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00:01Beneath Naples, Italy, the occupant of a centuries-old tomb is called into question.
00:07Researchers suggested that one of the graves in the monument's not what it seems.
00:11In the cliffside caves of the Judean desert, an archaeologist makes a grim discovery.
00:18They uncovered Roman cult objects, Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts,
00:22and the skeletal remains of at least 17 individuals.
00:26But who carried these objects into the cliffs?
00:30And why?
00:30A massive limestone cave structure is discovered below the streets of Malta.
00:35What we now call the Halsafliani Hypogeum revealed itself as a sprawling subterranean labyrinth.
00:42But who carved this intricate subterranean labyrinth?
00:46And why?
00:49Below the busy streets of the world's cities exists a hidden realm of wonder.
00:56Sprawling ancient complexes.
01:00Mysterious tombs.
01:02Top-secret military bases.
01:06Strange structures.
01:08And lost artifacts.
01:11Buried beneath our feet and long forgotten.
01:14Until now.
01:17Underground marbles are exposed to reveal what lies.
01:21Hidden beneath the cities.
01:2523 miles northwest of Italy's iconic Amalfi coast, nestled in the country's Campania region, is the bustling city of Naples.
01:37Naples is a quintessential Italian city.
01:39But interestingly, it was founded by Greek settlers in 600 BCE.
01:44After centuries of rule by a shifting array of leaders, it joined the newly unified kingdom of Italy in 1861.
01:52The city has incredible historic monuments, centuries-old palaces, and because of its Catholic roots, over 450 churches.
02:03It's also a city on top of a city.
02:10It's also a city on top of a city.
02:22One of the most fascinating historical sites in Naples is situated at the center of town, the monumental complex of
02:29Santa Maria La Nova.
02:32It was founded in 1279 as a Franciscan citadel, but it eventually became a cultural hub for the city, collecting
02:39artistic works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
02:43Today, it boasts a museum, a breathtaking church, and cloisters that are lined with the tombs and monuments of nobles.
02:53In 2014, a startling claim from outside the walls of Santa Maria La Nova shakes the spiritual foundation of this
03:02historic landmark.
03:04Researchers suggested that one of the graves in the monument St. Giacomo della Marca Cloister is not what it seems.
03:12The marble tomb was sculpted by a renowned Italian artist named Jacopo della Pilla and has all the hallmarks of
03:20an elaborate Renaissance-era design.
03:22There's a large decorative arch adorned with rosettes and an insignia depicting the Madonna and child.
03:29And a series of remarkable carvings adorn the tomb, including a dragon and a pair of opposing sphinxes.
03:37For hundreds of years, the tomb was always assumed to be that of Matteo Farillo, a powerful nobleman in 15th
03:45century Naples.
03:46But the scholar contends that the tomb is merely a decoy designed to conceal the secret burial site of its
03:53true occupant,
03:54a 15th century prince named Vlad III Draculia, a man who would become the inspiration for none other than Count
04:02Dracula.
04:04It's an astounding proposition.
04:07Prince Vlad dedicated most of his adult life to fighting back the expansion of the Ottoman Empire,
04:12and he became known for his cruel and brutal tactics on the battlefield.
04:18He was particularly famous for executing his victims by impalement, earning him the moniker Tsepeş, which means the impaler.
04:29Reportedly, during a winter battle against the Ottomans in 1476, Vlad was decapitated.
04:35His head was preserved in honey and sent to the sultan in Constantinople, but it's never been clear where his
04:41headless corpse was eventually buried.
04:44In the 15th century, the kingdom of Naples was a military powerhouse and a known ally to those fighting the
04:49Ottoman Empire.
04:51So it's plausible that after his untimely death, Prince Vlad's followers may have fled Romania and brought his corpse to
04:57Naples for burial.
04:59It's also been suggested that the prince wasn't killed in battle.
05:03Instead, he was captured by the Ottomans and ransomed by his daughter, who had previously escaped to the court of
05:09Naples.
05:09It's alleged that Vlad was then brought to the city to live out the rest of his days.
05:15And upon his death, he was secretly entombed at the monumental complex to protect the body from his enemies.
05:23Researchers point to the sculptural details carved into the sarcophagus as clues about its inhabitant.
05:29The dragon carving is interpreted as a key symbol linking the tomb to Vlad Draculia, a reference to his last
05:36name, son of the dragon.
05:38And like his father before him, Prince Vlad was a member of an order of knights called the Order of
05:44the Dragon.
05:44The image of the two sphinxes could also be a coded message representing the Egyptian city of Thebes,
05:50which proponents claim to be phonetically similar to tseppish, the Romanian word for impaler.
05:56But these interpretations of the carvings are fairly tenuous, to say the least.
06:01We see sphinxes and dragons as common motifs in many pieces from the Neapolitan Renaissance.
06:08But there's another clue carved into the marble that confounds even the harshest skeptics of the Naples burial.
06:15Hidden beneath the tomb, there's a strange inscription that doesn't seem to be written in any known language.
06:21When the characters of the epigraph were analyzed, it was estimated that it was likely written in the 16th century,
06:28after the tomb was installed.
06:29So why would someone chisel these letters into the back of a tomb a hundred years later?
