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00:00A team of geologists conducting an aerial survey over the vast Libyan desert make a surprising discovery.
00:08It's an airplane from World War II, an American B-24D Liberator bomber.
00:15So what plane is this and how did it end up in the middle of the Libyan desert?
00:21A team of archaeologists conducting a survey in Turkey reveal intricate carvings and symbols at the Göbekli Tepe pillars.
00:30In addition to images of wild birds, snakes and scorpions, there are several rows of a V-shape carved into one of the pillars of the largest enclosure.
00:41What does that mean and how does that connect with the megalith's intended purpose?
00:46Archaeologists are excavating a site near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem when they uncover a strange structure.
00:54They unearthed a walled complex carved right into the rock base that spanned an area of over 2,000 square feet.
01:05What exactly was this place and how is it connected to the Temple Mount?
01:09Ancient lost cities, forgotten treasures, mysterious structures.
01:17As new technology uncovers remarkable tales hidden beneath the deserts of the world,
01:23the secrets in the sand will finally be revealed.
01:39Dominated by actively shifting sand dunes that reach heights of 350 feet,
01:48the Kalanshuo Sand Sea covers over 23,000 square miles of desert in eastern Libya.
01:54A sand sea, or Urg, as it's known in Arabic, is an area consisting of at least 20% windblown sand
02:05and receiving no more than 6 inches of annual precipitation.
02:09So the resulting climate in active Urgs like the Kalanshuo is dry, hot, and windy,
02:16making this part of eastern Libya particularly treacherous and inhospitable.
02:21While the intense sandstorms create significant challenges for settlement,
02:28underneath all that sand, Libya holds massive oil reserves.
02:33Drilling for oil was first authorized in 1955, and in recent years,
02:37that country has been producing over a million barrels per day,
02:40creating billions of dollars in annual revenue.
02:43Geologists prospecting for an oil company are flying over eastern Libya
02:54when they spy something unusual on the ground below.
02:59They were conducting a survey of an area that included the Kalanshuo Sand Sea,
03:03and they spotted something that, from the plane,
03:06looked like a huge damaged vehicle of some kind, half buried in the sand.
03:11The geologists alert the authorities, and a ground crew is dispatched to investigate.
03:20What they find astounds them.
03:23It's an airplane from World War II.
03:28An American B-24D Liberator bomber.
03:32These planes measured roughly 65 feet long and 18 feet high,
03:38had a high cruise speed, long range, and the ability to carry a heavy payload.
03:43But in comparison with its contemporaries, the B-24 was difficult to fly and had poor low-speed performance.
03:55Despite this, at around 18,500 units, it held the record for the world's most produced bomber.
04:02On first inspection, it was clear the plane had not been shot down.
04:09It appears to have made a controlled descent,
04:13then skidded across a flat stretch of sand and gravel for over 2,000 feet when it landed.
04:21The stress of the crash broke the main body of the plane just behind the wings.
04:28But aside from that, it was largely intact, including the propellers.
04:33How did it end up in the middle of the Libyan desert?
04:39Searching for answers, the team examines the bomber's wreckage.
04:43Eerily, the plane's interior contained the crew's belongings, rations, even flasks of water and coffee.
04:53The dry desert conditions had preserved almost everything from the aircraft's last mission.
05:01All of the plane's .50 caliber machine guns and ammo were still there.
05:05One of the machine guns was even still working.
05:07The bomber's radio, also working.
05:10But although the airplane's engines did not work anymore,
05:13it was clear from analyses that the engine was running when the plane crashed.
05:20The rear escape hatch doors were open,
05:22and all of the plane's parachutes and life preservers were missing.
05:26All these findings support a mostly functional airplane abandoned by its crew,
05:31rather than a terrible crash with all on board.
05:34We know that during World War II, there was an allied base in Suluq, Libya.
05:43So it's reasonable to assume that this plane originated there.
05:47But that still doesn't tell us the identity of the mystery wreck.
05:52Military records show that on April 4th, 1943,
05:5925 American Air Force bomber planes took off from the base at Suluq.
06:06Their mission was a high-altitude attack on the Axis-held port of Naples, Italy.
06:11By 1943, the fate of North Africa had become critical to the outcome of the war,
06:20as control of the region meant access to Mediterranean sea routes
06:24and a launch pad for invasions into southern Europe.
06:28At 2.50 p.m., the bomb group took off for Italy.
06:36Unfortunately, sandstorms created poor visibility,
06:39so all the planes aborted the mission
06:41and returned safely to the base at Suluq that night.
06:44That is, all of them but one.
06:47The lone exception was the Lady Be Good.
06:51The Lady Be Good carried on until she was almost at her target,
06:55at which point she turned around and headed home alone.
