1 00:00:01,752 --> 00:00:03,045 Excavations at Petra, 2 00:00:03,128 --> 00:00:05,255 Jordan's most historical ancient city, 3 00:00:05,339 --> 00:00:07,507 reveal a remarkable discovery. 4 00:00:07,591 --> 00:00:09,051 The plaza in front of the treasury 5 00:00:09,134 --> 00:00:12,471 was once a flat courtyard, but it's more than that. 6 00:00:12,554 --> 00:00:15,891 It's also the roof of a hidden tomb. 7 00:00:15,974 --> 00:00:17,309 So who were these people 8 00:00:17,392 --> 00:00:19,102 and why were they buried here? 9 00:00:19,186 --> 00:00:20,562 A cache of coins is found 10 00:00:20,646 --> 00:00:24,024 beneath a 17th century Scottish hunting lodge. 11 00:00:24,107 --> 00:00:25,817 Beneath the hearthstone slab 12 00:00:25,901 --> 00:00:28,278 of the fireplace, they found a pot. 13 00:00:28,362 --> 00:00:30,822 Inside were 36 coins. 14 00:00:30,906 --> 00:00:33,492 The hoard fits Glencoe's plundering past. 15 00:00:33,575 --> 00:00:36,245 Gas workers digging trenches in Lima, Peru, 16 00:00:36,328 --> 00:00:39,414 uncover a pair of mysterious tombs. 17 00:00:39,498 --> 00:00:41,208 One contained human remains 18 00:00:41,291 --> 00:00:43,126 still wrapped in a torn bundle. 19 00:00:43,210 --> 00:00:45,087 The other was empty. 20 00:00:45,170 --> 00:00:46,588 Who was the individual buried here? 21 00:00:46,672 --> 00:00:48,465 Why was the second chamber left empty? 22 00:00:48,549 --> 00:00:50,842 And what do these remains reveal about the coastal societies 23 00:00:50,926 --> 00:00:54,805 that flourished long before Lima became Peru's capital? 24 00:00:58,892 --> 00:01:01,812 Below the busy streets of the world's cities 25 00:01:01,895 --> 00:01:05,440 exists a hidden realm of wonder. 26 00:01:05,524 --> 00:01:09,444 Sprawling ancient complexes, 27 00:01:09,528 --> 00:01:12,114 mysterious tombs, 28 00:01:12,197 --> 00:01:15,117 top-secret military bases, 29 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,703 strange structures, 30 00:01:17,786 --> 00:01:20,205 and lost artifacts, 31 00:01:20,289 --> 00:01:23,875 buried beneath our feet and long forgotten, 32 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:26,211 until now. 33 00:01:26,295 --> 00:01:30,924 Underground marvels are exposed to reveal what lies... 34 00:01:31,008 --> 00:01:33,719 Hidden Beneath the Cities. 35 00:01:42,936 --> 00:01:47,566 In the deserts of modern-day Jordan, south of Amman, 36 00:01:47,649 --> 00:01:51,737 lies Petra, a city that once served as the capital 37 00:01:51,820 --> 00:01:53,739 of the Nebataean Kingdom. 38 00:01:53,822 --> 00:01:56,408 The Nabataeans began as nomads 39 00:01:56,491 --> 00:01:58,118 from the Negev Desert, 40 00:01:58,201 --> 00:02:01,163 but rose to power by dominating incense routes 41 00:02:01,246 --> 00:02:05,584 across a vast network that stretched over 1,200 miles 42 00:02:05,667 --> 00:02:09,504 and connected southern Arabia, Africa, and India 43 00:02:09,588 --> 00:02:11,798 to the Greco-Roman world. 44 00:02:11,882 --> 00:02:15,177 But their real wealth came from taxation. 45 00:02:15,260 --> 00:02:18,013 {\an8}One historical account suggests they charged 46 00:02:18,096 --> 00:02:21,808 {\an8}up to 25% on imported goods, 47 00:02:21,892 --> 00:02:26,688 {\an8}turning Petra into a hub of both commerce and control. 48 00:02:26,772 --> 00:02:29,399 {\an8} The Nabataeans carved monumental cities 49 00:02:29,483 --> 00:02:32,361 {\an8}into sandstone cliffs, including Petra, 50 00:02:32,444 --> 00:02:35,697 which covers over 100 square miles. 51 00:02:35,781 --> 00:02:38,367 Petra was annexed by Rome in 106 CE, 52 00:02:38,450 --> 00:02:39,701 and repeated earthquakes, 53 00:02:39,785 --> 00:02:43,330 {\an8}particularly in 363 and again in 551, 54 00:02:43,413 --> 00:02:45,374 {\an8}severely damaged its infrastructure. 55 00:02:45,457 --> 00:02:48,377 As trade routes shifted, Petra's commercial importance declined, 56 00:02:48,460 --> 00:02:49,711 and by the early Islamic period, 57 00:02:49,795 --> 00:02:51,713 it was no longer a major settlement. 58 00:02:51,797 --> 00:02:54,132 When Western explorers arrived in the 1800s, 59 00:02:54,216 --> 00:02:55,717 they found a city of monuments, 60 00:02:55,801 --> 00:02:59,262 but little evidence of the lives once lived among them. 61 00:02:59,346 --> 00:03:02,015 In 2024, excavations at Petra's 62 00:03:02,099 --> 00:03:04,893 most iconic monument, Al Khazneh, 63 00:03:04,976 --> 00:03:10,107 referred to as "The Treasury" in English, reveal a surprise. 64 00:03:10,190 --> 00:03:11,692 The plaza in front of the Treasury 65 00:03:11,775 --> 00:03:15,237 {\an8}was once a flat courtyard, maybe decorated with fountains, 66 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,864 {\an8}maybe a pond, but it's more than that. 67 00:03:17,948 --> 00:03:21,076 {\an8}It's also the roof of a hidden tomb. 68 00:03:21,159 --> 00:03:25,038 And inside that tomb, 12 intact skeletons have been found 69 00:03:25,122 --> 00:03:28,750 alongside bronze, ceramic, and iron artifacts. 70 00:03:28,834 --> 00:03:31,753 That is an extraordinary discovery for Petra, 71 00:03:31,837 --> 00:03:35,424 because there, human remains are rarely found 72 00:03:35,507 --> 00:03:38,218 after centuries of looting. 73 00:03:38,301 --> 00:03:40,595 The tomb itself is nine feet tall 74 00:03:40,679 --> 00:03:43,932 and measures around 18 by 18 feet. 75 00:03:44,015 --> 00:03:47,894 While Petra's porous sandstone, humidity, and seasonal flooding 76 00:03:47,978 --> 00:03:52,566 likely caused the loss of delicate materials like fabric, 77 00:03:52,649 --> 00:03:54,651 dating evidence of the tomb 78 00:03:54,734 --> 00:03:58,155 points to between the 1st century BCE 79 00:03:58,238 --> 00:04:00,574 and the 1st century CE, 80 00:04:00,657 --> 00:04:04,578 right at the height of Nabataean power. 81 00:04:04,661 --> 00:04:07,289 Initial indications of a subsurface chamber 82 00:04:07,372 --> 00:04:10,709 near the site were documented as early as 2003, 83 00:04:10,792 --> 00:04:13,295 and other tubes were identified a year later. 84 00:04:13,378 --> 00:04:15,672 But it was only recently that new surveys 85 00:04:15,755 --> 00:04:17,424 using ground-penetrating radar 86 00:04:17,507 --> 00:04:20,385 confirmed structural anomalies under the forecourt, 87 00:04:20,469 --> 00:04:21,553 which ultimately led 88 00:04:21,636 --> 00:04:24,639 to the chamber's rediscovery and excavation. 89 00:04:24,723 --> 00:04:27,642 So who were these people and why were they buried here? 90 00:04:27,726 --> 00:04:31,188 And what might this reveal about the Nabataean world? 91 00:04:31,271 --> 00:04:33,690 Certain burial details hint that the space 92 00:04:33,774 --> 00:04:36,318 may have held sacred significance. 93 00:04:36,401 --> 00:04:38,320 Little is known of Nabataean religion, 94 00:04:38,403 --> 00:04:41,865 but it appears to have been polytheistic and symbolic. 95 00:04:41,948 --> 00:04:44,493 A priestly class, including both men and women, 96 00:04:44,576 --> 00:04:48,330 oversaw rituals involving the worship of sun and sky gods. 97 00:04:48,413 --> 00:04:50,665 So if the treasury held spiritual meaning, 98 00:04:50,749 --> 00:04:52,334 could the 12 individuals buried here 99 00:04:52,417 --> 00:04:54,461 represent a religious order of some kind, 100 00:04:54,544 --> 00:04:57,339 tasked with preserving the sanctity of the site itself? 101 00:04:57,422 --> 00:04:59,674 The Treasury's iconography blends figures 102 00:04:59,758 --> 00:05:03,011 like Isis-Tyche, Castor, Pollux. 103 00:05:03,094 --> 00:05:05,806 It's got these carved obelisks which draw on 104 00:05:05,889 --> 00:05:09,351 Egyptian and Hellenistic and Nabataean traditions. 105 00:05:09,434 --> 00:05:11,853 And all that visual language suggests that this monument 106 00:05:11,937 --> 00:05:14,314 may have served not only as a tomb, 107 00:05:14,397 --> 00:05:18,026 but as a sacred or cosmological space, 108 00:05:18,109 --> 00:05:21,863 a place that reflected the elevated status 109 00:05:21,947 --> 00:05:24,032 of the people who were buried here. 110 00:05:24,115 --> 00:05:25,617 Across the ancient world, 111 00:05:25,700 --> 00:05:29,371 the number 12 carried powerful symbolic weight. 112 00:05:29,454 --> 00:05:30,539 It marked time-- 113 00:05:30,622 --> 00:05:33,208 12 hours of day, 12 hours of night-- 114 00:05:33,291 --> 00:05:36,545 and aligned with the months, zodiac signs, 115 00:05:36,628 --> 00:05:38,713 and celestial cycles. 116 00:05:38,797 --> 00:05:41,716 Some traditions saw it as the meeting point 117 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:43,385 of sacred and secular, 118 00:05:43,468 --> 00:05:46,388 or the sum of life and fortune. 119 00:05:46,471 --> 00:05:50,141 So in that context, the burial of 12 people 120 00:05:50,225 --> 00:05:53,061 may have been a deliberate statement. 121 00:05:53,144 --> 00:05:55,021 One of the skeletons was found clutching 122 00:05:55,105 --> 00:05:57,315 the broken top of a ceramic vessel. 