All language subtitles for Secrets.in.the.Sand.S01E01.1080p.WEB.h264-BAWD_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
A disturbing find

uncovered in
one of the driest places on earth

reveals a violent past.

- They uncovered the remains
of a staggering 96 humans!

NARRATOR: The discovery
of a gigantic geoglyph

leads to an international mystery...

WAKEFIELD:
The total diameter of the figure

is an astonishing 28 kilometres!

- This thing is HUGE!

- But who was behind it?

NARRATOR: And baffling bones
are exposed in Chile...

- The more they dug,

the more the sands
revealed bone after bone!

- They are pieces of a puzzle
waiting to be solved!

NARRATOR: Astonishing discoveries

unearthed
from the depths of the desert!

(tense beat)

(rattling)

Ancient lost cities...

..forgotten treasures...

..mysterious structures!

Extraordinary curiosities once lost
to the sands of time are revealed!

As new technology
uncovers remarkable tales

hidden beneath
the deserts of the world,

the secrets in the sand
will FINALLY be exposed!

(cracking)

(atmospheric beat)

(beeps)

The northern region
of the state of South Australia

is one of the most arid,
barren places on the continent.

This vast desert plain
is dotted with dry salt lake beds

and little else.

- Except for some cattle stations,

small, remote communities
and indigenous groups,

the area is largely uninhabited
due to the harsh conditions.

NARRATOR:
A pilot was flying a small plane

between the towns of
Coober Pedy and Marree.

On a plateau approximately
60 kilometres west of Marree,

he spotted something strange
on the desert floor...

- He couldn't believe his eyes...

Deep, thick lines
several kilometres long

appeared to have been
carved into the earth...

And when he gets a better look,

it seems to be
the HUGE figure of a man!

- He has a prominent beard,

wears a headband
and has his hair tied back

and his left hand
is holding something above his head.

- The lines that make up the image
are about 70 to 90 metres wide.

From top to bottom,

it measures 4.2 kilometres

and the total diameter of the figure
is an astonishing 28 kilometres!

- It's visible from over 5,000 feet
in the air.

This thing is HUGE!

(tense beat)

NARRATOR: When the pilot
changed his flight path

to get a clearer view,

he noticed something else
on the figure...

What looked like
ritualistic scarring

on his chest!

- Some Aboriginal groups
of Australia

practised scarification,

which is cutting one's body
intentionally

to produce scars.

Beyond aesthetic purposes,

they used scarification
to mark certain milestones in life.

Marriage, the birth of a child,
the death of a loved one...

- Given the hairstyle,
the headband

and the chest scarring,

the figure
might be an Aboriginal man

in a hunting stance.

Could it be an ancient
indigenous geoglyph of some kind?

(intriguing beat)

- This is Arabana country.

They have native title
to over 69,000 square kilometres

in the region.

NARRATOR: The traditional
tribal name of the Arabana

is the Ngurabanna,

which means
The Land of the Mound Springs,

water holes that are vital
to sustaining life

in the dry desert outback.

- The Arabana
have lived in this area

for thousands of years,

so it's possible that the geoglyph
had always been there

but no one had noticed it before.

NARRATOR: The scale of the figure

makes it one of
the largest geoglyphs in the world,

drawing comparisons
to Peru's famous Nazca Lines.

- The Nazca Lines
are HUGE line drawings

etched in the ground

spanning some 50 square kilometres

of the Rio Grande
de Nasca River basin,

which is one of the driest places
on earth!

(drums beating)

- They're thought to be
ritual offerings to the gods,

asking for rain
in a desert environment.

(drums continue)

- Some of the lines are believed
to be around 2,000 years old,

so could the geoglyph
in Australia

be as old as the Nazca Lines?

NARRATOR: As the Australians
continued to explore the site

on the ground

they found modern bamboo stakes
every ten metres

marking the outline of the figure.

- It can't be ancient!

These stakes look like something
you'd buy

at your local garden centre!

And their placement
is SO accurate

it had to be done
using GPS coordinates.

- People start looking for answers

and it eventually leads them
to satellite images of the plateau.

There's a picture taken
on May 27th 1998

that shows no sign of the figure.

The next available image
is from June 28th

and it's clearly visible...

So, we know it must have been built
within that timeframe!

- And so begins one of Australia's
most perplexing mysteries...

