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oin us on an extraordinary journey to Egypt as we explore remarkable archaeological finds that shed light on the ancient world.
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00:00It's 1898 and you're taking part in excavations in Saqqara.
00:05This place, not far away from Cairo, is full of ancient tombs and pyramids.
00:11You're in your Indiana Jones mood and hope to find something really phenomenal to become
00:15famous.
00:16Gold, manuscripts, treasure maps, mummies of famous pharaohs, wait, a wooden bird.
00:24You're really disappointed as it looks like a regular toy.
00:27An old one, but still.
00:29Little do you know that years later, someone would propose that your bird was actually an
00:35ancient monoplane.
00:39So the artifact, nicknamed the Saqqara bird, is made of a sycamore tree.
00:44The birdie has a wingspan of just 7 inches and weighs around 40 grams.
00:49A perfect original souvenir from Egypt, I would say.
00:52It's over 2000 years old and looks pretty plain, without any carvings of feathers or
00:58other intricate ornaments.
01:00It has a beak and eyes though, which makes our find look like a hawk, the emblem of the
01:06deity Horus.
01:07It's tail is rather unusual as it's squared, looks weirdly upright, and it seems like the
01:14sunken part of it was the place for a now missing piece.
01:19Humans love solving a good mystery, so there have been several attempts to explain the use
01:24of the birdie.
01:26First, quite simply, is that it was a ceremonial object.
01:30The second idea is that it was a toy for a child from some well-off family.
01:34It could have been some sort of boomerang, which was a popular concept in ancient Egypt.
01:40Then there was a theory that the bird had been used as a weather vane.
01:44But this one has been debunked as the figure doesn't have any holes or markings, except
01:50for the one made at the museum in Cairo to fix the exhibit on a stick.
01:54So there was no way to hang it in the past.
01:58Almost a century after the bird was found, Egyptologist Dr. Khalil Masiha proposed a new
02:04theory that it could have been a model of a monoplane.
02:07He believed the bird was missing a horizontal tailplane.
02:12Otherwise, it had its wings set at a right angle, similar to that of modern planes.
02:18It could have worked to generate the aerodynamic lift necessary for flights.
02:22Dr. Masiha also claimed that it was common at that time to place miniature models of technological
02:29inventions in tombs.
02:31So, did the ancient Egyptians really invent the plane in 200 BCE?
02:38That would make the Wright brothers, who are considered the inventors of aviation, really,
02:43really upset.
02:46They made one of their first flights only in 1903.
02:51There's just one way to know for sure, and that is to test the model.
02:56But you know, the ancient museum in Cairo would unlikely let one of their cherished
03:01exhibits fly around like a toy.
03:04That's why glider designer Martin Gregory built a similar model, this time of balsa wood, and
03:10concluded that even with the missing tailplane, the plane wasn't much of a flyer.
03:15Case solved?
03:16Not really.
03:18This didn't sound convincing enough to the History Channel, so they invited an aerodynamics
03:23expert to build another replica of the bird.
03:27He tested it in weather conditions similar to those in Egypt and was impressed with the
03:33little plane's abilities.
03:36So, if they did invent the prototype of a plane back in the times of pharaohs, it would be a
03:41good example of an upart.
03:43That's an out-of-place artifact, an object that's way ahead of its time in terms of technology
03:49or history.
03:50And the Saqqara bird isn't the only example of such a revolutionary concept.
03:56In 1901, a group of divers retrieved the Antikythera mechanism from an underwater shipwreck near
04:02the Greek island of Antikythera.
04:05It's been dubbed the world's first analog computer, and it's currently dated around 100 B.C.E.
04:11The bronze mechanism could tell the position of the sun, moon, planets, and stars, as well
04:18as the lunar phase, the dates of upcoming solar eclipses, and even the speed at which the moon
04:24moves through the sky.
04:26No one's sure who used it and how or where it was made, but it's obvious that it's extremely
04:33precise and way too advanced for its time.
04:37The first flushing toilets in the world were invented in the middle of the 20th century.
04:42Just kidding.
04:44The ancient Minoans on the Mediterranean island of Crete and the Indus Valley civilization both
04:50came up with this brilliant invention at the same time, around 4,000 years ago.
04:55The plumbing and sanitation were so well done that no one managed to design anything better
05:01until 2,000 years later.
05:03Here, one ancient Minoan lavatory was discovered at the Palace of Knossos.
05:09It looks like it had a wooden seat set over a tunnel that directed water from a rooftop
05:15reservoir to an underground sewer.
05:17Other varieties got water from jugs.
05:20Only the super-rich people could afford all this glory.
05:25So if you wanted to shop for real estate back then, the flushing toilet would be a tell-tale
05:30sign you were in the rich neighborhood.
05:34Automated doors became a cool, seemingly new invention back in 1931.
05:40But the technology behind them is actually much older.
05:44Think the 1st century CE old.
05:49Mathematician and engineer, Heron of Alexandria, came up with a hydraulic system to open and close
05:56temple doors.
