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[calm music]
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[intense music]
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- [Narrator] The Sumerians were noted
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for their worship of many gods.
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[calm music]
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Among them was Enki,
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a god known for being the patron
deity of the city of Eridu.
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Enki is depicted in many
pieces of Sumerian art
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and literature, including
the Babylonian creation epic,
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the "Enuma Elish," "The Epic
of Gilgamesh," and others.
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Due to his prominence in such works,
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it's fair to assume he played a large role
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in Sumerian culture.
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Much about Enki remains
shrouded in mystery
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and begs further exploration.
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Enki, a god known for his inherent worth,
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represented healing, fertility,
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and creation in Sumerian culture.
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His intelligent magic
often included trickery
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to benefit the good of the human race.
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Son of a sky god, Enki was
thought to reign over the earth
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and high heavens as a leader
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of the Anunna gods in Sumeria.
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It is believed that Enki inhabited
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the Earth nearly 400,000 years ago.
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Enki was known by a variety of names,
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including Enkig, Ea, Nissiku,
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and Nudimmund.
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The names come with a
variety of translations such
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as prince, lord of the earth,
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and creator, gift of
fertility and creation.
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In Sumerian culture,
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Enki is heavily connected
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to the concepts of fertility and creation.
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This is often represented by water.
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Ancient images of Enki show rivers flowing
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from his masculine shoulders.
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The rivers depicted are
thought to be the Euphrates
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and Tigris rivers that
flow through Mesopotamia
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and signify his gift of
fertility to the land.
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According to legend,
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the rivers were formed from his semen,
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which further supports his ties
to the concept of fertility.
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In addition, other symbols associated
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with Enki are the goat and the fish,
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which also signify
fertility or fertileness.
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One Sumerian lore depicts
Enki as the founder of Eridu,
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possibly Mesopotamia's first city,
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thus establishing the
beginning of life on earth.
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The spiritual site of
Eridu has been compared
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to the Judeo-Christian
concept of the Garden of Eden.
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The intelligent yet
mischievous Enki suggested
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the gods create other beings
to mine the gold for them.
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The Anunnaki were thought to
be clone masters who sought
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to clone lesser beings
such as the human race
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to do their work.
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Control of human beings is still thought
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to be happening under Anunnaki gods today.
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Although Enki contributed
to the concept of cloning,
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which could be considered
manipulation of the human race,
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he was well intended
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and provided humans
with information on how
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to restore balance to the Earth
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after devastating droughts and famine.
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Enki had a substantial cosmic family line.
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His immediate family
included a father figure,
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mother, brother, wife, and four sons.
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An additional eight children
were born later as mentioned
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in a folk tale.
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The names and relations
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of Enki's family members vary
throughout ancient texts.
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Enki was a very powerful god
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and had the assistance of
mythical beings at his service.
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Legends describe an
assortment of creatures such
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as mermaids, giants,
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and even demons that aided
Enki in his earthly endeavors.
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Also, he could call upon both destructive
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and caring existences
and keep favored humanity
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and social justice.
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He was known for his intelligence, wisdom,
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and gift for divine arts and crafts.
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Enki's knowledge of rituals
included exorcism as well
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as healing prayers and chants.
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An important figure in
mythological history,
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Enki remains one of the
greatest Sumerian legends
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and one of the most complex Sumerian gods.
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As such, one can spend a
significant amount of time delving
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into the history and mystery of Enki.
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Continue to explore this
fascinating mythical being
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on your own and enjoy the journey.
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[epic music]
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A discovery comes along that
challenges those theories.
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[mysterious music]
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We can thank the late great
journalist George Plimpton
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for one artifact
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that has recently
challenged that narrative,
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potentially setting back
the history of mathematics
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and casting a new light on
the ever-intriguing culture
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of the ancient Babylonians.
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The artifact known as Plimpton 322 is
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a cuneiform tablet that
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was purchased almost a century ago
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from the real-life Indiana Jones
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and could potentially prove that
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the ancient Babylonians
were the first civilization
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to understand trigonometry.
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Cuneiform tablets.
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Pythagoras is thought
to have been the first
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to understand that the area of the square
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of the hypotenuse of a
right-angle triangle is equal
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to the sum of the areas of the squares
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of its other two sides, aka
the Pythagorean theorem,
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but it's not necessarily well documented
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that Pythagoras actually
conceptualized this equation,
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nor are there any other of
his mathematical achievements.
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Pythagoras ran a school
that was shrouded in mystery
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and secrecy with a cabalistic
take on math and numbers.
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Some believe it is possible
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that his students may
have been responsible
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for his supposed
achievements in mathematics,
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but due to either reverence or fear,
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gave credit to Pythagoras.
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Interpretations and documentation
from the time are scarce
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as knowledge was typically
spread by word of mouth.
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At the same time,
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Pythagoras's school was
almost cult-like with stories
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of members being murdered
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for not maintaining the
school's secrecy and learnings.
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The ancient Babylonians,
on the other hand,
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used cuneiform tablets to record much
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of their intellectual work with thousands
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of tablets having been
recovered to this day.
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Many of them were excavated
in the early 1900s
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and sold to museums or collectors,
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but some of the implications
of their carvings
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are challenging what
archeologists have believed
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about ancient history.
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One of these tablets was
purchased by George Plimpton
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for a mere $10 in 1922
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and has been the center of a heated debate
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between archeologists.
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The new theory pairs the
findings from Plimpton 322
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with another tablet known as YBC 7289
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and posits that Babylonian
mathematics included trigonometry
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predating the Greeks by 1,000 years.
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These ancient Babylonians
used a base-60 system
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of mathematics rather than
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the base-10 system that we use today.
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While we have all assumed
Pythagoras to be the first
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to postulate his eponymous theory,
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Hipparchus is generally known
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to be the Greek father of trigonometry
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and the first to produce a
trigonometric table known
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as the table of chords.
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Hipparchus's work required
a knowledge of trigonometry
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for measuring astronomical distances,
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but much of the basis for his work came
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from Babylonian mathematics
using the base-60 system.
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Also, few details are known specifically
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about his life despite being
credited with the discovery
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of a large field of mathematics.
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The base-60 system allowed the Babylonians
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to make trigonometric
calculations in terms
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of ratios rather than angles.
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What is so fascinating
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about this discovery is that it brings
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a subjective interpretation
to mathematics,
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which may seem counterintuitive,
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but the ancient Babylonian system
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of trigonometry shows
that they were capable
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of achieving similar results using
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a different mathematical perspective.
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Part of their base-60
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or sexagesimal system
is even retained today
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in certain elements of our lives.
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[epic music]
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[mysterious music]
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Long before the sprawling city streets
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of Mexico City stood another city,
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one almost lost in the mists of time,
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if not for the efforts of
some amazing archeologists
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and a little luck.
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Under the streets
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of this Latin American
city is another city that
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was once called Tenochtitlan,
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found underneath the now historical sector
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of modern Mexico City.
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Although its initial construction
would look nothing like
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what we see today.
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Instead, the present
Mexico City has been built
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on a dry lake bed,
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previously known as Lake Texcoco
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and the former Tenochtitlan
had its foundations built
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on an island by the
once great Aztec empire.
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The great city was expanded
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and added to over the centuries
until its ultimate fall
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at the hands of the invading
Spanish in the 15th century.
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Before its downfall, it
was a true marvel to behold
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and was one of the largest cities
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in the pre-Columbian Americas.
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Bernal Diaz del Castillo
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in his "Conquest of New Spain" offers us
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some insights into the surprise
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of the conquerors as
they approached the city.
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"When we saw so many cities
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and villages built in the water
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and other great towns on
dry land, we were amazed
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and said that it was like
the enchantments on account
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of the great towers and cues
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and buildings rising from the water,
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and all built of masonry.
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And some of our soldiers
even asked whether
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the things that we saw were not a dream.
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I do not know how to describe it,
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seeing things as we did
that had never been heard
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or seen of before, not
even dreamed about."
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[enigmatic music]
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The great city was founded in 1325 AD
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and unlike most of the
civilizations around the world,
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great cultures need a secure cornerstone
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of religious underpinnings to bring order
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and control to the masses.
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The Mexica was founded the city
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and ruled over the Aztec empire.
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However, there are
suggestions that they were
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a harsh civilization and plenty
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of evidence that shows they
possessed a cruel streak.
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The religion was based
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on an ancient prophecy that recognized
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the early tribal cultures
of Central America
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and noted that they would find peace
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in a great city whose sight
would be signaled to them
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in the form of a great
eagle that held a snake
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in its mouth resting on top of a cactus.
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Interestingly, the Mexica
concluded that the answer
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to this prophecy was found
on an island in Lake Texcoco,
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fulfilling their belief
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and creating a foundation
to build the great city
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and open it to not only their people
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but also to their gods.
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During excavations of
Tenochtitlan in 2006,
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archeologists uncovered a
massive stone tablet dedicated
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to one of their gods called Tlaltecuhtli.
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They're calling it the
largest Aztec idol ever found,
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and it seems a title
well deserved weighing
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at 12 and 1/2 tons.
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A spectacular statue of that size
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with almost perfect detail
should be fascinating enough,
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but it seems it's even more intriguing
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because some were speculating
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this structure may have been a door
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to a hidden chamber.
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The monolith of Tlaltecuhtli
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was excavated within close
proximity to the Templo Mayor,
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which was actually discovered by accident
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as workers uncovered a corner
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of the great monolith while sweeping some
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of the temple steps.
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Templo Mayor was the main temple
260
00:12:18,090 --> 00:12:21,546
and was used by the Aztecs
for ceremonial purposes.
261
00:12:21,570 --> 00:12:25,476
Unfortunately, this was
primarily human sacrifice.
262
00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:29,106
Archeologists have reported
that in one ceremony alone,
263
00:12:29,130 --> 00:12:32,703
thousands of victims
were sacrificed in 1487.
264
00:12:33,630 --> 00:12:36,576
Tlaltecuhtli, the Earth God goddess was
265
00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,746
a Mesoamerican earth goddess
associated with fertility.
266
00:12:40,770 --> 00:12:42,696
As she was seen as their source of life,
267
00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:44,406
the Aztecs sought necessary
268
00:12:44,430 --> 00:12:48,006
to constantly please their
goddess with blood sacrifices,
269
00:12:48,030 --> 00:12:50,496
especially human hearts.
270
00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,106
According to the creation
legend surrounding it,
271
00:12:53,130 --> 00:12:56,556
the earth first roamed on the
primordial sea in the form
272
00:12:56,580 --> 00:12:58,836
of a monster by this name.
273
00:12:58,860 --> 00:13:02,496
The legend also goes on to say
that this goddess was fierce
274
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,406
and had a taste for
human flesh so ferocious
275
00:13:05,430 --> 00:13:06,996
that one single gaping mouth
276
00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:09,486
with teeth of flint knives was not enough
277
00:13:09,510 --> 00:13:11,676
to satisfy her bestial hunger.
278
00:13:11,700 --> 00:13:14,736
To remedy this, she had
more mouths at her elbows
279
00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:19,506
and knees that could
simultaneously devour her victims.
280
00:13:19,530 --> 00:13:22,896
She was so savage that even
other gods were afraid of her.
281
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,249
The myth continues to say
that the gods Tezcatlipoca
282
00:13:26,273 --> 00:13:29,886
and Quetzalcoatl transformed
into giant serpents
283
00:13:29,910 --> 00:13:31,566
and strangled Tlaltecuhtli
284
00:13:31,590 --> 00:13:34,206
until her giant body split in two.
285
00:13:34,230 --> 00:13:37,176
They threw one half of her
broken body up in the sky
286
00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,116
and it was transformed into
the vault of the heavens
287
00:13:40,140 --> 00:13:42,936
and the other half of
her created the earth.
288
00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:44,526
The other deities were appalled
289
00:13:44,550 --> 00:13:47,556
by what the serpents had
done to Tlaltecuhtli,
290
00:13:47,580 --> 00:13:51,006
so they descended to the
earth half to console her.
291
00:13:51,030 --> 00:13:53,556
They commanded that all
the fruits necessary
292
00:13:53,580 --> 00:13:56,586
for the survival of humans
should come from her.
293
00:13:56,610 --> 00:14:00,726
From that moment, all creation
was to come from her body.
294
00:14:00,750 --> 00:14:02,736
They made it so that all trees, flowers,
295
00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,676
and herbs would spring
from her hair, wells,
296
00:14:05,700 --> 00:14:07,686
and springs to come from her eyes,
297
00:14:07,710 --> 00:14:10,926
her mouth would create the
rivers, lakes, and caverns,
298
00:14:10,950 --> 00:14:14,496
and her nose would create the
mountain ranges and valleys.
299
00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:16,926
The goddess sprang back
to life in a new way,
300
00:14:16,950 --> 00:14:19,086
but despite the gifts she had been given,
301
00:14:19,110 --> 00:14:21,876
she is said to still cry out
at night with her longing
302
00:14:21,900 --> 00:14:25,416
to continue to eat the
hearts of humankind.
303
00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:26,526
The legend continues,
304
00:14:26,550 --> 00:14:29,196
the goddess was restless
and will not stay quiet
305
00:14:29,220 --> 00:14:32,136
and still until she was
given the sacrifices,
306
00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:33,366
nor would she bear fruit
307
00:14:33,390 --> 00:14:35,826
on the land unless her thirst was quenched
308
00:14:35,850 --> 00:14:36,993
with the blood of men.
309
00:14:37,860 --> 00:14:39,816
Some researchers believe that the increase
310
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,336
in human sacrifice in the later stages
311
00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:44,166
of the Mayan civilization
312
00:14:44,190 --> 00:14:46,056
and the almost frenzied pace it took
313
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,686
with the Aztecs was due to
the decline of their society.
314
00:14:49,710 --> 00:14:52,146
This downward spiral
would've made it very easy
315
00:14:52,170 --> 00:14:54,576
for the Spanish to conquer them.
316
00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,736
Unfortunately, when the massive statue
317
00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:58,656
of Tlaltecuhtli was discovered,
318
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,686
it was fragmented into
four pieces with a section
319
00:15:01,710 --> 00:15:03,036
of its core missing
320
00:15:03,060 --> 00:15:06,636
or possibly destroyed by
the decimation of time.
321
00:15:06,660 --> 00:15:09,396
However, despite its
incomplete appearance,
322
00:15:09,420 --> 00:15:12,396
the monolith of this
earth monster deity is
323
00:15:12,420 --> 00:15:14,136
one that radiates great power
324
00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,226
and intimidation to all
those in its presence.
325
00:15:17,250 --> 00:15:19,416
The Aztecs believed that the presentation
326
00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,486
of a monument should be in accordance
327
00:15:21,510 --> 00:15:23,706
with its cosmological place
328
00:15:23,730 --> 00:15:27,426
and as Tlaltecuhtli was
depicted as an earth monster,
329
00:15:27,450 --> 00:15:29,436
she was placed in the earth underneath
330
00:15:29,460 --> 00:15:31,446
or below other objects.
331
00:15:31,470 --> 00:15:32,976
She was also often carved
332
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,456
beneath Aztec monuments
rather than in plain sight,
333
00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,096
like those of the carvings at Tlaloc,
334
00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:40,216
and is believed that this
335
00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,176
is so that she can take her
position of the earth as well
336
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,936
as resting against the earth itself.