Who created this mysterious geoglyph
in the outback?!

- For something THAT big
to be built so quickly,

heavy machinery
MUST have been used

but nobody in the area
saw or heard anything...

It's pretty remote,
but that's still surprising!

NARRATOR: Then,
a series of cryptic, anonymous faxes

began arriving
at local businesses,

alerting them
to the figure's presence!

- "There is a giant drawing
of an Aborigine

more than two miles long.

The figure could provide
your state of Southern Australia

with the type of tourist attraction
it is apparently seeking.

Aborigines from local reservations
could also benefit

as guides, artists, et cetera."

- Whoever sent this message

must have had intimate knowledge
of the figure

as nobody else knew about it
except for the pilot

and the few residents of the area
that he told.

NARRATOR: Analysis
of the language patterns

revealed that
much of the phrasing and spelling

seemed to be American.

- They used the term reservations
instead of Aboriginal country,

which is the Australian terminology.

They also use miles
instead of kilometres.

- The phrase
state of Southern Australia is used,

which is wrong!

The state is actually called
South Australia.

NARRATOR: Spurred on
by the developing mystery,

the Australian Government
and curious citizens

made the journey to get
a closer look at the geoglyph,

now being called Marree Man
after the town nearby.

What they found
was extraordinary...

- It's perfectly proportioned

and so well-drawn

that whoever created it
likely drew the figure by hand

then used a computer
to overlay the image

on a satellite photo
of the plateau!

They would've
had to adjust the scale

to the contours of the land

then map out the outline
using a handheld GPS device!

- GPS technology
was VERY new at the time

and only a few industries
would have had access to it.

Mining surveyors, academia,

the military.

NARRATOR:
They discovered something puzzling

during
their examination of the site...

A small pit dug near the figure

that contained a satellite image
of the Marree Man

as well as a small American flag!

- Between the flag,

the American terminology
in the faxes,

necessary GPS expertise...

It all seems to indicate
that Americans were responsible

for the Marree Man!

- Could the US military
have been behind it?

They would've had the technology,

access to equipment

and they're EXPERTS
at stealth operations!

(atmospheric beat)

NARRATOR: An enormous geoglyph

appeared in the middle
of the Australian outback,

leaving local residents wondering
who could have been responsible

for its creation...

The United States Air Force
did have a presence in the area

at the time,

sharing the joint defence facility
Nurrungar

with the Australian Defence Force
from 1969 to 1999.

- Some have theorised

that the Marree Man
was a parting gift to the ADF...

But if that's the case,

what's up
with all the cryptic messages?!

Wouldn't they
have just taken credit?

- The US military
officially denied any involvement

in the creation
of the Marree Man.

So, if it wasn't them... Who was it?

(wind swirling)

(searching beat)

NARRATOR: Several months later,

another clue
directed followers and authorities

16,000 kilometres away to England

and a mystery
buried near the Cerne Giant

in Dorset.

The Cerne Giant is a 55-metre-tall
geoglyph of a naked man

holding a large club

carved with chalk into a hillside

near the village
of Cerne Abbas.

- We now have an international
scavenger hunt on our hands!

The note discovered had clues
that point towards tourism

and support of indigenous athletes
of the Sydney Olympics.

- Could this possibly mean that
an indigenous group was behind it?

NARRATOR: The land
where the Marree Man is situated

was part of a contentious
title claim dispute,

leaving some to speculate

that the geoglyph was an attempt
to assert ownership of the land

by the Arabana.

- Though the Marree Man
appears to be an Aboriginal hunter,

the hairstyle, headband
and chest scarring

don't match those of an Arabana man.

And if it WAS a statement
of land ownership,

wouldn't they
want to take credit for it?

(birds chirping)

- Authorities
then turn their attention

to another clue buried near
The Long Man of Wilmington

in England.

NARRATOR:
Similar to the Cerne Giant,

The Long Man
is a hillside geoglyph

but instead of wielding a club

it's holding long, narrow sticks
in each hand.

- They are directed to a 1935 book
entitled The Red Centre

by H.H. Finlayson.

It contains a photo
of an indigenous hunter

similar to the Marree Man geoglyph.

NARRATOR: The author of the book

was associated
with the Museum of South Australia

but died in 1991

so he couldn't be responsible
for the Marree Man.

