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hidden beneath the cities s01e02
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00:02beneath a small town in poland geologists discover a massive salt deposit they discovered
00:08two chambers now called the crystal caves but how did an industrial mine become a place of
00:16healing the purpose of a recently declassified british bunker is investigated site three which
00:22was code named burlington was carved into spring quarry burlington was intended as a secure refuge
00:29for ministers and key staff did burlington serve some other deeper strategic purpose in egypt
00:37archaeologists discover a subterranean settlement believed to be thousands of years old beneath the
00:43hellenistic layers they found a 3400 year old new kingdom settlement so why did a new kingdom
00:49settlement rise here on a rocky ridge far from the nile below the busy streets of the world cities
00:57exists a hidden realm of wonder sprawling ancient complexes mysterious tombs
01:08top secret military bases strange structures and lost artifacts buried beneath our feet and long forgotten
01:19until now underground marbles are exposed to reveal what lies hidden beneath the cities
01:37around eight miles southeast of krakow poland lies williska a town shaped by historical upheaval and
01:44geological riches velitska sits atop the miocene salt formation of the carpathian 40 a vast sedimentary
01:54basin stretching over 800 miles from vienna to romania it formed as the carpathian mountains advanced
02:02millions of years ago and holds valuable reserves of salt oil and gas beginning in the 13th century
02:10walitzka's salt deposits became central to poland's economy accompanied by an agricultural boom that
02:17connected the region to european trade routes this prosperity brought settlers from neighboring areas
02:23and by the mid 1500s poland had become europe's largest state but between 1772 and 1918 poland disappeared
02:33entirely from the map partitioned by russia prussia and austria after it was restored in 1918 poland was
02:39devastated by the two world wars and its once strong jewish community was nearly annihilated in the
02:44holocaust at the end of the 19th century geological surveys lead miners to uncover a vast hidden crystalline
02:52world buried deep beneath the earth they discovered two chambers now called the crystal caves the lower
02:59crystal cave spans about 25 000 cubic feet and the upper crystal cave is even bigger about 35 000 cubic
03:06feet
03:06both chambers have these huge crystals in them they're called uhedral halite crystals they're sharp they're
03:14distinct they have these flat faces and it's believed that they formed a long time ago in an ancient
03:20underground lake about 1500 feet deep the crystal caves represent just one extraordinary feature of
03:27walitzka salt mine poland's oldest continuously operating industrial site
03:33with nine levels descending nearly 1100 feet the mine encompasses over 2 000 interconnected chambers
03:40in total wlitzka's excavations form an immense subterranean void of nearly 265 million cubic feet
03:48by the 16th century wieliczka had become one of europe's largest industrial salt operations providing nearly
03:55a third of the polish crown's total revenue and over the seven centuries it was in use wieliczka yielded
04:02almost 50 million tons of salt deep within wieliczka's extensive subterranean laborative lies its most
04:10remarkable architectural achievement the chapel of saint kinga lies about 330 feet underground every detail in
04:20the four-story structure from the altar and the relief of leonardo's last supper to chandeliers made
04:27of pure salt crystals was carved directly from rock salt so how did this working mind transform into this
04:35space of spiritual reverence one explanation traces this transformation to the medieval legend of princess
04:43kinga born in 1224 into hungary's arpad dynasty she was renowned for her piety and famously requested salt
04:52rather than precious metals as her dowry upon marrying poland's prince boliswaf v according to tradition
04:59princess kinga dropped her engagement ring into a hungarian salt mine and later miners in poland found the
05:05same ring inside their first block of salt near wawel hill castle seen as a divine sign this legend linked
05:11kinga to poland's salt wealth and wove her legacy into the nation's economic and spiritual prosperity
05:17did it really happen maybe but it doesn't really matter because the story profoundly shaped local
05:25belief starting in 1896 two brothers spent nearly three decades expanding an 18th century chamber into what
05:32became saint kinga's chapel ultimately removing 20 000 tons of salt and that chapel reached its final form