06:58And that was the last known detail about the plane's movements.
07:02But the assumption was that it went down somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea.
07:09For several years following the war,
07:11neither the plane nor its crew had been located,
07:14making it one of the most famous lost airplanes of World War II.
07:18So the big question is,
07:19is the aircraft in the desert the wreck of the Lady Be Good?
07:23A full inspection of the crash site reveals the plane's identity.
07:31But the mystery of its fate only deepens.
07:35They found the flight logs and two notebooks
07:38containing the names of each of the nine crew members.
07:41And the interior of the plane also contained identifying marks of the Lady Be Good.
07:48So, without a doubt, this was the famous missing airplane.
07:53Discovered, recovered, and parts of it in remarkably good working condition.
07:58We know that the rear escape hatch doors were open
08:02and all of the life preservers and parachutes were gone.
08:05So, it's safe to assume that the crew bailed out of the Lady Be Good
08:09at some point before the crash.
08:11But where?
08:13And where are their bodies?
08:14During the initial search, several items were found in the sand,
08:26confirming the crew had survived their jump from the plane.
08:31Improvised arrowheads had been created from used parachutes all pointing north.
08:37A pair of servicemen's rubber boots were also discovered
08:41almost 20 miles north of the crash site.
08:45It was believed the crew placed these items as directional markers
08:50to lead air and sea rescue teams to their location.
08:54But despite months of searching, no remains were found.
09:00A year later, oil surveyors discovered the first five bodies of the Lady Be Good crew.
09:06They were on a plateau under the sand sea along with equipment,
09:12canteens, flashlights, pieces of parachute, and flight jackets.
09:17They had trekked 85 miles before finally succumbing to the brutal desert heat.
09:27Three more bodies were eventually recovered at various distances from the first five,
09:32indicating they had the strength to continue,
09:35but ultimately they too collapsed from dehydration and exposure.
09:40The remains of the ninth crew member has still not been found.
09:44Tragically, if the airmen had walked south instead of north after their parachute escape,
09:49they would have arrived at the plane wreck with a working radio and plenty of rations.
09:54The Lady Be Good crashed hundreds of miles from its intended flight path
10:00and over 400 miles from the Mediterranean Sea,
10:04where it was believed to have disappeared.
10:06So what went so horribly wrong?
10:10Is it possible the rookie crew couldn't handle a bomber
10:13with a reputation for being challenging to fly?
10:16A re-examination of the Lady Be Good's missing in action report
10:31sheds light on a possible explanation.
10:35The official version essentially places the blame on the navigator
10:40who was serving as a navigator for the first time.
10:45In the report, it states he misinterpreted a directional reading
10:50sent from an allied airbase in Benina, resulting in the plane going off course.
10:57A more recent study points to failure by an airbase operator in Benghazi
11:02to respond to the Lady Be Good's radio calls for help
11:05because he mistakenly believed that the airplane was German.
11:09Both scenarios highlight the possibility that human error was a factor.
11:18And while it was the maiden mission for all nine on board,
11:22they were highly trained expert servicemen.
11:24And it's almost impossible to state definitively
11:27if their rookie status played a role in the plane's disappearance.
11:30So is it possible that poor flying conditions contributed to the crash?
11:39The last known contact between the Lady Be Good
11:42and the home base in Salute provides a critical clue.
11:46All 25 bombers from the mission turned back towards the base
11:50because of high winds and poor visibility.
11:53The Lady Be Good was the last to do so.
11:58And as she was making her way back,
12:00the crew radioed the base for navigational assistance.
12:05The base responded by firing flares into the night sky,
12:09but they were likely unseen by the pilot,
12:12who kept flying and overshot the base.
12:14They continued south for two hours deep into the desert
12:20until the Lady Be Good ran out of fuel.
12:23At this point, the crew decided to bail
12:25and let the empty plane glide for another 16 miles
12:28until it skidded to a relatively gentle crash in the sand.
12:33It's like them the crew believed
12:35they were over the Mediterranean Sea when they jumped
12:38because they took their life preservers with them.
12:41Once they landed, they began to walk north,
12:45perhaps heading into the wind,
12:47believing once again they were close to the Mediterranean
12:50and possibly safety.
12:53Unfortunately, they were over 400 miles from the sea.
12:59Now recovered, parts of the Lady Be Good
13:02have been sent to various military museums for commemoration.
13:07And while the story has a tragic ending for those involved,
13:11it is also a story of courage, perseverance,
13:15and the human will to survive the harshest conditions on Earth.