337
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:47,856
She's also placed front forward
338
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,766
in the many representations found of her.
339
00:15:50,790 --> 00:15:52,026
In the Aztec culture,
340
00:15:52,050 --> 00:15:53,796
it was commonplace for their deities
341
00:15:53,820 --> 00:15:56,886
to be presented this way
as to show their power
342
00:15:56,910 --> 00:15:59,256
and distinguish them from other figures.
343
00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,026
Directly underneath the statue,
344
00:16:01,050 --> 00:16:03,546
they discovered the
largest find of offerings,
345
00:16:03,570 --> 00:16:05,826
which included shells and corals,
346
00:16:05,850 --> 00:16:09,096
a tiny pine mask, a sawfish bill,
347
00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,016
8 and 1/2 thousand animal bones,
348
00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:15,366
a jar of grain, a scepter,
and many fire god sculptures.
349
00:16:15,390 --> 00:16:17,796
Archeologists believe these
used to be an arrangement
350
00:16:17,820 --> 00:16:21,636
of sacrificial ornaments or
offerings to the goddess.
351
00:16:21,660 --> 00:16:23,096
The gods of old and their worshipers
352
00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,326
have always fascinated us.
353
00:16:25,350 --> 00:16:26,646
Even in modern religion,
354
00:16:26,670 --> 00:16:29,376
we venerate statues of saints in buildings
355
00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,836
and churches that were
adorned with symbolism
356
00:16:31,860 --> 00:16:35,526
and carvings that are
linked to old pagan worship,
357
00:16:35,550 --> 00:16:37,866
but sadly, even with the many lives
358
00:16:37,890 --> 00:16:40,956
that the Aztecs sacrificed to Tlaltecuhtli
359
00:16:40,980 --> 00:16:43,536
to placate her thirst for human hearts,
360
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,603
the once great city of
Tenochtitlan was abandoned
361
00:16:46,627 --> 00:16:48,306
by their goddess.
362
00:16:48,330 --> 00:16:50,106
Following a failed aqueduct design
363
00:16:50,130 --> 00:16:52,716
to bring fresh water to the Aztec people,
364
00:16:52,740 --> 00:16:54,546
a massive flood destroyed the city
365
00:16:54,570 --> 00:16:59,406
in 1502 AD including many
satellite towns and villages.
366
00:16:59,430 --> 00:17:01,776
Even though the city was built by mortar,
367
00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:03,246
the walls could not sustain
368
00:17:03,270 --> 00:17:05,706
the devastating attack by the water.
369
00:17:05,730 --> 00:17:08,466
However, the Mexica were persistent
370
00:17:08,490 --> 00:17:11,316
and began rebuilding
once the waters receded.
371
00:17:11,340 --> 00:17:12,187
For the most part,
372
00:17:12,211 --> 00:17:13,656
the technological genius
373
00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,446
of the Aztec people
allowed them to build dams,
374
00:17:16,470 --> 00:17:19,656
which actually controlled the
level of water quite well.
375
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,816
However, after the Spanish conquest,
376
00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:23,346
the dams were destroyed
377
00:17:23,370 --> 00:17:26,736
and the flooding once again
claimed this great city
378
00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,641
of ancient times.
379
00:17:28,665 --> 00:17:31,082
[epic music]
380
00:17:35,259 --> 00:17:36,966
[haunting music]
381
00:17:36,990 --> 00:17:40,056
A strange circular rock
known as Alien Mountain
382
00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,586
in Sri Lanka is so called
because of its cylindrical shape,
383
00:17:44,610 --> 00:17:47,616
numerous UFO sightings, ancient legends,
384
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,046
and spiritual connotations.
385
00:17:50,070 --> 00:17:52,416
Now newly discovered petroglyphs,
386
00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,656
which some believe to be an
antique astronomical code
387
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:57,996
have been discovered at the site as well.
388
00:17:58,020 --> 00:17:59,883
Some researchers believe that the mountain
389
00:17:59,907 --> 00:18:03,126
and its ancient rock
carvings provide proof
390
00:18:03,150 --> 00:18:05,783
of extraterrestrial visitors on Earth.
391
00:18:07,710 --> 00:18:10,536
Sri Lanka is a large
independent island nation
392
00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,066
in the Indian Ocean,
393
00:18:12,090 --> 00:18:16,206
located about 26 miles off
the southeast coast of India.
394
00:18:16,230 --> 00:18:19,806
The island was colonized by
anatomically modern humans
395
00:18:19,830 --> 00:18:22,476
in the last Interglacial
period dating back
396
00:18:22,500 --> 00:18:25,956
to around 125,000 years ago.
397
00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:27,906
Danigala Mountain is situated
398
00:18:27,930 --> 00:18:30,906
in the Polonnaruwa district of Sri Lanka
399
00:18:30,930 --> 00:18:32,976
and has long been known as a sacred site
400
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,956
to the local population.
401
00:18:34,980 --> 00:18:38,256
The mountain itself is a
unique cylindrical shaped rock,
402
00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,686
which is known by various intriguing names
403
00:18:40,710 --> 00:18:42,966
including Alien Mountain,
404
00:18:42,990 --> 00:18:46,549
Kandegama Rock, and the
Stargate of King Ravana.
405
00:18:46,573 --> 00:18:47,383
[cryptic music]
406
00:18:47,407 --> 00:18:48,456
It's believed to be one of the places
407
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:52,517
where King Ravana landed his
special aircraft Dandu Monara.
408
00:18:53,370 --> 00:18:54,658
According to Hindu legend,
409
00:18:54,682 --> 00:18:57,906
King Ravana was one of the
most powerful beings ever
410
00:18:57,930 --> 00:18:59,466
to roam the universe.
411
00:18:59,490 --> 00:19:02,436
He ruled in Sri Lanka
over the Monara gods,
412
00:19:02,460 --> 00:19:04,596
humans, and demons.
413
00:19:04,620 --> 00:19:06,906
Legend says that Ravana ruled Lanka
414
00:19:06,930 --> 00:19:09,696
for several hundred
years prior to the times
415
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,966
of Ramayana when he was
killed by Prince Janmab
416
00:19:12,990 --> 00:19:15,156
for kidnapping his wife Sita.
417
00:19:15,180 --> 00:19:18,066
Some researchers believed
that this Ramayana
418
00:19:18,090 --> 00:19:20,526
was not entirely a fictional character
419
00:19:20,550 --> 00:19:21,457
and may have been based
420
00:19:21,481 --> 00:19:23,976
on a real king who ruled over Sri Lanka
421
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,506
from 2554 to 2517 BC.
422
00:19:28,530 --> 00:19:31,146
Under the rule of the scholarly Ravana,
423
00:19:31,170 --> 00:19:33,246
Sri Lanka witnessed great advancements
424
00:19:33,270 --> 00:19:35,106
in science and medicine.
425
00:19:35,130 --> 00:19:37,866
The Pushpaka Vimana or the airplane
426
00:19:37,890 --> 00:19:39,066
in which some versions
427
00:19:39,090 --> 00:19:40,746
of the legend is said to have flown
428
00:19:40,770 --> 00:19:43,206
during his reign is held up as an example
429
00:19:43,230 --> 00:19:45,636
of the great scientific
achievements taking place
430
00:19:45,660 --> 00:19:46,776
at the time.
431
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:50,383
The word vimana is
composed of "vi" the sky,
432
00:19:50,407 --> 00:19:52,476
"mana" meaning measure.
433
00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:54,006
Vimana is something that measures
434
00:19:54,030 --> 00:19:55,896
the sky as it crosses it.
435
00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,466
Indian legends are full
of stories of vimana.
436
00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:01,206
The most well-known of these legends
437
00:20:01,230 --> 00:20:05,316
of the Pushpaka Vimana
concerns Rama who was returning
438
00:20:05,340 --> 00:20:08,886
from Lanka to Ayodhya along with Sita
439
00:20:08,910 --> 00:20:10,833
after defeating Ravana.
440
00:20:10,857 --> 00:20:14,496
The vimana that was used by
Ravana himself was also known
441
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:15,874
as Dandu Monara.
442
00:20:15,898 --> 00:20:16,717
[plucky music]
443
00:20:16,741 --> 00:20:18,846
In the local Sinhalaese language,
444
00:20:18,870 --> 00:20:20,646
monara means peacock
445
00:20:20,670 --> 00:20:22,596
and Dandu Monara means
446
00:20:22,620 --> 00:20:25,776
that which can fly resembling a peacock.
447
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,806
In fact, the story of
Ravana flying in a vimana
448
00:20:28,830 --> 00:20:32,171
with his wife Mandodari is
depicted in the insignia
449
00:20:32,195 --> 00:20:34,656
of Sri Lanka's most famous hotel,
450
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,086
Galle Face Hotel Colombo.
451
00:20:37,110 --> 00:20:40,386
In some ancient texts which
discuss these flying machines,
452
00:20:40,410 --> 00:20:43,656
there are tantalizing mentions
of possible fuels used,
453
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:45,906
aeronautics, meteorology,
454
00:20:45,930 --> 00:20:49,446
and aerial maneuvers that
were deployed in flying them.
455
00:20:49,470 --> 00:20:51,516
Some researchers have noted the connection
456
00:20:51,540 --> 00:20:53,436
between these ancient vimanas
457
00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:55,956
and the designation of Alien Mountain
458
00:20:55,980 --> 00:20:58,866
to describe Danigala Mountain.
459
00:20:58,890 --> 00:21:00,216
There's just one problem,
460
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,186
there is no record of any
UFO sightings in the area
461
00:21:03,210 --> 00:21:04,506
of the mountain.
462
00:21:04,530 --> 00:21:08,466
It could be perhaps the
designation Alien Mountain comes
463
00:21:08,490 --> 00:21:11,046
from the connection with
the ancient vimanas,
464
00:21:11,070 --> 00:21:12,966
though no one seems to be sure of that,
465
00:21:12,990 --> 00:21:14,106
it's possible through
466
00:21:14,130 --> 00:21:16,146
the alien connection that it goes
467
00:21:16,170 --> 00:21:18,860
further back than modern UFO sightings.
468
00:21:18,884 --> 00:21:19,694
[elusive music]
469
00:21:19,718 --> 00:21:21,366
In September 2020,
470
00:21:21,390 --> 00:21:23,616
a doctor published a controversial report
471
00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,676
on the Research Gate
scientific networking site
472
00:21:26,700 --> 00:21:27,726
on the petroglyphs
473
00:21:27,750 --> 00:21:32,406
at Alien Mountain entitled
"Danigala Coding Sri Lanka."
474
00:21:32,430 --> 00:21:33,247
In this report,
475
00:21:33,271 --> 00:21:35,916
which describes the new
discovery of petroglyphs
476
00:21:35,940 --> 00:21:38,376
in a part of the northwest
slope of the mountain
477
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,026
in July 2020,
478
00:21:40,050 --> 00:21:43,086
Danigala states, "Those bind ruins
479
00:21:43,110 --> 00:21:44,286
are dominantly compared
480
00:21:44,310 --> 00:21:47,376
with other archeological
sites in Sri Lanka
481
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,836
and the Southeast Asia region.
482
00:21:49,860 --> 00:21:52,236
The type of symbols bind ruins
483
00:21:52,260 --> 00:21:54,816
and petroglyphs found are quite new,
484
00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,486
and for the first time
discovered in Sri Lankan
485
00:21:57,510 --> 00:21:58,760
during archeoastronomical
486
00:21:59,670 --> 00:22:02,466
and geological preliminary
survey conducted
487
00:22:02,490 --> 00:22:05,916
by the Central Culture
Fund with a corporation
488
00:22:05,940 --> 00:22:07,926
of South Asian Astrobiology
489
00:22:07,950 --> 00:22:12,936
and Earth Sciences Research
Unit of Eco Astronomy Sri Lanka.
490
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,306
Hence, this is a new discovery.
491
00:22:15,330 --> 00:22:17,736
It should be considered as our geological,
492
00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,916
astronomical, and
archeological heritage site,
493
00:22:20,940 --> 00:22:23,226
which represents the collective memory
494
00:22:23,250 --> 00:22:27,936
of the anthropomorphic scenes
affected by mother nature."
495
00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:29,586
He's the CEO and founder
496
00:22:29,610 --> 00:22:32,196
of Eco Astronomy Sri Lanka established
497
00:22:32,220 --> 00:22:36,827
in 2016 as a newly developed
research area in Sri Lanka.
498
00:22:36,851 --> 00:22:38,217
Their research focuses
499
00:22:38,241 --> 00:22:41,046
on comparative systematic analysis
500
00:22:41,070 --> 00:22:44,256
of extreme environmental
conditions of planet Earth,
501
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,987
which related to
extraterrestrial life based
502
00:22:47,011 --> 00:22:51,276
on paleontological and
meteorological factors.
503
00:22:51,300 --> 00:22:54,456
He believes that the rock
carvings found at Alien Mountain,
504
00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:56,226
so-called bind ruins,
505
00:22:56,250 --> 00:22:58,086
when two or more ruins are connected
506
00:22:58,110 --> 00:22:59,077
or bound together,
507
00:22:59,101 --> 00:23:02,796
constitute a lost astronomical
counting system created
508
00:23:02,820 --> 00:23:05,943
by the Neolithic hunters
thousands of years ago.
509
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,396
Though such bind ruins are unique,
510
00:23:09,420 --> 00:23:12,336
ancient rock art in Sri
Lanka is fairly common.
511
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:16,356
It first came to the attention
of researchers in 1897
512
00:23:16,380 --> 00:23:18,276
and to date over 40 sites
513
00:23:18,300 --> 00:23:20,316
have been cataloged on the island.
514
00:23:20,340 --> 00:23:22,566
These sites mostly rock shelters
515
00:23:22,590 --> 00:23:25,026
are mainly concentrated in the eastern,
516
00:23:25,050 --> 00:23:27,276
southeastern north, central,
517
00:23:27,300 --> 00:23:30,036
and central hill regions of the island.
518
00:23:30,060 --> 00:23:32,916
The paintings in the caves
generally depict humans
519
00:23:32,940 --> 00:23:35,316
and animals such as elephants, leopards,
520
00:23:35,340 --> 00:23:37,326
stags, deer, and dogs.
521
00:23:37,350 --> 00:23:38,856
It's important to note that
522
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:40,686
the animals depicted are not shown
523
00:23:40,710 --> 00:23:44,106
in hunting scenes when they're
shown alongside humans,
524
00:23:44,130 --> 00:23:47,956
they appear almost as
companions rather than prey.
525
00:23:47,980 --> 00:23:50,556
[ethereal music]
526
00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:53,616
Some researchers have pointed
out these similarities
527
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,406
between the circular Danigala Mountain
528
00:23:56,430 --> 00:23:58,686
and the prominent ancient rock fortress
529
00:23:58,710 --> 00:24:00,966
in the Northern Matale district near
530
00:24:00,990 --> 00:24:02,346
the town of Dambulla
531
00:24:02,370 --> 00:24:04,926
in the central province of Sri Lanka,
532
00:24:04,950 --> 00:24:07,998
this enigmatic rock
outcrop rises dramatically
533
00:24:08,022 --> 00:24:09,786
from the plains.
