- 2 hours ago
Τα Πιο Παράξενα Αντικείμενα (Strangest Things)
2021 | Επ. 02.10 | HD
Καταχωνιασμένα μέσα σε μουσεία, εργαστήρια και αποθήκες ανά την υφήλιο βρίσκονται τα πιο αξιοσημείωτα και μυστηριώδη αντικείμενα στον κόσμο. Σήμερα, αξιοποιώντας νέες έρευνες και τεχνολογικά μέσα, μπορούμε να τα μελετήσουμε πιο διεξοδικά από ποτέ.
Μήπως η παράξενη σκαλιστή πλάκα κρύβει μυστικά ενός χαμένου πολιτισμού; Θα μπορούσε μια μηχανή να μετρήσει την ομορφιά; Και μήπως ένας τρισδιάστατα τυπωμένος δίσκος προέρχεται από την αρχαία Αίγυπτο;
2021 | Επ. 02.10 | HD
Καταχωνιασμένα μέσα σε μουσεία, εργαστήρια και αποθήκες ανά την υφήλιο βρίσκονται τα πιο αξιοσημείωτα και μυστηριώδη αντικείμενα στον κόσμο. Σήμερα, αξιοποιώντας νέες έρευνες και τεχνολογικά μέσα, μπορούμε να τα μελετήσουμε πιο διεξοδικά από ποτέ.
Μήπως η παράξενη σκαλιστή πλάκα κρύβει μυστικά ενός χαμένου πολιτισμού; Θα μπορούσε μια μηχανή να μετρήσει την ομορφιά; Και μήπως ένας τρισδιάστατα τυπωμένος δίσκος προέρχεται από την αρχαία Αίγυπτο;
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03:51These strange symbols have also confounded experts.
03:56They look a bit like Egyptian hieroglyphs, they look a bit like Mayan writing, but in terms of the way
04:03that it's presented and in terms of the language, it actually appears to be something quite new, quite unique.
04:08The Mamari tablet contains more than a thousand carvings, using around 120 unique symbols, they depict various objects, fish, plants,
04:22local animals.
04:24This is one of the living, and they're all over the living, and they're all over the world.
04:26This is one of just 26 surviving glyph-covered wooden relics from Rapa Nui.
04:31How does this one end up in a Roman Catholic archive?
04:44The latest research suggests people first reach Rapa Nui between 1100 and 1300 A.D.
04:52What they find is a paradise.
04:57It was filled with trees that could be used to make rope and sap, that could be used to make
05:05sugar and wine, used as firewood, as building materials.
05:09There were ferns coating the ground, and they even had at least one large crater of fresh water.
05:16And archaeological evidence reveals they feast on porpoise, fish, and seabirds.
05:23The first settlers did really well for some time, and we know that because we have evidence that the population
05:29boomed to at least 7,000, at as much as 20,000 at its peak.
05:36The new arrivals sculpted the giant moai from volcanic rock, and they carved the mamari tablet out of Pacific rosewood.
05:45But Rapa Nui is a tiny island for such a large and growing population.
05:52So they are using up the trees at an alarming rate.
05:57And unfortunately, they managed to bring along with them rats who were prone to eat the seeds for the trees.
06:04And this is the perfect storm, and it did indeed result in complete deforestation of the island.
06:12Which accounts for the rough shape of the mamari tablet.
06:15Wood, by this time, was actually quite a rare substance.
06:19And so, any piece of it that you could get of this beautiful, shiny, Pacific rosewood, you would use, and
06:28use as it was, and certainly not be cutting off any bits or pieces.
06:32This rarity suggests the tablet is very important to the people who live here.
06:38The high value of the wood, it's almost the equivalent of writing on gold.
06:43When the first Europeans arrive on the island in 1722, they describe a grassland without a single tree or bush
06:51over three meters high.
06:53And experts believe their arrival likely signals the end for the Rapa Nui civilization.
07:00No more moai appear to have been built after the arrival of the Europeans.
07:05And that seems to correlate to the fact that the Europeans brought Christianity.
07:10They converted the islanders.
07:12And so, their previous practices and beliefs were considered idolatrous.
07:18Which explains why the mamari tablet is one of the few carved wooden objects that survives.
07:25The islanders convert to Christianity.
07:27Most of these tablets are burned.
07:30And the mamari tablet itself survives only by virtue of having been taken by a Roman Catholic missionary back to
07:37an archive in Europe.
07:40The mamari tablet could give us a unique insight into the lost civilization that made it.
07:47But is it even writing at all?
07:52How do we determine that something is writing?
07:55One of the things we look at is the way that the glyphs are placed.
07:59So, these don't look like a random comic strip.
08:01They're in clear lines, facing in clear directions, with clear repeated groupings.
08:09And the structure of these lines and groupings is very familiar to linguists.
08:15One thing we've been able to glean from these tablets is the way that the writing appears to be presented.
08:22And it appears to be what they would call reverse boustrophedon.
08:28In reverse boustrophedon, the first line is read.
08:32And then the tablet is rotated 180 degrees to read the next line that is effectively upside down and back
08:39to front.
