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Archaeologists have uncovered shocking finds that challenge what we know about ancient civilizations! From hidden treasures to unexplained structures, these discoveries will leave you amazed!
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00:00So looky here, scientists discovered ancient artifacts near King Tut's tomb.
00:06Turns out, his VIP final resting place looks more like a public graveyard,
00:10with about a dozen wooden coffins that's been there for around 3,600 years.
00:16Okay, I might have exaggerated a tad.
00:19The 11 tombs weren't exactly right next to King Tut,
00:22but they were close, near the same city of Luxor.
00:26New findings in Egyptian tombs can help us piece together what life was like in ancient Egypt.
00:32And guess what? Ancient Egyptians seem to have been remarkably like us, modern humans.
00:38Say, the women have always loved jewelry,
00:40and archaeologists retrieved a beautifully made necklace with 30 amethyst beads and 2 agate beads,
00:46plus a hippo-head amulet.
00:49Bet it was all the rage back then!
00:52Researchers also discovered two copper mirrors.
00:54One had a handle shaped like a lotus,
00:57and the other was decorated with Hathor,
00:59the ancient Egyptian deity of the sky, women, fertility, and love.
01:04These recent excavations near Tutankhamun's burial site led to another jaw-dropping revelation.
01:10For the first time in thousands of years,
01:13fragments of Queen Hapshatsut's valley temple were uncovered.
01:17This fearless woman was thought to be the second female pharaoh,
01:21who ruled with both courage and wisdom, leaving a legacy as solid as the stones themselves.
01:27Her temple, hidden for ages, opens a window into a time filled with power, intrigue, and spiritual devotion.
01:35Archaeologists found over 1,000 beautifully decorated stone blocks on the outskirts of Hapshatsut's funerary temple.
01:42There were very few women who managed to take the throne in ancient Egypt.
01:47Another tomb was found nearby, and it belonged to the overseer of Queen Teddy Sherry's palace,
01:53whose name was Jehuti Mez.
01:55Queen Hapshatsut seems to have even more tombs.
01:59I mean, aces up her sleeve.
02:01These tombs were carved into the rock instead of being built as pyramids,
02:05showing a unique ancient perspective on how to protect the soul in the afterlife.
02:10Experts managed to retrieve some cool ancient pieces from the site.
02:14Toys made of clay,
02:16mummy masks,
02:18winged scarabs,
02:19and some amulets.
02:21Sadly, there surely used to be way more artifacts.
02:24But over the last centuries,
02:26there have been people other than archaeologists to stumble upon this site.
02:30It's likely that looters got to these tombs before them
02:33and may have taken some valuable items.
02:35But they did leave behind some cool stuff for the researchers,
02:39like pottery used for offerings of bread and meat,
02:42along with archer's bows that connect the tomb's owners to the Egyptian military.
02:48Meanwhile, soul protection is way more important than you might think,
02:51especially if you're roaming around Luxor looking for ancient secrets.
02:55You aren't scared of King Tut's curse, are you?
02:58Let me tell you what happened to those who weren't scared,
03:01but promise me to take it with a dash of salt, okay?
03:05For years, Egyptologists,
03:07especially those who believed in paranormal activity,
03:10were convinced that there was an unsettling curse
03:13surrounding Tutankhamun's archaeological discoveries.
03:16This belief stemmed from the mysterious and untimely demise
03:20of several excavators who discovered the tomb in 1922
03:24with no logical explanation for why they passed away.
03:28It was just easier to chalk it up to something supernatural
03:31and avoid the whole mess.
03:33But it turns out it wasn't a curse at all.
03:36It was likely the radiation that caused those excavators to perish.
03:41Now, you might wonder where the radiation came from.
03:44After all, while radioactivity was discovered in the 19th century,
03:48ancient Egyptians, despite their impressive pyramids,
03:51didn't have any radium lying around to make Tut's tomb glow like crazy.
03:55So, what could be the real story?
03:58It might have been toxic waste behind it all.
04:02Toxic levels of radiation from uranium and hazardous waste
04:05have been lurking inside the tomb since it was sealed over 3,000 years ago.
