Historians Just Made Egypt’s Strangest Discovery — It Doesn’t Match History

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]On October 30th, 1759, the inhabitants of the Middle East were jolted awake by an earthquake. Cracks appeared in the walls of their homes. Roofs began to crumble. People ran out of their homes and gathered in open areas. But because of strong shocks, they kept losing their footing and falling. A month later, there was another earthquake, but it turned out to be even stronger. Trees broke, houses collapsed, deep cracks appeared in the ground. The disaster lasted for 2 minutes. Oases, roads, and cities were destroyed.

[00:00:33]Incredibly, Balbeck's ancient buildings withtood earthquakes. Some historians state that this majestic and mysterious place was built during the Roman Empire, but many researchers disagree. Whatever the truth is, the city is one of the main archaeological phenomena of humankind.

[00:00:50]The most amazing building of Balbeck is the Temple of Jupiter. The inhabitants of the Roman Empire believed that Jupiter held power over lightning and thunder. The building looked like a platform with 54 columns. A massive roof rested on these columns. Today, you can only see six 70 ft high columns. Each of them consists of three sections and resembles a pencil. The cores of these pencils were made of lead. This made the columns exceptionally strong. Each of these pieces of stone weighed an incredible 80 tons. That's the weight of 35 Ford Explorer SUVs. Look, this is the largest block in the Great Pyramid of Giza. But compared to the blocks from Balbeck, it doesn't even look that impressive. The foundation under the Temple of Jupiter was preserved. That's how specialists figured out it consisted of about 25 monolithic stones weighing 450 tons each. It means that the blocks from Balbeck weigh almost four times more than the blocks from Egypt. There are three more enormous limestone blocks in the foundation. They weigh 800 tons each. This is more than twice the weight of a Boeing 747 plane. Ancient builders must have had a hard time carving such giants from a piece of stone. And after that, they also had to pull them to the construction site and lift them to a significant height. Repeating these logistics would probably turn out to be a nightmare for present-day builders. To do this amount of work, they would need modern equipment. But Baldex constructors didn't have trucks, cranes with circular saws, or electricity.

[00:02:22]How did the builders of the past manage to do this? Scientists have a theory that includes ropes, winches, and lever systems. Naturally, the engineers of the past made all the gadgets from wood.

[00:02:34]Around 3,000 ft away from the ruins of the temple complex, there's a quarry.

[00:02:38]Archaeologists suppose that's where the stones for the construction were cut.

[00:02:42]They found a block of limestone there.

[00:02:44]It seemed to be too large even for this incredible place. The monolith got called the stone of the south. It was 65 ft long and 13 ft wide. The ancient builders didn't have time to completely separate it from its mother rock. A group of scientists from Austria estimated that this piece of limestone weighed more than 1,000 tons. That's like three Boeing aircraft or 160 African elephants. There was another surprise awaiting the archaeologists near the stone of the south. It was the second monolith that weighed more than 12,200 tons. But the ancient builders didn't stop at that. They continued to work. In 2014, in the same quarry, German archaeologists unearthed a block that weighed 1650 tons. No one has figured out yet why people of the past needed a piece of stone that weighed as much as 125 school buses. It's also unclear how they were going to move this giant and why they didn't finish the job. In any case, this third monolith is the largest processed piece of stone in human history.

[00:03:48]There are more questions than answers.

[00:03:50]Some researchers believe that people of the past had high techch equipment.

[00:03:54]Others don't think so, but are eager to understand how the builders managed to move those stones. There's a huge number of ancient buildings and artifacts on the planet. Lots of them make researchers scratch their heads. Near the pyramid of Joser in Egypt, archaeologists have found a network of tunnels. This place is called Serapium.

[00:04:14]It contains 24 sarcophagi weighing from 70 to 100 tons. The giant boxes are carved from a single piece of granite and covered with heavy lids. The sarcophagi are perfectly symmetrical to the touch. Their walls are as smooth as glass. Even with the current level of technology, this is very difficult to do. But the ancient Egyptians managed this feat.

[00:04:37]The Lyerus cup is a priceless artifact and example of ancient nanotechnology.

[00:04:43]It's made of glass that can change its color. If you put a source of light in front of the cup, it turns green. If the light is behind the goblet, it becomes deep red. In this case, the figure of Greek king Lyus turns pale purple.

[00:04:57]Scientists understood how this color change worked only at the end of the 20th century. Through microscopes, they saw nano particles of silver, gold, and copper. They had been added to the glass matrix. Thanks to this, you can observe a color change called dicroism.

[00:05:13]Interestingly, the gold and silver were grounded into a fine dust. It's almost impossible to do this by accident. Most likely, the ancient experts knew for sure what they were doing.

[00:05:24]Olivia has a curious place called Puma Pumpku. It looks as if an ancient giant played there with an enormous construction set. And after the game, they forgot to put the pieces back into the box. But there are no giants. And the huge stone blocks were carved by ancient builders over 1500 years ago.

[00:05:42]Some of the rocks weigh 100 tons. The blocks were brought to an altitude of almost 13,000 ft above sea level from the quarry 60 m away from the construction site. There's no forest in that area. This means the builders couldn't use trees to make wooden rollers. The monument belongs to the Inca civilization. Scientists are sure they didn't know anything about wheels.

