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- [Narrator] The Sumerians were noted

for their worship of many gods.

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Among them was Enki,

a god known for being the patron deity of the city of Eridu.

Enki is depicted in many pieces of Sumerian art

and literature, including the Babylonian creation epic,

the "Enuma Elish," "The Epic of Gilgamesh," and others.

Due to his prominence in such works,

it's fair to assume he played a large role

in Sumerian culture.

Much about Enki remains shrouded in mystery

and begs further exploration.

Enki, a god known for his inherent worth,

represented healing, fertility,

and creation in Sumerian culture.

His intelligent magic often included trickery

to benefit the good of the human race.

Son of a sky god, Enki was thought to reign over the earth

and high heavens as a leader

of the Anunna gods in Sumeria.

It is believed that Enki inhabited

the Earth nearly 400,000 years ago.

Enki was known by a variety of names,

including Enkig, Ea, Nissiku,

and Nudimmund.

The names come with a variety of translations such

as prince, lord of the earth,

and creator, gift of fertility and creation.

In Sumerian culture,

Enki is heavily connected

to the concepts of fertility and creation.

This is often represented by water.

Ancient images of Enki show rivers flowing

from his masculine shoulders.

The rivers depicted are thought to be the Euphrates

and Tigris rivers that flow through Mesopotamia

and signify his gift of fertility to the land.

According to legend,

the rivers were formed from his semen,

which further supports his ties to the concept of fertility.

In addition, other symbols associated

with Enki are the goat and the fish,

which also signify fertility or fertileness.

One Sumerian lore depicts Enki as the founder of Eridu,

possibly Mesopotamia's first city,

thus establishing the beginning of life on earth.

The spiritual site of Eridu has been compared

to the Judeo-Christian concept of the Garden of Eden.

The intelligent yet mischievous Enki suggested

the gods create other beings to mine the gold for them.

The Anunnaki were thought to be clone masters who sought

to clone lesser beings such as the human race

to do their work.

Control of human beings is still thought

to be happening under Anunnaki gods today.

Although Enki contributed to the concept of cloning,

which could be considered manipulation of the human race,

he was well intended

and provided humans with information on how

to restore balance to the Earth

after devastating droughts and famine.

Enki had a substantial cosmic family line.

His immediate family included a father figure,

mother, brother, wife, and four sons.

An additional eight children were born later as mentioned

in a folk tale.

The names and relations

of Enki's family members vary throughout ancient texts.

Enki was a very powerful god

and had the assistance of mythical beings at his service.

Legends describe an assortment of creatures such

as mermaids, giants,

and even demons that aided Enki in his earthly endeavors.

Also, he could call upon both destructive

and caring existences and keep favored humanity

and social justice.

He was known for his intelligence, wisdom,

and gift for divine arts and crafts.

Enki's knowledge of rituals included exorcism as well

as healing prayers and chants.

An important figure in mythological history,

Enki remains one of the greatest Sumerian legends

and one of the most complex Sumerian gods.

As such, one can spend a significant amount of time delving

into the history and mystery of Enki.

Continue to explore this fascinating mythical being

on your own and enjoy the journey.

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A discovery comes along that challenges those theories.

[mysterious music]

We can thank the late great journalist George Plimpton

for one artifact

that has recently challenged that narrative,

potentially setting back the history of mathematics

and casting a new light on the ever-intriguing culture

of the ancient Babylonians.

The artifact known as Plimpton 322 is

a cuneiform tablet that

was purchased almost a century ago

from the real-life Indiana Jones

and could potentially prove that

the ancient Babylonians were the first civilization

to understand trigonometry.

Cuneiform tablets.

Pythagoras is thought to have been the first

to understand that the area of the square

of the hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle is equal

to the sum of the areas of the squares

of its other two sides, aka the Pythagorean theorem,

but it's not necessarily well documented

that Pythagoras actually conceptualized this equation,

nor are there any other of his mathematical achievements.

Pythagoras ran a school that was shrouded in mystery

and secrecy with a cabalistic take on math and numbers.

Some believe it is possible

that his students may have been responsible

for his supposed achievements in mathematics,

but due to either reverence or fear,

gave credit to Pythagoras.

Interpretations and documentation from the time are scarce

as knowledge was typically spread by word of mouth.

At the same time,

Pythagoras's school was almost cult-like with stories

of members being murdered

for not maintaining the school's secrecy and learnings.

The ancient Babylonians, on the other hand,

used cuneiform tablets to record much

of their intellectual work with thousands

of tablets having been recovered to this day.

Many of them were excavated in the early 1900s

and sold to museums or collectors,

but some of the implications of their carvings

are challenging what archeologists have believed

about ancient history.

One of these tablets was purchased by George Plimpton

for a mere $10 in 1922

and has been the center of a heated debate

between archeologists.

The new theory pairs the findings from Plimpton 322

with another tablet known as YBC 7289

and posits that Babylonian mathematics included trigonometry

predating the Greeks by 1,000 years.

These ancient Babylonians used a base-60 system

of mathematics rather than

the base-10 system that we use today.

While we have all assumed Pythagoras to be the first

to postulate his eponymous theory,

Hipparchus is generally known

to be the Greek father of trigonometry

and the first to produce a trigonometric table known

as the table of chords.

Hipparchus's work required a knowledge of trigonometry

for measuring astronomical distances,

but much of the basis for his work came

from Babylonian mathematics using the base-60 system.

Also, few details are known specifically

about his life despite being credited with the discovery

of a large field of mathematics.

The base-60 system allowed the Babylonians

to make trigonometric calculations in terms

of ratios rather than angles.

What is so fascinating

about this discovery is that it brings

a subjective interpretation to mathematics,

which may seem counterintuitive,

but the ancient Babylonian system

of trigonometry shows that they were capable

of achieving similar results using

a different mathematical perspective.

Part of their base-60

or sexagesimal system is even retained today

in certain elements of our lives.

[epic music]

[mysterious music]

Long before the sprawling city streets

of Mexico City stood another city,

one almost lost in the mists of time,

if not for the efforts of some amazing archeologists

and a little luck.

Under the streets

of this Latin American city is another city that

was once called Tenochtitlan,

found underneath the now historical sector

of modern Mexico City.

Although its initial construction would look nothing like

what we see today.

Instead, the present Mexico City has been built

on a dry lake bed,

previously known as Lake Texcoco

and the former Tenochtitlan had its foundations built

on an island by the once great Aztec empire.

The great city was expanded

and added to over the centuries until its ultimate fall

at the hands of the invading Spanish in the 15th century.

Before its downfall, it was a true marvel to behold

and was one of the largest cities

in the pre-Columbian Americas.

Bernal Diaz del Castillo

in his "Conquest of New Spain" offers us

some insights into the surprise

of the conquerors as they approached the city.