534
00:24:09,810 --> 00:24:12,396
Its almost vertical walls soar skyward
535
00:24:12,420 --> 00:24:15,216
to a flat top summit
that contains the ruins
536
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,406
of an ancient civilization believed
537
00:24:17,430 --> 00:24:18,906
to be once the focal point
538
00:24:18,930 --> 00:24:21,576
of the short-lived kingdom of Kassapa.
539
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:23,286
Given its stunning appearance,
540
00:24:23,310 --> 00:24:25,986
it's perhaps not surprising
that Sigiriya is known
541
00:24:26,010 --> 00:24:29,286
by locals as the eighth
wonder of the world.
542
00:24:29,310 --> 00:24:32,676
The fortress complex is located
on a massive rock plateau,
543
00:24:32,700 --> 00:24:36,216
1,214 feet above sea level.
544
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,496
The fortress complex includes the remains
545
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:39,816
of a ruined palace,
546
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,446
surrounded by an extensive
network of fortifications,
547
00:24:43,470 --> 00:24:47,736
huge gardens, ponds, canals,
alleys, and fountains.
548
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:49,656
From the 3rd century BC,
549
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,526
the rocky plateau of Sigiriya
functioned as a monastery.
550
00:24:53,550 --> 00:24:56,466
In the second half of the 5th century AD,
551
00:24:56,490 --> 00:25:00,546
King Kashyapa constructed
a royal residence there,
552
00:25:00,570 --> 00:25:01,626
but after his death,
553
00:25:01,650 --> 00:25:03,816
the site again became
a Buddhist monastery,
554
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,336
which lasted up until the 14th century
555
00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:08,256
when it was finally abandoned.
556
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:09,696
The western wall of the palace
557
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:11,136
was almost entirely covered
558
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,216
by stunning frescoes created
during the reign of Kashyapa,
559
00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,916
18 of which survived to this day.
560
00:25:17,940 --> 00:25:19,648
The frescoes depict naked females
561
00:25:19,672 --> 00:25:21,846
and are considered to be either portraits
562
00:25:21,870 --> 00:25:24,546
of Kashyapa's wives and concubines
563
00:25:24,570 --> 00:25:27,726
or priestesses performing
religious rituals.
564
00:25:27,750 --> 00:25:31,776
Another striking feature of
Sigiriya is its mirror wall.
565
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,506
In ancient times, it was
polished so thoroughly that
566
00:25:34,530 --> 00:25:37,116
the king could see his reflection in it.
567
00:25:37,140 --> 00:25:39,396
The mirror wall is
painted with inscriptions
568
00:25:39,420 --> 00:25:42,756
and poems written by the
visitors to the area,
569
00:25:42,780 --> 00:25:44,616
the most ancient of which dates back
570
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,706
to the 8th century
showing that Sigiriya was
571
00:25:47,730 --> 00:25:51,516
a tourist destination more
than a thousand years ago.
572
00:25:51,540 --> 00:25:53,916
Sigiriya has also water gardens,
573
00:25:53,940 --> 00:25:55,686
cave and boulder gardens,
574
00:25:55,710 --> 00:25:57,576
and also terrace gardens.
575
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,216
They're located on the
western part of the site
576
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:01,686
and were watered using
577
00:26:01,710 --> 00:26:04,476
an incredibly complex hydraulic system
578
00:26:04,500 --> 00:26:07,056
which consisted of canals, locks,
579
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,846
lakes, dams, bridges, fountains,
580
00:26:09,870 --> 00:26:12,603
as well as surface and
underground water pumps.
581
00:26:13,620 --> 00:26:15,456
The buildings and landscape gardens
582
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:17,706
of Sigiriya show that the creators
583
00:26:17,730 --> 00:26:20,339
of this incredible architectural
monument used unique
584
00:26:20,363 --> 00:26:21,337
[mysterious music]
585
00:26:21,361 --> 00:26:24,666
and creative technical
skills and technologies.
586
00:26:24,690 --> 00:26:26,706
In fact, so astonishing are
587
00:26:26,730 --> 00:26:29,826
the features that some
paranormal researchers believe
588
00:26:29,850 --> 00:26:31,596
the site to be the result
589
00:26:31,620 --> 00:26:33,696
of extraterrestrial intervention
590
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,936
rather than human ingenuity and hard work.
591
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,396
These researchers point
out the architectural
592
00:26:39,420 --> 00:26:42,996
and engineering design at the
site which is advanced even
593
00:26:43,020 --> 00:26:45,534
by 21st century standards.
594
00:26:45,558 --> 00:26:47,046
One legend surrounding
595
00:26:47,070 --> 00:26:48,846
the huge rock fortress states
596
00:26:48,870 --> 00:26:50,999
that it was built initially for Kubera,
597
00:26:51,023 --> 00:26:54,726
the treasurer of the Gods of Vishwakarma,
598
00:26:54,750 --> 00:26:56,013
the divine engineer.
599
00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,556
One alien hunter suggested
that the rock fortress
600
00:26:59,580 --> 00:27:00,906
was something like a lighthouse
601
00:27:00,930 --> 00:27:02,553
for ancient aliens and their vimanas,
602
00:27:02,577 --> 00:27:03,387
[energy pulsating]
603
00:27:03,411 --> 00:27:05,736
reasoning that if they
were landing at night,
604
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:07,296
the crystals in the mirror wall
605
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:11,316
of the site would reflect the
light back from the craft.
606
00:27:11,340 --> 00:27:13,656
Believers in the ancient alien theory
607
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,640
for the site question how
ancient builders created
608
00:27:16,664 --> 00:27:18,726
such extraordinary structures
609
00:27:18,750 --> 00:27:22,296
on top of a rock over 1,200 feet high.
610
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,606
But why would this suggest aliens?
611
00:27:24,630 --> 00:27:26,706
There are numerous archeological sites
612
00:27:26,730 --> 00:27:27,756
throughout the world,
613
00:27:27,780 --> 00:27:30,486
far higher up and more inaccessible.
614
00:27:30,510 --> 00:27:33,040
The most obvious examples
being the Inca Citadel
615
00:27:33,064 --> 00:27:35,226
of Machu Picchu in Peru,
616
00:27:35,250 --> 00:27:40,250
located 7,970 feet up on a mountain ridge.
617
00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:42,486
The palace and fortress complex
618
00:27:42,510 --> 00:27:44,766
of Sigiriya has been recognized as one
619
00:27:44,790 --> 00:27:47,646
of the finest examples
of ancient urban planning
620
00:27:47,670 --> 00:27:48,786
in the world.
621
00:27:48,810 --> 00:27:51,996
Taking into account the
uniqueness of this site,
622
00:27:52,020 --> 00:27:56,403
UNESCO declared it a world
heritage site in 1982.
623
00:27:58,412 --> 00:28:00,829
[epic music]
624
00:28:03,332 --> 00:28:06,082
[haunting music]
625
00:28:07,290 --> 00:28:10,176
The Inga Stone is located
in the middle of the waters
626
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,990
of the Inga River near
the small city of Inga
627
00:28:13,014 --> 00:28:16,866
in Paraiba state in the
northwest of Brazil.
628
00:28:16,890 --> 00:28:20,234
This controversial historical
treasure 150 feet long
629
00:28:20,258 --> 00:28:22,926
and 13 feet in height
is covered in carvings
630
00:28:22,950 --> 00:28:27,006
of strange unidentified geometric symbols
631
00:28:27,030 --> 00:28:29,256
of various sizes and shapes.
632
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,125
Although many researchers
have speculated on the origins
633
00:28:32,149 --> 00:28:34,176
and the meaning of the symbols,
634
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,756
no theory has yet been proven.
635
00:28:36,780 --> 00:28:37,836
Were they made by
636
00:28:37,860 --> 00:28:40,146
a previously unknown civilization
637
00:28:40,170 --> 00:28:43,956
maybe possessing ancient
technology long since forgotten?
638
00:28:43,980 --> 00:28:46,113
What do the symbols really mean?
639
00:28:46,951 --> 00:28:48,546
[mysterious music]
640
00:28:48,570 --> 00:28:51,186
The area where the site is located covers
641
00:28:51,210 --> 00:28:54,876
around 40 hectares of
extensive granite outcrops
642
00:28:54,900 --> 00:28:57,666
that contain a large
number of rock carvings.
643
00:28:57,690 --> 00:28:59,856
The main outcrop is popularly known
644
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,946
as Pedra do Inga, the Stone of Inga,
645
00:29:02,970 --> 00:29:06,636
and forms a wall oriented
northeast-southeast
646
00:29:06,660 --> 00:29:10,536
and features the three main
rock panels at the site.
647
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:11,556
In the rainy season,
648
00:29:11,580 --> 00:29:14,496
this large monolith is
partially covered by water
649
00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:17,616
and can only be seen in
its entirety in dry weather
650
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:20,316
and when the riverbed is completely dry.
651
00:29:20,340 --> 00:29:21,966
Although there is speculation as
652
00:29:21,990 --> 00:29:24,906
to what tools could have been
used to make the carvings,
653
00:29:24,930 --> 00:29:26,646
it's believed that the figures were made
654
00:29:26,670 --> 00:29:29,856
with round stones found in nearby streams.
655
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,586
Archeological research
indicates the existence
656
00:29:32,610 --> 00:29:35,766
of lithic workshops in
the vicinity of the site
657
00:29:35,790 --> 00:29:38,766
and temporary camps
associated with the main site
658
00:29:38,790 --> 00:29:43,176
in use from about 10,000
BC to around 1,400 AD,
659
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,066
possibly as a sacred place used
660
00:29:45,090 --> 00:29:48,036
by the local prehistoric populations.
661
00:29:48,060 --> 00:29:50,316
There is also evidence
of other occupations
662
00:29:50,340 --> 00:29:52,626
in the areas outside of the main site,
663
00:29:52,650 --> 00:29:54,936
which is associated with it.
664
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:56,730
So far, experts have identified
665
00:29:56,754 --> 00:30:00,636
more than 400 engravings
on the stone's surface.
666
00:30:00,660 --> 00:30:03,426
Most of the Inga carvings
are hard to understand,
667
00:30:03,450 --> 00:30:05,523
but some of them are thought
668
00:30:05,547 --> 00:30:06,876
to represent celestial features
669
00:30:06,900 --> 00:30:09,096
with two being similar to the Milky Way
670
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,406
and the constellation of Orion.
671
00:30:11,430 --> 00:30:14,706
Others are thought to be
representations of circles,
672
00:30:14,730 --> 00:30:19,206
geometric shapes,
animals, fruits, weapons,
673
00:30:19,230 --> 00:30:21,786
human shapes, and birds.
674
00:30:21,810 --> 00:30:24,396
Many of the carvings seem
to relate to the daily life
675
00:30:24,420 --> 00:30:26,946
of the local population at the time.
676
00:30:26,970 --> 00:30:30,045
The exact origin of the
inscriptions is still unknown.
677
00:30:30,069 --> 00:30:30,879
[ominous music]
678
00:30:30,903 --> 00:30:33,426
Brazil was officially discovered in 1500
679
00:30:33,450 --> 00:30:36,006
when a fleet on its way to India commanded
680
00:30:36,030 --> 00:30:39,816
by Portuguese diplomat
Pedro Alvarez Cabral landed
681
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,896
in Porto Seguro between
Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.
682
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,716
The first references to
the mysterious carvings
683
00:30:46,740 --> 00:30:49,356
are found in the reports
of the European settlers
684
00:30:49,380 --> 00:30:52,116
in the state in the 16th century.
685
00:30:52,140 --> 00:30:53,406
Among these references,
686
00:30:53,430 --> 00:30:54,816
the most important is
687
00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:57,666
the "Dialogues of Brazil's Grandness"
688
00:30:57,690 --> 00:31:00,786
attributed to Ambrosio Fernandes Brandao
689
00:31:00,810 --> 00:31:04,416
written between 1519 and 1618.
690
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:08,263
According to the researcher
Gabriela Martin in 2008,
691
00:31:08,287 --> 00:31:10,176
"The Inga stone is undoubtedly
692
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,906
the most famous rock engraving in Brazil,
693
00:31:12,930 --> 00:31:15,636
but as a result of this
exalted reputation,
694
00:31:15,660 --> 00:31:18,876
a number of groundless
theories, hopeful speculations
695
00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:21,756
and popular myths have
grown up around the stone
696
00:31:21,780 --> 00:31:24,486
and the origin and
meaning of its carvings.
697
00:31:24,510 --> 00:31:28,206
Hidden treasures are mentioned
as are lost Venetian sailors
698
00:31:28,230 --> 00:31:30,996
and of course extraterrestrial beings.
699
00:31:31,020 --> 00:31:32,951
Where would we be without their help?"
700
00:31:32,975 --> 00:31:33,785
[mysterious music]
701
00:31:33,809 --> 00:31:38,076
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Baraldi from 1938 to 2002
702
00:31:38,100 --> 00:31:39,576
was Italian by birth,
703
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,966
but lived in Brazil, Sao
Paulo until his death.
704
00:31:42,990 --> 00:31:44,736
Baraldi claimed that the area
705
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,886
around the Inga Stone was a Hittite colony
706
00:31:47,910 --> 00:31:50,976
and that the Hittite empire
had existed in Brazil.
707
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,616
This was apparently based
on the basic similarity
708
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:56,496
and nothing more between
Hittite inscriptions
709
00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:58,566
and those on the Inga stone.
710
00:31:58,590 --> 00:32:00,756
The Hittites occupied the ancient region
711
00:32:00,780 --> 00:32:03,126
of Anatolia, modern-day Turkey,
712
00:32:03,150 --> 00:32:05,496
around 1700 BC,
713
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,196
so how they found the way
to Brazil is anyone's guess,
714
00:32:08,220 --> 00:32:10,059
perhaps the extraterrestrials
brought them.
715
00:32:10,083 --> 00:32:12,301
[energy pulsating]
716
00:32:12,325 --> 00:32:13,476
[mysterious music]
717
00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:15,186
In the early 20th century,
718
00:32:15,210 --> 00:32:18,396
the Austrian traveler
Ludwig Schwennhagen toured
719
00:32:18,420 --> 00:32:21,996
various parts of Northeastern
Brazil studying traces
720
00:32:22,020 --> 00:32:23,526
of what he believed to be the presence
721
00:32:23,550 --> 00:32:25,776
of Phoenicians in this region.
722
00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:27,366
Besides numerous articles,
723
00:32:27,390 --> 00:32:30,396
he published a book,
"Ancient History of Brazil,"
724
00:32:30,420 --> 00:32:32,586
associating the inscriptions of Inga
725
00:32:32,610 --> 00:32:34,326
with the Phoenicians.
726
00:32:34,350 --> 00:32:36,456
The Phoenicians were a maritime people
727
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:38,646
who occupied the coast of Levant,
728
00:32:38,670 --> 00:32:41,136
modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine,
729
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:42,666
and most of Western Turkey
730
00:32:42,690 --> 00:32:46,566
from around 1500 to 332 BC.
731
00:32:46,590 --> 00:32:49,386
Again, what were they doing in Brazil?