08:47If so, this is the only known writing system in this part of the world until the 20th century.
08:54So, what does it say?
09:00Step one in decoding these symbols, known as rongo-rongo, is to figure out the writing system.
09:07There are two principal possibilities.
09:10Alphabets, like English, and logograms.
09:14Symbols that mean a whole word, like Chinese.
09:18Most alphabets have a relatively small number of symbols.
09:22Even one of the largest, Russian, has just 33.
09:25But the Mamari tablet contains up to 120 unique symbols.
09:30That's far too many for an alphabet.
09:33So, could it be a logogram?
09:37One of the problems with this being a logogram is that we only have 120 of these different symbols.
09:45And in something like Chinese, you have 20,000.
09:48So, we don't have enough for these to actually represent words.
09:53A third option is that rongo-rongo could be a syllabary, where glyphs represent syllables, such as do, re, mi.
10:02But there is a problem with this theory, too.
10:05Japanese katakana is a modern syllabary.
10:07It has 48 symbols.
10:09With as many as 120 symbols, rongo-rongo seems to have too many.
10:15So, more recent theories suggest it could be a hybrid.
10:19There's still a bit of a debate as to whether the glyphs represent an entire word,
10:24or whether or not they represent syllables.
10:27And at the moment, the prevailing theory seems to be possibly a bit of both.
10:32So, some of these pictograms could actually represent a word,
10:38while others could represent sounds and parts of words.
10:43But experts are increasingly confident that this really is writing.
10:49We're learning more and more about how rongo-rongo works.
10:53But this doesn't actually help us in terms of decoding or translating the language.
11:01Possibly because it may not be writing as we recognize it today.
11:08A number of scholars have suggested that the rongo-rongo is not a complete language,
11:15but rather a proto-language of sorts, a memodic set of symbols that would prompt memory
11:22as an individual told a story or performed a ritual.
11:27In the Rapa Nui language, the word rongo-rongo itself means to recite or chant.
11:33So, this idea does make sense.
11:37But that still doesn't help crack the Rapa Nui code.
11:40Could the individual symbols on the Mamari tablet provide answers?
11:49In the 1950s, a German epigrapher called Thomas Bartel
11:54made it his mission to decipher these tablets.
11:58Bartel travels the globe studying every tablet he can.
12:03And on the Mamari tablet, he spots something familiar.
12:08Many of the symbols on the Mamari tablet are really just completely mysterious.
12:14But there's one that's quite clear in representing a crescent moon.
12:19And what's more, it appears repeatedly.
12:22And this is very intriguing.
12:25Knowing the importance of lunar calendars in Polynesia,
12:29he starts thinking, could this possibly be a lunar calendar?
12:34In the 1990s, epigrapher Jacques Gui develops the idea further,
12:39suggesting one key symbol right in the middle
12:42corresponds to Rapa Nui's traditional mythology of the woman in the moon.
12:48And that another symbol on the tablet provides a further clue.
12:53When we have the lunar symbols, they're followed by a fish.
12:57As they come to the full moon, the fish is facing up.
13:02And then on the other side of the full moon, the fish is facing down.
13:06Gui suggests the upward fish represents a waxing moon
13:09and the downward fish a waning one.
13:12Most experts now accept that Bartel and Gui
13:15have cracked the code of this part of the tablet.
13:18It is a lunar calendar.
13:20But that's not enough on its own to decode Rongo Rongo.
13:25While we can get somewhere with the lunar calendar,
13:28the road of translation and figuring out the code kind of ends there.
13:33It doesn't help us further crack the code of the rest of the tablet.
13:38So we've kind of taken the tablet as far as we can go for this moment in time.
13:45Will we ever completely decipher the Rongo Rongo code?
13:50It's incredibly fascinating, but it's also something that's going to be very hard to crack.
13:56There's always hope that more materials and new scientific approaches
14:01will allow us to crack this code one day.
14:06For the time being at least,
14:08most of the secrets contained within these symbols remain a mystery.
14:19In a locked cabinet,
14:20under the bright lights of Hollywood's entertainment museum,
14:24sits a strange metal cage
14:27that looks like a torture device from the dark ages.
14:32Despite its appearance, however,
14:33it is not a medieval device.
14:36It's very modern, it's 20th century,
14:38and it's completely unrelated to torture.
14:42Now, using the latest technology,
14:44we've brought it out of the shadows
14:46and painstakingly reconstructed it.
14:51Adjustable metal screws
14:53and rotary gauges
14:55poke out of the frame.
14:58Measuring roughly 43 centimeters wide,
15:00and 38 centimeters high,
15:02it's designed to engulf a woman's head
15:04and lock it rigidly in place
15:06from the cranium to the neck
15:08and even the eyes.
15:11This really is one of the most bizarre inventions
15:14of Hollywood's golden age.
15:17Its purpose is to measure beauty.
15:21Who comes up with such a weird idea?
15:24Can you really quantify beauty?
15:26And how exactly is this bizarre contraption
15:30supposed to achieve that?