[00:06:05]In 1992, the inhabitants of a Chinese village decided to drain a pond. Their ancestors had been using it to wash clothes and catch fish for hundreds of years. They kept pumping the water out for 17 days. At the bottom of the reservoir, they made an unexpected discovery. The villagers saw an entrance to a cave going down to a depth of 100 ft. The incredible find was named the Longu Caves. Unknown builders carved out 320,000 square ft of galleries. There are separate rooms, bridges, pools, and columns that support the ceiling. The walls of the cave are covered with strange carved lines and patterns.

[00:06:44]Scientists haven't found any information about who built the caves and why they did it. The construction technology also remains a mystery.

[00:06:53]Antonio Stratavari lived in Italy in the 18th century. He created musical instruments. More than 600 of his works have survived to this day. 500 of them are violins. One of the instruments was sold at auction for $16 million. The violins made by this master sound clear and deep. Researchers can't understand why Stratavarious instruments produce such unique sounds. Perhaps it's all about the varnish the master used to cover the violins. The answer may also lie in the wood the instruments are made of. In those days, Europe had a cold climate. Because of this, the wood became denser and the instruments made of it sounded especially pleasing to the ear.

[00:07:34]In the Indian city of Delhi, there's a 23 ft high pole. It weighs 6 1/2 tons and is made of 98% rot iron. The 1600-year-old pillar has no signs of rust or decay. Scientists believe that the monument is so well preserved thanks to the dry weather and the chemical composition of the metal. It might be resistant to corrosion. And still, researchers don't know how the blacksmiths managed to make an iron pillar that's not afraid of rust. It seems like a tough feat even for modern metallurgists.

[00:08:06]The Al-Nasla rock is divided into two parts by a perfectly straight slit. Each boulder stands on a small pedestal. Some people believe this is the evidence of ancient laser technology. But geologists think the split happened due to the ground shifting or natural vibrations that occurred under the rock. This process led to the appearance of the crack. It had been deepening for thousands of years and gradually the natural monument took the form you can see today.

[00:08:35]Now, have you ever seen crooked balls that are 3 billion years old? Clerks spheres were found in deposits of the mineral pyrlite in South Africa and rock the science world. They do look like tiny ancient cricket balls with seams like lines around the middle. Back in the 1980s, some folks claimed these spheres had been made by an advanced pre flood civilization we know nothing about. One museum curator shared stories about how they rotated on their own in a display case. There was also a TV show that invited a psychic who declared the spheres were pieces of an ancient spaceship.

[00:09:14]But according to geologists, these spheres are actually pretty common concretions or spherical objects formed by different minerals than the surrounding rock. The seamlike lines are just imprints from the host rock's layers building up over time. The clerk's dwarfed spheres come in different shapes, from noticeably flattened spheres to distinct discs. As for that episode when one of these spheres spun on its own, the curator of the Clerk's Dorp Museum cleared that up too. He said that when he put one sphere on its glass shelf when a journalist came to visit, the sphere naturally rotated a bit because it's round. The area where the museum is located often experiences earth tremors from gold mining activities nearby.

[00:09:58]The oldest known human-like footprints could be 6 million years old. They were found on the Greek island of Cree in 2002. If the number is correct, it would mean that early human ancestors may have migrated between Europe and Africa much earlier than we previously thought. This doesn't mean Africa is not the cradle of humankind, though. It could just prove that early human ancestors moved back and forth between continents. Some researchers believe the footprints were left by a bipedal creature, possibly related to an early human ancestor nicknamed Elgreo. According to scientists who studied them, the footprints have a very human-like shape with five toes and a parallel big toe.

[00:10:41]Some scientists are skeptical about it and suggest the prints might be from a late European ape. The new study analyzed fossilized marine microorganisms found in the sedimentary rocks to determine the footprints age and prove it's actually 6 million years.

[00:10:58]The next amazing find that keeps scientists entertained is the Dorchester plot. It's a beautifully crafted metal vessel with some fancy geometric designs embossed in shiny silver. The pot was discovered in, who could have thought, Dorchester in 1852 under quite unusual circumstances. During a powerful blast, the pot broke into two pieces.

[00:11:21]Scientists believe it was originally embedded within a rock or boulder known as hooding stone. The rock from which the Dorchester pot emerged is dated to be around 500 million years old. So, it could mean the pot itself is also that old. The current and less exciting theory suggests that the Doororkchester pot is a Victorian era candlestick holder. Such things were really trending back then, so it's not a surprise to find such fancy household item from that time. The Doorchester pot falls into the category of arts or outofplace artifacts. Those are objects that seem too advanced for the time period they're supposedly from. If we accept that the pot is 500 million years old, then whoever made it was way ahead of their times in terms of crafts and tech. One extra mystery is that the pot has an engraving of a plant that most likely disappeared from Earth over 100,000 years ago. Sounds like good proof the pot is really extra old. Now, it looks like the oldest map in Europe is a stone from 4,000 years ago.

