Secrets in the Sand - Season 2 Episode 02- Million Mummy Necropolis
#EnglishMovie #cdrama #drama #engsub #chinesedramaengsub #movieshortfull
#EnglishMovie #cdrama #drama #engsub #chinesedramaengsub #movieshortfull
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00...reveals evidence that seems to clash with history.
00:04There was a series of shafts below the surface.
00:07It was a hidden cemetery crowded with bodies.
00:10But who were these people?
00:12And where do they all come from?
00:14In France, shifting sand uncovers a baffling structure lost for centuries.
00:20After more of the sand was cleared away,
00:22it was possible to get a visual on the entire structure.
00:25It forms the shape of a massive bow tie.
00:27On the banks of the legendary Indus River,
00:30surrounded by desert, archaeologists unearthed an enormous gravesite.
00:35Dozens of human skeletons, many found in groups,
00:38almost as though they'd been buried in mass graves.
00:40Others were disarticulated, with many of their bones simply missing.
00:45Ancient lost cities.
00:47Forgotten treasures.
00:50Mysterious structures.
00:52As new technology uncovers remarkable tales
00:55hidden beneath the deserts of the world,
00:58the secrets in the sand will finally be revealed.
01:02West of Egypt's Nile River Valley,
01:17just 55 miles south of Cairo,
01:19the Fayum Basin sits in a natural depression spread
01:23over 12,000 square miles of desert.
01:26The region has long, hot, arid summers
01:29and short, dry winters,
01:30while the bottom layer of the basin
01:32is fed by canals connected to the Nile.
01:35The upper layer of Fayum is a desert-like terrain
01:38with escarpments separated by plateaus and plains.
01:42In ancient times, Fayum was a desert oasis,
01:46referred to as the Garden of Egypt.
01:49This is from a time when a branch of the Nile River
01:52silted up and fresh water was diverted to the basin,
01:55attracting vegetation, wildlife,
01:57and a human population.
02:00As Fayum grew,
02:02it became home to several large and thriving villages,
02:05like Crocodilopolis, Karanis, and Cahun.
02:08The region was most prosperous and stable
02:10from 2040 BCE to 1782 BCE,
02:15and that's generally called Egypt's Golden Age.
02:18The Roman Empire swept into Egypt around 30 BCE
02:21and eventually brought Christianity with it
02:23in the next century.
02:24So it was a cultural and religious invasion
02:26as much as a military one.
02:28However, the people of Fayum
02:30and elsewhere in Roman Egypt
02:31continued many of their own traditions,
02:33such as embalming and burying their dead,
02:35despite the Roman preference for cremation.
02:38A group of archaeologists is excavating a dig site
02:41on the eastern edge of Fayum
02:42when they come across a surprise
02:44six to eight feet below the surface.
02:47There was a series of shafts below the surface,
02:50but underneath that was a second layer of sand
02:53where the mummified remains
02:55of at least 40 individuals
02:57were packed tightly together.
02:59It was a hidden cemetery crowded with bodies.
03:03Initial carbon dating of the mummies
03:05put them somewhere in the 1st to the 7th century CE.
03:09That's the Roman to late Roman and Byzantine era.
03:13And while it isn't entirely unusual
03:15to come across ancient burial sites
03:16in the Egyptian desert,
03:17these mummies were unique for several reasons.
03:22They exhibited no evidence of the embalming
03:24that was the common practice.
03:26Egyptians believed the mummified body
03:28was the home of the soul,
03:30and if the body was destroyed,
03:31then the soul or spirit might be lost.
03:34It was important to preserve the body
03:35with special resins and oils
03:36so it could enter the afterlife
03:38in the same physical form.
03:40Even more striking,
03:42despite the lack of embalming fluid,
03:43the Fayum mummies were extremely well preserved.
03:46The dry conditions of the Egyptian desert
03:49had slowed the decomposition process.
03:52But who were these individuals?
03:54And why were they all packed tightly together
03:57in a way that defies what we think we know
03:59about Egyptian funeral rites?
04:03Embalming was just one of the highly ritualized
04:06burial practices of ancient Egypt.
04:08Everything about the Egyptian funeral
04:10was about preparing for the afterlife,
04:13including the tomb,
04:14which was a haven for the soul.
04:17Egyptian tombs typically reflected
04:18the status or wealth of the individual,
04:21which is why kings and pharaohs
04:22were given the full pyramid treatment.
04:25Inside the tomb,
04:26hieroglyphics and paintings depicted scenes
04:29from daily life,
04:30religious rituals,
04:31and the afterlife journey.
04:33Egyptians also believed that the deceased
04:36would need certain items in the next world.
04:39And these grave goods included food,
04:42clothing, ceramics, furniture,
04:44and fancy things to wear.
04:46Everything from simple bracelets and amulets
04:48to luxurious jewelry.
04:51Unlike the grand and well-appointed tombs of pharaohs,
04:54almost none of these mummies were buried
04:56with any kind of grave goods.
04:58And what little there was,
04:59was made up of everyday items,
05:01such as reed mats, broken bits of ceramic,
05:04wooden and terracotta figures,
05:05and date seeds and pits.
05:07Technically, you couldn't even call
05:09these burial sites tombs.
05:11There were very few coffins,
05:12and aside from some textile wrappings
05:14and some shrouds,
05:15it looked like not a lot of care
05:17had been given to each body's preparation.
05:19But that's not a dead end.
05:21It just means this is different
05:22from what we're used to finding.
05:24And maybe that's what makes it great.
05:25Maybe the fact that these mummies
05:26were placed in graves this way
05:28suggests they were ordinary citizens.
05:29Or maybe they were people
05:31with even lower status than that.
05:34As the archaeologists expand their excavation,
05:36they come across something truly astounding.
05:40The cemetery turned out to be much,
05:42much larger than originally believed.
05:44It was a staggering 300 acres.
05:47That's just under half a square mile.