732
00:32:49,410 --> 00:32:51,273
But the theory of Phoenicians in Brazil
733
00:32:51,297 --> 00:32:54,186
and the Americas has
a long history as part
734
00:32:54,210 --> 00:32:56,526
of the recurring, often bizarre attempts
735
00:32:56,550 --> 00:32:59,076
to find ancient Semitic inscriptions
736
00:32:59,100 --> 00:33:00,876
in the western hemisphere.
737
00:33:00,900 --> 00:33:03,576
In 1872, a stone inscribed
738
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:06,246
with Phoenician writing
was allegedly discovered
739
00:33:06,270 --> 00:33:08,586
in Paraiba, northeast Brazil.
740
00:33:08,610 --> 00:33:10,806
The letter sent from
the original discoverer
741
00:33:10,830 --> 00:33:12,366
of the stone to the president
742
00:33:12,390 --> 00:33:13,986
of the Brazilian Historical
743
00:33:14,010 --> 00:33:16,694
and Geographic Institute is worth quoting:
744
00:33:16,718 --> 00:33:17,528
[eerie music]
745
00:33:17,552 --> 00:33:20,466
"As I was having stones
carried into my property,
746
00:33:20,490 --> 00:33:23,256
my slaves brought me one
that they had already broken
747
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:24,696
into four pieces.
748
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:26,916
This stone presented numerous characters
749
00:33:26,940 --> 00:33:28,626
that no one understood.
750
00:33:28,650 --> 00:33:30,486
I had them copied by my son,
751
00:33:30,510 --> 00:33:32,766
who knows a little about draftsmanship,
752
00:33:32,790 --> 00:33:36,306
and I was resolved to send
this copy to your Excellency
753
00:33:36,330 --> 00:33:38,016
as president of the Historical
754
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,506
and Geographical Institute of Brazil
755
00:33:40,530 --> 00:33:41,946
to see if your Excellency
756
00:33:41,970 --> 00:33:43,926
or some other person could determine
757
00:33:43,950 --> 00:33:45,546
what these letters mean,
758
00:33:45,570 --> 00:33:48,066
and as I have arrived in this capital city
759
00:33:48,090 --> 00:33:50,136
and have not had the time
to give them personally
760
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:51,366
to your Excellency,
761
00:33:51,390 --> 00:33:53,646
I have sent them to him through the post.
762
00:33:53,670 --> 00:33:55,266
I am with all consideration
763
00:33:55,290 --> 00:33:57,306
and respect for your Excellency.
764
00:33:57,330 --> 00:34:00,156
Attentive, devoted, and obliged servant,
765
00:34:00,180 --> 00:34:01,656
Joaquim Alves de Costa,
766
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,943
Rio, 11th of September, 1872."
767
00:34:05,967 --> 00:34:06,777
[thunder crashing]
768
00:34:06,801 --> 00:34:08,526
The inscription itself told the story
769
00:34:08,550 --> 00:34:11,316
of a Phoenician ship which
was caught in a storm
770
00:34:11,340 --> 00:34:13,176
and separated from a fleet sailing
771
00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,138
from Egypt around Africa.
772
00:34:15,162 --> 00:34:15,972
[enigmatic music]
773
00:34:15,996 --> 00:34:20,526
The stone also mentions the
Pharaoh Necho I or Necho II.
774
00:34:20,550 --> 00:34:22,626
A transcription was shown to the director
775
00:34:22,650 --> 00:34:24,726
of the National Museum of Brazil who
776
00:34:24,750 --> 00:34:27,516
at first accepted the
inscription as genuine,
777
00:34:27,540 --> 00:34:28,716
but Alves de Costa
778
00:34:28,740 --> 00:34:32,016
and his estate proved impossible to locate
779
00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:33,906
and it was concluded that the whole affair
780
00:34:33,930 --> 00:34:36,006
was nothing more than a hoax.
781
00:34:36,030 --> 00:34:38,165
Marshall McKusick has reviewed
782
00:34:38,189 --> 00:34:40,986
and dismissed various
theories of Phoenicians
783
00:34:41,010 --> 00:34:43,356
or Canaanites in the new world,
784
00:34:43,380 --> 00:34:46,626
observing that "In this
modern day everyone wishes
785
00:34:46,650 --> 00:34:48,456
to be his own authority
786
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:49,596
and the personal search
787
00:34:49,620 --> 00:34:51,966
for cultural alternatives seems
788
00:34:51,990 --> 00:34:55,497
to make every idea or
theory equal in value."
789
00:34:55,521 --> 00:34:56,331
[mysterious music]
790
00:34:56,355 --> 00:34:57,876
Ronald H. Fritze has discussed
791
00:34:57,900 --> 00:34:59,436
the theory of such claims
792
00:34:59,460 --> 00:35:02,136
from the 17th to the 20th centuries,
793
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:04,026
concluding that although the journey
794
00:35:04,050 --> 00:35:06,186
to Brazil was technically possible,
795
00:35:06,210 --> 00:35:09,066
no archeological evidence
has yet been discovered
796
00:35:09,090 --> 00:35:10,356
to prove it.
797
00:35:10,380 --> 00:35:13,536
Peruvian electrical engineer Huari Roman
798
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:14,976
has linked the Inga stone
799
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:19,026
with refugees from the
sunken continent of Atlantis.
800
00:35:19,050 --> 00:35:21,456
Roman claims that before the great flood,
801
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,756
most of central Brazil
was a huge inland sea
802
00:35:24,780 --> 00:35:25,956
and that the Atlanteans
803
00:35:25,980 --> 00:35:28,326
and Arawaks lived around this lake,
804
00:35:28,350 --> 00:35:30,396
and that the one artifact left behind
805
00:35:30,420 --> 00:35:32,946
by them was the Inga stone.
806
00:35:32,970 --> 00:35:33,779
After the deluge,
807
00:35:33,803 --> 00:35:34,613
[waves crashing]
808
00:35:34,637 --> 00:35:37,416
a cataclysm inundated Atlantis and Brazil,
809
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:39,456
destroying the Inland Sea.
810
00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:41,856
Some groups fled to the Andean Highlands
811
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,786
of Peru eventually developing
the empire of Tiwanaku,
812
00:35:45,810 --> 00:35:48,546
which then later became the Incan Empire.
813
00:35:48,570 --> 00:35:52,386
What is Roman's evidence for
this extraordinary theory?
814
00:35:52,410 --> 00:35:55,236
Apparently, he's keeping that to himself.
815
00:35:55,260 --> 00:35:57,246
Who also those who believe that the signs
816
00:35:57,270 --> 00:36:00,756
on the Inga stone are the
work of extraterrestrials?
817
00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:02,379
According to Claudio Quintans
818
00:36:02,403 --> 00:36:05,706
of the Paraibano Center for Ufology,
819
00:36:05,730 --> 00:36:07,986
it is unlikely that the prehistoric people
820
00:36:08,010 --> 00:36:09,276
of the area would've been able
821
00:36:09,300 --> 00:36:11,706
to make such intricate carvings.
822
00:36:11,730 --> 00:36:14,616
Therefore, he believes the
carvings were actually made
823
00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:17,496
by extraterrestrial
visitors to the planet,
824
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:19,716
and some symbols may be interpreted
825
00:36:19,740 --> 00:36:22,686
as explaining the distance
between the planets such
826
00:36:22,710 --> 00:36:24,246
as the Earth and the Moon,
827
00:36:24,270 --> 00:36:25,833
and even further beyond that.
828
00:36:25,857 --> 00:36:26,667
[haunting music]
829
00:36:26,691 --> 00:36:29,256
He adds that the Inga
stone shows some formulas
830
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:31,536
for the production of quantum energy.
831
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:32,370
There must be a queue
832
00:36:32,394 --> 00:36:35,166
of physicists forming
around Quintans's house
833
00:36:35,190 --> 00:36:37,026
to ask just where he obtained
834
00:36:37,050 --> 00:36:40,476
that earth-shattering
information and what it means.
835
00:36:40,500 --> 00:36:41,310
[mysterious music]
836
00:36:41,334 --> 00:36:43,146
The attitude of Quintan's is very common
837
00:36:43,170 --> 00:36:45,546
in alternative history theories.
838
00:36:45,570 --> 00:36:47,856
The belief is that there's
no way that the natives
839
00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:50,406
of Brazil could have
ever been advanced enough
840
00:36:50,430 --> 00:36:53,586
to make anything that required
any technological skill
841
00:36:53,610 --> 00:36:54,816
or knowledge.
842
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:57,816
In fact, in Brazil's
Natural History Museum,
843
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,096
there are stone instruments
which the natives used
844
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,030
for various activities
including grooving stones
845
00:37:03,054 --> 00:37:07,266
to make inscriptions such
as those on the Inga stone.
846
00:37:07,290 --> 00:37:10,536
Spanish engineer Francisco Pavia Alemany
847
00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:12,876
has mathematically studied the stone,
848
00:37:12,900 --> 00:37:16,776
and his first results
were published in 1986.
849
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:20,526
Alemany identified a series of
bowls on the stone's surface
850
00:37:20,550 --> 00:37:22,266
and another petroglyph etched
851
00:37:22,290 --> 00:37:24,846
into the vertical surface
of the wall of Inga
852
00:37:24,870 --> 00:37:27,156
that formed a solar calendar.
853
00:37:27,180 --> 00:37:28,950
Alemany later focused on recording
854
00:37:28,974 --> 00:37:31,476
and documenting a series of symbols
855
00:37:31,500 --> 00:37:34,746
on the surface which
represented stars that appeared
856
00:37:34,770 --> 00:37:36,846
to have been grouped
together in what appeared
857
00:37:36,870 --> 00:37:38,796
to be constellations.
858
00:37:38,820 --> 00:37:41,946
According to him, it's the
coexistence of the bowls
859
00:37:41,970 --> 00:37:45,036
and constellations on the
rock surface which give
860
00:37:45,060 --> 00:37:48,936
the stone its
archeoastronomical significance.
861
00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:51,246
Although there are a number of theories
862
00:37:51,270 --> 00:37:54,006
to explain the unusual
designs on the stone,
863
00:37:54,030 --> 00:37:55,926
the simplest is probably true.
864
00:37:55,950 --> 00:37:58,086
The symbols represent various cultural
865
00:37:58,110 --> 00:38:01,776
and spiritual teachings passed
on by local tribal elders
866
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:03,936
to the younger generations.
867
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:06,726
Unfortunately, there have
been virtually no studies
868
00:38:06,750 --> 00:38:10,086
of the technological
development, social structure,
869
00:38:10,110 --> 00:38:13,326
or cultural complexity of
the prehistoric populations
870
00:38:13,350 --> 00:38:15,126
of Northeastern Brazil.
871
00:38:15,150 --> 00:38:16,746
Hence, there's a gap in our knowledge
872
00:38:16,770 --> 00:38:18,276
of the cultures of the area,
873
00:38:18,300 --> 00:38:19,656
which allows all sorts
874
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:21,832
of bizarre unsubstantiated theories
875
00:38:21,856 --> 00:38:23,729
to wriggle through unchecked.
876
00:38:23,753 --> 00:38:24,563
[calm music]
877
00:38:24,587 --> 00:38:26,946
The Inga stone and the
area around it represents
878
00:38:26,970 --> 00:38:29,616
a people who created
expressive art in rock
879
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:31,986
with a high technical capacity.
880
00:38:32,010 --> 00:38:35,256
The site is remarkable for
its almost exclusive use
881
00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:37,386
of non-figurative representations
882
00:38:37,410 --> 00:38:40,339
on its panels expressing
the creative genius of
883
00:38:40,363 --> 00:38:44,886
a human group that appropriated
abstract aesthetic standards
884
00:38:44,910 --> 00:38:46,506
as a means of expression
885
00:38:46,530 --> 00:38:49,386
of possibly symbolic religious concepts.
886
00:38:49,410 --> 00:38:51,276
The local populations were unlike
887
00:38:51,300 --> 00:38:54,126
other prehistoric
Brazilian cultures in this,
888
00:38:54,150 --> 00:38:56,706
who mostly made use of anthropomorphic
889
00:38:56,730 --> 00:38:59,286
and zoomorphic representations.
890
00:38:59,310 --> 00:39:02,916
Unfortunately today the site
where the Inga stone stands
891
00:39:02,940 --> 00:39:04,566
is under constant threat,
892
00:39:04,590 --> 00:39:06,906
not only from the elements
but from the hundreds
893
00:39:06,930 --> 00:39:09,966
of tourists who trample
all over it almost daily.
894
00:39:09,990 --> 00:39:11,256
There have been also cases
895
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:13,836
of the stone being damaged by vandals,
896
00:39:13,860 --> 00:39:16,146
so there is an urgent
need for the Inga stone
897
00:39:16,170 --> 00:39:18,066
to be protected and preserved
898
00:39:18,090 --> 00:39:20,136
if we want future generations to be
899
00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:22,593
as fascinated by it as we are.
900
00:39:25,221 --> 00:39:27,638
[epic music]
901
00:39:29,392 --> 00:39:30,202
[ethereal music]
902
00:39:30,226 --> 00:39:32,706
Controversy has arisen
around an artifact known
903
00:39:32,730 --> 00:39:35,009
as the Nazareth Inscription long believed
904
00:39:35,033 --> 00:39:36,066
[feet stomping]
905
00:39:36,090 --> 00:39:38,790
to be an official Roman
response to the disappearance
906
00:39:38,814 --> 00:39:41,526
of Jesus' body from its tomb.
907
00:39:41,550 --> 00:39:43,266
New researchers cast doubt
908
00:39:43,290 --> 00:39:45,096
on the origin of the inscription,
909
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:45,997
which was acquired
910
00:39:46,021 --> 00:39:48,005
by German collector in Paris in 1878.
911
00:39:48,029 --> 00:39:49,596
[playful carnival music]
912
00:39:49,620 --> 00:39:51,560
However, apart from a note indicating
913
00:39:51,584 --> 00:39:52,394
[ethereal music continues]
914
00:39:52,418 --> 00:39:53,826
that it had come from Nazareth,
915
00:39:53,850 --> 00:39:57,096
its history has remained
something of a mystery.
916
00:39:57,120 --> 00:39:58,773
The Nazareth Inscription.
917
00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:02,406
The Nazareth Inscription
itself is written on a block
918
00:40:02,430 --> 00:40:05,676
of marble, about two
feet tall, a foot wide,
919
00:40:05,700 --> 00:40:07,506
and two inches deep.
920
00:40:07,530 --> 00:40:10,416
The first of its 22 lines of text carved
921
00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:12,306
in Greek letters announces
922
00:40:12,330 --> 00:40:14,111
an "Edict of Caesar."
923
00:40:14,135 --> 00:40:14,945
[trumpet blowing]
924
00:40:14,969 --> 00:40:16,776
The edict calls for capital punishment
925
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,776
for anyone who removes a body from a tomb.
926
00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,146
If the tablet did originate in Nazareth,
927
00:40:22,170 --> 00:40:24,816
it's understandable how
one could make a connection
928
00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:28,716
between this edict and the
beginnings of Christianity.
929
00:40:28,740 --> 00:40:30,696
Perhaps the inscription
had something to do
930
00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:34,086
with the controversy over
the famous empty tomb
931
00:40:34,110 --> 00:40:36,276
and suggests that a
Roman emperor was aware
932
00:40:36,300 --> 00:40:39,906
of disturbing claims about
a crucified man rising
933
00:40:39,930 --> 00:40:43,353
from the dead in a distant
province of his wide empire.