[00:12:27]This bronze age slab was found in France in the year 1900 at an ancient burial ground. The carvings on the slab show in three dimensions the river OD network with a fantastic accuracy of around 80% over an 18-mi stretch. There are other stonecarved maps around the world, but this one is unique because it shows a specific area to scale. Looks like the slab's carvings don't just map rivers and hills, but also settlements, barrow sites, and field systems.

[00:12:59]Archaeologists say the slab wasn't used for navigation, but rather to symbolize power. The detailed markings on the slab might have served to illustrate the domain of a local ruler, possibly a prince or king, to show their control over the territory. When the ruler lost power, the slab was likely repurposed as part of a burial vault. The unique artifact was stored in the cellar of a museum. For decades, no one even noticed until several scholars read older reports about the slab and decided to check it out. They conducted a detailed analysis using 3D techniques. Their research proved that the creators of the slab had not only etched lines into the rock, but also modified its surface to reflect the topography of the landscape with high accuracy.

[00:13:47]The Salsburg cube, also known as the wolf's egg iron, was discovered in the late 19th century in Austria. Now, don't let the name mislead you. It doesn't look like a cube at all. It's more like a rounded object with two flat sides.

[00:14:01]Down the middle, there's a groove, and the surface is covered with pits and craters. This unique appearance is the reason why many people think it might be something out of this world. Workers accidentally found this artifact when they blew apart a piece of coal. The coal seam it came from is thought to be over 60 million years old. The Salsburg cube moved between museums, mysteriously vanished in the early 20th century, and then showed up again. A professor from Bond University suggested it might be from a meteor. But they found no evidence of elements that you'd normally see in meteorites, like cobalt or nickel. Then researchers thought it must be a human-made object, possibly a Victorian era candlestick holder. No one knows the true story of the cube or its current location. Yep, it disappeared again.

[00:14:52]Have you heard about the Meister print?

[00:14:55]It's a fossilized sandal print discovered in 1968, and it has sparked a lot of intrigue. There's a trilobyte inside the print, which supposedly went extinct around 500 million years before humans even existed. But many historians think this age is an exaggeration. When Meister found the fossil, it was authenticated. But the scientist who did it didn't confirm it was a human sandal print. He only agreed there was a trilobyte there. When another scientist visited the site, he found a 6-in impression he believed was from a child's moccasin, but the footwear seemed to be new. So, could it be evidence of time travel, proof that humans existed millions of years earlier than we thought, or a sign that someone else visited early Earth? Or is it just a rock formation that looks like a sandal print? We still don't have the answers.

[00:15:49]Back in June 1936, a couple was walking along Red Creek in London, Texas.

[00:15:54]London, Texas. Yeah. When they stumbled upon something unusual. It was a piece of wood sticking out of what seemed to be an ancient rock formation. About 10 years later, their curious son decided to crack open the rock to see what was inside. and he saw a hammer which looked surprisingly modern. Then one unique finds enthusiast decided that the rock encasing the hammer was from the Cretaceous period. This would mean that someone dropped a 19th century hammer while dinosaurs like Triceratops were still roaming the earth. So if this hammer was truly from the Cretaceous period, then the whole evolutionary theory would be wrong. And if the hammer was modern, it would mean the Cretaceous rock formation it came from was much younger than we thought. But the real answer was much simpler. The hammer was indeed modern and geological processes had encased it in rock. Minerals can harden around an object in a relatively short time. So the hammer was probably dropped by a minor a century or so ago and the rock formed around it afterwards. And no, it wasn't a Victorian era candlestick holder either.

[00:17:08]If you think Neolithic people spent their days hunting and gathering, think again.

[00:17:13]These Spanish ancestors were out building impossible structures for their time. Like the Manga Dolmen.

[00:17:22]This magnificent stone structure is located in Anticara, a city often called the heart of Andalucia in southern Spain. Andia is where a Neolithic heritage meets with ancient Roman and Moorish roots, giving us a unique landscape and architecture.

[00:17:40]The Manga Dolmen is a 5,700year-old monument, which means it was built when there was very little engineering technology available.

[00:17:50]It is one out of three megalithic structures located in Anticara. The other famous neighboring megalithic sites are the Dolman del Romeel and the Dolman de Vieiraa. But the Mangan Dolman is one of the most interesting ones since it was the first to be built, dating all the way back to approximately 3,800 B.CE.

[00:18:14]Overall, it's 90 ft long, 20 ft wide, and 11 ft high. For years, researchers studied the building's structure, and this is what they found.

[00:18:26]Let's get one thing clear. Megaliths are structures made of large stones, and they're found all over the world. Most of them were built in late prehistoric Europe. And in this continent, there are over 35,000 megalithic structures. It derives from the ancient Greek words mega, which means great, and lithos, which means stone.

[00:18:48]The manga dolmen was only unearthed around the 1840s, but as soon as it was discovered, it was recognized as a masterpiece for its originality.

[00:18:57]Let's understand why. The fact that manga has existed for nearly 6,000 years proves that its builders knew what they were doing.