05:50Even more shocking,
05:52the high concentration of bodies
05:53was consistent throughout.
05:55To find a single burial site
05:57containing what was suddenly estimated
05:59to be hundreds of thousands
06:01of mummified remains is incredible.
06:04But who were these people?
06:05And where do they all come from?
06:08It wouldn't be the first time
06:10a massive burial was discovered
06:12in the Egyptian desert.
06:13200 miles south of Cairo,
06:16archaeologists excavating an area
06:17near the ancient city of Amarna
06:19discovered a cemetery
06:21estimated to contain
06:22over 6,000 individuals.
06:25During Egypt's 18th dynasty,
06:27Amarna was declared
06:28the new capital of Egypt
06:29by an eccentric pharaoh
06:30named Akhenaten.
06:31He pushed to have a city
06:33completed in just five years,
06:35an extreme pace
06:36that was only achievable
06:37on the backs of enslaved laborers.
06:39In other words,
06:40consistent with the profile
06:41of the Amarna individuals.
06:42As with the Fayum site,
06:44the bodies at Amarna
06:45were stacked closely together
06:47with little ceremony.
06:48There were very few grave goods
06:50and most of them
06:51were simply wrapped
06:52or bagged
06:53in a rough mat-like material.
06:56The origin of the bodies
06:57at Amarna
06:58was almost certainly
06:58the city itself.
07:00And while the cemetery
07:01at Fayum
07:02is relatively isolated,
07:04there were two pyramids nearby,
07:06the Midoum
07:07and the Selah.
07:09I mean,
07:09the Selah was less
07:10than a mile from there,
07:11so maybe the Fayum burial site
07:13was the final resting place
07:15for workers
07:15who built the pyramids.
07:18There is still
07:19an element of mystery
07:20surrounding the creation
07:21of Egypt's pyramids,
07:22but even a conservative estimate
07:24puts the workforce
07:25in the tens of thousands.
07:28It's believed
07:28the backbreaking work
07:29was performed
07:30mostly by worked gangs
07:31and agricultural laborers
07:33and not by enslaved workers
07:34as is often portrayed.
07:36To get the job done,
07:37massive blocks of limestone
07:38were quarried
07:39and ferried
07:40close to the site
07:41on barges
07:41along the Nile River.
07:43From there,
07:43it was a matter
07:44of transporting
07:44the blocks up
07:45and onto the pyramid base
07:46using ramps,
07:48ropes,
07:48and pulleys.
07:50Not much is known
07:51about the daily life
07:52of the pyramid builders,
07:54but there are records
07:54of some workers' graves
07:56found near existing pyramids.
07:58Analysis of their bones
07:59and teeth
08:00suggests that
08:01they were well-fed
08:02and may have even received
08:03medical care
08:04for injuries.
08:05While the idea
08:07of the Fayum cemetery
08:08being filled
08:09with the remains
08:09of local pyramid builders
08:11is an intriguing one,
08:13the math doesn't work out.
08:14The Thela and Meidun pyramids
08:16were built
08:16in Egypt's fourth dynasty,
08:18which was just over
08:192,000 years
08:20before the Roman
08:21and Byzantine era.
08:23Such a huge number
08:24of bodies
08:25had to come from somewhere.
08:26The nearest big city
08:28is Cairo,
08:29or Memphis,
08:29as it was called back then,
08:30but that's more
08:31than 40 miles away.
08:33So is it possible
08:34another ancient town
08:36or city existed
08:372,000 years ago
08:38closer to where
08:39the cemetery is now?
08:51A deep dive
08:52into the Fayum historical records
08:54reveals a potential clue.
08:56As it turns out,
08:57there were a few villages
08:58between the eastern edge
08:59of the Fayum basin
09:00and the Nile River.
09:02As soon as the Egyptians
09:03figured out it was possible
09:04to divert the Nile's freshwater
09:06to the west
09:06with a series of canals,
09:08populations began
09:09to thrive in the desert.
09:12The villages of Tanis and Sela
09:14were established
09:14close to the main road
09:16that connected the Nile
09:17and the Fayum basin,
09:18which became
09:18an important trade route.
09:20So not only did merchants
09:21and tradespeople
09:22travel from all over
09:23these villages,
09:24but they stayed there
09:25and raised families.
09:27What evolved over time
09:29was a population
09:30of ethnically diverse individuals,
09:32all living in the same location,
09:34evidently in harmony.
09:36So if the Fayum mummies
09:37as a group
09:38were discovered
09:39to have a diverse
09:39genetic makeup,
09:40that would strongly suggest
09:42that they were from
09:43one of the local villages.
09:45Samples of teeth,
09:46bone, and hair
09:47are collected
09:48from the mummies
09:48for analysis.
09:5037 burials were selected
09:51from across the entire cemetery
09:53to best represent
09:55a cross-section
09:55of the population.
09:56The first observation
09:58and the most striking
09:59was connected
10:00to hair color.
10:02Of the 37 samples,
10:04five had dark brown
10:06or black hair,
10:0712 had light
10:08or medium brown hair,
10:1016 were blonde,
10:12and four had red hair.
10:15That's pretty strong evidence
10:17that we've got
10:17substantial ethnic diversity.
10:20But here's the kicker.
10:21The bodies with the same
10:22colored hair
10:23get buried together.
10:25So in other words,
10:26mummies with blonde hair
10:27were discovered
10:28clustered in the same place
10:29and so on.
10:32There are several
10:33possible explanations
10:33for this.
10:35It might be that
10:35members of the same
10:36ethnic group
10:36were buried together
10:37as an organizing principle
10:39of the cemetery.
10:40It's also possible
10:41they were all members
10:42of the same family.
10:44But continued work
10:45on the site
10:45leads to further revelations.
10:47Many of the graves
10:48were essentially pits
10:50and they were both
10:50narrow and deep.