934
00:40:44,220 --> 00:40:45,756
The style of the letters used
935
00:40:45,780 --> 00:40:48,546
in the inscription certainly
indicates it was written
936
00:40:48,570 --> 00:40:50,916
in the first half of the 1st century.
937
00:40:50,940 --> 00:40:51,762
- [Soldier] What do we want!
- [Narrator] Indeed, no one-
938
00:40:51,786 --> 00:40:52,745
has ever questioned-
- [Soldiers] Justice!
939
00:40:52,769 --> 00:40:53,578
- [Soldier] When do we want it!
940
00:40:53,602 --> 00:40:54,412
- [Soldiers] Now!
- [Narrator] The authenticity
941
00:40:54,436 --> 00:40:56,076
of the Nazareth inscription,
942
00:40:56,100 --> 00:40:59,556
so it's highly unlikely
that this is a forgery,
943
00:40:59,580 --> 00:41:01,086
but its interpretation
944
00:41:01,110 --> 00:41:02,886
and possible connection to the story
945
00:41:02,910 --> 00:41:04,566
of the resurrection of Christ
946
00:41:04,590 --> 00:41:07,296
are still fiercely debated today.
947
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:09,853
The translation of the inscription reads:
948
00:41:09,877 --> 00:41:11,160
"Edict of Caesar.
949
00:41:11,184 --> 00:41:12,007
[bell dinging]
950
00:41:12,031 --> 00:41:13,326
It is my decision,
951
00:41:13,350 --> 00:41:15,429
graves and tombs, whoever has made them
952
00:41:15,453 --> 00:41:19,356
for the religious observances
of parents, or children,
953
00:41:19,380 --> 00:41:20,826
or household members,
954
00:41:20,850 --> 00:41:23,736
that these remain undisturbed forever.
955
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:25,031
But if anyone legally charges
956
00:41:25,055 --> 00:41:27,486
that another person has destroyed
957
00:41:27,510 --> 00:41:29,736
or has in any manner extracted
958
00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:31,356
those who have been buried,
959
00:41:31,380 --> 00:41:33,456
or has moved with wicked intent
960
00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:35,916
those who have been
buried to other places,
961
00:41:35,940 --> 00:41:37,686
committing a crime against them,
962
00:41:37,710 --> 00:41:39,870
or has moved sepulchral stones,
963
00:41:39,894 --> 00:41:41,976
against such a person,
964
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,421
I order that a judicial
tribunal be created,
965
00:41:44,445 --> 00:41:45,426
[bell dinging]
966
00:41:45,450 --> 00:41:47,076
just as concerning the gods
967
00:41:47,100 --> 00:41:49,446
in human religious observances.
968
00:41:49,470 --> 00:41:52,236
Even more so it will
be obligatory to treat
969
00:41:52,260 --> 00:41:55,116
with honor those who have been entombed.
970
00:41:55,140 --> 00:41:58,386
You are absolutely not
to allow anyone to move,
971
00:41:58,410 --> 00:42:00,366
But if so, I wish that one
972
00:42:00,390 --> 00:42:03,126
to suffer capital
punishment under the title
973
00:42:03,150 --> 00:42:05,166
of tomb-breaker."
974
00:42:05,190 --> 00:42:08,166
The discovery of the Nazareth Inscription.
975
00:42:08,190 --> 00:42:10,416
When scholar and collector of antiquities,
976
00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:15,006
Wilhelm Froehner died in
his Paris home in 1925,
977
00:42:15,030 --> 00:42:17,646
he left behind among his possessions
978
00:42:17,670 --> 00:42:19,266
a curious inscription
979
00:42:19,290 --> 00:42:20,826
and manuscripts that could be
980
00:42:20,850 --> 00:42:23,736
the oldest surviving
artifact of Christianity.
981
00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:25,176
By the time he died,
982
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:27,726
he'd been in possession of
the Nazareth Inscription
983
00:42:27,750 --> 00:42:29,436
for nearly 50 years.
984
00:42:29,460 --> 00:42:32,173
His inventory of the
inscription simply states,
985
00:42:32,197 --> 00:42:36,606
"This marble was sent
from Nazareth in 1878."
986
00:42:36,630 --> 00:42:39,053
In 1925, the collection was acquired
987
00:42:39,077 --> 00:42:41,736
by the Paris National Library where
988
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:44,256
the Nazareth inscription was rediscovered
989
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:47,286
and read by a monsieur Rostovtzeff.
990
00:42:47,310 --> 00:42:49,566
Rostovtzeff informed his friend
991
00:42:49,590 --> 00:42:52,476
the scholar Franz Cumont
about the inscription,
992
00:42:52,500 --> 00:42:56,196
and in 1930 he published
a Greek transcription
993
00:42:56,220 --> 00:42:59,376
and a translation of the
inscription with a commentary.
994
00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:01,356
Cumont came to the conclusion
995
00:43:01,380 --> 00:43:03,426
that there were two possible contexts
996
00:43:03,450 --> 00:43:04,596
for the inscription,
997
00:43:04,620 --> 00:43:07,989
which have remained the
leading contenders to this day
998
00:43:08,013 --> 00:43:08,823
[feet stomping]
999
00:43:08,847 --> 00:43:11,136
Theories about the inscription's origin.
1000
00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:12,486
The first suggests that
1001
00:43:12,510 --> 00:43:14,676
the edict was issued
against the background
1002
00:43:14,700 --> 00:43:17,886
of the general upheavals of
Rome's violent transition
1003
00:43:17,910 --> 00:43:19,806
from republic to empire.
1004
00:43:19,830 --> 00:43:21,516
The end of the republic had witnessed
1005
00:43:21,540 --> 00:43:24,636
the eastern provinces
extensively plundered,
1006
00:43:24,660 --> 00:43:27,456
tombs and temples alike were ravaged.
1007
00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:29,736
Perhaps the Nazareth inscription was part
1008
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:32,466
of a general effort to restore order.
1009
00:43:32,490 --> 00:43:35,526
If this is the case, then
the inscription would belong
1010
00:43:35,550 --> 00:43:37,656
to the final decade's BC
1011
00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:40,209
and thus originally to
a fully Roman dominion
1012
00:43:40,233 --> 00:43:41,043
[fire crackling]
1013
00:43:41,067 --> 00:43:42,126
somewhere like Greece
1014
00:43:42,150 --> 00:43:44,076
or more likely Asia Minor,
1015
00:43:44,100 --> 00:43:47,286
before eventually surfacing in Palestine.
1016
00:43:47,310 --> 00:43:49,356
Palestinian origins.
1017
00:43:49,380 --> 00:43:51,315
The primary alternative explanation
1018
00:43:51,339 --> 00:43:53,796
is that the edict is a response
1019
00:43:53,820 --> 00:43:55,121
to the Christian gospel
1020
00:43:55,145 --> 00:43:55,955
[bell dinging]
1021
00:43:55,979 --> 00:43:58,146
and the hostile conflicts it aroused.
1022
00:43:58,170 --> 00:43:59,796
In the Bible, the disciples
1023
00:43:59,820 --> 00:44:03,246
of Jesus claimed that they
found their master's tomb empty,
1024
00:44:03,270 --> 00:44:05,496
and the Gospel of Matthew makes it clear
1025
00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:07,476
that opposing accounts of the empty tomb
1026
00:44:07,500 --> 00:44:09,336
were being circulated.
1027
00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:12,006
Those Jews who did not
believe that Jesus was
1028
00:44:12,030 --> 00:44:14,166
the Messiah spread the rumor that
1029
00:44:14,190 --> 00:44:16,416
the disciples had stolen the body,
1030
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:17,646
and according to Matthew,
1031
00:44:17,670 --> 00:44:19,146
they bribed the Roman guards
1032
00:44:19,170 --> 00:44:23,076
into swearing this alternative
truth before the governor.
1033
00:44:23,100 --> 00:44:26,046
Could it be that, aware
of enduring tensions
1034
00:44:26,070 --> 00:44:29,136
and conflict over the
claims of the resurrection,
1035
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:32,946
the emperor issued an edict
specifying harsh penalties
1036
00:44:32,970 --> 00:44:36,216
for violating tombs and
the bodies lying within?
1037
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:38,166
But while this of course doesn't prove
1038
00:44:38,190 --> 00:44:39,666
that the inscription is evidence
1039
00:44:39,690 --> 00:44:41,526
for the resurrection of Christ,
1040
00:44:41,550 --> 00:44:43,926
it does indicate that the
story of the resurrection
1041
00:44:43,950 --> 00:44:47,556
of Christ was already
circulating very early on,
1042
00:44:47,580 --> 00:44:48,696
perhaps even in the reign
1043
00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:52,236
of Emperor Claudius around 41 AD.
1044
00:44:52,260 --> 00:44:53,856
If the story of the resurrection
1045
00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:57,606
of Christ was widely known
soon after his crucifixion,
1046
00:44:57,630 --> 00:44:59,496
it could be that it was circulated
1047
00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:02,376
by his apostles themselves.
1048
00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:04,356
In his 1968 book,
1049
00:45:04,380 --> 00:45:06,336
author Michael Green wrote that there
1050
00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:08,076
was firm contemporary evidence
1051
00:45:08,100 --> 00:45:10,626
for the presence of Jesus' empty tomb.
1052
00:45:10,650 --> 00:45:11,460
He said this piece
1053
00:45:11,484 --> 00:45:15,546
of evidence is called
the Nazareth Inscription
1054
00:45:15,570 --> 00:45:17,736
after the town where it was found.
1055
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:20,676
It is an imperial edict belonging either
1056
00:45:20,700 --> 00:45:24,636
to the reign of Tiberius, 14-37 AD,
1057
00:45:24,660 --> 00:45:28,206
or of Claudius 41-54 AD,
1058
00:45:28,230 --> 00:45:31,446
and it's an invective
backed with heavy sanctions
1059
00:45:31,470 --> 00:45:34,236
against meddling around
with tombs and graves.
1060
00:45:34,260 --> 00:45:36,036
It looked very much as if the news
1061
00:45:36,060 --> 00:45:39,756
of the empty tomb had got back
to Rome in a garbled form.
1062
00:45:39,780 --> 00:45:41,946
Pilate would have had to report
1063
00:45:41,970 --> 00:45:43,476
and he would obviously have said
1064
00:45:43,500 --> 00:45:45,336
the tomb had been rifled.
1065
00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:48,573
This edict, it seems, is
the imperial reaction,
1066
00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:50,766
but as mentioned earlier,
1067
00:45:50,790 --> 00:45:52,656
the inscription provides no evidence
1068
00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:54,756
for any specific event.
1069
00:45:54,780 --> 00:45:57,752
Indeed, skeptics of the
Jesus connection argue
1070
00:45:57,776 --> 00:45:59,693
that there is absolutely nothing linking
1071
00:45:59,717 --> 00:46:02,586
this inscription with Christianity,
1072
00:46:02,610 --> 00:46:04,596
only the town it was found in.
1073
00:46:04,620 --> 00:46:07,086
Even though Jesus was
not buried in Nazareth,
1074
00:46:07,110 --> 00:46:08,946
and its possible date.
1075
00:46:08,970 --> 00:46:11,646
They also point out
that the law is prefaced
1076
00:46:11,670 --> 00:46:13,566
by a reference to the importance
1077
00:46:13,590 --> 00:46:15,546
of family burial cult,
1078
00:46:15,570 --> 00:46:17,586
so the incentive for the law seems
1079
00:46:17,610 --> 00:46:19,116
seems to been an objection
1080
00:46:19,140 --> 00:46:21,276
to those who were depriving
people of the right
1081
00:46:21,300 --> 00:46:23,946
to pay homage to their dead ancestors,
1082
00:46:23,970 --> 00:46:26,406
something that would appear
to have no connection
1083
00:46:26,430 --> 00:46:29,016
with the missing body of Jesus.
1084
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:30,666
Skeptics also point out that
1085
00:46:30,690 --> 00:46:32,766
in the late 19th century there
1086
00:46:32,790 --> 00:46:34,926
were only two major market centers
1087
00:46:34,950 --> 00:46:37,896
for all antiquities
recovered in Palestine,
1088
00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:39,966
Jerusalem, and Nazareth.
1089
00:46:39,990 --> 00:46:43,836
Thus de Zulueta makes the
plausible conjecture that
1090
00:46:43,860 --> 00:46:47,826
the slab was recovered either
in Samaria or Decapolis
1091
00:46:47,850 --> 00:46:48,996
and either purchased
1092
00:46:49,020 --> 00:46:51,966
or shipped via the nearest possible place,
1093
00:46:51,990 --> 00:46:54,246
which would've been Nazareth.
1094
00:46:54,270 --> 00:46:56,736
New evidence: In April 2020,
1095
00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:59,226
it was announced that
scientists had conducted
1096
00:46:59,250 --> 00:47:01,926
the first isotope
analysis of marble sample
1097
00:47:01,950 --> 00:47:05,016
from the slab containing the inscription.
1098
00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:07,956
The research team
sensationally discovered that
1099
00:47:07,980 --> 00:47:09,876
the unique isotopic fingerprints
1100
00:47:09,900 --> 00:47:11,736
of the marble were a close match
1101
00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:13,866
for a signature found in white marble
1102
00:47:13,890 --> 00:47:15,966
from the Greek island of Kos
1103
00:47:15,990 --> 00:47:17,833
of Turkey's southwestern coast.
1104
00:47:17,857 --> 00:47:18,667
[waves crashing]
1105
00:47:18,691 --> 00:47:20,526
As Kos is a long way from Nazareth,
1106
00:47:20,550 --> 00:47:22,536
the results of the tests
would certainly seem
1107
00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:23,923
to reduce the likelihood that
1108
00:47:23,947 --> 00:47:27,846
the edict had any connection
with early Christianity.
1109
00:47:27,870 --> 00:47:30,276
Researchers believe that the inscription,
1110
00:47:30,300 --> 00:47:31,506
rather than referring
1111
00:47:31,530 --> 00:47:33,931
to the story of Jesus' empty tomb,
1112
00:47:33,955 --> 00:47:36,611
relates to an incident
which took place decades
1113
00:47:36,635 --> 00:47:38,946
before the death of Jesus.
1114
00:47:38,970 --> 00:47:41,843
The incident took place
on Kos in the 30s BC
1115
00:47:42,750 --> 00:47:44,766
and involved what happened after the death
1116
00:47:44,790 --> 00:47:46,386
of an extremely unpopular
1117
00:47:46,410 --> 00:47:49,072
but powerful official named Nicias.
1118
00:47:49,096 --> 00:47:49,906
[wolf howling]
1119
00:47:49,930 --> 00:47:50,946
After Nicias's demise,
1120
00:47:50,970 --> 00:47:54,696
locals broke into his tomb
and desecrated the body.
1121
00:47:54,720 --> 00:47:57,516
Researchers now believe
that the Roman edict warning
1122
00:47:57,540 --> 00:47:59,946
of harsh punishments for grave desecration
1123
00:47:59,970 --> 00:48:02,226
was response to the fate suffered
1124
00:48:02,250 --> 00:48:04,266
by the body of Nicias.
