
31:18an abundance of prey
31:19to capture.
31:20This remarkable
31:21Neolithic stone
31:22altar discovered
31:23in the Jordan desert
31:25represents
31:25a critical link
31:27between mass hunting
31:28and ritual performance
31:30and may be
31:31one of the earliest
31:32examples of art
31:34as an expression
31:35of faith.
31:36Set in the heart
31:45of south-central
31:46New Mexico,
31:48White Sands National Park
31:49extends over
31:50275 square miles,
31:53dazzling hundreds
31:54of thousands
31:55of visitors
31:55every year.
31:57Most of the world's
31:57desert sand
31:58is made of quartz grain,
32:00tiny pieces of rock
32:01weathered by years
32:02of exposure
32:02to the elements.
32:03But here,
32:04the sand is almost
32:05all composed
32:06of pure gypsum,
32:07a bright white mineral
32:09that can be almost
32:09blinding in the sun.
32:13Gypsum is quite
32:14a common mineral,
32:15but gypsum sand
32:16is extremely rare
32:18because it's water-soluble.
32:20Like salt or sugar,
32:21it dissolves in water
32:22and won't solidify again
32:24unless the moisture
32:25evaporates.
32:26But White Sands National Park
32:28lies at the bottom
32:29of a basin,
32:30surrounded by the San Andreas
32:32and Sacramento mountains.
32:34These mountains
32:34are made up
32:35of layers of gypsum.
32:36So when it rains,
32:38the minerals wash
32:39down into the basin
32:40and when the water
32:41eventually evaporates,
32:42the sand is left behind.
32:44A National Park biologist
32:45exploring the sands
32:47after a rainstorm
32:48notices something strange.
32:51He spotted sets
32:52of disappearing footprints.
32:54When the ground was wet,
32:55he could clearly make out
32:56several tracks
32:57which seemed to belong
32:58to a range
32:59of different animals.
33:00But then when the earth
33:01dried up again,
33:02they just vanished.
33:04Today, we know them
33:06as ghost tracks,
33:07but they baffled experts
33:08for almost a century.
33:10In the 1930s,
33:11a local trapper
33:12described finding
33:13huge, comma-shaped prints
33:14up to 20 inches long.
33:17At first, many believed
33:19these were the first
33:19confirmed evidence
33:21of Bigfoot.
33:22But now we know
33:22that these tracks
33:23actually belonged
33:24to a giant ground sloth
33:25that roamed North America
33:26tens of thousands
33:27of years ago.
33:29Here's where it gets odd.
33:31Inside one of the sloth tracks
33:33was what appeared to be
33:34a human footprint.
33:36Dozens more of these prints
33:37were scattered
33:38throughout the desert,
33:39but there are no other clues
33:40to tell us
33:41who they might have belonged to.
33:43There are no remnants
33:44of ancient human settlements
33:45anywhere in white sands.
33:47No arrowheads,
33:49stone tools,
33:49or traces of buildings.
33:51Who were these mysterious people?
33:54As interest
33:55in the footprints grows,
33:57some experts wonder
33:58whether they could have been left
33:59by one of North America's
34:01oldest people,
34:02known as Clovis Culture.
34:05Clovis Culture
34:06was first discovered
34:07300 miles northeast
34:08of White Sands National Park
34:10on the outskirts
34:11of a village called Folsom.
34:12A local rancher
34:15was riding along a gully
34:16when he spotted the bones
34:18of Ice Age bison and mammoths
34:20buried in the embankment.
34:22Cut marks on the bones
34:23suggested that these animals
34:24hadn't died of natural causes.
34:27They'd been butchered.
34:2920 years later,
34:30an archaeologist
34:31working near the city of Clovis
34:32began to uncover
34:34exquisitely crafted stone points.
34:36The points had been carved
34:38with grooves along their edges
34:39to make them as sharp as possible,
34:41and they became known
34:43as Clovis Points.
34:45Over the last century,
34:46more than 10,000 Clovis Points
34:48have been found
34:49scattered across North America,
34:51dated between roughly
34:529,500 and 9,000 BCE.
