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00:00A trove of artifacts in the Persian Gulf disrupts the established history of early human migration.
00:07The oldest date back more than 200,000 years.
00:11Why did these early humans choose to come here, and how did they survive?
00:16On the edge of the unforgiving Gobi Desert, an abandoned fortress is unearthed, along with an arsenal of weapons.
00:24There are crossbows made of copper, bronze, and iron, sword guards, knives.
00:28This place seems to have been armed to the teeth, but if this was a military fortress, who built it
00:34and why?
00:35Near the valley of Elah, where David is said to have slain Goliath, a strange stone is spotted by a
00:42young hiker.
00:43She picked it up and told her family it looked like it had teeth. This was no ordinary stone.
00:51Ancient lost cities, forgotten treasures, mysterious structures.
00:58As new technology uncovers remarkable tales hidden beneath the deserts of the world,
01:05the secrets in the sand will finally be revealed.
01:21The Emirate of Sharjah extends across the northwestern United Arab Emirates,
01:27stretching east away from the Persian Gulf.
01:31Like much of the UAE, Sharjah is dominated by incredibly hot weather.
01:36In the summer, the temperatures average around 100 degrees Fahrenheit,
01:40and the climate is extremely dry, with only about eight rainy days per year.
01:46Despite the inhospitable climate, people have been living and thriving in the area for millennia.
01:52Over the years, Sharjah has become renowned amongst archaeologists for its Iron and Broads Age tombs and settlements.
02:01About 40 miles inland from the Persian Gulf is the Jabal Faya site.
02:06It's located on a limestone hill which forms part of the Al-Hajjar Mountains.
02:11At its northeastern end, there's this prominent rock shelter,
02:15which has turned out to be an archaeological treasure trove.
02:20A team of archaeologists is excavating the rock shelter site when they uncover something unexpected.
02:28There's an assemblage of stone tools primarily made up of long flakes,
02:32carefully shaped with sharp parallel edges.
02:36The craftsmanship necessary to produce these tools tells us they had to have been made by early humans.
02:43But why were these tools left here, abandoned in the rock shelter?
02:48The emergence of stone tools during the Paleolithic era came along with a whole host of cultural changes for anatomically
02:56modern humans.
02:59Around the middle Paleolithic era, Homo sapiens started to develop more sophisticated shelters.
03:05And that is thought to have led to advances in art, in sculpture.
03:09It's even been hypothesized that this accelerated the evolution of human rituals.
03:16We can't be sure exactly what these rituals were, or what purpose they served, but there are certain clues.
03:22For instance, looking at many cave paintings, we can see large animals and hunting scenes,
03:27which could mean that the artworks were created as a way to bring luck to a group of outgoing hunters.
03:34Similarly, small sculptures might have been made to carry around as a kind of talisman.
03:39But some of the most convincing evidence of Paleolithic rituals comes from burials.
03:47One of the most impressive Stone Age tombs comes from Soongir, just over 100 miles from Moscow.
03:54This is where archaeologists uncovered three graves belonging to an adult man and two juveniles,
04:00who had been covered with thousands of ivory beads and red ochre.
04:05As well as the ornaments, the younger two were buried with over a dozen ivory spears, daggers, and throwing javelins.
04:14We don't know why these weapons were left behind.
04:17They may have been a way to honor the dead.
04:21Or they could even indicate these ancient people had a belief in the afterlife,
04:25and hope the offerings would travel with their loved ones.
04:30But their presence begs the question,
04:33could the blades found at the Jebel Faya site have also served some ritual function?
04:42Could this have been a memorial of some sort?
04:45The absence of certain clues from the site in Sharjah only raises more questions.
04:52With so little else to work with,
04:54the tools are the only real clues as to who lived here and how the shelter was used.
05:01But they actually tell us a lot.
05:03For example, many of these sharp blades were produced using a method called the Levallois technique.
05:09Unlike earlier stone technology,
05:11the Levallois technique showed a high level of intentional design.
05:16Rather than just randomly chipping bits of rock,
05:19the Levallois technique involved carefully preparing a large stone called a core.
05:28Once the core was properly sharpened and curved,
05:31one large flake would be chipped away from its center.
05:37This final flake was flat on one side and had incredibly sharp cutting edges.
05:45Producing Levallois blades left a lot of debris,
05:48from removing the outer layers of larger rocks to chipping away the final product.
05:55We can see traces of all these different steps in the debris at Jebel Faya,
05:59which tells us that this rock shelter was likely used as a center for blade production,
06:05kind of like a workshop.
06:08The sophistication of these tools reveals crucial information
06:12about where these ancient Homo sapiens came from.
06:16The Levallois technique most likely originated in East Africa
06:19and actually predates Homo sapiens.
06:23The oldest known examples of that technique come from a sedimentary sequence
06:27called the Kapthorin formation in Kenya
06:30and are more than 400,000 years old.
06:35Over the course of millennia,
06:37Homo sapiens adopted this technique
06:38and carried it with them as they began to migrate out of Africa.
06:43So it's likely the people who set up shop in the Jebel Faya shelter
06:46were among these early human migrants.
06:50The team conducts further analysis
06:52using optically stimulated luminescence to date the objects.