06:35The bizarre writing is fuel for proponents of the Naples burial theory, but critics challenge the very premise of Vlad's
06:42arrival here.
06:43We know that Prince Vlad had three sons, but there's no certainty that he had a daughter.
06:48It makes the entire idea that Vlad somehow survived the battle with the Ottomans before being whisked away to Naples
06:53seem highly suspect.
06:55But, if we can assume he was killed in battle, what happened to his body?
07:00For centuries, local folklore in Romania told an altogether different story of Prince Vlad's final days.
07:07It was said that after he was killed on the battlefield and beheaded by the Ottomans, monks recovered his body
07:13to give it a proper Christian burial.
07:16The corpse of Vlad reportedly was transported to the Snagov Monastery, located on an island near Bucharest, where he was
07:24buried in front of the church altar, hidden away from anyone who may have wanted to defile the grave.
07:30So, could this be the final resting place of Vlad the Impaler?
07:36In 1933, archaeologists received permission to excavate the unmarked grave.
07:42Inside the tomb, they found a coffin and a collection of bizarre artifacts, including fragments of prehistoric pottery and horseboats.
07:51A second monastery in Romania may hold a more credible claim to the body of the prince.
07:57In 1461, Vlad founded his own monastery in Comana, Romania.
08:00It was located just south of Bucharest, where the prince would meet his end during that fateful winter battle.
08:06After he was killed, it seems entirely possible that the prince's followers would have transported him to his own monastery.
08:11And here's where it gets interesting.
08:14Sometime in the 1970s, a group of archaeologists supposedly excavated the monastery grounds and discovered a tomb.
08:23However, as enticing as it may be, there's no proof that the tomb found at Comana was Vlad the Impaler.
08:30The excavation was poorly documented, so it's unknown if the remains were ever analyzed or where they're even housed today.
08:38Another problem with the Comana theory is that the original church founded by Vlad was demolished and then rebuilt in
08:44the 16th century.
08:46Even if we can assume that Vlad was buried there, it's highly unlikely the original tomb would have survived the
08:52monastery's demolition.
08:54Ultimately, the real occupant of the tomb may be hidden in plain sight.
08:59There's a clear inscription written in Latin stating the name of the Neapolitan nobleman it was commissioned for, Matteo Farillo.
09:08Lying on top of the sarcophagus is a stone effigy of Farillo himself.
09:13Notably, the facial features of the effigy bear no resemblance to the famous painting of Vlad Draculea, which sits today
09:21in the Ambrass Castle in Austria.
09:23The dragon carved into the marble tomb is actually the official crest of the Farillo family.
09:29And a winged dragon was also a symbol associated with the kings of Aragon, whom Farillo had served.
09:35And there's another important feature to the tomb that makes Vlad's Naples burial problematic.
09:40The tomb itself is dated to 1499.
09:42This flies in the face of the accepted timeline around Vlad's death.
09:46If he had died on the battlefield in the winter of 1476,
09:49why would his headless body have been transported to Naples over 20 years later to be buried in the tomb
09:54of the Farillo family?
09:55In June of 2025, an international team of researchers from Italy, Estonia, and Romania make a startling claim about the
10:05mysterious inscription.
10:06They claim they've managed to decipher the text on the back of the tomb.
10:10Incredibly, they allege it's the epitaph of an individual who is not Matteo Farillo, but that of Vlad the Impaler?
10:19The full text of the epigraph has not been released, nor has it been submitted to a third party for
10:25academic review.
10:26So we have no idea what methodology they're using to decipher the inscription or what it might say.
10:33The decoded text could be a revelation, a gross misinterpretation, or an elaborate hoax.
10:39At this point, we just don't know.
10:42Far from solving the mystery of Dracula's tomb, the translated epigraph has instead created more questions than answers.
10:50For now, the story of Vlad the Impaler's final resting place remains as mythic as the tale of the fictional
10:57vampire he inspired.
11:01About 20 miles south of Qumran, near the modern border of Jordan, the Nahal-Hevar stream winds through the Judean
11:09desert.
11:10The Judean desert, located east of Jerusalem, spans about 580 square miles, stretching between the Judean hills and the Dead
11:18Sea.
11:18Its proximity to ancient urban and religious centers like Bethlehem, Hebron, and Arad made it a critical crossroads throughout history.
11:27The caves scattered across the desert have served as refuges since prehistoric times.
11:32Their remote, rugged terrain offered natural concealment, making them ideal shelters for rebels, religious sects, and anyone fleeing conflict or
11:42persecution.
11:45After the 1947 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, these caves attracted intense interest from both archaeologists and
11:55looters alike.
11:56The region's extreme aridity helped preserve organic materials exceptionally well, making these caves rare repositories of cultural and historical evidence.
12:07In 1960, an Israeli archaeologist climbs into a hidden cave carved into the cliffs of Nahal-Hevar, on the western
12:16bank of the Dead Sea, bringing to light a trove untouched for nearly 2,000 years.
12:25After crawling nearly 450 feet into the bat-infested cave, they uncovered Roman cult objects, copper vessels, incense shovels, Hebrew
12:35and Aramaic manuscripts, and the skeletal remains of at least 17 individuals.
12:41Most of these artifacts date to a period of intense upheaval and Roman suppression in the 2nd century CE.
