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00:01A bizarre discovery in Egypt, along the banks of the Nile, has experts stumped.
00:07They find ten bodies in total, laid side by side.
00:11But why were they buried here?
00:14A natural phenomenon has gone unexplained for decades.
00:18These circles are a hotly debated mystery among botanists, biologists and ecologists alike.
00:25So what is creating them?
00:27And new discoveries on Earth in the Nile River Delta could solve the mystery of an ancient lost city.
00:35The more they dig, the more the sands reveal. And this is no casual build.
00:45Astonishing discoveries on Earth from the depths of the desert.
00:52Ancient lost cities.
00:55Forgotten treasures.
00:58Mysterious structures.
01:00Extraordinary curiosities, once lost to the sands of time, are revealed.
01:06As new technology uncovers remarkable tales hidden beneath the deserts of the world.
01:13The secrets in the sand will finally be exposed.
01:35Around 700 kilometres south of Cairo, across the Nile River from the town of Aswan, is the ancient Egyptian site
01:44of Qubat al-Hawa.
01:47It's situated very close to the western edge of the Nile, and looks like a huge sand dune rising up
01:53from the riverbank.
01:54Perched on top of the hill is a small domed shrine that gives the site its name, Qubat al-Hawa,
02:00which means Dome of the Wind.
02:01The dome dates back to 2500 BCE.
02:07While conducting field work nearby, a team of archaeologists discovered something incredible, which dated back to the Byzantine era.
02:19They find the remains of ancient crocodiles.
02:26It's a bizarre sight.
02:31And it's not just a couple of crocodiles.
02:33They find ten in total, laid side by side.
02:41Five are just heads.
02:43But one is a nearly complete specimen, measuring about two metres long.
02:47The others range from 1.8 to 3.5 metres, and are in various states of preservation.
02:54After analysing the shape of the skulls, and the arrangement of the bony plates called scutes,
03:00the team determined that there were not only one, but two different species of crocodile present.
03:08They found West African and Nile crocodiles, both of which were native to the area.
03:13They're very similar in appearance, but West African crocodiles tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their Nile counterparts,
03:19which are estimated to be responsible for up to 200 deaths each year.
03:28On average, Nile crocodiles are between four and four and a half metres long,
03:33weigh around 400 kilograms, and have a lifespan of 50 to 60 years in the wild.
03:40While West African crocodiles are typically between one and a half and two and a half metres long,
03:47and have a slightly shorter lifespan.
03:50Although West African crocodiles can still be found throughout Central and West Africa,
03:54they have vanished from the Nile region.
03:56This is probably because of climate change or human activity.
04:04The crocodiles were remarkably well preserved, due to the extreme heat and arid conditions of the desert,
04:11which aids in preventing rot and tissue damage over long periods.
04:16Examination of the crocodile remains revealed that some of them had bone fractures and lesions,
04:23evidence of traumatic injury.
04:26One of the crocodiles has a healed fracture on its dorsal ribs and two healed fractures on its ventral ribs.
04:33Another has a healed fracture on its fibula and lesions on its left metatarsal and right metacarpal.
04:39But these injuries wouldn't have been severe enough to kill them.
04:42They were likely the result of territorial fights.
04:52None of the bodies show signs that they suffered a violent death at the hands of humans or other animals.
04:57So what happened to these crocodiles?
05:01Further investigation found small fragments of linen with the bodies, mostly eaten away by insects.
05:09Egyptians were known to wrap human bodies in linen as part of the burial process.
05:13Its presence suggests that someone buried these crocodiles here for a reason.
05:19Ancient crocodile remains have been found in other parts of Egypt.
05:24Most famously at Qamombo, approximately 50 kilometers north of Qubat al-Hawah.
05:30The town contains a temple dedicated to the god Sobek, who manifested as a crocodile.
05:38Thousands of crocodiles have been excavated around Qamombo and many were found to be wrapped in linen as part of
05:44the mummification process.
05:46So it's logical to conclude that the bodies found at Qabat al-Hawah aren't just regular crocodiles, they're crocodile mummies.