13:1960 miles north of the Syrian border,
13:36Turkey's Harun Plain spreads for 580 square miles
13:40between the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
13:43Like most of southeastern Turkey
13:47and what used to be called Mesopotamia,
13:49the Harun Plain is characterized by dry conditions
13:52with large fluctuations between the hot days and the cool nights.
13:57The region rarely gets more than 15 inches of rain per year.
14:02The terrain is mostly made up of limestone plateaus
14:05with occasional patches of grassland steps.
14:08Evidence of human activity in the area
14:12dates to the pre-pottery Neolithic period,
14:15roughly 9,500 to 8,000 BCE,
14:18a time when tribes of hunter-gatherers
14:20were beginning to transition towards settled communities.
14:24By the 3rd millennium BCE,
14:26the plain emerged as an important trade hub,
14:28connecting the Tigris River to the Mediterranean Sea.
14:31The region is best known for an archaeological site
14:36called the Gebekli Tepe,
14:38which means pot-belly hill in Turkish.
14:41Built roughly 12,000 years ago,
14:44the Gebekli Tepe features
14:45four massive circular stone monuments
14:48that sit at the crest of a hill overlooking the plain.
14:53The pillars of the site
14:55are among the earliest known examples
14:57of megalithic structures,
14:59and their circular shape
15:01has led Gebekli Tepe
15:02to being called the world's first temple.
15:06A team of archaeologists
15:08is surveying a section of the Gebekli Tepe pillars
15:11containing intricate carvings and strange symbols
15:14when they make a curious discovery.
15:17In addition to images of wild birds,
15:20snakes, and scorpions,
15:21which were interpreted
15:22to be mythological representations,
15:24there are several rows of a V-shape
15:28carved into one of the pillars
15:29of the largest enclosure,
15:31which is known as enclosure D.
15:35Elsewhere, that same V symbol
15:37appears to be worn around the neck
15:39of a large bird-like beast.
15:43On other pillars,
15:44there are circles or disks
15:47carved right below the placement
15:49of the horizontal slab of the rock,
15:50kind of like where the two lines of the T intersect.
15:53Now, inside the disk,
15:56at its center,
15:57is a second, smaller circle,
15:59so it sort of looks like a donut.
16:02What does that mean,
16:03and how does that connect
16:05with the megalith's intended purpose?
16:09A survey of the world's
16:11notable megalithic structures
16:13offers a critical clue.
16:16One of the most famous examples
16:17of a man-made megalith
16:19is Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza,
16:21the largest and oldest
16:23of the Giza pyramid complex.
16:27Constructed for the pharaoh Khufu
16:29of the fourth dynasty,
16:31it was completed
16:32around the early 25th century BCE
16:34as a mortuary temple
16:36to honor the king.
16:37The Great Pyramids were central
16:41to the Egyptians'
16:42many elaborate funerary rituals,
16:44all intended to prepare the king
16:46for the afterlife.
16:48But they were also created
16:50to honor their various gods
16:51that held the highest position
16:53in divine society,
16:55including the solar deity Ra,
16:59who is usually credited
17:00with the creation of the world
17:01and was connected
17:02with the life-giving power
17:04of the sun.
17:07In northeast Scotland,
17:09many stone circles
17:10and other megalithic remains
17:12from the Bronze Age
17:13have been discovered
17:14near Aberdeenshire.
17:17They often featured
17:18recumbent stone circles
17:19with one large stone on its side,
17:21flanked by upright stones,
17:23and are believed to be monuments
17:24created to honor
17:25astronomical phenomena
17:26such as the solstice
17:27and the equinox.
17:28So, given these megaliths' associations
17:32with the power
17:33and pathway of the sun and moon,
17:35is it possible
17:36the markings on the pillars
17:37of Gobekli Tepe
17:38were also connected
17:39to the solar and lunar calendars?
17:49A team of archaeologists
17:52is surveying a section
17:53of the Gobekli Tepe pillars
17:55containing intricate carvings
17:57and strange symbols
17:58when they make
17:59a curious discovery.
18:02A deeper exploration
18:03of the pillars' circular shapes
18:05points to a potential answer.
18:09Solar disks
18:10and lunar crescents
18:11are frequently depicted
18:12in ancient cultures
18:13all around the world
18:14because the sun and moon
18:16are often viewed
18:17as religious deities.
18:19Maybe the Gobekli Tepe disk shapes
18:22represent the sun and moon
18:24with one circle
18:25inside the other.
18:27One of the most significant
18:30archaeological finds
18:31in the past century
18:32was the Nabra sky disk,
18:34discovered buried
18:35in Middleburg Hill
18:36near the German town
18:37of Nabra.
18:38The bronze disk,
18:4012 inches in diameter
18:41and weighing nearly 5 pounds,
18:43is a beautiful depiction
18:44of the sun,
18:44crescent moon,
18:45and a cluster of seven stars,
18:48believed to be
18:48the constellation Pleiades.