06:58Optically stimulated luminescence, or OSL,
07:02measures the natural radiation in various minerals
07:04to find out when a sample was last exposed to sunlight.
07:11The results in this case demonstrated
07:13that these tools date back roughly 80,000 years.
07:18This means that Jebel Faya contains the oldest known examples
07:22of systematic blade production in the entire Arabian Peninsula.
07:28And not only that,
07:29the stone tools aren't even the oldest evidence
07:32of human occupation found here.
07:36The oldest assemblages at Jebel Faya
07:39date back more than 200,000 years.
07:42This challenges mainstream interpretations
07:44of early human history,
07:46which often placed the main migrations of humans
07:49out of Africa between 70,000 and 50,000 years ago.
07:54But this prompts the question,
07:56why did these early humans choose to come here?
07:59And how did they survive?
08:09Critical insight into the world of these ancient humans
08:12comes from a different rock formation
08:14called the Al-Huta Cave in Oman.
08:17Today, huge swaths of the Arabian Peninsula
08:20are covered by desert.
08:22But tens of thousands of years ago,
08:24it looked really different.
08:26Inside the Al-Huta Cave,
08:28there are these stalagmites,
08:30which only form when rainwater seeps through the ground
08:33and drips down gradually,
08:35building up into these tall mineral deposits.
08:39Samples taken from the cave
08:41show that between 82,000 and 78,000 years ago,
08:45the stalagmites experienced this period of rapid growth.
08:49And that suggests more water,
08:51which suggests a wetter climate.
08:55Looking back over tens of thousands of years,
08:58we find evidence of streams and rivers
09:00carving their way through the region,
09:02leaving distinct channels in the desert landscape to this day.
09:07This abundance of water would have been invaluable
09:10for early human migrants
09:12and may well have attracted them here
09:14as they followed available water resources
09:16into new territory.
09:20The absence of any human remains
09:22at the Jebel Faya site
09:24tells us that these early humans
09:25may not have stayed in the area long
09:27before moving on.
09:30But even so,
09:32they went to the trouble
09:33of setting up a fairly sophisticated
09:34tool production system.
09:37This shows that these blades were very important.
09:40But what were they being used for?
09:44The search for answers invites us
09:46to imagine the world
09:48from the perspectives of these ancient travelers.
09:52When Homo sapiens began to migrate
09:54across new continents,
09:56they faced a world full of danger.
09:59Not only were they going to have to hunt to survive,
10:02they may well have had to defend themselves
10:05against attacks from hyenas,
10:07cave cats, and even wolves.
10:11On top of the dangerous carnivores,
10:14these early modern humans
10:15also faced competition
10:16with their cousins,
10:18the Neanderthals.
10:21Neanderthals are thought to have evolved
10:23mostly outside of Africa,
10:25spreading throughout Europe
10:26hundreds of thousands of years
10:29before Homo sapiens ever got there.
10:32For a long time,
10:33they just dominated those landscapes.
10:36As early modern humans
10:38began to cross paths with Neanderthals,
10:40they relied on their stone technology
10:42to help them compete for resources.
10:45It was several thousand years
10:47before Homo sapiens
10:48eventually out-competed Neanderthals,
10:51thanks in large part
10:52to their advanced tools
10:53like the ones discovered
10:54in the rock shelter
10:55at Jebel Faya.
10:57Layer by layer,
10:58the excavations at Jebel Faya
11:01continue to reveal traces
11:02of our earliest modern ancestors
11:05and their ancient migration routes
11:07long hidden beneath the sand,
11:09waiting to be discovered.
11:21Bayan-Kungor province
11:23stretches over 40,000 square miles
11:26across southwestern Mongolia.
11:29The province lies northwest
11:30of the Gobi Desert,
11:31one of the largest deserts
11:32in the world.
11:34Unlike many sandy deserts,
11:36the Gobi is characterized
11:36as a winter desert
11:38because of its extreme weather.
11:40The summers are blisteringly hot,
11:43well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
11:45But the winters
11:46are the polar opposite,
11:48often plunging down
11:49to minus 40 degrees.
11:52That harsh climate
11:54has a huge impact
11:55on Bayan-Kungor.
11:57Like the Gobi,
11:58the province is incredibly dry
11:59and endures these long,
12:01frigid winters.
12:03But,
12:03as you head north
12:05toward the foothills
12:06of the Kangai Mountains,
12:07the landscape starts to shift.
12:09It becomes less sandy
12:10and more rocky,
12:12opening up
12:12into these vast plains.
12:15A team of archaeologists
12:17is working
12:18in the northwestern district
12:19of Bayan-Bulag
12:21when they unearth
12:22a surprise.
12:24They found the remains
12:26of an old structure,
12:28specifically two massive walls
12:30made of rammed earth.
12:34It's an ancient building technique
12:36that involves compacting
12:37damp soil and clay
12:39until it becomes
12:40extremely dense.
12:42These walls were
12:43incredibly durable,
12:45well-insulated,
12:46and even fireproof.
12:49There are several chambers
12:51associated with the walls,
12:53which look like barracks
12:54or some kind of bunkers.
12:56And inside are
12:57all kinds of weapons.
13:00There are crossbows
13:01made of copper,
13:02bronze, and iron,
13:03sword guards,
13:04knives,
13:05and pieces of iron armor.