05:40in 1963 that took almost 70 years to do 16 miles east in bocnia another saint kinga chapel offers a
05:51smaller but equally reverent reflection of this legend
05:54bocnia's saint kinga chapel lies nearly 700 feet underground encompassing around 2 800 square feet
06:03the original chamber dates to 1747 though its current form was finalized in the early 20th century the site shows
06:13the profound spiritual dedication shared across these polish minds but volitska's devotional artistry extended
06:21further its intricate bas reliefs and salt statues of the virgin mary saint anthony of padua and saint john paul
06:29ii laid the
06:31foundation for the foundation for a tradition of sacred art hidden below ground beyond chapels
06:36miners transformed entire chambers into cultural landmarks dedicating them to polish saints national
06:41heroes and playful folk figures like mining gnomes these carvings turned practical spaces into vivid
06:47expressions of identity and devotion preserving a living record within the mine around 40 chapels were
06:53constructed in vialychka offering miners more than just places to worship these were sanctuaries in a world of
06:58uncertainty but listen faith explains the drive to create these sacred spaces but faith does not
07:04explain why the roof doesn't cave in so how did those people overcome the mine's inherent geological
07:11instability flooding at wiliska is a constant concern leading some to wonder how the site's delicate
07:17underground structures have survived over the decades salt dissolves easily creating an ongoing threat
07:25below ground in 2010 alone engineers at vialychka tracked over 150 leaks and severe floods bringing hundreds
07:34of liters per minute into the spaces below but saint kinga's chapel along with the mines other chapels
07:41and structures have endured so how is such stability possible
07:49now the surrounding rock has low permeability so it's hard for water to get in but if water
07:54does get in it's very bad rock salt is extremely soluble so any intrusion is very dangerous since 1868
08:04major floods have repeatedly threatened that mine's stability it is a constant risk recent events in romania
08:12about 330 miles southeast of wiliska demonstrate the catastrophic consequences when salt encounters
08:20uncontrolled flooding in 2025 heavy rainfall in hargita county triggered the worst flooding there in 30 years
08:28threatening the historic pride salt mine that's one of europe's largest salt reserves water from one
08:35that overflowing stream began dissolving underground salt layers as deep as 400 feet
08:41creating serious risks for long-term stability despite emergency dams and high capacity pumps
08:47water flow surged to levels 100 times higher than normal parts of the mine floor caved in
08:52and 45 nearby households had to be evacuated due to risk of collapse the flooding forced a full shutdown
08:58underscoring just how vulnerable these formations are when water barriers fail
09:03vialichka's persistence hinges on constant engineering efforts powerful pumping systems
09:08to keep the water out deep protective air spaces constantly drained to keep it dry and stainless steel
09:15anchors its endurance reflects centuries of careful design and continuous monitoring these engineering
09:22achievements also raise new questions about how far underground spaces can be pushed and what other
09:29unexpected uses they might support in the 19th century doctors noticed something unexpected
09:35about vilicka's miners in 1843 a polish physician noticed that vilicka's salt miners rarely suffered from
09:45respiratory diseases common in other mines decades later a german doctor observed similar benefits in
09:53patients sheltering in salt caves during world war ii these findings spread across eastern europe
10:00and by 1964 vilicka opened its first official sanatorium nearly 700 feet underground but
10:09how did an industrial mine become a place of healing on the fifth level where the 500 bed sanatorium
10:17was built temperatures averaged 68 to 71 degrees fahrenheit the air is dense with fine salt dust almost
10:25entirely sodium chloride half of these particles are smaller than five microns creating a delicate
10:31breathable mist breathing this salt rich air has been shown to have respiratory benefits its therapeutic
10:37power comes from a precise combination of stable temperature high humidity clean air and microscopic salt
10:43aerosols together these conditions offer a compelling model one that could reshape how we think about
10:49underground space and its healing potential nearly 375 miles northeast of vilicka is belarus the sally
10:57horse mine is already testing that idea seligorks was once a major center for potash and salt extraction but
11:05since the early 1990s it has operated as the national spheleotherapy clinic every year around 4 000