15:37Basically, this device would fit over a woman's head
15:41and it would take micromeasurements
15:44and the operator would manipulate them
15:47to come up with one number,
15:49which referred to her level of beauty.
15:55Flexible metal strips inside the cage
15:57align with the wearer's facial features
15:59and can be adjusted with screws
16:01so that it sits perfectly centered on the face.
16:05A rail at the front supports a series of micrometers
16:09with metal probes on the end.
16:12A micrometer is essentially
16:13a very accurate screw device
16:15which can measure things to thousandths of an inch.
16:18And that's what gives it
16:20its real engineering authority.
16:23A typical micrometer uses a screw
16:26which is marked along its length.
16:28Each mark represents a whole turn.
16:31And each turn might move the screw
16:33just one hundredth of a centimeter.
16:36The body of the drum might be marked
16:38around the circumference
16:39to show thousandths of a centimeter
16:41so that one full turn would be one hundredth.
16:44The device can measure things
16:46to such a degree of accuracy
16:48that's not even visible with the naked eye.
16:51The micrometer system
16:53can be moved up and down the rail
16:54and in and out
16:56allowing the machine's creator
16:57to accurately measure different features.
17:00He used his beauty machine
17:01to measure certain distances
17:02and ratios on the face
17:04which he believed corresponded to optimal beauty.
17:06For example, he thought that a nose
17:08being the same height as a forehead
17:09was optimally beautiful
17:10and the distance between the eyes
17:11should be about the same
17:12as the width of one eye.
17:14After all of these various measurements
17:16had been taken
17:16a total score could be assigned
17:18with a maximum of one hundred percent.
17:22But, of course,
17:23nobody ever made it
17:24to that perfect ideal of absolute beauty.
17:26The inventor made sure
17:27that everyone had something
17:28perhaps ever so slight
17:30that could be improved.
17:33Once they have collected the data,
17:35each imperfection can be mapped
17:37in order to correct those flaws
17:39with the skillful application of makeup
17:42to reach a state of ultimate beauty.
17:47The man who believes
17:49he has the expertise
17:50to determine what defines beauty
17:52is world famous.
17:55So who is he?
17:59One thing that's really interesting
18:01about this device
18:02is that it wasn't created
18:05by an inventor
18:06who was just casting about
18:08trying to think of something to make.
18:10It was created by, arguably,
18:13the beauty industry's ultimate guru.
18:17Even today,
18:18he is a household name.
18:20Max Factor.
18:22Big news from Hollywood.
18:23with the premiere
18:23of Max Factor's
18:24colossal makeup studio.
18:27And the company he founds
18:29is now a multi-billion dollar business.
18:32The man behind it all
18:34comes from very humble beginnings
18:35in Poland.
18:37His name is
18:38Maximilian Faktorowicz.
18:41He is one of ten children
18:43born to a relatively poor family
18:46in Lodz.
18:47At nine,
18:49he's apprenticed
18:50to the city's leading
18:51wig maker and cosmetician.
18:53By the turn of the century,
18:54he's opened up his own shop
18:56and a very famous
18:57touring theater company
18:58is employing his products.
19:00That, in turn,
19:01lands him an even more
19:02prestigious job
19:03working for the Russian Royal Ballet.
19:07The story goes
19:08that the Russian Royal family
19:10is so impressed
19:12by his work
19:13that he's brought
19:14for a formal introduction.
19:17He is summoned
19:18to the imperial court
19:20as chief cosmetics advisor
19:21to the Russian Royal family.
19:24But for a Jew,
19:26this is not a good time
19:27to be in Russia.
19:30The imperial family
19:32with the cooperation
19:32of the army
19:33is instituting a program
19:34of de-Judification
19:36across the country.
19:38Things are bad
19:39and they are getting worse.
19:42In 1904,
19:44Maximilian flees
19:45to America
19:45with his wife, Esther,
19:47and their three children.
19:48Here, he takes a new name,
19:51Max Factor.
19:53He ends up
19:54in California
19:55just as Hollywood
19:56is about to take off.
19:58He was appalled
20:00by the standards
20:00of the makeup.
20:02The actors
20:03were still using
20:03the rather brash,
20:04thick, greasy makeup
20:05that was so popular
20:06on stage at the time.
20:08And close up
20:08with the camera,
20:09that just wasn't
20:10as flattering.
20:12Max Factor
20:13spots an opportunity.
20:17And by 1914,
20:18he has perfected
20:20a new style
20:21of cosmetics
20:22tailored specifically
20:23to the demands
20:24of the movies.
20:25Some of the earliest
20:27pioneers in Hollywood
20:28used his products.
20:30I mean,
20:30we're talking
20:31Chaplin,
20:32Arbuckle,
20:33Keaton.
20:33But his big break
20:35came in 1925
20:36with a whopping order
20:38for 600 gallons
20:40of body paint
20:41for use
20:42for the extras
20:43in Ben Hurd.
20:45Women everywhere
20:46want to look
20:47as glamorous
20:48as the sirens
20:49of the silver screen.
20:50And everyone knows
20:51the man to do that
20:53is Max Factor.