12:49The so-called Cave of Letters lies 300 feet below the Judean Desert Plateau and 650 feet above the valley
12:57floor.
12:58Inside, the cave splits into three vaults, each reachable only by squeezing through narrow, rocky gaps.
13:06So far, nearly 1,800 feet of passages have been explored.
13:11Interest in the cave began years earlier, when Bedouins reported fragmentary finds north of Masada.
13:18But when excavators returned in 1961, they found an even larger trove.
13:24Dozens of papyri, legal contracts, and biblical manuscripts.
13:28But they also found everyday items, such as utensils, baskets, textiles, jewelry, clothing,
13:33all of which offers us a glimpse of survival on the desert's edge.
13:38But the deeper purpose of this hidden cave is still a total mystery.
13:43We don't know who carried these objects into the cliffs.
13:45We don't know why.
13:46But the bigger question is, how did they hope to endure in this totally unforgiving place?
13:52And what do these traces reveal about how they've balanced resistance, faith, and everyday life?
13:59The Cave of Letters may have served a purpose deeply tied to writing, language, and cultural identity.
14:06Texts from the cave reveal at least four distinct private archives, offering rare insight into
14:12daily life, legal disputes, and social networks in Judea during the 1st and 2nd centuries CE.
14:17So, could the Cave of Letters have been used to safeguard family memory and legal identity?
14:22Among these archives, 35 separate papyrus scrolls belong to a woman named Babatha,
14:28the daughter of a wealthy Jewish landowner.
14:30Born around 104 CE in Mahosa, south of the Dead Sea, she inherited her father's date orchards
14:37and became an independent landowner.
14:40In 106 CE, the region was annexed by Rome, forcing locals to navigate new legal systems
14:46and Roman provincial courts.
14:49Babatha's archive included marriage contracts, property deeds, court petitions, and loan records,
14:56show how she actively defended her rights as a twice-widowed mother,
15:00even confronting Roman-appointed guardians in Petra.
15:05Written in Greek, Nabataean, and Aramaic, these documents reveal her wealth, her authority,
15:12and underscore how crucial written records were for protecting property and social standing under Roman rule.
15:19The team also uncovered Babatha's personal belongings, jewelry, expensive clothing, sandals, a mirror, cosmetics,
15:28all of it carefully stashed in a rock crevice and then covered with a stone.
15:33Now, that suggests she intended to come back.
15:37So, even while fleeing, she prioritized preserving her identity and rights.
15:43And this reinforces the idea that the Cave of Letters functioned as a sanctuary
15:48for safeguarding vital personal and legal records.
15:53Ten miles to the north, evidence at the Wadi Maraba Caves reveals a strikingly similar pattern.
16:00In 1952, excavations at the site uncovered textiles, baskets, ropes,
16:06and a substantial collection of leather and papyrus fragments written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.
16:12Most date to the early 2nd century CE, including a Greek marriage contract from 124,
16:18further evidence that families carried legal and personal records while fleeing Roman forces.
16:24This pattern supports the idea that the Cave of Letters was chosen as a secure location
16:30to protect important materials during times of crisis.
16:34The last document in Babatha's archive dates to August 132 CE in Mahosa.
16:39Soon after, she likely fled south as Roman forces advanced,
16:43ultimately seeking shelter in the Cave of Letters.
16:45Her carefully deposited archive provides rare archaeological evidence
16:49of how Jewish families fought to preserve their rights and identities in the face of upheaval.
16:53And it also raises the possibility that the cave's role extended beyond just simple storage.
16:58Other evidence inside the cave suggests a sudden, organized occupation tied to a critical moment of resistance and a tragic
17:07end.
17:07Inside the cave, archaeologists found 11 to 15 letters from Simon Bar Kochba.
17:13He's the leader of a fierce Jewish uprising against Rome during Emperor Hadrian's reign.
17:19So the question is, could this cache indicate that the cave once functioned as a hidden command post
17:26as Roman forces were closing in?
17:29Seven of these letters were addressed to his deputy commander, issuing orders for supplies and arrests.
17:35These documents anchor the cave to the revolt's second phase, around 132 to 135 CE,
17:42when fighters shifted from open battle to guerrilla tactics.
17:46By that time, the rebels had turned to defensive strategies,
17:51creating a network of hidden strongholds in caves and remote hideouts throughout Judea to stall Roman advances.
17:58This fierce resistance was driven by Emperor Hadrian's severe measures,
18:03including the founding of Elia Capitolina on the ruins of Jerusalem,
18:07with plans to build a temple to Jupiter over the destroyed Jewish temple,
18:12acts that pushed many to the breaking point.
18:15By 2015, archaeologists had recorded about 350 of these hideouts across 140 villages.
18:22The Cave of Letters fits within this strategy.
18:26It's a concealed sanctuary reached only when surface positions are no longer tenable.
18:32Around 25 miles south of Jerusalem, just west of the Dead Sea,
18:37another cave offers a chilling glimpse into a community pushed to the edge under siege.
18:44The Cave of Horror, accessible only by descending 200 feet on ropes,
18:48was discovered in the 1950s and used as a hidden refuge during the Bar Kokhba revolt,
18:53which was a Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in Judea.
18:56Archaeologists have since uncovered 40 human skeletons, including a child wrapped in cloth.