13:07But if this was
13:08a military fortress,
13:09who built it
13:10and why?
13:13The answers may lie
13:14in the pages
13:15of one of the most
13:16important historical documents
13:18ever written,
13:19a record known
13:20as the Shiji.
13:23It's difficult
13:24to overstate
13:25the importance
13:25of the Shiji,
13:26which is also known
13:27as the records
13:28of the Grand Historian
13:29of China.
13:31It was written
13:32more than 2,000 years ago
13:33by a man named
13:34Sima Qian,
13:35who served as a
13:36grand historian
13:36to the Emperor Wudi.
13:39Wudi was the
13:40seventh emperor
13:41of the Han dynasty
13:42and one of the
13:43most influential.
13:44Under his reign,
13:46the Han dynasty
13:47dramatically expanded
13:48its influence
13:49and developed
13:49a strong,
13:51centralized state.
13:53Before the Shiji
13:55existed,
13:56independent states
13:57would chronicle
13:58their own histories,
13:59which could often
14:00be confusing
14:01and conflict
14:02with one another.
14:03This was the first
14:05time a historian
14:06took the time
14:08to sift through
14:09these accounts
14:09and organize them
14:11into a coherent
14:12structure.
14:13This process
14:14took Sima Qian
14:16almost two decades
14:18and by the time
14:19he had finished
14:20the Shiji,
14:21it covered roughly
14:222,000 years
14:23of Chinese history.
14:26In the record,
14:28there are references
14:29to a military structure
14:30built in southern Mongolia
14:31during the Han dynasty
14:33around 104 BCE.
14:35The fortress
14:36was called
14:37Shoujiangchong,
14:38which roughly
14:39translates to
14:40fortification
14:41for receiving
14:41surrender.
14:43Its exact location
14:45has been debated
14:45for centuries,
14:46but the discovery
14:48at Bayan Bulag
14:49seems to fit
14:49the profile.
14:51Could these be
14:52the ruins
14:52of the very same
14:53fortress?
14:55The archaeologists
14:56working at the
14:57Bayan Bulag site
14:58come upon
14:59a second,
15:00far more
15:01chilling discovery.
15:04The team
15:05was digging
15:06in a second pit
15:06close to the fortress
15:07and they began
15:08to notice bones
15:09sticking out
15:10of the earth.
15:11But this wasn't
15:12just one body.
15:13As they started
15:14to excavate
15:15the skeletons,
15:15they realized
15:16what they were
15:17looking at
15:17was a mass grain.
15:22The skeletons
15:23are tightly
15:23mixed together
15:24and they're
15:24hard to disentangle.
15:27But based
15:27on the number
15:28of skulls,
15:29it looks like
15:29there are
15:29at least
15:3017 individuals
15:32buried here.
15:33The clay
15:34surrounding the bodies
15:35preserved
15:35their positions
15:36and it seems
15:37as though
15:38many were kneeling
15:39when they were killed.
15:41One of the victims
15:42appeared to have
15:43been laying down,
15:44attempting to cover
15:45or defend himself
15:47with his hands
15:47when his legs
15:48and arms
15:49were cut off.
15:52All of the skeletons
15:53show signs of
15:54dismemberment
15:55or amputation
15:56and that's not all.
15:57The bones also
15:59bear the scars
15:59of sharp
16:00and blunt force trauma,
16:02painting a picture
16:03of a group
16:03that died
16:04an exceptionally
16:05violent death.
16:07But who were they?
16:17The long-forgotten grave
16:19at the Bayan Bulag site
16:21isn't the only
16:22astonishing burial
16:23in the region.
16:24Just over 200 miles
16:25northeast of Bayan Bulag
16:27in the Under-Ulan district
16:29of Arkhangai province,
16:31archaeologists
16:32discovered the remains
16:33of another
16:33extraordinary resting place
16:35known today
16:36as Golmod 2.
16:39The Golmod 2 site
16:41isn't so much
16:42a grave
16:42as a necropolis.
16:44Over the years,
16:45roughly 400 graves
16:47have been uncovered here.
16:48They are carefully arranged
16:50with the largest
16:51and grandest elite tombs
16:52surrounded by
16:52smaller satellite burials
16:54which suggest
16:55a clear social hierarchy.
16:57Inside the elite tombs,
16:59there were
16:59elaborate grave goods
17:00including gold
17:01and silver ornaments,
17:03silk
17:03and impressive felt rugs.
17:07Golmod 2
17:08is one of 10
17:08enormous necropolis
17:10scattered across
17:11Mongolia and Russia.
17:13These huge complexes
17:14belonged to
17:15an ancient civilization
17:16known as
17:17the Xiongnu.
17:19They were a nomadic people
17:21who dominated
17:21the Eurasian steppe
17:22for over 500 years.
17:24They were actually
17:25a confederacy
17:26of nomadic tribes,
17:27but they banded together
17:28to fight against
17:29the Chinese
17:30who were expanding
17:31from the south.
17:34The Xiongnu
17:35were formidable fighters,
17:37both expert
17:38horseback riders
17:39and archers.
17:40They formed armies
17:42of up to 300,000
17:44mountain warriors,
17:46strong enough
17:47to pose an existential threat
17:49to China's northern borders.