20:54He is the go-to guy
20:56for hair and makeup
20:58for anyone
20:59who's anyone
20:59in Hollywood
21:00at this point.
21:01the likes of Rita Hayworth
21:03and Judy Garland
21:04included.
21:06Max Factor
21:07cosmetics
21:08go mainstream.
21:09He even coins
21:10the term
21:11makeup.
21:12So why does
21:14someone this successful
21:15need a beauty
21:16calibrator?
21:21He's not just
21:22a gifted
21:23cosmetic artist.
21:24He's an inventor
21:26and an experimenter.
21:28One of the things
21:30that Max Factor
21:30becomes known for
21:32is not only
21:33finding the right
21:33cues for different
21:34skin tones,
21:36but also finding
21:37subtle ways
21:38to apply makeup
21:39differently
21:40to different parts
21:41of an actress's face
21:42to even out
21:44all the features
21:45so that it's
21:45symmetrical.
21:46The goal
21:47of this device
21:48is to find
21:50a way
21:50to formalize
21:51that measurement
21:53in order to
21:53later achieve
21:54better symmetry
21:55with the application
21:56of cosmetics.
21:57To me,
21:58he was a kind
21:58of version
21:59of Leonardo da Vinci
22:01who created
22:02such beautiful art
22:03but then also
22:04cared a lot
22:05about functionality
22:06and form
22:08and it's this
22:08idea that
22:10innovation
22:11is born
22:12out of
22:12creativity
22:14and logic.
22:16This incredible
22:17contraption
22:18is also meant
22:19to help
22:19with the advent
22:20of new
22:21color film
22:21technologies.
22:24Originally,
22:25all actors
22:25had to worry
22:26about was
22:27looking good
22:27in black and white.
22:29But in 1932,
22:30with the advent
22:31of technicolor,
22:32that all got
22:33much more complicated.
22:35And this really
22:36was the impetus
22:37behind his desire
22:39to perfect
22:40this system.
22:43But unlike
22:44many of his
22:45other inventions,
22:46this one
22:46is never meant
22:47for the public.
22:49The beauty
22:50calibrator
22:51was never
22:52intended
22:53for mass
22:54consumption.
22:55It was targeted
22:56and, in fact,
22:57used by
22:58Hollywood
22:59royalty,
23:00essentially,
23:01and American
23:02socialites
23:02who had the money
23:03to pay for it.
23:05But can it
23:06really work?
23:07Is the idea
23:08of measurable
23:09beauty credible?
23:16When we use
23:17the word beauty,
23:18we tend to think
23:18mostly about women
23:19because we've
23:20constructed an idea
23:21that beauty
23:22is a feminine thing.
23:23Really, though,
23:23we should be talking
23:24about attractiveness
23:25because everybody
23:26can be attractive.
23:27Whether you're a man
23:28or a woman
23:28or anything else,
23:29you can be very attractive.
23:30And so that's
23:31an important consideration,
23:33not just what's beautiful,
23:34but what's attractive.
23:36So why are some
23:37men and women
23:38seen as more
23:39attractive than others?
23:41There have been
23:41many studies
23:42about what makes
23:42someone attractive,
23:43what makes a human face
23:44or a human body attractive.
23:46People are surprised
23:47that these are
23:48reasonably consistent
23:49across numerous societies,
23:50numerous cultures.
23:52One key factor
23:53in our perception
23:54of attractiveness
23:55is averageness.
23:57If you have
23:58an average face
23:59in the scientific sense,
24:01i.e. one that's
24:01close to the population
24:02average,
24:03numerous studies
24:04have shown
24:04that those faces
24:05are considered
24:05to be more attractive
24:06by other people
24:07than faces
24:08that deviate
24:08from those
24:09average proportions.
24:12Another key factor
24:14to what we consider
24:15attractive
24:15is symmetry.
24:17Humans
24:18like certain things.
24:19They like symmetry,
24:20for example.
24:21And so the more
24:22symmetry you get,
24:23the more attractive
24:23people think you are.
24:26This could be
24:27something to do
24:28with how our brains
24:29function.
24:30There's evidence
24:31that faces
24:31that are closer
24:32to average proportions
24:33and symmetrical faces
24:34and indeed other
24:35symmetrical objects
24:36are easier
24:36for our minds
24:37to cognitively understand.
24:38And that reduced
24:39burden of processing
24:40might be one of the
24:41factors that makes
24:42them appear
24:42more attractive.
24:44But scientists
24:45now believe
24:46visual perception
24:47is not the only factor
24:48and that our attraction
24:50to certain faces
24:51may result from
24:52something very basic.
24:53Good mate selection.
24:56Also known as
24:57evolutionary advantage theory.
25:01Evolutionary advantage theory
25:02suggests that our
25:03perception of attractiveness
25:04is related to how
25:05suitable someone
25:06would be as a mate.
25:07That means how
25:08genetically strong
25:09the offspring
25:09we could produce
25:10with them would be.
