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00:01A bizarre discovery in the sand of Wadi al-Jaf may reveal the secret of Egypt's largest pyramid.
00:08They have to be man-made, but what are they?
00:12Astounding camel rock art discovered on the edge of the Saudi Arabian desert
00:16may change our understanding of human history in the region.
00:21This site is much, much older than we initially thought.
00:24And an extraordinary rock formation discovered in the Sahara is out of this world.
00:32It's really an awe-inspiring site, but what exactly is it?
00:42Astonishing discoveries unearthed from the depths of the desert.
00:49Ancient lost cities.
00:53Forgotten treasures.
00:55Mysterious structures.
00:58Extraordinary curiosities, once lost to the sands of time, are finally revealed.
01:05As new technology uncovers remarkable tales hidden beneath the deserts of the world,
01:11the secrets in the sand will finally be exposed.
01:36This region is part of Egypt's eastern desert, approximately 220,000 square kilometers of the Sahara,
01:46that conceals innumerable mysteries lost to the sands of time.
01:51Around 95% of Egypt's population lives within 20 kilometers of the Nile River basin,
01:57while the rest of the country is virtually uninhabited because of the hostile desert environment,
02:02Wadi al-Jaf included.
02:10A large team of marine archaeologists were investigating a remote section of the Red Sea coast at Wadi al-Jaf
02:19when they discovered something strange in the water.
02:25At first sight, it looks sort of like a landform running parallel to the shoreline,
02:31and at low tide, it becomes even more visible.
02:35It could be a shoal, which ridges that form where a current deposits material
02:41that builds up over time and creates a shallower area.
02:45But shoals are usually made up of sand or other fine sediment.
02:50However, this formation at Wadi al-Jaf appears to be made of rock.
02:56The marine archaeologists continued their investigation underwater
03:00and discovered that the formation was L-shaped,
03:04stretching about 160 meters east,
03:07then turning southeast and extending for roughly another 120 meters.
03:14This is a huge structure.
03:16Whatever it is could have been on land when it was constructed,
03:19and then over the years, erosion and rising sea levels ate into the coast,
03:24and it ended up submerged.
03:28Maybe it's the ruins of an ancient palace that sat close to the shore,
03:33or a military outpost for defending against enemies coming from the sea.
03:39But this is a desolate area.
03:41There's no evidence that there was ever a city here,
03:43or anything even worth defending.
03:50As the team explored beneath the water,
03:53they made another surprising discovery.
03:56Limestone blocks on the sea floor,
03:59all with a hole cut into them.
04:03They're about the size of a microwave and have been shaped into a trapezoid with rounded corners,
04:09so they have to be man-made.
04:11But what are they?
04:19The team moved the excavations onto the shore at Wadi al-Jaf,
04:24and unearthed further evidence of ancient activity.
04:28The ruins of two large stone structures,
04:30about 30 meters in length and 8 to 12 meters in width.
04:35The building seemed to have five or six rooms,
04:37separated by low walls constructed with limestone and pebbles,
04:42the same materials used to build the underwater structure.
04:47Another 99 limestone blocks with holes cut into them were found.
04:52But unlike the ones discovered on the seafloor,
04:55these seemed to have traces of rope attached to them.
05:03So the limestone blocks found at Wadi al-Jaf are most likely anchors.
05:08The ones found on the seabed probably fell off boats,
05:11and the ones found at the collection on land
05:13were probably stored in the two buildings that were discovered.
05:17Given the L-shape and the presence of anchors,
05:21it's likely the underwater structure was a pier,
05:23which also would have served as a breakwater,
05:26protecting moored ships from the ravages of the Red Sea.
05:32Considering all the evidence found in the vicinity of the pier,
05:36it looks like there must have been significant maritime activity
05:39on this part of the coast.
05:43In 1823, a British explorer
05:46had discovered tunnels around 6 kilometers inland
05:50from the location of the pier,
05:52but nobody had investigated them further.
05:54Interested in a possible connection,
05:57the team ventured to the site.
06:02There are 30 long, narrow tunnels carved into the hillside.
06:07They average 15 to 20 meters in length,
06:103 meters in width,
06:12and 2.5 meters in height.
06:14Clearly they're man-made,
06:16and they're spacious enough for human activity.
06:18But what were they for?
06:23Exploring the tunnel complex further,
06:25the team discovered something strange,
06:28hundreds of pieces of wood.
06:32Several pieces of the wood are thought to be parts of oars,
06:36and there are also lengths of rope and dozens of jars.