17:51The Xiongnu
17:53rose in power
17:54roughly alongside
17:55the Han dynasty,
17:57and the two kingdoms
17:58went on to fight
17:59a series of wars
18:01over the course
18:02of two centuries,
18:04from about 133 BCE
18:05to 89 CE.
18:09During Emperor Rudy's reign,
18:11tensions between
18:12the Han and Xiongnu
18:14escalated sharply.
18:16The Han military
18:17began to build
18:18more infrastructure
18:19than ever
18:19to fight against
18:21the Xiongnu's
18:22nomadic army.
18:23According to the Shijing,
18:25one of these fortresses
18:27was the Shoujiangchong.
18:32Based on its location,
18:33the Bayun-Bilog fortress
18:35may well be
18:35the Shoujiangchong,
18:36built to defend
18:37Han territory
18:38from incoming
18:39Xiongnu attacks.
18:41The mass grave
18:42could well be the result
18:43of one of these clashes.
18:44But one question remains,
18:46which side
18:47do these bodies
18:48belong to?
18:49The archaeologists
18:51working in Bayun-Bilog
18:52began to spy clues
18:54that could point
18:55to where these soldiers
18:56came from.
18:57Rather than digging
18:58a new grave
18:59for these bodies,
19:00it looks like
19:00the people burying them
19:01took advantage
19:02of a hole
19:02that was already available.
19:04The pit they were found in
19:06was a mine beforehand,
19:08and it was only repurposed
19:10as a grave
19:10after the massacre.
19:12So it definitely seems
19:13like an undignified
19:15resting place.
19:17Combine that
19:17with the level of violence
19:19inflicted on the victims,
19:20and you can see
19:21this hypothesis
19:22that maybe
19:23these were the bodies
19:24of enemy soldiers
19:25who had been taken prisoner.
19:27But other clues
19:29point to a different possibility.
19:32Alongside the bodies,
19:33the team discovered
19:34other objects,
19:35including shards
19:37of Han-style pottery,
19:38an iron halberd,
19:40and a clay seal
19:41with the mark
19:42of a Han official.
19:44These artifacts
19:46suggest that these men
19:47weren't
19:48Xiongnu soldiers
19:49taken to the fortress,
19:51but actually Han soldiers
19:54killed near
19:55their own fortress
19:56and buried
19:57next to it.
19:58To confirm
19:59the identities
20:00of these forgotten soldiers,
20:02the archaeologists
20:02gather forensic evidence
20:04from the mass burial
20:05for testing.
20:07Using samples
20:08pulled from the bones
20:09and teeth,
20:09they confirmed
20:10that these skeletons
20:11all belonged to men
20:13of military age,
20:14between 20 and 50 years old.
20:16These samples
20:18were then compared
20:18to a set of modern
20:20East Asian populations,
20:21which established
20:22that the individuals
20:23were genetically closer
20:24to Han descendants
20:25than any other group.
20:28This single discovery
20:30sheds new light
20:31on the chaos
20:31of the burial itself.
20:33It's possible
20:34that the Xiongnu riders
20:35managed to lay siege
20:36to the fortress,
20:37successfully attacking
20:38and killing
20:39some of the men
20:40stationed there.
20:41These deaths
20:42were intentionally violent.
20:44At the time,
20:45death by dismemberment
20:46was considered
20:46the most shameful way
20:47to die,
20:48and the Xiongnu
20:49appeared to have inflicted
20:50as much shame
20:51on their victims
20:52as possible.
20:56But that isn't
20:57the end of the story.
20:58Once these Han soldiers
20:59had been killed,
21:00their comrades
21:01actually gathered
21:02their dismembered bodies,
21:04collecting the pieces
21:05of severed arms
21:06and legs
21:07to be buried
21:08all together.
21:09Chinese beliefs
21:10at the time,
21:11like those in a lot
21:12of other cultures
21:12even today,
21:13dictate that bodies
21:15should be buried whole
21:16to rest peacefully
21:17in the afterlife.
21:18So this gesture
21:19might have meant
21:20a great deal.
21:21The Bayon Belag fortress
21:23remains the only example
21:25of a mass grave
21:26from the Han-Xiongnu wars,
21:29an enduring reminder
21:30of a long-forgotten conflict
21:32between two of Asia's
21:34most powerful
21:35ancient civilizations.
21:44locations.
21:48Located between
21:49the Judean mountains
21:50and the Mediterranean coast,
21:53Israel's Shvela region
21:54runs roughly 35 miles long
21:57and 8 miles wide.
22:01Shvela is a transition zone
22:03between the highlands
22:04of Jerusalem and Hebron
22:06and the coastal plain.
22:07It's made up of gently
22:08rolling hills
22:09and sandy plateaus
22:10and it has a varied
22:12semi-arid climate.
22:14So, while it can get cool
22:16in the winter,
22:16the summer months
22:17are dry and hot
22:18and it receives
22:19between just 10
22:20and 20 inches
22:21of rain all year.
22:24Archaeologists
22:24have found evidence
22:25of human habitation
22:26in Shvela
22:26going back as far
22:27as 3,500 years
22:29to the Bronze Age.