With no other clues,

rumours began to circulate
about a suspect

who WAS alive and well
at the time...

- Bardius Goldberg,

an eccentric artist who liked
to thumb his nose at authority,

had a history of creating
large-scale artworks on the ground.

- He's alleged
to have received $10,000

shortly before the Marree Man
was discovered

and he told friends
he was working on a BIG project

but he couldn't reveal any details!

- However,
Goldberg passed away in 2002

without ever confirming or denying
that he was involved

in the making of the Marree Man.

- It's been almost 25 years
since the Marree Man was discovered

and in all that time

not ONE person has come forward
to say that they helped Goldberg

or claim the geoglyph's creation
for themselves!

NARRATOR: In 2012,

the Australian Government
awarded the Arabana people

native title of the land

containing the Marree Man.

By this time,

the extreme conditions
of the outback

had eroded the outline,

leaving it barely visible.

- Looking for ways
to increase tourism in the area,

the Arabana joined forces
with a local business owner

who was asked to organise
the restoration project.

But even with advances
in technology,

it's a daunting task!

- And then, out of the blue,

one final twist
in the saga of the Marree Man!

(clicks)

An anonymous email
is received

with a set of highly accurate
coordinates

outlining the entire figure.

NARRATOR: In 2016,

armed with this precise data,

the team were able to fully restore
the Marree Man

to its original glory!

To this day,

tourism in the area
continues to flourish

with visitors from far and wide

flocking to see
the mysterious wonder in the desert!

- In the end, we may
NEVER know who created it...

Some say it was a bored farmer,

others think
it was a publicity stunt

to drum up tourism.

And the more conspiracy-minded

even suggest
extraterrestrial involvement!

NARRATOR: Perhaps
the enigma of the Marree Man

can be summed up by a quote

from one of the original
anonymous faxes...

(beeps)

Along the northern coast of Chile
lies the Atacama,

one of the oldest and driest
deserts on the planet.

(wind whipping)

- This desert is believed to be
150 million years old

and covers a nearly
1,100-kilometre stretch of land

between the Andes Mountains
and the Pacific Ocean.

NARRATOR: Arica is Chile's
most northern city

and is known as
the city where it never rains!

This hyper-arid desert landscape

experiences less than
one millimetre of rain each year

and is largely devoid
of plant and animal life.

On the edge of the town,

the Arica Water Company
were digging ground

to lay a new pipeline

when they made
a disturbing discovery

long lost
to the sands of the Atacama...

- Less than a metre
below the surface,

in an area
less than seven square metres,

they uncovered the remains
of a staggering 96 humans!

- The deformed but well-preserved
human remains

were stuffed
with sticks and reeds.

They were decorated
with both red and black clay masks

and elaborate wigs.

- This isn't your average burial!

These are intentionally mummified
remains!

So, who are they?!

NARRATOR: Using radiocarbon dating,

archaeologists were able to prove
that these extraordinary mummies

were at least 7,000 years old!

- This area of Chile
was once home to the Chinchorro,

an ancient culture
of coastal hunter-gatherers

and fishermen.

They were coastal-dwelling people

who didn't cast any pottery
or build any monuments.

They lived from
around 7000 BCE to 1500 BCE.

More than 9,000 years ago!

- That means that

these 7,000-year-old
South American Chinchorro mummies

are more than 2,000 years OLDER
than the mummies of Egypt!

This is an AMAZING discovery!

- While some of the bodies
have been inadvertently preserved

by the dry conditions
of the desert climate,

resulting in naturally baked
mummies,

most of the remains
have been intentionally

and meticulously mummified.

- Egyptian mummification practices
involved laying human remains flat

and desiccating them

before wrapping and entombing them.

However, in the case of
these Chinchorro mummies,

the human remains
were bundled together

with other materials

and more or less
left to the elements

in shallow grave sites.

And the hyper-dry conditions
of the Atacama

made the preservation process
even more effective.

NARRATOR: The purposefully preserved
remains of the Chinchorro

fall into
two main mortuary styles...

Mummies wearing
the black clay masks

that date from 5000-3000 BCE

and ones wearing red clay masks

that date from 2500-2000 BCE.

- The black clay mummies
had been dismembered,

treated and reassembled

then stuffed
with reeds, sticks and ash.

Then they were dressed with clay
and painted with manganese,

a pigment
derived from local rock formations.