06:41So this whole system of tunnels looks like it must have been used
06:44as a storage area for boat parts and supplies for voyages.
06:53But maybe this tunnel system was used for more than just storage and supplies.
06:57It's entirely possible that whole boats were assembled and stored here.
07:04All signs point to Wadi al-Jarf being a major seafaring hub,
07:08which is kind of strange,
07:10considering that population centers at the time
07:13were hundreds of kilometers across the desert.
07:16And there's no evidence of any infrastructure
07:19or extensive human presence
07:21that you'd typically find at a busy port site.
07:24Why would the ancient Egyptians build this harbor complex
07:28in the middle of nowhere?
07:42In Egypt,
07:44a discovery in the waters of the Red Sea
07:46had sparked interest from archaeologists
07:49who drew a potential connection
07:51to a series of tunnels six kilometers inland.
07:55Further exploring the tunnels,
07:57the team made an astonishing discovery
07:59that may be one of the most important
08:01in the storied history of Egyptian archaeology.
08:06There are around 800 pieces of inscribed papyri,
08:10and most are very well preserved
08:12because of the dry desert environment
08:13and also from being in the tunnels
08:15where they were sheltered from the elements.
08:20The archaeologists set about analyzing
08:23and translating the papyri
08:25and found that one of the best preserved pieces
08:28made reference to the year after the 13th cattle count,
08:32approximately 2,570 BCE,
08:35during Pharaoh Khufu's reign.
08:40Famously, Khufu's tomb lies
08:42within the largest pyramid in Egypt,
08:44the Great Pyramid of Giza,
08:46an architectural feat
08:47commissioned by the Pharaoh himself.
08:51The cattle count was a way
08:53for Egyptian officials to collect taxes
08:55based on assessing the value
08:56of a farmer's crops and livestock.
08:59They traveled from place to place every two years
09:02and quite literally counted cows.
09:05If the papyri were written
09:08after the 13th cattle count of Khufu's reign,
09:11then that means that this was the 27th year
09:14of his time in power,
09:16and they date back almost 4,600 years.
09:23These are the oldest inscribed papyri ever found,
09:26and the harbor at Wadi al-Jarf
09:28is the oldest of its kind.
09:31Their remarkable age
09:33is even noted by the Guinness Book of World Records.
09:41Further analysis of the papyri
09:43not only revealed the age of the harbor site,
09:46including the pier originally discovered,
09:49but surprising details
09:50about what transpired there during Khufu's reign.
09:55There are two basic categories of documentation.
09:58The first is a sort of accounting ledger
10:00detailing deliveries to the area.
10:03The second, and by far the more intriguing of the two,
10:06seems to be the daily diary of a man named Merrer.
10:11He appears to have been a bureaucrat of some kind
10:14who was in charge of a team of men
10:16ferrying goods throughout Egypt.
10:20At one point, the journal mentions a stop at Tura,
10:23a town known for its limestone quarry.
10:26Merrer describes loading their boat with stone
10:28and taking it up the Nile River.
10:30So it seems likely that they were building something.
10:33But what exactly was it?
10:37Merrer's diary also references reporting
10:40to the noble Arnkaf,
10:41who was thought to be the half-brother of Khufu
10:44and a powerful figure within the pharaoh's inner circle.
10:48It's long been suspected that Arnkaf oversaw
10:52the building of the Great Pyramid at Giza.
10:54We know that Tura limestone was used
10:57for the pyramid's outer layer.
10:59So Merrer's diary provides a glimpse
11:01into the logistical and engineering feats
11:04required to build one of the wonders of the world.
11:11One thing that has puzzled experts over the years
11:13is how the ancient Egyptians got the massive stones
11:17to Giza to build the pyramids.
11:19The Nile is several miles away,
11:21and it would have required a Herculean effort
11:23to transport them over land.
11:27According to Merrer's account,
11:28the stones were taken from Tura
11:30directly to Giza by boat,
11:31which supports the popular theory
11:33that the Egyptians redirected parts of the Nile,
11:36probably using canals,
11:37and constructed a major port close to the pyramid complex at Giza.
11:43But if Merrer and his men were involved
11:46in the building of the Great Pyramid,
11:48then why was his diary found over 200 kilometers away
11:51at Wadi al-Jarf?
11:57Wadi al-Jarf is about 50 kilometers across the Red Sea
12:01from the Sinai Peninsula,
12:03the location of Egypt's mining operations.
