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Explore groundbreaking archaeological discoveries in Egypt that are challenging long-held beliefs and causing excitement and intrigue among scientists and scholars.
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00:00Most people know that pyramids were built as grand tombs for the pharaohs,
00:05designed to ensure they had a smooth journey to the afterlife.
00:08The Great Pyramid of Giza, for instance, was constructed for the pharaoh Khufu.
00:13But what most people don't know is that this whole pyramid building trend
00:17started right here with the Step Pyramid of Djoser about 4,700 years ago.
00:24This massive structure was built for Pharaoh Djoser,
00:27a ruler from Egypt's third dynasty.
00:30It rises seven layers high above the ground and stands about 200 feet tall.
00:36We think of it today as a phenomenal architectural project.
00:39But for ancient Egyptians, the Step Pyramid of Djoser turned out to be more like a massive experiment,
00:46a trial run, if you will, to perfect their building skills
00:49before they moved on to even more ambitious pyramids.
00:53Reaching new heights is super exciting.
00:55But the real mystery is what is going on below the ground.
00:59In this pyramid's underground labyrinth,
01:02there is a network of tunnels stretching about three and a half miles long.
01:06And some researchers believe these tunnels might have been part of a sophisticated water system
01:12that could completely change what we think about pyramid construction.
01:17Let's talk about this massive complex located in Saqqara.
01:21Surrounding the pyramid, there's what's known as a dry moat,
01:25a continuous trench that is up to 164 feet wide and almost two miles long.
01:31It forms a sort of rectangular shape around the pyramid.
01:35This trench has an average depth of about 65 feet.
01:39Now, if you were to add up all the earth and rock they dug out to create this moat,
01:43it would be about 10 times the volume of the Step Pyramid itself.
01:48For the longest time, people just assumed this trench was nothing more than a huge quarry,
01:54a place where they dug up stone and clay to build the Step Pyramid.
01:58Makes sense, right?
01:59But when you take a closer look, it doesn't add up.
02:03The trench is too narrow and deep to be practical for mining,
02:06and its layout doesn't match anything we know about ancient Egyptian quarrying methods.
02:11Plus, some sections of the trench are actually covered with a rocky ceiling,
02:16which would have made it nearly impossible to use as a quarry.
02:21Another theory suggests that the dry moat had some kind of spiritual significance.
02:26Maybe it was a sacred place, where souls of nobles gathered to serve the late king in the afterlife.
02:33There are even niches in the walls that work as a hint at this spiritual function.
02:38But most researchers believe that this purpose likely developed much later,
02:43long after the complex was built for Djoser.
02:46Now, here is where things start to tie into the pyramid itself.
02:50The Djoser complex has a series of underground shafts,
02:54and some researchers think that water from the moat's deep trench
02:57might have been used to power a hydraulic lift system.
03:01And this giant water-powered elevator
03:03could have been used to raise the heavy stones needed to build the pyramid.
03:07It worked like a volcano,
03:09but instead of lava, water did the heavy lifting.
03:13Imagine a big, deep hole in the ground at the center of the pyramid's site.
03:18Inside this hole, there was a huge wooden platform,
03:22kind of like a giant raft that could move up and down.
03:25When the workers wanted to lift a heavy stone,
03:28they would fill the hole with water.
03:30As the water rose, the wooden platform started to float up,
03:34carrying the stone with it,
03:36almost like a giant water-powered elevator.
03:38When the stone reached the right height,
03:41the workers slid it off the platform and onto the pyramid.
03:45The idea is that water from the deep trench,
03:48after being clean and filtered,
03:50would flow into these shafts.
03:52A massive float, possibly made of wood,
03:55would then rise as the water filled the shaft,
03:58lifting the stones up to where they were needed for construction.
04:02Once the stone was in place,
04:04they'd let the water out,
04:05lowering the platform back down to the bottom,
04:08ready to lift the next stone.
04:11This fancy hydraulic lift system could have been a game-changer,
04:15making the whole building process a lot faster and more efficient
04:18without using a lot of workforce.
04:20It is like the ancient Egyptians were already embracing
04:24the whole idea of work smarter, not harder.
04:28But, of course, not everyone is on board with this theory.
04:31Some experts argue that the area
04:34where the Step Pyramid of Djoser was built
04:36couldn't have held enough water from occasional rains
04:39to maintain such a fancy hydraulic system.