[00:19:07]For starters, the mysterious builders of the Manga Dolmen transported its massive stones from the Cero de la Cruz quaries about a half a mile away from where the dolman stands. The thing is, the site has 32 absurdly massive stones. Its largest stone is nearly five times heavier than Stonehenge's largest stone.

[00:19:30]Together, they weigh about 1,140 tons, which is about the same as two jumbo transatlantic airplanes filled with luggage and passengers.

[00:19:40]The largest single stone in Manga, known as capstone C5, weighs around 150 metric tons, which is about the same as a blue whale.

[00:19:52]Basically, these ancestral workers carried the largest stone ever moved as part of the megalithic phenomenon in Iberia and the second largest one in France.

[00:20:04]In case you're wondering, the first place goes to a humongous monolith weighing 330 tons that was used to build the Great Broken Menhor in southern Britany, France. How did they do it though?

[00:20:20]The first challenge was to carefully select the rocks that would be used to build the structure. According to experts, the builder chose calcerenites and calcerudites, which are considered soft or moderately soft rocks, probably because they would settle into each other more easily with time. Then they had to move these huge monsters.

[00:20:43]The most plausible guess is that they built a track way to carry them using scaffolds, ropes, and gravity itself.

[00:20:50]This way, they would minimize friction.

[00:20:52]To carry them downhill, the workers needed to have precise control of their acceleration and a precise notion of the balance point of each rock. Remember, we said they used soft rocks, though. This meant they needed to be extremely careful when maneuvering them with ropes. Scientists main guess is that they also had to build sledges on which to place the rocks.

[00:21:15]But moving the rocks wasn't their main accomplishment.

[00:21:20]You see, they designed a structure that would still be standing after centuries.

[00:21:24]And this is mainly due to the fact that Manga's builders used sophisticated techniques to protect the structure from erosion.

[00:21:33]In case you don't know, a dolman is a type of single-chambered megalithic temple or final resting place.

[00:21:41]Most of them consist of two or more upright monoliths that support a large flat horizontal capstone or table. Most dolmans date from the late Neolithic period, and they can be found all over the world in places such as Turkey, England, Indonesia, Spain, Brazil, and the list goes on.

[00:22:03]In the Manga Dolmen, researchers say they took extra care to waterproof the whole thing.

[00:22:10]The upright stones that make up the walls weren't placed straight up, but were actually tilted inward at around an 84 or 85° angle, making the whole chamber narrower at the top than the bottom, giving it a trapezoid shape.

[00:22:27]These stones also leaned sideways against each other, and this wasn't a random choice.

[00:22:33]The builders probably used some pretty advanced tools like levels and squares to make sure the angles were super precise.

[00:22:41]One researcher even said it was like building a giant Tetris puzzle where the builder had very little room to make mistakes since the rocks were so absurdly heavy to move for adjustments.

[00:22:54]In order for the rocks to be tilted ever so slightly, the builder had to design deep foundation sockets on which to place the rocks. These sockets allowed them to have control of the millimetric positioning of the rocks so that they would really interlock with one another.

[00:23:11]The cherry on top was literally the capstones.

[00:23:15]Once the massive capstones were added on top, the whole thing became a solid box.

[00:23:22]They carved out the inside from the bedrock beneath it, leaving the walls and roof intact.

[00:23:28]To protect the chamber, they piled a huge mound of soil over the top, kind of like wrapping the structure in a blanket. This kept the chamber warm and dry, and also added extra stability, almost like a natural straight jacket to hold everything together.

[00:23:45]Oh, and there's another very important detail. The builders aligned the dolman with the nearby mountains, not only for practical reasons, but also to create intriguing light patterns within the chamber. This alignment proves how much planning went into the construction of the megalith, pointing to the builder's deep connection with astronomy as well.

[00:24:07]An avid researcher of the site said it's not exactly clear the reason why dolmans were built.

[00:24:14]Not many relics have been found on site, but many agree that it was probably used as a temple and resting places for important people.

[00:24:23]That's why they were built to last eternally. The Manga Dolmen specifically was built in a seismically active region. So that was another reason for the sturdy structure.

[00:24:35]It seems that the builders were also thinking of other details as well. From the entrance of the dolman, one looks directly to the so-called lovers rock and the sunrise both at the same time.

[00:24:49]The lover's rock is an important part of local folklore and is a part of the circuit of dolmans from Anticara, even though it's not a megalithic structure.

[00:25:00]The lover's rock supposedly got that name after an enamored couple threw themselves from the top of the mountain since they were forbidden to be together in this lifetime. A classic Romeo and Juliet true life story, if you will.

[00:25:14]The manga dolman is also astronomically aligned like most dolmans around the world are. During the summer solstice, there is a specific part of the day when the sun enters the dome, illuminates the right side, and leaves the left side completely in the shadows. They had to think of the dolman's exact precision so that that would happen, you know.

[00:25:36]And speaking of folklore, while some cultures say that these impressive dolmans were built by the little gray people from other planets, Iberian culture has another guess.

[00:25:46]In local legends, some speak of the so-called enchanted muras, which were fairylike creatures. These beings were known to be earth elementals, extremely beautiful, seductive, and powerful in their own rights. One of their main gists was building dolmans where they would hide and practice their own ceremonies.