05:54Animal mummification practices were widespread throughout ancient Egypt.
06:00Cats, baboons, cows, hawks and even frogs have all been discovered within tombs.
06:07They actually had breeding programs that supplied a stream of different animals, specifically to be killed and mummified.
06:14It's been estimated that some 70 million animal mummies were produced over 1,200 years, from around 800 BCE to
06:22400 CE.
06:23And when animal supply was low, some shrewd entrepreneurs produced and sold fake mummies.
06:29The linen wrappings were stuffed with things like eggshells, sticks and feathers.
06:35Along with the linen, the team also discovered small pieces of rope around the remains.
06:42The rope means that the crocodiles could have been tied up before death, indicating that they could have been captive
06:48animals.
06:49In terms of how they were mummified, they could have been simply buried in the sand in order to desiccate
06:55or mummify naturally.
06:59Further testing is needed to determine their exact age.
07:02But the bodies have no traces of resin, which was used extensively in mummification starting around 300 BCE during the
07:09Ptolemaic period.
07:11When they investigate further, the team notices that the croc mummies are surrounded by simple rock structures.
07:18That it's actually a rudimentary tomb that's part of a much bigger complex.
07:24But why were they buried here?
07:28Below the domed shrine, and built into the hill, is one of the most densely packed cemeteries of ancient Egypt,
07:35with hundreds of tombs, dating as far back as 2,500 BCE.
07:41It's called the tombs of the nobles, and it's a truly remarkable place, with four stories of burial sites, gouged
07:49into the sandstone.
07:50Many of the tombs are connected, most likely by family.
07:54And although they aren't as well preserved as other Egyptian burial sites, there are hieroglyphic texts and painted scenes that
08:01tell stories about the lives of their occupants.
08:06Most of the crypts follow the same basic floor plan.
08:10An entrance hall, a room with pillars, and a passage that leads to a burial chamber.
08:16The ones in the top tiers tend to be a bit more humble, while the lower ones can be quite
08:21lavish.
08:23The crocodiles were found lower down, so maybe that means they were mummified and buried as status symbols for their
08:28owners in the afterlife.
08:31For ancient Egyptians, possessing exotic animals showed wealth and influence.
08:37At the ancient site of Hierocompolis, just over 100 kilometres to the north, excavations have unearthed the remains of elephants,
08:45leopards, baboons, and even hippos, near the tombs of prominent citizens.
08:52The Egyptians were known to keep dogs, cats, and other animals.
08:56And in a few rare cases, if a pet died before its owner, it was mummified and placed in a
09:01tomb to wait for its master to keep him or her company in the afterlife.
09:06But there is no evidence that the Egyptians kept crocodiles as pets.
09:10They were feared as very dangerous creatures.
09:13One Egyptian ruler, Prince Thutmose, went to great lengths to ensure his beloved cat was afforded the kind of lavish
09:21lifestyle in the afterlife, as it was accustomed to whilst alive.
09:25The cat is buried in its own limestone sarcophagus, ornately decorated with various scenes and hieroglyphics.
09:32At the back, a cat is shown at a table piled high with offerings to the gods, and a lotus
09:37flower, the symbol of resurrection.
09:40But the crocodile mummies are just buried in the ground, so it doesn't appear that they were treated like the
09:45pampered pets of the upper echelon of Egyptian society.
09:49What is going on here?
09:59A tomb of crocodile mummies, discovered beneath the domed shrine at Kubat al-Hawah, left experts baffled and in search
10:08of answers.
10:10Mummified animals were often dedicated to the gods with whom they were associated, and could have acted as intermediaries to
10:18carry a dedicator's prayer to that god.
10:22We think that such animals were raised in temples and sold to worshippers for this purpose, to serve as votive
10:28offerings.
10:29So mummified crocodiles might have carried prayers to Sobek, the crocodile god.
10:35The ancient Egyptians were known to worship Sobek, a deity frequently depicted as a human with a head of a
10:43crocodile, who has a temple in his name at Kom Ombou.