"When we saw so many cities

and villages built in the water

and other great towns on dry land, we were amazed

and said that it was like the enchantments on account

of the great towers and cues

and buildings rising from the water,

and all built of masonry.

And some of our soldiers even asked whether

the things that we saw were not a dream.

I do not know how to describe it,

seeing things as we did that had never been heard

or seen of before, not even dreamed about."

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The great city was founded in 1325 AD

and unlike most of the civilizations around the world,

great cultures need a secure cornerstone

of religious underpinnings to bring order

and control to the masses.

The Mexica was founded the city

and ruled over the Aztec empire.

However, there are suggestions that they were

a harsh civilization and plenty

of evidence that shows they possessed a cruel streak.

The religion was based

on an ancient prophecy that recognized

the early tribal cultures of Central America

and noted that they would find peace

in a great city whose sight would be signaled to them

in the form of a great eagle that held a snake

in its mouth resting on top of a cactus.

Interestingly, the Mexica concluded that the answer

to this prophecy was found on an island in Lake Texcoco,

fulfilling their belief

and creating a foundation to build the great city

and open it to not only their people

but also to their gods.

During excavations of Tenochtitlan in 2006,

archeologists uncovered a massive stone tablet dedicated

to one of their gods called Tlaltecuhtli.

They're calling it the largest Aztec idol ever found,

and it seems a title well deserved weighing

at 12 and 1/2 tons.

A spectacular statue of that size

with almost perfect detail should be fascinating enough,

but it seems it's even more intriguing

because some were speculating

this structure may have been a door

to a hidden chamber.

The monolith of Tlaltecuhtli

was excavated within close proximity to the Templo Mayor,

which was actually discovered by accident

as workers uncovered a corner

of the great monolith while sweeping some

of the temple steps.

Templo Mayor was the main temple

and was used by the Aztecs for ceremonial purposes.

Unfortunately, this was primarily human sacrifice.

Archeologists have reported that in one ceremony alone,

thousands of victims were sacrificed in 1487.

Tlaltecuhtli, the Earth God goddess was

a Mesoamerican earth goddess associated with fertility.

As she was seen as their source of life,

the Aztecs sought necessary

to constantly please their goddess with blood sacrifices,

especially human hearts.

According to the creation legend surrounding it,

the earth first roamed on the primordial sea in the form

of a monster by this name.

The legend also goes on to say that this goddess was fierce

and had a taste for human flesh so ferocious

that one single gaping mouth

with teeth of flint knives was not enough

to satisfy her bestial hunger.

To remedy this, she had more mouths at her elbows

and knees that could simultaneously devour her victims.

She was so savage that even other gods were afraid of her.

The myth continues to say that the gods Tezcatlipoca

and Quetzalcoatl transformed into giant serpents

and strangled Tlaltecuhtli

until her giant body split in two.

They threw one half of her broken body up in the sky

and it was transformed into the vault of the heavens

and the other half of her created the earth.

The other deities were appalled

by what the serpents had done to Tlaltecuhtli,

so they descended to the earth half to console her.

They commanded that all the fruits necessary

for the survival of humans should come from her.

From that moment, all creation was to come from her body.

They made it so that all trees, flowers,

and herbs would spring from her hair, wells,

and springs to come from her eyes,

her mouth would create the rivers, lakes, and caverns,

and her nose would create the mountain ranges and valleys.

The goddess sprang back to life in a new way,

but despite the gifts she had been given,

she is said to still cry out at night with her longing

to continue to eat the hearts of humankind.

The legend continues,

the goddess was restless and will not stay quiet

and still until she was given the sacrifices,

nor would she bear fruit

on the land unless her thirst was quenched

with the blood of men.

Some researchers believe that the increase

in human sacrifice in the later stages

of the Mayan civilization

and the almost frenzied pace it took

with the Aztecs was due to the decline of their society.

This downward spiral would've made it very easy

for the Spanish to conquer them.

Unfortunately, when the massive statue

of Tlaltecuhtli was discovered,

it was fragmented into four pieces with a section

of its core missing

or possibly destroyed by the decimation of time.

However, despite its incomplete appearance,

the monolith of this earth monster deity is

one that radiates great power

and intimidation to all those in its presence.

The Aztecs believed that the presentation

of a monument should be in accordance

with its cosmological place

and as Tlaltecuhtli was depicted as an earth monster,

she was placed in the earth underneath

or below other objects.

She was also often carved

beneath Aztec monuments rather than in plain sight,

like those of the carvings at Tlaloc,

and is believed that this

is so that she can take her position of the earth as well

as resting against the earth itself.

She's also placed front forward

in the many representations found of her.

In the Aztec culture,

it was commonplace for their deities

to be presented this way as to show their power

and distinguish them from other figures.

Directly underneath the statue,

they discovered the largest find of offerings,

which included shells and corals,

a tiny pine mask, a sawfish bill,

8 and 1/2 thousand animal bones,

a jar of grain, a scepter, and many fire god sculptures.

Archeologists believe these used to be an arrangement

of sacrificial ornaments or offerings to the goddess.

The gods of old and their worshipers

have always fascinated us.

Even in modern religion,

we venerate statues of saints in buildings

and churches that were adorned with symbolism

and carvings that are linked to old pagan worship,

but sadly, even with the many lives

that the Aztecs sacrificed to Tlaltecuhtli

to placate her thirst for human hearts,

the once great city of Tenochtitlan was abandoned

by their goddess.

Following a failed aqueduct design

to bring fresh water to the Aztec people,

a massive flood destroyed the city

in 1502 AD including many satellite towns and villages.

Even though the city was built by mortar,

the walls could not sustain

the devastating attack by the water.

However, the Mexica were persistent

and began rebuilding once the waters receded.

For the most part,

the technological genius

of the Aztec people allowed them to build dams,

which actually controlled the level of water quite well.

However, after the Spanish conquest,

the dams were destroyed

and the flooding once again claimed this great city

of ancient times.

[epic music]

[haunting music]

A strange circular rock known as Alien Mountain

in Sri Lanka is so called because of its cylindrical shape,

numerous UFO sightings, ancient legends,

and spiritual connotations.

Now newly discovered petroglyphs,

which some believe to be an antique astronomical code

have been discovered at the site as well.

Some researchers believe that the mountain

and its ancient rock carvings provide proof

of extraterrestrial visitors on Earth.

Sri Lanka is a large independent island nation

in the Indian Ocean,

located about 26 miles off the southeast coast of India.

The island was colonized by anatomically modern humans

in the last Interglacial period dating back

to around 125,000 years ago.

Danigala Mountain is situated

in the Polonnaruwa district of Sri Lanka

and has long been known as a sacred site

to the local population.