04:42The main theory suggests that, in the past,
04:45there might have been some kind of lake nearby
04:48that would have filled up after a period of rain.
04:51And this lake could have supplied water
04:53to the complex's hydraulic system.
04:55But there is no mention of such a lake
04:57in any ancient Egyptian writings.
05:00So, it might be more of a what-if situation
05:03than a reality.
05:04And then there's the issue of the hard work itself.
05:08Remember when I said this method
05:10that could have allowed the ancient builders
05:12to raise stones with far less effort?
05:14Well, that might not be entirely true.
05:17According to some experts,
05:19just building this hydraulic device
05:21would have required a lot more heavy work
05:23than simply moving the stone blocks
05:25using good old-fashioned manpower.
05:28And let's not forget,
05:29the Step Pyramid of Djoser
05:31is like a baby pyramid
05:33compared to those that came later.
05:35The stones used for Djoser's pyramid
05:37weighed, on average, about 660 pounds each,
05:41which is nothing compared
05:42to the more than 2.5-ton blocks
05:44used later for the Pyramid of Chephrin.
05:48If this cruel water lift theory
05:50gets completely ruled out,
05:52we still need to explain
05:53how this pyramid was built in the first place.
05:56To answer that,
05:58we need to rewind a bit
05:59and talk about the original plans.
06:02See, before Djoser's tomb became a pyramid,
06:04the idea was to construct a simple mastaba.
06:08This type of tomb was pretty common
06:10in earlier periods.
06:12A flat-roofed, rectangular structure
06:14with sloping sides.
06:15But after the original mastaba was finished,
06:18they decided to expand it a bit
06:20by adding more layers on top.
06:23And then they added even more layers
06:25until the construction reached
06:26six distinctive steps,
06:28each one smaller than the previous.
06:30And they probably did all this
06:32by raising those heavy stones
06:34using ramps,
06:35not a water-powered elevator.
06:37There is still so much we don't know
06:40about the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
06:42More research is definitely needed
06:44to fully understand
06:45how this system worked,
06:46or if it even existed at all.
06:49But the idea of using water
06:51to help build the pyramid
06:52adds a whole new layer
06:54to our understanding
06:55of ancient Egyptian engineering.
06:57It's a powerful reminder
06:58of just how clever and resourceful
07:00those builders were,
07:02using the natural landscape
07:03and the power of water
07:05to create one of the most
07:06iconic monuments in history.
07:10A gruesome discovery
07:12took place in Egypt some years ago.
07:14You want to hear about it?
07:15Sixteen human hands,
07:17carefully buried in four airy pits.
07:19They didn't look too much
07:21like human hands at first,
07:22since they were abnormally large.
07:24But they were.
07:26Weirdly, there were only right hands,
07:28no left hands were in sight.
07:30It turned out that it points
07:31to the practice
07:32of an ancient dark ritual.
07:34Old Egyptian art and tales
07:36talked of a ceremony
07:38where warriors would present
07:39the right hand of their adversaries
07:41as proof of victory
07:42and ask for gold in return.
07:45Egyptians believed in the afterlife,
07:47so cutting off someone's hand
07:49meant you cut off
07:50their power eternally.
07:52Guaranteeing this type of defeat
07:53was interesting
07:54to the winning party.
07:55Here, the fight was between
07:57Egyptians versus Hyksus,
07:59who lived in what was
08:00once known as Canaan.
08:03Egypt has always been the center
08:05of some history-changing findings.
08:07And some time ago,
08:08this papyrus was found.
08:10If we stretched it open,
08:12it would be just a tad bigger
08:13than the height of a skyscraper.
08:15The world's tiniest skyscraper,
08:17I mean,
08:17which is located in Wichita Falls, Texas.
08:22When humans didn't write
08:24on their Notes app,
08:25they wrote on this thing,
08:26made from the medulla
08:27of a papyrus plant.
08:29Around 2,000 years ago,
08:31ancient Egyptians
08:31wrote something reminiscent
08:33of a book
08:33where they described
08:34most of their funerary traditions
08:36and their visions
08:37of the afterlife.
08:39It's considered
08:40one of the most important texts
08:41from ancient Egypt
08:42and is still sold
08:43in bookstores to this day.
08:45This ancient manuscript
08:46was unearthed
08:48from a chamber located
08:49just south of the Pyramid of Dozier,
08:51located in Saqqara.