10:47Sobek was a very important god. The Egyptians were afraid of crocodiles, so they offered him various things in an
10:53attempt to please him.
10:55People who lived along the river relied on its flooding to fertilize their crops.
11:00They believed their offerings were necessary to satisfy Sobek, so that he would create an adequate flood.
11:09To give an idea of how seriously the Egyptians took these offerings, there were crocodile priests, whose sole purpose was
11:16to mummify crocodiles and offer them to the gods.
11:19They were treated and prepared virtually the same way as human mummies.
11:24One mummy excavated at Kom Ombou was found to have the leg of a cow in its stomach.
11:29This suggests that it was fed by humans, because in the wild, crocodiles mainly eat fish, small mammals and small
11:36reptiles.
11:38This crocodile was also found to have over 25 mummified hatchlings on its back.
11:43It's likely this was meant to symbolize crocodile mothers in the wild, in order to represent fertility.
11:49Taking into consideration the meat found in its stomach, as well as the hatchlings, this croc was probably a manifestation
11:55of Sobek, and may have even lived in the temple dedicated to him.
11:59Some offerings were considered physical manifestations of Sobek, sacred crocodiles were raised in captivity, and respected as living representations of
12:11the crocodile god.
12:13It's likely that the crocodile mummies at Qabatil Hawa were votive offerings.
12:18This is because there is no evidence to show that they were treated with the reverence of the crocodiles at
12:23Kom Ombou, so they probably weren't avatars for Sobek.
12:28Although the linens suggested these crocodiles were mummies, there's no indication on their bodies that they underwent an elaborate embalming
12:35process.
12:36So they were likely naturally mummified before being buried.
12:41Despite their humble final resting place, the crocodiles found at Qabatil Hawa embody just how important these great beasts were
12:50to the citizens of ancient Egypt.
12:53It was a relationship based on equal parts fear and admiration for one of the most awe-inspiring animals on
13:01our planet.
13:14The Namib Desert spans more than 81,000 square kilometers along Africa's western coast, connecting the countries of Angola, Namibia
13:24and South Africa.
13:26In the local Nama language, the word Namib means an area where there is nothing.
13:39It's one of the most remote and inhospitable places on the continent.
13:44It has a very low annual rainfall and extreme temperatures that can reach as high as 45 degrees Celsius in
13:50the day and fall well below freezing at night.
13:56One hundred and sixty kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean, a sliver of hyper-arid grassland that borders the desert is
14:04mysteriously dotted with millions of unusual circles.
14:09Best viewed from above, these strange, oddly symmetrical and evenly spaced circles are a hotly debated mystery among botanists, biologists
14:19and ecologists alike.
14:21The Himba people of Namibia believe them to be the footprints of Makuru, the supreme creator.
14:29These rust-colored spots can range from one and a half meters in diameter in the central Namib desert, while
14:36in the northwestern region they can grow up to an enormous 25 meters across.
14:41Their uniformity in both shape and spacing makes them look almost man-made, like the work of a gardener gone
14:50wild.
14:52However, the area is almost completely uninhabited, except for a few small settlements and pastoral groups.
14:59So, what are they?
15:03Because they look quite similar to fairy rings, an arc of mushroom growth often found in forests and grasslands, researchers
15:10have dubbed this phenomenon fairy circles.
15:15Fairy circles are barren spots of land surrounded by tufts of healthy grass that grow across a landscape, creating a
15:24periodic, evenly spaced, dotted growth pattern.
15:28Fairy circles develop, grow, and die, as all plant life will, depending on condition and environmental circumstances.
15:37Through long-term tracking of their development, and using mathematical calculation, experts believe they have an estimated lifespan of 41
15:47years.
15:49Researchers have observed that some fairy circles could be 75 years old.
15:53It's even plausible that they've been around for centuries.
15:58So, what is creating them?
16:02One hypothesis stems from the notion that decaying plants inhibit the future growth of plant life, resulting in a particular
16:09pattern of barren land.
16:11Is it possible a plant could be so toxic that it would leave scars on the landscape long after it's
16:16gone?