The mountain itself is a unique cylindrical shaped rock,

which is known by various intriguing names

including Alien Mountain,

Kandegama Rock, and the Stargate of King Ravana.

[cryptic music]

It's believed to be one of the places

where King Ravana landed his special aircraft Dandu Monara.

According to Hindu legend,

King Ravana was one of the most powerful beings ever

to roam the universe.

He ruled in Sri Lanka over the Monara gods,

humans, and demons.

Legend says that Ravana ruled Lanka

for several hundred years prior to the times

of Ramayana when he was killed by Prince Janmab

for kidnapping his wife Sita.

Some researchers believed that this Ramayana

was not entirely a fictional character

and may have been based

on a real king who ruled over Sri Lanka

from 2554 to 2517 BC.

Under the rule of the scholarly Ravana,

Sri Lanka witnessed great advancements

in science and medicine.

The Pushpaka Vimana or the airplane

in which some versions

of the legend is said to have flown

during his reign is held up as an example

of the great scientific achievements taking place

at the time.

The word vimana is composed of "vi" the sky,

"mana" meaning measure.

Vimana is something that measures

the sky as it crosses it.

Indian legends are full of stories of vimana.

The most well-known of these legends

of the Pushpaka Vimana concerns Rama who was returning

from Lanka to Ayodhya along with Sita

after defeating Ravana.

The vimana that was used by Ravana himself was also known

as Dandu Monara.

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In the local Sinhalaese language,

monara means peacock

and Dandu Monara means

that which can fly resembling a peacock.

In fact, the story of Ravana flying in a vimana

with his wife Mandodari is depicted in the insignia

of Sri Lanka's most famous hotel,

Galle Face Hotel Colombo.

In some ancient texts which discuss these flying machines,

there are tantalizing mentions of possible fuels used,

aeronautics, meteorology,

and aerial maneuvers that were deployed in flying them.

Some researchers have noted the connection

between these ancient vimanas

and the designation of Alien Mountain

to describe Danigala Mountain.

There's just one problem,

there is no record of any UFO sightings in the area

of the mountain.

It could be perhaps the designation Alien Mountain comes

from the connection with the ancient vimanas,

though no one seems to be sure of that,

it's possible through

the alien connection that it goes

further back than modern UFO sightings.

[elusive music]

In September 2020,

a doctor published a controversial report

on the Research Gate scientific networking site

on the petroglyphs

at Alien Mountain entitled "Danigala Coding Sri Lanka."

In this report,

which describes the new discovery of petroglyphs

in a part of the northwest slope of the mountain

in July 2020,

Danigala states, "Those bind ruins

are dominantly compared

with other archeological sites in Sri Lanka

and the Southeast Asia region.

The type of symbols bind ruins

and petroglyphs found are quite new,

and for the first time discovered in Sri Lankan

during archeoastronomical

and geological preliminary survey conducted

by the Central Culture Fund with a corporation

of South Asian Astrobiology

and Earth Sciences Research Unit of Eco Astronomy Sri Lanka.

Hence, this is a new discovery.

It should be considered as our geological,

astronomical, and archeological heritage site,

which represents the collective memory

of the anthropomorphic scenes affected by mother nature."

He's the CEO and founder

of Eco Astronomy Sri Lanka established

in 2016 as a newly developed research area in Sri Lanka.

Their research focuses

on comparative systematic analysis

of extreme environmental conditions of planet Earth,

which related to extraterrestrial life based

on paleontological and meteorological factors.

He believes that the rock carvings found at Alien Mountain,

so-called bind ruins,

when two or more ruins are connected

or bound together,

constitute a lost astronomical counting system created

by the Neolithic hunters thousands of years ago.

Though such bind ruins are unique,

ancient rock art in Sri Lanka is fairly common.

It first came to the attention of researchers in 1897

and to date over 40 sites

have been cataloged on the island.

These sites mostly rock shelters

are mainly concentrated in the eastern,

southeastern north, central,

and central hill regions of the island.

The paintings in the caves generally depict humans

and animals such as elephants, leopards,

stags, deer, and dogs.

It's important to note that

the animals depicted are not shown

in hunting scenes when they're shown alongside humans,

they appear almost as companions rather than prey.

[ethereal music]

Some researchers have pointed out these similarities

between the circular Danigala Mountain

and the prominent ancient rock fortress

in the Northern Matale district near

the town of Dambulla

in the central province of Sri Lanka,

this enigmatic rock outcrop rises dramatically

from the plains.

Its almost vertical walls soar skyward

to a flat top summit that contains the ruins

of an ancient civilization believed

to be once the focal point

of the short-lived kingdom of Kassapa.

Given its stunning appearance,

it's perhaps not surprising that Sigiriya is known

by locals as the eighth wonder of the world.

The fortress complex is located on a massive rock plateau,

1,214 feet above sea level.

The fortress complex includes the remains

of a ruined palace,

surrounded by an extensive network of fortifications,

huge gardens, ponds, canals, alleys, and fountains.

From the 3rd century BC,

the rocky plateau of Sigiriya functioned as a monastery.

In the second half of the 5th century AD,

King Kashyapa constructed a royal residence there,

but after his death,

the site again became a Buddhist monastery,

which lasted up until the 14th century

when it was finally abandoned.

The western wall of the palace

was almost entirely covered

by stunning frescoes created during the reign of Kashyapa,

18 of which survived to this day.

The frescoes depict naked females

and are considered to be either portraits

of Kashyapa's wives and concubines

or priestesses performing religious rituals.

Another striking feature of Sigiriya is its mirror wall.

In ancient times, it was polished so thoroughly that

the king could see his reflection in it.

The mirror wall is painted with inscriptions

and poems written by the visitors to the area,

the most ancient of which dates back

to the 8th century showing that Sigiriya was

a tourist destination more than a thousand years ago.

Sigiriya has also water gardens,

cave and boulder gardens,

and also terrace gardens.

They're located on the western part of the site

and were watered using

an incredibly complex hydraulic system

which consisted of canals, locks,

lakes, dams, bridges, fountains,

as well as surface and underground water pumps.

The buildings and landscape gardens

of Sigiriya show that the creators

of this incredible architectural monument used unique

[mysterious music]

and creative technical skills and technologies.

In fact, so astonishing are

the features that some paranormal researchers believe

the site to be the result

of extraterrestrial intervention

rather than human ingenuity and hard work.

These researchers point out the architectural

and engineering design at the site which is advanced even

by 21st century standards.

One legend surrounding

the huge rock fortress states

that it was built initially for Kubera,

the treasurer of the Gods of Vishwakarma,

the divine engineer.

One alien hunter suggested that the rock fortress

was something like a lighthouse

for ancient aliens and their vimanas,

[energy pulsating]

reasoning that if they were landing at night,

the crystals in the mirror wall

of the site would reflect the light back from the craft.