- The red clay mummies were treated
with a more surgical approach.

Their organs were removed
to dry the cavities

before the stuffing process.

They were then masked
and painted with red ochre,

a naturally red-toned clay.

- Whether men, women or children,

these remains
were preserved with care

and treated with reverence,

regardless of status.

This is another difference

from the well-known
Egyptian mummification practice,

which was primarily accessible
to members of the elite.

NARRATOR: Further inland,

additional excavations revealed
another SIX recent burial sites

containing HUNDREDS of remains!

These naturally mummified remnants
were dated to between 1000 BCE

and 600 CE,

long after the Chinchorro culture
came to an end.

- Physical investigation
and X-ray imaging

of these
more recently discovered bones

uncovered shocking details
about how they may have lived

AND died.

- They found broken ribs,
cheeks and collarbones,

severe head injuries

and obvious puncture wounds
to the soft tissue,

including the groin,
lungs and spine.

These are clear signs
of traumatic injury due to violence.

NARRATOR: Among the remains,

a young woman
drew special attention

because of
the brutality of her injuries...

(beat pierces)

NARRATOR:
In Chile's arid Atacama desert,

a gruesome discovery
of the remains of a young woman

revealed a brutal and violent past.

- It... It... It's horrifying.

- Archaeologists also found spears,
knives and stones tied with ropes

alongside the bodies.

The malicious injuries
coupled with the weapons

makes one wonder
what was the cause of the violence?

- The earlier Chinchorro people

were not strangers
to violence either,

but none were treated
in such an abusive manner

as these later peoples.

There were a number of fatal wounds

found with
the earlier Chinchorro mummies,

like this adult male
from around 1780 BCE.

He was found
with the head of a harpoon

embedded in his chest

but the pattern of violence
within THIS community

appears to have been more sporadic

than that
found in later communities.

- The adult Chinchorro population

did show a smaller range
of healed and fatal wounds.

However, the level and inconsistency
of these traumas

appears to be representative
of small skirmishes,

NOTHING like
the consistent levels of violence

we see in these later communities!

NARRATOR: To gain a better
understanding of the violence

these communities
were experiencing

and to determine their origins
and migration patterns,

samples were taken from 69
of the naturally preserved mummies

discovered at the six burial sites.

- The result of the sample analysis

proves that the mutilated woman
was from further north,

in today's Peru.

- Forty-two people in the sample
are believed to be coastal-dwellers

living off the sea
and foraging in the desert.

This group of 42
would have had a lifestyle

more similar to that
of the earlier Chinchorro peoples.

- The remaining 27
shared an isotopic signature

that indicates that they lived
on a more varied, terrestrial diet.

This means they were likely living
deeper into the Azapa Valley

and were less reliant on the sea.

- This evidence suggests

that the conflicts were between
the farmers of the valley

and the fishermen along the coast.

NARRATOR: At the time,

the river valleys were some of
the only places in the Atacama

with enough water
to grow a greater range of foods.

- It seems that,
after many thousands of years,

groups of these coastal peoples
began moving inland,

away from the sea,

in an attempt to forge a new life,

building small villages

along these scarce outcroppings
of viable land.

- They planted corn
and chilli peppers,

likely trading with

and learning from
the non-desert farming communities

of the north and east.

- Though these communities
remained small,

many people settling in one area

would naturally lead to
increased interpersonal conflict.

However, experts believed there were
larger forces at play here.

(drums beating)

(fades)

NARRATOR: Archaeologists
turn to the environment,

examining marine life,

weather patterns

and conducting mineral tests

for a more thorough
understanding of the situation.

- Fishermen
are dependent on the sea

and these ancient communities
were no different.

Climate scientists studying
historic patterns of El Nino

believe that
this recurrent natural event

may have played a role
in the violence they experienced.

- El Nino events
interrupt the cool upswells

of nutrient-rich water
coming from the depths of the ocean

and replaces them
with warmer water.

This results in less phytoplankton,

ultimately reducing
the available sea life

that these ancient fishermen
would have relied on.

- Climate scientists also studied
the discarded shells

and marine life remains
found in dumpsites

near these coastal communities.

These remains
are believed to be food waste

and so they're evidence
of the local diet at the time.

- In the same period of time

that these people were experiencing
extreme violence,

they also found evidence
of a significant seafood shortage.