18:49radiocarbon dating puts the item's origin
18:54as being from 1500 to 1700 BCE,
18:58consistent with the early European Bronze Age,
19:02making the disk the oldest depiction
19:04of astronomical phenomenon
19:05known from anywhere in the world.
19:08The enclosed area surrounding Middleburg Hill
19:13was originally settled
19:15in the Neolithic era.
19:17If you're standing
19:17in the enclosure's entrance,
19:19the sun set perfectly
19:21every summer solstice
19:22right behind the highest peak
19:24of the Harts Mountains,
19:2550 miles to the northwest.
19:27It's believed that the Nabra disk
19:30was created to record
19:31and commemorate
19:32that specific event.
19:34So,
19:35is it possible
19:37that the Gobekli Tepe
19:38also contained information
19:40about a single event
19:42in the astronomical calendar,
19:44coded and carved
19:45into those stone pillars?
19:49A re-examination
19:51of the V-shaped carvings
19:53leads to a breakthrough.
19:55One of the marked pillars
19:56was found to have
19:57365 of the V-shapes
19:59carved into it.
20:00And from this,
20:01it was interpreted
20:02as each V
20:03representing one day.
20:05It was then possible
20:06to count a solar calendar
20:07of 365 days,
20:10consisting of 12 lunar months
20:12and 11 extra
20:13epigominal days,
20:15the days added to a calendar
20:16to make it synchronized
20:17with the solar year,
20:18like our leap year day
20:19of February 29th.
20:22A separate day appeared
20:24as a V
20:25worn around the neck
20:26of a bird-like beast
20:27in the shape
20:28of the solstice constellation.
20:30It was believed
20:31the isolated V
20:32was a representation
20:33of the actual solstice
20:35recorded right onto
20:36the Gobekli Tepe pillar.
20:39If this were the case,
20:41the implications
20:41would be huge.
20:42Up to this point,
20:44the Nebra sky disk
20:45was considered
20:46the oldest known depiction
20:47of solar and lunar phenomena.
20:49But the Gobekli Tepe
20:51was created
20:51thousands of years
20:53before that.
20:55Based on the analysis
20:57of the double-circled disk
20:58and the V-shape,
20:59it seems entirely possible
21:01that those who built
21:02the Gobekli Tepe
21:02had astronomical knowledge
21:04that included
21:05a clear observation
21:06of the course of the sun,
21:07including the single-event solstice.
21:09So why was this information
21:11so important to them?
21:13And what did they do
21:14with this knowledge?
21:15A deeper dive
21:18into the known history
21:20of Gobekli Tepe
21:21reveals a critical clue.
21:24Until the site's discovery
21:25in 1994,
21:27archaeologists generally believed
21:29that humans only began
21:30building organized societies
21:32and complex structures
21:34after the emergence
21:36of agriculture.
21:37And it was only after
21:38those events
21:39that complex religions emerged.
21:43And while this fertile
21:44crescent region
21:45of Mesopotamia
21:46was considered
21:47one of the birthplaces
21:48of organized farming,
21:50Gobekli Tepe
21:51was built
21:51by a pre-agricultural society.
21:55This pushes back
21:56the origins
21:57of the first megalithic structure
21:58to the late paleolithic era
22:00of the hunter-gatherer.
22:03Amazingly,
22:04the builders
22:05of Gobekli Tepe
22:06were organized
22:07and settled enough
22:08to accomplish
22:09its temple-like creation
22:10without the use
22:11of pack animals
22:12or specialized tools.
22:16They also had
22:17a spiritual life
22:18that likely included rituals
22:19to celebrate
22:20the summer
22:21or winter solstice.
22:23But there was
22:24another practical explanation
22:25for the significance
22:26of the solstice.
22:28As Mesopotamian societies
22:30transitioned
22:31from hunter-gatherers
22:32to early Neolithic farmers,
22:34it became far more important
22:36to pay close attention
22:38to the seasons.
22:39For societies dependent
22:40on agriculture
22:41for their food,
22:43knowing when to plant
22:44and when to harvest
22:46becomes a matter
22:47of life and death.
22:51So the picture
22:52that emerges
22:53is of a community
22:54coming together
22:55to celebrate
22:56and honor
22:56the changing
22:57of the seasons,
22:58whether that's
22:58an abundance of food,
23:00a drought,
23:00or colder temperatures.
23:02Over 30 years
23:05after its discovery,
23:07the Gobekli Tepe
23:08continues to fascinate
23:10and educate.
23:12And it no doubt
23:13still contains
23:13a multitude of secrets
23:15waiting to be revealed.