16:17If so, the fairy circles, could they be those scars?
16:23The Euphorbia damarana, also known as the damara milk bush, is thought to be one of the most toxic plants
16:29in Namibia.
16:31Euphorbia damarana grows up to 3 meters tall and between 3 and 5 meters wide.
16:37Grey-green in colour, this succulent shrub contains a milky latex that is not only toxic, but capable of killing
16:45animals and humans.
16:56The Namibian fairy circles have puzzled scientists for decades.
17:01Could a deadly toxic plant be the evidence they were missing?
17:05Researchers found that the residual latex in the soil, where this plant and its cousin, Euphorbia gumifera, died, resulted in
17:13faster water infiltration rates.
17:15This leaves the soil unable to hold water at the surface.
17:20Fairy circles appear similarly hydrophobic, with the top 20 centimeters of Earth unable to hold water, precisely where the grasses
17:29with shallow roots would need it.
17:30These researchers even believe they can predict the size of future fairy circles based on the relative size of these
17:38toxic plants.
17:41Researchers compared aerial imagery, taken over a period of 50 years, to prove the Euphorbia plants were replaced with fairy
17:50circles when they died.
17:53However, a new research team returned to the original area of study, and using photographs, drone imagery, and historic satellite
18:00images, they were able to prove that new growth had in fact returned to many of the locations where these
18:06plants had died.
18:09So, if not toxic plants, what else could be the cause?
18:15Some researchers believe that these circular patterns could be the handiwork of insects, and not just any insects, the engineers
18:22of the insect world, termites.
18:25The continent of Africa has the richest diversity of termites on the planet, with over 1,000 species on record.
18:34These subterranean insects live in colonies ranging in size from a few hundred individuals to societies of several million.
18:44And their mounds can measure up to 9 meters high and 7 meters wide.
18:49Termites are integral to the fertility of the world's arid grasslands, and their colonies can even directly influence landscapes.
18:58Savannas with a significant number of termite mounds are more likely to survive with much less rainfall than those without
19:05termites.
19:07Termites clear out vegetation, allowing rainfall to filter deeper into the ground to hydrate a colony for the entire year.
19:15As a result, these insect-rich grasslands offer much-needed lifelines to local plants and animal life by creating areas
19:24of comparative biological abundance in their immediate vicinity.
19:29These industrious insects have been known to create patterns in the landscape.
19:33Perhaps termites are eating the roots of the grasses and systematically killing them.
19:39Could this be what's creating these circular designs?
19:44However, termite mounds tend to result in the mirror image of fairy circles.
19:49Where fairy circles are defined by the absence of growth surrounded by vegetation, a termite mound tends to feature an
19:57island of growth surrounded by dry land.
20:01While there are a few species of termites living in the area of the circles, there doesn't appear to be
20:06a sufficient food source for the volume of termites that would be necessary to create patterns on such a large
20:12scale.
20:14In 2014, near-identical fairy circles were discovered over 10,000 kilometers away in the outback of Australia.
20:25Research teams converged on the area and dug holes inside the fairy circles to assess the presence and influence of
20:33Australian termites on these patterns.
20:36And there's no sign of termite herbivory.
20:41Ultimately, their findings did not show a relationship between the termites and the patterns.
20:47By comparing aerial footage of vegetation gaps created by termites, researchers found that the termite patterns were much less organized
20:55and smaller than the circles.
20:57So clearly insect activity is not producing the fairy circles.
21:01So what is causing this puzzling phenomenon?
21:10Annual rainfall across the Namib Desert ranges from less than 2 millimeters to 200 millimeters.
21:17But within this specific strip of dotted grassland, the maximum rainfall is 120 millimeters.
21:26With the incredible heat of the Namib Desert, water loss happens very quickly due to absorption, evaporation, and transpiration.
21:35New research suggests that when under stress, due to drought, the grasslands have to reorganize themselves.
21:42If this strip of the Namib received a few millimeters more of rainfall, the grasslands would show uniform growth like
21:49the hardier grasslands to the west.