1125
00:48:04,290 --> 00:48:06,306
Lead study author Kyle Harper,
1126
00:48:06,330 --> 00:48:07,596
a professor of classics
1127
00:48:07,620 --> 00:48:10,086
and letters at the
University of Oklahoma said
1128
00:48:10,110 --> 00:48:11,443
of the discovery,
1129
00:48:11,467 --> 00:48:12,876
"We believe that it's
1130
00:48:12,900 --> 00:48:15,876
the first time stable isotope chemistry
1131
00:48:15,900 --> 00:48:17,586
has ever been used to establish
1132
00:48:17,610 --> 00:48:20,646
the provenance of an inscription, period.
1133
00:48:20,670 --> 00:48:22,836
We got lucky twice over.
1134
00:48:22,860 --> 00:48:25,206
First, it was very direct match with
1135
00:48:25,230 --> 00:48:27,486
a rather unexpected marble quarry
1136
00:48:27,510 --> 00:48:30,479
so we could really pinpoint
its origins on Kos.
1137
00:48:30,503 --> 00:48:31,357
[bell dinging]
1138
00:48:31,381 --> 00:48:33,876
Second, it happened that
we know of an episode
1139
00:48:33,900 --> 00:48:36,426
of tomb violation that was very famous
1140
00:48:36,450 --> 00:48:37,975
in the exact right period.
1141
00:48:37,999 --> 00:48:38,809
[waves crashing]
1142
00:48:38,833 --> 00:48:39,838
I would've never hoped
1143
00:48:39,862 --> 00:48:42,094
for such a remarkable alignment."
1144
00:48:42,118 --> 00:48:42,928
[insects chirring]
1145
00:48:42,952 --> 00:48:44,868
Harper and his team have also suggested
1146
00:48:44,892 --> 00:48:48,336
the Greek dialect on the
inscription does not match
1147
00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:50,586
a Nazarene background for the period
1148
00:48:50,610 --> 00:48:52,116
and that it could have
been written anywhere
1149
00:48:52,140 --> 00:48:55,236
between 100 BC and 100 AD.
1150
00:48:55,260 --> 00:48:57,066
But although Harper's work proves
1151
00:48:57,090 --> 00:48:59,226
that the marble was sourced from Kos,
1152
00:48:59,250 --> 00:49:01,536
it doesn't prove that
Nazareth's Inscription
1153
00:49:01,560 --> 00:49:03,366
was inscribed in Kos.
1154
00:49:03,390 --> 00:49:05,436
Indeed, since its publication,
1155
00:49:05,460 --> 00:49:07,356
Harper's research has been questioned
1156
00:49:07,380 --> 00:49:08,946
by other researchers
1157
00:49:08,970 --> 00:49:10,296
and is certainly not set
1158
00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:12,576
to be the final word on the edict.
1159
00:49:12,600 --> 00:49:14,526
One researcher has pointed out
1160
00:49:14,550 --> 00:49:16,566
that with the Herodian Dynasty,
1161
00:49:16,590 --> 00:49:19,056
which ruled Judea for almost 80 years
1162
00:49:19,080 --> 00:49:22,086
from 37 BC to 39 AD,
1163
00:49:22,110 --> 00:49:24,936
traded regularly with the island of Kos.
1164
00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:25,769
Perhaps, they reason,
1165
00:49:25,793 --> 00:49:26,603
[waves crashing]
1166
00:49:26,627 --> 00:49:29,676
marble was commercially
transported to Judea from Kos
1167
00:49:29,700 --> 00:49:32,316
and found its way into
Nazareth during the reign
1168
00:49:32,340 --> 00:49:34,536
of Claudius or Nero.
1169
00:49:34,560 --> 00:49:36,186
At the moment, there's no way of knowing
1170
00:49:36,210 --> 00:49:38,706
for certain where the stone was inscribed
1171
00:49:38,730 --> 00:49:41,376
and what exactly it was referring to.
1172
00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:44,916
It seems the debate about the
Nazareth inscription is set
1173
00:49:44,940 --> 00:49:47,253
to rage on for many years to come.
1174
00:49:48,209 --> 00:49:50,626
[epic music]
1175
00:49:53,405 --> 00:49:54,396
[dramatic music]
1176
00:49:54,420 --> 00:49:57,486
Evidence from the 11,000-year-old carvings
1177
00:49:57,510 --> 00:49:59,226
on an ancient temple site
1178
00:49:59,250 --> 00:50:01,266
in what is now Turkey suggests
1179
00:50:01,290 --> 00:50:02,932
that a mass of comet fragments hit
1180
00:50:02,956 --> 00:50:06,486
the Earth around 11,000 BC.
1181
00:50:06,510 --> 00:50:07,836
There is also other evidence
1182
00:50:07,860 --> 00:50:10,236
to support this catastrophic event
1183
00:50:10,260 --> 00:50:12,546
from a Greenland ice core.
1184
00:50:12,570 --> 00:50:14,466
The impact, which probably resulted
1185
00:50:14,490 --> 00:50:16,356
from the breakup of a giant comet
1186
00:50:16,380 --> 00:50:17,886
in the inner solar system,
1187
00:50:17,910 --> 00:50:19,416
triggered a cold climate,
1188
00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:22,026
which lasted at least a thousand years
1189
00:50:22,050 --> 00:50:23,556
and seems to have been remembered
1190
00:50:23,580 --> 00:50:25,746
by the hunter-gatherers in the area
1191
00:50:25,770 --> 00:50:27,834
for thousands of years afterwards.
1192
00:50:27,858 --> 00:50:30,775
[mysterious music]
1193
00:50:38,298 --> 00:50:39,819
Gobekli Tepe.
1194
00:50:39,843 --> 00:50:43,023
Gobekli Tepe, Turkish for
the hill of the navel is
1195
00:50:43,047 --> 00:50:46,106
a 1,000-foot diameter mound located
1196
00:50:46,130 --> 00:50:47,166
at the highest point
1197
00:50:47,190 --> 00:50:50,076
of a mountain ridge in
southeastern Turkey.
1198
00:50:50,100 --> 00:50:52,686
The site includes two phases of use,
1199
00:50:52,710 --> 00:50:53,976
believed to be social
1200
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:56,616
or ritual in nature by its discoverer
1201
00:50:56,640 --> 00:50:58,716
and excavator Klaus Schmidt.
1202
00:50:58,740 --> 00:51:02,087
It dates back to the
10th-8th millennium BC
1203
00:51:02,111 --> 00:51:06,186
and since 1994, excavations
conducted by Klaus Schmidt
1204
00:51:06,210 --> 00:51:07,386
of the Istanbul branch
1205
00:51:07,410 --> 00:51:10,030
of the German Archeological Institute have
1206
00:51:11,232 --> 00:51:12,432
been taking place at the site.
1207
00:51:18,030 --> 00:51:20,676
Results to date have been outstanding,
1208
00:51:20,700 --> 00:51:22,176
especially bearing in mind that
1209
00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:25,146
the excavators estimate that
their work has uncovered
1210
00:51:25,170 --> 00:51:27,786
a mere 5% of the site.
1211
00:51:27,810 --> 00:51:30,246
Gobekli Tepe consists of four arrangements
1212
00:51:30,270 --> 00:51:33,186
of monolithic pillars
linked together by segments
1213
00:51:33,210 --> 00:51:35,939
of coarsely built dry stone
walls to form a series
1214
00:51:35,963 --> 00:51:39,276
of circular or oval structures.
1215
00:51:39,300 --> 00:51:40,716
There are two large pillars
1216
00:51:40,740 --> 00:51:42,606
in the center of each complex,
1217
00:51:42,630 --> 00:51:43,776
which are encircled
1218
00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:46,716
by slightly smaller stones facing inwards.
1219
00:51:46,740 --> 00:51:48,786
During the first phase of the site,
1220
00:51:48,810 --> 00:51:52,356
circles of huge T-shaped
stone pillars were erected,
1221
00:51:52,380 --> 00:51:55,536
at the moment, the world's
oldest known megaliths.
1222
00:51:55,560 --> 00:51:57,666
Archeologists believed that these pillars
1223
00:51:57,690 --> 00:52:00,096
could have once supported roofs.
1224
00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:01,623
The structures vary in size between 33
1225
00:52:01,647 --> 00:52:04,536
and 98 feet in diameter
1226
00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:07,236
and have floors made of burned lime.
1227
00:52:07,260 --> 00:52:08,706
The megaliths themselves,
1228
00:52:08,730 --> 00:52:11,196
43 of which have been unearthed so far,
1229
00:52:11,220 --> 00:52:14,226
are mainly T-shaped
pillars of soft limestone
1230
00:52:14,250 --> 00:52:17,166
up to around 16 feet in height.
1231
00:52:17,190 --> 00:52:19,146
The stone would've been excavated
1232
00:52:19,170 --> 00:52:21,336
and transported from a stone quarry
1233
00:52:21,360 --> 00:52:24,876
on the lowest southwestern
slope of the hill.
1234
00:52:24,900 --> 00:52:27,793
Geophysical surveys on the
hill indicate there are
1235
00:52:27,817 --> 00:52:32,676
as many as 250 more megaliths
lying buried around the site,
1236
00:52:32,700 --> 00:52:36,426
suggesting that another
16 complexes once existed
1237
00:52:36,450 --> 00:52:38,256
at Gobekli Tepe.
1238
00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:40,406
Although the pictograms at Gobekli Tepe
1239
00:52:40,430 --> 00:52:42,786
do not represent a form of writing,
1240
00:52:42,810 --> 00:52:45,426
they may have functioned as sacred symbols
1241
00:52:45,450 --> 00:52:47,736
whose meanings were implicitly understood
1242
00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:50,166
by the local population at the time.
1243
00:52:50,190 --> 00:52:52,746
The carving of the comet impact.
1244
00:52:52,770 --> 00:52:55,029
The mysterious megaliths at Gobekli Tepe
1245
00:52:55,053 --> 00:52:57,156
have been puzzling archeologists
1246
00:52:57,180 --> 00:52:58,776
and challenging presumptions
1247
00:52:58,800 --> 00:53:02,016
about prehistoric culture
since their discovery.
1248
00:53:02,040 --> 00:53:03,696
The most debated point is how
1249
00:53:03,720 --> 00:53:06,036
a nomadic hunter-gatherer society
1250
00:53:06,060 --> 00:53:09,393
with a supposedly primitive
social structure could plan
1251
00:53:09,417 --> 00:53:13,086
and build such monumental stone circles.
1252
00:53:13,110 --> 00:53:15,096
It was recently announced that researchers
1253
00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:16,566
from the University of Edinburgh
1254
00:53:16,590 --> 00:53:19,506
in Scotland had found
evidence for the recording
1255
00:53:19,530 --> 00:53:21,606
of a devastating comet impact
1256
00:53:21,630 --> 00:53:25,506
more than 13,000 years ago
while examining symbols
1257
00:53:25,530 --> 00:53:27,126
on a decorated stone
1258
00:53:27,150 --> 00:53:30,276
from Gobekli Tepe called
the Vulture Stone.
1259
00:53:30,300 --> 00:53:33,996
Using computer star tracking
software called Stellarium,
1260
00:53:34,020 --> 00:53:35,676
the researchers were able to track
1261
00:53:35,700 --> 00:53:37,176
what the sky looked like
1262
00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:39,876
in the time Gobekli Tepe was in use.
1263
00:53:39,900 --> 00:53:43,056
The team matched carvings of
animals on the Vulture Stone,
1264
00:53:43,080 --> 00:53:44,738
which they interpreted
as astronomical symbols,
1265
00:53:44,762 --> 00:53:46,236
[celestial music]
1266
00:53:46,260 --> 00:53:47,796
to patterns of stars
1267
00:53:47,820 --> 00:53:51,246
and were able to pinpoint
the cataclysmic event caused
1268
00:53:51,270 --> 00:53:53,256
by the comet fragments hitting the Earth
1269
00:53:53,280 --> 00:53:58,280
to 10,950 BC, give or take 250 years.
1270
00:53:58,530 --> 00:53:59,976
Another image on the stone,
1271
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:01,356
that of a headless man,
1272
00:54:01,380 --> 00:54:03,756
is believed to symbolize human disaster
1273
00:54:03,780 --> 00:54:06,036
and extensive loss of life.
1274
00:54:06,060 --> 00:54:08,286
Scientists have speculated for decades
1275
00:54:08,310 --> 00:54:10,026
whether a comet could have been the cause
1276
00:54:10,050 --> 00:54:13,146
of a sudden fall in temperature
during a period known
1277
00:54:13,170 --> 00:54:15,186
as the Younger Dryas.
1278
00:54:15,210 --> 00:54:17,856
The Younger Dryas was
essentially a mini ice age,
1279
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:20,226
which lasted around a thousand years
1280
00:54:20,250 --> 00:54:23,286
and it's considered a
critical period for humanity
1281
00:54:23,310 --> 00:54:25,506
as it was around the time agriculture
1282
00:54:25,530 --> 00:54:28,416
and the first Neolithic
civilizations arose,
1283
00:54:28,440 --> 00:54:32,496
possibly in response to the
arrival of a colder climate.
1284
00:54:32,520 --> 00:54:34,884
Dr. Martin Sweatman of
the School of Engineering
1285
00:54:34,908 --> 00:54:37,753
at the University of
Edinburgh led the research
1286
00:54:37,777 --> 00:54:40,013
into the Vulture Stone and commented
1287
00:54:40,037 --> 00:54:42,313
on the team's findings.
1288
00:54:42,337 --> 00:54:43,956
"I think this research,
1289
00:54:43,980 --> 00:54:45,306
along with a recent finding
1290
00:54:45,330 --> 00:54:47,376
of a widespread platinum anomaly
1291
00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:49,656
across the North American continent,
1292
00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:51,936
virtually seal the case in favor
1293
00:54:51,960 --> 00:54:54,486
of a Younger Dryas comet impact.
1294
00:54:54,510 --> 00:54:57,966
Our work serves to reinforce
that physical evidence.
1295
00:54:57,990 --> 00:54:59,376
What is happening here is
1296
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:01,200
the process of paradigm change.
1297
00:55:01,224 --> 00:55:02,034
[explosion booming]
1298
00:55:02,058 --> 00:55:04,776
It appears Gobekli Tepe
was, among other things,
1299
00:55:04,800 --> 00:55:07,686
an observatory for
monitoring the night sky.
1300
00:55:07,710 --> 00:55:09,486
One of its pillars seems to have served
1301
00:55:09,510 --> 00:55:12,246
as a memorial to this devastating event,
1302
00:55:12,270 --> 00:55:15,370
probably the worst day
in history since the end
1303
00:55:16,964 --> 00:55:17,773
of the Ice Age."
1304
00:55:17,797 --> 00:55:18,607
The Vulture Stone,
1305
00:55:18,631 --> 00:55:21,096
labeled by archeologists Pillar 43,
1306
00:55:21,120 --> 00:55:23,136
is one of the oldest artifacts discovered
1307
00:55:23,160 --> 00:55:24,486
at Gobekli Tepe,
1308
00:55:24,510 --> 00:55:26,095
and archeologists have
found that it exhibits signs
1309
00:55:26,119 --> 00:55:27,306
[mysterious music]
1310
00:55:27,330 --> 00:55:30,366
of being cared for by the
people there for millennia,
1311
00:55:30,390 --> 00:55:32,826
which indicates that
what was carved onto it
1312
00:55:32,850 --> 00:55:34,596
was very important.
