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00:00Why is so much about the pyramids still so unknown?
00:04How is it that in the modern world there remain so many stories, events and monuments from
00:09our past that we just can't be certain of?
00:12And does technology offer any hope for finding the answers?
00:16In this video, we'll first count down ten of the most infamous and unexplained archaeological
00:20mysteries on Earth.
00:22Then, we're taking a closer look at the Egyptian pyramids specifically, to discover
00:27why it really is that so much of them is out of bounds to visitors.
00:31And finally, we're highlighting one exciting case study in which today's innovations
00:36are shedding all-new light on the people and civilizations of our planet's distant past.
00:41This is Unveiled, and today we're taking a closer look at some of the greatest ancient
00:45history mysteries of all time.
00:48Do you need the big questions answered?
00:50Are you constantly curious?
00:52Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?
00:55And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!
01:02Why do the Nazca construct 300-foot-wide images and mile-long lines that they have no way
01:09of viewing?
01:10This is Unveiled, and today we'll be counting down our picks for the top ten archaeological
01:14mysteries.
01:15It is one of the places where logic no longer makes sense.
01:30Number 10.
01:31Moai Statues, Easter Island
01:33Arguably the most famous thing about Easter Island, the Moai statues are a symbol recognized
01:38worldwide.
01:39The Moai are considered to be no more than perhaps a thousand years old.
01:45However, it has been established that some of them penetrate down into the ground by
01:53a great amount of feet to reveal the rest of the body, not just the oversized head.
02:00And the amount of patination suggests that they are infinitely older than a thousand
02:07years.
02:08However, while nearly everyone can tell you what these huge, large-headed statues look
02:12like, they retain some mysteries.
02:14Chief among them for a long time has been how they were transported from where they
02:18were carved, since they're all so massive.
02:33Although sledges were dismissed initially, both for their impracticality in attempts
02:38to recreate the movement and for the lack of trees on Easter Island, these days the
02:42prevailing theory is that they walked there.
02:45Or rather, that they were walked, shuffled along upright very slowly using teams and
02:50ropes.
02:51Even so, a consensus hasn't been reached.
03:08Egypt is full of mysterious artifacts and ruins.
03:11While the pyramids and sarcophagi get a lot of attention, one of the strangest archaeological
03:15finds is only a few inches long.
03:18The Saqqara bird is an object found in a tomb in the eponymous town in 1898.
03:23An apparent model bird, this artifact's exact purpose remains a subject of discussion
03:28over a century after its discovery.
03:31Was it a toy?
03:32Was it a ceremonial object?
03:34Some have even suggested it's an example that the Egyptians may have known about small-scale
03:38aviation, given its aerodynamic tail.
03:41The Saqqara bird has provoked this fascinating discussion as to whether the ancient Egyptians
03:45did actually know how to fly.
03:47While it's too heavy to fly itself, the idea has been intriguing to many.
03:59Named for the man who purchased it in 1912, the Voynich Manuscript dates from the early
04:0315th century.
04:05This early codex has puzzled scholars for centuries.
04:08The truth is, after decades of dedicated study to try and solve the mystery, this strange
04:14book seems likely to remain one of our most enduring historical codes to crack.
04:19Written in a language and script found nowhere else, the Voynich Manuscript contains various
04:24drawings, which depict astrological symbols, people, creatures, and plants… not all of
04:29them real.
04:31Attempts to decode the manuscript suggest the language may be a constructed one, possibly
04:35a code written to protect its contents.
04:37Cryptologists say the writing has all the characteristics of a real language, just one
04:42that no one's ever seen before.
04:44What makes it seem real is that, in actual languages, letters and groups of letters appear
04:49with consistent frequencies.
04:51And the language in the Voynich Manuscript has patterns you wouldn't find from a random
04:55letter generator.
04:56As for its purpose, it's generally believed to be a record of herbs and knowledge of the
05:00planets.
05:01However, the seemingly coded language, as well as the fictitious plants and animals,
05:06have many wondering if the Voynich Manuscript could have deeper or weirder origins.