34:56They're often associated
34:57with the bones of large animals,
34:59indicating that the Clovis Culture
35:00thrived on butchering big game.
35:03So, could the mysterious
35:04White Sands footprints
35:05be from this period?
35:07Was the giant sloth
35:08they were following
35:08intended as prey?
35:10In order to confirm
35:11whether these prints
35:12could belong
35:13to the Clovis Hunters,
35:15a team begins
35:16an elaborate effort
35:17to date the footprints.
35:18They identified 61 human tracks
35:21in total,
35:22trapped in multiple layers of Earth.
35:24But these prints
35:25aren't physical objects,
35:27which makes them impossible to date.
35:30So, they searched
35:31the sediment layers
35:32for organic material
35:33and found dozens
35:34of preserved
35:35rupia cirrhosa seeds,
35:37also known as ditch grass.
35:39By dating the seeds
35:40directly above
35:41and below the footprints,
35:42they were able
35:43to establish
35:43that the prints
35:44were far too old
35:46to belong
35:46to the Clovis Culture.
35:48In fact,
35:49these were far too old
35:50to belong
35:50to any known culture.
35:52These tracks
35:53were left between
35:5421 and 23,000 years ago.
35:57The staggering results
35:59sent shockwaves
36:00through the archaeological world.
36:02This discovery
36:03changes everything.
36:04For decades,
36:05the Clovis First Theory
36:07was widely accepted.
36:08The idea that the Clovis
36:09were the very first humans
36:10to arrive in North America
36:11and that they did that
36:13no more than 13,000 years ago.
36:15But here we have evidence
36:16of a far older group
36:19making that journey
36:20much earlier.
36:22The Clovis First Theory
36:23suggested that humans
36:24reached America
36:25by crossing the Bering Strait,
36:27a land bridge
36:28that formed
36:28between modern-day Russia
36:30and Alaska.
36:31They would then
36:31have spread southwards,
36:33following an ice-free corridor
36:35as massive ice sheets
36:36covering much
36:37of modern-day Canada
36:38gradually receded.
36:40This theory relies
36:42on the idea
36:42that this wave
36:43of migration
36:44to the Americas
36:45led by Clovis Culture
36:46was the first of its kind.
36:49But these ancient footprints
36:50challenged that notion.
36:52So were there people
36:53here already?
36:54Nearly 3,000 miles away,
36:57a team of archaeologists
36:58working along
36:59Alaska's Tanana River
37:00make their own
37:01astonishing discovery,
37:03unearthing yet more traces
37:05of some of the
37:06earliest Native Americans.
37:08They were conducting surveys
37:09in a heavily wooded
37:10remote area
37:11when they found
37:12the remains
37:13of an ancient campsite.
37:15It included
37:15a residential structure
37:16and a central hearth
37:18that was likely
37:18built to cook food.
37:20Inside the hearth,
37:21they uncovered
37:22the cremated remains
37:23of a young child
37:24who had died
37:25around 3 years old.
37:27Below the hearth,
37:28two more infants
37:29were uncovered.
37:30This time,
37:31they were buried
37:31but not cremated.
37:33Now, these children
37:34were much younger
37:34than the first,
37:35with the oldest
37:35being no more
37:36than 7 months old.
37:38They had been buried
37:39in graves
37:40filled with offerings,
37:42including decorated
37:43antlers
37:43and a set
37:45of stone tools.
37:46In order to date
37:47these burials,
37:48the researchers
37:49carefully extract DNA
37:50from one of the infants
37:52and begin
37:52a detailed analysis.
37:55The results proved
37:55that these infants
37:56were buried
37:56at the end
37:57of the Paleolithic era,
37:59around 11,500 years ago.
38:01This alone
38:02marks an incredible discovery
38:03because DNA this ancient
38:05is really rare.
38:06But these samples
38:07also allowed us
38:08to look back
38:08even further
38:09into the past
38:10and form a detailed
38:11picture of these
38:12children's genetic ancestry.
38:14Up until this discovery,
38:16two main groups
38:17of Native Americans
38:18had been identified,
38:19Southern
38:20and Northern
38:21Native Americans.
38:22But these infants
38:23belonged to neither.