Believers in the ancient alien theory

for the site question how ancient builders created

such extraordinary structures

on top of a rock over 1,200 feet high.

But why would this suggest aliens?

There are numerous archeological sites

throughout the world,

far higher up and more inaccessible.

The most obvious examples being the Inca Citadel

of Machu Picchu in Peru,

located 7,970 feet up on a mountain ridge.

The palace and fortress complex

of Sigiriya has been recognized as one

of the finest examples of ancient urban planning

in the world.

Taking into account the uniqueness of this site,

UNESCO declared it a world heritage site in 1982.

[epic music]

[haunting music]

The Inga Stone is located in the middle of the waters

of the Inga River near the small city of Inga

in Paraiba state in the northwest of Brazil.

This controversial historical treasure 150 feet long

and 13 feet in height is covered in carvings

of strange unidentified geometric symbols

of various sizes and shapes.

Although many researchers have speculated on the origins

and the meaning of the symbols,

no theory has yet been proven.

Were they made by

a previously unknown civilization

maybe possessing ancient technology long since forgotten?

What do the symbols really mean?

[mysterious music]

The area where the site is located covers

around 40 hectares of extensive granite outcrops

that contain a large number of rock carvings.

The main outcrop is popularly known

as Pedra do Inga, the Stone of Inga,

and forms a wall oriented northeast-southeast

and features the three main rock panels at the site.

In the rainy season,

this large monolith is partially covered by water

and can only be seen in its entirety in dry weather

and when the riverbed is completely dry.

Although there is speculation as

to what tools could have been used to make the carvings,

it's believed that the figures were made

with round stones found in nearby streams.

Archeological research indicates the existence

of lithic workshops in the vicinity of the site

and temporary camps associated with the main site

in use from about 10,000 BC to around 1,400 AD,

possibly as a sacred place used

by the local prehistoric populations.

There is also evidence of other occupations

in the areas outside of the main site,

which is associated with it.

So far, experts have identified

more than 400 engravings on the stone's surface.

Most of the Inga carvings are hard to understand,

but some of them are thought

to represent celestial features

with two being similar to the Milky Way

and the constellation of Orion.

Others are thought to be representations of circles,

geometric shapes, animals, fruits, weapons,

human shapes, and birds.

Many of the carvings seem to relate to the daily life

of the local population at the time.

The exact origin of the inscriptions is still unknown.

[ominous music]

Brazil was officially discovered in 1500

when a fleet on its way to India commanded

by Portuguese diplomat Pedro Alvarez Cabral landed

in Porto Seguro between Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.

The first references to the mysterious carvings

are found in the reports of the European settlers

in the state in the 16th century.

Among these references,

the most important is

the "Dialogues of Brazil's Grandness"

attributed to Ambrosio Fernandes Brandao

written between 1519 and 1618.

According to the researcher Gabriela Martin in 2008,

"The Inga stone is undoubtedly

the most famous rock engraving in Brazil,

but as a result of this exalted reputation,

a number of groundless theories, hopeful speculations

and popular myths have grown up around the stone

and the origin and meaning of its carvings.

Hidden treasures are mentioned as are lost Venetian sailors

and of course extraterrestrial beings.

Where would we be without their help?"

[mysterious music]

Gabriele D'Annunzio Baraldi from 1938 to 2002

was Italian by birth,

but lived in Brazil, Sao Paulo until his death.

Baraldi claimed that the area

around the Inga Stone was a Hittite colony

and that the Hittite empire had existed in Brazil.

This was apparently based on the basic similarity

and nothing more between Hittite inscriptions

and those on the Inga stone.

The Hittites occupied the ancient region

of Anatolia, modern-day Turkey,

around 1700 BC,

so how they found the way to Brazil is anyone's guess,

perhaps the extraterrestrials brought them.

[energy pulsating]

[mysterious music]

In the early 20th century,

the Austrian traveler Ludwig Schwennhagen toured

various parts of Northeastern Brazil studying traces

of what he believed to be the presence

of Phoenicians in this region.

Besides numerous articles,

he published a book, "Ancient History of Brazil,"

associating the inscriptions of Inga

with the Phoenicians.

The Phoenicians were a maritime people

who occupied the coast of Levant,

modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine,

and most of Western Turkey

from around 1500 to 332 BC.

Again, what were they doing in Brazil?

But the theory of Phoenicians in Brazil

and the Americas has a long history as part

of the recurring, often bizarre attempts

to find ancient Semitic inscriptions

in the western hemisphere.

In 1872, a stone inscribed

with Phoenician writing was allegedly discovered

in Paraiba, northeast Brazil.

The letter sent from the original discoverer

of the stone to the president

of the Brazilian Historical

and Geographic Institute is worth quoting:

[eerie music]

"As I was having stones carried into my property,

my slaves brought me one that they had already broken

into four pieces.

This stone presented numerous characters

that no one understood.

I had them copied by my son,

who knows a little about draftsmanship,

and I was resolved to send this copy to your Excellency

as president of the Historical

and Geographical Institute of Brazil

to see if your Excellency

or some other person could determine

what these letters mean,

and as I have arrived in this capital city

and have not had the time to give them personally

to your Excellency,

I have sent them to him through the post.

I am with all consideration

and respect for your Excellency.

Attentive, devoted, and obliged servant,

Joaquim Alves de Costa,

Rio, 11th of September, 1872."

[thunder crashing]

The inscription itself told the story

of a Phoenician ship which was caught in a storm

and separated from a fleet sailing

from Egypt around Africa.

[enigmatic music]

The stone also mentions the Pharaoh Necho I or Necho II.

A transcription was shown to the director

of the National Museum of Brazil who

at first accepted the inscription as genuine,

but Alves de Costa

and his estate proved impossible to locate

and it was concluded that the whole affair

was nothing more than a hoax.

Marshall McKusick has reviewed

and dismissed various theories of Phoenicians

or Canaanites in the new world,

observing that "In this modern day everyone wishes

to be his own authority

and the personal search

for cultural alternatives seems

to make every idea or theory equal in value."

[mysterious music]

Ronald H. Fritze has discussed

the theory of such claims

from the 17th to the 20th centuries,

concluding that although the journey

to Brazil was technically possible,

no archeological evidence has yet been discovered

to prove it.

Peruvian electrical engineer Huari Roman

has linked the Inga stone

with refugees from the sunken continent of Atlantis.

Roman claims that before the great flood,

most of central Brazil was a huge inland sea

and that the Atlanteans

and Arawaks lived around this lake,

and that the one artifact left behind

by them was the Inga stone.

After the deluge,

[waves crashing]

a cataclysm inundated Atlantis and Brazil,

destroying the Inland Sea.