19:01Roman encampments found directly above the cave suggest that those inside were besieged,
19:06cut off from supplies, and ultimately died of starvation.
19:09Like the Cave of Horror, the Cave of Letters shows a carefully planned attempt at survival,
19:15but evidence inside challenges the idea of a final military fortress.
19:19The presence of women and children, combined with extreme heat and a lack of water,
19:25suggests it wasn't designed for prolonged defense.
19:28The conditions of the remains supports this.
19:32Skulls were separated and gathered in baskets.
19:35Jawbones are missing.
19:37Longbones are wrapped in mats.
19:39These are all signs of crisis-driven makeshift burials.
19:45And the absence of violent trauma also indicates that these individuals likely died from starvation,
19:52not combat.
19:53While the letters from Bar Kokhba point to an organized military presence,
19:58the cave's proximity to Ein Gedi, a communal settlement and key economic center,
20:03from which rebels fled during the revolt's final stages,
20:06suggests that local fighters, possibly joined by families,
20:10used it as an emergency refuge, not a fortified holdout.
20:15Together, these clues point to a short-term shelter during extreme danger,
20:20rather than a permanent military base.
20:22This perspective also opens the possibility that the cave's use began even earlier,
20:28during an older and equally desperate chapter in Jewish history.
20:33Archaeologists uncovered about 80 new fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Cave of Horrath,
20:38dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE.
20:42These fragments, including sections of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets written in Greek,
20:47offer a glimpse into the religious mindset of refugee communities.
20:52Beyond family archives and rebel hideouts, some interpreted evidence from the Cave of Letters
20:58as holding secrets tied to the fall of Jerusalem's holiest sanctuary.
21:03During the original excavations, archaeologists uncovered bronze objects,
21:07including incense shovels, originally believed to be Roman items,
21:11but possibly plundered by Bar Kokhba's fighters from Ein Gedi.
21:13But decades later, another team proposed a bold reinterpretation.
21:17Could these objects actually date to the 1st century CE,
21:21hidden after the destruction of Jerusalem's 2nd temple in 70 CE?
21:26Excavations in 1999 and 2000 uncovered coins from multiple periods,
21:31including a Nabataean coin from 106 CE,
21:34a Trajan coin from around 113 CE,
21:36a silver coin of Vespasian dated to 70 CE,
21:40and a first revolt coin from 68 CE.
21:43Together, these finds suggest that the cave may have been occupied
21:47even before the Bar Kokhba uprising,
21:50perhaps during the earlier first Jewish revolt.
21:54About 100 miles north in Migdal,
21:56on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee,
21:59another discovery may shed light on the movement of sacred objects
22:03and practices beyond Jerusalem.
22:06Archaeologists uncovered a delicately crafted bronze incense shovel and jug
22:11in a 2,000-year-old Jewish settlement.
22:13Magdala was once a bustling port,
22:16and later a military base for Jewish rebels against Rome,
22:20and held a large synagogue dating to the early 1st century CE.
22:24The shovel was from the 2nd temple period,
22:26and was likely used to rake coals during ritual incense offerings,
22:30though it might have also served practical daily purposes.
22:34The Magdala shovel closely resembles the incense shovel
22:38found at the Cave of Letters,
22:39and that parallel suggests that implements
22:43originally tied to temple rituals in Jerusalem
22:46were present across distant communities,
22:49possibly carried by the people who lived there
22:52seeking to protect their sacred practices and objects
22:56from Roman pressure.
22:58In the end, no definitive evidence confirms
23:01that the Cave of Letters was occupied
23:03during the 1st century CE.
23:05And whether it served as a temporary refuge,
23:07a secure archive, or a secret treasury for temple relics,
23:11that's all still up for debate.
23:13The cave's full story is yet to be unfolded.
23:17The Cave of Letters holds a stratified record
23:19of refuge, resistance,
23:21and the effort to safeguard identity under Roman rule.
23:24Each artifact unearthed not only expands our understanding,
23:29but also deepens the questions
23:31surrounding the cave's shifting roles across time.
23:37Two miles south of Valletta,
23:40perched on a low limestone ridge
23:42above Malta's Grand Harbor,
23:44sits the modern town of Paola.
23:47Paola lies at the center of Malta's urban sprawl,
23:50just beyond the capital.
23:51Built in the 17th century to ease overcrowding in Valletta,
23:55it became a home for dock workers and laborers
23:57tied to the booming harbor.
23:59More than 9,000 people live here
24:02in less than one square mile.
24:06Malta is a crossroads,
24:08an island just 60 miles south of Sicily.
24:11Its central position in the Mediterranean
24:13made it a hub for trade and cultural exchange
24:16for millennia.
24:20Malta's story begins long before recorded history.
24:24By about 5200 BCE,
24:27Neolithic settlers had arrived from Sicily,
24:29mainly fishermen, hunters, and farmers
24:32who lived in caves.
24:33But by 3600 BCE,
24:36they were constructing megalithic temples,
24:39vast stone complexes
24:41that predate both Stonehenge
24:43and the pyramids of Egypt.
24:46In 1902,
24:48during the construction of a housing subdivision
24:50on Halsefliani Street,
24:52a stonemason falls through a roof
24:55and stumbles into something strange.
24:57There was a hollow chamber
25:00beneath the soft limestone.