12:06Some experts believe that Merrer's responsibilities
12:09were more focused on acquiring and delivering materials,
12:13like copper and turquoise,
12:15that were needed to make the tools used
12:18to build the Great Pyramid.
12:19So the harbor was probably built
12:22to secure easy access
12:23to the resources needed
12:24for these huge construction projects.
12:27And despite this important role,
12:29Wadi al-Jarf was probably only in use
12:31for a few decades.
12:34Why the harbor was ultimately abandoned
12:37is still up for debate.
12:38But the common belief is that
12:40it may have been shut down
12:41at the end of Khufu's reign,
12:42having served its purpose
12:44of helping to build the Great Pyramid.
12:48Maybe for his final act,
12:50as operations at the harbor came to an end,
12:53Merrer simply tossed the papyri
12:54into the tunnel and sealed the entrance,
12:57symbolically closing the book
12:58on this chapter of ancient Egyptian history,
13:01only for it to be opened again
13:03an astounding 4,600 years later.
13:09This was a monumental discovery.
13:12Merrer's diary provides
13:14the only first-hand account
13:15of the logistical
13:16and engineering achievements
13:18that went into one of the most fabled
13:20construction projects in world history.
13:40In northern Saudi Arabia,
13:42just south of the city of Sakaka,
13:44is the Al-Nafou Desert,
13:46which translates to the Great Sand Dune.
13:50This is the second-largest stretch
13:52of the Arabian Desert
13:54and features enormous crescent-shaped,
13:57red-tinted sand dunes.
13:59The extreme heat of this desert
14:02can reach as high as 54 degrees Celsius
14:05and never drops below 15 degrees,
14:08even in the winter.
14:11Not much thrives here in this 65,000-square-kilometre desert.
14:16It even has a reputation for being impassable
14:18and incredibly inhospitable.
14:22Along the northern edge of the desert,
14:25eight kilometres outside Sakaka,
14:27researchers exploring the region
14:29were drawn to a crumbling outcropping
14:32of three striated sandstone rock spurs.
14:35When they looked closely,
14:37they discovered clear traces of human life.
14:42Along the rock face are carved outlines
14:45of what looks like legs and bodies.
14:47Some are very faint etchings
14:49and others are crumbling, rounded-out shapes,
14:52but they are clearly images of animals.
14:56The artworks are large,
14:58practically life-sized,
14:59measuring one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half metres in length,
15:02with legs up to one metre tall.
15:05These are very distinctive animals.
15:07They're camels.
15:14Camels are an essential part of Saudi Arabian culture,
15:18integral to modern life,
15:20and are still celebrated today.
15:2353% of the Arabian Peninsula's camels
15:27are found in this area,
15:29providing food, labour and entertainment.
15:34There is even a camel pageant
15:37at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival,
15:40awarding the most beautiful camel each year
15:42from Gulf and Arab countries.
15:44So it is not surprising
15:46that these magnificent beasts of burden
15:48would be featured in local art
15:50throughout the ages.
15:57Looking around,
15:59there are 12 separate panels,
16:01with a total of 21 animal images.
16:05The animals include 17 camels,
16:07and what is likely an early ancestor of the horse.
16:13The images of the rock spurs are reliefs,
16:15a technique of sculpting
16:16in which the image protrudes from the background,
16:19but is still connected to it.
16:22They are made in both low relief,
16:24featuring slightly raised images,
16:26and high relief,
16:27where the image stands out in three dimensions
16:30from the flat surface,
16:32creating more shadow and distinction.
16:38Experts compare this site
16:40with the only other known
16:42three-dimensional camel relief
16:44at Petra Jordan.
16:47The images at Petra's Barber Sik
16:49revealed a monumental sculptural group
16:53along a narrow passageway
16:54that features herdsmen guiding camels.
17:00They're believed to be from 50 BCE
17:02and are among the earliest surviving reliefs in Petra.
17:06So it's possible these camel images
17:08outside Sakaka
17:09could be around 2,000 years old as well.
17:14The images in Petra
17:16are attributed to the Nabataeans,
17:18Arabian nomads from the Negev desert
17:20who lived between the 6th century BCE
17:22and 100 CE.
17:25The Petra reliefs feature similar subject matter,
17:28but the works here in Saudi Arabia
17:29are smaller than the giant
17:31three-and-a-half-meter figures found there.
17:36Historic Nabataean caravan routes
17:38cross through what is now the Sakaka Basin,
17:41connecting the entire peninsula,
17:43moving people and goods
17:45over hundreds of years.