10:52As a cross-section,
10:53they resembled
10:54an elevator shaft
10:55with mummies
10:56stacked on top
10:56of one another.
10:58Strangely,
10:59the heads
10:59of the older mummies,
11:01those on the lower half,
11:02were facing west
11:03and the more recently
11:04deceased mummies' heads
11:05were facing east.
11:07Given the timeline,
11:08it may be
11:09that the 180-degree shift
11:11was due to the spread
11:12of Christianity
11:12through Egypt.
11:14According to
11:14Christian scripture,
11:16Jesus was to return
11:17from the east,
11:18so the bodies
11:19might have been reoriented
11:20to prepare for his arrival.
11:23This was backed up
11:24by symbols of the cross
11:25found woven
11:26into many of the mummies'
11:27tunics and shrouds.
11:30While the true origin
11:32of the thousands
11:33of mummies
11:33remains a mystery,
11:35each discovery,
11:36no matter how small,
11:37is a potential clue
11:38for unlocking the secret.
11:40The Fayum Cemetery
11:41represents a compelling
11:43snapshot of ancient Egypt
11:45and a rare glimpse
11:46into the lives
11:47and deaths
11:47of those who lived there.
11:59The peaceful
12:00and picturesque
12:01commune of Marlien
12:02lies near the heart
12:03of France's
12:04Côte d'Or district,
12:05just 12 miles east
12:07of Dijon.
12:09Marlien is a mostly
12:10rural township
12:11made up of rolling hills
12:13and patchwork fields.
12:14While there is
12:15agricultural activity,
12:16including the famous
12:17Côte d'Or vineyards,
12:19the farming is limited
12:20by the arid conditions.
12:22Marlien gets a lot
12:24of sunshine,
12:251900 hours per year.
12:27And the land
12:28can get extremely dry
12:29in the spring
12:29and summer months,
12:31which turns the soil
12:32into loose sand.
12:34As with most
12:35of Western Europe,
12:36France later fell
12:37to the expanding
12:38Roman Empire
12:38in the 2nd century BC.
12:41Known as Gaul
12:42at the time,
12:43France was under
12:44Roman occupation
12:44until the 5th century 80.
12:47Dijon was originally
12:48a Roman settlement
12:49called Divio,
12:50as it was located
12:51on the main road
12:52dividing the route
12:53to Paris
12:54and the route
12:54to Lyon.
12:56Archaeologists
12:57are surveying
12:58the construction site
12:59of a future gravel pit
13:00when they uncover
13:01something unusual.
13:02Just below the surface,
13:05there was what appeared
13:07to be a mysterious shape.
13:09And after brushing aside
13:10a section
13:11of the surrounding sand,
13:13an unusual structure emerged,
13:16made from raised
13:17and densely packed earth
13:19measuring at least
13:2050 feet across.
13:23After more of the sand
13:24was cleared away,
13:25it was possible
13:25to get a visual
13:26on the entire structure.
13:28From above,
13:29it forms the shape
13:30of a massive bowtie.
13:33The middle section
13:35is a circle
13:35of raised earth
13:36measuring 36 feet
13:38in diameter.
13:39On either side
13:40of the circle,
13:41two curved lines
13:42form a horseshoe shape
13:43about 25 feet across.
13:46One of the horseshoes
13:47is a complete enclosure,
13:49but the other
13:49is broken up
13:50by a series of gaps
13:51or dashes.
13:52A survey
13:54of the surrounding areas
13:56conducted the search
13:57for possible clues
13:58connected to the
13:59bowtie formation.
14:01An area
14:02of roughly 15 acres
14:04was cordoned off
14:05and within this,
14:06three different sample
14:08excavation sites
14:09were laid out.
14:10The first site
14:11was located
14:12about 1,300 feet
14:14from the initial discovery.
14:16A grave site
14:17was discovered
14:18just below the surface.
14:19The grave site
14:21or necropolis
14:22contained six
14:24ceramic cremation urns
14:25that were dated
14:26to the first Iron Age,
14:28the period
14:28from roughly
14:29800 BCE
14:30to 100 CE.
14:32Each of the urns
14:33was covered
14:33by a lid
14:34and inside
14:35there was evidence
14:36of cremated bone remains
14:38within the ash.
14:40Some of the bone deposits
14:41were accompanied
14:42by rings and bracelets
14:43made from copper alloy
14:45and iron.
14:46The addition
14:47of these ceremonial items
14:48was consistent
14:49with other
14:50Iron Age burial sites
14:51discovered in France.
14:53But does that mean
14:54the mysterious
14:54horseshoe structure
14:55is an Iron Age creation?
14:59Also in the
15:00Cote d'Or district,
15:01a burial mound
15:02near the village of V
15:03was discovered
15:04to contain human remains
15:05along with a wealth
15:07of funeral adornments.
15:09The burial took place
15:10around 500 BCE
15:12and although most
15:13of the organic matter
15:14had decomposed,
15:16the sex of the deceased
15:17was believed to be female
15:18based on the jewelry
15:20found at the site
15:21as well as the lack
15:22of weapons.
15:23The body had been placed
15:25in a square chamber
15:26measuring almost
15:27100 square feet.
15:29Along with it,
15:29there was a small treasure
15:30that included
15:31a 24-carat gold necklace,
15:33a bronze anklet,
15:35and several imported artifacts
15:36from Greece and Italy.
15:39Based on this,
15:40it was assumed
15:40the deceased
15:41was a woman
15:41of high social status.
15:43The grave site
15:45is a perfect symbol
15:46of the Iron Age
15:47as a period
15:47of great change,
15:48especially the development
15:50of social hierarchies
15:51and a class system.
15:53Many of the aristocracy
15:54rose to the top
15:55thanks to the growing
15:56importance
15:57of the iron trade.
15:59But while the burial
16:01trinkets discovered
16:02in the first excavation site
16:04at Marley Inns
16:05were dated
16:06to the Iron Age,
16:07there's still nothing
16:09from the bow tie structure
16:10that bears any
16:11of the Iron Age
16:13design hallmarks.