Some groups fled to the Andean Highlands

of Peru eventually developing the empire of Tiwanaku,

which then later became the Incan Empire.

What is Roman's evidence for this extraordinary theory?

Apparently, he's keeping that to himself.

Who also those who believe that the signs

on the Inga stone are the work of extraterrestrials?

According to Claudio Quintans

of the Paraibano Center for Ufology,

it is unlikely that the prehistoric people

of the area would've been able

to make such intricate carvings.

Therefore, he believes the carvings were actually made

by extraterrestrial visitors to the planet,

and some symbols may be interpreted

as explaining the distance between the planets such

as the Earth and the Moon,

and even further beyond that.

[haunting music]

He adds that the Inga stone shows some formulas

for the production of quantum energy.

There must be a queue

of physicists forming around Quintans's house

to ask just where he obtained

that earth-shattering information and what it means.

[mysterious music]

The attitude of Quintan's is very common

in alternative history theories.

The belief is that there's no way that the natives

of Brazil could have ever been advanced enough

to make anything that required any technological skill

or knowledge.

In fact, in Brazil's Natural History Museum,

there are stone instruments which the natives used

for various activities including grooving stones

to make inscriptions such as those on the Inga stone.

Spanish engineer Francisco Pavia Alemany

has mathematically studied the stone,

and his first results were published in 1986.

Alemany identified a series of bowls on the stone's surface

and another petroglyph etched

into the vertical surface of the wall of Inga

that formed a solar calendar.

Alemany later focused on recording

and documenting a series of symbols

on the surface which represented stars that appeared

to have been grouped together in what appeared

to be constellations.

According to him, it's the coexistence of the bowls

and constellations on the rock surface which give

the stone its archeoastronomical significance.

Although there are a number of theories

to explain the unusual designs on the stone,

the simplest is probably true.

The symbols represent various cultural

and spiritual teachings passed on by local tribal elders

to the younger generations.

Unfortunately, there have been virtually no studies

of the technological development, social structure,

or cultural complexity of the prehistoric populations

of Northeastern Brazil.

Hence, there's a gap in our knowledge

of the cultures of the area,

which allows all sorts

of bizarre unsubstantiated theories

to wriggle through unchecked.

[calm music]

The Inga stone and the area around it represents

a people who created expressive art in rock

with a high technical capacity.

The site is remarkable for its almost exclusive use

of non-figurative representations

on its panels expressing the creative genius of

a human group that appropriated abstract aesthetic standards

as a means of expression

of possibly symbolic religious concepts.

The local populations were unlike

other prehistoric Brazilian cultures in this,

who mostly made use of anthropomorphic

and zoomorphic representations.

Unfortunately today the site where the Inga stone stands

is under constant threat,

not only from the elements but from the hundreds

of tourists who trample all over it almost daily.

There have been also cases

of the stone being damaged by vandals,

so there is an urgent need for the Inga stone

to be protected and preserved

if we want future generations to be

as fascinated by it as we are.

[epic music]

[ethereal music]

Controversy has arisen around an artifact known

as the Nazareth Inscription long believed

[feet stomping]

to be an official Roman response to the disappearance

of Jesus' body from its tomb.

New researchers cast doubt

on the origin of the inscription,

which was acquired

by German collector in Paris in 1878.

[playful carnival music]

However, apart from a note indicating

[ethereal music continues]

that it had come from Nazareth,

its history has remained something of a mystery.

The Nazareth Inscription.

The Nazareth Inscription itself is written on a block

of marble, about two feet tall, a foot wide,

and two inches deep.

The first of its 22 lines of text carved

in Greek letters announces

an "Edict of Caesar."

[trumpet blowing]

The edict calls for capital punishment

for anyone who removes a body from a tomb.

If the tablet did originate in Nazareth,

it's understandable how one could make a connection

between this edict and the beginnings of Christianity.

Perhaps the inscription had something to do

with the controversy over the famous empty tomb

and suggests that a Roman emperor was aware

of disturbing claims about a crucified man rising

from the dead in a distant province of his wide empire.

The style of the letters used

in the inscription certainly indicates it was written

in the first half of the 1st century.

- [Soldier] What do we want! - [Narrator] Indeed, no one-

has ever questioned- - [Soldiers] Justice!

- [Soldier] When do we want it!

- [Soldiers] Now! - [Narrator] The authenticity

of the Nazareth inscription,

so it's highly unlikely that this is a forgery,

but its interpretation

and possible connection to the story

of the resurrection of Christ

are still fiercely debated today.

The translation of the inscription reads:

"Edict of Caesar.

[bell dinging]

It is my decision,

graves and tombs, whoever has made them

for the religious observances of parents, or children,

or household members,

that these remain undisturbed forever.

But if anyone legally charges

that another person has destroyed

or has in any manner extracted

those who have been buried,

or has moved with wicked intent

those who have been buried to other places,

committing a crime against them,

or has moved sepulchral stones,

against such a person,

I order that a judicial tribunal be created,

[bell dinging]

just as concerning the gods

in human religious observances.

Even more so it will be obligatory to treat

with honor those who have been entombed.

You are absolutely not to allow anyone to move,

But if so, I wish that one

to suffer capital punishment under the title

of tomb-breaker."

The discovery of the Nazareth Inscription.

When scholar and collector of antiquities,

Wilhelm Froehner died in his Paris home in 1925,

he left behind among his possessions

a curious inscription

and manuscripts that could be

the oldest surviving artifact of Christianity.

By the time he died,

he'd been in possession of the Nazareth Inscription

for nearly 50 years.

His inventory of the inscription simply states,

"This marble was sent from Nazareth in 1878."

In 1925, the collection was acquired

by the Paris National Library where

the Nazareth inscription was rediscovered

and read by a monsieur Rostovtzeff.

Rostovtzeff informed his friend

the scholar Franz Cumont about the inscription,

and in 1930 he published a Greek transcription

and a translation of the inscription with a commentary.

Cumont came to the conclusion

that there were two possible contexts

for the inscription,

which have remained the leading contenders to this day

[feet stomping]

Theories about the inscription's origin.

The first suggests that

the edict was issued against the background

of the general upheavals of Rome's violent transition

from republic to empire.

The end of the republic had witnessed

the eastern provinces extensively plundered,

tombs and temples alike were ravaged.

Perhaps the Nazareth inscription was part

of a general effort to restore order.

If this is the case, then the inscription would belong

to the final decade's BC

and thus originally to a fully Roman dominion

[fire crackling]

somewhere like Greece

or more likely Asia Minor,

before eventually surfacing in Palestine.

Palestinian origins.

The primary alternative explanation

is that the edict is a response

to the Christian gospel

[bell dinging]

and the hostile conflicts it aroused.