05:57To bring it into action, you need to light a fire to produce heat.
06:02There was a brass pot under the fire, half filled with water.
06:06The inventor connected the brass pot to containers that acted as weights.
06:11When the fire was burning, the water moved into the containers.
06:15They went down and pulled the ropes.
06:18It was nothing like a supermarket door that opens in front of you before you even have
06:23time to think.
06:25Heron's door took hours to open.
06:27And there was no way to stop the process.
06:30That's why they only opened the doors once a day before people entered the temple, to add
06:35some mysticism at the temple during ceremonies.
06:38Spooky!
06:41Looks like the first ever battery was invented in Baghdad around 2,000 years ago.
06:47A German archaeologist found this oval-shaped clay jar in 1938.
06:53Scientists are still not sure what purpose it served and who exactly invented it.
06:59There is a theory that it was used for electroplating objects with precious metals.
07:04When they filled it with a weak acid like vinegar, the battery produced around 1 volt of electricity.
07:11Another theory says it was a vessel for sacred scrolls.
07:15Would you like to buy contact lenses designed by Leonardo da Vinci himself?
07:20In 1508, he invented a glass lens with a funnel on one side.
07:26You were supposed to wear it with water inside to improve your vision.
07:30Sounds a bit uncomfortable, doesn't it?
07:33So, around a century later, French scientist René Descartes decided to improve the idea
07:40and make the cornea contact the future lenses.
07:43Contacts because they contact your eyes, get it?
07:46The glass tube with liquid did help improve vision, but blinking was sadly impossible.
07:53Two and a half centuries later, new technologies in the glass industry
07:57let scientists design contacts that would fit in the eye and even let the wearer blink.
08:02Thanks, guys!
08:04Still, those lenses were made of heavy-blown glass and didn't let the eye breathe.
08:09About 50 years later, contacts became plastic.
08:13Lightweight, unbreakable, and scratch-resistant, but still covering the entire eye.
08:18And then, in 1948, an English optical technician accidentally sanded down a plastic lens
08:25and figured out they'd still be in place even if they covered only the cornea.
08:30Imagine you're living in 19th century London and need to send a message to New York.
08:35It would have taken about 10 days to get there by ship.
08:38So, when delivery time went from days to hours in 1858, it was a true sensation.
08:45The first message was sent by Queen Victoria herself.
08:49It was all made possible thanks to the transatlantic telegraph cable running under the ocean.
08:55Sadly, the new cool invention only lasted a few weeks.
08:59It took years to bring it back to life.
09:02When you hear the word mummy, you might get a chill down your spine.
09:07That's because most of us associate this word with those creepy characters you've seen in some scary movies.
09:13But in reality, mummies have helped us understand a lot about ancient civilizations,
09:19their rulers, and about how people used to deal with losing their loved ones.
09:24The people most famous worldwide for their mummies are the ancient Egyptians.
09:29They believed that some sort of existence after passing away was possible if certain conditions were met.
09:36That's why they insisted on preserving the human body through the process of mummification
09:42and placing the mummy in a furnished tomb.
09:45Kind of like giving it a fully functioning apartment of its own.
09:49Why did they believe in this?
09:51Well, because they were deeply connected to their natural environment for the most part.
09:56They saw the natural cycles around them, like how the sun rose every day, followed by the moon,
10:02or how new life was always sprouting from plants, even after they had wilted away.
10:09They also believed that the powerful spirit Osiris, who represented the cycle of passing away and resurrection,
10:16played a role in this process.
10:18To prepare for the afterlife, the ancient Egyptians followed certain rituals,
10:23like mummification, which involved using materials like honey, resins, and incense to preserve the body.
10:31There's no other mummy more popular than that of King Tut.
10:35He was a young pharaoh who ruled over 3,000 years ago in Egypt.
10:40The problem with discovering ancient royal tombs is that most of such burial sites were previously robbed.
10:46People knew ancient rulers had been left with many valuable belongings,
10:50so those locations became vulnerable to thieves.
10:54When King Tut's tomb was opened in 1922, people were excited because it had not been robbed,
11:00like many other previously discovered royal tombs.
11:03That's how well hidden it was.
11:07Inside, his mummy was encapsulated in a total of three coffins, including one made of gold.
11:13The objects found in his tomb showed us what ancient Egypt was like.
11:18And studying his mummy also helped us learn about the culture and practices popular at the time when he passed
11:24away.
11:25We also learned about his family by looking at his DNA.
11:29Scientists were able to discover that he had had a disease called malaria,
11:33and a problem with his foot that might have made it hard for him to walk.
11:39Ramses II was another pharaoh in Egypt who ruled for 68 years, which was quite a lot back in the
11:46day.
11:46He was known for his expansion campaigns and building projects.
11:50Many objects from his time as a ruler still exist today, including a large statue of him.
11:57Ramses II was about 6 feet tall and lived to be about 90 years old.