38:25Instead,
38:26they proved the existence
38:27of a third,
38:28previously undiscovered group.
38:29Today,
38:30this group
38:31is known
38:31as the Ancient
38:32Beringians.
38:33We now believe
38:34that the Ancient
38:35Beringians
38:36began to split
38:37from their East Asian
38:38ancestors
38:38around 25,000 years ago.
38:41Based on this genetic evidence,
38:42it's possible
38:43that these ancient
38:44Native Americans
38:45formed one of the
38:46earliest known waves
38:47of migration
38:47to North America,
38:49thousands of years
38:50before Clovis culture
38:51appeared.
38:51The discovery
39:03of the ancient
39:03Beringian population
39:05presents fascinating
39:06possibilities
39:07for the researchers
39:08investigating
39:09the White Sands
39:10footprints.
39:12Finding an entirely
39:14new ancient
39:14American group
39:15means humans
39:16didn't reach
39:17North America
39:18in one large wave
39:19of migration
39:19like we previously thought.
39:21Instead,
39:22they appear
39:23to have arrived
39:23as a bunch
39:24of small,
39:25genetically distinct groups,
39:27many of which
39:27may still be undiscovered.
39:30So now the question
39:31becomes,
39:32could the people
39:33who left their footprints
39:34in the desert
39:35have been one
39:35of these unidentified groups
39:37of ancient Native Americans?
39:39And,
39:40if so,
39:41what's the story
39:42of how that population
39:43made its way
39:45to what is now
39:45the Southwestern U.S.?
39:47The truth is,
39:48we don't know
39:49how these ancient humans
39:50reached New Mexico.
39:51It's possible
39:52they may have
39:52traveled by boat
39:53following the Siberian
39:54and Alaskan shoreline south
39:56before traveling inland
39:57on foot.
39:58Or they may have found
40:00a different passage,
40:01one we still
40:02don't know about.
40:03To this day,
40:04the White Sands'
40:05footprints remain
40:06shrouded in mystery.
40:08But while they may not
40:09be able to tell us
40:10who these people were,
40:12they do paint
40:12a vivid picture
40:14of the environment
40:14in which they lived.
40:16Today,
40:17White Sands National Park
40:18is a true desert,
40:20but it wasn't always.
40:22The ditchweed seeds
40:23that were found trapped
40:24in layers of sediment
40:25are actually aquatic plants.
40:29Tens of thousands
40:30of years ago,
40:31these plants
40:32grew on the banks
40:32of an enormous body
40:33of water
40:34called Lake Otero.
40:36Lake Otero was huge.
40:38It covered roughly
40:401,600 square miles,
40:42transforming this desert
40:43landscape
40:43into a thriving wetland.
40:46Then around 23,000 years ago,
40:48the region became drier
40:49and the lake receded,
40:51leaving behind
40:52a soft surface
40:53covered by gypsum sand
40:55and silt.
40:56This was the surface
40:57that ended up preserving
40:58the White Sands' footprints.
41:01We don't just see
41:02humans stalking
41:03giant sloths here.
41:04Other fossilized tracks
41:05proved that there was
41:06a whole range of animals
41:07passing through
41:08the shores of Lake Otero.
41:09You've got mammoths,
41:11you've got camels.
41:12I mean,
41:13they're traveling in herds
41:14as families.
41:15In one spot,
41:16there's even footprints
41:17that show a baby mammoth
41:19spinning around
41:20and maybe even playing
41:21next to its parents.
41:23In almost all cases,
41:25the interactions
41:25between individuals
41:27and different species
41:28seem to have been peaceful.
41:30It's even possible
41:31that humans
41:32would have followed
41:32animals here,
41:34traveling in one
41:35large extended community
41:36from one lake
41:38to another.
41:38The extraordinary tracks
41:40in White Sands National Park
41:42serve as a fascinating
41:44time capsule,
41:45bringing a long-gone world
41:46to life using little more
41:48than footprints in the sand,
41:50while possibly rewriting
41:52the history of North America's
41:54first inhabitants.
41:55veterans.
41:56Thank you.
41:56Thank you.
41:57Thank you.
41:57Thank you.
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