25:11And the reason
25:12that an average
25:12or symmetrical face
25:13might indicate
25:14a greater genetic
25:14fitness is that
25:15genetically we observe
25:17that people who have
25:17more symmetrical
25:18and average faces
25:19tend to have
25:20a greater genetic
25:20diversity.
25:23This genetic diversity
25:24is known as
25:25heterozygosity.
25:26And people with
25:27higher heterozygosity
25:28often exhibit better
25:30health-associated traits.
25:33Things like
25:33lower cholesterol
25:34or lower blood pressure
25:35have been shown
25:36to be associated
25:37with this higher degree
25:37of genetic diversity.
25:39And therefore
25:39by identifying
25:40those average faces
25:41you might be identifying
25:42those other beneficial traits.
25:44So Max Factor
25:46may be on to something
25:47with his beauty calibrator
25:48because one thing
25:50it measures
25:50is symmetry.
25:52Although Max Factor
25:53didn't have access
25:54to this science
25:54at the time
25:55when he developed
25:55his beauty machine
25:56nonetheless
25:57there may have been
25:57something to what
25:58he was doing
25:59in the sense
25:59that if he detected
26:00a face that was
26:01slightly asymmetrical
26:02then he could apply
26:03make-up to try
26:03and correct that
26:04to make the face
26:05look more symmetrical
26:05again
26:06and bring it closer
26:07to what modern science
26:08would let us understand
26:09is an ideal
26:09of attractiveness.
26:13Max Factor
26:14might also be
26:14on to something
26:15with his device's
26:16measurements
26:16of the ratios
26:17of facial features.
26:20A recent study
26:21found that
26:22attractiveness
26:22is optimized
26:23when the vertical
26:24distance between
26:25the eyes and mouth
26:26is approximately
26:28approximately 36%
26:29of the face's length
26:30and the horizontal
26:31distance between
26:32the eyes
26:33is approximately
26:3346% of its width.
26:37We find that faces
26:38that share these ratios
26:39are perhaps
26:40almost objectively
26:41perceived to be
26:42more attractive
26:42because even if you
26:43show a newborn baby
26:45faces with different
26:45proportions
26:46it will tend to
26:47pick the one
26:47that's closer to
26:48these ratios
26:49and closer to the average.
26:50It seems to be
26:51something that we
26:51don't learn
26:52through societal
26:52conditioning
26:53but something
26:54we're actually
26:54born with.
26:55This suggests
26:56our brains
26:57may be hardwired
26:58at birth
26:59to look for
27:00attractiveness
27:00or as Hollywood
27:02prefers to call it
27:03beauty
27:03and it's possible
27:05that this may
27:06sometimes hijack
27:07our minds.
27:09People who are
27:10more attractive
27:11are perceived
27:11as better
27:12as more moral
27:13as more honest
27:13as more worthy
27:14of being treated
27:15well.
27:16Attractive people
27:17are just treated
27:17better than
27:18everybody else
27:19and that's not fair
27:20and it's not good
27:21but it is unfortunately
27:22a reality of the
27:23society we live in.
27:27So somewhat surprisingly
27:28with the beauty
27:29calibrator
27:30Max Factor
27:31may have spotted
27:31something fundamental
27:33about our brains
27:35and he isn't the only
27:36person to apply
27:37science and technology
27:38to beauty.
27:44The beauty
27:45calibrator is one
27:46of the earliest
27:46of these beauty
27:47machines
27:48but it's far
27:49from the last.
27:49It was just the
27:50beginning of a long
27:51line of various
27:52gadgets and devices
27:53that appear
27:54in the 30s, 40s
27:55and 50s
27:55all with one
27:57purpose in mind
27:58to enhance
27:59female beauty
28:00through science.
28:01One of these
28:02was called
28:03the freckle freezer
28:04a contraption
28:05that used a wand
28:07dipped in frozen
28:08carbon dioxide
28:09to burn off
28:10offensive moles
28:11and freckles
28:12which would ruin
28:13an otherwise
28:13perfect complexion.
28:17The freckle freezer
28:18is just one
28:19one of many
28:20weird cosmetic
28:21devices.
28:22But despite
28:23the general
28:24enthusiasm
28:24for beauty
28:25technologies
28:26Max Factor's
28:27calibrator fades
28:28from view.
28:30The beauty
28:32calibrator is
28:33first created
28:33in 1932
28:34and in 1933
28:35it makes it
28:36to the cover
28:37of popular
28:38science
28:38but after that
28:40it just ends up
28:41sitting in a storage
28:42room in Max Factor's
28:43headquarters.
28:44The calibrator
28:45remains there
28:46for decades
28:47before the building
28:48and all its
28:49contents are sold
28:50in 1994.
28:52It doesn't return
28:53to the light of day
28:54until this museum
28:55opens in 2003.
29:01The beauty
29:02calibrator may seem
29:04antiquated and weird
29:05today but the ideas
29:07that underpin it
29:08do persist.
29:09We should almost
29:10never look at these
29:11things and laugh
29:11and say how silly
29:12that such a thing
29:13would exist
29:13and that we'd measure
29:14beauty that way.