123 00:05:57,399 --> 00:05:59,901 It had a curved silhouette which looked a lot like 124 00:05:59,985 --> 00:06:03,572 the way the Holy Grail is depicted in Hollywood movies. 125 00:06:03,655 --> 00:06:05,907 Whether this object was a marker of status 126 00:06:05,991 --> 00:06:07,576 or served in a funeral rite 127 00:06:07,659 --> 00:06:11,329 or maybe symbolized a sacred offering, we just don't know. 128 00:06:11,413 --> 00:06:14,666 Archaeologists have described it as just a "humble jug" 129 00:06:14,749 --> 00:06:17,502 so its exact purpose here is a mystery. 130 00:06:17,586 --> 00:06:19,421 Some features of the burial may indicate 131 00:06:19,504 --> 00:06:23,758 a decision shaped by disruption rather than design. 132 00:06:23,842 --> 00:06:25,927 The skeletons include adults and children, 133 00:06:26,011 --> 00:06:27,512 possibly of both sexes, 134 00:06:27,596 --> 00:06:30,682 all found undisturbed as originally interred. 135 00:06:30,765 --> 00:06:33,351 So was this a rapid, improvised burial carried out 136 00:06:33,435 --> 00:06:37,522 in response to some unexpected, potentially catastrophic event? 137 00:06:37,606 --> 00:06:38,940 A lot of Nabataean tombs at Petra 138 00:06:39,024 --> 00:06:41,026 were built for long-term commemoration, 139 00:06:41,109 --> 00:06:43,778 with libation channels and even banquet rooms. 140 00:06:43,862 --> 00:06:46,781 In these spaces, the living could engage with the dead 141 00:06:46,865 --> 00:06:48,158 through these big ceremonies 142 00:06:48,241 --> 00:06:51,453 involving incense and food and light. 143 00:06:51,536 --> 00:06:54,998 But the interior of the Treasury is stark. 144 00:06:55,081 --> 00:06:57,876 It's this massive cube cut into the rock 145 00:06:57,959 --> 00:06:59,961 with three small antechambers. 146 00:07:00,045 --> 00:07:03,089 That simplicity might mean it functioned 147 00:07:03,173 --> 00:07:04,799 as an emergency burial site. 148 00:07:04,883 --> 00:07:09,638 Maybe it's a place that was triggered by disaster or disease 149 00:07:09,721 --> 00:07:11,473 or even violence. 150 00:07:11,556 --> 00:07:13,516 The Treasury likely dates to a time 151 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,479 of rapid expansion and encroaching Roman pressure. 152 00:07:17,562 --> 00:07:20,523 While no direct evidence of internal conflict 153 00:07:20,607 --> 00:07:22,734 or mass killings have been reported, 154 00:07:22,817 --> 00:07:25,528 the fact that the tomb was so concealed 155 00:07:25,612 --> 00:07:27,947 that it avoided centuries of looting 156 00:07:28,031 --> 00:07:30,909 raises the possibility that these individuals 157 00:07:30,992 --> 00:07:34,663 were meant to be concealed instead of commemorated. 158 00:07:34,746 --> 00:07:37,165 Other excavations at North Ridge have revealed signs 159 00:07:37,248 --> 00:07:40,752 of seismic damage, like collapsed masonry. 160 00:07:40,835 --> 00:07:44,130 And all that is likely linked to a huge earthquake 161 00:07:44,214 --> 00:07:47,759 that we know happened here in the year 363. 162 00:07:47,842 --> 00:07:50,053 Now there's no direct evidence of a major earthquake 163 00:07:50,136 --> 00:07:51,846 during the Treasury's construction, 164 00:07:51,930 --> 00:07:55,350 but a similar structural failure nearby 165 00:07:55,433 --> 00:07:56,851 could have caused sudden death, 166 00:07:56,935 --> 00:08:00,689 which would have prompted that chamber's use as a burial site. 167 00:08:00,772 --> 00:08:02,357 But not all the evidence 168 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,651 supports a crisis scenario. 169 00:08:04,734 --> 00:08:07,570 Research suggests that Petra's population 170 00:08:07,654 --> 00:08:09,114 was relatively healthy. 171 00:08:09,197 --> 00:08:11,616 The skeletons so far show no clear signs 172 00:08:11,700 --> 00:08:15,286 of illness or trauma, and the Treasury itself 173 00:08:15,370 --> 00:08:19,457 has long been considered part of Petra's funerary landscape. 174 00:08:19,541 --> 00:08:22,293 Evidence of other voids in the Treasury suggests 175 00:08:22,377 --> 00:08:26,381 that there may be other unexcavated tombs nearby, 176 00:08:26,464 --> 00:08:27,799 raising the possibility 177 00:08:27,882 --> 00:08:32,387 that this wasn't an improvised burial at all. 178 00:08:32,470 --> 00:08:34,389 The strongest evidence of the identities 179 00:08:34,472 --> 00:08:37,392 of the interred may lie in the sheer scale 180 00:08:37,475 --> 00:08:39,728 of the monument itself. 181 00:08:39,811 --> 00:08:42,605 The Nabataeans placed immense cultural value 182 00:08:42,689 --> 00:08:45,233 on protecting and commemorating the dead. 183 00:08:45,316 --> 00:08:49,320 At Petra, over 1,000 tombs are carved into the landscape. 184 00:08:49,404 --> 00:08:52,741 Around 600 of them are marked by monumental facades 185 00:08:52,824 --> 00:08:56,119 that publicly signal the identity and stature 186 00:08:56,202 --> 00:08:57,954 of those buried within. 187 00:08:58,038 --> 00:09:01,082 In a society where visibility signaled prestige, 188 00:09:01,166 --> 00:09:04,544 could a discovery like this be the final resting place 189 00:09:04,627 --> 00:09:07,839 of an elite or even royal family? 190 00:09:07,922 --> 00:09:10,091 Many believe the Treasury was likely constructed 191 00:09:10,175 --> 00:09:12,010 as a royal mausoleum or crypt 192 00:09:12,093 --> 00:09:14,888 during the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris, 193 00:09:14,971 --> 00:09:19,225 who ruled the Nabataean Kingdom from around 9 BCE to 40 CE, 194 00:09:19,309 --> 00:09:20,643 a time when monumental construction 195 00:09:20,727 --> 00:09:23,938 reinforced dynastic power and political order. 196 00:09:24,022 --> 00:09:26,566 So it is possible the 12 individuals buried here 197 00:09:26,649 --> 00:09:28,359 were part of that lineage. 198 00:09:28,443 --> 00:09:30,987 Roughly 300 miles south of Petra, 199 00:09:31,071 --> 00:09:34,074 in Saudi Arabia, another Nabataean site shows 200 00:09:34,157 --> 00:09:38,078 how status was signaled through scale and design. 201 00:09:38,161 --> 00:09:41,081 At what is now the Hegra Archaeological Site, 202 00:09:41,164 --> 00:09:43,958 the Nabataeans carved 111 monumental tombs 203 00:09:44,042 --> 00:09:45,210 into sandstone cliffs, 204 00:09:45,293 --> 00:09:48,630 94 of those with elaborate facades. 205 00:09:48,713 --> 00:09:50,799 Many also included built-in wells, 206 00:09:50,882 --> 00:09:53,927 showing a deliberate blend of hydraulic planning 207 00:09:54,010 --> 00:09:55,428 and architectural display. 208 00:09:55,512 --> 00:09:58,807 So these tombs function not only as burial places, 209 00:09:58,890 --> 00:10:02,435 but as permanent markers of elite status 210 00:10:02,519 --> 00:10:06,147 by projecting identity and wealth and prestige 211 00:10:06,231 --> 00:10:07,816 out into the desert terrain. 212 00:10:07,899 --> 00:10:10,944 I mean, these are just amazing. 213 00:10:11,027 --> 00:10:14,322 More than 50 tombs at Hegra bear inscriptions, 214 00:10:14,405 --> 00:10:16,741 some protective, some dedicatory. 215 00:10:16,825 --> 00:10:19,953 At Petra, those kinds of inscriptions are less common. 216 00:10:20,036 --> 00:10:22,789 Some say that this may reflect the city's role 217 00:10:22,872 --> 00:10:24,958 at the center of Nabataean power, 218 00:10:25,041 --> 00:10:28,044 where proximity to authority may have offered protection 219 00:10:28,128 --> 00:10:30,505 that didn't need to be carved in stone. 220 00:10:30,588 --> 00:10:33,174 The tomb beneath the Treasury seems to fit that pattern; 221 00:10:33,258 --> 00:10:38,012 no inscriptions and no surviving record of who was buried there. 222 00:10:38,096 --> 00:10:40,056 The Treasury is among the most commanding monuments 223 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:42,183 in Petra, which makes it reasonable to assume 224 00:10:42,267 --> 00:10:45,687 the individuals buried beneath it were of considerable status. 225 00:10:45,770 --> 00:10:48,356 But the elements seem to have consumed any fragile clues 226 00:10:48,439 --> 00:10:52,277 that the Nabataeans may have left as to their identity. 227 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,780 Whether this was a sacred collective, victims of a crisis, 228 00:10:55,864 --> 00:10:58,032 or something we don't yet fully understand, 229 00:10:58,116 --> 00:11:01,035 the findings raise even more questions about the site itself 230 00:11:01,119 --> 00:11:04,164 and what exactly Nabataean burials entail. 231 00:11:04,247 --> 00:11:07,208 The Nabataeans left behind few written records, 232 00:11:07,292 --> 00:11:10,378 and much of Petra remains unexcavated. 233 00:11:10,461 --> 00:11:13,256 Major questions remain about how people lived, 234 00:11:13,339 --> 00:11:14,632 what they believed, 235 00:11:14,716 --> 00:11:18,970 and what secrets still lie buried in the sand and stone. 