Less seafood
for an extended period of time

could have made these people
even more desperate.

- El Nino
does not only influence the sea,

it also has a drying effect

on the already parched
Atacama landscape.

This warmer, dryer climate

would have also added pressure
on these ancient farmers.

NARRATOR: Archaeologists believed
that the lack of seafood stocks

had led
desperate coastal communities

into the nearby
inland farming settlements

in search of food.

(beeping)

- Under the hottest,
driest desert conditions

exacerbated by El Nino,

communities likely fought over
access to the most basic resources

like food, land and water.

NARRATOR:
As the environment changed,

so too did the lifestyles
of the Atacama peoples,

who relied upon the sustainability
of their resources

and their ability to defend them.

(wind whipping)

(atmospheric jam)

(beeps)

Abusir is situated
on Egypt's western desert plateau,

only 25 kilometres south of Cairo.

Despite being so close
to such a large urban city,

it feels like
it's in the middle of the desert!

- The desert at Abusir
is a famed burial ground

of Ancient Egypt.

Over the course of centuries,

many of the kingdom's pharaohs
and nobility were buried here.

- It is here, as well as
in nearby areas like Giza,

where excavations have revealed
incredible artefacts and structures

that have contributed significantly

to our understanding
of Ancient Egyptian society.

NARRATOR: A team of archaeologists
were excavating a site

when they discovered a vast
collection of ceramic vessels.

While it isn't unusual
to find ancient ceramics

at archaeological sites,

the sheer volume of them
was astounding!

- Inside the vessels,

they find materials that priests
would have on hand when embalming

or mummifying a body.

So, could this actually be a tomb?

(atmospheric music)

NARRATOR: At the famous
Egyptian burial grounds of Abusir,

archaeologists have discovered
a large cache of ceramic vessels

containing embalming materials,

leading them to wonder

if they'd uncovered
a previously undiscovered tomb.

- In Ancient Egypt,

the dead would sometimes be buried
with some of the instruments

and materials that were used
in the embalming process

and it appears
that this is what has happened here.

NARRATOR: Archaeologists believe
this was what's called a shaft tomb,

essentially
a deep rectangular grave.

The Ancient Egyptians
sometimes buried their dead

in tombs such as these

along with a diverse range
of tools, clothes

and other necessities
they might require in the afterlife.

- But there are literally HUNDREDS
of these embalming vessels,

which makes one wonder,
who were they all for?!

- As they continued
to excavate the chamber,

they find a set of four
limestone canopic jars.

Canopic jars are essential vessels
in the rite of mummification.

NARRATOR: Mummification
was an elaborate process

which involved removing the organs
from the body,

treating them

and placing the liver, intestines,
stomach and lungs

in canopic jars.

They were then usually placed
next to the deceased,

where they would remain
for all eternity.

- The Egyptians believed the body
was the home for the soul or spirit.

If the body was destroyed

or, in other words, decomposed,

the spirit would be lost.

For this reason,
great care was taken

in preserving
physical manifestation of the body.

This way, both spirit AND body

could continue on together
into the afterlife.

- But these four canopic jars
are ALL empty...

And not only are these jars empty

but there is NO sarcophagus either!

So, if this is actually a tomb,
where is the body?!

(searching music)

- In 1000 BCE,

during the time that we call
the Third Intermediate Period,

embalming techniques improved

and for the wealthiest elites

these advances
enabled priests to treat the viscera

and then place them
back inside the body.

This means the canopic jars
would be included in the grave

for symbolic purposes only.

So, that kind of narrows down
the time period

we should be looking at

to some time
in the Third Intermediate Period

or after.

NARRATOR:
After cleaning and inspecting

the empty canopic jars,

the archaeologists
noticed inscriptions

written across their surface

indicating the tomb
belonged to a man named...

- Throughout
Ancient Egyptian history,

there were several men
who went by that name

but a tomb like this

would come at
a significant financial cost,

so this Wahibre-mery-Neith

would likely have been
a wealthy nobleman

or high official of sorts.

- Similar shaft tombs
have been found

in the direct vicinity of this one.

In fact, next to Wahibre-mery-Neith
lies the tomb of one Udjahorresnet.

Inscriptions on his statue

indicate that he lived
around the sixth century BCE.