21:51So why are the grasses dying off in this pattern?
21:57Immediately after the rains, grass will grow in all areas, filling in the circles.
22:01But researchers noticed that within the following 20 days, young grasses at the center will die.
22:08The older, more mature grass appears to pull water away from the center towards the edges, creating a vacuum effect
22:17that can exist over great distances.
22:23The grasses themselves are engineering the environment to their benefit.
22:27The grasses themselves are engineering the environment to their benefit.
22:28They are maximizing the rainfall through the creation of these fairy circles, and the result is this beautiful dotted landscape.
22:35If proven to be true, it's a stunning story of survival under the harshest of circumstances.
22:40In the end, the theories behind the fairy circles are still up for debate, and greater research is required in
22:48the grasslands of the Namib Desert to determine their ultimate origin.
22:55Until then, they remain an awe-inspiring landscape to behold.
23:14One hundred and forty kilometers northeast of Cairo, in the province of Sharqia, is an area of dry rural land
23:23that lies along the eastern Nile River Delta and the town of Tel-O-Daba.
23:28People have settled this area for millennia.
23:32Here, on the edge of the desert, is one of the cradles of human civilization.
23:37Archaeologists interested in the mysteries of ancient Egypt have visited the Nile Delta for years.
23:43Through a combination of persistence, determination, and advanced technology, a team of researchers uncovered something lost to the world for
23:52millennia.
23:54Buried beneath layers of earth and sand are the remnants of a large structure constructed of sturdy sandstone bricks.
24:02It's a massive seven to eight meter wide by 500 meter long white stone wall buried along the town.
24:10The more they dig, the more the sands reveal, and this is no casual build.
24:18The ancient complex covers an area of over two square kilometers, and appears to have been built up over a
24:25long period of time.
24:28Excavation is difficult, given the number of local residents and established farming communities currently living and working on the land.
24:36A combination of traditional archaeology and modern scientific techniques, including core sampling and geomagnetic surveying, was used to ascertain the
24:47full picture of the site.
24:48It's a huge footprint. There are courtyards, residences, streets, temples, and so much more.
24:57It appears to be an entire settlement or ancient city.
25:02In ancient times, the site would have been connected to the Mediterranean and the Nile Valley, offering clear strategic benefits
25:09with access to the land, river, and sea.
25:15The Pelusiac branch of the Nile, like many of the other ancient Nile branches, disappeared a long time ago, due
25:23to a variety of human and natural factors.
25:26The Nile River was critical to the development of ancient Egypt, and most of its villages, towns, and cities were
25:33built along its banks.
25:34It was not only the main mode of transportation, but also the primary source of clean drinking water throughout the
25:42arid countryside.
25:43One would assume that this city would be automatically attributed to the ancient Egyptians, but something here is off.
25:52Even though the structures are made of traditional Egyptian building materials, the site has a more random, disordered plan than
25:58one would expect of Egyptian urban design.
26:00That's kind of strange. Who else could have built it?
26:04Continued excavation and imaging of the enormous site not only revealed more of the layout, but also exposed the timeline
26:12of construction through the differing sedimentary layers.
26:16Experts believe that this site was continuously occupied for thousands of years.
26:21This site is a historical puzzle. There are foundations on top of foundations, newer, larger stone structures built directly on
26:33top of older ones.
26:34It's mind-blowing. One area of the site features a structure, likely a palace, built directly on top of a
26:43series of much older foundations.
26:45This ancient village or settlement includes more than 342 four-roomed mud brick residences.
26:53They were very small, even for that time.
26:56Archaeologists believe this is the first and oldest mud brick settlement in the region, and date the structure to sometime
27:04between 1963 and 1934 BCE.
27:09The ceramic fragments discovered in this layer of earth include red polished pottery and simple clay vessels, likely from Upper
27:16Egypt.
27:17These findings indicate that this early structure was from a purely Egyptian settlement.
27:23Eventually, these homes were abandoned and newer structures were built on top.
27:28And that's where things begin to get weird.