236 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,400 Just over 60 miles northwest of Glasgow, 237 00:11:32,483 --> 00:11:34,235 in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, 238 00:11:34,319 --> 00:11:38,865 lies Glencoe, a steep-sided valley with towering peaks 239 00:11:38,948 --> 00:11:41,576 and a rich ancient history. 240 00:11:41,659 --> 00:11:44,579 {\an8} The clan system is central to Scottish heritage 241 00:11:44,662 --> 00:11:46,581 {\an8}and rooted in the Highlands. 242 00:11:46,664 --> 00:11:48,249 A clan is a kinship community 243 00:11:48,333 --> 00:11:51,544 formed around a shared surname and ancestry. 244 00:11:51,628 --> 00:11:54,214 The word comes from the Gaelic term clann, 245 00:11:54,297 --> 00:11:55,924 meaning "children" or "offspring," 246 00:11:56,007 --> 00:11:59,177 evoking the idea of family, not only through blood, 247 00:11:59,260 --> 00:12:03,056 but through shared history, culture, and identity. 248 00:12:03,139 --> 00:12:04,599 At its head stood the chief, 249 00:12:04,682 --> 00:12:06,684 regarded as the head of the wider family, 250 00:12:06,768 --> 00:12:10,605 with members looking to him for support and protection. 251 00:12:10,688 --> 00:12:12,732 For nearly 400 years, 252 00:12:12,815 --> 00:12:16,277 Clan Donald commanded the West Highlands and Hebrides. 253 00:12:16,361 --> 00:12:19,155 Their chiefs bore the title Lord of the Isles, 254 00:12:19,239 --> 00:12:21,449 {\an8}and their reach was second only to that 255 00:12:21,532 --> 00:12:23,785 {\an8}of the kings of Scotland and England. 256 00:12:23,868 --> 00:12:27,956 The MacDonalds of Glencoe were a smaller branch of this dynasty, 257 00:12:28,039 --> 00:12:31,459 led by Alasdair MacDonald, or Maclain. 258 00:12:31,542 --> 00:12:33,586 The McDonalds had a fearsome reputation, 259 00:12:33,670 --> 00:12:35,797 {\an8}which inevitably led to legal troubles and rivalries 260 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,300 {\an8}with their neighbors, especially the powerful Campbell Clan. 261 00:12:39,384 --> 00:12:42,136 By the late 17th century, they lived under the feudal authority 262 00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:43,972 of the Campbell Earls of Argyll. 263 00:12:44,055 --> 00:12:46,599 While their loyalty remained fixed on the Stuart Kings, 264 00:12:46,683 --> 00:12:48,184 it was a volatile mix of politics 265 00:12:48,268 --> 00:12:51,312 that made Glencoe a fault line in the Highlands. 266 00:12:51,396 --> 00:12:52,772 In August 2023, 267 00:12:52,855 --> 00:12:56,985 during an excavation at a rural 17th century hunting lodge, 268 00:12:57,068 --> 00:12:58,945 which had once been the summer house 269 00:12:59,028 --> 00:13:00,989 of the McDonalds of Glencoe, 270 00:13:01,072 --> 00:13:03,658 a University of Glasgow archaeology student 271 00:13:03,741 --> 00:13:08,496 discovers a hidden container in an unlikely place. 272 00:13:08,579 --> 00:13:10,248 Beneath the hearthstone slab 273 00:13:10,331 --> 00:13:11,499 of the fireplace, 274 00:13:11,582 --> 00:13:15,169 they found a pot with a small, round, pebble lid. 275 00:13:15,253 --> 00:13:18,840 {\an8}Inside were 36 coins minted across Europe 276 00:13:18,923 --> 00:13:22,176 {\an8}between the late 1500s and the 1680s. 277 00:13:22,260 --> 00:13:24,887 Since none of them were struck after the 1680s, 278 00:13:24,971 --> 00:13:29,267 and the site was in use from 1646 to 1692, 279 00:13:29,350 --> 00:13:33,021 it's likely they were buried sometime before then. 280 00:13:33,104 --> 00:13:36,149 Among the other finds were simple household items: 281 00:13:36,232 --> 00:13:38,484 a spindle whorl for making thread, 282 00:13:38,568 --> 00:13:40,528 a dress pin, and a pitchfork-- 283 00:13:40,611 --> 00:13:44,198 reminders of the everyday lives of those who work the land. 284 00:13:44,282 --> 00:13:47,243 They also uncovered a musket and fowling shot, 285 00:13:47,326 --> 00:13:49,454 gun flint, and a powder measure, 286 00:13:49,537 --> 00:13:52,457 pointing to the lodge's use as a base for hunting. 287 00:13:52,540 --> 00:13:53,708 It's an impressive find 288 00:13:53,791 --> 00:13:56,294 for what looked to be an ordinary rural house. 289 00:13:56,377 --> 00:13:59,380 But the most striking detail is what never happened. 290 00:13:59,464 --> 00:14:02,050 You don't stash a pot of coins under the hearth 291 00:14:02,133 --> 00:14:04,010 unless you plan on coming back for it. 292 00:14:04,093 --> 00:14:05,720 And that's the real mystery here. 293 00:14:05,803 --> 00:14:07,472 Why was it buried in the first place? 294 00:14:07,555 --> 00:14:11,309 And why did no one return to retrieve it? 295 00:14:11,392 --> 00:14:13,061 The strongest clue may lie 296 00:14:13,144 --> 00:14:15,396 in the world these clans inhabited. 297 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:20,568 Raids, reprisals, and ransoms drove the Highland economy. 298 00:14:20,651 --> 00:14:21,736 And the hidden pot of coins 299 00:14:21,819 --> 00:14:25,740 may be a trace of those unsettled times. 300 00:14:25,823 --> 00:14:26,741 In the Highlands, 301 00:14:26,824 --> 00:14:28,701 cattle were the backbone of wealth. 302 00:14:28,785 --> 00:14:29,786 With little arable land, 303 00:14:29,869 --> 00:14:31,412 herds were central to the country's economy 304 00:14:31,496 --> 00:14:32,580 and way of life, 305 00:14:32,663 --> 00:14:35,458 and reiving--these were raids to steal cattle-- 306 00:14:35,541 --> 00:14:38,086 became a dangerous but essential practice. 307 00:14:38,169 --> 00:14:40,671 It allowed clans like the McDonalds to assert power 308 00:14:40,755 --> 00:14:43,424 and replenish resources in a precarious landscape. 309 00:14:43,508 --> 00:14:45,885 Lochaber, the region that included Glencoe, 310 00:14:45,968 --> 00:14:48,387 was regarded as an epicenter of these raids. 311 00:14:48,471 --> 00:14:52,225 So could the Glencoe hoard be the profits of that trade? 312 00:14:52,308 --> 00:14:53,476 From the 14th 313 00:14:53,559 --> 00:14:54,602 to the 17th centuries, 314 00:14:54,685 --> 00:14:55,937 the Anglo-Scottish border 315 00:14:56,020 --> 00:14:58,022 was a true frontier. 316 00:14:58,106 --> 00:15:01,275 Cattle rustling, feuds, arson, murder, 317 00:15:01,359 --> 00:15:04,153 intimidation, and pillaging were routine, 318 00:15:04,237 --> 00:15:08,282 even considered honorable ways to prove valor to your kin. 319 00:15:08,366 --> 00:15:11,285 Raids could be planned like military operations, 320 00:15:11,369 --> 00:15:14,205 lasting days with bands of armed men, 321 00:15:14,288 --> 00:15:15,957 or as simple as a moonlit ride 322 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,127 to plunder a single farm before dawn. 323 00:15:19,210 --> 00:15:21,796 The hoard fits Glencoe's plundering past. 324 00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:24,841 The coins might have been spoils stolen in a raid, 325 00:15:24,924 --> 00:15:27,135 or money to pay out in ransom or protection 326 00:15:27,218 --> 00:15:30,680 if the McDonalds themselves came under pressure from rivals. 327 00:15:30,763 --> 00:15:33,933 They also found fine wares from England, Germany, 328 00:15:34,016 --> 00:15:37,436 and the Netherlands, which could suggest this household traveled 329 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,982 or had connections to wider trade as well as raiding. 330 00:15:41,065 --> 00:15:42,525 That combination could have brought 331 00:15:42,608 --> 00:15:44,819 different forms of wealth into Glencoe 332 00:15:44,902 --> 00:15:47,488 and may help explain why a hoard of mixed coins 333 00:15:47,572 --> 00:15:49,657 was concealed here. 334 00:15:49,740 --> 00:15:51,159 But here's the issue. 335 00:15:51,242 --> 00:15:52,702 Cattle raiding brought wealth, 336 00:15:52,785 --> 00:15:55,413 but it was also about stealing crops and animals 337 00:15:55,496 --> 00:15:57,165 in order to feed yourself. 338 00:15:57,248 --> 00:15:59,667 Raids were seasonal, often timed in autumn 339 00:15:59,750 --> 00:16:03,796 when food stores ran low, and whatever profits came in 340 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:05,298 would have likely been reinvested 341 00:16:05,381 --> 00:16:09,177 into livestock or land-- not hoarded as coins. 342 00:16:09,260 --> 00:16:11,971 That's why a pot of money buried beneath a hearth 343 00:16:12,054 --> 00:16:15,516 is really hard to explain as the spoils of reiving. 344 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,019 It doesn't match the way that the economy worked, 345 00:16:18,102 --> 00:16:21,731 so there's likely a different reason for concealing it. 346 00:16:21,814 --> 00:16:25,276 Among the mix of currencies, one coin stands out 347 00:16:25,359 --> 00:16:27,528 as a piece that may carry meaning 348 00:16:27,612 --> 00:16:29,989 beyond its monetary value. 