17:47So it's possible they could be responsible
17:50for the images here, too.
17:53However, another notable difference
17:55in the images
17:56is that the animals at Sakaka
17:57appear to be unharnessed
17:58and featured in their natural environments
18:00where humans play a secondary role.
18:03This is unlike the Petra images
18:05where the camels are being guided by men.
18:08So maybe they weren't created by the Nabataeans.
18:13While nomadic Neolithic people of Arabia
18:15did herd cattle, sheep, and goats,
18:18they had not yet domesticated camels,
18:21likely only hunting them for food.
18:25Surveying the area of ground
18:27and sediments around the rock bases,
18:29researchers discovered dozens of flint pieces
18:32among the crumbling rocks and sand.
18:36When flint, which is a form of quartz,
18:38is struck by a heavier or harder stone,
18:41it creates jagged and sharp fragments.
18:43The pieces of flint found here
18:45were likely tools used to create the artwork.
18:54To date the artwork,
18:56experts measured the regrowth
18:58of the rock's natural varnish,
19:00a coating on its surface
19:01caused by atmospheric exposure.
19:04This layer is mainly composed of clay and oxides
19:08and grows only a few micrometers per thousand years.
19:12The depth of the varnish on the art reveals
19:15that this site is much, much older
19:17than we initially thought,
19:18even older than the 2,000-year-old petra camels.
19:26Further testing revealed
19:27that the Sakaka camel site
19:29actually dates between 7,000 and 8,000 years ago,
19:34making these the oldest
19:36life-sized animal reliefs in the world.
19:42The site is astounding,
19:44not only given its age,
19:46but considering the efforts
19:47it would have taken to create it,
19:49especially given the available technologies
19:52at that time.
19:55While many areas of the rock spur
19:57are still quite imposing,
19:59digital reconstruction of the site
20:01led experts to believe
20:03that the spurs would have reached
20:05up to 10 meters in height
20:06and were between 70 and 80 meters in length
20:10at the time the art was created.
20:13It's likely that the reliefs were created
20:15over different periods by multiple artists,
20:18whether taking on panels individually
20:20or working on them in tandem,
20:22which could explain the differences in style
20:24across the site.
20:27Given the enormous height
20:29and the fact that these life-sized
20:31two- and three-dimensional camels
20:33are seen throughout the rock's surface,
20:35one would assume
20:36that whoever made these
20:38would have needed
20:39some form of ancient scaffolding.
20:43But why were they drawn here,
20:45seemingly in the middle of nowhere?
20:59On the edge of the Arabian Desert
21:02in Saudi Arabia,
21:03the discovery of the oldest animal reliefs
21:06in the world
21:07pushed experts to unearth more answers.
21:12Archaeologists excavated
21:13a one-by-five-meter,
21:1540-centimeter-deep trench
21:17on the north side
21:19of the center rock spur.
21:21They discovered artifacts
21:22that ranged widely in age.
21:24Some dated as far back
21:26as the mid-sixth millennium BCE,
21:29while others were as recent as 1587.
21:33Eight transverse arrowheads
21:34were among the artifacts discovered,
21:36and their style is indicative
21:38of items that were previously
21:39catalogued in Jordan.
21:43Transverse arrowheads
21:44tend to be much smaller
21:45than the triangular arrowheads
21:47you might normally think of.
21:49They can range from
21:50a few centimeters in length
21:51to the size of a thumbnail.
21:54Transverse arrowheads
21:56are a Neolithic relic
21:58of ancient hunter-gatherer societies.
22:00They may be small,
22:02but nonetheless,
22:03they are deadly,
22:04designed to penetrate deep
22:06into the prey's flesh.
22:09These arrowheads
22:10are believed to date
22:11from 5600 to 5300 BCE.
22:15The evidence found in the trench
22:17supports the idea
22:18that Neolithic people
22:20seem to have repeatedly returned
22:21to this camel site
22:22over a wide spectrum of time.
22:27The rock formations,
22:29a position between
22:30the vast expanse of the desert
22:32and the mountainous massif
22:34to the north,
22:35an area of the Earth's crust
22:37that is defined by faults.
22:41The rocks at the camel site
22:43sit between 550 to 650 meters
22:46above sea level,
22:48and given their height
22:49above the sand,
22:50they would be visible
22:51from quite a distance,
22:52which could be helpful
22:53after a long, dusty trek
22:55through the extreme heat
22:56of the desert.
22:58Some people even think
23:00that the original formation
23:01may have looked somewhat
23:02like a camel from a distance.