04:10The burial chamber of Tutankhamun's tomb reportedly has such high radiation levels
04:15that anyone who steps inside could easily end up
04:19with a fatal dose of radiation sickness or an incurable condition.
04:23By the way, you can have a somewhat similar level of radioactivity
04:27if you don't get rid of those moldy dinner leftovers
04:30you left to perish in your fridge a month ago.
04:32But this radioactivity isn't exclusive to Tutankhamun's tomb.
04:37Ancient Egyptian artifacts discovery is rewarding yet dangerous
04:41due to unusually high radiation levels in Old Kingdom tombs all over Egypt.
04:47Geiger counters have detected radiation at two sites near the Giza pyramids
04:52and radon, a radioactive gas, has been found in several underground tombs in Saqqara.
04:58Interestingly, experts believe that the builders of these ancient tombs
05:02were aware of the toxins, as some eerie warnings were carved into the walls of many tombs.
05:08One inscription ominously declared,
05:11They that break this tomb shall meet their end by a malady that no doctor can diagnose.
05:16Other ominous phrases like forbidden due to evil spirits
05:21only added to the fear that supernatural curses haunted these ancient sites.
05:27Ominous signs have stunned archaeologists since forever,
05:31but the fear grew even stronger a century ago
05:34with the mysterious passing of Lord Carnarvon,
05:37who funded King Tut's excavation in 1922
05:41and reportedly explored the treasure-filled rooms,
05:44along with several others who entered the tomb.
05:47Arthur Weigal, another British Egyptologist
05:50who was present at the tomb's opening
05:52and is credited with starting the curse myth,
05:54passed away young when he was just in his 50s in 1934.
05:59Chances are, the condition that made him pass
06:02was connected to radiation.
06:04In total, 6 out of the 26 people who were there when the tomb was opened
06:09met their end within a decade from various causes.
06:12Not only x-ray exposure,
06:14those reasons include asphyxia,
06:16stroke, heart failure, pneumonia,
06:19and even poisoning.
06:20Well, isn't this getting a little grim?
06:23There was one guy who opened the tomb
06:25and somehow managed to avoid the infamous curse,
06:28Howard Carter,
06:29or so it seemed.
06:31Some folks pointed to his survival
06:33as proof that the curse wasn't real.
06:36After digging up the tomb,
06:37Carter published several books on the topic
06:39and shifted gears from archaeology
06:41to dealing in antiquities for various museums.
06:46Despite dodging demise or injury,
06:48rumors swirled about how the curse
06:51may have impacted him in other ways.
06:53One of the big stories linked him
06:55to Lord Carnarvon's daughter, Evelyn.
06:57Some said he was madly in love with her,
07:00but she married someone else,
07:01so he chose to stay single.
07:04Others claim they had an affair
07:06while she was in Egypt,
07:07which ended when her father passed away
07:09and she left the country for good.
07:11However, there wasn't much evidence
07:13to support these stories.
07:15Evelyn was just six when they met,
07:17and they remained friends until his last breath.
07:20She was even one of the few attendees
07:22at his funeral,
07:23but denied any romantic involvement,
07:25saying they weren't that close.
07:27A year after the revolutionary discovery
07:30near King Tut's tomb,
07:32Evelyn married politician
07:33Sir Brograve Beauchamp
07:35and had a daughter.
07:36That same year,
07:38Beauchamp toured the tomb with his parents,
07:40guided by Carter himself.
07:42Carter never married and,
07:44aside from those posthumous rumors about Evelyn,
07:47had no other romantic connections.
07:50While the curse adds an intriguing twist
07:52to his life story,
07:54his tendency to keep relationships
07:55at arm's length was evident
07:57long before the tomb was opened.
07:59It seemed Carter just wasn't a people person.
08:03In 1939,
08:05after battling a serious illness,
08:06he ultimately succumbed to fate.
08:08He was 64,
08:10which was a pretty common life expectancy
08:12in the UK back then,
08:13so no one really thought it was off
08:16and linked it to an ancient curse.
08:18When he passed,
08:19it turned out he had several artifacts
08:21from Tutankhamen's tomb
08:23in his London apartment,
08:24which were eventually sent back to Egypt,
08:26marking what some viewed
08:28as the curse's end.
08:29Who knows?