25:02Initially, the discovery was suppressed
25:04to avoid disrupting construction,
25:06but in 1903,
25:08once most of the homes had already been built,
25:11it was formally reported.
25:12The Valetta Museum assigns a Jesuit priest
25:15to lead the first official excavation.
25:17What he uncovers
25:19is unlike anything Malta had seen.
25:24What we now call
25:26the Halsefliani Hypogeum
25:28revealed itself
25:29as a sprawling subterranean labyrinth.
25:33The oldest chamber
25:35was likely a natural cave
25:36that was gradually transformed
25:38into a complex of over 30 rooms
25:41across three levels.
25:42It descends to a depth
25:44of nearly 35 feet
25:46and stretches across
25:47almost 5,400 square feet
25:50beneath the modern city.
25:51There are no straight lines,
25:53just fluid organic curves,
25:55and all of it was carved by hand
25:57using nothing but stone, horn, and antler.
25:59The complex is dated
26:01at over 6,000 years old,
26:03making it one of the most extensive
26:05and best-preserved
26:06Neolithic environments ever found.
26:08But who carved
26:09this intricate subterranean labyrinth,
26:12and why?
26:13Another archaeologist
26:15takes over the excavation
26:16of the Halsefliani Hypogeum
26:19and discovers something unexpected.
26:21The chambers,
26:23especially those on the lower level
26:25and near the entrance,
26:26were packed with dense red earth
26:28around three feet deep in places.
26:31Embedded in it were bones,
26:33Neolithic pottery,
26:34tools, and beads.
26:36They also found burial chambers
26:38in the upper level.
26:40Given the density
26:41and placement of these remains,
26:43it seems like it may have been used
26:45as a burial site.
26:47It was first believed
26:49that the Hypogeum
26:50may have functioned
26:51as a vast secondary ossuary.
26:53Bodies would have been
26:54defleshed elsewhere,
26:55and only the bones brought here.
26:58Some estimates suggest
27:00that based on the site's scale,
27:02layout, and depth,
27:04it was estimated
27:04that it could have held
27:06the remains of up to 7,000 individuals
27:09accumulated over centuries.
27:10When some of the skulls
27:13were re-examined in the 1980s,
27:15surprising clues jumped out.
27:17One skull had clear signs
27:19of sun exposure,
27:20suggesting that it had been left
27:21to dry before burial.
27:23That tells us
27:24that there may have been
27:25a secondary burial practice.
27:27Some of the skulls
27:29are removed for examination,
27:31and the results
27:31are rather surprising.
27:33They have an elongated
27:35cranial shape
27:36known as dolicocephaly,
27:37and later tests
27:38showed evidence
27:39of thalassemia intermedia,
27:41a blood disorder
27:42that can lead
27:43to bone abnormalities.
27:45In antiquity,
27:47physical traits
27:47like elongated skulls
27:49or even extra digits
27:50were often interpreted
27:52as signs of
27:53semi-divine status
27:54or ancestry,
27:55and interestingly,
27:57similar cranial features
27:58appear in depictions
27:59of New Kingdom pharaohs.
28:01It raises the possibility
28:03that this wasn't
28:04just a communal burial site,
28:06but a sacred resting place
28:08for individuals
28:09believed to hold
28:10special status.
28:12But the burials here
28:14don't fit
28:15a ceremonial pattern.
28:16One skeleton
28:17at House Cephaliani
28:18was found twisted
28:20on its right side,
28:21frozen in a contorted position
28:23consistent with
28:24cadaveric spasm.
28:26That's the kind
28:26of muscular rigidity
28:27that occurs
28:28in sudden traumatic deaths
28:30like drowning.
28:31That stands
28:32in sharp contrast
28:34to ritual burials
28:35at nearby sites
28:37like Burmigues,
28:38where individuals
28:39with similar
28:40elongated skulls
28:41were carefully placed
28:43in a uniform
28:44left-facing pose.
28:46And in one chamber,
28:48over 120 skeletons
28:50were crammed
28:51into a space
28:51that could barely
28:52fit a dozen bodies.
28:53The remains
28:54were so mixed up
28:55and disturbed
28:56that artifacts
28:57were found
28:57inside skulls.
28:59Whatever happened here,
29:01it wasn't
29:01a structured burial.
29:03Just half a mile away,
29:05at Santa Lucia,
29:06researchers discovered
29:08a site
29:08with noticeable parallels
29:09to the hypogeum.
29:11They found
29:12a subterranean chamber
29:14filled with red soil,
29:15disarticulated bones,
29:16and a chaotic scattering
29:18of pottery and tools,
29:19as if the contents
29:20had been dumped
29:21in there from the surface.
29:23Given the site's proximity
29:24to the hypogeum,
29:26could the same kind of event
29:28have unfolded there?
29:29One theory points
29:31to the alluvial nature
29:32of the deposit,
29:33suggesting a catastrophic flood
29:35swept through
29:36the original entrance,
29:38carrying centuries
29:39of artifacts,
29:40human remains,
29:41and ochre-stained soil
29:43into the open chambers below.
29:45Similar material
29:46found near the original entrance
29:48supports this idea.
29:50But as the chambers deepen,
29:52so does the complexity.
29:53And some features
29:54seem designed
29:55not for the dead,
29:57but for the living.