In the Bible, the disciples

of Jesus claimed that they found their master's tomb empty,

and the Gospel of Matthew makes it clear

that opposing accounts of the empty tomb

were being circulated.

Those Jews who did not believe that Jesus was

the Messiah spread the rumor that

the disciples had stolen the body,

and according to Matthew,

they bribed the Roman guards

into swearing this alternative truth before the governor.

Could it be that, aware of enduring tensions

and conflict over the claims of the resurrection,

the emperor issued an edict specifying harsh penalties

for violating tombs and the bodies lying within?

But while this of course doesn't prove

that the inscription is evidence

for the resurrection of Christ,

it does indicate that the story of the resurrection

of Christ was already circulating very early on,

perhaps even in the reign

of Emperor Claudius around 41 AD.

If the story of the resurrection

of Christ was widely known soon after his crucifixion,

it could be that it was circulated

by his apostles themselves.

In his 1968 book,

author Michael Green wrote that there

was firm contemporary evidence

for the presence of Jesus' empty tomb.

He said this piece

of evidence is called the Nazareth Inscription

after the town where it was found.

It is an imperial edict belonging either

to the reign of Tiberius, 14-37 AD,

or of Claudius 41-54 AD,

and it's an invective backed with heavy sanctions

against meddling around with tombs and graves.

It looked very much as if the news

of the empty tomb had got back to Rome in a garbled form.

Pilate would have had to report

and he would obviously have said

the tomb had been rifled.

This edict, it seems, is the imperial reaction,

but as mentioned earlier,

the inscription provides no evidence

for any specific event.

Indeed, skeptics of the Jesus connection argue

that there is absolutely nothing linking

this inscription with Christianity,

only the town it was found in.

Even though Jesus was not buried in Nazareth,

and its possible date.

They also point out that the law is prefaced

by a reference to the importance

of family burial cult,

so the incentive for the law seems

seems to been an objection

to those who were depriving people of the right

to pay homage to their dead ancestors,

something that would appear to have no connection

with the missing body of Jesus.

Skeptics also point out that

in the late 19th century there

were only two major market centers

for all antiquities recovered in Palestine,

Jerusalem, and Nazareth.

Thus de Zulueta makes the plausible conjecture that

the slab was recovered either in Samaria or Decapolis

and either purchased

or shipped via the nearest possible place,

which would've been Nazareth.

New evidence: In April 2020,

it was announced that scientists had conducted

the first isotope analysis of marble sample

from the slab containing the inscription.

The research team sensationally discovered that

the unique isotopic fingerprints

of the marble were a close match

for a signature found in white marble

from the Greek island of Kos

of Turkey's southwestern coast.

[waves crashing]

As Kos is a long way from Nazareth,

the results of the tests would certainly seem

to reduce the likelihood that

the edict had any connection with early Christianity.

Researchers believe that the inscription,

rather than referring

to the story of Jesus' empty tomb,

relates to an incident which took place decades

before the death of Jesus.

The incident took place on Kos in the 30s BC

and involved what happened after the death

of an extremely unpopular

but powerful official named Nicias.

[wolf howling]

After Nicias's demise,

locals broke into his tomb and desecrated the body.

Researchers now believe that the Roman edict warning

of harsh punishments for grave desecration

was response to the fate suffered

by the body of Nicias.

Lead study author Kyle Harper,

a professor of classics

and letters at the University of Oklahoma said

of the discovery,

"We believe that it's

the first time stable isotope chemistry

has ever been used to establish

the provenance of an inscription, period.

We got lucky twice over.

First, it was very direct match with

a rather unexpected marble quarry

so we could really pinpoint its origins on Kos.

[bell dinging]

Second, it happened that we know of an episode

of tomb violation that was very famous

in the exact right period.

[waves crashing]

I would've never hoped

for such a remarkable alignment."

[insects chirring]

Harper and his team have also suggested

the Greek dialect on the inscription does not match

a Nazarene background for the period

and that it could have been written anywhere

between 100 BC and 100 AD.

But although Harper's work proves

that the marble was sourced from Kos,

it doesn't prove that Nazareth's Inscription

was inscribed in Kos.

Indeed, since its publication,

Harper's research has been questioned

by other researchers

and is certainly not set

to be the final word on the edict.

One researcher has pointed out

that with the Herodian Dynasty,

which ruled Judea for almost 80 years

from 37 BC to 39 AD,

traded regularly with the island of Kos.

Perhaps, they reason,

[waves crashing]

marble was commercially transported to Judea from Kos

and found its way into Nazareth during the reign

of Claudius or Nero.

At the moment, there's no way of knowing

for certain where the stone was inscribed

and what exactly it was referring to.

It seems the debate about the Nazareth inscription is set

to rage on for many years to come.

[epic music]

[dramatic music]

Evidence from the 11,000-year-old carvings

on an ancient temple site

in what is now Turkey suggests

that a mass of comet fragments hit

the Earth around 11,000 BC.

There is also other evidence

to support this catastrophic event

from a Greenland ice core.

The impact, which probably resulted

from the breakup of a giant comet

in the inner solar system,

triggered a cold climate,

which lasted at least a thousand years

and seems to have been remembered

by the hunter-gatherers in the area

for thousands of years afterwards.

[mysterious music]

Gobekli Tepe.

Gobekli Tepe, Turkish for the hill of the navel is

a 1,000-foot diameter mound located

at the highest point

of a mountain ridge in southeastern Turkey.

The site includes two phases of use,

believed to be social

or ritual in nature by its discoverer

and excavator Klaus Schmidt.

It dates back to the 10th-8th millennium BC

and since 1994, excavations conducted by Klaus Schmidt

of the Istanbul branch

of the German Archeological Institute have

been taking place at the site.

Results to date have been outstanding,

especially bearing in mind that

the excavators estimate that their work has uncovered

a mere 5% of the site.

Gobekli Tepe consists of four arrangements

of monolithic pillars linked together by segments

of coarsely built dry stone walls to form a series

of circular or oval structures.

There are two large pillars

in the center of each complex,

which are encircled

by slightly smaller stones facing inwards.

During the first phase of the site,

circles of huge T-shaped stone pillars were erected,

at the moment, the world's oldest known megaliths.

Archeologists believed that these pillars

could have once supported roofs.

The structures vary in size between 33

and 98 feet in diameter

and have floors made of burned lime.

The megaliths themselves,

43 of which have been unearthed so far,

are mainly T-shaped pillars of soft limestone

up to around 16 feet in height.

The stone would've been excavated

and transported from a stone quarry

on the lowest southwestern slope of the hill.

Geophysical surveys on the hill indicate there are

as many as 250 more megaliths lying buried around the site,

suggesting that another 16 complexes once existed

at Gobekli Tepe.