23:04So perhaps the site
23:06and its camel reliefs
23:08were a landmark of some kind.
23:12Expanding the search,
23:13researchers and locals alike
23:15uncovered another 11 rock art sites
23:18with similar carved
23:20and engraved images
23:21distributed along the edges
23:23of the Al-Nafu Desert
23:24with a 12th site
23:26as far away
23:28as southern Jordan.
23:30Teams have identified
23:31a total of 27 panels
23:33depicting an astonishing
23:3437 life-sized carvings
23:37of camels.
23:38They all share
23:39common characteristics,
23:41including details
23:41like hair,
23:42eyes,
23:43and ribs.
23:45It's believed that this site
23:47was in use
23:47over a prolonged period
23:49and that communities
23:50likely revisited
23:51and added to the art
23:52over time.
23:53Though the exact reason
23:55people were drawn here
23:56is still unknown.
24:01The camel rock art sites
24:03across the Nafu Desert,
24:04including at Sakaka,
24:06stand as evidence
24:07of a deep artistic tradition.
24:11Above all,
24:13these sites are testament
24:14to the fact
24:15that the wild camel
24:16was a creature
24:17of great cultural importance
24:19for the Neolithic peoples
24:21of this land.
24:22The beginnings of a relationship
24:24between man and animal
24:26that would remain
24:27an integral element
24:29of life in the region
24:30for generations to come.
24:43The Adra Plateau
24:45in northwest Mauretania
24:47is a remote,
24:48hostile region
24:49of the Sahara Desert,
24:50mostly comprised
24:51of desolate canyons,
24:53imposing sand dunes,
24:55and parched,
24:56rocky landscapes.
24:59It's extremely dry here,
25:02averaging around 70 millimetres
25:03of rain annually,
25:04and that mainly falls
25:06during August and September,
25:07which would explain
25:08why the region
25:09is almost completely
25:10devoid of life.
25:12This extraordinary terrain
25:14is even more striking
25:16when viewed from above.
25:18All systems are good
25:20at this time.
25:28Astronauts on a four-day orbit
25:29around Earth,
25:30aboard the Gemini 4 spacecraft,
25:33were asked by NASA
25:34to photograph
25:35the planet's landscape.
25:37While flying over
25:39the Adra Plateau,
25:40they spotted something striking
25:42in the middle of the desert.
25:50It's a huge circular formation
25:52on the ground
25:53that has concentric rings
25:55of different colours
25:56extending out
25:57from a large central area.
26:01It looks kind of like
26:03a multicoloured bullseye
26:05carved into the desert,
26:06and if the astronauts
26:08could see it from space,
26:10it must be absolutely massive.
26:17It's determined
26:18that the diameter
26:19of the structure
26:20is an astounding 40 kilometres.
26:24It's really
26:25an awe-inspiring sight,
26:27but what exactly is it?
26:33Named the Richard structure,
26:35but most commonly referred to
26:37as the Eye of the Sahara,
26:39this mysterious geological formation
26:41has perplexed scientists
26:43ever since its discovery.
26:47Perhaps it's an impact crater
26:49created when an object from space
26:51slammed into the Earth's surface.
26:54After all,
26:55a circular formation
26:56of this magnitude
26:57is very rare
26:58outside of meteorite strikes.
27:03Researchers in the area
27:04have found what are called
27:05bretiated churps.
27:07These are small, angular pieces
27:09of sedimentary rock
27:10similar to quartz
27:12that are made up
27:13of smaller rock fragments
27:14and minerals
27:15that have been cemented together
27:16over time.
27:20Whenever there's a large
27:22extraterrestrial impact,
27:24a huge amount of debris
27:26in the form of different rock types
27:28is launched into the air.
27:30These fragments
27:32then fall back to the ground,
27:33and over the years
27:35they slowly meld together.
27:39Brescias can be found
27:41at almost all major impact sites.
27:43Among them,
27:44northern Arizona's
27:45famous Meteor Crater,
27:47an almost otherworldly site
27:49gouged into the desert
27:51of the Colorado Plateau.
27:55It's a spectacular crater,
27:58roughly 1,200 meters across
28:00and 170 meters deep.
28:03It's thought to be
28:04around 50,000 years old,
28:06which is actually fairly young
28:08in geological time.
28:11About 150 kilometers southwest
28:13of the Eye of the Sahara
28:15is an impact site
28:16believed to be
28:17significantly older.
28:19The Aulul Crater
28:20could be up to
28:213 million years old.