11:14patients descend nearly 1 400 feet underground to breathe salt rich air believed to relieve asthma bronchitis
11:23and allergy symptoms at vilicka in 2021 specialized coven 19 recovery programs were launched patients
11:31performed breathing exercises around 445 feet underground in the vessel lake chamber afterwards
11:38they reported major improvements in breathing energy and overall well-being this transformation
11:43reflects a broader shift in perspective from viewing these not as hazardous relics but as spaces for
11:51cultural and therapeutic renewal it also invites us to ask what other possibilities might lie hidden in
11:58these once purely functional spaces since 1945 over 45 million people have visited vilicka a testament to
12:07the site's journey from industrial powerhouse to unisco landmark and showcasing centuries of reinvention and
12:14resilience beneath the ground just over 80 miles west of london england wiltshire unfolds as a patchwork of
12:32open chalk uplands scattered woods and sheltered fields it forms a transitional zone between sweeping uplands and
12:39fertile valleys a setting that has supported settlement and agriculture for centuries porsham sits on the
12:47greater oolitic seam which is a band of jurassic limestone known as bath stone this stone tends to be more
12:56sturdy making it ideal for grand architecture across england quarrying began in roman times but it was the 19th
13:04century arrival of the great western railway that sparked a dramatic expansion even though quarrying
13:11declined after the first world war it never really ended it lives on in the area because of locals deep
13:18love for their heritage and this is a special place i mean this is where stonehenge is and there's also
13:25iron age hill forts this is a landscape that has been shaped by human ambition and evolving cultures
13:32in december 2004 the british ministry of defense quietly declassifies an underground complex known simply
13:41as site 3 beneath corsham for over 40 years its existence remained one of the nation's best kept secrets
13:49site 3 which was codenamed burlington was carved into spring quarry a limestone labyrinth a hundred feet
13:57beneath corsham commissioned in 1955 and completed by 1961 it became a sprawling underground city known as
14:05the central government war headquarters the site covered 35 acres within the 286 acre complex it had
14:13streets canteens and specialized rooms creating a fully self-sufficient world hidden from view burlington's
14:21story was built on decades of hidden underground construction in the 1930s during britain's rearmament
14:28the war office began converting the vast underground quarry spaces beneath corsham into the first central
14:34ammunition depot which opened in 1938 during world war ii spring quarry which is the site that would
14:42later house burlington was converted into an underground aircraft engine factory for the ministry of aircraft
14:49production after the war in 1945 the factory closed and part of spring quarry was repurposed for royal navy storage
14:59officially burlington was intended as a secure refuge for ministers and key staff should london
15:07fall to a nuclear attack but its decades of maintenance secrecy and extraordinary scale hint
15:15at something bigger than that something beyond just a simple shelter but what did burlington serve some
15:23other deeper strategic purpose as cold war tensions rose britain confronted the grim possibility of
15:32nuclear annihilation an underground command center was necessary to maintain governance and perhaps
15:38if needed strike back the 1955 strath report which examined the impact of the hydrogen bomb on britain
15:46warned of catastrophic devastation 132 nuclear bombs hitting the uk
15:5135 on london alone could result in up to 12 million dead and half the nation's industry destroyed so what
16:00if burlington wasn't just a shelter but a true doomsday command center built to preserve order and
16:07actively direct retaliation if nuclear war became reality unlike earlier short-term air raid shelters
16:14burlington was designed to support 4 000 people including the prime minister for up to 90 days
16:21inside its reinforced walls were dormitories offices medical centers a bakery a hospital and even electric
16:28buggies to get around inside burlington included operation rooms canteens store rooms and britain's
16:37second largest telephone exchange all designed to keep national communication alive it's city-like design with over
16:4660 miles of signposted roads and a pneumatic tube system for rapid communication points to far more than
16:53simple survival over 3 500 miles to the west in west virginia the united states hit its own secret bunker
17:01beneath an