27:32They include a foundation of a surprising, clearly foreign building.
27:37The plan of the structure is reminiscent of a type of home that would be found in northern Syria, not
27:43here in Egypt.
27:44The existence of this home signals the presence of foreigners, non-Egyptians, who settled in the area.
27:51Given the authentic style of the home, the people who built it and lived here, likely came from an area
27:56known as the Levant.
27:57That's centered around what is modern day Palestine, Syria and Jordan.
28:03The Levant was a region encompassing the countries surrounding the eastern Mediterranean.
28:08It extended from modern day Turkey to the north, including the coastlines of Greece, down to Egypt in the south.
28:14The region was highly populated and well traveled for the time, home to ancient trade centers and routes.
28:21So perhaps this was a Levantine outpost.
28:25At another site within the compound, archeological teams uncovered a much larger, more palatial residence, in keeping with Egyptian designs.
28:34It's named Palace Necropolis for the cemetery within its walled enclosure.
28:40Researchers examining the cemetery concluded the site spanned two entirely different periods of time.
28:47The new tombs have been built next to older tombs.
28:51The later tombs have been built in a manner that preserves the integrity of the old tombs.
28:57The earlier graves are likely from the 1900s BCE and they are simple and shallow, containing few offerings for the
29:05afterlife.
29:06Some also contain multiple people as well as animals.
29:09Dated approximately 350 years after the first purely Egyptian settlement, these newer tomb designs and goods indicate both the economic
29:18growth of the community as well as increased contact with foreigners.
29:23Researchers analyzed the teeth of 75 of the remains taken from the various cemetery layers.
29:3024 people were found to be foreign-born residents of the community, indicating a distinct diversity of peoples living in
29:39direct proximity.
29:40The remains tell the story of an increasingly diverse population, seemingly living and dying in harmony.
29:47So what was happening here?
29:50Though most of Egypt's history is well documented, there is a period of about 100 years that we know little
29:56about, except for stories written 1500 years later by an Egyptian priest named Manetho in his book Egyptiaka.
30:04This one book told stories of foreign invaders taking over Egyptian cities to rule the land.
30:10These evocative accounts took hold in the minds of Egyptians and Egyptologists alike.
30:16This history refers to a capital city called Avaris, and generations of Egyptologists began looking for it as far back
30:25as 1880.
30:27So could the modern site of Tel Adaba actually be the lost city of Avaris?
30:33Exploring further, archaeologists uncovered what appeared to be another large palace complex.
30:40Within the grounds, they found the remains of a broken limestone doorjamb with carved impressions.
30:48The hieroglyphic impressions on the doorjamb connects to the Hyksos of the 15th dynasty of Egypt.
30:54The word Hyksos is Greek, meaning rulers of foreign lands.
31:01This palace is clearly not Egyptian in style.
31:05It appears to feature courtyards, temples and multiple residences, but it lacks that classic Egyptian design balance.
31:15Ancient Egyptian architecture often featured ordered structural symmetry, reflecting the concept of balance and harmony that they also sought in
31:25life.
31:25The Luxor temple, the temple of Ramesses III, and the temple of Isis are all beautiful examples of this design.
31:34This site shows more similarities to palaces built in Syria than it does to local designs.
31:42Within this courtyard, there are offering pits with thousands of pieces of broken pottery, many from the Levant and other
31:48foreign regions, as well as animal bones.
31:51This assemblage of objects implies that it was the site of great feasts and celebrations.
31:57Not only are there pits with what appear to be offerings from a ritual feast, but other nearby pits contain
32:02something that is entirely bizarre.
32:05Severed human hands!
32:16Near the modern city of Tel al-Daba along the ancient Nile river, experts may have finally identified the lost
32:24city of Avaris and the mysteries of its inner workings.
32:28The discovery of severed human hands could be evidence of an ancient Egyptian practice known as gold of valor.
32:36This was a practice where soldiers would exchange the severed right hand of their enemy, proof of their victory in
32:43battle, for gold from their leader.
32:47Discovered near the palace throne room, likely used by King Kayan, there are a total of 16 right hands.