22:31That was followed
22:32by centuries
22:33of rising and falling
22:34populations,
22:35including a strong
22:36Canaanite enclave
22:37of over 50,000 settlers.
22:39And like much
22:40of the surrounding area,
22:41the region continued
22:42to be populated
22:43during the Hellenistic,
22:44Roman,
22:45and Byzantine periods.
22:47But the lowlands
22:48of Shvela
22:49are best known
22:50for being the site
22:51of the ancient city
22:52of Telazica,
22:55which played a prominent role
22:57in several biblical texts,
22:59including the battle
23:00between David
23:01and Goliath.
23:04After the Babylonian siege
23:06of Jerusalem
23:07in 587 BCE,
23:09Telazica was one
23:10of only two fortified cities
23:12that remained.
23:13And during the Hasmonean dynasty
23:15from 140 to 116 BCE,
23:18a second fortress
23:20was built
23:20by King John Hyrcanus,
23:22the remains of which
23:23can still be seen today.
23:26Despite this long history
23:28of occupation and settlement,
23:30Telazica and its surroundings
23:32were eventually abandoned
23:33until the late 1800s
23:35when it was rediscovered
23:36by British archaeologists,
23:38making it one of the first
23:39biblical sites
23:40ever excavated in Israel.
23:43A family is out for a hike
23:45in the Shvela foothills
23:46when they make
23:47an incredible discovery.
23:50They were walking along
23:52a sandy dirt trail
23:53when a small rock
23:54caught the attention
23:55of the young daughter.
23:56She picked it up
23:57and told her family
23:58it looked like it had teeth,
24:00which was probably
24:01the first indication
24:02that this was
24:02no ordinary stone.
24:05When they brushed
24:06the residual sand
24:07and dirt away,
24:08they saw that
24:09what looked like teeth marks
24:11were intricate markings,
24:13the engravings
24:14of a beautifully crafted
24:15amulet or talisman.
24:17But where did it come from
24:18and how long
24:20has it been here?
24:30A family is out for a hike
24:31when they make
24:32an incredible discovery.
24:35It wouldn't be the first time
24:37a young explorer stumbled
24:38upon an ancient artifact
24:40in Israel.
24:41A 13-year-old boy
24:43was on a hike
24:44with his family
24:45close to Herbet Shalala,
24:47an archaeological site
24:48near Mount Carmel
24:49in Haifa.
24:51The boy picked up
24:52what he thought
24:53was a rusty old metal bolt.
24:55It was round,
24:57green,
24:57and slightly corroded.
24:59But a closer look
25:00revealed it was
25:01a bronze ring
25:02with an engraving
25:04of a human figure
25:05holding a spear
25:06like a warrior.
25:08When the family
25:09turned it over
25:10to the Israel Antiquities Authority,
25:12they identified the ring
25:13as being nearly
25:142,000 years old
25:15from the late Roman period.
25:18The engraving
25:19was the image
25:19of Minerva,
25:20the Roman goddess
25:21of wisdom and war,
25:23known to the Greeks
25:24as Athena.
25:27The exact provenance
25:28of the ring
25:29remained a mystery,
25:30but several intriguing
25:31possibilities
25:32were considered.
25:35It might have belonged
25:36to a woman
25:37who lived on a farm
25:38on Herbet Shalala,
25:40or a worker
25:41at the nearby rock quarry.
25:43Or it may have been used
25:45as an offering
25:46at one of the many
25:47burial sites close by.
25:50Depictions of Minerva
25:52were extremely popular
25:53during the Roman Empire,
25:54but not many
25:55have been recovered
25:55in present-day Israel.
25:57So is it possible
25:59the amulet
25:59in the Shvela foothills
26:00was from around
26:01the same era?
26:04The amulet
26:05is tested
26:05to determine its age
26:07with surprising results.
26:10It's from roughly
26:111800 BCE,
26:13corresponding
26:14to the Middle Bronze Age,
26:16which is almost
26:17two millennia
26:18before the Roman Empire
26:20expanded
26:21into what's known
26:22as the Southern Levant.
26:24The people who lived
26:26in the Southern Levant
26:27during the Bronze Age
26:28were referred to
26:29in ancient biblical text
26:31as the Canaanites,
26:32who likely were descendants
26:34of various nomadic
26:35Neolithic tribes.
26:37And although they lived
26:38in different city-states,
26:40including the city
26:40of Azekah,
26:42the Canaanites
26:42were culturally
26:43and genetically
26:44very similar.
26:46Much of what we know
26:47about the Canaanites
26:48comes from records
26:49left by the people
26:50they encountered.
26:52Some of the most
26:53detailed surviving records
26:54come from the Hebrew Bible,
26:56and additional information
26:57comes from artifacts
26:58recovered from
26:59archaeological sites
27:00where the Canaanites
27:01are thought to have lived.
27:03A recently discovered
27:05Canaanite artifact
27:06points to a possible
27:08origin story
27:09for the Shphela amulet.
27:12Once again,
27:13the discovery was made
27:14by a junior archaeologist.
27:16In this case,
27:17a seven-year-old boy
27:18who was exploring
27:18a section of Tel Rahav
27:20in the Jordan Valley
27:21with his father
27:21and a group of friends.