17:01unsuspecting place in 1960 beneath the luxury greenbriar resort the u.s secretly constructed project greek island a massive bunker
17:11720 feet below ground designed to shelter members of congress in the event of a nuclear attack on washington
17:20it included dormitories with over a thousand assigned beds medical facilities and even a chamber prepared
17:28to host sessions of congress kept in constant readiness for 30 years it was maintained by a covert team
17:34posing as hotel staff but there were a few key differences between britain's burlington and the
17:40american greenbriar greenbriar was hidden beneath a luxury resort it was disguised as a conference
17:47center and its job was to keep congress functioning burlington by contrast was designed to house
17:53thousands of officials this wasn't a place for the government to function it was a place for
17:58centralized governance and total operational control
18:05over 1500 miles east of caution lies a cold war fortress that reveals a shared determination
18:12to protect command deep underground hidden nearly 215 feet beneath moscow bunker 42 officially known as
18:20the tagansky protected command point was operational by 1956 and designed to survive a nuclear attack while
18:27keeping soviet leadership functioning workers entered through a secret door at tugansky metro station
18:33maintaining strict secrecy even in the heart of the city the complex spanned over 75 000 square feet
18:40at its height it employed more than 2 500 people but it was fully equipped to sustain 3 000 personnel
18:47for
18:48up to three months it served as a communications hub and a potential launch point capable of striking the
18:54u.s with a nuclear missile in just 33 minutes bunker 42 embodied rapid military readiness and strategic
19:01retaliation raising the question of whether burlington might also have been designed for a more active role
19:08than officially acknowledged by the late 60s britain quietly shifted from concentrating power in a single
19:15underground hub to dispersing it across secret cells nationwide in this new strategy burlington's purpose
19:23may have evolved the 1962 cuban missile crisis forced officials to confront one of burlington's biggest
19:31vulnerabilities the crisis helped them realize that activating burlington during a false alarm would
19:37reveal its location to soviet intelligence on the other hand maybe the soviets already knew where it
19:43was i mean they did have satellites flying overhead all the time so here's a different hypothesis maybe
19:48burlington was maintained in that high state of readiness just to act as a decoy for something else
19:57in may 1968 britain launched the top secret python plan dispersing ministers and key staff into small
20:06hidden cells across the country sites included hms osprey in portland cauldros and cornwall
20:12abertswit university and tamath castle each chosen to operate independently and survive in isolation
20:19meanwhile burlington re-codenamed chanticleer remained fully staffed stocked and outwardly operational python
20:27was so secret that many still believed chanticleer was the true nuclear escape plan by maintaining this
20:33illusion the government could use burlington as a strategic decoy or lure intended to distract attention and
20:40potential strikes away from the real centers of power after the bombing of coventry in 1940 a network of
20:48special fire decoy sites were expanded to protect major cities and industrial centers these sites
20:56successfully drew up to 175 high explosive bombs away from real targets like bristol and cardiff but it's one
21:07thing to have flashing lights in a field somewhere to act as a decoy and it's something altogether
21:11different to build something at the scale of burlington all of that suggests that this site was
21:17meant to function in some scenario or another one persistent myth claims a tunnel was constructed from
21:24corsham to london to evacuate the government but the most commonly held belief is that the royal family
21:29would have been relocated here during a nuclear attack though it's now generally understood that
21:34they would have been sent to canada instead others believe national treasures including the crown jewels and
21:42priceless artworks were hidden underground even today long after decommissioning many suspect
21:50corsham still holds a secret element yet to be revealed around the world bunkers like burlington tell
21:57the same story a world on the brink of destruction weaving hidden networks to protect what mattered most
22:04burlington remains a haunting symbol of an age defined by secrecy and fear reminding us of the mysteries still
22:23the ancient mariotis region lies on egypt's northwestern frontier where lake mariot extended both south and west of alexandria linked
22:34to the nile's main branch by a network of canals