[00:26:07]There is a lot of reference to these beings in local lore. So, hey, it's worth the mention. Either way, it's no wonder UNESCO decided to name it one of its national heritage sites. It's a true ancient masterpiece.

[00:26:22]You know how it goes. As the years pass, common knowledge slips away faster than you can say, "What's that thingamajig for?" Just think, our grandkids will probably be scratching their heads over the buttons on our old school phones.

[00:26:37]So, it's no wonder that some ancient artifacts have got us all stumped, too.

[00:26:43]Take a look at this funky object. Any guesses on what it is. A musical instrument, a toy, or maybe something out of this world? Beats me. And even the experts have no exact answer. This little guy is a Roman Dodeca Hedrin discovered by some amateur archaeologists near Lincoln, England.

[00:27:02]It's shaped like a fist and made of a mix of metals. Now, as for what this thingy was used for, that's the million-doll question. Supposedly, these guys were all the rage back in the day in northern Gaul and Roman Germany.

[00:27:17]According to some ancient maps, similar dodcahedrons have turned up in Europe, Britain, and even along the maritime silk road in Southeast Asia. The plot thickens as more and more of these docahedrons pop up. Some had wax inside, leading scientists to think they were candle holders. Others think they might have been used for knitting gloves since none have been found in warmer regions.

[00:27:43]There's even one found in Geneva with zodiac signs etched on it, sparking some woo woo theories about fortuneelling.

[00:27:51]And now a fresh discovery has got everyone's head spinning. Could this be some kind of sacred tool for the Romans?

[00:27:58]Who knows? Maybe it's the first multi-tool ever invented way before Swiss Army knives were a thing. Carved stone balls from Scotland are another historical mystery. They most likely date back to the late Neolithic period and come in various types from sandstone to granite. They're all roughly the same size and have intricate evenly spaced patterns of circular bosses or knobs.

[00:28:23]Most of these designs have six bosses, but the number can range from 3 to 160.

[00:28:29]Some of these balls are more skillfully crafted than others, and a few even have extra decorations.

[00:28:35]There are over 400 carved stone balls and mostly found in Scotland, although some have turned up in Northern England and Ireland. These stone balls rarely show signs of damage or use and there are no clues that would give away their function. Most experts think they weren't practical tools, but had some symbolic or social importance. Probably a sign of power or prestige within their communities.

[00:29:01]The Fulton drums are the three stone cylinders from Neolithic Britain, discovered in the late 19th century in a burial mound in East Yorkshire. Nothing similar has been found anywhere else in the British Isles from any prehistoric period. Each drum is decorated with unique designs covering the sides and domed tops. The decorations are mostly geometric, arranged in panels with stylized human faces peeking out from two of the drums.

[00:29:29]Recent studies of the artifacts using new technologies show that the designs had been carved and recarved over time.

[00:29:36]A team of experts also analyzed the composition of the drums and it turns out that they were made from local chalk.

[00:29:45]In the late Bronze Age in Europe, long before coins became common, finely crafted metal objects served as portable wealth and symbols of high status.

[00:29:55]Across Europe, archaeologists have found all sorts of artifacts. From gold adorements worn by elites to large bronze cauldrons used in feasts.

[00:30:05]Beautifully decorated gold rings discovered in Wales are among these items. They're known as lock rings and may have been used to hold hair. Now they're flattened after spending nearly 3,000 years underground. They used to have cone-shaped openings at each end.

[00:30:22]They were found at different times, but were likely worn as a pair and buried together in a single horde.

[00:30:29]Other Roman artifacts made of the copper alloy were first cataloged as lunate pendants. But during a recent re-examination, experts found that these items were actually small mortar and pestl sets known as cosmetic grinders.

[00:30:46]They were used to grind minerals for makeup and were specifically designed for applying liner and shadows to the eyes. They were mistaken for pendants because of suspension loops that allowed them to be carried on a cord. These cosmetic sets from the first century of the current era were unique to Britain.

[00:31:03]They prove the influence of imported cosmetics and beauty trends from the Mediterranean and Roman provinces including Egypt.

[00:31:11]The Salsburg cube, also known as the Wolf's Egg Iron, was discovered in the late 19th century in Austria. It doesn't really look like a cube, but is more like a rounded object with two flat sides. Down the middle, it has a groove, and the surface is covered with pits and craters. Workers accidentally found this artifact when they blew apart a piece of coal. The coal seam it came from is thought to be over 60 million years old.

[00:31:39]The Salsburg cube moved between museums, mysteriously vanished in the early 20th century, and then showed up again. Some researchers thought it must be a Victorian era candlestick holder, but still no one knows the true story of the cube or its current location.

[00:31:57]Archaeologists have unearthed an incredible historical find in Pakistan, an ancient sphinx estimated to be around 12,500 years old. The region where it was found was once a busy center of the ancient Indus valley civilization. It had advanced urban planning, intricate art, and sophisticated drainage systems. The discovery of the ancient sphinx is a good example of their progressive art.

[00:32:24]We all know of the great sphinx of Giza, but what was the significance of the sphinx in the induce valley culture?