349 00:16:30,072 --> 00:16:32,658 The MacDonalds of Glencoe were staunch Jacobites, 350 00:16:32,742 --> 00:16:35,036 supporters of King James VII of Scotland. 351 00:16:35,119 --> 00:16:37,788 Loyalty to the Stuart Kings could sometimes be expressed 352 00:16:37,872 --> 00:16:41,626 through objects like coins and medals bearing their image. 353 00:16:41,709 --> 00:16:43,961 One coin in the hoard was also pierced, 354 00:16:44,045 --> 00:16:46,380 perhaps to be worn as a token of allegiance. 355 00:16:46,464 --> 00:16:48,424 Is it possible this hoard was a hidden pledge 356 00:16:48,507 --> 00:16:50,301 to the Jacobite cause? 357 00:16:50,384 --> 00:16:53,346 King James was the second son of Charles I, 358 00:16:53,429 --> 00:16:56,515 who was executed after the English Civil Wars. 359 00:16:56,599 --> 00:16:59,227 Raised Protestant, James converted to Catholicism 360 00:16:59,310 --> 00:17:04,190 in 1668 or '69, a choice that reshaped his politics 361 00:17:04,273 --> 00:17:07,735 and made him suspect to many of his subjects. 362 00:17:07,818 --> 00:17:10,696 As tensions mounted, James fled to France. 363 00:17:10,780 --> 00:17:13,866 In 1689, Parliament declared the throne vacant 364 00:17:13,950 --> 00:17:15,826 and crowned William of Orange and his wife, 365 00:17:15,910 --> 00:17:18,579 James's daughter Mary, as co-monarchs. 366 00:17:18,663 --> 00:17:21,791 But within months, James' supporters rose in rebellion 367 00:17:21,874 --> 00:17:23,918 to restore him to the throne. 368 00:17:24,001 --> 00:17:27,672 In July, Highland Jacobites under Viscount Dundee, 369 00:17:27,755 --> 00:17:29,632 among them Clan MacDonald, 370 00:17:29,715 --> 00:17:32,301 met the King's Army at Killiecrankie, 371 00:17:32,385 --> 00:17:33,886 their charge breaking the lines 372 00:17:33,970 --> 00:17:38,266 and killing over 1,000 troops in a stunning victory. 373 00:17:38,349 --> 00:17:41,185 In the context of the 1689 uprising, 374 00:17:41,269 --> 00:17:44,480 the Glencoe coin hoard may take on a different meaning. 375 00:17:44,564 --> 00:17:47,942 Among the coins were pieces from France and the Papal States, 376 00:17:48,025 --> 00:17:50,111 predominantly Catholic realms, 377 00:17:50,194 --> 00:17:52,113 suggesting the hoard may have been kept 378 00:17:52,196 --> 00:17:54,740 as a token of Stuart allegiance, 379 00:17:54,824 --> 00:17:58,578 a loyalty viewed with hostility by the new crown. 380 00:17:58,661 --> 00:18:01,914 In 2020, on the shores of Loch nan Uamh, 381 00:18:01,998 --> 00:18:04,792 roughly 30 miles northwest of Glencoe, 382 00:18:04,875 --> 00:18:07,461 another Jacobite hoard came to light. 383 00:18:07,545 --> 00:18:11,132 This one tied directly to the final uprising. 384 00:18:11,215 --> 00:18:12,300 Using metal detectors 385 00:18:12,383 --> 00:18:14,969 around a ruined agricultural settlement and house, 386 00:18:15,052 --> 00:18:17,471 an amateur archaeology team discovered a cache 387 00:18:17,555 --> 00:18:19,432 of more than 200 musket balls, 388 00:18:19,515 --> 00:18:22,393 together with gold and silver coins and gilt buttons. 389 00:18:22,476 --> 00:18:25,813 The find is believed to be part of an arms shipment from France 390 00:18:25,896 --> 00:18:27,773 that reached Lochaber just two weeks 391 00:18:27,857 --> 00:18:31,652 after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. 392 00:18:31,736 --> 00:18:33,738 The Battle of Culloden near Inverness 393 00:18:33,821 --> 00:18:37,158 was the final clash of the Jacobite cause. 394 00:18:37,241 --> 00:18:41,162 In less than an hour, around 1,500 Jacobites were killed, 395 00:18:41,245 --> 00:18:44,832 ending any serious Stuart challenge to the throne. 396 00:18:44,915 --> 00:18:47,293 The cache at Loch nan Uamh was uncovered 397 00:18:47,376 --> 00:18:49,920 at a dwelling once home to a Gaelic poet, 398 00:18:50,004 --> 00:18:53,174 who had tutored the prince and later fought in the uprising. 399 00:18:53,257 --> 00:18:55,301 The musketballs also matched the caliber 400 00:18:55,384 --> 00:18:57,720 of French-supplied weapons used in battle, 401 00:18:57,803 --> 00:19:01,349 establishing a clear link to the Jacobite cause. 402 00:19:01,432 --> 00:19:03,684 But the stash at Glencoe is different. 403 00:19:03,768 --> 00:19:06,145 The coins were found at a known hunting lodge 404 00:19:06,228 --> 00:19:07,855 alongside everyday items. 405 00:19:07,938 --> 00:19:09,690 It looks more like a domestic mix 406 00:19:09,774 --> 00:19:12,860 rather than a straightforward military stockpile. 407 00:19:12,943 --> 00:19:15,071 Interpreting the hoard as a Jacobite pledge 408 00:19:15,154 --> 00:19:19,033 might explain the pierced coin and some of the foreign pieces, 409 00:19:19,116 --> 00:19:21,118 but it also raises questions: 410 00:19:21,202 --> 00:19:24,538 Why bury them so soon after the 1689 rising, 411 00:19:24,622 --> 00:19:27,124 and why were they never retrieved? 412 00:19:29,418 --> 00:19:31,879 In February 1692, soldiers accepted as guests 413 00:19:31,962 --> 00:19:34,882 in MacDonald homes turned on their hosts. 414 00:19:34,965 --> 00:19:38,386 The betrayal, remembered as the Massacre of Glencoe, 415 00:19:38,469 --> 00:19:41,764 is one of the darkest chapters in Scottish history, 416 00:19:41,847 --> 00:19:46,018 and the hoard may be its last surviving witness. 417 00:19:46,102 --> 00:19:47,144 The McDonalds and the Campbells 418 00:19:47,228 --> 00:19:48,896 had a long, tangled history. 419 00:19:48,979 --> 00:19:50,106 By the late 17th century, 420 00:19:50,189 --> 00:19:52,483 their rivalry was bound up in politics, 421 00:19:52,566 --> 00:19:54,485 and in the wider fight for the throne. 422 00:19:54,568 --> 00:19:57,071 The McDonalds held to the deposed King James, 423 00:19:57,154 --> 00:19:59,824 while the Campbells aligned with William III. 424 00:19:59,907 --> 00:20:02,535 Determined to secure loyalty in the Highlands, 425 00:20:02,618 --> 00:20:05,496 the government ordered all chiefs to swear allegiance 426 00:20:05,579 --> 00:20:09,583 to William III by January 1, 1692. 427 00:20:09,667 --> 00:20:13,421 Money, land, and indemnity were offered as incentives, 428 00:20:13,504 --> 00:20:15,089 but refusal meant punishment 429 00:20:15,172 --> 00:20:17,258 under the full weight of the law. 430 00:20:17,341 --> 00:20:20,386 News reached Glencoe only on December 28th. 431 00:20:20,469 --> 00:20:23,889 Three days later, Chief Maclain set out to swear the oath 432 00:20:23,973 --> 00:20:25,599 that would protect his clan, 433 00:20:25,683 --> 00:20:28,102 only to be told it must be witnessed by a sheriff 434 00:20:28,185 --> 00:20:32,064 60 miles away in Inveraray, the Campbell stronghold. 435 00:20:32,148 --> 00:20:34,775 Delayed by Campbell troops, he arrived late, 436 00:20:34,859 --> 00:20:39,447 pleaded for acceptance, and left believing his oath would stand. 437 00:20:39,530 --> 00:20:40,656 In early February, 438 00:20:40,740 --> 00:20:43,784 about 120 men from the Earl of Argyll's regiment, 439 00:20:43,868 --> 00:20:46,454 led by Campbell, arrived in Glencoe, 440 00:20:46,537 --> 00:20:48,456 claiming Fort William was full. 441 00:20:48,539 --> 00:20:51,542 True to Highland hospitality, the McDonalds took them in, 442 00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:55,379 feeding and sheltering them for nearly two weeks. 443 00:20:55,463 --> 00:20:58,466 But in the pre-dawn hours of February 13th, 444 00:20:58,549 --> 00:21:00,885 as a blizzard swept through Glencoe, 445 00:21:00,968 --> 00:21:02,803 the mask of friendship fell. 446 00:21:02,887 --> 00:21:06,307 Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon had received orders 447 00:21:06,390 --> 00:21:07,850 to turn on his hosts 448 00:21:07,933 --> 00:21:11,645 and kill every MacDonald under the age of 70. 449 00:21:11,729 --> 00:21:13,647 Early that morning, the slaughter began. 450 00:21:13,731 --> 00:21:15,483 It was believed Chief Maclain was shot 451 00:21:15,566 --> 00:21:17,151 as he tried to rise from his bed. 452 00:21:17,234 --> 00:21:19,278 His wife froze to death in the snow. 453 00:21:19,361 --> 00:21:22,281 Some 38 McDonald men, women, and children were killed, 454 00:21:22,364 --> 00:21:25,826 though many who fled into the glen later died from exposure. 455 00:21:25,910 --> 00:21:28,996 That urgency may explain why the hoard was concealed, 456 00:21:29,079 --> 00:21:30,164 but the coins themselves 457 00:21:30,247 --> 00:21:33,167 could also have served a more ordinary purpose. 458 00:21:33,250 --> 00:21:36,295 Mixed European pieces like these were sometimes used 459 00:21:36,378 --> 00:21:39,715 as gaming tokens, and gambling is well recorded 460 00:21:39,799 --> 00:21:42,009 in Gaelic poetry and tradition. 461 00:21:42,092 --> 00:21:44,929 It's a reminder that even in times of turmoil, 462 00:21:45,012 --> 00:21:48,015 people held on to the rituals of daily life. 463 00:21:48,098 --> 00:21:51,185 The Glencoe hoard preserves a fleeting moment 464 00:21:51,268 --> 00:21:54,855 when a familiar world was shattered by betrayal. 