23:17Stretching across
23:32the vast rock plateau
23:33between the Dead Sea
23:35and the Mediterranean,
23:37Jerusalem is one
23:38of the oldest cities
23:39in the world.
23:42Jerusalem sits
23:43in the foothills
23:44of the Judean mountains
23:46at an elevation
23:47of nearly 3,000 feet.
23:49Its Mediterranean climate
23:50is characterized
23:51by hot, dry summers
23:53and mild, wet winters.
23:56The three major
23:57Abrahamic religions,
23:58Judaism, Christianity,
24:00and Islam,
24:01all consider Jerusalem
24:02a holy city.
24:04So throughout
24:04its long history,
24:06it's been a popular
24:06pilgrimage destination.
24:08But Jerusalem
24:09has also been a center
24:11for religious
24:11and political conflict.
24:13Governed by multiple
24:14dynasties over the years,
24:16the city has been
24:17attacked, besieged,
24:18and conquered
24:18over a hundred times.
24:24According to the Hebrew Bible,
24:26King David conquered Jerusalem
24:28from the Jebusites
24:29and established it
24:30as the capital
24:31of the kingdom of Israel.
24:34David's son,
24:35King Solomon,
24:36commissioned the building
24:36of the first temple
24:37in the 10th century BCE.
24:40The first temple
24:42is said to have stood
24:43on the Temple Mount,
24:44where the later
24:44second temple stood,
24:46a sacred area
24:47of Old Jerusalem
24:48surrounded by fortified walls.
24:54A team of archaeologists
24:56is excavating a site
24:57near Temple Mount
24:58when they make
24:59a surprising discovery.
25:02On the eastern slope
25:04of the mount,
25:04they unearthed
25:05a walled complex
25:07carved right into
25:08the rock face
25:09that spanned an area
25:11of over 2,000 square feet.
25:15The complex was uncovered
25:17but divided into
25:18a series of chambers
25:19ranging in size
25:20from 20 by 10 feet
25:22to 8 by 6 feet.
25:24The first chamber
25:26opened onto
25:27all the other ones,
25:28which indicated
25:29it was the center
25:30of the complex.
25:31So what exactly
25:32was this place?
25:33And how is it connected
25:35to the Temple Mount?
25:45This wasn't the first time
25:47that archaeologists
25:47had stumbled
25:48on the mysterious chambers
25:49near Temple Mount.
25:51In 1909,
25:53a British adventurer
25:54named Montague Parker
25:56embarked on a search
25:57for the elusive
25:58Ark of the Covenant,
25:59which was alleged
26:00to contain
26:00the original
26:01Ten Commandment tablets
26:02along with other treasures.
26:04When word got out
26:05that a team
26:06of foreign treasure hunters
26:07was digging into
26:08one of the world's
26:09most sensitive
26:10and sacred landmarks,
26:11it caused a massive outcry
26:13and the dig was abandoned.
26:15But during his excavations,
26:18Parker uncovered
26:18three of the Temple Mount chambers
26:20and concluded
26:21that they were tombs.
26:24According to tradition,
26:26the Jews wouldn't bury
26:28their dead
26:28inside the city walls.
26:30So Jerusalem
26:31was surrounded
26:32by buried tombs,
26:34which were primarily
26:35intended for high-ranking officials,
26:37priests,
26:38and their families.
26:40So is it possible
26:41that Parker was right?
26:43Is the Temple Mount discovery
26:45a series of ancient tombs
26:47for powerful priests
26:49and rulers of Judea?
26:52As the excavation continues,
26:55each one of the chambers
26:56reveals a clue.
26:57In the center of one of the rooms,
27:01there's a circular depression
27:03cut right into the rock floor,
27:05two feet in diameter
27:06and two inches deep.
27:08Inside that circle,
27:09a second, smaller one was carved,
27:11only a foot in diameter
27:12and less than a foot deep.
27:15These were the marks
27:16of an ancient olive press.
27:20Another room has a single
27:21rectangular depression
27:22cut into the rock,
27:24measuring 16 by 18 inches
27:26and roughly 8 inches deep.
27:30It appears to have been occupied
27:32by a wine press.
27:34The surrounding floor
27:35was likely used
27:36to tread on the grates
27:37and the sunken rectangular
27:39used as a reservoir
27:41to collect the pre-fermented wine.
27:43The third room contained
27:47the most intriguing installation.
27:50Standing upright
27:51in the northwestern corner,
27:53there was a flat,
27:54thin slab of limestone
27:56measuring roughly
27:57three feet across,
27:59sitting atop a raised platform
28:01and supported on three sides
28:03by small field stones.