27:23The boy was climbing
27:24an archaeological mound
27:25when he came across
27:26a stone that had shifted,
27:28and he saw the image
27:29of a person
27:30covered in dirt.
27:31When he brushed away
27:33the soil,
27:34the stone turned out
27:35to be a clay figurine
27:37in the shape of a woman,
27:39likely created
27:40by pressing soft clay
27:42into a mold.
27:44It was identified
27:45as being roughly
27:463,400 years old
27:48and was typical
27:49of Canaanite artifacts
27:50from the 15th
27:52to the 13th century BCE.
27:56It was believed
27:57the figurine belonged
27:58to one of the residents
27:59of the ancient city
28:00of Rahav,
28:01and that the figure
28:02depicted was either
28:04that of a real
28:05flesh-and-blood woman
28:06or a representation
28:08of the fertility goddess
28:09Astarte,
28:10referenced in several
28:12Canaanite sources
28:13as well as in the Bible.
28:16So given that
28:18the figurine's unique design
28:19helped place it
28:20both historically
28:21and geographically,
28:22may be the key
28:24to determining
28:24the amulet's origin
28:26might be found
28:27in its engravings.
28:29A close examination
28:31of the amulet's
28:32intricate design
28:33leads to a critical clue.
28:36The flat side
28:38of the stone
28:38has a beautifully rendered
28:39engraving of a scarab,
28:41which has origins
28:42going back
28:43to ancient Egypt.
28:45Scarab beetles
28:46or dung beetles
28:47lay their eggs
28:48in balls of dung
28:49from which
28:50a new generation emerges.
28:52The Egyptians
28:53saw this
28:54as a powerful symbol
28:56of rebirth
28:56and an incarnation
28:58of their sun god,
28:59Kepri.
29:01A beetle
29:02rolling a ball
29:02of dung
29:03was associated
29:04with Kepri
29:05rolling the disk
29:06of the sun
29:06across the celestial universe.
29:10Scarab imagery
29:11appeared in many
29:12different forms
29:13in ancient Egypt.
29:14As amulets,
29:15a scarab beetle
29:16could be made
29:17from precious metals
29:18like gold
29:19and faience.
29:19They were worn
29:21as pins
29:21or jewelry
29:22for protection
29:22and to ensure
29:23a safe passage
29:24into the afterlife.
29:27A scarab talisman
29:29was frequently placed
29:30on the hearts
29:30of mummies
29:31as a symbol
29:32of eternal life.
29:34The scarab
29:35also appeared
29:35in hieroglyphic form
29:37on the walls
29:37of Egyptian tombs
29:38and burial sites.
29:40So,
29:41if the discovered amulet
29:42features imagery
29:43with Egyptian roots,
29:44is it possible
29:45that Egypt
29:46had some kind
29:47of cultural
29:47or religious influence
29:48over the Canaanites?
29:56The discovery
29:57of a Canaanite temple
29:58reveals the most likely
30:00explanation
30:00for the Shephelah scarab.
30:04At the very top
30:05of the ancient city
30:06of Azekah,
30:07the ruins of a temple
30:08that appeared
30:09to have been built
30:10to greet the rising sun
30:12were discovered.
30:13The Late Bronze Age
30:14compound features
30:15an open-air sanctuary
30:17with a stone-paved platform
30:19that offered
30:20a spectacular
30:21eastward view
30:22of the Valley of Elah,
30:23the setting of the duel
30:25between David and Goliath.
30:28While worship
30:29of the sun
30:30and various sun gods
30:31has been a feature
30:32of Egyptian spiritual life
30:33throughout its long history,
30:35it was inside
30:36the temple walls
30:37where the biggest collection
30:38of evidence
30:39was found.
30:41Several of the temple's chambers
30:43contained cultic objects
30:44that blended Egyptian
30:45and Canaanite elements,
30:47including a bronze statue
30:49of a Canaanite storm god
30:51and an amulet
30:52made from a mineral
30:53unavailable in Canaan,
30:55which would have been
30:56imported from Egypt.
30:58The amulet's back
30:59was covered with hieroglyphs,
31:01while the front
31:02depicted a triad
31:03of Egyptian deities.
31:04The sun god Ra,
31:05the lord of war
31:07and mischief, Seth,
31:08and the sky goddess,
31:10Hathor.
31:12Taken together,
31:14the findings suggest
31:15a strong influence
31:16of ancient Egyptian culture
31:17on Canaanite religious practices.
31:20And this is in line
31:21with the historical record.
31:23Canaanites,
31:24like others in the region,
31:25were fascinated
31:26by many aspects
31:27of Egyptian culture.
31:29They often imported
31:30or imitated
31:31their food, clothing,
31:32and even luxury items
31:34such as jewelry
31:35and personal talismans
31:37like the one found
31:37on the Shephelah hiking trail.
31:40Plucked from thousands,
31:43a single stone
31:44reveals just one
31:45of the many hidden stories
31:46buried in the former land
31:48of Judea.
31:50Discoveries like
31:52the Shephelah amulet
31:53strengthen our understanding
31:54of the ancient connection
31:56between the Egyptian
31:57and Canaanite civilizations.
32:10With a population
32:12of over half a million,
32:13Iraq's bustling city
32:15of Nazaria lies
32:16on the lower Euphrates River,
32:19around 225 miles south
32:21of Baghdad.