465 00:21:54,939 --> 00:21:57,191 Its survival is a buried testament 466 00:21:57,274 --> 00:22:00,528 to the violence that transformed the Highlands 467 00:22:00,611 --> 00:22:03,239 and to the fragile traces of life 468 00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:05,991 that history nearly erased. 469 00:22:17,127 --> 00:22:19,672 Just eight miles inland from the Pacific, 470 00:22:19,755 --> 00:22:23,384 central Lima rises on the south bank of the Rímac River, 471 00:22:23,467 --> 00:22:26,470 known as El Pulpo, "the octopus." 472 00:22:26,554 --> 00:22:30,558 Its influence spreads into every corner of Peru. 473 00:22:30,641 --> 00:22:33,143 Between around 200 and 700 CE, 474 00:22:33,227 --> 00:22:37,231 {\an8}the Lima culture flourished along Peru's central coast. 475 00:22:37,314 --> 00:22:39,567 {\an8}Its rulers are thought to have been 476 00:22:39,650 --> 00:22:42,111 the most elite warriors among them. 477 00:22:42,194 --> 00:22:44,238 And those rulers built adobe pyramids, 478 00:22:44,321 --> 00:22:45,906 they built irrigation canals, 479 00:22:45,990 --> 00:22:47,825 they raised fortified towns, 480 00:22:47,908 --> 00:22:51,161 and they established these great centers like Ychma, 481 00:22:51,245 --> 00:22:53,831 later known as Pachacámac. 482 00:22:53,914 --> 00:22:56,750 The city's landscape is defined by extremes. 483 00:22:56,834 --> 00:22:58,752 {\an8}It lies within Peru's coastal desert, 484 00:22:58,836 --> 00:23:01,589 {\an8}which has almost no native plant or animal life, 485 00:23:01,672 --> 00:23:05,092 and receives less than half an inch of rainfall each year. 486 00:23:05,175 --> 00:23:09,889 This is among the lowest for any major city in the world. 487 00:23:09,972 --> 00:23:11,724 Today, Lima is a metropolis 488 00:23:11,807 --> 00:23:13,684 of more than 11 million people, 489 00:23:13,767 --> 00:23:16,061 {\an8}nearly a third of Peru's population 490 00:23:16,145 --> 00:23:18,522 {\an8}living within 27 square miles. 491 00:23:18,606 --> 00:23:20,357 It serves as both a major port 492 00:23:20,441 --> 00:23:23,527 and the nation's financial and industrial hub, 493 00:23:23,611 --> 00:23:26,280 powering economic growth with industries that range 494 00:23:26,363 --> 00:23:28,782 from fish processing and cement 495 00:23:28,866 --> 00:23:31,660 to furniture, meat, and metal goods. 496 00:23:31,744 --> 00:23:33,829 In late July of 2025, 497 00:23:33,913 --> 00:23:35,706 utility workers digging trenches 498 00:23:35,789 --> 00:23:40,252 to expand a gas network in Lima's Puente Piedra District 499 00:23:40,336 --> 00:23:43,589 uncover something beneath the street. 500 00:23:43,672 --> 00:23:45,257 {\an8}Just over six and a half feet 501 00:23:45,341 --> 00:23:46,800 {\an8}from the front gate of a house, 502 00:23:46,884 --> 00:23:50,471 {\an8}they broke into the ground and found two tombs. 503 00:23:50,554 --> 00:23:53,974 One contained human remains, still wrapped in a torn bundle 504 00:23:54,058 --> 00:23:58,145 and placed in a seated position, knees drawn to the chest. 505 00:23:58,228 --> 00:24:01,440 The other was empty. 506 00:24:01,523 --> 00:24:04,151 Beside the body were four clay vessels 507 00:24:04,234 --> 00:24:07,988 and three carved pumpkins, or gourds. 508 00:24:08,072 --> 00:24:12,159 Their bold red, white, and black designs are characteristic 509 00:24:12,242 --> 00:24:14,828 of the pre-Incan Chancay culture, 510 00:24:14,912 --> 00:24:16,997 which thrived on Peru's central coast 511 00:24:17,081 --> 00:24:20,668 between 1,000 and over 1,400 years ago. 512 00:24:20,751 --> 00:24:22,127 The tombs may appear simple. 513 00:24:22,211 --> 00:24:24,672 They're just unlined pits cut into the earth. 514 00:24:24,755 --> 00:24:27,174 But their meaning is anything but straightforward. 515 00:24:27,257 --> 00:24:28,717 Who was the individual buried here? 516 00:24:28,801 --> 00:24:30,803 Why was the second chamber left empty? 517 00:24:30,886 --> 00:24:33,180 And what do these remains reveal about the coastal societies 518 00:24:33,263 --> 00:24:37,101 that flourished long before Lima became Peru's capital? 519 00:24:38,936 --> 00:24:40,062 Across Peru, ancient cemeteries 520 00:24:40,145 --> 00:24:42,147 have faced centuries of intrusion, 521 00:24:42,231 --> 00:24:45,150 scientific and otherwise, leading some to wonder 522 00:24:45,234 --> 00:24:49,279 if Lima's empty grave wasn't by design. 523 00:24:49,363 --> 00:24:51,865 The torn bundle could point to a disturbance 524 00:24:51,949 --> 00:24:55,828 by grave robbers known in Peru as huaqueros. 525 00:24:55,911 --> 00:24:57,705 They were notorious for the destructive way 526 00:24:57,788 --> 00:25:01,333 they tore into burials to strip them of valuables. 527 00:25:01,417 --> 00:25:03,502 Could the damaged bundle and the empty tomb 528 00:25:03,585 --> 00:25:06,380 beside it be the work of looters? 529 00:25:06,463 --> 00:25:08,716 In Peru, the practice of looting graves 530 00:25:08,799 --> 00:25:12,011 for ceramics or metal objects is widespread. 531 00:25:12,094 --> 00:25:15,472 It's been documented since at least the arrival of the Spanish 532 00:25:15,556 --> 00:25:17,474 in the 16th century. 533 00:25:17,558 --> 00:25:18,892 Despite heritage laws, 534 00:25:18,976 --> 00:25:21,729 plundering has remained a constant issue, 535 00:25:21,812 --> 00:25:23,731 which is why you often have to wonder 536 00:25:23,814 --> 00:25:25,024 whether a damaged burial 537 00:25:25,107 --> 00:25:28,736 reflects ancient ritual or robbery. 538 00:25:28,819 --> 00:25:31,613 Chancay burials in particular, like this one, 539 00:25:31,697 --> 00:25:32,948 have been prime targets. 540 00:25:33,032 --> 00:25:35,534 And it's no wonder; they're known for their well-preserved 541 00:25:35,617 --> 00:25:37,995 textiles, pottery, and figurines, 542 00:25:38,078 --> 00:25:41,123 which fetch huge prices on the international market. 543 00:25:41,206 --> 00:25:45,419 So it's very possible that the empty grave once held offerings 544 00:25:45,502 --> 00:25:48,047 that were just taken away long ago. 545 00:25:48,130 --> 00:25:50,674 Nearly 400 miles northwest of Lima, 546 00:25:50,758 --> 00:25:54,762 at Huaca Rajada, one site demonstrates the vulnerability 547 00:25:54,845 --> 00:25:57,014 of Peru's ancient burials, 548 00:25:57,097 --> 00:25:59,099 the stakes involved in their protection, 549 00:25:59,183 --> 00:26:02,603 and how narrowly some histories survive. 550 00:26:02,686 --> 00:26:03,729 In the late 1980s, 551 00:26:03,812 --> 00:26:06,106 huaqueros tunneled nearly 20 feet down, 552 00:26:06,190 --> 00:26:09,109 coming within just three feet of a royal burial chamber. 553 00:26:09,193 --> 00:26:10,611 They worked around the clock with guards, 554 00:26:10,694 --> 00:26:12,529 stripping treasures as they went. 555 00:26:12,613 --> 00:26:14,865 Rival looters, angered at being left out, 556 00:26:14,948 --> 00:26:16,283 tipped off the authorities, 557 00:26:16,366 --> 00:26:18,619 and a police raid that ended in deadly gunfire 558 00:26:18,702 --> 00:26:20,287 finally secured the site. 559 00:26:20,370 --> 00:26:24,291 Only then could archaeologists enter the chamber. 560 00:26:24,374 --> 00:26:25,459 That's when they discovered 561 00:26:25,542 --> 00:26:27,294 the great Lord of Sipán: 562 00:26:27,377 --> 00:26:32,925 a warrior priest in his mid-30s, interred about 1,500 years ago. 563 00:26:33,008 --> 00:26:36,637 The chamber held a two-foot-wide solid gold crown, 564 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,556 dozens of pieces of gold and turquoise jewelry, 565 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,477 and more than 1,200 painted ceramic vessels. 566 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:47,272 At the time, it was described as the most valuable ancient tomb 567 00:26:47,356 --> 00:26:50,150 ever found in the Western Hemisphere. 568 00:26:50,234 --> 00:26:52,778 The site was eventually enclosed with barbed wire 569 00:26:52,861 --> 00:26:54,321 and guarded by police. 570 00:26:54,404 --> 00:26:58,117 Even so, artifacts linked to Sipán continued to surface 571 00:26:58,200 --> 00:26:59,493 on the black market, 572 00:26:59,576 --> 00:27:03,330 with pieces seized as far away as Los Angeles. 573 00:27:03,413 --> 00:27:07,000 Illicit trade in antiquities earns hundreds of millions, 574 00:27:07,084 --> 00:27:09,586 if not billions of dollars each year. 575 00:27:09,670 --> 00:27:13,006 So if anything was once inside Lima's empty tomb, 576 00:27:13,090 --> 00:27:14,174 it may have already passed 577 00:27:14,258 --> 00:27:16,760 into those same black market channels. 578 00:27:16,844 --> 00:27:19,847 Roughly 75 miles north of central Lima, 579 00:27:19,930 --> 00:27:21,265 in the Huaura Valley, 580 00:27:21,348 --> 00:27:25,185 excavations at Rontoy have uncovered a Chancay tomb 581 00:27:25,269 --> 00:27:27,980 that highlights the ongoing risk of looting. 