28:09Archaeological records
28:10and the Bible
28:11offer many examples
28:12of stones erected
28:13by the ancient Israelites.
28:16They're called matzavah
28:18and are referred to
28:19in the Hebrew Bible
28:20as sacred stones or pillars,
28:23typically associated
28:24with religious
28:25or commemorative practices.
28:28Variants of the matzavah
28:30appear in the Bible
28:3134 times,
28:33usually in a positive light,
28:35such as when Moses
28:36set up 12 matzavah
28:38at Mount Sinai
28:39to ratify the covenant
28:41between God and Israel.
28:44So, given the presence
28:46of the matzavah
28:46at the site
28:47and the wine and olive presses,
28:49which were used
28:50by many ancient cultures
28:51in ceremonial rituals
28:53to give thanks
28:54for the earth's abundance,
28:56all signs point to it
28:57being a place of ceremony
28:59and worship,
29:00possibly even a shrine,
29:02not a burial site.
29:05Further excavation
29:06of the site
29:07reveals more rooms
29:08and more clues.
29:10The complex
29:12has eight rooms in total,
29:13each intended
29:14for some form
29:15of ritualized worship.
29:17One room contains
29:18a rock-cut rectangular basin
29:20measuring 10 by 16 inches across
29:23and 8 inches deep.
29:24It's connected
29:26to a raised platform
29:27and a shallow channel
29:28on the floor,
29:29likely used
29:30to drain liquids.
29:31It's believed
29:32the installation
29:32was an altar,
29:33possibly used
29:34for animal sacrifice.
29:36Another room
29:38was filled
29:38with a thick layer
29:39of earth
29:39containing various artifacts
29:41typically associated
29:42with spiritual offerings.
29:44These included
29:45shards of pottery
29:46and ceramic vessels,
29:47figurines,
29:48beads,
29:49and animal bones.
29:50It appears
29:53to have been
29:54a storage space
29:55known as a favisa
29:56and the various artifacts
29:57had been collected
29:58from different sections
29:59of the complex
30:00and put together
30:01in one location.
30:05Interestingly,
30:06the opening
30:06to the favisa
30:07was covered over
30:08by a large stone wall
30:10created after the items
30:12were placed in the room
30:13as if to seal it up.
30:16The question is,
30:17why would someone
30:18have blocked the entrance?
30:20The artifacts
30:22from the storage room
30:23were all dated
30:24to the second iron age,
30:26roughly 950
30:27to 586 BCE.
30:31The era corresponds
30:32with the first temple period,
30:34which includes
30:35the emergence,
30:36growth,
30:37and eventual fall
30:38of the kingdoms
30:38of Israel and Judah.
30:41Key events
30:41from the period
30:42may provide some answers.
30:46One of the most
30:47significant changes
30:48in the religious life
30:49of ancient Israel
30:50occurred during the reign
30:51of the Judahite king
30:53Hezekiah
30:53in the late 8th century BCE.
30:57According to the Hebrew Bible,
30:59Hezekiah sought
30:59to centralize all worship
31:01at the Temple of Solomon
31:02in Jerusalem,
31:03so he abolished
31:04many of the ritual sites
31:06scattered across the kingdom,
31:08hoping to put an end
31:09to the worship of idols.
31:10In this context,
31:13there's a potential explanation
31:14for the Fevisa of Room 5
31:16having its entrance blocked
31:18by a large stone wall.
31:20It's possible
31:20that the complex
31:21was one of Israel's
31:22ancient ritual sites,
31:24abolished by King Hezekiah
31:25as part of his reforms,
31:27and that an effort
31:28was made to protect
31:29or hide the evidence
31:30of its use.
31:34Samples are taken
31:35from the site
31:35for radiocarbon testing.
31:37Sure enough,
31:39it was determined
31:40that the complex
31:41fell out of use
31:42in the 8th century BCE,
31:44coinciding with Hezekiah's reign.
31:47But beyond that,
31:48without proven
31:49documented records,
31:50it's difficult to verify
31:51if the king
31:52ordered the site
31:53to be destroyed
31:54or sealed up.
31:57It's also possible
31:58the site simply went
32:00out of use
32:00after the Babylonian conquest,
32:02which resulted in the fall
32:03of the kingdom of Judah
32:05in 587 BCE.
32:06The discovery
32:10of the mysterious shrine
32:11near Temple Mount
32:12offers compelling
32:14new insight
32:14into the changing beliefs
32:16and practices
32:16of the ancient Israelites.
32:20Who knows
32:21how many others
32:22like it are out there,
32:23lost to the sands of time?
32:36Tucked into the farthest reaches
32:45of northwestern Iraq
32:46lies southern Kurdistan.