32:55It's a truly gruesome find. The hands have been dated to around 3500 years ago, towards the end of the
33:03Hyksos reign.
33:04To cut off a dead enemy's hand was an efficient way of counting casualties, and the hands were piled up
33:11and counted by scribes as the basis for awarding the gold of valor.
33:15These 16 hands are the first pieces of physical evidence for a practice that until now has only been documented
33:22in Egyptian art and writing.
33:26Tel al-Daba is now believed to have once been the city of Avaris, the Hyksos capital, that flourished between
33:331650 and 1550 BCE.
33:37It was eventually reclaimed by the Egyptians when the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty laid siege and took the city
33:45back.
33:46The most interesting part of this discovery is not that the city was foreign ruled, but that there were no
33:52signs of forced invasion or violent takeover by the Hyksos, as told in the stories of Manetho.
33:58Instead, there are hundreds of years of evidence of cohabitation and collaboration between immigrants and locals.
34:07This site may never be excavated, nor will its finds ever be complete, due to looting and continued modern developments
34:16in the area.
34:17But the location is proof that the Nile River Delta has always been a draw for many people of the
34:26world.
34:36The Pisco Valley on the Nazca Plateau is situated near the southern coast of Peru, around 250 kilometres south of
34:46Lima, the country's capital city.
34:49There are three basic geographic regions in Peru. The Selva, which is the Amazon rainforest, the Sierra, which is the
34:56highlands of the Andes Mountains, and the Costa, which is the coastal region.
35:00The Nazca Plateau is in the Costa, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. It's mostly arid, rocky hills.
35:10A pilot conducting an aerial survey of the valley spotted something strange on the ground below.
35:17A long strip of evenly spaced depressions, weaving its way through the jagged landscape.
35:24He can't figure out what it is. It looks like a tyre track from a huge bicycle that somebody rode
35:31through the hills.
35:33It's enormous. Really a sight to behold.
35:36The band begins at the mouth of the Pisco Valley, and ranges in width from approximately 14 to 21 metres,
35:44and snakes its way uphill for almost a kilometre and a half.
35:49It sticks out like a sore thumb. Clearly, this has to be man-made.
35:54Formations like this simply don't occur naturally, but what is it?
36:01Ground-level investigation at the site revealed that the band was made up of circular holes. Thousands of them.
36:10It's estimated that there are between 5,000 to 6,000 holes, measuring around one metre in diameter, and varying
36:16in depth between 50 to 100 centimetres.
36:19There are three different types of holes. Some are raised off the ground with rocks, others appear to be dug
36:25into the side of the hills, and some are standard holes with soil lining the edges.
36:30Locals call it Monte Sierpe, which translates to serpent mountain, likely due to its snakeskin-like appearance.
36:39It's also simply known as the band of holes.
36:43Searching for answers, researchers turned their attention a couple of hundred kilometres south to Peru's famous Nazca Lines.
36:51The Nazca Lines are one of the world's largest geoglyphs, spanning some 500 square kilometres.
37:00There are more than 800 straight lines, 300 geometric shapes, and 70 plant and animal designs called biomorphs.
37:10Given their relative proximity to each other, and because they're both large-scale manipulations of the Earth,
37:16some observers propose that maybe the band of holes is a form of ancient geoglyphic art.
37:20I suppose it's possible, but the Nazca Lines clearly form images, while the band of holes doesn't appear to have
37:28any real order to it.
37:32Around five kilometres from the site, a huge 15th century Inca complex called Tambo, Colorado can be found.
37:41Tambo, Colorado was very important to the Inca Empire.
37:44It was a regional centre of economic, cultural and administrative activity.
37:48It's a pretty impressive place, with several large structures surrounding a central plaza.
37:54And because of the hot, dry environment, it's remarkably well preserved.
37:59The complex is strategically located on what was a main road that connected the coast to the inland region.
38:06Here, the Inca could control the flow of goods and monitor access to water sources.
38:12So it makes sense that they may have wanted to safeguard it against attack.