582 00:27:28,063 --> 00:27:31,024 In 2007, archaeologists opened a small test pit 583 00:27:31,108 --> 00:27:34,444 at Rontoy beside three niches in an adobe wall 584 00:27:34,528 --> 00:27:36,530 that had been exposed by looters. 585 00:27:36,613 --> 00:27:39,366 Beneath the fill of wall fragments and plastered floors, 586 00:27:39,449 --> 00:27:43,120 they uncovered this large layered textile-- 587 00:27:43,203 --> 00:27:46,832 more like a mummy bundle than an offering. 588 00:27:46,915 --> 00:27:48,625 They were worried that looters were going to come back, 589 00:27:48,709 --> 00:27:51,628 so the team expanded the trench, they removed it quickly, 590 00:27:51,712 --> 00:27:53,380 and they took it straight to the lab. 591 00:27:53,463 --> 00:27:54,715 When the team returned, 592 00:27:54,798 --> 00:27:57,551 they found fresh looters' pits scarring the platform. 593 00:27:57,634 --> 00:27:59,011 The would-be thieves had missed the tomb 594 00:27:59,094 --> 00:28:02,723 by only about three feet, but damaged nearby architecture. 595 00:28:02,806 --> 00:28:05,100 Later excavations revealed a much larger chamber, 596 00:28:05,183 --> 00:28:09,062 its floor scattered with corn stalks, pottery, and textiles. 597 00:28:09,146 --> 00:28:12,774 Looters tend to move fast and usually leave signs, 598 00:28:12,858 --> 00:28:15,736 like holes, debris or damage. 599 00:28:15,819 --> 00:28:18,822 But in Lima, there were no indications of looting. 600 00:28:18,906 --> 00:28:20,574 The second chamber, though empty, 601 00:28:20,657 --> 00:28:22,910 was sealed and undisturbed. 602 00:28:22,993 --> 00:28:26,914 This suggests its emptiness stems from something else. 603 00:28:26,997 --> 00:28:28,790 Across the ancient world, 604 00:28:28,874 --> 00:28:31,251 commemoration took many forms. 605 00:28:31,335 --> 00:28:33,587 Some structures are meant to honor the dead 606 00:28:33,670 --> 00:28:36,089 without ever holding their remains. 607 00:28:36,173 --> 00:28:39,092 One possibility is that this was a cenotaph, 608 00:28:39,176 --> 00:28:40,302 or a symbolic grave 609 00:28:40,385 --> 00:28:43,096 for someone whose remains were never recovered. 610 00:28:43,180 --> 00:28:46,183 The Chancay culture included communities of fishermen, 611 00:28:46,266 --> 00:28:48,518 and the Pacific could easily claim lives. 612 00:28:48,602 --> 00:28:52,105 Families may have needed a place to mourn and make offerings. 613 00:28:52,189 --> 00:28:56,109 Could this sealed vacant chamber have served that role? 614 00:28:56,193 --> 00:28:58,695 Placing an empty grave beside an occupied one 615 00:28:58,779 --> 00:29:01,114 may have been a way of symbolically reuniting 616 00:29:01,198 --> 00:29:03,408 loved ones in the afterlife after one of them 617 00:29:03,492 --> 00:29:06,954 had maybe disappeared at sea or something like that. 618 00:29:07,037 --> 00:29:09,581 In Chancay burials, the dead were often accompanied 619 00:29:09,665 --> 00:29:12,584 by textiles, pottery, and figurines 620 00:29:12,668 --> 00:29:16,296 that seem to represent ritual attendance or offerings. 621 00:29:16,380 --> 00:29:17,881 The exact meaning of all those artifacts 622 00:29:17,965 --> 00:29:19,633 really isn't very well understood, 623 00:29:19,716 --> 00:29:22,219 so it's possible that even an empty chamber 624 00:29:22,302 --> 00:29:26,473 had a cultural significance that we just don't fully understand. 625 00:29:26,556 --> 00:29:29,142 {\an8} More than 7,500 miles from Lima, 626 00:29:29,226 --> 00:29:32,145 {\an8}on the Black Sea coast near Varna, Bulgaria, 627 00:29:32,229 --> 00:29:35,482 archaeologists discovered a Copper Age cemetery 628 00:29:35,565 --> 00:29:40,237 where absence itself seemed part of the burial design. 629 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,948 Excavations uncovered nearly 300 burials 630 00:29:43,031 --> 00:29:46,618 dating between 4600 and 4200 BCE. 631 00:29:46,702 --> 00:29:49,162 Some contained skeletons laid out with gold diadems, 632 00:29:49,246 --> 00:29:53,125 scepters, copper weapons, and Mediterranean shell ornaments. 633 00:29:53,208 --> 00:29:55,002 But others held no bodies at all, 634 00:29:55,085 --> 00:29:56,670 only offerings of gold and copper, 635 00:29:56,753 --> 00:29:59,673 sometimes richer than the graves that did contain the dead. 636 00:29:59,756 --> 00:30:02,175 The symbolic graves sometimes even featured 637 00:30:02,259 --> 00:30:06,638 life-size clay masks placed where a head should have been. 638 00:30:06,722 --> 00:30:08,682 They may have honored ancestors or individuals 639 00:30:08,765 --> 00:30:12,519 who died far away, providing a place for families to mourn 640 00:30:12,602 --> 00:30:15,689 and perform rituals in the absence of a body. 641 00:30:15,772 --> 00:30:17,065 But here's the difference. 642 00:30:17,149 --> 00:30:20,861 At Varna, the cenotaph still contained offerings and objects 643 00:30:20,944 --> 00:30:23,196 standing in for the absent dead. 644 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:27,534 At Puente Piedra in Lima, the second tomb was empty. 645 00:30:27,617 --> 00:30:30,787 That points to a different and perhaps more straightforward 646 00:30:30,871 --> 00:30:33,123 interpretation of the evidence. 647 00:30:33,206 --> 00:30:35,208 One explanation is that nothing about 648 00:30:35,292 --> 00:30:39,379 the Puente Piedra discovery is unusual at all. 649 00:30:39,463 --> 00:30:41,214 The Chancay were a coastal people, 650 00:30:41,298 --> 00:30:43,383 renowned for their fishing, for their ceramics, 651 00:30:43,467 --> 00:30:45,218 but above all, for their weaving. 652 00:30:45,302 --> 00:30:49,347 And so their dead were laid in these beautiful funerary bundles 653 00:30:49,431 --> 00:30:52,225 built up layer by layer with textiles 654 00:30:52,309 --> 00:30:55,979 and with other offerings enclosing the body. 655 00:30:56,063 --> 00:30:58,982 At Puente Piedra, one chamber held a bundle 656 00:30:59,066 --> 00:31:01,068 while the second was empty. 657 00:31:01,151 --> 00:31:02,652 People who have looked at these things carefully 658 00:31:02,736 --> 00:31:05,405 have noted that Chancay cemeteries are complex, 659 00:31:05,489 --> 00:31:07,741 and they vary a ton from one to the other. 660 00:31:07,824 --> 00:31:10,994 So the pair here may have been very special, 661 00:31:11,078 --> 00:31:14,581 or they may not be special at all. 662 00:31:14,664 --> 00:31:15,624 Across the Andes, 663 00:31:15,707 --> 00:31:17,918 bundle burials show striking diversity. 664 00:31:18,001 --> 00:31:20,796 Some are layered with elaborate textiles and ornaments, 665 00:31:20,879 --> 00:31:22,380 others are more modest. 666 00:31:22,464 --> 00:31:25,008 In some cases, bodies were laid beneath textiles 667 00:31:25,092 --> 00:31:27,427 rather than enclosed by a bundle. 668 00:31:27,511 --> 00:31:30,514 Colonial records describe bundle making as a public event, 669 00:31:30,597 --> 00:31:32,766 and the number and quality of wrappings and ornaments 670 00:31:32,849 --> 00:31:36,103 may have reflected the status a person held in society. 671 00:31:36,186 --> 00:31:39,022 The second chamber may have been left unfinished, 672 00:31:39,106 --> 00:31:42,275 or the body once inside, could have been removed 673 00:31:42,359 --> 00:31:44,778 during the Chancay period itself. 674 00:31:44,861 --> 00:31:48,115 In some cases, textiles were even added to bundles 675 00:31:48,198 --> 00:31:49,616 long after burial. 676 00:31:49,699 --> 00:31:51,618 That ongoing interaction with the dead 677 00:31:51,701 --> 00:31:55,330 means it's possible the torn cloth and the empty grave 678 00:31:55,413 --> 00:31:57,874 could be traces of that same practice. 679 00:31:59,918 --> 00:32:01,378 Just over 480 miles down the coast, 680 00:32:01,461 --> 00:32:02,963 at Cerro Colorado, 681 00:32:03,046 --> 00:32:05,549 a Chancay burial shows the complexity 682 00:32:05,632 --> 00:32:07,384 of these bundles and burials 683 00:32:07,467 --> 00:32:10,554 and the stories they can tell when preserved. 684 00:32:10,637 --> 00:32:12,848 At the site, archaeologists identified 685 00:32:12,931 --> 00:32:14,432 more than 10 techniques 686 00:32:14,516 --> 00:32:16,935 of textile preparation and decoration, 687 00:32:17,018 --> 00:32:19,729 from standard woven fabrics and tapestries 688 00:32:19,813 --> 00:32:21,273 to headnets and gauzes, 689 00:32:21,356 --> 00:32:24,568 crafted in both cotton and camelid wool. 690 00:32:24,651 --> 00:32:27,612 One case is that of a fisherman who in his life 691 00:32:27,696 --> 00:32:31,449 had endured severe dental problems and spinal problems. 692 00:32:31,533 --> 00:32:33,952 He was even deaf in his final years, 693 00:32:34,035 --> 00:32:37,247 but at death, he was treated with extraordinary care. 694 00:32:37,330 --> 00:32:39,583 His body was wrapped in 25 layers 695 00:32:39,666 --> 00:32:41,835 of cotton textiles and tapestries, 696 00:32:41,918 --> 00:32:46,798 including a rare alpaca or llama wool garment 697 00:32:46,882 --> 00:32:49,009 decorated with serpent-like figures. 