12:03After looking at his mummy, scientists concluded that he may have had a medical condition that affected his spine.
12:10Now, remember those thieves I mentioned before?
12:13They are probably the reason why Ramses II ended up in a plain coffin in a secret collection of royal
12:20mummies at Deir al-Bahari,
12:22which was rediscovered in 1881.
12:25Thankfully, archaeologists were able to identify him because his journeys had been recorded on his wrappings.
12:33The process was really tedious, too.
12:36In fact, in ancient Egypt, the mummification process could take a staggering 70 days to complete.
12:42A special person would say a very specific speech while delicately handling the body and drying it out using a
12:50type of salt called natron.
12:52They also used linen and resin to make the body look more lifelike and to wrap it in cloth.
12:59The tomb was equally as important for ancient Egyptians.
13:02The walls of King Tut's tomb, for example, were adorned with intricate artwork that depicted his journey to the afterlife,
13:10from his burial procession to his passage through the underworld.
13:14The ancient Egyptians believed that everyone made this journey after passing away,
13:18and they filled their tombs with items and paintings to help the person in their spiritual travels.
13:24Additionally, the walls of the tomb were decorated with spells from a special book,
13:29which contained a collection of poems that the Egyptians believed would help people reach the afterlife.
13:35And speaking of how important this journey was, people also placed food in these ancient tombs.
13:42In King Tut's tomb, archaeologists discovered 36 jars of vintage beverages and 8 baskets of fruit,
13:49which were believed to be left there to help him in his journey to the afterlife.
13:53The Egyptians believed that traveling to the afterlife took a really long time,
13:57so they left a lot of supplies, such as food and water, to sustain their loved ones.
14:04Pharaohs also generally had numerous luxurious garments and beautiful jewelry in their tombs
14:10to ensure that they would have a fashionable journey.
14:13These items included various types of linen clothing, such as tunics, scarves, gloves, and headdresses,
14:19as well as a lot of gold jewelry with precious stones,
14:22like bracelets, buckles, pennants, necklaces, rings, and even precious depictions of insects for protection.
14:30Some were also deposited with fans made from ivory and ostrich feathers to keep them cool in the afterlife.
14:38Some ancient rulers were even placed in their forever apartments along with boats.
14:43For example, Pharaoh Khufu built the Great Pyramid at Giza as his tomb,
14:47and a large ship was found inside.
14:49King Tut, however, was buried with multiple boat paddles, but no actual boat.
14:55Instead, he had three chariots and numerous walking sticks made of precious materials,
15:01perhaps indicating he'd rather travel to the beyond by land, not by water.
15:07Amongst the most interesting objects found near ancient mummies are bottles of oils and perfumes.
15:13If rulers were supposed to be fashionable, why not smell nice too, right?
15:18Also, some of them had some ancient kinds of board games.
15:22Most of them made out of precious materials, like gold or ivory.
15:26One of those games was called Senet.
15:29It was very popular amongst the ancient Egyptians and very similar to modern-day chess.
15:35The ancient Egyptians may have the most famous mummies out there,
15:39but they weren't the first to invent the procedure.
15:42In fact, it all started in South America, with an ancient civilization named the Chinchoro.
15:48As far as we know today, these people were the first to mummify their loved ones that had passed away.
15:54They did it somewhere around 2,000 years before the Egyptians started their own rituals.
16:01Sure, we can tell a lot about ancient rulers by studying these mummies,
16:05but until recently, we had no idea what they really looked like during their lifetime.
16:10Not so long ago, though, some very special mummy paintings were found by archaeologists
16:16studying ancient Egyptian objects.
16:19These mummy portraits are highly detailed paintings of individuals that were made while they were still alive.
16:26Such paintings were often painted on wood,
16:28as opposed to the classical portraits we all know about, which are painted on canvas.
16:33They are known for their realism and beauty,
16:35and have even been used by researchers to diagnose diseases
16:39by comparing them to the corresponding mummies.
16:42Some of these portraits also include depictions of jewelry,
16:45which was later found on the mummies.
16:47The recent discovery of these mummy portraits in central Egypt is significant,
16:52as it marks the first time in over a century that such paintings have been found.
16:58Mummies appeared all around the world naturally, too.
17:02Mummification can occur without people intervening because of natural conditions,
17:06like extremely cold or hot environments,
17:09places with a lack of oxygen,
17:11or accidental exposure to chemicals that preserve the body.
17:15These conditions don't allow bacteria to grow,
17:18resulting in the body remaining more or less intact.
17:23Famous Otzi was one of these mummies.
17:26We know today he was a man who lived around 5,000 years ago in Europe.
17:31But upon his discovery in the Alps in 1991,
17:35Austrian authorities initially believed that he was a modern mountaineer,
17:39because of how well-preserved the body was.
17:42However, after the Iceman was removed from the glacier,
17:46it was determined that he was actually from the Copper Age.
17:50The End
17:51of The End
17:51of Stone
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