29:15we're still doing
29:16that.
29:17We still look
29:17at our noses
29:18and think
29:18they're too small.
29:19We still look
29:20at our foreheads
29:20and think
29:21they're too big.
29:21We still look
29:22at one thing
29:23or another thing
29:23and compare ourselves
29:24to some other
29:25arbitrary standard
29:26and this continues
29:27to affect the way
29:28we think about
29:28ourselves today.
29:30Bizarre as it may
29:31seem,
29:32nearly a century
29:33after its creation,
29:34the beauty
29:35calibrator's legacy
29:36lives on.
29:43Locked away
29:43in a display case
29:44in the Cairo Museum
29:46sits a mysterious
29:47object that has
29:48confounded the experts
29:50for decades.
29:51The first impression
29:53is this is modern.
29:54It's from some
29:55sophisticated machine.
29:57But it's not.
29:59It is more than
30:005,000 years old
30:01and it comes
30:02from Egypt.
30:04This object
30:04is completely unique.
30:06We don't have anything
30:07like it from ancient Egypt.
30:09Now using state-of-the-art
30:11digital imaging,
30:12we're unlocking
30:13its secrets.
30:16This is the disc
30:18of Sabu
30:19and it's a complete mystery.
30:23Since it was discovered,
30:24we have been trying
30:25to find out
30:26what it was
30:27and what it was used for.
30:29The disc is roughly
30:3060 centimeters
30:31in diameter
30:32with three sweeping lobes
30:34separated from the rim
30:35by three distinct apertures.
30:38At the center
30:39is a smooth hole
30:40roughly 10 centimeters across.
30:43Its shape
30:44is really organic
30:46as if you could
30:47fold it
30:47with your hands.
30:49At 1.5 centimeters,
30:51it's so thin
30:52it seems
30:52as if it's made of metal.
30:54But it's not.
30:56It's made out of stone.
30:58To make that today,
30:59you would use something
31:00like a 3D printer.
31:02So how was
31:04this strange object made?
31:07What is it for?
31:09Who did it belong to?
31:16January 1936.
31:18Famed Egyptologist
31:20Walter Emery
31:21is excavating
31:21the tomb
31:22of the Egyptian prince,
31:23Sabu.
31:25We don't know much
31:27about who Prince Sabu was.
31:29We know that he lived
31:31during this very early period
31:32of the first dynasty.
31:34And we know
31:35that he was
31:36a high official
31:38and an important person
31:39in the court
31:40of this time
31:41and perhaps
31:42the ruler
31:42of a particular province
31:44in early Egypt.
31:48Once inside Sabu's tomb,
31:50Emery discovers
31:51many typical
31:52Egyptian burial items.
31:55In the burial chamber,
31:56we find
31:57the coffin of Sabu
31:59with the body inside
32:00and a series of objects,
32:02stone vessels
32:03and different elements
32:05that would allow him
32:07to go into the afterlife.
32:10But in the center
32:11of the room,
32:12positioned close
32:13to the body
32:13of the prince,
32:14is a collection
32:15of strange stone fragments.
32:18Walter Emery
32:19found this broken object
32:22in many pieces,
32:25as an object
32:25that doesn't resemble
32:27anything that we have
32:28from ancient Egypt.
32:31This disc-shaped object
32:32resembles a bowl
32:33apart from these
32:34three strange lobes
32:36that protrude
32:36from the periphery
32:37at about 120-degree angles
32:39from one another.
32:42The shape
32:43is unique.
32:46The incredible delicacy,
32:48the thinness
32:48of that material
32:49and the incredibly
32:50elaborate shape
32:51makes this thing
32:52look like it's made
32:53of metal
32:53with modern
32:54metallurgy techniques.
32:55In theory,
32:57you can pretty much
32:58make anything
32:58from stone,
32:59but the idea
33:00that they were able
33:01to achieve
33:02such thin,
33:04curved,
33:06finessed finishes,
33:07I mean,
33:09it looked like
33:09it had almost
33:10been cast.
33:13This strange thing
33:14would be unusual
33:15in any period
33:16of ancient Egypt,
33:17but it actually
33:18dates to the very
33:19earliest days
33:20of the Egyptian Empire,
33:225,000 years ago.
33:25Who were the ancient
33:26artisans
33:27that crafted it?
33:32The first dynasty
33:33is a very important
33:34period in the history
33:35of Egypt.
33:36We're starting
33:37to see trade
33:38with different lands
33:39in Egypt
33:41and also outside
33:42of Egypt.
33:43We see an increase
33:44in the complexity
33:45of the society,
33:47a more hierarchical
33:48society,
33:49a developed
33:50administration,
33:50the use of writing.
33:53The first dynasty
33:54is also marked
33:55by the prominence
33:56of stonework.
33:58The stepped pyramid
33:59of Djoser,
34:00located on the same
34:01site where the disc
34:02is discovered,
34:03is the first pyramid
34:04the Egyptians built.
34:07Ancient Egyptian
34:08craftsmen
34:09were incredibly skilled
34:10at extracting
34:11and shaping
34:11all different kinds
34:12of stone,
34:13including granite,
34:14travertine diorite,
34:15and quartzite.