29:59Red ochre spirals,
30:01checkerboards,
30:02and honeycomb patterns
30:03cover the walls
30:04and ceilings,
30:06Malta's only surviving
30:08prehistoric paintings.
30:10Figurines of birds
30:12and animals,
30:13some small enough
30:14to be worn as pendants,
30:15appear carefully placed.
30:17And at the heart of it all,
30:18the so-called sleeping lady,
30:20which is a ceramic figure
30:22of a reclining woman,
30:24was found in the main hall,
30:26which is the largest
30:27room.
30:28There's also an interesting
30:30parallel at Tarsian.
30:31Figures representing
30:32diseased body parts
30:34were found there.
30:34They displayed
30:35exaggerated abdominal swelling,
30:38hollowed iliac regions,
30:40and a chythotic spine,
30:41which could reflect
30:42health issues
30:43such as abdominal tumors.
30:45It suggests
30:46that those temples
30:47may have served
30:48a votive
30:49or healing function,
30:50where people left offerings
30:52in the hope
30:52of divine intervention.
30:53So maybe that's
30:55what was happening
30:56at the hypogeum, too.
30:59At the core
31:00of the hypogeum,
31:01one team discovers
31:02the so-called
31:03Holy of Holies,
31:05a chamber
31:05that closely mirrors
31:06the design
31:07of Malta's
31:08above-ground temples.
31:10Just in front of it,
31:11they found a set
31:12of carved floor holes,
31:13likely used
31:14for pouring libations
31:15or securing ritual offerings.
31:17These same features
31:19appear on other
31:20above-ground sites
31:21in Malta,
31:22like Gigantia.
31:23It suggests
31:24a shared ceremonial language
31:25between the worlds
31:27above and below.
31:29That continuity
31:30runs deeper.
31:32Beveled cornices,
31:33pitted stone surfaces,
31:35even trilithon-style
31:36doorways,
31:37all echo
31:38what we see
31:39at other Maltese sites.
31:41And a carved plate
31:42featuring horned bulls
31:44was found,
31:44which mirrors
31:46the motifs found
31:47at Tarshan,
31:48a nearby
31:48archaeological complex.
31:50Near the entrance
31:51of one of the
31:52decorated rooms,
31:54there's a carved hand,
31:56eight inches long,
31:57with six fingers
31:59instead of five.
32:00It's far larger
32:02than any normal
32:03human hand.
32:04In many ancient cultures,
32:06polydactyly was seen
32:08as a sign of divinity,
32:10and it's been tied
32:11to cult ceremonies.
32:13On the second level,
32:15archaeologists uncover
32:16one of the most
32:17mysterious features
32:18in the entire structure,
32:19and the clues shift
32:21from the visual
32:21to the acoustic.
32:23Inside the so-called
32:25oracle room,
32:26there's a two-foot-wide
32:27hemispherical niche
32:29about the height
32:29of a man's mouth
32:30carved directly
32:32into the stone.
32:33When someone speaks
32:34or hums
32:34at that exact spot,
32:36the effect
32:37is astonishing.
32:38Low tones
32:39are amplified
32:40a hundredfold
32:41and carry
32:42throughout the
32:43entire complex.
32:44You could be
32:45in a completely
32:46different chamber
32:47and still hear
32:48every word.
32:50There's also
32:51a carved projection
32:52behind the oracle niche
32:54that functions
32:55almost like
32:55a sounding board.
32:56A voice projected
32:57from that spot
32:58could create
32:59the illusion of sound
33:00coming from all around.
33:01and with echoes
33:02lasting 78 seconds,
33:05amplifying even
33:06a single phrase.
33:07All this suggests
33:09the Hippogium
33:10was designed
33:10as a ritual
33:11performance base
33:12long before
33:13places like Delphi.
33:17Archaeologists noticed
33:18that even the ceiling
33:20appears to have been
33:21shaped like a waveguide,
33:23carefully contoured
33:24to help direct
33:24and amplify sound.
33:27Inside the oracle room,
33:29it was discovered
33:30that when a male voice
33:31hits certain tones,
33:33the entire chamber resonates.
33:36Studies have shown
33:37that frequencies
33:38in this range
33:38can alter brain activity,
33:41much like we've found
33:42inside megalithic chambers
33:43in the UK.
33:44It's likely the space
33:46was deliberately engineered
33:47for chanting
33:48or incantation
33:50to induce hypnotic,
33:52trance-like states
33:53of consciousness.
33:55Recent 3D wave simulations
33:58suggest those resonant peaks
34:01weren't accidental.
34:02To produce them,
34:04the builders would have needed
34:05to calibrate six to eight
34:07non-adjacent walls
34:09across multiple chambers,
34:12each within only
34:13four to ten inches
34:15of precision.
34:17That level of geometric
34:19coordination across separate spaces
34:22is no coincidence.
34:24The hypogeum
34:26is one of the
34:26oldest known examples
34:28of engineered resonance
34:30in human history.
34:32Between 3600
34:33and 2500 BCE,
34:36Maltus' prehistoric builders
34:37constructed more than
34:3930 megalithic temples,
34:41an architectural legacy
34:42unparalleled
34:44in Neolithic Europe.