32:49It is one of four regions
32:51that together form
32:52Greater Kurdistan,
32:54a region extending
32:55across West Asia.
32:58Kurdistan is enormous.
33:00Generally defined
33:01as the region
33:02traditionally inhabited
33:03by the Kurdish people,
33:05it stretches across
33:06large parts of modern-day
33:07Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.
33:11In Iraq,
33:12the movement
33:12for Kurdish independence
33:13has made major strides,
33:15including the establishment
33:16of the Kurdish autonomous region
33:17with its own
33:18parliamentary government.
33:19Most of Iraqi Kurdistan
33:23is dominated
33:24by enormous mountains
33:25like the Zagros.
33:27Because of its high altitude,
33:28the region is generally
33:29cooler than the rest of Iraq,
33:31and the network of rivers
33:32running through the area
33:33means it's incredibly fertile.
33:36But as you move south,
33:37the landscape changes dramatically.
33:39Just over six miles
33:43from the town of Kalar,
33:44at a site called
33:45Shaki Kora
33:46in southern Iraqi Kurdistan,
33:48archaeologists uncover
33:50a surprise.
33:53They found the remains
33:55of a series
33:55of large ancient buildings.
33:59One contained the remains
34:01of several rooms
34:03divided by thick mud brick walls.
34:06And inside the rooms,
34:07they made an even stranger discovery.
34:10On the mud floor
34:11were stacks and stacks
34:13of upturned bowls
34:14neatly arranged in pairs.
34:18When you look at the bowls,
34:20it's clear that they weren't
34:21ornamental or decorative.
34:23They were purely functional,
34:25hastily and roughly made
34:26for everyday informal use.
34:29You can think of it
34:30like your family's
34:32everyday dishware
34:33not to find China.
34:34But it raises a question.
34:36Why were so many
34:37of them found here?
34:41Just over 200 miles
34:43south of Shaki Kora,
34:46archaeologists digging
34:47in the ruins
34:48of the ancient city
34:49of Lagash
34:50discovered a seemingly
34:52similar structure.
34:54Lagash was founded
34:55over 5,000 years ago
34:57and was once one
34:58of the most important cities
34:59in ancient Sumer.
35:00Over the years,
35:03thousands of artifacts,
35:04including early cuneiform tablets,
35:06have been recovered
35:06from the city,
35:07giving us unprecedented insight
35:09into life in ancient Mesopotamia.
35:12Given how well documented
35:13the site at Lagash is,
35:15it came as a total shock
35:17when a recent excavation
35:18found that there was
35:19this previously
35:20undiscovered building.
35:21And it wasn't even
35:22that deep underground.
35:23It was just 19 inches
35:24below the surface.
35:25Inside the structure,
35:29they found dozens of bulls
35:31and after analyzing them,
35:33it was revealed
35:33that they had once been used
35:35to hold fish
35:36and other meat dishes.
35:40Other vessels showed evidence
35:42that at one point,
35:43they contained beer,
35:45a popular drink
35:47among ancient Sumerians.
35:48This evidence tells us
35:50that this wasn't
35:52just any building.
35:53These are the remains
35:54of the world's
35:56oldest known tavern.
35:59Could the ruins
36:00at Shaki Kora
36:01have served
36:01a similar purpose?
36:04Is it also
36:05an ancient tavern?
36:08In the search for answers,
36:11the team begins testing
36:1210 of the ancient bulls
36:14using several methods,
36:16including gas chromatography
36:18and mass spectrometry.
36:21Gas chromatography
36:23and mass spectrometry
36:24are techniques
36:25that in combination
36:26can isolate
36:27and analyze
36:28individual chemicals
36:29in various products,
36:31including in food.
36:34In this case,
36:35the results show
36:36that the bulls
36:36found at Shaki Kora
36:37were once used
36:38to hold a whole range
36:39of dishes,
36:40including seed
36:41and dairy-based foods,
36:42as well as meat dishes
36:43like stew and broth.
36:45Given that piece of evidence,
36:47it's tempting
36:47to just jump
36:48to the conclusion
36:49that this was a tavern.
36:50But there are
36:52a few important differences
36:53between the Lagash
36:54and Shaki Kora sites,
36:55and the biggest one
36:56is also the most obvious,
36:59the seating.
37:00The Lagash tavern
37:01had tons of seats,
37:02indoors and out.
37:04The Shaki Kora ruins
37:05have none at all.
37:07That is a massive clue.
37:09On closer inspection,
37:13another key difference
37:14emerges.
37:15The complex
37:16at Shaki Kora
37:17seems to have been
37:18much larger
37:19than the Lagash tavern.
37:21So the question is,
37:23what need
37:24did this ancient settlement
37:25have for such
37:26a large-scale operation?