16:14The researchers
16:15focused their efforts
16:16on the second excavation site
16:18with surprising results.
16:21The second site
16:22was only 1,300 feet
16:23from the first one,
16:25and it was also revealed
16:26to be a necropolis.
16:28When the surface
16:28of the second site's
16:29layer of sand
16:30was cleared,
16:31five large circular enclosures
16:33were discovered
16:34encased in the earth.
16:36One of them was open,
16:37and four of them
16:38were covered with lids.
16:39But all of them
16:41contained human remains.
16:42The open one,
16:43which was also
16:44the largest one
16:45at 75 feet across,
16:47contained a funeral pyre inside.
16:50Several ceramic shards
16:52were recovered
16:53from inside the containers,
16:55as well as five
16:56copper alloy pins
16:57and a necklace
16:58made of amber beads,
17:00which were found
17:00just outside
17:01the open container.
17:03Carbon dating analysis
17:04puts all the collected evidence
17:06somewhere between
17:07in 1500 and 1300 BCE,
17:10which corresponds
17:11to the Bronze Age.
17:13Clearly, there's something
17:14about this small patch of land
17:16that holds incredible significance
17:17for it to be
17:18a dedicated burial ground,
17:20not just once,
17:21but by two different civilizations
17:23who lived
17:24a thousand years apart.
17:25It's definitely possible
17:27that this bow tie structure
17:29could also be connected
17:30to a burial rite
17:31of some kind.
17:33But whose?
17:33And from what era?
17:42As the team works
17:45on their third
17:46and final excavation site
17:48of Marleyan,
17:49the area immediately
17:50surrounding the bow tie,
17:52more surprises are unearthed.
17:54Several artifacts
17:56were collected
17:57from below the surface,
17:59including several
18:01cut flint artifacts,
18:02a copper alloy dagger,
18:04and a pair of armbands
18:06that were likely
18:07worn by an archer.
18:09One of the armbands
18:10was discovered
18:11to have residues
18:13of iron oxide
18:14corresponding
18:15to a substance
18:16called pyrite,
18:17an ingredient
18:18for igniting fire.
18:20So, in one relatively
18:22contained space,
18:24there were several weapons,
18:25which may or may not
18:27have been used
18:28as weapons,
18:28since they might simply
18:30have been ceremonial.
18:32Plus, the tools
18:34of fire making,
18:35possibly for a funeral pyre.
18:38Adding it up,
18:39all signs point
18:40to the remains
18:41of an ancient grave site
18:43or necropolis.
18:45But the real surprise
18:46was that the cut flint artifacts
18:48were identified
18:49as having been created
18:50in the Neolithic period,
18:52which began
18:539,000 years ago.
18:55Is it possible
18:57that the origins
18:57of the bowtie structure
18:59go back as far
19:00as the 8th
19:01or 7th millennium BCE?
19:04Several regions
19:05of France
19:05are home
19:06to Neolithic monuments,
19:07such as the stone
19:08megaliths of Brittany
19:09and Auvergne.
19:11Whether they formed
19:12a circle,
19:13a large chamber,
19:14or were simply placed
19:15upright along the landscape,
19:16the purpose
19:17and construction
19:18of these enormous
19:19stone structures
19:21is still a topic
19:22of great debate.
19:23The most famous,
19:24of course,
19:25is the Stonehenge monument
19:26on England's
19:27Salisbury Plain.
19:30Stonehenge
19:30and circular Neolithic
19:31structures like it
19:33are believed
19:33to be inspired
19:34by shapes in nature,
19:35such as the sun
19:36and the moon.
19:37The passing
19:38of the seasons
19:39and the almost
19:40godlike appearance
19:41of the sun
19:41may have been central
19:43to the religious beliefs
19:44of the Neolithic people.
19:45Although the true purpose
19:48of Stonehenge
19:49is still open
19:50to interpretation,
19:51there's no doubt
19:52about the precision
19:54of its layout
19:55and design,
19:56which is impressive,
19:57even by today's standards.
20:00Stonehenge functions
20:01as an ancient calendar,
20:03tracking the position
20:04of the sun
20:05and the stars
20:06throughout the year.
20:08Looking at the overall design
20:10of the bow tie structure,
20:12it's possible
20:13that the central circle
20:14and curving horseshoe pattern
20:16had a similar significance
20:18for the prehistoric people
20:19who created it.
20:21But at this point,
20:22we just don't know.
20:24Exploration and analysis
20:26of the bow tie site
20:27is ongoing
20:28as researchers continue
20:29to uncover new clues.
20:31But one thing
20:32is for certain.
20:33As a burial ground
20:34for at least two
20:35and possibly three
20:36different groups
20:37living hundreds
20:38to thousands
20:39of years apart,
20:40the monument
20:40in Marley-Anne
20:41is a remarkable testament
20:43to what was once
20:44ancient hallowed ground.
20:55The Endis River
20:56is one of the longest
20:57in the world,
20:58flowing over 2,000 miles
21:00through Tibet,
21:01India,
21:02Kashmir,
21:03and Pakistan.
21:04This powerful current
21:06begins in the tallest peaks
21:07of the Himalayan mountains
21:09before plunging
21:10into one of the driest
21:11valleys on Earth.
21:13The Endis River Valley
21:15is one of the most
21:16inhospitable places
21:17in the world.
21:18The temperatures alone
21:19make it incredibly difficult
21:21for any living thing
21:22to survive here,
21:23ranging from near freezing
21:25in the winter
21:25to over 110 degrees
21:27Fahrenheit in summer.
21:30It's not surprising
21:31that the desert itself
21:32is virtually uninhabited.
21:33only very small
21:34human settlements
21:35can survive here
21:36under the extreme
21:37desert conditions.
21:38But this wasn't
21:39always the case.