34:17But despite
34:18the obvious skill
34:19of the ancient artisans,
34:20nothing this finely crafted
34:22has ever been found
34:23from this period.
34:25exactly how it is made
34:27remains a mystery.
34:30But it's clear
34:31it would have been
34:31incredibly difficult
34:32to produce,
34:34which suggests
34:35that whatever it is,
34:37it must be important.
34:40Too much work
34:41has gone into it.
34:42It must have had
34:43a real use.
34:45and as an engineer,
34:47the mind boggles
34:49as to what
34:49that use could be.
34:51Now there is
34:52an astonishing
34:53new theory,
34:54one that involves
34:55a precious resource
34:56that sits
34:57at the very center
34:58of ancient Egyptian life.
35:02Some experts propose
35:04the hole
35:04in the center
35:05of the disc
35:06provides a clue.
35:07They think
35:08it could be
35:09for an axle
35:10and that this
35:11weird disc
35:12is just
35:13an unusual wheel.
35:16The idea
35:17that this could be
35:17a wheel
35:17isn't entirely crazy
35:19and we know
35:20that the wheel
35:20had been invented
35:21by this time.
35:23The oldest known example,
35:25the Ljubljana Marsh's wheel,
35:26is made of ash
35:27and oak
35:28and has been dated
35:29to about 5200 years ago.
35:32Could the disc
35:33of Sabu
35:34be an ancient
35:35Egyptian equivalent?
35:36Although we know
35:37the wheel was around
35:38at this time in history,
35:39as far as we know
35:40the ancient Egyptians
35:41didn't have access
35:41to this technology.
35:43Even pyramids
35:44that were built
35:44long after this disc
35:45was discovered
35:46were manufactured
35:47as far as we can tell
35:48without any help
35:48for wheels at all.
35:50And the first
35:50recorded instance
35:51of wheel usage
35:52in ancient Egypt
35:53dates to several centuries
35:54after the disc was made.
35:57And there is
35:58an even bigger problem
35:59with this theory.
36:01From an engineering
36:02point of view
36:03there's no way
36:04that this could have
36:04been a wheel
36:05because those thin
36:06fragile sections
36:07would never
36:08have taken
36:09any kind of load.
36:13The extraordinary thinness
36:15and unique form
36:16of this disc
36:17have led to even
36:18more outlandish ideas
36:20including the conspiracy theory
36:22that often comes
36:23with unexplained
36:24Egyptian artifacts.
36:26Little green men.
36:29But for every idea
36:30about UFO steering wheels
36:32there's a different
36:33and more earthly explanation
36:35that's a bit easier
36:36to swallow.
36:38Could it be a battle shield
36:40for warfare?
36:41The fact that it's made
36:42of heavy stone
36:43and has three large
36:44holes in it
36:45suggests it would be
36:46less than ideal.
36:48One suggestion
36:49is that it could be
36:50an incense burner.
36:52But incense burners
36:53are commonplace
36:54in ancient Egypt
36:55and are much simpler
36:56in design.
36:58The sheer difficulty
36:59of producing
37:00this strange object
37:01suggests something
37:03much more important.
37:05One of the theories
37:06is that it was part
37:07of a centrifugal pump
37:09and it was essentially
37:11the impeller part
37:12of the device
37:13that sat inside a casing
37:15and spun around
37:17a shaft.
37:18And centrifugal pumps
37:19are a very efficient way
37:21of pumping water.
37:23One fact supports
37:24this theory.
37:26irrigation was a central
37:29element to the development
37:30of Egyptian society.
37:32The Egyptians
37:32from very early on
37:34developed different
37:35systems to try
37:36to get more land
37:38to be irrigated
37:39and to get more
37:40cultivation out of it.
37:42So they were
37:44always innovating
37:45to try to make
37:47this irrigation
37:48more efficient.
37:49It wouldn't be
37:50the only tool
37:51the Egyptians used
37:52for moving water.
37:53This contraption
37:55is known
37:55as a shadouf.
37:57It's basically
37:57a bucket
37:58on the end
37:58of a long stick
37:59then with a counterweight
38:00on the other end
38:01to make it easier
38:01to lift that incredibly
38:02heavy water.
38:03And by using
38:04one of these devices
38:05a single person
38:06could move up to
38:07two and a half
38:07thousand litres
38:08of water
38:09every day.
38:10But a shadouf
38:12is a relatively
38:12simple and straightforward
38:14piece of equipment.
38:15It has none
38:16of the technological
38:17sophistication needed
38:18to make a centrifugal pump.
38:21There are very good
38:22reasons why such pumps
38:23don't turn up
38:24for thousands of years
38:25after the disc is made.
38:28For the impeller
38:29to work
38:30it has to spin
38:31really fast
38:31and for that
38:32you need bearings.
38:34It would have had to
38:35have been encased
38:37in a watertight container
38:39split in two halves.
38:40There would have had to be
38:41ceilings around the shaft.