37:28What was the function
37:29of this enormous complex?
37:31The secret of Shaki Kora
37:43may lie in the
37:45engraved inscription
37:46of a single clay tablet
37:47dating back millennia.
37:49This tablet
37:50was found in an area
37:51that was one
37:52of the world's
37:53first cities
37:54called Uruk,
37:55which would have stood
37:56about 200 miles
37:57from the Shaki Kora
37:58settlement.
37:58It's one of the
38:00earliest known examples
38:01of human writing,
38:02dating back roughly
38:035,300 years.
38:05And it tells
38:06an amazing story.
38:08On it,
38:09we can see a human head
38:10eating from a bowl,
38:12which is interpreted
38:13as meaning ration.
38:14It's followed by
38:15the symbol of a vessel,
38:17which signifies beer.
38:20There are also scratches
38:21across the cuneiform tablet
38:23that seem to indicate
38:24how many beers
38:25a person has had.
38:27Most likely,
38:28in return for some
38:29kind of payment,
38:31maybe as labor.
38:32So this is pretty incredible.
38:33What we're looking at
38:34is a bar tab.
38:39Mesopotamian officials
38:40working in Uruk
38:41thousands of years ago
38:42depended on these
38:43cuneiform writing systems
38:44to keep track
38:45of their administrative duties,
38:47making sure they knew
38:48what was traded
38:48and to whom.
38:51Knowing that these
38:52bartering systems
38:52existed in southern
38:54Mesopotamia
38:54during the early Bronze Age
38:56casts a whole new light
38:57on the complex
38:58at Shaki Korra.
39:01Could this site
39:02have been used
39:02for a similar purpose?
39:04And if so,
39:05who was responsible
39:06for running
39:07this enormous operation?
39:08The team builds a chronology
39:13of the food hall
39:13using the ceramic remnants
39:15to retrace the ancient
39:17building's development.
39:20The ceramic vessels here
39:21span several centuries,
39:23and this is in keeping
39:24with the buildings themselves.
39:26They appear to have been
39:27rebuilt and remodeled
39:28over and over again,
39:30though their function
39:31never changed.
39:31With each rebuild,
39:35the complex became
39:36more elaborate,
39:37and in its final phase
39:38even featured
39:39monumental pillars
39:40and a sophisticated
39:41subterranean
39:42drainage system.
39:44When we arrange
39:46the pottery
39:46from the ruins
39:47in chronological order,
39:49an intriguing pattern
39:50emerges.
39:51The earlier pieces
39:52are often shaped
39:53like large flower pots
39:54or bowls
39:55with beveled rims.
39:57Over time,
39:58we see the quantity
39:59of these beveled rim bowls
40:00increase,
40:01eventually overtaking
40:02the older flower pot styles.
40:05Other forms of pottery
40:05also appear
40:06as time goes on,
40:07like rounded jars
40:08and vessels with spouts,
40:10which are both
40:11commonly associated
40:12with Uruk
40:12and southern Mesopotamian culture.
40:15The shift in pottery styles
40:17points to a significant
40:19social transformation
40:20where the local culture
40:22was slowly being replaced
40:24by Uruk practices.
40:26If this site really was
40:27a food distribution center,
40:28it was almost certainly
40:29overseen by outsiders
40:31from the south
40:32where these kinds
40:33of bartering systems
40:34had already been established.
40:36And that means
40:37that what we're seeing
40:38might be one of the
40:39earliest experiments
40:40with centralized government
40:42ever found
40:43from ancient Mesopotamia.
40:47This experiment
40:48seems to have worked,
40:50at least for a time.
40:51But then things
40:52changed dramatically.
40:54Sometime in the late
40:55fourth to the early
40:55third millennia BCE,
40:57the monumental structures
40:59at Shaki Kora
40:59were abandoned.
41:03There were no signs
41:04of violence,
41:05no evidence of war.
41:07So what happened?
41:10We can't be sure
41:11why this experiment
41:12with centralized government
41:14failed,
41:14but it could be
41:16that the people living here
41:17just had enough.
41:19It may have been a question
41:20of food, housing,
41:21or politics.
41:23But the upshot was
41:25that the institution
41:26that fed local workers
41:27for centuries
41:27was abandoned.
41:29People returned
41:30to smaller,
41:31self-sufficient villages,
41:32essentially protesting
41:33the urbanization
41:34of their land
41:35and their way of life.
41:39Today,
41:41the remains of the vast
41:42institutional food hall
41:44at Shaki Kora
41:44stand as a monument
41:46to some of the earliest forms
41:48of centralized rule,
41:50a system that,
41:51despite centuries of success,
41:54ultimately proved
41:55too fragile to last.
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