22:37after alexandria's founding around 331 or 332 bce the mariotis region became a vital transport corridor
22:46connecting the city to the nile delta and facilitating the movement of goods people and agricultural products across the mediterranean
22:55from the fourth century bce to the seventh or eighth century ce the shores of lake mariot were densely occupied
23:03they hosted major production hubs for pottery glass and wine industries that played a vital role in
23:10the economy of alexandria and egypt as a whole among these industrial settlements was plinthine
23:16traditionally identified with calm el nugus a horseshoe shaped mound located about 25 miles west of
23:23alexandria since 2013 excavations at calm el nugus have focused on the massive mound or calm itself measuring about
23:30600 by 500 feet and rising over 35 feet above the surrounding plain surface remains include hellenistic
23:37tombs domestic structures and a 245 foot long limestone wall in 2015 archaeologists excavating the mound at
23:46calm el nugus uncover something entirely unexpected evidence that may rewrite the settlement history of
23:53egypt's western delta beneath the hellenistic layers they found a 3400 year old new kingdom settlement
24:00the earliest found north of lake mario a narrow strip between the retaining wall and a later temple
24:06had escaped disturbance by construction preserving traces of mud brick architecture from this early phase
24:14before this discovery it was believed this region was uninhabited until the ptolemaic period around the
24:20time of alexander's arrival in 332 bce but several features suggest the site was first established in the 18th
24:29dynasty around 1550 to 1292 bce so why did a new kingdom settlement rise here
24:36on a rocky ridge far from the nile and why was it later buried forgotten and built over
24:45east of the main mound at kamel nugus archaeologists find 18th dynasty ceramics but a few objects hint at an
24:54elite presence
24:55among the ceramics was a wine amphora bearing the stamp of maritatin daughter of akhenaten and nefertiti
25:00and sister of the famous boy king tutankhamen the presence of such a seal raises a compelling
25:05possibility was this site once part of a royal wine estate linked to the amarna period the amphora is made
25:12of marl d clay a material typically associated with the mariotis basin and the so-called western river
25:19wine region the stamp confirms that it came from workshops overseen by royal scribes which suggests
25:25a formal connection to the state administration at the eastern edge of the calm a vaulted mud brick
25:31chamber housing one of the best preserved great presses from the pharaonic world was found
25:37remarkably its mud brick walls still stand over 10 feet tall built into the north end of the room
25:43the press consists of two main elements the upper crushing vat about seven feet wide was made from
25:50finely cut limestone slabs and coated in lime plaster for waterproofing below that there's a collecting vat
25:58carved from a single limestone block grapes were crushed underfoot on a slightly sloped surface channeling
26:05juice through a spout into the lower basin which sits roughly two feet below and could hold nearly
26:12230 gallons the construction of the great press dates to phase two likely during egypt's 26th dynasty
26:19and it's believed to have been fully operational by the second half of the 7th century bce the press
26:24was built on top of an earlier layer of refuse then later buried again with domestic waste once the
26:31installation was abandoned this sequence suggests that it stood just beyond the core residential area
26:37likely along a pathway leading toward the vineyards taken together the evidence points to a small scale
26:44wine production facility tied to an elite wealthy household what remains unclear is who controlled it
26:50it's hard to say but what we can say is there's more to this place than just agriculture the site's
26:57proportions and the few inscriptions uncovered hint at a function that went beyond the purely practical in the
27:05new kingdom sector fragments of private chapels were uncovered dating to the ramicide period which
27:11lasted from 1292 to 1069 bce one of the most striking discoveries was a reused block carved with the image
27:19of ra horacti a fusion of ra the sun god and horus the sky god that block originally came from
27:27a temple of
27:28ramses ii but was later set into hellenistic foundations but why was this symbol preserved and
27:34transplanted ra haracti meaning horus of the two horizons was central to solar cults that emerged between
27:42the 8th and 4th centuries bce so could its deliberate reuse suggest that kamal nougas held religious
27:51significance across multiple dynasties the solar thread ties back to maritatan whose name was stamped on