38:18Experts have proposed that the band of holes was built by the Incas as a defensive structure to protect this
38:25vital hub.
38:26They could have been foxholes, pits dug in the ground for cover against attacks, or used as firing positions.
38:33Or maybe they were obstacles designed to slow down the enemy.
38:37Doubters are quick to point out that if the band of holes was a defensive structure, then military artefacts would
38:44have been discovered there.
38:46Yet none have been found.
38:48Strangely, no artefacts whatsoever have been discovered in or around the holes.
38:54But researchers working nearby recently found small amounts of pottery dating to the Late Horizon period,
39:00which was between 1450 and 1533 CE, a time when the Inca Empire grew to dominate most of the Indian
39:06region.
39:07Given the dating of the pottery and the proximity to Tombo, Colorado, it's safe to assume that the band of
39:14holes was built by the Inca.
39:16The Inca were known to use foot ploughs and stone picks.
39:20And it's been estimated that a healthy young man could probably construct one of these holes fairly easily within just
39:27a few hours.
39:28For projects like this, they worked in teams of 10, 50, 100 or even 500 men.
39:35And if you do the math, a group of 100 men could have completed the band of holes in around
39:40a month.
39:42The Inca were famous, very skilled engineers who constructed majestic sites like Machu Picchu.
39:49They also built and sustained the longest road system in pre-Columbian South America through one of the most challenging
39:58terrains on the planet.
40:00So it's entirely reasonable that they could have constructed the band of holes with relative ease.
40:07They had the skills, they had the resources, they had the manpower to build it.
40:11But that still doesn't answer the question of what exactly it is.
40:16Discoveries made at Inca Wazi, an Inca center similar to Tambo, Colorado, 120 kilometers away, may finally solve the riddle
40:26of the band of holes.
40:28Archeologists unearthed a checkerboard pattern built into the floor of a huge open room.
40:34There are 3,510 squares, all measuring 23 centimeters by 23 centimeters.
40:41And they were found to contain traces of food.
40:44They also discovered kipus, which are knotted string counting devices used by Inca state accountants.
40:51It's believed that the squares on the floor were used by citizens to measure out tributes to the Inca state,
40:57a form of taxation.
40:59People would fill up their sections with produce, beans, grains, peppers, squash, whatever they had to offer.
41:05And the accountants would record whatever they had given.
41:10Researchers can't help but notice that despite the difference in scale, what was found at Inca Wazi does bear some
41:18resemblance to the layout of the band of holes.
41:21It could be an improvised regional adaptation of the checkerboard system born out of necessity.
41:28Tax tributes were likely taken to Tombo, Colorado, so the band of holes would have been an ideal place for
41:34people to stop and measure their produce.
41:38There were no artifacts in the holes, meaning that they could have been used to store perishable goods or items
41:43that were put there temporarily, leaving no trace behind.
41:47Drone images of the site also reveal something that had previously gone undetected.
41:53Distinct patterns in the layout of the holes.
41:56When analyzing the pictures, they notice that the holes seem to be divided into segments.
42:01Each one with a recognizable pattern in terms of both orientation and the number of holes in each row.
42:09Some segments have a diagonal arrangement with a 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 11 pattern in the number of
42:17holes per row.
42:18Other segments contain perpendicular east-west rows in a 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8 pattern.
42:28Each segment was probably devoted to a tax pain group, maybe an extended family or a regional association of individuals.
42:38In order to confirm their hypotheses, the team hoped to conduct future thorough soil analysis.
42:45If the holes were used to measure produce, there will likely be remnants of plant tissue or pollen left behind,
42:51which could be tested to determine the dates when food was present.
42:55It could be a major step towards broadening our knowledge of the Inca taxation system, as well as Inca civilization
43:02as a whole.
43:04Should the band of holes be proven a taxation site, it will further illustrate that even in the ancient world,
43:12the only certain things in life were death and taxes.
43:22We are viewers of afterần테
43:23A taxationации from other counties
43:23At least in our counties ...
43:24...
43:24Step 3
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