1313
00:55:34,620 --> 00:55:37,270
Perhaps the event that
researchers believe the images
1314
00:55:38,696 --> 00:55:40,236
on the stone depicted
had a long-lasting impact
1315
00:55:40,260 --> 00:55:42,876
on the civilization in the area.
1316
00:55:42,900 --> 00:55:45,366
In their paper published
on the Vulture Stone,
1317
00:55:45,390 --> 00:55:47,286
images in "Mediterranean Archeology
1318
00:55:47,310 --> 00:55:51,266
and Archeometry" in 2017, Dr. Sweatman
1319
00:55:51,290 --> 00:55:54,126
and Dimitrios Tsikritsis described
1320
00:55:54,150 --> 00:55:55,266
their findings connecting
1321
00:55:55,290 --> 00:55:57,336
the comet strike with Gobekli Tepe
1322
00:55:57,360 --> 00:56:00,276
and the onset of the Younger
Dryas in more detail.
1323
00:56:00,300 --> 00:56:03,279
They said, "Symbolism on
pillar 18 is consistent
1324
00:56:03,303 --> 00:56:06,126
with an event of cosmic origin.
1325
00:56:06,150 --> 00:56:08,302
The fox symbolism in particular suggests
1326
00:56:08,326 --> 00:56:10,446
a cosmic event originating
1327
00:56:10,470 --> 00:56:12,696
from a specific position.
1328
00:56:12,720 --> 00:56:14,076
The belt, buckle, eclipse,
1329
00:56:14,100 --> 00:56:16,206
and snake symbols are consistent
1330
00:56:16,230 --> 00:56:18,666
with a cometary encounter.
1331
00:56:18,690 --> 00:56:20,646
We also find evidence that a key function
1332
00:56:20,670 --> 00:56:24,006
of Gobekli Tepe was to
observe meteor showers
1333
00:56:24,030 --> 00:56:26,376
and record cometary encounters.
1334
00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:28,806
Indeed, the people of Gobekli Tepe appear
1335
00:56:28,830 --> 00:56:30,576
to have had a special interest
1336
00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:32,736
in the Taurid meteor stream,
1337
00:56:32,760 --> 00:56:35,976
the same meteor stream that
is proposed as responsible
1338
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:38,226
for the Younger Dryas event."
1339
00:56:38,250 --> 00:56:39,951
Is Gobekli Tepe the smoking gun
1340
00:56:39,975 --> 00:56:42,756
for the Younger Dryas cometary encounter
1341
00:56:42,780 --> 00:56:45,696
and hence for coherent catastrophism?
1342
00:56:45,720 --> 00:56:49,026
Was Gobekli Tepe an observatory?
1343
00:56:49,050 --> 00:56:51,006
Dr. Sweatman's comment that Gobekli Tepe
1344
00:56:51,030 --> 00:56:52,356
may have functioned
1345
00:56:52,380 --> 00:56:54,126
as an observatory at some stage
1346
00:56:54,150 --> 00:56:57,216
in its history is a controversial one.
1347
00:56:57,240 --> 00:56:59,256
The claims of Gobekli Tepe's connection
1348
00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:01,836
to the night sky have been mostly rejected
1349
00:57:01,860 --> 00:57:05,826
by the main archeological
team excavating the temple.
1350
00:57:05,850 --> 00:57:06,936
In their opinion,
1351
00:57:06,960 --> 00:57:10,536
although Gobekli Tepe is
extraordinarily well preserved,
1352
00:57:10,560 --> 00:57:13,116
time and the elements
have changed the location
1353
00:57:13,140 --> 00:57:15,396
of certain features at the site.
1354
00:57:15,420 --> 00:57:18,486
Some of the pillars at Gobekli
Tepe were certainly removed
1355
00:57:18,510 --> 00:57:21,936
and recycled elsewhere during
occupation of the site.
1356
00:57:21,960 --> 00:57:24,936
Moreover, later civilizations in the area
1357
00:57:24,960 --> 00:57:27,640
and more recently farmers
have repositioned parts
1358
00:57:27,664 --> 00:57:29,256
of certain pillars,
1359
00:57:29,280 --> 00:57:32,496
even on some occasions
breaking pieces off.
1360
00:57:32,520 --> 00:57:33,966
In a paper written in response
1361
00:57:33,990 --> 00:57:36,666
to the claims of Dr.
Sweatman and his team,
1362
00:57:36,690 --> 00:57:38,496
they stated their main objection
1363
00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:42,433
to his claim that Gobekli
Tepe was an observatory is
1364
00:57:42,457 --> 00:57:43,860
"There is significant possibility
1365
00:57:43,884 --> 00:57:46,896
that we are dealing
with roofed structures.
1366
00:57:46,920 --> 00:57:49,146
This fact alone would pose limitations
1367
00:57:49,170 --> 00:57:51,756
to a function of sky observatories.
1368
00:57:51,780 --> 00:57:54,306
The arches depicted on
the western broad side
1369
00:57:54,330 --> 00:57:56,701
of Pillar 43 could even be images
1370
00:57:56,725 --> 00:57:59,856
of the monumental buildings
themselves covered
1371
00:57:59,880 --> 00:58:01,956
by a corbel roof."
1372
00:58:01,980 --> 00:58:04,446
Dr. Sweatman published a quick response
1373
00:58:04,470 --> 00:58:06,426
to the criticism of their work
1374
00:58:06,450 --> 00:58:09,006
by the excavators of Gobekli Tepe,
1375
00:58:09,030 --> 00:58:10,956
and in this response they reiterated
1376
00:58:10,980 --> 00:58:13,438
their hypothesis that
Gobekli Tepe had been,
1377
00:58:13,462 --> 00:58:17,496
at an early stage at the
site's history, an observatory,
1378
00:58:17,520 --> 00:58:20,766
whether it was in later life
a roofed structure or not.
1379
00:58:20,790 --> 00:58:22,707
They said, "We suggest construction
1380
00:58:22,731 --> 00:58:23,541
[celestial music]
1381
00:58:23,565 --> 00:58:25,176
of the rough stone enclosure walls,
1382
00:58:25,200 --> 00:58:28,056
might or might not have supported a roof,
1383
00:58:28,080 --> 00:58:29,976
might have followed an earlier phase
1384
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:31,302
of construction consisting
1385
00:58:31,326 --> 00:58:34,236
of relatively freestanding pillars.
1386
00:58:34,260 --> 00:58:36,516
We suggest this because
the carvings on many
1387
00:58:36,540 --> 00:58:39,336
of the pillars are covered by these walls.
1388
00:58:39,360 --> 00:58:41,886
Given the undoubted
extreme effort required
1389
00:58:41,910 --> 00:58:44,976
and limited resources available
to construct the pillars
1390
00:58:45,000 --> 00:58:46,236
and their carvings,
1391
00:58:46,260 --> 00:58:48,486
it makes little sense
to us that the builders
1392
00:58:48,510 --> 00:58:51,576
of Gobekli Tepe would have
immediately hidden many
1393
00:58:51,600 --> 00:58:54,816
of the carvings within the
rough stone enclosure wall.
1394
00:58:54,840 --> 00:58:57,336
We also note that whether Gobekli Tepe
1395
00:58:57,360 --> 00:58:59,466
was roofed at some point or not,
1396
00:58:59,490 --> 00:59:01,746
this has little bearing on the statistics
1397
00:59:01,770 --> 00:59:03,426
in our interpretation.
1398
00:59:03,450 --> 00:59:06,066
It only affects
interpretation of the usage
1399
00:59:06,090 --> 00:59:09,552
of Gobekli Tepe at some
point in its history."
1400
00:59:09,576 --> 00:59:11,993
[epic music]
1401
00:59:14,250 --> 00:59:15,990
Most people are familiar
with the biblical story
1402
00:59:16,014 --> 00:59:16,824
[celestial music]
1403
00:59:16,848 --> 00:59:18,186
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
1404
00:59:18,210 --> 00:59:20,946
For most scholars, it is just a story,
1405
00:59:20,970 --> 00:59:23,316
but one scientific study has determined
1406
00:59:23,340 --> 00:59:24,846
that a clay tablet dating
1407
00:59:24,870 --> 00:59:27,546
from around 700 BC is a copy
1408
00:59:27,570 --> 00:59:29,406
of notes taken by an eyewitness
1409
00:59:29,430 --> 00:59:30,904
to the ancient asteroid impact
1410
00:59:30,928 --> 00:59:31,738
[asteroid whooshing]
1411
00:59:31,762 --> 00:59:33,906
believed to be responsible
for the destruction
1412
00:59:33,930 --> 00:59:36,276
of the two biblical cities.
1413
00:59:36,300 --> 00:59:38,496
The cuneiform symbols on the tablet,
1414
00:59:38,520 --> 00:59:41,016
recently translated by researchers,
1415
00:59:41,040 --> 00:59:43,206
are believed to detail an account written
1416
00:59:43,230 --> 00:59:45,996
by an ancient Sumerian astronomer watching
1417
00:59:46,020 --> 00:59:47,856
the asteroid impact.
1418
00:59:47,880 --> 00:59:49,446
There were other competing theories
1419
00:59:49,470 --> 00:59:52,506
for the destruction of
the two cities however.
1420
00:59:52,530 --> 00:59:54,726
Recently one researcher wrote
1421
00:59:54,750 --> 00:59:56,196
that he was convinced that Sodom
1422
00:59:56,220 --> 00:59:57,456
and Gomorrah were destroyed
1423
00:59:57,480 --> 00:59:59,316
by a massive earthquake followed
1424
00:59:59,340 --> 01:00:01,323
by a catastrophic landslide.
1425
01:00:02,220 --> 01:00:04,323
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
1426
01:00:05,370 --> 01:00:08,856
Sodom and Gomorrah were two
notoriously sinful cities
1427
01:00:08,880 --> 01:00:10,956
in the biblical book of Genesis,
1428
01:00:10,980 --> 01:00:13,416
located in the region of the Dead Sea
1429
01:00:13,440 --> 01:00:15,006
between what are now Israel
1430
01:00:15,030 --> 01:00:17,406
and Jordan in the Middle East.
1431
01:00:17,430 --> 01:00:20,125
Along with the cities of Admah, Zeboim,
1432
01:00:20,149 --> 01:00:23,226
and Zoar, Sodom and Gomorrah constituted
1433
01:00:23,250 --> 01:00:25,896
the five cities of the plain referenced
1434
01:00:25,920 --> 01:00:27,336
throughout both the Old
1435
01:00:27,360 --> 01:00:29,766
and New Testaments and the Quran.
1436
01:00:29,790 --> 01:00:32,316
Genesis describes God's dissatisfaction
1437
01:00:32,340 --> 01:00:34,626
with Sodom and Gomorrah and his decision
1438
01:00:34,650 --> 01:00:35,459
to destroy them,
1439
01:00:35,483 --> 01:00:36,293
[energy whirring]
1440
01:00:36,317 --> 01:00:37,506
"The sun had risen over
1441
01:00:37,530 --> 01:00:40,176
the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
1442
01:00:40,200 --> 01:00:43,356
Then the Lord rained on
Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone
1443
01:00:43,380 --> 01:00:45,846
and fire from the Lord out of heaven,
1444
01:00:45,870 --> 01:00:48,936
and he overthrew those
cities, and all the valley,
1445
01:00:48,960 --> 01:00:50,946
and all the inhabitants of the cities,
1446
01:00:50,970 --> 01:00:53,076
and what grew on the ground.
1447
01:00:53,100 --> 01:00:55,172
But his wife from behind him looked back,
1448
01:00:55,196 --> 01:00:56,006
[celestial music]
1449
01:00:56,030 --> 01:00:58,236
and she became a pillar of salt.
1450
01:00:58,260 --> 01:01:00,636
Now Abraham arose early in the morning
1451
01:01:00,660 --> 01:01:03,696
and went to the place where
he had stood before the Lord,
1452
01:01:03,720 --> 01:01:06,306
and he looked down
towards Sodom and Gomorrah
1453
01:01:06,330 --> 01:01:08,616
and toward all the land of the valley,
1454
01:01:08,640 --> 01:01:10,100
and he saw, and behold,
1455
01:01:10,124 --> 01:01:10,934
[fire crackling]
1456
01:01:10,958 --> 01:01:14,466
the smoke of the land ascended
like the smoke of a furnace.
1457
01:01:14,490 --> 01:01:16,026
Thus, it came about,
1458
01:01:16,050 --> 01:01:18,516
when God destroyed the
cities of the valley,
1459
01:01:18,540 --> 01:01:20,526
that God remembered Abraham
1460
01:01:20,550 --> 01:01:22,266
and sent Lot out in the midst
1461
01:01:22,290 --> 01:01:25,326
of the overthrow when
he overthrew the cities
1462
01:01:25,350 --> 01:01:26,921
in which Lot lived."
1463
01:01:26,945 --> 01:01:27,755
[fire crackling]
1464
01:01:27,779 --> 01:01:29,916
It is an extremely dramatic story,
1465
01:01:29,940 --> 01:01:31,926
but is it merely fiction?
1466
01:01:31,950 --> 01:01:34,236
According to archeologists, scientists,
1467
01:01:34,260 --> 01:01:37,446
and biblical scholars, there
is no evidence that Sodom
1468
01:01:37,470 --> 01:01:40,446
and its sister town Gomorrah even existed,
1469
01:01:40,470 --> 01:01:41,586
let alone that they came
1470
01:01:41,610 --> 01:01:43,898
to a sudden and disastrous end.
1471
01:01:43,922 --> 01:01:44,732
[eluding music]
1472
01:01:44,756 --> 01:01:46,143
The ancient clay tablet.
1473
01:01:47,520 --> 01:01:50,916
In March 2008, it was
announced in the media that
1474
01:01:50,940 --> 01:01:53,727
an ancient clay tablet that
had perplexed scientists
1475
01:01:53,751 --> 01:01:57,396
for over 150 years had been identified
1476
01:01:57,420 --> 01:01:59,317
as a witness's account of an asteroid
1477
01:01:59,341 --> 01:02:00,151
[cryptic music]
1478
01:02:00,175 --> 01:02:01,506
that destroyed the biblical cities
1479
01:02:01,530 --> 01:02:04,866
of Sodom and Gomorrah 5,000 years ago.
1480
01:02:04,890 --> 01:02:08,196
The cuneiform tablet known
as the Planisphere is
1481
01:02:08,220 --> 01:02:12,243
in the British Museum
collection number K8538,
1482
01:02:12,267 --> 01:02:15,486
and was discovered by
Henry Layard in the remains
1483
01:02:15,510 --> 01:02:18,696
of the library in the
royal palace at Nineveh.
1484
01:02:18,720 --> 01:02:19,716
The tablet was made
1485
01:02:19,740 --> 01:02:23,406
by an Assyrian scribe around 700 BC.