Although the pictograms at Gobekli Tepe

do not represent a form of writing,

they may have functioned as sacred symbols

whose meanings were implicitly understood

by the local population at the time.

The carving of the comet impact.

The mysterious megaliths at Gobekli Tepe

have been puzzling archeologists

and challenging presumptions

about prehistoric culture since their discovery.

The most debated point is how

a nomadic hunter-gatherer society

with a supposedly primitive social structure could plan

and build such monumental stone circles.

It was recently announced that researchers

from the University of Edinburgh

in Scotland had found evidence for the recording

of a devastating comet impact

more than 13,000 years ago while examining symbols

on a decorated stone

from Gobekli Tepe called the Vulture Stone.

Using computer star tracking software called Stellarium,

the researchers were able to track

what the sky looked like

in the time Gobekli Tepe was in use.

The team matched carvings of animals on the Vulture Stone,

which they interpreted as astronomical symbols,

[celestial music]

to patterns of stars

and were able to pinpoint the cataclysmic event caused

by the comet fragments hitting the Earth

to 10,950 BC, give or take 250 years.

Another image on the stone,

that of a headless man,

is believed to symbolize human disaster

and extensive loss of life.

Scientists have speculated for decades

whether a comet could have been the cause

of a sudden fall in temperature during a period known

as the Younger Dryas.

The Younger Dryas was essentially a mini ice age,

which lasted around a thousand years

and it's considered a critical period for humanity

as it was around the time agriculture

and the first Neolithic civilizations arose,

possibly in response to the arrival of a colder climate.

Dr. Martin Sweatman of the School of Engineering

at the University of Edinburgh led the research

into the Vulture Stone and commented

on the team's findings.

"I think this research,

along with a recent finding

of a widespread platinum anomaly

across the North American continent,

virtually seal the case in favor

of a Younger Dryas comet impact.

Our work serves to reinforce that physical evidence.

What is happening here is

the process of paradigm change.

[explosion booming]

It appears Gobekli Tepe was, among other things,

an observatory for monitoring the night sky.

One of its pillars seems to have served

as a memorial to this devastating event,

probably the worst day in history since the end

of the Ice Age."

The Vulture Stone,

labeled by archeologists Pillar 43,

is one of the oldest artifacts discovered

at Gobekli Tepe,

and archeologists have found that it exhibits signs

[mysterious music]

of being cared for by the people there for millennia,

which indicates that what was carved onto it

was very important.

Perhaps the event that researchers believe the images

on the stone depicted had a long-lasting impact

on the civilization in the area.

In their paper published on the Vulture Stone,

images in "Mediterranean Archeology

and Archeometry" in 2017, Dr. Sweatman

and Dimitrios Tsikritsis described

their findings connecting

the comet strike with Gobekli Tepe

and the onset of the Younger Dryas in more detail.

They said, "Symbolism on pillar 18 is consistent

with an event of cosmic origin.

The fox symbolism in particular suggests

a cosmic event originating

from a specific position.

The belt, buckle, eclipse,

and snake symbols are consistent

with a cometary encounter.

We also find evidence that a key function

of Gobekli Tepe was to observe meteor showers

and record cometary encounters.

Indeed, the people of Gobekli Tepe appear

to have had a special interest

in the Taurid meteor stream,

the same meteor stream that is proposed as responsible

for the Younger Dryas event."

Is Gobekli Tepe the smoking gun

for the Younger Dryas cometary encounter

and hence for coherent catastrophism?

Was Gobekli Tepe an observatory?

Dr. Sweatman's comment that Gobekli Tepe

may have functioned

as an observatory at some stage

in its history is a controversial one.

The claims of Gobekli Tepe's connection

to the night sky have been mostly rejected

by the main archeological team excavating the temple.

In their opinion,

although Gobekli Tepe is extraordinarily well preserved,

time and the elements have changed the location

of certain features at the site.

Some of the pillars at Gobekli Tepe were certainly removed

and recycled elsewhere during occupation of the site.

Moreover, later civilizations in the area

and more recently farmers have repositioned parts

of certain pillars,

even on some occasions breaking pieces off.

In a paper written in response

to the claims of Dr. Sweatman and his team,

they stated their main objection

to his claim that Gobekli Tepe was an observatory is

"There is significant possibility

that we are dealing with roofed structures.

This fact alone would pose limitations

to a function of sky observatories.

The arches depicted on the western broad side

of Pillar 43 could even be images

of the monumental buildings themselves covered

by a corbel roof."

Dr. Sweatman published a quick response

to the criticism of their work

by the excavators of Gobekli Tepe,

and in this response they reiterated

their hypothesis that Gobekli Tepe had been,

at an early stage at the site's history, an observatory,

whether it was in later life a roofed structure or not.

They said, "We suggest construction

[celestial music]

of the rough stone enclosure walls,

might or might not have supported a roof,

might have followed an earlier phase

of construction consisting

of relatively freestanding pillars.

We suggest this because the carvings on many

of the pillars are covered by these walls.

Given the undoubted extreme effort required

and limited resources available to construct the pillars

and their carvings,

it makes little sense to us that the builders

of Gobekli Tepe would have immediately hidden many

of the carvings within the rough stone enclosure wall.

We also note that whether Gobekli Tepe

was roofed at some point or not,

this has little bearing on the statistics

in our interpretation.

It only affects interpretation of the usage

of Gobekli Tepe at some point in its history."

[epic music]

Most people are familiar with the biblical story

[celestial music]

of Sodom and Gomorrah.

For most scholars, it is just a story,

but one scientific study has determined

that a clay tablet dating

from around 700 BC is a copy

of notes taken by an eyewitness

to the ancient asteroid impact

[asteroid whooshing]

believed to be responsible for the destruction

of the two biblical cities.

The cuneiform symbols on the tablet,

recently translated by researchers,

are believed to detail an account written

by an ancient Sumerian astronomer watching

the asteroid impact.

There were other competing theories

for the destruction of the two cities however.

Recently one researcher wrote

that he was convinced that Sodom

and Gomorrah were destroyed

by a massive earthquake followed

by a catastrophic landslide.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sodom and Gomorrah were two notoriously sinful cities

in the biblical book of Genesis,

located in the region of the Dead Sea

between what are now Israel

and Jordan in the Middle East.

Along with the cities of Admah, Zeboim,

and Zoar, Sodom and Gomorrah constituted

the five cities of the plain referenced

throughout both the Old

and New Testaments and the Quran.

Genesis describes God's dissatisfaction

with Sodom and Gomorrah and his decision

to destroy them,

[energy whirring]

"The sun had risen over

the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone

and fire from the Lord out of heaven,

and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley,

and all the inhabitants of the cities,

and what grew on the ground.

But his wife from behind him looked back,

[celestial music]

and she became a pillar of salt.