21:41In the arid plains
21:43stretching out
21:44from the Endis Riverbanks,
21:46archaeologists
21:46are excavating
21:47a cluster of strange
21:49mounds rising
21:50from the desert floor
21:51when they make
21:52a surprising discovery.
21:55They uncover dozens
21:56of unusual wax seals,
21:58each one remarkably
22:00well-crafted
22:01and adorned
22:01and adorned
22:01with intricate carvings
22:03of animals.
22:04Cows, buffalo, tigers,
22:07some of them
22:07even depict
22:08mythical creatures,
22:09including what looks
22:10an awful lot
22:11like a unicorn.
22:12To an untrained eye,
22:14they might seem
22:15purely ornamental,
22:17but they aren't
22:18just pictures.
22:19They're part
22:20of an ancient language.
22:23They sort of look
22:24like Sumerian,
22:25a pictorial language
22:26that used images
22:27to represent words
22:29or phrases,
22:30which dates back
22:30to just over 5,000 years
22:32for the people
22:33of ancient Mesopotamia.
22:35But they lived
22:36hundreds of miles
22:37from the Endis River
22:37in modern-day Iraq.
22:39So what are these seals
22:40doing here?
22:50Archaeologists working
22:50at the site
22:51from the Endis Riverbanks
22:52continue to dig
22:54and soon make
22:55a disturbing discovery.
22:57They begin turning up
22:58dozens of human skeletons.
23:01Many of these bodies
23:02were found in groups,
23:03almost as though
23:04they'd been buried
23:04in mass graves.
23:06Others were eerily
23:07disarticulated,
23:08with many of their bones
23:09simply missing.
23:11In total,
23:12they find the remains
23:12of more than 30 skeletons.
23:14And unlike organized burials,
23:16where all the bodies
23:17are laid down
23:18in these deliberate poses
23:19and look like they're sleeping
23:20or something,
23:21most of these bodies
23:22are twisted
23:23into these contorted positions.
23:26At first glance,
23:27it might seem as though
23:28these people died violently,
23:30but that might not
23:31be the whole story.
23:33Over the years,
23:34shifting desert sands
23:35may have disturbed
23:37the remains,
23:38causing the skeletons
23:39to move
23:40and settle
23:40in unnatural positions.
23:43Considering the sheer
23:44number of bodies,
23:45this site could very well
23:47be a long-forgotten cemetery.
23:49If so,
23:49it's possible
23:50that an ancient civilization
23:51once stood nearby.
23:54But who were these people?
23:55And when did they live here?
23:57As the excavation continues,
23:59the team unearths
24:00a series of items
24:01that offer tantalizing clues.
24:04They discovered
24:05a metal statue
24:05of a woman
24:06dubbed the Dancing Girl.
24:08She's small,
24:09standing roughly
24:09four inches tall
24:10and made with
24:11breathtaking detail.
24:12Her arms and legs
24:13are exaggeratedly long,
24:15and a total of 28 bangles
24:16have been individually sculpted
24:18onto her body.
24:20Other copper objects
24:21recovered from the site
24:22are more practical.
24:23Things like axes,
24:24knives,
24:25arrowheads,
24:26and vessels,
24:27like bowls,
24:28made out of hammered metal.
24:30Analysis shows
24:31that many of these artifacts
24:33were made
24:34by combining tin
24:35and copper
24:36to create bronze.
24:38Some even contain
24:39traces of arsenic,
24:41which is known
24:42to harden bronze
24:43and make it
24:44even more durable.
24:46Taken together,
24:47the seals,
24:48the human remains,
24:49and these bronze objects,
24:51it's possible
24:52we're looking at
24:53a settlement
24:54from the Bronze Age,
24:55which would date
24:56the site
24:57to between
24:57roughly 3300
24:59and 1200 BCE.
25:02As the excavations
25:03of this site,
25:04now known
25:05as Mohenjo-Daro,
25:06expand dramatically,
25:08the team makes
25:08an astounding breakthrough.
25:10They unearthed
25:11the ruins
25:12of an entire city,
25:14lost for thousands
25:15of years.
25:16The scale
25:16is remarkable,
25:18spanning over
25:18250 acres of land.
25:21Not only is it enormous,
25:23it's also meticulously
25:24engineered,
25:26with the buildings
25:26laid out
25:27in a grid system,
25:28just like we see
25:29in modern cities.
25:31The city is divided
25:32into two halves,
25:34with the western side
25:35comprising larger buildings,
25:36and the eastern side
25:37believed to have housed
25:38many of the city's residents,
25:39based on the size
25:40of these ancient foundations,
25:42we can estimate
25:42that up to 40,000
25:44people lived here,
25:45which would make it
25:46one of the largest cities
25:47in the world
25:48at that time.
25:50400 miles northeast
25:51of Mohenjo-Daro,
25:53archaeologists
25:53had uncovered
25:54the remains
25:55of a second ancient city,
25:57known today
25:57as Harappa.
25:59Despite the distance
26:00between the two settlements,
26:02they share several
26:03striking features.
26:05Harappa's design
26:06and construction
26:07mirror those
26:08of Mohenjo-Daro.
26:09Both cities
26:10follow a grid-like layout.
26:12They have buildings
26:12made from bricks,
26:14they have advanced infrastructure,
26:16like an elaborate
26:16sewer system,
26:18and they have washing platforms
26:19in virtually every home.
26:22The artifacts
26:23discovered here
26:24also bear
26:25a clear resemblance
26:27to those found
26:28at Mohenjo-Daro.
26:30Among them
26:31is a statue
26:32known as
26:32The Other Dancing Girl,
26:35depicting a woman
26:36in a pose
26:36remarkably similar
26:38to what was found
26:39at Mohenjo-Daro.
26:41Bronze tools
26:42and weapons
26:43were also recovered,
26:45crafted using
26:45the same technique
26:47seen in Mohenjo-Daro,
26:48suggesting
26:49a strong cultural connection
26:51between the two sites.