[00:32:31]Their sphinx has designs and carvings that show scenes with their daily activities, which means it may have had a more complex role than a symbol of power or guardian. It could stand for a balance between humans and nature or even a deity associated with agriculture.

[00:32:50]Araka in Chile sits on the sandy dunes of the Artakama Desert known as the driest desert in the world. Long before this coastal town was built in the 16th century, the Curro people called this region their home. Archaeologists found hundreds of their mummies. Radiocarbon dating showed that these mummies are over 7,000 years old, which makes them 2,000 years older than the famous Egyptian mummies. The Curro used special techniques to preserve the mummies, not just relying on the dry climate for that. And unlike the Egyptians, they didn't just do it for the elite members of their society, but for everyone, no matter what age or status they had. The local people living in Araka now are so used to finding mummies in their backyards that they don't feel weird about living among them. In the winter of 1850, a powerful storm with extra high tides hit the west coast of Orcne, Scotland. The wind and waves ripped away the surf, covering a mound and revealed stone-built structures beneath. A local antiquarian decided to dig up the village that he thought was from the Iron Age. He managed to unearth the remains of four houses and many artifacts from two villages. The villages had been buried under sand, so everything was really well preserved.

[00:34:12]Carbon dating wasn't a thing back then yet, so it was tricky to tell the exact age of the villages. Almost a century later, with new tech, researchers were finally able to tell that the place was actually from Neolithic times. You can still see stone dressers and box beds in the prehistoric houses.

[00:34:32]Archaeologists and historians working on the famous Terracotta Army think that it might have been inspired by or modeled on ancient Greek sculptures. It would mean there was a cultural contact between east and west much earlier than we thought, long before the Silk Road trade route. There was probably Western influence in China during the era of its first emperor who took the throne in 246 before the current era. Before that time, China didn't have a tradition of building life-sized sculptures. Earlier terracotta soldiers were much smaller, less than 10 in tall. Greek artists might have even been present to train Chinese sculptors.

[00:35:14]If there's a question that still baffles archaeologists to this day, it's this one. How did the ancient Egyptians build those magnificent pyramids? As far as we know today, their resources were quite limited, especially in terms of tools and building materials. We still don't have a fully satisfying answer, but hey, we've got some pretty amazing theories worth considering. The leading contender among these theories involves the clever Egyptians employing a sneaky strategy.

[00:35:44]Now, picture this. They constructed a slanted and curving mound made of bricks, earth, and sand, encircling the pyramid to be. As the pyramid grew taller and taller, they simply increased the height and length of this wacky structure. It's like they were playing an ancient game of Jenga. Now, how did they get those massive stone blocks up there? Well, according to the legendary ancient Greek historian Herododus, they use sleds, rollers, and levers. It sounds like they turned construction into a super sized game of tugof-war.

[00:36:16]And guess what? Herodus also claimed that the Great Pyramid, you know, the one from Giza, the granddaddy of them all, took a whopping 20 years to build.

[00:36:26]There's more. Heroditus also dropped a mind-boggling number on us. 100,000 men were supposedly involved in this pyramid extravaganza. Did they hire the entire Egyptian population? Well, it might not be as far-fetched as it sounds. These men were probably mostly farmers, so they probably focused on the pyramids when there wasn't much work to be done in the fields. You know, like during the flood season of the Nile River.

[00:36:53]Obviously, specialists in the archaeological community had something to add to this theory. By the late 20th century, they discovered some evidence that suggests the workforce might have been smaller and more permanent than previously thought. Instead of a massive army of 100,000 pyramid builders, they proposed that a modest crew of around 20,000 workers accompanied by support personnel like bakers, physicians, and even spiritual leaders could have gotten the job done. There was also this theory that claimed that the pyramids were actually built from the top downward. It suggested that these colossal structures were nothing more than isolated hills used as quaries. The stones were supposedly drawn from these hills and over time competing engineers took charge and transformed them into the iconic pyramids we know today. Now before you dismiss this theory as a wild fantasy, some folks thought it wasn't completely crazy. After all, there are instances where isolated hills exist. So maybe this theory had a tiny glimmer of truth. Whether it involved ramp building or ingenious work schedules, one thing is clear. Those pyramids have definitely left their mark on history and on our imaginations.

[00:38:09]Now speaking of ancient Egyptian mysteries, there's this gigantic unfinished obelisk sitting in ancient Egypt, and scientists are trying to figure out how it was shaped. Now, some people suggest that our industrious ancestors use handheld pounders to get the job done. One expert has a different take on the matter, though. He argues that if we take a closer look at the pattern left behind by the shaping tool, we'll notice something peculiar. The walls of the trenches surrounding the obelisk display a neat and even pattern, which is pretty unlikely if they were pounded away by mere mortal hands.

[00:38:45]According to this expert, those horizontal striations are usually the result of a tool that takes breaks while removing material, leaving its mark on the surface. But wait, there's more.