08:52Oh yes,
08:53Dozier is the oldest pyramid
08:55in Egypt
08:55and not the Giza Pyramids
08:57like most people think.
08:58So recently,
08:59the site of Saqqara
09:00buzzed with excited archaeologists
09:03who probably found
09:04one of Egypt's
09:05oldest complete mummies.
09:06They believe that
09:07this beautiful
09:08and well-preserved mummy
09:09was that of a wealthy man.
09:11He was discovered
09:12in a deep shaft,
09:13covered in layers
09:14of gold leaves.
09:16There are many symbols
09:17that show
09:18he was an important
09:19and wealthy man,
09:20like the band
09:21he wore on his head,
09:22the bracelet on his chest,
09:24and the fact
09:24that he was embalmed
09:25with a tunic,
09:26which was reserved
09:27for Egypt's finest.
09:29The most exciting part
09:31of the entire discovery
09:32was finding
09:33the resting place
09:34sealed with mortar,
09:35just as the ancient Egyptians
09:37had left it
09:374,300 years ago.
09:40Now,
09:41this may sound weird,
09:42but back in 2008,
09:44archaeologists discovered
09:45a missing pyramid.
09:46Now,
09:47it went missing
09:48because it deteriorated
09:49over the span
09:50of 4,000 years.
09:52Today,
09:52you can only see its base.
09:54It was a pretty important site
09:55back in ancient times.
09:57It is said that
09:58around the area
09:59of the pyramid,
10:00the ancients
10:00hosted a special type
10:02of ceremony
10:02where high priests
10:03would carry mummified remains
10:05of sacred bulls.
10:07Now,
10:08here's a fun fact.
10:09Ancient Egyptians
10:09believed that
10:10Apis bulls
10:11were earthly incarnations
10:13of the city deity
10:13of Memphis
10:14and was connected
10:15to rites of fertility.
10:17It wasn't just
10:18any Apis bull,
10:19though.
10:19They needed to be
10:20all black
10:21with a single white mark
10:22between its horns
10:23and a bunch of
10:24very specific characteristics.
10:26They were selected
10:27by the local priests
10:28and honored
10:29until they passed away.
10:31After that,
10:31they were mummified
10:33and buried
10:33in underground galleries.
10:37Meanwhile,
10:37this missing pyramid
10:38sort of disappeared
10:39around the 1800s.
10:41It was a German archaeologist
10:43who first found it
10:44in the village of Sakura.
10:45He called it
10:46the Headless Pyramid
10:47when he first found it.
10:49But then,
10:49years after
10:50the official discovery,
10:52the desert sand
10:52came along
10:53and covered the whole thing.
10:54There were some excavations
10:56between the 19th
10:57and 20th centuries,
10:58but they weren't
10:59too systematic.
11:00That's why scientists
11:01were so thrilled
11:02when they dug
11:02an entire pyramid's base
11:04after removing
11:05the 25-foot mound
11:06of sand
11:07that was covering it.
11:08Oh,
11:09and it turns out
11:10American archaeologists
11:11are excavating
11:12a cemetery in Egypt
11:14that could contain
11:15over a million
11:16mummified bodies.
11:17So far,
11:18archaeologists
11:19have dug around
11:201,700 mummies.
11:22One of the main differences
11:23from other
11:24classic Egyptian mummies
11:25is that these people
11:26weren't kings and pharaohs.
11:28They were commoners
11:29that most likely
11:30lived about 1,500 years ago
11:32when Egypt was controlled
11:34by the Roman
11:34and Byzantine empires.
11:36The name of the cemetery
11:37is cool, though.
11:38The Way of the Water Buffalo.
11:40Just in case you want
11:41to check it out
11:41on your next trip.
11:43Other than bulls
11:44and buffaloes,
11:45ancient Egyptians
11:46also liked baboons.
11:48Are you seeing
11:48a pattern here?
11:49In the beginning
11:50of the 20th century,
11:52archaeologists discovered
11:53a site filled
11:54with mummified baboons
11:55in a place called,
11:57guess what,
11:57the Valley of Monkeys.
11:59An animal
12:00wouldn't have been mummified
12:01if it wasn't
12:02considered important.
12:03Certain animals
12:04were more important
12:05than others,
12:06since they were linked
12:07to specific deities.