28:25It's pretty close to the Eye,
28:27so maybe this area
28:29was once a hotbed
28:30for meteorite activity.
28:33The Aulul Crater
28:34is quite a bit smaller, though,
28:36with a circumference
28:37of roughly 1.2 kilometers.
28:40But there are
28:41similar characteristics,
28:43like a raised rim
28:44around a relatively flat center.
28:47Further investigation
28:48at the Eye of the Sahara
28:50didn't uncover
28:51any other evidence
28:53of impact.
28:54Naturally,
28:55explosive incidents
28:56leave traces behind.
28:58But such pieces of evidence
29:00were never found here.
29:02Yes, they found Brescia,
29:04but they were small,
29:06and impacts severe enough
29:07to make a crater this large
29:09would leave much bigger rocks
29:11called Mega Brescia.
29:14You would also find
29:15shatter cones
29:16on surrounding rocks.
29:18These are marks
29:19and fractures
29:20caused by shock waves,
29:21but they haven't been found
29:22at the site.
29:25The eye is also very shallow
29:27compared to how wide it is.
29:29It's 40 kilometers across,
29:31and yet,
29:32it's only about 50 meters deep.
29:35If something hit the ground
29:36with enough force
29:37to leave a depression
29:38this wide,
29:39there would be evidence
29:40of the collision
29:41at least 10 kilometers
29:42below the surface
29:43of the Earth.
29:48So if the eye
29:49isn't an impact crater,
29:51what else could it be?
30:07The origin of an enormous
30:10rock formation
30:11in the Sahara Desert
30:12has captured the curiosity
30:14of people all over the world.
30:16Many believe
30:17it might have mythical origins.
30:20Some theorize
30:22that the eye
30:23is actually the remains
30:24of the legendary
30:25lost city of Atlantis.
30:30Plato first described Atlantis
30:33in writings
30:33dated to 360 BCE,
30:36claiming it was constructed
30:38using concentric rings
30:39that were varied
30:40between land and water,
30:41which kind of fits
30:43the description of the eye.
30:47Critics are quick
30:48to point out
30:48that most scholars believe
30:50that the story of Atlantis
30:52is nothing but a rhetorical concept
30:54used by Plato,
30:56a morality tale
30:58about the destruction
30:59of an advanced utopian society.
31:03It's a bit of a far-fetched idea
31:05for several reasons.
31:07First off,
31:08Plato describes Atlantis' location
31:10as being in the Atlantic,
31:11just beyond the pillars
31:13of Hercules,
31:14which most people assume
31:15to be in the Strait of Gibraltar,
31:17hundreds of kilometers
31:18away from the eye.
31:21Atlantis is also said
31:23to have been surrounded
31:24by flat plains.
31:26That's not really
31:27an accurate description
31:28of the rugged landscape
31:30that surrounds
31:30the eye of the Sahara.
31:32Plato also suggested
31:34that there was a main canal
31:35that ran through the city,
31:37but there's obviously
31:38nothing like that here.
31:41There's really
31:42no physical evidence
31:43to suggest
31:44that an advanced society
31:45existed here,
31:46but the eye of the Sahara
31:48has been home
31:49to many interesting
31:50archaeological finds
31:51that are much older
31:52than the mythical Atlantis.
31:55Along the outermost rings,
31:57archaeologists
31:58have unearthed stone tools,
32:00mostly primitive oval
32:02and pear-shaped hand axes
32:03called bifaces,
32:05commonly used
32:06by early humans.
32:10This means that there
32:11could have been
32:12early human activity
32:13in this area
32:15over a million years ago.
32:17Maybe this was the site
32:19of some kind of ancient village
32:20where early humans lived.
32:24But no evidence
32:26of human-made structures
32:26have been found,
32:27and there are no other deposits
32:29that suggest that early humans
32:31lived here on a permanent basis.
32:33It's more likely
32:34that the area was used
32:35temporarily for hunting
32:36and tool-making.
32:37And even if they did live here,
32:39that doesn't tell us anything
32:41about how the eye
32:42was actually formed.
32:47A recent theory
32:49put forth by two Canadian geologists
32:52may clarify the origins
32:54of the mysterious
32:55Eye of the Sahara
32:56once and for all.
32:58They believe that the eye
32:59was formed
33:00more than 100 million years ago
33:02when the superconstant Pangaea
33:04was pulled apart
33:06by plate tectonics,
33:07separating what are now
33:09South America
33:09and Africa.