32:24Founded in the late 18th century
32:26by a tribal confederation
32:28called the Muntahfi,
32:30Nazaria's hostile climate
32:32did not stop the city
32:33from growing into
32:34an important hub
32:35for transportation
32:36and industry.
32:38But the history
32:38of the surrounding area
32:40goes back much further,
32:41over 5,000 years,
32:43as the location
32:44of the ancient city
32:45of Lagash.
32:48Lagash is known
32:49for being one
32:50of the first urban centers
32:51of the Sumerian civilization
32:53of Iraq,
32:54what was then
32:55called Mesopotamia
32:56between the 6th
32:57and 5th millennium BCE.
32:59Today, it's one
33:00of the largest
33:01archaeological sites
33:02in the region,
33:02and its excavations
33:04have provided
33:05critical insights
33:06into the Sumerian people.
33:08A team of archaeologists
33:10is working at Lagash
33:11when they make
33:12a rare discovery.
33:14In the southern half
33:15of the site,
33:16they notice traces
33:17of waste material
33:18from the manufacturing
33:19of ceramics
33:20and pottery.
33:22And when they continued
33:23to dig beneath
33:23the elevated sections
33:25of the sandy plateau,
33:26they unearthed
33:27a large square trench
33:29containing six kilns
33:31for producing ceramics,
33:33all right next
33:33to one another.
33:36The lower half
33:37of the kilns
33:38had oval pits
33:39made from
33:40baked mud brick.
33:42No upper portions
33:43remained,
33:44but it was determined
33:44that the tops
33:45were likely domed
33:47and made from
33:47the same mud and clay
33:49that lined them.
33:51Just west
33:52of the kiln pits
33:53was an open space
33:54with benches
33:55and a table
33:56most likely used
33:57by the ceramic makers.
34:00The discovery
34:01of one kiln
34:02in Lagash
34:03is not unusual
34:04in the context
34:05of a domestic dwelling.
34:07In fact,
34:08in a nearby open square,
34:10a kitchen space
34:11had already been excavated
34:12to reveal clay jar stoppers,
34:15a grinding stone,
34:17and a toilet
34:18several rooms over.
34:20But what makes
34:21this find so compelling
34:23is the six kilns together,
34:27which suggests
34:28an organized
34:28and concentrated approach
34:30to ceramic production.
34:32Is it possible
34:33the kiln trench
34:35is just part
34:36of a larger
34:37industrial complex?
34:39For most
34:39of the third millennium,
34:41Lagash
34:41was one of the largest cities
34:43in all of
34:43southern Mesopotamia.
34:45Its strategic location
34:47between the Tigris
34:48and Euphrates rivers
34:49was the key
34:50to its growth
34:51as a major political
34:52and religious capital
34:54of Sumer.
34:55In the early dynastic period,
34:572900 BCE
34:58to 2350 BCE,
35:01the rulers of Lagash
35:02called themselves kings.
35:04Technically,
35:04that was a bit
35:05of an exaggeration
35:06because this city-state
35:07was never officially included
35:09in the Sumerian kingship.
35:11Not surprisingly,
35:13most of the recovered artifacts
35:14and architecture
35:15of Lagash
35:16have focused
35:17on the city's
35:17powerful rulers
35:18and elites.
35:19This has left
35:21many questions
35:21about the lives
35:22of the often-overlooked
35:24middle-class citizens
35:25who made up
35:26most of the population
35:27of Lagash
35:28and lived in the section
35:29of the city
35:30where the kilns
35:30were discovered.
35:31An expanded survey
35:33of the area
35:34surrounding the kiln site
35:35leads to surprising results.
35:38There was a large
35:39courtyard space nearby,
35:41but it was difficult
35:42to excavate
35:43having already been
35:44compromised
35:45by exposure.
35:46So, a new
35:48cutting-edge technique
35:49called microstratigraphic sampling
35:51was applied
35:52where high-tech tools
35:54are used
35:55to uncover the surface
35:56in thin sections
35:58one by one.
36:02The approach paid off.
36:05Just 19 inches
36:06below the initial surface,
36:08there was another
36:09kitchen area
36:10including an oven,
36:11storage vessels
36:12for food,
36:13and more benches
36:14and tables
36:15dating to roughly
36:162,700 B.C.
36:19But the most curious thing
36:21was the sheer number
36:22of benches
36:23and the size
36:23of the eating area.
36:25This was no single
36:26dwelling dining room.
36:27It was an open-air
36:29public space
36:30dedicated to feeding
36:31many people
36:32at one sitting.
36:34So, was this
36:35some 5,000-year-old
36:37Sumerian food court
36:38or tavern
36:39dedicated to feeding
36:40the hungry masses
36:41of Lagash?
36:50As the excavation
36:51of the Lagash site
36:52continues,
36:54it wouldn't be
36:54the first time
36:55that an archaeological dig
36:57led to the discovery
36:58of what was thought
36:59to be an ancient tavern.
37:02If you want
37:02a really good look
37:03at the dining habits
37:04of the Romans,
37:05look no further
37:06than the excavated remains
37:08of a large communal space
37:09in Latte, France.
37:11This place
37:12is more recent.