[00:38:58]Imagine the tool being rocked back and forth against the trench walls, clearing away the waist to keep the trench from narrowing. Well, in that case, the tool might have left some funky horizontal striations where it was pressed against the sidewall. This sounds like some fancy technology at play, don't you think? And guess what? The dynastic Egyptians probably didn't have access to that kind of knowhow. Another famous Egyptologist from way back also uncovered a bunch of core drills during his adventures. Although the actual drill bits are missing, his collection houses these particular core remnants made of limestone, alabaster, and even granite. These constructions aren't the only amazing thing the ancient Egyptians left behind, though. As it turns out, the Egyptians were the genius minds behind the creation of the handheld mirror. Yeah, that little mirror you use every day to check yourself out. But here's the twist. These mirrors are like pieces of art. They were decorated with inscriptions and figures. But that's not all. The Egyptians had a serious concern with their appearance. They knew the importance of personal hygiene and looking fabulous. So, in their quest for pearly whites, they invented toothbrushes and toothpaste. Dental problems were pretty common back then, and their smiles weren't exactly all white. Dentistry wasn't their strongest suit, you see. Maybe their minds were distracted by all that pyramid building.

[00:40:25]So, that doesn't mean those ancient toothpaste recipes weren't amazing. One delightful concoction included rock salt, mint, dried iris petals, and pepper. Some brave dentists in the 21st century tried it out, and it worked pretty well. Groundup ash was also used in another recipe to create a tooth cleansing paste. Mint was missing, so that didn't do much for their breath.

[00:40:48]That's when the genius Egyptians came up with the world's first breath mints.

[00:40:53]They made tablets from heated spices like cinnamon, and they mixed it with honey. Now, let's shift gears to home decor Egyptian style. They surely took ornamentation to the next level. While the concept of decorating furniture started in Mesopotamia, the Egyptians cranked it up a notch. They went all out with different colors of ink and even developed various weights of paper. Oh, and let's not forget about those cute little area rugs we all have in our homes today. Guess who came up with the idea? Yep, the Egyptians. They used the versatile papyrus plant to make those cozy rugs. And speaking of trends, the Egyptians love their knickknacks. They had an assortment of small figurines in the shapes of cats, dogs, and people.

[00:41:39]These statues were made from various materials like simple sundried mud to the ultimate bling of gold. It all depended on how loaded you were. The Egyptians were also all about farming and they knew that clean water was crucial for their crops and animals.

[00:41:56]That's why they came up with some nifty inventions and techniques to make sure their land was fertile and their plants were happy. First off, they had the genius idea of using oxdrawn plows. They had two types of plows, heavy and light.

[00:42:10]The heavy plow would strut its stuff, cutting deep furrows in the soil, while the lighter plow followed behind, fluffing up the earth. But they didn't stop there. After plowing, the Egyptians would break up clumps of soil and sew the rows with seeds. To give those seeds a good old squish into the pharaohs, they'd marched their livestock across the field, effectively closing up the furrows. But hey, all that hard work would be pointless if their seeds were as dry as the Sahara. That's where irrigation comes into play. The Egyptians were so good at it that other cultures like the Greeks and Romans couldn't help but copy their techniques.

[00:42:49]Now, let's switch gears and talk about the marvelous architecture of ancient Egypt. These folks weren't just skilled farmers. They were also architectural maestros. They built these fancy canals to carry water to farms and villages.

[00:43:02]And boy, did they know how to make those canals look pretty. Just imagine strolling along a canal lined with ornate structures. The pharaoh Rammeses the great was quite the overachiever when it came to construction. One of his mind-blowing creations was the construction located at Abu Symbol. This building was designed so that twice a year the sun would shine directly into it and illuminate the statues of Rammeses. And let's not forget about the Corbal Arch. Without this architectural gem, we'd be missing out on some mind-boggling structures like the Great Pyramid. The Egyptians knew how to make things stand tall and proud thanks to their engineering and construction wizardry. They built grand halls and inner sanctums that make your jaw drop.

[00:43:49]And some of these temples doubled as astronomical observatories.

[00:43:55]In February 1961, three adventurous rock lovers were searching for geodess nearancha, California. They took one of their findings home and studied it because it looked pretty unusual. They managed to cut through the matrix and discovered something unexpected inside.

[00:44:12]Instead of the usual mineral formations, it had a cylindrical object resembling porcelain inside. There was a metal shaft at its center and around it a hexagonal sheath made of copper and some unidentified substance. Its discoverers were hoping they had found an example of some unknown technology from 500,000 years ago. It could be proof that there was a hyper advanced ancient civilization like Atlantis or that time travel was real. Maybe someone came all the way from the future and accidentally dropped the item. Or maybe some intelligent extraterrestrial beings brought it when visiting Earth. If any of these theories were true, it would mean that scientists have to completely rewrite all human history as we know it.

[00:44:57]But not everyone shared the excitement, and truth seekers and alternative archaeology circles were trying to solve the mystery of the so-called Koso artifact until the late '9s with theories and debates. Then a group of skeptics took images and X-rays of the discovery and showed them to spark plug collectors. They have identified the artifact as a spark plug with corroded metal components from the 1920s and not ancient technology at all. Almost 20 years later, one of the co-discoverers of the artifact agreed to take it for inspection at the University of Washington. They officially confirmed it was a 1920s era Champion spark plug. And the stone matrix containing the artifact wasn't a geode, but a concretion. Those can form because of natural processes over decades or years, but not millennia. The Koso artifact is a good example of an outofplace artifact, which is a thing in pseudo archaeology. It's something found in a place or time where it shouldn't logically be. These artifacts seem too advanced for the time period they're found in. They could also mean human activity existed when humans weren't supposed to be around.