33:12Molten rock bubbled up
33:14towards the surface
33:15of the earth
33:16but didn't manage
33:17to break through,
33:18which produced a dome
33:19that's made up
33:20of layers of rock.
33:23This uplift
33:24also created fault lines
33:26in and around the eye
33:27and melted limestone
33:29near the center,
33:29which collapsed
33:30and created
33:31the brecciated rock formations
33:33found there today.
33:37Then, sometime after,
33:39there was a violent eruption
33:40that caused the entire dome
33:42to disintegrate.
33:43And then it was just a matter
33:44of millions of years
33:45of erosion
33:46to create this
33:47spectacular formation.
33:49And so,
33:50this striking ring-like appearance
33:53is likely due to the presence
33:55of different kinds of rock
33:56that erode
33:57at various speeds.
34:00There is fear among experts
34:02that as climate change
34:04accelerates desertification,
34:06the eye of the Sahara
34:08could become buried
34:09in the sand
34:10and one of the most arresting
34:12geological formations
34:13on Earth
34:14would be lost forever.
34:17But until then,
34:19the great eye
34:20in the desert
34:21watches over us all.
34:39150 kilometers southwest
34:41of Cairo,
34:42in the western desert
34:43of Egypt,
34:44lies a hot,
34:45dusty stretch
34:46of orange sand
34:47and dry rock formations
34:49known as Wadi al-Haytan.
34:53The western desert
34:55takes up two-thirds
34:56of Egypt,
34:57covering nearly
34:58700,000 square kilometers
35:00of the country
35:01in sand.
35:03Wadi al-Haytan
35:04is a remote desert valley
35:06that is made up
35:06of a series of escarpments
35:08with ancient sands
35:09that can be dated
35:10as far back
35:11as 48 million years ago.
35:18under 43 degrees centigrade heat
35:21and demanding field conditions,
35:23a team made up
35:24of paleontologists
35:25and master students
35:26were surveying a site
35:28when they discovered
35:29a near-complete,
35:31though fragmented,
35:32fossil
35:32of an ancient creature.
35:34They carefully uncovered
35:36a partial skull,
35:37a series of disassociated vertebrae,
35:40and some other strange bones
35:42lying next to one another.
35:45This specimen measures
35:46nearly two meters in length.
35:49So the bones of this animal
35:51were found all together,
35:52articulated,
35:54connected to one another.
35:55And what this means
35:56is that there was
35:57no post-mortem movement,
35:58and therefore,
35:59the animal was found
36:00exactly where it died.
36:03This is clearly a sea creature,
36:05and a large one at that.
36:07But how did a sea creature
36:08end up in the middle
36:09of the western desert?
36:13You wouldn't know it
36:14by looking at this field
36:15of endless sand.
36:17But tens of millions
36:18of years ago,
36:19it was entirely underwater.
36:23250 million years ago,
36:26this desert was the bed
36:27of the central Tethys Sea,
36:29named after the Greek goddess
36:31of the seas.
36:32It existed between
36:34the supercontinents
36:35of Gondwana
36:36and Laurasia
36:37before these landmasses
36:39broke apart,
36:40forming the modern continents
36:42and oceans
36:42we know today.
36:46The seafloor closed up
36:48with the settling of the plates
36:49approximately 50 million years ago.
36:51during the Cenozoic era.
36:53This left a shallow bay
36:55that eventually dried up.
36:57So even though it looks
36:58like a vast desert wasteland,
37:00this area is well known
37:02for having the richest collection
37:03of marine fossils in Egypt.
37:08In 2015,
37:10a fully intact Bacillosaurus,
37:12one of the first prehistoric whales,
37:15was discovered.
37:17The Arabic name,
37:19Waidi Al-Hitan,
37:20means Valley of the Whales.
37:22It's called that
37:23because of the hundreds
37:24of ancient whale skeletons
37:25that have been discovered
37:26right here.
37:28So perhaps,
37:29maybe this too is a whale.
37:32Among the numerous whale species
37:34discovered here in the valley,
37:36paleontologists have also found
37:38Theomacetus Anubis,
37:40named after the ancient Egyptians' god of dead.
37:46This is not your average whale
37:48by any stretch of the imagination.
37:50It's very small compared to modern whales.
37:52It's only about three meters long
37:53and weighed approximately 600 kilograms.
37:57Especially when considering
37:58that the average right whale living today
38:00is 18 meters long
38:02and the blue whale
38:03can be up to 33 meters long.