26:54Excavations
26:55also revealed
26:56more wax seals
26:57made of soapstone.
26:58They show similar
26:59etchings
27:00and animal figures
27:01as the ones
27:02from Mohenjo-Daro,
27:04meaning that
27:04these two cities
27:05communicated
27:06using the same language.
27:09The civilization
27:10discovered at Harappa
27:11was a previously
27:11unknown one,
27:13and while we don't know
27:14what these people
27:14called themselves,
27:15they were dubbed
27:15the Indus Valley
27:16civilization.
27:19Based on the similarities
27:20between Harappa
27:21and Mohenjo-Daro,
27:22it's safe to say
27:23that the two cities
27:24were connected
27:24and that Mohenjo-Daro
27:25was also a part
27:26of the Indus Valley
27:27civilization.
27:28While Harappa
27:29and Mohenjo-Daro
27:30may be the largest
27:31cities left behind
27:33by the Indus Valley
27:34civilization,
27:35they are far
27:36from the only ones.
27:37Over the last century,
27:38more than 1,500
27:39settlements have been
27:40discovered,
27:40scattered all across
27:41modern-day Afghanistan,
27:43Pakistan,
27:44and India.
27:45That is larger
27:46than ancient Egypt
27:47and ancient Mesopotamia
27:49combined.
27:51At its height,
27:53it's thought
27:53the Indus Valley
27:54civilization
27:55had a population
27:56of more than
27:575 million people,
27:59but over the span
28:00of just two centuries,
28:03a culture that thrived
28:05for hundreds of years
28:06basically disappeared.
28:09So how could a civilization
28:11that spanned
28:13such a vast region
28:14contained such advanced cities
28:18and was inhabited
28:19by millions of people
28:21just disappear?
28:24During the late Bronze Age,
28:35the shores
28:36of the Mediterranean
28:37were terrorized
28:38by a ruthless confederacy
28:40of fighters
28:40known today
28:41as the Sea People.
28:46We don't know much
28:47about who the Sea People were,
28:49but we do know
28:50they did not back down
28:51from a fight.
28:52And almost everything
28:53we do know
28:54comes from ancient
28:55Egyptian writings
28:56where early historians
28:57recorded several
28:58violent clashes.
29:00The Egyptians
29:01told of a people
29:02who came from the sea
29:04in their warships
29:04and none could stand
29:06against them.
29:07These fearsome fighters
29:08repeatedly attacked
29:09ancient Egypt
29:10with devastating consequences.
29:12One inscription
29:13from the reign
29:14of Pharaoh Merneptah
29:15recounts an epic battle
29:16where Egyptian archers,
29:17charioteers,
29:18and infantrymen
29:19reportedly killed
29:20over 6,000 Sea People.
29:23The Sea People
29:23may have been trying
29:24to establish settlements
29:25on land.
29:26One hypothesis
29:27is that they went up
29:28the Indus River
29:29to the banks
29:29of Mohenjo-Daro
29:30and then wiped
29:32that city out.
29:33And once that city
29:34was conquered,
29:34the rest of the Indus Valley
29:36civilization
29:37may have fallen
29:37like dominoes.
29:40The collapse
29:41of the civilization
29:42coincides
29:43with the rise
29:44of another
29:45powerful nomadic people
29:47known as
29:48the Aryans,
29:50an Indo-Iranian people
29:52who began
29:52to expand
29:53into the Indus Valley
29:54and the Genghis land
29:56around 1800 BCE,
30:00right when
30:01the Indus Valley
30:02civilization
30:03started to disappear.
30:06One theory suggests
30:07that the Aryans
30:08arrived so fast
30:09and in such great numbers
30:11that they overwhelmed
30:12many of the Indus
30:13Valley settlements
30:14including the larger cities.
30:17But despite
30:18multiple threats
30:19from invading forces,
30:21the theory
30:21that a violent war
30:22caused the downfall
30:23of the Indus Valley
30:23civilization
30:24is missing a major
30:25piece of the puzzle.
30:26Neither Mohenjo-Daro
30:27nor Harappa
30:28show any evidence
30:29of military fortifications
30:30nor are there
30:31any depictions
30:32of war or conquest
30:33in their artwork.
30:36Determined to find
30:37the reason
30:37for the civilization's
30:39collapse,
30:39a team of intrepid
30:40researchers ventures
30:42into the Himalayan
30:43Mountains
30:43to the Dharamjali cave.
30:46Rock formations
30:47like caves
30:48are incredible
30:50sources of information.
30:52Over the course
30:52of thousands of years,
30:54water flowing
30:55into the caves
30:56carries debris
30:57from the ground above.
30:59This debris
31:00or sediment
31:01then becomes
31:02compressed
31:03into rock.
31:05By looking
31:06at these sedimentary
31:07rock structures,
31:08we can reverse
31:10engineer
31:10entire environments
31:12that no longer
31:13exist.
31:14In this case,
31:15the study focused
31:16on a single stalagmite,
31:18roughly 10 inches long,
31:20located at the back
31:20of the cave.
31:22They were able
31:23to reconstruct
31:24Western India's
31:25rainfall patterns,
31:26stretching back
31:27thousands of years,
31:28using trace elements,
31:29along with oxygen,
31:31carbon,
31:31and calcium isotopes
31:33trapped inside
31:34the stalagmite.
31:35The analysis
31:36revealed that
31:37around 2200 BCE,
31:38the intensity
31:39of summer monsoons
31:40in the Indus River Valley
31:41began to decrease.
31:43As the monsoon
31:43pattern shifted,
31:44droughts grew
31:45longer and longer.
31:47These droughts
31:47lasted anywhere
31:48between 25
31:49and 90 years
31:51and continued
31:51for nearly two centuries.
31:54The change in climate
31:55made large cities
31:55like Mohenjo-Daro
31:56and Harappa
31:57completely unsustainable.