34:47What makes these temples
34:49remarkable
34:49isn't just their age,
34:51it's their sophistication.
34:52Each site
34:54is uniquely engineered,
34:55but most follow
34:56a recognizable pattern.
34:57A concave facade,
34:59a central passage,
35:00and a series
35:01of semicircular chambers
35:03or apses
35:04arranged symmetrically.
35:05The scale
35:07is staggering.
35:09Builders quarried,
35:10transported,
35:11and raised limestone blocks
35:12weighing up to 20 tons
35:14to heights
35:15of nearly 20 feet.
35:16This kind of construction
35:18demanded coordinated labor,
35:20shared engineering knowledge,
35:21and long-term planning
35:23across generations.
35:25The Halsapleani hypogeum
35:28takes that ambition
35:29even further.
35:30It's the only known
35:32subterranean labyrinth
35:33of its kind
35:34in Neolithic Europe
35:35from 4000
35:36to 2500 BCE.
35:40In many ways,
35:42it feels like
35:42an intentional attempt
35:44to surpass
35:45everything above ground.
35:48artifacts dating
35:49to the 1700s,
35:51such as a coin
35:52from the Knights
35:53of St. John
35:54and a French cannonball,
35:56hint that the hypogeum
35:58may have been exposed
35:59or at least
36:00partially known
36:01long before
36:03its official rediscovery
36:04in the 20th century.
36:06But,
36:07if anyone
36:08understood what it was,
36:09we have no record of it.
36:12Today,
36:13the Halsapleani hypogeum
36:15stands as a testament
36:16to the ingenuity
36:17and imagination
36:18of a society
36:19at the dawn
36:20of agriculture.
36:23But for all
36:24we've uncovered,
36:25its artistry,
36:26acoustics,
36:27and architecture,
36:28much of its meaning
36:29remains sealed
36:30in stone,
36:31buried under the city.
36:34On Kenya's
36:36southeastern coast
36:37lies Kalifi County,
36:38a region renowned
36:39for its dazzling beaches,
36:41spectacular landscapes,
36:43and rich biodiversity.
36:46Unlike a lot
36:47of northern Kenya,
36:48which is quite dry,
36:49this part of the country
36:49is humid and tropical
36:51with lush forests
36:52that are home
36:53to a wide variety
36:55of plant species
36:56and wildlife.
36:57It's an ecotourism
36:58hotspot.
37:00The coastal areas
37:02near the Indian Ocean
37:03have sweeping
37:03mangrove forests,
37:05important breeding grounds
37:06for mollusks,
37:07crustaceans,
37:08and many species of fish.
37:09They also help
37:10protect the coastline
37:10from growing sea levels
37:11and damaging storms,
37:13and they play a vital part
37:14in capturing
37:15atmospheric carbon dioxide.
37:17Just under 10 miles inland
37:19are the Ditsoni uplands,
37:22a series of limestone hills
37:24almost two miles wide,
37:26situated in an ecotone,
37:28which is a transitional area
37:30between two biomes.
37:31In this case,
37:32the intersection
37:33of grassland savanna
37:35and tropical forest.
37:37The hills are popped
37:39with natural rock shelters
37:41and extensive cave complexes.
37:44One of these complexes
37:45is known as
37:46Panga Yasaidi,
37:48a multi-chambered cave system
37:50that extends
37:51over half a mile
37:52with a cavernous main chamber
37:54that reaches
37:541,100 square feet
37:56at its widest.
37:57It's partially unroofed,
38:00and the limestone walls
38:01tower almost 100 feet
38:03above the cave floor
38:04in some spots.
38:06In 2010,
38:07a team of international researchers
38:09arrives at Panga Yasaidi
38:11to investigate
38:12the history
38:13of Indian Ocean trade
38:14along East Africa's coast,
38:16only to discover
38:17much more
38:18than they bargained for.
38:20They quickly realized
38:21after the initial surveys
38:22that the site
38:23may be far more
38:24scientifically important
38:25than they'd initially thought,
38:26and so began
38:27a decade-long series
38:28of excavations
38:29that may upend
38:30long-held beliefs
38:31about human evolution
38:32in Africa.
38:35They discovered
38:3619 unique
38:38stratigraphic layers
38:39showing evidence
38:40of human presence
38:40going back
38:41about 78,000 years.
38:44That is the longest
38:45uninterrupted
38:46archaeological sequence
38:47in East Africa.
38:47That stretches
38:48from the Middle Stone Age
38:50all the way
38:51to about 500 years ago.
38:54One school of thought
38:55was that modern human behavior
38:57in Africa began
38:58during a somewhat short
39:00and sudden burst
39:01around 50,000 years ago.
39:03It's known
39:04as the human revolution theory,
39:06a time when early
39:07Homo sapiens
39:08showed a major
39:09cognitive leap,
39:10possibly because
39:11of a genetic mutation
39:13or a change
39:14in brain function
39:15resulting in more
39:16complex language
39:17and abstract thought.
39:19But the archaeological record
39:21at Panga Yasaidi
39:23seems to fly
39:24in the face
39:24of the human revolution theory
39:27showing evidence
39:28of prolonged
39:29gradual change
39:31much different
39:32from other early
39:33human archaeological sites
39:35in Africa.