698 00:32:49,092 --> 00:32:50,677 Now, maybe those figures represent creatures 699 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:52,345 from the sea, we don't know. 700 00:32:52,429 --> 00:32:55,807 But the labor invested in his burial suggests 701 00:32:55,891 --> 00:32:58,268 that he held very special status. 702 00:32:58,351 --> 00:33:01,188 Maybe for his skills as a leader in the community, 703 00:33:01,271 --> 00:33:04,191 maybe he was a great fisherman in his younger years, 704 00:33:04,274 --> 00:33:07,861 maybe he was just an elder that was very beloved. 705 00:33:07,944 --> 00:33:09,988 What makes this case striking is that the grave 706 00:33:10,071 --> 00:33:13,867 showed no signs of reopening beyond damage by modern looters. 707 00:33:13,950 --> 00:33:17,204 In many Chancay tombs, burials were revisited over time, 708 00:33:17,287 --> 00:33:18,705 with new layers added. 709 00:33:18,788 --> 00:33:20,665 The fisherman's tomb, by contrast, 710 00:33:20,749 --> 00:33:23,126 was sealed once and left untouched, 711 00:33:23,210 --> 00:33:24,669 a reminder of just how varied 712 00:33:24,753 --> 00:33:27,547 Chancay funerary practice could be. 713 00:33:27,631 --> 00:33:29,883 At Puente Piedra, they also found traces 714 00:33:29,966 --> 00:33:34,721 of reed roofing and wooden posts within adobe matrices. 715 00:33:34,804 --> 00:33:37,724 But the textile bundle was badly deteriorated, 716 00:33:37,807 --> 00:33:39,893 and overall, the evidence is thin. 717 00:33:39,976 --> 00:33:42,270 Nearby finds suggest this was once part 718 00:33:42,354 --> 00:33:45,899 of a much larger cemetery, but we're left with few clues 719 00:33:45,982 --> 00:33:49,027 about how to interpret the sealed empty grave 720 00:33:49,110 --> 00:33:50,445 or how it may have been conceived 721 00:33:50,528 --> 00:33:52,906 alongside the one that was occupied. 722 00:33:52,989 --> 00:33:55,992 The pre-Incan tombs beneath the streets of Lima 723 00:33:56,076 --> 00:33:59,412 hold traces of history still emerging from the earth 724 00:33:59,496 --> 00:34:04,834 and remind us of how much the Chancay story remains untold. 725 00:34:16,346 --> 00:34:18,515 Situated near the eastern coastline 726 00:34:18,598 --> 00:34:20,600 of England's Lincolnshire County, 727 00:34:20,684 --> 00:34:23,728 about 66 miles from the city of Leeds, 728 00:34:23,812 --> 00:34:26,106 is the tiny village of Tetney. 729 00:34:26,189 --> 00:34:28,566 {\an8} Tetney is a cozy maritime community 730 00:34:28,650 --> 00:34:30,944 {\an8}of just over 1,700 people, 731 00:34:31,027 --> 00:34:33,780 surrounded by incredible natural beauty. 732 00:34:33,863 --> 00:34:36,157 East of the village are the Tetney Marshes, 733 00:34:36,241 --> 00:34:38,952 containing 1,500 hectares of mudflats, 734 00:34:39,035 --> 00:34:44,958 salt marshes and dunes, much of which is now protected land. 735 00:34:45,041 --> 00:34:48,878 {\an8} This area has a long and at times disturbing history. 736 00:34:48,962 --> 00:34:51,131 There's a terrifying story from the 9th century 737 00:34:51,214 --> 00:34:54,634 when Vikings attacked the town and burned down the church. 738 00:34:54,718 --> 00:34:57,971 Reportedly, there were no survivors. 739 00:34:58,054 --> 00:35:00,932 {\an8} Centuries later, at the end of the First World War, 740 00:35:01,016 --> 00:35:04,436 {\an8}Tetney would become an early telecommunications hub. 741 00:35:04,519 --> 00:35:08,732 In 1927, it was the site of a Marconi Beam station, 742 00:35:08,815 --> 00:35:11,651 part of a state-of-the-art network that connected Britain, 743 00:35:11,735 --> 00:35:13,653 India, and many other countries 744 00:35:13,737 --> 00:35:15,572 throughout the British Empire, 745 00:35:15,655 --> 00:35:20,076 all by using a long-range radiotelegraphy system. 746 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,997 In July of 2018, the owner of the Tetney golf course 747 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,333 is expanding a pond on the property 748 00:35:26,416 --> 00:35:30,170 when an excavator strikes something solid in the mud. 749 00:35:30,253 --> 00:35:33,006 A team of archaeologists from the University of Sheffield 750 00:35:33,089 --> 00:35:36,926 just happens to be conducting a research excavation nearby 751 00:35:37,010 --> 00:35:38,970 and agrees to investigate. 752 00:35:39,054 --> 00:35:42,349 What they find is astonishing. 753 00:35:42,432 --> 00:35:44,517 There was a large wooden sarcophagus 754 00:35:44,601 --> 00:35:48,855 encased in the earth that had been carved out of a trunk 755 00:35:48,938 --> 00:35:50,190 of a massive oak tree 756 00:35:50,273 --> 00:35:54,527 and measured approximately eight feet long and three feet wide. 757 00:35:54,611 --> 00:35:57,489 {\an8}Rather than hollowing out the entire log, 758 00:35:57,572 --> 00:36:02,035 {\an8}the carver split the log in two, hollowing out the larger half, 759 00:36:02,118 --> 00:36:05,705 then using the thinner second half as a lid. 760 00:36:05,789 --> 00:36:07,791 Inside, they found human remains 761 00:36:07,874 --> 00:36:11,169 belonging to a male who was likely in his late 30s 762 00:36:11,252 --> 00:36:13,546 or early 40s when he died. 763 00:36:13,630 --> 00:36:16,383 He would have stood about 5 feet 9 inches, 764 00:36:16,466 --> 00:36:18,218 which was pretty tall for the time. 765 00:36:18,301 --> 00:36:21,554 And his bones showed marks from a degenerative joint disease 766 00:36:21,638 --> 00:36:25,225 called osteoarthritis, which suggested that he had engaged 767 00:36:25,308 --> 00:36:28,478 in strenuous, repetitive labor for years. 768 00:36:28,561 --> 00:36:31,147 So who was this mysterious man? 769 00:36:31,231 --> 00:36:32,941 By combining radiocarbon dating 770 00:36:33,024 --> 00:36:36,111 with an analysis of the coffin and its artifacts, 771 00:36:36,194 --> 00:36:37,987 {\an8}researchers can place the burial 772 00:36:38,071 --> 00:36:39,823 {\an8}within the early Bronze Age, 773 00:36:39,906 --> 00:36:42,742 {\an8}approximately 4,000 years ago. 774 00:36:42,826 --> 00:36:43,910 {\an8} This region in Britain 775 00:36:43,993 --> 00:36:46,913 has been rich with discoveries from prehistory. 776 00:36:46,996 --> 00:36:50,542 Over 350 Bronze Age barrows have been found here, 777 00:36:50,625 --> 00:36:53,670 along with a number of Neolithic barrows. 778 00:36:53,753 --> 00:36:55,755 You can imagine that the dense forests 779 00:36:55,839 --> 00:36:59,092 and the proximity to water would have been highly attractive 780 00:36:59,175 --> 00:37:02,095 to hunter-gatherer communities from this era. 781 00:37:02,178 --> 00:37:03,304 At this time in history, 782 00:37:03,388 --> 00:37:06,516 there was a sea change in the culture of early man, 783 00:37:06,599 --> 00:37:08,768 brought about by the arrival of new people 784 00:37:08,852 --> 00:37:11,438 from continental Europe. 785 00:37:11,521 --> 00:37:13,398 These humans were genetically different 786 00:37:13,481 --> 00:37:16,735 from the earlier tribes that had settled in the region, 787 00:37:16,818 --> 00:37:19,738 and they brought new practices and inventions with them, 788 00:37:19,821 --> 00:37:22,574 including metalworking and a style of pottery 789 00:37:22,657 --> 00:37:24,284 known as beakers. 790 00:37:24,367 --> 00:37:27,787 Over the next several centuries, these Beaker people 791 00:37:27,871 --> 00:37:31,124 quickly became the dominant cultural force in Britain, 792 00:37:31,207 --> 00:37:35,628 replacing over 90% of the region's existing gene pool. 793 00:37:35,712 --> 00:37:39,048 A social hierarchy emerged with leadership 794 00:37:39,132 --> 00:37:42,302 centered around chieftains, warrior kings, 795 00:37:42,385 --> 00:37:43,970 and heads of families. 796 00:37:44,053 --> 00:37:48,475 Importantly, these tribes had a fresh worldview on death 797 00:37:48,558 --> 00:37:49,684 and the afterlife, 798 00:37:49,768 --> 00:37:52,687 and burials became much more elaborate. 799 00:37:52,771 --> 00:37:55,899 So, could the man in the coffin have been an important member 800 00:37:55,982 --> 00:38:00,069 of the community that lived here 4,000 years ago? 801 00:38:02,238 --> 00:38:03,490 As the archaeologists continue to investigate 802 00:38:03,573 --> 00:38:05,992 the coffin, they make a surprising discovery 803 00:38:06,075 --> 00:38:08,828 underneath the human remains. 804 00:38:08,912 --> 00:38:10,955 The body had been laid on a bed of plants, 805 00:38:11,039 --> 00:38:13,458 which included moss, sprigs or leaves 806 00:38:13,541 --> 00:38:17,170 from yew or juniper trees, and a scattering of hazelnuts. 807 00:38:17,253 --> 00:38:20,006 Among the plant bedding were tiny leaf buds, 808 00:38:20,089 --> 00:38:22,592 which means the burial had very likely taken place 809 00:38:22,675 --> 00:38:25,512 in the spring, a time of renewal and rebirth. 