31:59Residents basically
32:00had to choose
32:01between migrating
32:02or starving,
32:03and that's not a very
32:04hard choice
32:04to pick between.
32:05As the cities dried up,
32:07populations were forced
32:07to move to the foothills
32:08of the mountains,
32:10and so they had to set up
32:10smaller but more
32:11sustainable communities
32:13that could rely
32:13on fewer crops.
32:15While we can't say
32:17with total certainty
32:18that climate change
32:19brought down
32:20the Indus Valley
32:21civilization,
32:22it certainly seems
32:23the most plausible
32:24explanation to date.
32:27Today,
32:27the collapse
32:28of the Indus Valley
32:29people acts
32:30as a haunting reminder
32:31that even the most
32:32powerful civilizations
32:33in the world
32:34are not immune
32:35to Mother Nature's whims,
32:37and the effects
32:37of a changing environment
32:39can have devastating
32:40consequences.
32:51In South Wales,
32:53just west of Cardiff,
32:54the yellow and gray cliffs
32:56of the Vale of Glamorgan
32:57run more than 30 miles
32:59along the coast
33:00of the Bristol Channel.
33:01The Vale,
33:02as it's known,
33:03is part of the
33:04Glamorgan Heritage Coast,
33:06renowned for its stunning
33:07coastline and sandy beaches.
33:09One of the most popular
33:10beaches is nestled
33:11into a curve
33:12called Dunraven Bay.
33:14The cooler ocean
33:15temperatures ensure
33:16that only the brave
33:17and hardy
33:18will attempt to swim
33:19in the bay,
33:20but the surrounding cliffs
33:21offer a spectacular view
33:23for hikers.
33:23The living history
33:26of the Vale
33:26goes back as far
33:27as the Stone Age,
33:28when the area
33:29was used
33:30as a fortified
33:30trading post.
33:32During the Roman Empire,
33:33its strategic location
33:35led the Roman army
33:36to build a second fortress,
33:37and this was transformed
33:38over the years
33:39and used as a convalescent
33:41hospital during both
33:42world wars.
33:44Thanks to the bay's geology,
33:45a lot of that history
33:46just keeps offering
33:47itself up.
33:48The stratified,
33:49eroding cliffs
33:50and constantly
33:51shifting sands
33:52continually kick up
33:54hidden treasures
33:54from the past,
33:55and every item
33:56that gets recovered
33:57offers this glimpse
33:58into the lives
33:59of the people
34:00who lived here before,
34:01and in some cases,
34:02thousands of years before.
34:05A local resident
34:06is walking along the beach
34:07when he makes
34:08a startling discovery.
34:10The man was strolling
34:11with his seven-year-old son
34:12and dog
34:13when they spotted
34:13three bones in the sand,
34:15a small circular one
34:16and two larger bones.
34:18At first,
34:19they assumed the bones
34:19were from an animal,
34:20but they took them home
34:21to have a closer look,
34:23and after further examination,
34:24the family realized
34:25they might be human.
34:29Or,
34:30there's a third possibility, too.
34:31Maybe it's not an animal bone
34:33or a human bone,
34:34but a fossil.
34:35After all,
34:36dinosaurs did live here
34:37millions of years ago.
34:38There have been
34:39many discoveries
34:40along the Welsh coast
34:41that led to direct proof
34:43of dinosaur activity.
34:45The red siltstone rock
34:46at Lavernock Point,
34:48between Cardiff
34:48and the town of Barrie,
34:49was known to contain
34:50many prehistoric fossils.
34:52On one occasion,
34:53a young girl spotted
34:54five giant footprints
34:55in the rock surface,
34:56each spaced about
34:5730 inches apart.
34:59The National Museum of Wales
35:01confirmed the footprints
35:02belonged to a herbivore
35:04from the late Triassic period
35:05called the Camelodia.
35:07It was known for its long body
35:09and small head,
35:10and it likely stood
35:11only 10 feet tall
35:12and 16 feet long.
35:13And close to Cardiff,
35:16two brothers discovered
35:18the skull, teeth, claws,
35:20and foot bones
35:21of a small dinosaur
35:22embedded right in a cliff face.
35:25They turned out
35:25to have discovered
35:26the remains of a Draco raptor,
35:28or a dragon thief,
35:30a small meat-eating species
35:32that likely lived
35:33on a nearby island
35:34200 million years ago,
35:36but whose remains
35:37washed onto the shore.
35:39Given the concentration
35:41of dinosaurs in this region,
35:43it's entirely possible
35:44that the Dunraven bones
35:45could be dinosaurs,
35:46but judging by their size
35:48and judging by the shape,
35:50they look an awful lot more
35:51like their human leg bones.
35:53So now the question is,
35:55whose?
35:56And from how long ago?
36:06Throughout its history,
36:07the Bristol Channel
36:09has served as a trade route
36:10for merchant ships.
36:12The area was particularly busy
36:13in the 16th and 17th centuries
36:15as vessels from all over
36:17would pass in and out
36:18of the channel's estuary.
36:20But the Bristol Channel
36:22was also known
36:23for having an extremely high
36:24and low tide range,
36:26up to 45 feet.
36:28Combined with the rough
36:29Atlantic waters,
36:30this made for dangerous
36:31sailing conditions
36:32and resulted in many shipwrecks
36:34and many deaths set to sea.
36:37The prevailing winds and currents
36:40would push the debris
36:41from the wrecks
36:41right up to the Welsh shoreline,
36:43including the bodies
36:45of dead sailors.
36:46So in the days that followed,
36:48the local community
36:48would give those sailors
36:50a proper burial,
36:51either in existing cemeteries
36:53or occasionally
36:54in newly created ones
36:56dedicated specifically
36:57to the victims
36:58of the shipwrecks.
36:59One of the more recent
37:01discoveries took place
37:03at Monknash,
37:04less than five miles
37:05from Dunraven Bay.