NARRATOR: This was a period
of great volatility and flux

for the kingdom.

In 525 BCE,

the Persian Army,
under King Cambyses II,

had invaded and defeated
the Egyptians.

Cambyses crowned himself
Pharaoh of Egypt

and subjected its people
to his rule.

- Udjahorresnet's life's work
is inscribed on his statue,

which reads that he convinced
the occupying powers

to respect local tradition

and pay homage to Egyptian deities.

NARRATOR: As they continued

to excavate the tomb
of Wahibre-mery-Neith,

the archaeologists
uncovered a secondary shaft

that descended
16 metres into the bedrock.

At the bottom,

they discovered a large
double sarcophagus

composed of two sections...

An outer limestone covering

which encased an inner sarcophagus
made of basalt.

Both appeared to be heavily damaged.

- There is
clear evidence of looting.

The graverobbers made an opening

in the outer section
of the sarcophagus

and then smashed open
the inner section

in order to get inside
and remove the mummy.

NARRATOR: But despite the damage
and looting that had taken place,

they hadn't succeeded
in taking ALL of the precious items.

The archaeologists discovered
that Wahibre-mery-Neith

had also been buried
with 402 ushabti figures.

- Ushabtis
are small human figurines

that were an essential component
of a person's burial.

In the afterlife,

when the gods called upon
the deceased to work,

he or she
could turn to the ushabtis,

who acted as servants,

performing manual labour
for the departed.

NARRATOR: Inscriptions
on his sarcophagus were also found

which partially translated to
'commander of foreign mercenaries'.

- So, Wahibre-mery-Neith
WAS a commander of mercenaries

who were fighting
for the newly minted Persian ruler

of Egypt.

- What we can tell from this grave
is that Egyptians,

despite intense pressures
from the ruling Persians,

maintained
their rites and traditions,

which might have been
VERY difficult

in the face of Persian occupation!

- You can see evidence
of this struggle

in the statue of Udjahorresnet.

He is depicted
wearing Persian clothing

but described in the text
carved on the statue

as an Egyptian official

who lived in accordance
with the traditional rules of Maat

or order.

NARRATOR: Wahibre-mery-Neith

may have been fighting
for a foreign power

by commanding their soldiers,

but along with his Egyptian peers

maintained their local traditions
at a time of incredible uncertainty.

(drums beat and fade)

(beeps)

The Pan-American Highway,

a network of roads
connecting North and South America,

runs through Chile's
Atacama Desert.

While the Atacama
may not be the hottest desert,

it IS one of the driest places
on earth!

- Some experts
believe that this land,

which stretches over
a thousand kilometres,

is one of the oldest deserts
in the world.

NARRATOR: During a routine expansion
of the Pan-American Highway,

road crews digging new ground

discovered something bizarre
in the middle of the desert...

- They uncovered massive bones
just below the surface...

And not just some,

but HUNDREDS of them
in a 240-metre-long road cut!

- The highway
cuts through a harsh landscape,

bordered by the Pacific to the west
and the desert to the east.

The bones were found
not far from shore,

between Caldera
and the inland town of Copiapo.

- Perfectly preserved
by the arid climate

of the ancient Atacama,

these bones
are pieces of a puzzle

waiting to be solved.

What ancient creature
could they be?

- The more they dug,

the more the sands
revealed bone after bone...

In fact, many whole skeletons
were found side by side!

- It took only a brief inspection
by palaeontologists

for the answer to become clear...

These are whale bones!

NARRATOR:
Some whale bones were discovered

along with various other
marine specimens

lying between two and a half
and seven metres below ground,

while the majority
of the whale bones

were found at a depth
ranging from five to seven metres.

- In total, palaeontologists counted
an astounding 31 whale skeletons!

And not just ANY whales...

These are rorqual whales,

a type of baleen or toothless whale

that filter food from the sea
using large thin, keratin plates.

The remains represented
a wide range of maturation,

from calves to full-grown adults.

- Rorquals can be identified
by the ventral grooves

that extend from their chin
all the way down to their bellies,

which allows them
to open their mouths extra wide!

NARRATOR: Along with
the remains of the whales,

they uncovered a variety
of other extinct marine mammals

and vertebrates,

including seals,
an aquatic sloth,

a walrus whale,
sharks and large fish!