08:30Maybe if he hadn't had
08:32all those ancient souvenirs at his place,
08:34he would have lived way longer.
08:36But all the other demises
08:38might seem off.
08:39The curse theory was likely fueled
08:41by some strange events
08:42during the excavation.
08:44Carnarvon got a mosquito bite
08:46that became severely infected,
08:48and around the time
08:49they opened the tomb,
08:50Cairo experienced
08:51a bizarre power outage
08:53in a freak sandstorm.
08:55Back in England,
08:57the Earl's dog, Susie,
08:58managed to escape
08:59from Carnarvon's house
09:00and began barking frantically
09:02at seemingly nothing.
09:04At least,
09:04that's what the staff
09:05and family saw.
09:07Strangely enough,
09:08at the very moment
09:09her owner's heart stopped.
09:11Susie started howling
09:12and fell down
09:13without showing
09:14any signs of life.
09:15Maybe radiation
09:16didn't play a crucial role
09:18after all.
09:19And those were indeed
09:20ancient artifacts
09:21from King Tut's tomb
09:22that made them all perish.
09:25Spooky, huh?
09:27Stonehenge
09:28took approximately
09:2920 million man-hours
09:31to build.
09:31For comparison,
09:33an average human
09:34doesn't live much
09:35over 700,000 hours.
09:37This is Jack,
09:38one of the first builders
09:39of Stonehenge.
09:40Let's say,
09:41Jack lived to be
09:4280 years old,
09:43which is extremely improbable,
09:45but it makes it easier
09:46for me to crunch the numbers,
09:47thanks.
09:48If Jack had spent
09:49his entire life,
09:50from age zero to age 80,
09:52working on the Stonehenge project,
09:54it would have required
09:55approximately
09:5628 and a half
09:57generations of people
09:58doing the same thing
09:59to complete it.
10:00That's next to impossible.
10:02To make it more plausible,
10:04let's multiply that by two.
10:06After all,
10:06Jack wouldn't want
10:07to dedicate
10:08his entire life
10:09to moving stones,
10:10and he didn't live
10:11to be that old.
10:12Thus,
10:13we arrive at around
10:1457 generations
10:15needed to build Stonehenge.
10:17That's not enough room
10:18on the screen
10:19for me to introduce
10:20John,
10:20Jack's great-great-great-great,
10:22you know,
10:23you get the drift,
10:24grandson.
10:25So,
10:25it all began
10:26around 5,000 years ago
10:28with just a simple
10:29circular earthen
10:30bank and ditch.
10:32Fast forward
10:33to around
10:3326,000 BCE,
10:35and the builders
10:36replaced that
10:37initial structure
10:38with a complex
10:39arrangement of
10:39wooden posts
10:40and brought in
10:41around 80
10:42dolerite bloonstones
10:43from Wales,
10:44which were rearranged
10:46at least three times.
10:47Then,
10:48a few hundred years later,
10:50they added those
10:50massive sarsen stones,
10:52each weighing
10:53around 25 tons.
10:54These enormous
10:55sandstone blocks
10:56were transported
10:57about 19 miles
10:59to create
10:59a continuous
11:00outer circle
11:01with five
11:02trilithons,
11:03two upright stones
11:04topped with a lintel,
11:05forming a horseshoe
11:06shape inside.
11:07It was a millennium-long
11:09building process
11:10that demanded
11:11years of hard work.
11:12So,
11:13people must have
11:14lived nearby,
11:15right?
11:15But how would they
11:16have found shelter
11:17back then?
11:18Today,
11:19we have houses
11:20for builders on site,
11:21small accommodations
11:22that serve as
11:23temporary housing.
11:24But structures
11:25like this
11:26definitely didn't exist
11:27when Stonehenge
11:28was constructed.
11:29Did they?
11:31Well,
11:31actually,
11:32they existed.
11:33And some recent
11:34archaeological digs
11:35near Stonehenge
11:36prove it.
11:37Archaeologists
11:38found this
11:38Stone Age
11:39eco-home,
11:40which is a huge deal
11:41since it's one
11:42of the earliest
11:43settlements in the area.
11:44This newly uncovered
11:46Mesolithic home
11:47dates back to
11:48around the year
11:494300 BCE.