37:07Monknash has this beautiful beach
37:09with this dramatic cliff
37:10for a backdrop.
37:12This one day
37:12when there were really high tides
37:14and especially strong winter winds,
37:17a big chunk of that cliffside
37:18got eroded
37:19and that left these human
37:21skeletal remains
37:22sticking out.
37:24I mean, you could see them
37:25from the beach.
37:26The cliff made it
37:27extra challenging
37:28to reach the bodies
37:28and attempt any kind
37:29of excavation.
37:31And to make matters worse,
37:32the loose, sandy earth
37:33gave way easily.
37:35The excavation took
37:36eight days to complete
37:37and by the time
37:37it was finished,
37:38the remains of six
37:39different individuals
37:40were identified.
37:44Bioarcheological analysis
37:45placed the remains
37:46as dating from the late 16th
37:48or early 17th century.
37:50Historical records show
37:52that the earliest burial license
37:53in the parish of Monknash
37:55was granted in 1609,
37:57which means these six individuals
37:59could easily have been
38:01buried together
38:01after a single event
38:03such as a shipwreck.
38:05If the Dunraven bones
38:06belonged to one of the many
38:07shipwrecked sailors
38:08from over the centuries,
38:10then their actual identity
38:11and country of origin
38:12would be difficult
38:13if not impossible to trace.
38:15But it's also possible
38:16that the bones
38:17have a more local connection.
38:19Behind the cliffs
38:20of Dunraven Bay
38:21lies the original site
38:23of Dunraven Castle,
38:24a fortress
38:25with ghostly sightings
38:26and origins
38:28going back millennia.
38:30Dunraven Castle
38:31was built from 1802
38:32to 1806
38:33for a Glamorgan
38:34member of parliament
38:35named Thomas Wyndham.
38:37Wyndham
38:37and his descendants
38:38frequently hosted
38:39dignitaries
38:40and diplomats
38:41in the castle's
38:42great halls
38:43and they used to throw
38:44these big annual balls
38:45for the Conservative Party.
38:47But long before that,
38:49the castle grounds
38:50were the site
38:50of an Iron Age fortress.
38:52Some of the defensive
38:53ditches and banks
38:54remained for centuries,
38:56but most were destroyed
38:57by coastal erosion.
38:59Over the years,
38:59that same erosion
39:00led to the discovery
39:01of ancient human burials.
39:04Before it was ultimately
39:05demolished in 1962,
39:08Dunraven Castle
39:08was used as a Red Cross
39:10hospital in both world wars.
39:12It's unlikely
39:13that the patients
39:14who died in the hospital
39:15were buried on site,
39:17but hospital staff
39:18and visitors
39:19all reported seeing
39:20the ghost of a woman
39:21dressed in blue
39:22at the castle.
39:23But while the story
39:25of the blue ghost
39:26certainly adds an element
39:27of spooky otherworldliness,
39:29there's another
39:30all-too-real story
39:31from the late Middle Ages
39:32that might solve the riddle,
39:34and it's the story
39:34of bloodshed.
39:36In 1400 AD,
39:38there was a Welsh-led rebellion
39:39against the King of England,
39:40Henry IV.
39:42The Welsh Revolt
39:43was the last major phase
39:45of Welsh independence
39:46before the annexation
39:47of Wales into England
39:48in 1542.
39:50It began
39:51when a Wayne Glendour,
39:53a descendant
39:53of several Welsh
39:54royal dynasties,
39:56declared himself
39:57the Prince of Wales.
39:59After many successful
40:01castle sieges
40:02and battlefield victories,
40:04Glendour was crowned prince
40:05in the presence
40:06of Scottish, French,
40:07Spanish,
40:08and Breton envoys.
40:10He summoned
40:10a national parliament,
40:11reintroduced
40:12traditional Welsh laws,
40:14and established
40:14a Welsh church
40:15and two universities.
40:17But the British
40:18retaliated
40:19with another series
40:20of battles,
40:21including the Battle
40:22of Stalling Down,
40:23which took place
40:24on the Vale
40:25of Glamorgan.
40:26However,
40:27it didn't end well
40:28for the Brits.
40:29After an 18-hour fight,
40:31the Glendour-led
40:32Welsh army,
40:33along with the allied
40:34French army,
40:35decimated the English,
40:36who retreated
40:37through Cardiff.
40:39Given the reputed
40:40death toll
40:41of this battle,
40:42is it possible
40:43that the Dunraven bones
40:44belonged to one
40:45of the fallen soldiers?
40:47Evidence found
40:48in a local village
40:49supports that theory.
40:50Just three miles
40:51from the battle site,
40:52a church in the town
40:53of Clan Blethion
40:54was found to have
40:55an oak plank
40:56on the floor,
40:57which covered
40:57a hidden passageway.
40:58So when that plank
40:59was lifted,
41:01it revealed
41:01this stone stairway
41:03leading to a crypt.
41:05It wasn't very big,
41:06it was just 17 feet
41:07by 15 feet,
41:08but it held the bodies
41:10of more than 300 men,
41:13none of which
41:14had coffins.
41:17Stalling down
41:17was the only battle
41:18known to have taken place
41:19in the vicinity,
41:20so it was believed
41:21the bodies were
41:22all casualties of war.
41:24Once discovered,
41:25they were given
41:26a proper burial
41:26in the church graveyard,
41:28which was only six miles
41:29from Dunraven.
41:30With the amount
41:30of erosion to the coast
41:31over the past 200 years,
41:33it's definitely possible
41:34that some of those
41:35remains ended up
41:36at the beach.
41:37The investigation
41:38into the origins
41:39of the bones
41:40of Dunraven
41:41is ongoing
41:42and will no doubt
41:43add layers
41:44to Glen Morgan's
41:45rich history.
41:46Who knows
41:47what hidden secrets
41:48remain buried
41:49in the shifting sands
41:50of the coast of Wales.
Be the first to comment