27:58the amphora found at the site she was the daughter of akhenaten the pharaoh who launched one of the most
28:02controversial religious upheavals in ancient egypt when he abandoned the traditional gods and declared
28:07aten the sun disk as egypt's sole deity the presence of maritatan's name alongside this solar symbol might
28:15imply that the ridge was rebranded or reinterpreted at different moments in the service of new religious
28:22or political purposes ancient egyptians rarely abandoned holy ground shrines were expanded into
28:29temples new rulers fortified old sanctuaries and each layer added fresh meaning without erasing the past
28:36roughly 400 miles to the south in luxor the archaeological site of medinet habu shows how sacred
28:43places were expanded and reinterpreted without ever being forsaken medinet habu began as an 11th dynasty
28:51shrine expanded by hatsepshoot and tutmos the third as a temple dedicated to amun and the primeval ogdo it was
29:00later walled inside rameses the third's great mortuary temple the result is centuries of religious layering
29:07all at one site rameses the third built it not just as a place of worship but as an administrative
29:14and
29:15ritual stronghold with granaries fortified enclosures and an outer courtyard that hosted royal mortuary
29:22rites and festivals for the cult of amun even into the roman era rulers kept adding to the medinet habu
29:29that long habit of sacred reuse across time and theology is a strong model for kom el nougus where each
29:36generation may have redefined what the ridge meant kom el nougus sits closer to egypt's western border
29:43a location that hints at a more strategic purpose a block was discovered bearing inscriptions that
29:49name a chief of the troops and a garrison commander these military titles are well documented across
29:56the eastern delta their presence here alongside the remains of a temple built during the reign of
30:02ramesses ii support the idea that there was a significant military and administrative presence here
30:08possibly connected to managing activity along the western edge of egypt kom el nougus may have
30:14functioned as a logistical checkpoint its location and the discovery of stamped amphora linked to royal
30:19provisioning suggests a strategically managed outpost and the nearby vineyards likely operated
30:24under military protection around 150 miles west of kom el nougus lies zayat om al-rakam a fortress town and
30:33ramicide frontier installation zayat om al-rakam was established early in the reign of ramses the second
30:40though some evidence suggests it may have been begun under seti the first built as a square stronghold each
30:47side measured around 460 feet its mud brick walls around 14 to 16 feet thick contained an estimated 1.3
30:56million bricks and enclosed nearly 215 000 square feet a limestone clad gate with twin towers and a stone
31:04paved entry corridor marked a formal fortified threshold all unmistakable signs of sustained state
31:11investment inside the site included a limestone temple stella line chapels nine east-facing magazines
31:19a multi-room governor's residence stocked with imported amphorae and a full-scale bakery and brewery
31:26complex altogether they reveal a self-sufficient garrison built for long-term occupation that's what makes
31:34kom el nougus so intriguing by comparison it shares certain features like a ramicide temple chapels with
31:41military associations and state-issued amphorae but lacks the defining infrastructure of a true fortress
31:48its scale and likely its purpose were far more limited whether the settlement was a royal vineyard
31:55or something else entirely is still unclear but its discovery opens new questions about how egypt's
32:01western fringe was used the clues at kom el nougus form a patchwork of possibilities like many sites
32:08shaped by movement and time it leaves behind just enough evidence to provoke questions but not enough to
32:22answer them
32:23the kuzha jinhua basin is a humid patchwork of river valleys rice paddies and low hills in the
32:30shijong province eastern china zhejiang is one of china's smallest provinces by land area but with over 64
32:36million people it's also one of the most densely populated and economically vibrant for centuries
32:42it's been a center of cultural life renowned for its literature tea and fishing and its dramatic
32:47landscape has shaped that identity fertile plains and basins winding rivers mountains and a jagged
32:53coastline carved into more than 18 000 islands in central western zhejiang is longu county which runs
33:01along the chujang river and covers roughly 450 square miles almost 400 000 people live across its towns and