38:43They would have used screws
38:45and none of that technology
38:46had been invented
38:48at that time.
38:49The disc's use
38:51in a pump
38:51is just a leap
38:52too far.
38:53A slightly less
38:55implausible idea
38:56also focuses
38:57on water.
38:59This disc
39:00could have been used
39:01to distribute
39:01water vapour
39:02in an environment
39:03like maybe a sauna.
39:04So you bring the disc
39:05down in a column
39:06and allow it to
39:07contact the hot water
39:08and then as you lift it up
39:09the shape naturally
39:10causes steam
39:10to waft about.
39:12But are these
39:13ancient Egyptians
39:14really creating
39:15steam rooms?
39:17Even though purity
39:18and cleanliness
39:19were really important
39:20for the ancient Egyptians
39:21we don't have
39:22any evidence
39:23that they had
39:24steam rooms
39:25to clean themselves
39:27so this theory
39:28just doesn't work.
39:30Recently
39:31a new idea
39:32has surfaced
39:32one that proposes
39:34the disc
39:34is used in a liquid
39:36just not water.
39:39Scientists
39:40from Kanagawa University
39:41in Japan
39:42has proposed
39:43that it could have been
39:45part of the tools
39:46used for brewing beer.
39:49What this theory proposes
39:51is that there will be
39:52a pole inserted
39:53in the middle of the disc
39:54and then the disc
39:55would be moved
39:56up and down
39:57to create a vortex
39:59or circulation
40:00of the water
40:01in order to mix
40:03this water
40:04with the grain
40:05in a more efficient way.
40:07Similar implements
40:08known as mash rakes
40:09or paddles
40:10have been used
40:11for thousands of years
40:12and are still used
40:13in the brewing process today.
40:16The team
40:16from Kanagawa University
40:18argue the disc
40:19is perfectly suited
40:20to the task
40:21due to the Coanda effect.
40:24This explains
40:25how a flow of liquid
40:26or air
40:26along a solid
40:27will follow the contours
40:29of that surface.
40:31But is beer
40:32important enough
40:33to the ancient Egyptians
40:34to justify
40:35the time and effort
40:36to make
40:37this complex disc?
40:38Beer was one
40:40of the two staple foods
40:41in ancient Egypt
40:43together with bread.
40:44So we find
40:45lots of production centers
40:47for both bread
40:48and beer together
40:50and it was
40:51one of the ways
40:52in which workmen,
40:54for example,
40:54were paid
40:55by means of bread
40:56and beer.
40:59Archaeological evidence
41:00suggests the workers
41:01who build the pyramids
41:02of Giza
41:03are given a daily ration
41:05of more than a gallon
41:06of the stuff.
41:08and another recent discovery
41:10has revealed
41:10that beer
41:11is just as central
41:12at the very beginning
41:13of the Egyptian empire.
41:16In 2021,
41:18archaeologists found
41:19what is considered
41:20the oldest
41:21large production
41:23factory of beer,
41:25a very old brewery.
41:27The site
41:28in the ancient city
41:29of Abydos
41:30dates to the first dynasty
41:325,000 years ago,
41:34the same era
41:35the disc is created.
41:37The brewery
41:38was composed
41:39of eight large areas
41:41of around 65 feet long
41:44and each one of them
41:45had 40 large containers
41:48for the beer
41:49so this was
41:50a massive space.
41:52The team
41:53who unearthed it
41:54estimate
41:55almost 22,400 liters
41:57of beer
41:58could be brewed here
41:59in one go.
42:03The amount of beer
42:04has been calculated
42:05to be able
42:06to support
42:07the daily ration
42:08for 8,800 workers
42:11which gives you
42:13an idea
42:13of how important
42:15beer would be
42:16for the ancient Egyptians.
42:20One further clue
42:21could support
42:22the argument
42:23that the disc
42:23is related
42:24to beer production.
42:26The importance
42:27of beer
42:28for the Egyptians
42:29was not just
42:30something
42:31for daily life
42:32but it also
42:33extended to
42:34the afterlife.
42:35In the tombs
42:36we find
42:37beer jars
42:39deposited
42:39as offerings
42:40that would allow
42:41the deceased
42:42to drink
42:43in the afterlife.
42:47So despite
42:48all the wild theories
42:49of alien intervention
42:50and ancient
42:51hydraulic engineering
42:53maybe this strange
42:54relic
42:55is simply
42:55a tool
42:55for brewing
42:56beer
42:57or is it?
43:00If this disc
43:01had been used
43:02for the production
43:03of beer
43:04we would have
43:05many of them
43:06because of
43:07this large scale
43:08production
43:09but unfortunately
43:10we only have one
43:11so even though
43:13it is a nice theory
43:14there is no evidence
43:16to support it.
43:18There are multiple
43:19explanations
43:20for this beautiful
43:21and strange thing
43:22but none
43:23seem like
43:24a perfect fit.
43:26Perhaps
43:27it is simply
43:27made for its beauty
43:28and for its strangeness
43:30with no practical purpose
43:32an expression
43:33of a unique
43:34artistic ability.
43:48is a great
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