11:51Let's take a closer
11:52look at this house,
11:53shall we?
11:54Now,
11:55for the walls,
11:56people back then
11:57used a large
11:57fallen tree,
11:58its trunk,
11:59to be more precise.
12:01These wooden walls
12:02were reinforced
12:03with flint,
12:03and they even
12:04lined the pit
12:05left by the
12:06uprooted tree
12:06with cobblestones.
12:08To create the roof,
12:09they opted for
12:10animal hides,
12:11which sounds like
12:12a wise choice.
12:13They must have
12:13provided protection
12:14against the
12:15unpredictable weather
12:16of the British Isles.
12:18Now,
12:18you might be wondering,
12:19the weather in Britain
12:20is indeed unpredictable,
12:21and it has been that way
12:23since time immemorial.
12:24So,
12:25how did the builders
12:26manage throughout
12:27most of the year,
12:28particularly during
12:29the winter months?
12:30Well,
12:31the answer is simple.
12:32There was a hearth
12:33on site,
12:34which isn't surprising,
12:35but the system
12:36they employed
12:37was quite ingenious.
12:38A hearth
12:39inside the house
12:40would have posed
12:41too great a risk,
12:42yet bringing hot stones
12:44into the dwelling
12:44was perfectly safe.
12:46While they were hot,
12:47they couldn't ignite
12:48the building.
12:48So,
12:49they used these stones
12:50from the hearth
12:51as a heat storage system
12:53to keep warm at night.
12:54And as a final touch,
12:55they even incorporated
12:57various stones
12:58for decoration.
12:59They didn't exactly
13:00get a Pinterest house,
13:01but it added a touch
13:02of elegance for sure.
13:04And if you think
13:05this discovery
13:06is merely about the houses,
13:08think again.
13:09It significantly changes
13:10our understanding
13:11of how people lived
13:12during that time.
13:14This discovery
13:15places them
13:16in an important
13:16prehistoric setting
13:17right at the start
13:19of the Neolithic area,
13:20sparking some
13:21interesting questions
13:22about whether
13:23these early folks
13:24could be related
13:25to the people
13:25who built Stonehenge.
13:27But there's a big worry.
13:29Experts are concerned
13:30that this significant find,
13:32along with other
13:32buried archaeological sites,
13:34could be at risk
13:35if the authorities
13:36go ahead with plans
13:37to build a tunnel
13:38to reroute the A303
13:40away from the
13:41World Heritage Site.
13:43Sure thing,
13:43the house the scientists
13:44found wasn't
13:45in perfect shape,
13:46and it lacked
13:47some crucial elements
13:48people used for living.
13:49Some of them
13:50decayed over time,
13:51while others
13:52were simply absent.
13:53So, the scientists
13:54took 20 tons of chalk,
13:575,000 hazel rods,
13:58and 3 tons of straw,
14:00and used all this
14:01to recreate
14:02the 4,500-year-old
14:03design houses.
14:05These new buildings
14:06are located
14:06close to Stonehenge,
14:08which is incredible,
14:09since in this area,
14:10planning permission
14:11for even a new cow shed
14:13is problematic.
14:14So, what are
14:16these houses like?
14:17Well, first off,
14:18there are four of them,
14:19and they're oval-shaped.
14:20They're built
14:21on the foundation
14:22of real houses
14:23that stood there
14:24about 4,500 years ago,
14:26just around the time
14:27the Stonehenge Eco House
14:28was going up.
14:30The houses aren't
14:31very big.
14:32They're single-room structures.
14:33When it comes
14:34to dimensions,
14:35it was straightforward
14:36to estimate,
14:37since we could gauge
14:38the size of the roof
14:39and the height of the walls
14:40based on the foundations.
14:42Each side
14:43measures about 16 feet.
14:45However,
14:45the roof structure
14:46remains a bit
14:47of a mystery.
14:48There were a few
14:49differing thatching techniques
14:50back then,
14:51so pinpointing
14:52the exact method
14:53used for these dwellings
14:54is kind of a guessing game.
14:56For now,
14:57we think it involves
14:58knotted or tied straw
14:59carefully secured
15:01onto a hazel-woven frame.