33:10sub-districts officially founded more than 2 000 years ago longyo is one of the oldest counties
33:18cities in all of zhejiang but its roots run far deeper archaeological sites trace human activity here
33:26back over 9 000 years in june 1992 four farmers on fang wong hill just north of longyo grow curious
33:37about
33:37a pond that never contained fish and was said to be bottomless to satisfy their curiosity they decided to
33:44drain it and after 17 days of non-stop pumping what they discover defies all expectations as the water
33:53receded a staircase appeared chiseled straight into sandstone and beyond it a vast rectangular chamber
34:00near vertical walls an inclined roof and columns rising out of the silt they went on to drain four
34:07additional ponds revealing five caverns in total each measured between roughly 60 and 110 feet wide with
34:14ceilings between around 25 to 60 feet high inside each chamber is supported by a series of slender
34:20hand-carved stone pillars eventually 19 additional chambers 24 in total were uncovered all carved from
34:28dense silt stone collectively the caverns span almost 25 acres the scale is staggering but who built them
34:35and for what purpose as archaeologists examine the caverns one fact stands out the architecture reflects
34:43deliberate planning and skilled execution every surface walls ceilings and pillars is marked by uniform
34:52parallel bands each about 24 inches wide with chisel lines running methodically throughout what's striking
35:01is that all 24 chambers follow this exact technique despite not being physically connected from an
35:10engineering perspective the layout of the caverns is remarkably sophisticated the spatial arrangement
35:16follows principles seen in modern rock engineering with chambers and pillars precisely aligned
35:22some studies suggest that a compass-like tool was used this could point to formal surveying and a
35:28coordinated workforce following a single architectural plan it's not what you'd expect from scattered local
35:34labor it suggests centralized oversight maybe even state level coordination but to what end from walls to
35:41waterways few nations rival china's legacy of colossal state-backed construction take the great wall for
35:48example over 13 000 miles of fortification constructed and modified across two millennia from the chin to the
35:54ming dynasties each section reflects evolving military strategy frontier policy and imperial authority it's one of the
36:01clearest archaeological records of what centralized power in china could mobilize through labor material and state control
36:09the first crews to build the wall were mostly soldiers and convicts according to legend up to 400 000
36:16workers died on the project many buried in the very ramparts they built the wall is brutal proof
36:22that imperial mega projects leave both physical evidence and historical records
36:27but at long yo there are no human remains no defensive features and no architectural signatures
36:35typical of military infrastructure and the only written references are a poem from sometime between
36:441626 and 1676 and two vague song dynasty verses suggesting the caves may have existed by the year 960.
36:55nearly 265 million gallons of silbstone had to be removed to create the chambers at long yo that's about 385
37:05000 u.s tons one estimate suggests 1 000 workers digging day and night would need six years to accomplish
37:13it it was a colossal undertaking but if it was a state project why are there no official records of
37:19its
37:19construction and little in the way of other physical evidence some of the caverns features suggest they
37:25may have served a practical purpose the bands of chisel work ceiling to floor were sharp and regularly
37:31patterned this could indicate controlled extraction so could we be looking at a mining complex
37:40the layout does resemble early room and pillar mining a technique where chambers were carved out
37:47leaving just enough pillars to hold the ceiling long you follows that pattern the pillars are slender and in
37:53some places the dividing walls are around four feet thick this is the kind of precision you might expect from
38:00a
38:00deliberately engineered extraction site there are also small upward angled holes carved into many of the pillars
38:09and walls about two to four inches wide just wide enough to hold a firebrand these may have been used
38:17to light the space during excavation ancient mines leaving behind cathedrals of empty rock are not unheard of
38:25at maresha and bait guvrin in israel's judean lowlands over 3 500 hand-cut caves have been uncovered
38:33including nearly 800 bell-shaped pits believed to be ancient quarries these were excavated top down into
38:41soft chalk sometime between the 7th and the 11th centuries ce while there's disagreement about whether the