Now Abraham arose early in the morning

and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord,

and he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah

and toward all the land of the valley,

and he saw, and behold,

[fire crackling]

the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace.

Thus, it came about,

when God destroyed the cities of the valley,

that God remembered Abraham

and sent Lot out in the midst

of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities

in which Lot lived."

[fire crackling]

It is an extremely dramatic story,

but is it merely fiction?

According to archeologists, scientists,

and biblical scholars, there is no evidence that Sodom

and its sister town Gomorrah even existed,

let alone that they came

to a sudden and disastrous end.

[eluding music]

The ancient clay tablet.

In March 2008, it was announced in the media that

an ancient clay tablet that had perplexed scientists

for over 150 years had been identified

as a witness's account of an asteroid

[cryptic music]

that destroyed the biblical cities

of Sodom and Gomorrah 5,000 years ago.

The cuneiform tablet known as the Planisphere is

in the British Museum collection number K8538,

and was discovered by Henry Layard in the remains

of the library in the royal palace at Nineveh.

The tablet was made

by an Assyrian scribe around 700 BC.

The recently translated cuneiform symbols are believed

to be an ancient copy of the night notebook made

by an ancient Sumerian astronomer who watched

the asteroid impact.

Astonishingly, scholars have been able

to pinpoint the date of the impact at dawn

on the 29th of June 3123 BC,

based on the symbols on the tablet

which describe cloud formation

and the positions of constellations in the sky.

The theory was put forward by Alan Bond,

Managing Director of Reaction Engines Limited,

and Mark Hempsell,

Senior Lecturer in Astronautics

at Bristol University in the UK,

who spent eight years researching the subject

and collecting evidence to support their theory.

The asteroid in question is believed

to have been over half a mile wide

and probably crashed into the Austrian Alps

at Kofels where there is evidence

of a huge ancient landslide.

It had long been thought

[asteroid roaring]

that a large object had impacted at Kofels,

the evidence being a giant landslide 640 feet thick

and 3.1 miles in diameter.

Hempsell described the ancient event

as he believes it happened.

"It came in at a very low angle

[asteroid whooshing]

around six degrees and then clipped

a mountain called Gamskogel

[calm music]

around 11 kilometers from Kofels.

This caused it to explode,

[explosion banging]

and as it traveled down the valley,

it became a fireball.

When it hit Kofels

[fireball whooshing]

it created enormous pressure,

which pulverized the rock and caused the landslide,

but because it wasn't solid,

there was no crater."

Another conclusion can be made

from the trajectory.

The back plume from the explosion,

the mushroom cloud,

[explosion banging]

would be bent over the Mediterranean Sea,

reentering the atmosphere

over the Levant, Sinai, and Northern Egypt.

The ground heating, though very short,

would be enough to ignite any flammable material

including human hair and clothes.

It's probable more people died under the plume

than in the Alps due to the impact blast.

According to Dr. Hempsell,

around 386,000 square miles

would've been devastated by the asteroid,

and the impact would've been equivalent

to more than 1000 tons of TNT exploding.

He believes that

at least 20 ancient myths record devastation

which could equate to that of the type

and on the scale of the asteroid's impact.

These stories include the Old Testament tale

of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

and the ancient Greek myth of Phaeton, son of Helios,

who fell into the river Eridanus

after losing control of his father's sun chariot.

Bond and Hempsell presented their theory

in their 2008 monograph,

"A Sumerian Observation of the Kofels Impact."

However, the academic world was far from convinced

by the asteroid theory.

Jon Taylor, a retired expert in Near Eastern archeology

at the British Museum,

pointed out that there was no evidence that

the ancient Sumerians had the ability

to make such accurate astronomical records,

and that our knowledge of Sumerian language

was very far from complete.

"I remain unconvinced by these results," he stated.

In December 2018, yet another theory accounting

for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah emerged.

This time, it was a meteor that exploded

in the air near the Dead Sea 3,700 years ago

and could have wiped out communities in the area

of the Bronze Age city of Tall el-Hammam,

which according to one of its excavators, Steven Collins,

is the biblical city of Sodom from the Bible.

Part of the abstract from the conference presentation

by the two proponents of this new theory,

archeologists Philip J. Silvia

and Steven Collins

of Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque, reads,

"The paper surveys the multiple lines

of evidence that collectively suggest

a Tunguska-like cosmic airburst event

that obliterated civilization,

including the Middle Bronze Age city-state anchored

by Tall el-Hammam.

In the Middle Ghor,

the 25-kilometer diameter circular plain

immediately north of the Dead Sea,

3,700 years before present."

[mysterious music]

The two researchers also have an intriguing explanation

as to how Lot's wife could have been turned

into a pillar of salt.

They theorize that the intense shock waves

from the blast may have also covered the area

with a superheated brine of Dead Sea anhydride salts.

This catastrophic event could also account for

the archeological evidence

that indicates that it took almost 600 years

for civilization to return to the area,

as the soil had been rendered useless for agriculture.

Did an earthquake destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?

A conflicting theory for the destruction

of the two biblical cities emerged a few years ago.

Retired geologist Graham Harris believes

that not only did Sodom and Gomorrah exist,

but that they were also destroyed

by a dreadful natural apocalypse corresponding

to the description in the book of Genesis.

Harris spent 10 years researching

in the area where the two biblical cities

were supposed to be located

and came to the conclusion that

the conditions there were perfect

for a massive earthquake that would've triggered

a huge landslide.

Harris believes the resulting destruction

of settlements in the area would've been

so devastating that it could have passed into folklore.

A summary of Harris's 2015 book on the subject,

"Destruction of Sodom:

The A Scientific Commentary," states,

"In 'The Destruction of Sodom,'

the biblical account of the destruction of Sodom

and Gomorrah is examined under the spotlight

of modern science against a cultural backdrop

of history and archeology.

In this scientific reconstruction,

the account of the events described

in the book of Genesis is verified,

and it is established that

the destruction occurred at about 2350 BC as a result

of an earthquake-induced landslide transporting Sodom

to the depths of the Dead Sea.

Strands of geography, geology,

and engineering science are drawn together

to provide comprehensive treatment

of all relevant scientific aspects pertinent

to a rational understanding of the mechanics

of the disaster.

Graham Harris provides evidence that the mainstay

of Canaanite commerce was the exploitation

of the bitumen resources of the Dead Sea,

that the Sodomites were among

the world's first chemical engineers.

"The Destruction of Sodom" is an example

of the application of science

to a fuller understanding

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of one of the most intriguing events in the Old Testament

and will be of direct interest to scholars,

as well as to the wider public.

All these competing theories, of course,

can't be right, and thus far,

none of them have proved convincing enough

to be taken seriously by the academic world.

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