12:08Jackals were connected
12:09to Anubis,
12:10the ancient god
12:11of the afterlife,
12:12and cats were likened
12:13to the female deity,
12:15Bastet.
12:16Baboons were a pretty big deal,
12:17since they were believed
12:18to be connected
12:19to Thoth,
12:20the deity of wisdom
12:21and advisor to Ra,
12:22one of Egypt's
12:23supreme deities.
12:26The archaeologists
12:27who studied these animals
12:28weren't too happy.
12:29They think these baboons
12:30were kept inside
12:31and were deprived
12:32of sunlight
12:33for most of their lives.
12:34They had extreme
12:35vitamin D deficiencies
12:37and they were poorly fed.
12:38Maybe Thoth got angry
12:40with these baboon keepers.
12:41Just a guess.
12:43Since there's never
12:44a boring day
12:45for archaeologists in Egypt,
12:47they also found human mummies
12:49with golden tongues.
12:50Since Egyptians
12:51were all about the afterlife,
12:53they believe that golden tongues
12:55might help a person speak
12:56once they pass
12:57to the other side.
12:58I mean,
12:59it's a long shot,
13:00but hey,
13:00why not?
13:02Some of these mummies
13:03were placed in wooden coffins
13:04with goods,
13:05such as necklaces,
13:06pottery,
13:07golden artifacts
13:08in the shape of lotus flowers
13:09and scarab beetles.
13:11And iPhones.
13:12Just kidding.
13:13A new temple
13:14was also unearthed
13:15recently in Egypt.
13:16Scientists believe
13:17it was dedicated
13:18to honor Zeus Cassius.
13:20That deity
13:21would be a cross
13:22between Zeus,
13:23the almighty Greek deity
13:24of the sky,
13:25and Mount Cassius.
13:27While digging around
13:28the Sinai Peninsula
13:29in Egypt,
13:30archaeologists spotted
13:31two pink granite columns
13:32poking out of the ground.
13:34And bingo!
13:35They believe
13:36these columns
13:36represented the temple's
13:38front gate
13:38and collapsed
13:39during an earthquake
13:40many years ago.
13:42And speaking of deities,
13:44there weren't only
13:44super serious deities.
13:46Recently,
13:47scientists unearthed
13:48a golden ring
13:49in a city south of Cairo.
13:51No, Frodo,
13:52it's not magical.
13:52It was a normal
13:54gold ring.
13:54But it had the depiction
13:56of the deity of fun,
13:57officially named Bess.
13:59This deity is often
14:00described in sacred texts
14:02as a happy chubby dwarf.
14:04Today,
14:05many tattoos we get
14:06are sorta deprived
14:07of any sense
14:08and are made of
14:09aesthetic purposes only.
14:11In ancient Egypt,
14:12though,
14:12women would get tattoos
14:13as a token of protection
14:15for childbirth.
14:16That's what scientists
14:17think, at least.
14:19Around the Nile region,
14:20scientists found
14:21some mummies
14:22that had well-preserved tattoos,
14:24which is a rarity
14:25since the skin
14:25deteriorates so easily.
14:27Two of these women
14:28tattooed their lower backs
14:29and the drawings
14:30were simple.
14:31They were mostly pictures,
14:32including that same
14:33chubby dwarf
14:34we just talked about,
14:35Bess.
14:36He also had a side hustle
14:37as the protector of women
14:39during childbirth.
14:40Now,
14:41would you believe me
14:42if I told you
14:42ancient Egyptians
14:43invented robots?
14:45No?
14:46Well,
14:46that's because
14:46that's not entirely true.
14:48Sure,
14:49they were astronomers,
14:50mathematicians,
14:50and engineers,
14:51and somehow
14:52they also squeezed
14:53an eccentric invention
14:54into that package.
14:55An automated deity
14:57some scientists
14:58called Hathor.
14:59This wooden statue
15:00had been in the
15:01Metropolitan Museum of Art
15:03for years
15:03before someone
15:04noticed its secret.
15:05With the help
15:06of an x-ray machine,
15:07specialists discovered
15:09a mechanical operating system
15:10inside it.
15:11The pulley-like axis
15:13goes from the statue's
15:14shoulder
15:14to her left leg.
15:15When the system rotates,
15:17the statue raises
15:18and lowers her hand.
15:20Hey,
15:20pick me.
15:21Pick me.
15:22I got my hand up here.
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