37:13It dates to about
37:1475 B.C.E.,
37:15but it probably reflects
37:16what life was like
37:17in Lagash, too.
37:19The French site
37:19includes these
37:20three indoor gristmills
37:22and three ovens
37:24for baking flatbread.
37:25So, it was initially
37:27believed that these
37:28were the remains
37:28of a bakery.
37:30But further digging
37:32revealed the presence
37:33of several benches
37:34and a charcoal-burning hearth,
37:36along with pieces
37:37of large bowls
37:39and platters.
37:41Suddenly,
37:41it looked less
37:43like a take-out bakery
37:44and more like
37:45a dining establishment
37:46where the locals
37:47could sit
37:48and share a meal.
37:50The findings
37:51also provided insight
37:53into the foods
37:54that would have been
37:55featured on the menu,
37:56since bones
37:57from fish,
37:59sheep,
37:59and cattle
38:00were also found
38:01on the site.
38:02The discovery
38:04cast a critical light
38:05on the history
38:06of the world's
38:07earliest restaurants.
38:09According to a recent study,
38:11the first establishments
38:12to sell food
38:13and drinks
38:13to the public
38:14began to emerge
38:15around 1550 C.E.
38:18in Constantinople.
38:19If it could be proven
38:21that this 2,000-year-old
38:23Roman tavern
38:24was a commercial enterprise,
38:25then it would challenge
38:27the previous record.
38:28However,
38:29the absence
38:30of any coins
38:31from the period
38:31at the site
38:32made it virtually
38:33impossible to verify.
38:35Maybe the discovery
38:36at Lagash
38:37would prove different.
38:38As the excavation
38:39of the Lagash site
38:41continues,
38:42compelling new evidence
38:43comes to light.
38:44Across from where
38:45the oven was discovered,
38:46there's a large,
38:47circular,
38:48half-buried structure
38:49containing a pot
38:50and layers
38:50of pottery shards.
38:52This was identified
38:53as a zeer,
38:54an underground cooling device
38:56similar to a refrigerator
38:57that was used
38:58to keep foods
38:59and drinks cool.
39:01There were also
39:02additional benches
39:03and shelves
39:04found close to the oven.
39:06Now, those shelves
39:07had collapsed,
39:08but each one
39:09had four levels,
39:10some of them
39:11stacked with conical bowls,
39:13and in some of those bowls,
39:15you could still find
39:16the remains of fish
39:17and other food.
39:20But the biggest surprise
39:22was revealed
39:23when three levels
39:25of a second building
39:26were discovered
39:27to the east
39:28of the large kitchen area.
39:30This building
39:31had an industrial-sized oven,
39:33a large basin
39:35made from baked brick,
39:36and several ceramic vats.
39:39In other words,
39:41all the necessary ingredients
39:42for a brewery.
39:44There was even
39:46a recipe for beer
39:47found on a cuneiform tablet.
39:51So at this stage,
39:52it's safe to call
39:53the gathering place
39:54a bona fide tavern.
39:56There was a public courtyard
39:57with benches and tables,
39:59a kitchen area
40:00with an oven,
40:01storage vessels for food,
40:03and a refrigeration unit,
40:04and of course,
40:05the brewery
40:06to the east.
40:07And at roughly
40:084,800 years old,
40:11it would also be
40:12the oldest known tavern
40:13in recorded history.
40:15But was the ancient tavern
40:17also a business
40:18engaging in commerce
40:19of some kind,
40:20or was it purely
40:21for social congregation?
40:23A closer look
40:24at the city's growth pattern
40:26offers an important clue.
40:28The Sumerians
40:29in Lagash
40:30were so successful
40:31at domesticating crops
40:32that it led
40:33to a food surplus,
40:34but it also led
40:35to the emergence
40:36of a new social class
40:37not directly involved
40:39in food production.
40:40In this case,
40:41a middle class
40:42that had a sizable degree
40:43of independence
40:44that made decisions
40:45that had both agency
40:47and mobility.
40:48The presence of the tavern
40:50offers this snapshot
40:51of a public gathering space
40:53where people could sit down,
40:55have a pint of beer,
40:56and a little bit of fish stew.
40:58This place suggests
40:59that the middle class
41:00didn't necessarily have wealth,
41:02but they did have money.
41:04Presumably,
41:05that's how they paid
41:06for their food here,
41:07and also at the site in France.
41:11The middle class
41:12of Lagash
41:13eventually developed trades,
41:15produced and exchanged goods,
41:17and became artisans
41:18and craftsmen.
41:20And one can easily imagine
41:23they went to the tavern
41:24to unwind
41:25after a long day of work.
41:28The initial discovery
41:29of the six kilns
41:31close by
41:31supports the image
41:33of a group of ceramicists
41:35who were no doubt thirsty
41:37after toiling over
41:38their hot kilns
41:39in the desert.
41:40The incredible tavern
41:43of Lagash
41:44is an important addition
41:45to our understanding
41:47of the Sumerian civilization
41:48and a challenge
41:49to many historical perspectives.
41:52It suggests
41:52the lives of those
41:53who built the city
41:54were more varied,
41:56nuanced,
41:56and social
41:57than previously believed.
41:59and the other
42:01of the other
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