- Based on the extinct
aquatic sloths and extinct sharks

found in the sediments,

they were able to determine

that the site dates
from the late Miocene Era,

so it's between
five and 11 million years old!

- How did SO many whales

end up on the edge
of the world's driest desert?!

One theory is that a tsunami
could be responsible.

NARRATOR: A tsunami
can be caused by several factors...

Large earthquakes that occur
near or under the ocean,

onshore landslides

and even by volcanic eruptions.

Chile has the fifth highest
occurrence of tsunamis

in the world,

with a total of 166 to date!

- One of the biggest tsunamis
on record in Chile

was a 50-metre-high wave!

That type of oceanic event
would have the force necessary

to disrupt and displace
many different types of marine life.

- Depending on their depth

at the time of
that type of extreme wave,

a whale near the beach
could either be pulled out to sea

or stranded on the sand.

- But we would likely see a lot more
disordered and scattered bones

as a result of trauma

rather than the intact skeletons
found here along the highway.

- Not to mention
the disruption to the land

caused by a wave of that size

would alter the sedimentary
structure of the sands

around the bones...

But those changes
are NOT present here.

If they weren't
ravaged by a tsunami,

the question is did they swim here?!

NARRATOR: Palaeontologists
examining the layout of the site

determined that the placement
of many of the intact whales

is orthogonal

or lying at a right angle
to the flow of the current.

- The orientation of the remains
indicates that they didn't swim

but were swept there
by the currents.

- Additionally,

experts determined that
the majority of whales

found in the deposits

were positioned ventral side up

or, in other words, on their backs.

- When you take into account
their bodily orientation

and belly-up discovery,

it's highly likely that these whales
washed up dead or dying,

only to be trapped
and buried by the sand.

So, how did SO many marine animals
get trapped here?

NARRATOR: The location
of where these whales were found

is what's known as
a super tidal flat,

an area of land

extending just beyond
the reach of high tide.

- These flats were cut off
from the beach by rock formations,

preventing marine life
from entering or exiting

unless there was
extremely high tides

or rough storm waters.

This accounts for
the lack of apparent scavenging

by marine life

other than some hungry
but now fossilised crabs.

- The Atacama Desert

is also incapable of supporting
large land animals

that would be interested in
scavenging on this salty feast.

The restricted flat,

coupled with
the hyper-arid desert climate,

created an excellent environment
for in situ decay.

- The whales likely experienced
a quick death in the ocean

before being carried to the flat.

So, what killed these whales?

NARRATOR: Stranding or beaching

occurs
when large sea mammals or fish

end up on the shore,

unable to return to the water
on their own.

While there can be
extenuating circumstances,

this is usually
due to sickness or injury,

extreme weather
or navigational errors.

- While the beaching
of lone animals is somewhat common,

mass strandings
are MUCH more rare.

- Statistically,

toothed whales have a greater
likelihood of mass stranding

due to the fact
that they're highly social

and live in larger groups

compared to baleen whales.

NARRATOR: In the late 1980s,

14 humpback whales,

another variety of baleen whale,

were discovered beached
along 50 kilometres of coastline

around Cape Cod,
Massachusetts.

- The humpbacks showed no signs
of bodily trauma

but their stomach contents
showed high concentrations of toxins

that likely caused their death.

Could something similar
have happened

to these Chilean whales?

NARRATOR: Unlike
the beached humpback whales,

the team couldn't test
the stomach content

of the rorqual whales

but their skeletal remains
could hold the answer...

Experts identified
orange-stained blotches

that they believed to be
the remains of algal mats.

- Algal mats are multi-layered
sheets of microorganisms

that form
on the surface of water or rocks.

When these mats
reproduce at excessive rates,

they can result in
harmful algal blooms,

also known as red or green tides.

- Best estimates are that
this massive, ancient whale deposit

is the result of rapid death at sea

due to ingested toxins
created by harmful algal blooms.

- Runoff from the iron-rich
Andes Mountains

combined with swells
of nutrient-rich ocean water

would have created
the PERFECT storm for algal blooms.

NARRATOR: The whale remains
have all been recovered

and transported
to museums for safekeeping.

Named Cerro Ballena
or Whale Hill

for the sheer volume
of rorqual whales discovered there,

this site will continue to enhance

researchers' understanding
of ocean life for years to come!

(tense beat)
Subtitles by Sky Access Services