38:07This whale has an elongated head
38:10with a long snout,
38:11indicating that it would have had
38:13a hefty bite
38:14for any unsuspecting prey.
38:17It's believed this would have been
38:19a carnivorous predator,
38:21similar to today's orcas.
38:24But that's not even the strangest thing
38:26about this 43-million-year-old fossil
38:28of a whale in the desert.
38:32This whale seems to have legs,
38:34four legs,
38:35and legs are used for walking.
38:38It was a walking whale.
38:45More surprisingly,
38:46this is not the first walking whale discovered.
38:49In 2011,
38:50paleontologists in Peru
38:52found a four-meter-long whale fossil
38:54that had hooves
38:55and webbed feet.
38:58Through evolution,
38:59whales went from small-hoofed mammals
39:01who occasionally swam
39:03to the ocean-dwelling animals
39:05like blue whales
39:06that we have today.
39:10Further examination
39:11of the skull of the sea creature
39:13found in the wadi
39:14revealed two opicles,
39:17bone structures that protect the gills
39:19and define the connection
39:20of the head
39:21to the body.
39:24The presence of this bone structure here
39:26indicates that these remains
39:27are not those of a whale.
39:29In fact,
39:30it seems to be some type
39:31of very large fish.
39:33But what kind of fish is it?
39:37Paleontologists noticed
39:38another particular set
39:39of unique bones
39:40known as the Weberian apparatus.
39:45This is amazing.
39:47The Weberian apparatus is a distinctive arrangement
39:49of small bones that connect the swim bladder
39:52to the auditory system.
39:54It enhances the fish's ability
39:56to hear under the extreme pressure
39:59caused by swimming in deep water.
40:02The bones of the Weberian apparatus
40:04are unique to the bony fishes,
40:07a category of 8,000 species,
40:09including carps, minnows, suckers,
40:12and catfish.
40:16Dating the bones
40:17by the strata layer
40:18they were discovered in,
40:20paleontologists
40:21were able to estimate
40:22the age of the fish
40:23to 37 million years old.
40:26Due to the extremely dry conditions
40:28of the desert
40:29that prevents moisture damage,
40:30these bones are incredibly well-preserved
40:32despite their age.
40:34And they're very anatomically modern.
40:37In fact,
40:39it's remarkably similar
40:40to its living relative,
40:41the catfish.
40:45The name catfish
40:47refers to the long feelers
40:48around the mouth
40:49that give the fish
40:50the appearance
40:51of having whiskers.
40:53They're generally
40:54omnivorous scavengers
40:55and bottom feeders.
40:58Catfish are a diverse group of fish
41:00and they're the most abundant
41:02freshwater fishes
41:03in the world,
41:04accounting for 22%
41:05of all fish found
41:07in freshwater.
41:08However,
41:10they were historically
41:11a saltwater species
41:12that adapted their tolerance
41:14to freshwater
41:14over many generations.
41:17It's likely a member
41:19of the Aridae catfish family,
41:21which lived primarily
41:22in the sea
41:23due to its high tolerance
41:24for saltwater.
41:28Paleontologists
41:29compared the reconstructed specimen
41:31discovered in the Wadi
41:33with other prehistoric fossilized catfish
41:36found in other regions of Africa
41:38and determined that this individual
41:40was in fact
41:41a new genus of catfish.
41:45This is the oldest
41:46and most complete catfish specimen
41:48found in this region today
41:50named
41:51Kermotis haitanensis.
41:54Kermotis
41:54from the old Arabic word
41:56for catfish
41:57and haitanensis
41:58meaning
41:59from the whale.
42:01This is also
42:02the first marine catfish
42:04to be found
42:04in the Valley of the Whales,
42:07meaning that
42:07even at 2 meters in length,
42:09it was still possibly prey
42:11to many of the mammalian predators
42:12in its midst.
42:17Every species
42:18plays a special role
42:19in its ecosystem
42:20and each new fossil
42:22fills in a part
42:23of the larger picture
42:24that can't be properly understood
42:26until all members
42:28of its respective marine community
42:30are discovered.
42:31The importance
42:33of Wadi al-Haitan
42:35to the world
42:36of vertebrate paleontology
42:37can't be understated.
42:40It's helping to answer
42:41questions about the lives,
42:43feeding behavior
42:44and relationships
42:45of whales
42:46and other
42:47ancient sea creatures.
42:49This catfish discovery
42:51at Wadi al-Haitan
42:52contributes to an expanding
42:54and inspiring snapshot
42:56of marine evolution.
43:12Wadi al-Haitan
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