38:47stone was strong enough for building two main theories exist first that it was used for building material
38:53and second that it was burned for lime and used in mortar and plaster crucially bet guvrin left a clear
39:01record of how the quarry chambers were adapted for daily life turned into cisterns stables and oil presses
39:06even places of worship or burial the material wasn't just extracted the voids themselves were used
39:12socially and symbolically for centuries by contrast there's been no documented evidence of secondary
39:19functions or quarrying at long you all 24 caverns lie beneath a single low hill with uneven elevation
39:28it's a compact irregular footprint hardly suitable for mass extraction and there's no trace of where the
39:35excavated stone went or how it was moved we see only chisel marks there's no hall systems no ramps
39:42no supporting infrastructure so it seems unlikely that this was a quarry once drained the site's structural
39:48behavior raises new questions about the role water may have played in its original design
39:54when the first five caverns were drained in 1992 things started going wrong cracks appeared rock falls
40:03followed and by 2010 cavern 24 had completely collapsed but instead of acting solely as a natural hazard
40:12what if the water was intentionally incorporated with the caverns possibly designed to hold or redirect
40:19it during monsoon season each cavern contains engineered features consistent with water management
40:27vertical shafts on the south side would funnel monsoon rain inside carved gutters along the walls direct
40:33water downward where it's collected in recessed floor traps and drains none of this appears accidental it
40:40looks like an intentional system for capturing and regulating internal water flow lanyu lies in a subtropical
40:48zone with a maximum average annual rainfall of around 70 inches and the dense low permeability
40:53silt stone drains poorly so what if these caverns functioned as deep holding tanks either to relieve
40:59pressure from nearby terrain or store water for later use but if they were built to manage water
41:05there are contradictions while the floor channels collect water the presence of full staircases suggest
41:11the space was meant to stay dry and there are no features that support the idea of permanent flooding or
41:18seasonal storage if water played a role here it doesn't seem like it was the primary purpose
41:23some have looked to the landscape for answers the caverns lie directly beneath fang wong hill named after
41:30one of the most sacred creatures in chinese mythology the fang wan which is a divine phoenix symbolizes
41:38imperial harmony its appearance was believed to signal the rise of a just ruler or the dawn of a peaceful
41:46era
41:47blending male and female forces fang and huang it stood for balance virtue grace and royalty
41:55so the fact that this site was discovered on fang wong hill may not be accidental in cavern one
42:03a single ba relief appears on the north wall a horse a bird and a fish stylistically it falls between
42:11the han and swede dynasties roughly 206 bce to 618 ce but it's the iconography that really stands out
42:19in chinese tradition the horse is a symbol of imperial ambition and swift descent sometimes tied
42:25to an emperor's journey the fish is a long-standing symbol of abundance prosperity and marital harmony
42:32we know what these symbols mean on their own but taken together they almost read like a coded message
42:36everything points toward elite status ritual purpose and a connection to imperial authority
42:41and legitimacy in context that could align with a mausoleum or ceremonial site but if that's true
42:47it stands in stark contrast to what we know about china's confirmed mausoleums the mausoleum of
42:54Qin Shi Huang is a defining example of imperial burial practice it's an enormous funerary landscape with
43:01a monumental mound and more than 600 related sites it contains over 7 000 life-sized terracotta warriors 600
43:10horses and 100 chariots each part of a meticulously crafted display of imperial power and military strength
43:20at long yo there are no bones no funerary goods and no offerings if it did have a ceremonial or
43:30political function it operated far outside the formal models that we recognize ultimately who
43:37built the long yo caves and why remains a mystery but what they left behind is an ingenious feat of
43:43ancient engineering regardless of its age or purpose that's worthy of admiration in a civilization with
43:50one of the world's most continuous and detailed historical records the significance of the long yo caverns
43:57lies not in what was recovered but in what remains undocumented unexplained and unresolved
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