39:36Throughout the excavations,
39:37the researchers
39:38discover earths,
39:39ash layers
39:40and man-made features
39:41like pits and hollows.
39:43They also found
39:44over 30,000 stone artifacts
39:46which provide
39:47this great record
39:49of how tool technologies
39:50evolve over time.
39:53If you go back
39:53to the earliest
39:54inhabitants of the cave,
39:56in the middle stone age
39:57like 78,000
39:58to 73,000 years ago,
40:00you see tools
40:01that are characterized
40:02by these large flakes.
40:04Those people
40:05were using variations
40:05of what's called
40:06the levallois technique
40:07where you take
40:08a big stone
40:09and you chip off
40:10fragments of it
40:10and you make
40:11sort of a rounded top
40:13and a flat bottom
40:14almost like
40:14a turtle shell.
40:16Artifacts at the site
40:17from the later stone age
40:19around 67,000 years ago
40:20show a shift
40:21to smaller tools
40:22and a change of material
40:23from limestone
40:24to finer-grained quartz
40:26or chert.
40:26But what's interesting
40:28is that the new tool technologies
40:29did not simply
40:30replace the old ones.
40:32Instead,
40:32they appear
40:33in the same stratigraphic layers,
40:34one dating to roughly
40:35between 51,000
40:36and 48,000 years ago
40:38and again much later
40:39at around 14,000
40:40to 1,000 years ago.
40:41This tells us
40:43that the people
40:44who inhabited
40:45Pangaea Ysaidi
40:46may have been
40:47an isolated
40:48conservative group
40:50resistant to change
40:51and that the area
40:52was not
40:53a focal point
40:54of innovation.
40:55So while changes
40:57may have been occurring
40:58in other parts of Africa,
41:00the people living here
41:01were content
41:02with their way
41:02of life and customs
41:03and saw no need
41:05to be influenced
41:06by what was happening
41:07in other communities.
41:09But this begs the question,
41:11what was it
41:12about Pangaea Ysaidi
41:14that made it
41:15such a comfortable refuge?
41:17Analysis of ancient
41:19biological material
41:20from the site
41:21may just provide
41:22some insights.
41:23They found animal teeth
41:24and remains
41:25and microscopic
41:26traces of plants.
41:28When the data
41:29was examined,
41:30it showed that
41:31the region around
41:32the cave,
41:33the transitional area
41:34between grassland savanna
41:36and tropical forest,
41:37remained largely unchanged
41:39over the millennia,
41:40which provided the people
41:42with a stable supply
41:43of resources,
41:44even at times
41:45when other areas
41:46of Africa
41:47would have been
41:47too hostile
41:48to sustain life.
41:50One long-held theory
41:52holds that innovation
41:53in early humans
41:53was mainly caused
41:54by having to adapt
41:55to changing climates
41:56and environmental conditions.
41:57But that doesn't match
41:58the evidence
41:59at Pangaea Ysaidi
42:00because despite
42:01not facing stresses
42:02induced by their surroundings,
42:03the people here
42:04still progressed
42:04and evolved,
42:05but didn't do so
42:06out of critical necessity.
42:07They did it
42:08out of choice.
42:09One of the discoveries
42:10that the research team
42:11makes becomes
42:12the most important
42:13and surprising.
42:15Under the overhang
42:16of the cave,
42:17roughly 10 feet deep,
42:18they discovered
42:19the remains of a child
42:20between 2 1⁄2
42:21and 3 1⁄2 years old.
42:22The body was
42:23in a flexed position
42:24lying on its right side
42:25with knees drawn
42:26towards the chest,
42:27suggesting a shrouded burial.
42:30The position of the head
42:31showed signs of collapse,
42:32indicating that a support,
42:34possibly a pillow,
42:35may have been there
42:35at the time of burial.
42:37The remains are dated
42:38to the earliest
42:39occupation layer
42:40of the site,
42:41roughly 78,000 years ago,
42:44making it the oldest
42:45known deliberate
42:47human burial in Africa.
42:49It represents
42:50not just an early example
42:52of funerary practice,
42:53but an important indicator
42:55of abstract thought,
42:57cultural nuance,
42:59and community care.
43:00And it took place
43:02thousands of years
43:04before the proposed
43:05human revolution theory
43:06supposedly gripped Africa.
43:09Overall, the discoveries
43:11at Pangayasayedi
43:13show that some early humans
43:14engaged in prolonged,
43:16gradual technological
43:18and social change.
43:19Maybe the people
43:20of Pangayasayedi
43:21existed in an isolated,
43:23comfortable environment
43:24that allowed them
43:26to evolve organically
43:27over a longer period of time.
43:29The picture that emerges
43:30is that at the time
43:31of early humans,
43:33Africa was maybe
43:34more of a mishmash
43:35of distinct cultures,
43:36living in vastly
43:37different environments,
43:38not a uniform group of people.
43:40Each culture adapted,
43:41innovated,
43:42and evolved in unique ways,
43:44but they all contributed
43:45to the overall origins
43:46of the human species
43:47as we know it today.
43:48Like many significant
43:50archaeological discoveries,
43:52Pangayasayedi
43:53answers a lot of questions,
43:55but arguably
43:55raises even more.
43:57Future excavations
43:59may just continue
44:00to further our understanding
44:02of humankind's journey
44:03through the millennia.
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