15:03When fires are lit,
15:04the smoke from the hearth
15:05wafts up
15:06through the thatched roof.
15:08Now,
15:09remember those
15:0920 tons of chalk?
15:11That was needed
15:12for the floors and walls.
15:13The white chalk walls
15:15and floors
15:16reflect sunlight
15:17and capture heat
15:18from the fire.
15:18But here's the kicker.
15:20The builders
15:21encountered a challenge
15:22because the ground
15:23was so waterlogged
15:24that some of the chalk floors
15:26took weeks to dry out.
15:28By the time
15:28they should have been
15:29bone dry,
15:30they were still
15:30as sticky as chewing gum.
15:32Now,
15:33it's safe to say
15:33people 4,500 years ago
15:35faced similar struggles,
15:36and we can really appreciate
15:38what they went through
15:39while building their homes.
15:41The final layer of daub
15:43was applied using rags,
15:44giving a smooth,
15:45almost shiny finish
15:47that looks surprisingly classy.
15:48The interiors are furnished
15:50with wooden and wicker beds
15:51and shelves,
15:52along with clay pots and jars,
15:54all centered around
15:56a cozy hearth.
15:57The spaces feel
15:58surprisingly roomy
15:59and are filled with light
16:01that streams in
16:01through the thatched roof,
16:03bouncing off
16:03those white walls.
16:05Plus,
16:05the woven furniture
16:06adds a nice touch
16:07of authenticity
16:08to the vibe.
16:09The fires have been lit
16:11and the first meal,
16:12bread crafted from flour
16:14ground on a stone mill
16:15next to the hearth
16:16has been prepared.
16:17Those who tried the bread
16:19were pleasantly surprised
16:20by its flavor,
16:21finding it quite tasty.
16:23Now,
16:24here comes the bummer.
16:25Those who recreated
16:27the houses
16:27did cheat a little.
16:29While the materials used
16:30were authentic,
16:31the tools weren't.
16:32They used cement mixers
16:34to mix the daub,
16:35wheelbarrows
16:35to transport the timber,
16:37and logs by the hearth
16:38were split
16:39with steel axes
16:40instead of stone ones.
16:42Still,
16:43the builders
16:43aren't professionals.
16:44They're volunteers.
16:45So,
16:46I think a bit of cheating
16:47is totally cool
16:48in this case.
16:49There are other volunteers
16:50on site
16:51who are more than happy
16:52to chat about
16:53the daily activities
16:54of the Stonehenge builders.
16:56From grinding grain
16:57with a kern
16:58to making rope
16:59from rushes.
17:00But,
17:01these houses
17:02and the eco-house
17:03aren't the only
17:04remarkable things
17:05in the Stonehenge area.
17:06Some years ago,
17:07archaeologists
17:08uncovered a burial site
17:10close to Stonehenge
17:11that predates
17:12the monument itself.
17:13This Neolithic
17:14long barrow,
17:15dating back
17:16approximately
17:1756 to 5700 years,
17:20likely contains
17:20the remains
17:21of some of Britain's
17:22earliest inhabitants.
17:24The burial site
17:25was identified
17:26through aerial images
17:27that revealed
17:28its distinct shape
17:29beneath the crops.
17:31Salisbury Plain
17:32is rich
17:33with ancient sites
17:34including Stonehenge,
17:35various mounds,
17:36and monuments.
17:37The area
17:38has remained
17:39undisturbed
17:40over the centuries,
17:41which is likely
17:42why so many
17:43ancient structures
17:44are still intact.
17:45This discovery
17:46also shows
17:47a significant shift
17:48in human lifestyle
17:49during that era,
17:51marking a transition
17:52from a nomadic existence
17:54to settled farming
17:55and animal husbandry,
17:56much like the eco-house itself.
17:59The long barrow
18:00in question
18:01measures about
18:0185 feet long
18:03and 65 feet wide,
18:05though much
18:05of its above-ground structure
18:07has been lost
18:07to farming
18:08over the years.
18:09If this site
18:10is like others
18:11in the vicinity,
18:12it contains
18:13the remains
18:13of 30 to 50 individuals,
18:16along with cow skulls,
18:17which were significant
18:18to those early communities.
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