1486
01:02:23,430 --> 01:02:26,676
The recently translated
cuneiform symbols are believed
1487
01:02:26,700 --> 01:02:29,436
to be an ancient copy of
the night notebook made
1488
01:02:29,460 --> 01:02:32,136
by an ancient Sumerian
astronomer who watched
1489
01:02:32,160 --> 01:02:33,786
the asteroid impact.
1490
01:02:33,810 --> 01:02:35,856
Astonishingly, scholars have been able
1491
01:02:35,880 --> 01:02:38,586
to pinpoint the date of the impact at dawn
1492
01:02:38,610 --> 01:02:42,996
on the 29th of June 3123 BC,
1493
01:02:43,020 --> 01:02:45,006
based on the symbols on the tablet
1494
01:02:45,030 --> 01:02:47,196
which describe cloud formation
1495
01:02:47,220 --> 01:02:50,193
and the positions of
constellations in the sky.
1496
01:02:51,210 --> 01:02:53,706
The theory was put forward by Alan Bond,
1497
01:02:53,730 --> 01:02:56,616
Managing Director of
Reaction Engines Limited,
1498
01:02:56,640 --> 01:02:57,577
and Mark Hempsell,
1499
01:02:57,601 --> 01:02:59,436
Senior Lecturer in Astronautics
1500
01:02:59,460 --> 01:03:02,286
at Bristol University in the UK,
1501
01:03:02,310 --> 01:03:04,836
who spent eight years
researching the subject
1502
01:03:04,860 --> 01:03:08,196
and collecting evidence
to support their theory.
1503
01:03:08,220 --> 01:03:10,326
The asteroid in question is believed
1504
01:03:10,350 --> 01:03:12,426
to have been over half a mile wide
1505
01:03:12,450 --> 01:03:14,706
and probably crashed
into the Austrian Alps
1506
01:03:14,730 --> 01:03:16,776
at Kofels where there is evidence
1507
01:03:16,800 --> 01:03:19,206
of a huge ancient landslide.
1508
01:03:19,230 --> 01:03:20,039
It had long been thought
1509
01:03:20,063 --> 01:03:20,873
[asteroid roaring]
1510
01:03:20,897 --> 01:03:23,316
that a large object
had impacted at Kofels,
1511
01:03:23,340 --> 01:03:27,366
the evidence being a giant
landslide 640 feet thick
1512
01:03:27,390 --> 01:03:30,426
and 3.1 miles in diameter.
1513
01:03:30,450 --> 01:03:32,346
Hempsell described the ancient event
1514
01:03:32,370 --> 01:03:34,273
as he believes it happened.
1515
01:03:34,297 --> 01:03:35,844
"It came in at a very low angle
1516
01:03:35,868 --> 01:03:36,678
[asteroid whooshing]
1517
01:03:36,702 --> 01:03:38,406
around six degrees and then clipped
1518
01:03:38,430 --> 01:03:40,069
a mountain called Gamskogel
1519
01:03:40,093 --> 01:03:40,903
[calm music]
1520
01:03:40,927 --> 01:03:43,266
around 11 kilometers from Kofels.
1521
01:03:43,290 --> 01:03:44,415
This caused it to explode,
1522
01:03:44,439 --> 01:03:45,249
[explosion banging]
1523
01:03:45,273 --> 01:03:46,686
and as it traveled down the valley,
1524
01:03:46,710 --> 01:03:48,426
it became a fireball.
1525
01:03:48,450 --> 01:03:49,264
When it hit Kofels
1526
01:03:49,288 --> 01:03:50,098
[fireball whooshing]
1527
01:03:50,122 --> 01:03:51,936
it created enormous pressure,
1528
01:03:51,960 --> 01:03:55,116
which pulverized the rock
and caused the landslide,
1529
01:03:55,140 --> 01:03:56,646
but because it wasn't solid,
1530
01:03:56,670 --> 01:03:58,176
there was no crater."
1531
01:03:58,200 --> 01:03:59,736
Another conclusion can be made
1532
01:03:59,760 --> 01:04:01,596
from the trajectory.
1533
01:04:01,620 --> 01:04:03,726
The back plume from the explosion,
1534
01:04:03,750 --> 01:04:04,559
the mushroom cloud,
1535
01:04:04,583 --> 01:04:05,393
[explosion banging]
1536
01:04:05,417 --> 01:04:07,836
would be bent over the Mediterranean Sea,
1537
01:04:07,860 --> 01:04:09,456
reentering the atmosphere
1538
01:04:09,480 --> 01:04:12,696
over the Levant, Sinai,
and Northern Egypt.
1539
01:04:12,720 --> 01:04:14,946
The ground heating, though very short,
1540
01:04:14,970 --> 01:04:17,676
would be enough to ignite
any flammable material
1541
01:04:17,700 --> 01:04:20,076
including human hair and clothes.
1542
01:04:20,100 --> 01:04:23,076
It's probable more people
died under the plume
1543
01:04:23,100 --> 01:04:26,736
than in the Alps due to the impact blast.
1544
01:04:26,760 --> 01:04:28,266
According to Dr. Hempsell,
1545
01:04:28,290 --> 01:04:31,266
around 386,000 square miles
1546
01:04:31,290 --> 01:04:33,636
would've been devastated by the asteroid,
1547
01:04:33,660 --> 01:04:35,376
and the impact would've been equivalent
1548
01:04:35,400 --> 01:04:39,156
to more than 1000 tons of TNT exploding.
1549
01:04:39,180 --> 01:04:39,990
He believes that
1550
01:04:40,014 --> 01:04:43,176
at least 20 ancient
myths record devastation
1551
01:04:43,200 --> 01:04:45,396
which could equate to that of the type
1552
01:04:45,420 --> 01:04:48,426
and on the scale of the asteroid's impact.
1553
01:04:48,450 --> 01:04:50,706
These stories include
the Old Testament tale
1554
01:04:50,730 --> 01:04:52,686
of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
1555
01:04:52,710 --> 01:04:55,926
and the ancient Greek myth
of Phaeton, son of Helios,
1556
01:04:55,950 --> 01:04:57,966
who fell into the river Eridanus
1557
01:04:57,990 --> 01:05:01,596
after losing control of
his father's sun chariot.
1558
01:05:01,620 --> 01:05:03,546
Bond and Hempsell presented their theory
1559
01:05:03,570 --> 01:05:06,163
in their 2008 monograph,
1560
01:05:06,187 --> 01:05:09,966
"A Sumerian Observation
of the Kofels Impact."
1561
01:05:09,990 --> 01:05:12,636
However, the academic world
was far from convinced
1562
01:05:12,660 --> 01:05:14,376
by the asteroid theory.
1563
01:05:14,400 --> 01:05:17,916
Jon Taylor, a retired expert
in Near Eastern archeology
1564
01:05:17,940 --> 01:05:19,326
at the British Museum,
1565
01:05:19,350 --> 01:05:21,366
pointed out that there
was no evidence that
1566
01:05:21,390 --> 01:05:23,436
the ancient Sumerians had the ability
1567
01:05:23,460 --> 01:05:26,496
to make such accurate
astronomical records,
1568
01:05:26,520 --> 01:05:28,806
and that our knowledge
of Sumerian language
1569
01:05:28,830 --> 01:05:30,853
was very far from complete.
1570
01:05:30,877 --> 01:05:34,956
"I remain unconvinced by
these results," he stated.
1571
01:05:34,980 --> 01:05:38,166
In December 2018, yet
another theory accounting
1572
01:05:38,190 --> 01:05:41,286
for the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah emerged.
1573
01:05:41,310 --> 01:05:43,836
This time, it was a meteor that exploded
1574
01:05:43,860 --> 01:05:47,526
in the air near the
Dead Sea 3,700 years ago
1575
01:05:47,550 --> 01:05:50,046
and could have wiped out
communities in the area
1576
01:05:50,070 --> 01:05:53,226
of the Bronze Age city of Tall el-Hammam,
1577
01:05:53,250 --> 01:05:56,346
which according to one of its
excavators, Steven Collins,
1578
01:05:56,370 --> 01:05:59,253
is the biblical city of
Sodom from the Bible.
1579
01:06:00,120 --> 01:06:03,276
Part of the abstract from
the conference presentation
1580
01:06:03,300 --> 01:06:05,736
by the two proponents of this new theory,
1581
01:06:05,760 --> 01:06:08,016
archeologists Philip J. Silvia
1582
01:06:08,040 --> 01:06:09,156
and Steven Collins
1583
01:06:09,180 --> 01:06:13,033
of Trinity Southwest University
in Albuquerque, reads,
1584
01:06:13,057 --> 01:06:15,546
"The paper surveys the multiple lines
1585
01:06:15,570 --> 01:06:17,916
of evidence that collectively suggest
1586
01:06:17,940 --> 01:06:20,946
a Tunguska-like cosmic airburst event
1587
01:06:20,970 --> 01:06:23,136
that obliterated civilization,
1588
01:06:23,160 --> 01:06:26,316
including the Middle Bronze
Age city-state anchored
1589
01:06:26,340 --> 01:06:28,236
by Tall el-Hammam.
1590
01:06:28,260 --> 01:06:29,714
In the Middle Ghor,
1591
01:06:29,738 --> 01:06:31,806
the 25-kilometer diameter circular plain
1592
01:06:31,830 --> 01:06:33,679
immediately north of the Dead Sea,
1593
01:06:33,703 --> 01:06:36,574
3,700 years before present."
1594
01:06:36,598 --> 01:06:37,408
[mysterious music]
1595
01:06:37,432 --> 01:06:40,026
The two researchers also have
an intriguing explanation
1596
01:06:40,050 --> 01:06:42,216
as to how Lot's wife
could have been turned
1597
01:06:42,240 --> 01:06:44,016
into a pillar of salt.
1598
01:06:44,040 --> 01:06:46,176
They theorize that the intense shock waves
1599
01:06:46,200 --> 01:06:48,876
from the blast may have
also covered the area
1600
01:06:48,900 --> 01:06:52,956
with a superheated brine of
Dead Sea anhydride salts.
1601
01:06:52,980 --> 01:06:55,716
This catastrophic event
could also account for
1602
01:06:55,740 --> 01:06:57,456
the archeological evidence
1603
01:06:57,480 --> 01:07:00,126
that indicates that it
took almost 600 years
1604
01:07:00,150 --> 01:07:02,646
for civilization to return to the area,
1605
01:07:02,670 --> 01:07:06,576
as the soil had been rendered
useless for agriculture.
1606
01:07:06,600 --> 01:07:09,966
Did an earthquake destroy
Sodom and Gomorrah?
1607
01:07:09,990 --> 01:07:12,066
A conflicting theory for the destruction
1608
01:07:12,090 --> 01:07:15,636
of the two biblical cities
emerged a few years ago.
1609
01:07:15,660 --> 01:07:18,216
Retired geologist Graham Harris believes
1610
01:07:18,240 --> 01:07:21,036
that not only did Sodom
and Gomorrah exist,
1611
01:07:21,060 --> 01:07:22,806
but that they were also destroyed
1612
01:07:22,830 --> 01:07:25,479
by a dreadful natural
apocalypse corresponding
1613
01:07:25,503 --> 01:07:28,386
to the description in the book of Genesis.
1614
01:07:28,410 --> 01:07:30,296
Harris spent 10 years researching
1615
01:07:30,320 --> 01:07:32,976
in the area where the two biblical cities
1616
01:07:33,000 --> 01:07:34,746
were supposed to be located
1617
01:07:34,770 --> 01:07:36,336
and came to the conclusion that
1618
01:07:36,360 --> 01:07:37,896
the conditions there were perfect
1619
01:07:37,920 --> 01:07:40,416
for a massive earthquake
that would've triggered
1620
01:07:40,440 --> 01:07:42,126
a huge landslide.
1621
01:07:42,150 --> 01:07:44,346
Harris believes the resulting destruction
1622
01:07:44,370 --> 01:07:46,326
of settlements in the area would've been
1623
01:07:46,350 --> 01:07:50,556
so devastating that it could
have passed into folklore.
1624
01:07:50,580 --> 01:07:53,893
A summary of Harris's
2015 book on the subject,
1625
01:07:53,917 --> 01:07:55,416
"Destruction of Sodom:
1626
01:07:55,440 --> 01:07:58,483
The A Scientific Commentary," states,
1627
01:07:58,507 --> 01:08:00,486
"In 'The Destruction of Sodom, '
1628
01:08:00,510 --> 01:08:02,886
the biblical account of
the destruction of Sodom
1629
01:08:02,910 --> 01:08:05,496
and Gomorrah is examined
under the spotlight
1630
01:08:05,520 --> 01:08:07,730
of modern science against
a cultural backdrop
1631
01:08:07,754 --> 01:08:10,416
of history and archeology.
1632
01:08:10,440 --> 01:08:12,576
In this scientific reconstruction,
1633
01:08:12,600 --> 01:08:14,436
the account of the events described
1634
01:08:14,460 --> 01:08:16,806
in the book of Genesis is verified,
1635
01:08:16,830 --> 01:08:18,156
and it is established that
1636
01:08:18,180 --> 01:08:22,696
the destruction occurred at
about 2350 BC as a result
1637
01:08:22,720 --> 01:08:26,376
of an earthquake-induced
landslide transporting Sodom
1638
01:08:26,400 --> 01:08:28,566
to the depths of the Dead Sea.
1639
01:08:28,590 --> 01:08:30,576
Strands of geography, geology,
1640
01:08:30,600 --> 01:08:33,036
and engineering science are drawn together
1641
01:08:33,060 --> 01:08:34,866
to provide comprehensive treatment
1642
01:08:34,890 --> 01:08:37,510
of all relevant scientific
aspects pertinent
1643
01:08:37,534 --> 01:08:40,866
to a rational understanding
of the mechanics
1644
01:08:40,890 --> 01:08:42,606
of the disaster.
1645
01:08:42,630 --> 01:08:45,576
Graham Harris provides
evidence that the mainstay
1646
01:08:45,600 --> 01:08:47,893
of Canaanite commerce was the exploitation
1647
01:08:47,917 --> 01:08:51,306
of the bitumen resources of the Dead Sea,
1648
01:08:51,330 --> 01:08:52,716
that the Sodomites were among
1649
01:08:52,740 --> 01:08:55,123
the world's first chemical engineers.
1650
01:08:55,147 --> 01:08:57,546
"The Destruction of Sodom" is an example
1651
01:08:57,570 --> 01:08:59,466
of the application of science
1652
01:08:59,490 --> 01:09:00,476
to a fuller understanding
1653
01:09:00,500 --> 01:09:01,310
[bright music]
1654
01:09:01,334 --> 01:09:04,416
of one of the most intriguing
events in the Old Testament
1655
01:09:04,440 --> 01:09:07,026
and will be of direct
interest to scholars,
1656
01:09:07,050 --> 01:09:09,426
as well as to the wider public.
1657
01:09:09,450 --> 01:09:11,226
All these competing theories, of course,
1658
01:09:11,250 --> 01:09:13,356
can't be right, and thus far,
1659
01:09:13,380 --> 01:09:15,906
none of them have proved convincing enough
1660
01:09:15,930 --> 01:09:18,863
to be taken seriously
by the academic world.
1661
01:09:20,312 --> 01:09:22,979
[ominous music]
1662
01:10:05,729 --> 01:10:08,396
[intense music]
128856
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