810 00:38:25,595 --> 00:38:28,264 The symbolism of a spring burial could have connoted 811 00:38:28,348 --> 00:38:31,017 deep spiritual meaning that would have been fitting 812 00:38:31,100 --> 00:38:32,852 for a shamanistic character, 813 00:38:32,936 --> 00:38:35,855 a spiritual leader in the community. 814 00:38:35,939 --> 00:38:37,440 As a shaman for his tribe, 815 00:38:37,524 --> 00:38:40,318 he would have had incredible power and influence, 816 00:38:40,401 --> 00:38:41,778 providing insight and connection 817 00:38:41,861 --> 00:38:47,033 to the community's ancestors, deities, and rituals. 818 00:38:47,116 --> 00:38:48,785 The same year, archaeologists 819 00:38:48,868 --> 00:38:53,331 in southwestern Siberia at Novosibirsk's Ust-Tartas site 820 00:38:53,414 --> 00:38:55,375 unearthed two Bronze Age burials 821 00:38:55,458 --> 00:38:56,960 that like the Tetney site 822 00:38:57,043 --> 00:39:00,713 appear to be imbued with spiritual symbolism. 823 00:39:02,966 --> 00:39:04,551 These burials were determined to be 824 00:39:04,634 --> 00:39:08,388 from the Odinov culture about 5,000 years ago. 825 00:39:08,471 --> 00:39:09,848 One of the remains was accompanied 826 00:39:09,931 --> 00:39:12,183 by a stunning set of artifacts. 827 00:39:12,267 --> 00:39:16,104 Inside the grave, archaeologists found the skulls of birds, 828 00:39:16,187 --> 00:39:18,314 along with several bird beaks. 829 00:39:18,398 --> 00:39:20,400 The beaks were grouped into a single object 830 00:39:20,483 --> 00:39:23,236 behind the deceased individual's skull. 831 00:39:23,319 --> 00:39:25,905 It appeared to be the remnants of a ceremonial headdress 832 00:39:25,989 --> 00:39:29,909 or garment meant for performing rituals of some kind. 833 00:39:29,993 --> 00:39:33,746 The nearby grave was even more astonishing. 834 00:39:33,830 --> 00:39:35,582 It featured two levels. 835 00:39:35,665 --> 00:39:38,585 The top tier held the remains of two children 836 00:39:38,668 --> 00:39:42,171 who would have been approximately 5 and 10 years old 837 00:39:42,255 --> 00:39:43,506 when they died. 838 00:39:43,590 --> 00:39:46,593 The lower tier featured an adult male, 839 00:39:46,676 --> 00:39:48,845 and like the bird man's grave, 840 00:39:48,928 --> 00:39:53,099 he was buried with a number of fascinating artifacts, 841 00:39:53,182 --> 00:39:57,645 one of which appeared to be the remnants of a bronze mask. 842 00:39:57,729 --> 00:40:02,567 Archaeologists also found polished stones near his body, 843 00:40:02,650 --> 00:40:07,739 all of which suggested this man and the male with the bird beaks 844 00:40:07,822 --> 00:40:13,286 were involved in rituals for their Bronze Age community. 845 00:40:13,369 --> 00:40:17,123 By contrast, the Tetney site lacks definitive signifiers 846 00:40:17,206 --> 00:40:19,375 associated with a spiritual leader. 847 00:40:19,459 --> 00:40:21,586 There's no doubt that this grave shows evidence 848 00:40:21,669 --> 00:40:24,797 of unique funerary traditions and cultural beliefs, 849 00:40:24,881 --> 00:40:28,843 such as the bed of plants, and even the log coffin itself, 850 00:40:28,927 --> 00:40:32,889 but there's no clear evidence that this was a shaman's burial. 851 00:40:32,972 --> 00:40:35,767 But the tall man's coffin has another surprise 852 00:40:35,850 --> 00:40:37,185 for researchers-- 853 00:40:37,268 --> 00:40:42,148 an incredibly unique object buried alongside the deceased. 854 00:40:42,231 --> 00:40:43,650 Inside the sarcophagus, 855 00:40:43,733 --> 00:40:47,320 a perfectly preserved axe laid with the remains. 856 00:40:47,403 --> 00:40:50,990 Its stone head was still fastened to its wooden handle, 857 00:40:51,074 --> 00:40:53,159 which measured just over a foot long. 858 00:40:53,242 --> 00:40:56,996 The head was not fashioned from flint, as might be expected. 859 00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:59,332 Rather, it had been carved out of limestone 860 00:40:59,415 --> 00:41:03,503 that contained the fossilized imprints of ancient coral. 861 00:41:03,586 --> 00:41:05,338 It's beautiful. 862 00:41:05,421 --> 00:41:07,590 This object strongly suggests 863 00:41:07,674 --> 00:41:10,510 the man was a leader within his community. 864 00:41:10,593 --> 00:41:13,179 But the inclusion of a weapon inside a grave 865 00:41:13,262 --> 00:41:16,849 could also be indicative that this man was a protector. 866 00:41:16,933 --> 00:41:20,186 Could he have been a revered warrior? 867 00:41:20,269 --> 00:41:22,438 Almost two centuries before the discovery 868 00:41:22,522 --> 00:41:25,858 of the Tetney Man, in July of 1834, 869 00:41:25,942 --> 00:41:29,028 an amateur archaeologist named William Beswick 870 00:41:29,112 --> 00:41:31,280 in North Yorkshire's Gristhorpe Village 871 00:41:31,364 --> 00:41:35,576 excavated a similar barrow on his own land. 872 00:41:35,660 --> 00:41:39,706 Beswick and his small team unearthed a massive oak log 873 00:41:39,789 --> 00:41:42,000 that measured over six feet long 874 00:41:42,083 --> 00:41:44,585 and more than three feet in diameter. 875 00:41:44,669 --> 00:41:46,462 Much like the Tetney discovery, 876 00:41:46,546 --> 00:41:49,590 it had been preserved in waterlogged land. 877 00:41:49,674 --> 00:41:51,634 And this log was also soon discovered 878 00:41:51,718 --> 00:41:53,636 to contain human remains: 879 00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:58,141 a Bronze Age male known today as the Gristhorpe Man. 880 00:41:58,224 --> 00:42:00,226 There was an abundance of intriguing artifacts 881 00:42:00,309 --> 00:42:02,228 laid inside this log coffin-- 882 00:42:02,311 --> 00:42:05,732 a vessel carved out of bark which had once contained milk, 883 00:42:05,815 --> 00:42:09,652 and a wicker basket which showed evidence of food residue. 884 00:42:09,736 --> 00:42:14,866 There was also tools made of flint, and tellingly, a dagger. 885 00:42:14,949 --> 00:42:16,284 Just like the Tetney Man, 886 00:42:16,367 --> 00:42:20,079 the Gristhorpe Man was above average height for his time, 887 00:42:20,163 --> 00:42:22,915 about six feet tall, which again, would have given him 888 00:42:22,999 --> 00:42:25,918 some degree of status in his community. 889 00:42:26,002 --> 00:42:29,380 But there was something else about Gristhorpe Man's remains 890 00:42:29,464 --> 00:42:31,924 that provided a clue to his identity. 891 00:42:32,008 --> 00:42:35,261 His bones displayed a number of healed fractures, 892 00:42:35,344 --> 00:42:39,348 which indicated that the man was likely a warrior. 893 00:42:39,432 --> 00:42:42,560 Now, the axe Tetney Man was buried with 894 00:42:42,643 --> 00:42:44,437 was likely symbolic, 895 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:48,816 as it does not appear to be a functional instrument of war. 896 00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:51,486 And it's extremely rare. 897 00:42:51,569 --> 00:42:55,239 There have only been 12 like it found in Britain. 898 00:42:55,323 --> 00:42:58,785 Its size and decorative details suggest it was probably used 899 00:42:58,868 --> 00:43:03,122 in a more ritualistic manner, like a king's scepter. 900 00:43:03,206 --> 00:43:06,667 He might have had something akin to royal status 901 00:43:06,751 --> 00:43:09,128 within his community. 902 00:43:09,212 --> 00:43:10,922 While the Tetney man's exact lineage 903 00:43:11,005 --> 00:43:14,133 remains elusive, the evidence found at his burial site 904 00:43:14,217 --> 00:43:18,971 overwhelmingly points to his importance within the tribe. 905 00:43:19,055 --> 00:43:22,308 This burial was clearly a communal effort, 906 00:43:22,391 --> 00:43:24,102 one almost certainly brought about 907 00:43:24,185 --> 00:43:27,105 by a deep respect for the deceased-- 908 00:43:27,188 --> 00:43:28,272 the log sarcophagus, 909 00:43:28,356 --> 00:43:30,650 the gathering of the plants for the bedding-- 910 00:43:30,733 --> 00:43:34,821 {\an8}all of this would have taken coordination by the community. 911 00:43:34,904 --> 00:43:36,572 {\an8} And the choice of oak for the coffin 912 00:43:36,656 --> 00:43:38,616 {\an8}was almost certainly significant. 913 00:43:38,699 --> 00:43:41,285 {\an8}In many cultures, oak has long been a symbol 914 00:43:41,369 --> 00:43:43,121 {\an8}of longevity and strength. 915 00:43:43,204 --> 00:43:47,291 {\an8}As such, this coffin was not just a vessel for the body, 916 00:43:47,375 --> 00:43:50,419 {\an8}but a statement of the man's authority. 917 00:43:50,503 --> 00:43:52,505 {\an8} To date, there have been approximately 918 00:43:52,588 --> 00:43:57,426 {\an8}65 early Bronze Age log coffins found across Britain. 919 00:43:57,510 --> 00:44:00,680 {\an8}And there may be many more of these mysterious barrows 920 00:44:00,763 --> 00:44:02,598 {\an8}that have yet to be discovered.