[00:46:07]The Baghdad Battery is another example of such an artifact. It was found in the 1930s by a German archaeologist and consists of a clay jar, a copper cylinder, and an iron rod going through the jar's stopper. Its top, which was broken off, probably had been sealed with ashvalt. Its discoverer noticed that it had two different metals and possibly an electrolyte, which are key components of a battery. There are no ancient writings to support this theory, but when scientists ran tests and filled it with an ionic solution like vinegar or wine, it showed that it could conduct electricity. If it really was a battery from 2,000 years ago, it might have been used in ancient medical practices or even embedded in statues to make it look like they were buzzing to impress people. Konich, who found it, believed it was used for electroplating, a process for coating metals. Even if it was used as a battery, the Baghdad artifact could only produce a small amount of energy, around 1 volt of electricity. So, some people believe it was used as a storage container for sacred scrolls.

[00:47:14]Back in the 1930s, a couple stumbled upon something strange while walking along Red Creek in London, Texas. It was a piece of wood sticking out of what looked like an ancient rock formation.

[00:47:26]Around a decade later, their son, who was really curious to find out its secret, decided to crack open the rock and found a surprisingly modern hammer inside. This discovery caught the attention of Carl Bao, a young earth creationist who claimed the rock surrounding the hammer dated back to the Cretaceous period. He saw it as evidence against evolutionary theory. After some investigation, scientists proved that the rock was not as ancient as it seemed. Geological processes have just encased the modern hammer over time. So, it wasn't evidence of humans coexisting with dinosaurs like the Flintstones, as some hoped. It was just a case of a minor dropping his hammer centuries ago and nature doing its thing. A Chinese archaeologist supposedly stumbled upon some caves that seemed to serve as a burial ground for small beings with big oval heads. Alongside these remains, there was rock art depicting figures with round helmets. The sun, the moon, the earth, and stars connected by groups of p-sized dots. They also found over 700 mysterious stone discs etched with spiral grooves. Things got even weirder when these discs were sent to a Chinese professor who claimed the grooves were actually written characters. According to his translation, the discs told the tale of Dropa visitors from another planet who had crashed their spaceship on Earth about 12,000 years ago and had tried to live among us until they were hunted down by locals. But there's no concrete evidence that any of this actually happened. The story was first published back in the 1960s in a couple of articles, but it all seemed a bit fishy. None of the people involved, the archaeologist, the professor, or even the university they supposedly worked at, seem to have left any trace in the records. And while there is a group in Tibet called the Dropka, they're fully human, not extraterrestrial visitors.

[00:49:20]And there's no solid proof that the Dropa stones exist at all. In a remote part of China, there are some bizarre pipelike formations known as the Beon pipes. A local explorer found them back in 1996 protruding from Mount Beon and along the shores of Toson Lake nearby.

[00:49:39]Some people thought they were the work of ancient guests from other planets.

[00:49:43]When samples of the pipe material were tested, they contained mostly common minerals, but there was a mysterious 8% of unknown stuff. Special testing revealed that these pipes had been there before humans. Chinese geologists later visited the site and suggested that these pipes were formed naturally over time. It could be sediment piling up in the fissures in the earth or even fossilized tree roots from the area's lush past, but it's not certain.

[00:50:11]There's a mysterious terracotta head in Mexico with a hard to pronounce name discovered back in the 1930s during a burial excavation. This head looked a lot like fancy Roman statues, so it wasn't clear what it was doing in Mexico. For some reason, the discoverer kept it secret for several decades. The head was found in a pyramid with three floors about 40 mi from Mexico City alongside gold, copper, and pottery.

[00:50:37]Some argue that if this head really is many centuries old, it could mean the Romans or some other civilization had made it to Meso America before Columbus did. There are also drift voyage theories mentioning a shipwreck after which some artifacts and survivors made it ashore. Some suggest that this figurine head was a little souvenir brought over by the Vikings, but there's no solid archaeological proof of the Vikings meeting the folks in Meso America. There are some artifacts floating around, but none of them have been stamped as undeniable evidence of pre-Colombian contact. So, the mystery of how this head ended up where it did remains unsolved.

[00:51:17]While digging a trench along a river in Romania, workers found a wedge which is now famous as the aluminum wedge of Ajud or the object of Ajud. Right next to it, there were some mastadon bones. Those distant relatives of elephants lived 11,000 years ago. So, the wedge is probably of the same age. The cool part is that it's made of aluminum, a metal not even discovered until the 1800s.

[00:51:42]This material requires serious heat to produce. The wedge is also covered in a thick layer of oxide that's been sitting there for hundreds of years. Some folks believe this wedge must have crashlanded here on a spacecraft from some other planet. Some scientists think it's all a hoax, and others suppose it might be a human-made object with an unknown purpose.