05:11There are theories that the book might have been written in a kind of encoded Latin, or
05:18that an alien wrote it while being held captive in a monastery, or that Leonardo da Vinci wrote
05:24it as a child.
05:267.
05:27The Stones of Pumapunku Pumapunku is an archaeological site in modern
05:31Bolivia constructed by Tiwanaku culture.
05:34The location's most distinctive and mysterious feature is its stone blocks.
05:39That is part of the great mystery of Pumapunku.
05:42It seems as though some kind of factory was set up there to make these almost exactly
05:48the same.
05:49It's almost like a Lego system of interconnecting blocks, and that is unique on this earth.
05:54Razor-straight and featuring interlocking holes that fit them together like a Jenga
05:58tower, these stones seem remarkably advanced in their construction for being made in the
06:036th century AD.
06:04It's like some giant cataclysm just wiped out this entire area.
06:12Archaeologists are baffled by what Pumapunku was, how it looked, and what the purpose of
06:20this enormous structure would have been.
06:23The stone's uniformity suggests mass production and highly accurate measurements, which flies
06:28in the face of what even the Tiwanaku's successor state, the Incas, were capable of centuries
06:34later.
06:35Pumapunku has been a popular subject of fringe theories, such as ancient advanced civilisations
06:40or alien intervention.
06:41There is now very little doubt in my mind that Pumapunku was built with some sort of
06:47extraterrestrial technology, and that its destruction was probably caused by a great
06:52flood, perhaps the same flood that is described in the Old Testament.
06:58However they were made, these stones are a remarkable feat of engineering.
07:036.
07:04LONDON HAMMER
07:05Appropriately found in London, Texas, the London Hammer is a typical ironworkman's
07:11hammerhead and part of a wooden shaft.
07:13The hammer itself was found in the Travis Formation, it's a concretion of sandstone,
07:20and it usually takes about 140 million years for this to form.
07:23That would put it at 140 million years old.
07:26What makes it so contentious is its potential age.
07:29Many regard it as an anomalous or impossible artefact, due to being found encased in rock
07:34from the Cretaceous era.
07:36How could a man-made tool exist in rock from millions of years before humans existed?
07:41The most common explanation is that a natural concretion effect occurred around a more modern
07:47hammer.
07:48When we were making steel for tools, part of the process is to use a blast furnace to
07:54remove carbon out of it completely, but we always have about 0.2 to 2% left over.
08:00There's always a carbon signature on our steel, but there wasn't any carbon whatsoever
08:04that was found in this particular material.
08:06Unfortunately, definitive dating of the artefact is likely difficult, since it currently resides
08:11in a creationist museum, which does not allow tests on their proof.
08:16Number 5.
08:17Stonehenge
08:19One of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, Stonehenge is a ring of stone
08:23megaliths in southern England.
08:36Founded sometime between 4,000 or 5,000 years ago, Stonehenge's exact purpose has never
08:41been confirmed, since its builders left no written records.
08:45The reasons vary from the astronomical to the supernatural.
08:49Still, the site has been a burial ground for millennia.
08:52In the 1920s, nearly 60 human burials were excavated here, many in that outer ring of
08:5956 pits known as the Aubrey Holes.
09:04But the discoveries were hardly acknowledged.
09:06In addition to why it was constructed, how has also been a matter of debate.
09:11Although some are incredulous that the huge stones could have been moved the many miles
09:15from where they were cut without modern tools, several explanations have been offered and
09:19even demonstrated.
09:20The predominant theory as to how the megalithic blocks were moved is that the builders fashioned
09:26sledges and rollers out of tree trunks to lug the blue stones from the pressly hills,
09:33then transferred them onto rafts and floated them first along the Welsh coast, and then
09:38up the River Avon, towards Salisbury Plain.
09:41But however much we learn about it, Stonehenge will always maintain its mystique.
09:45Why is it here?
09:47What's it for?
09:48How was it built?
09:50The answers are lost in the mists of time.
09:54Number 4.
09:55Indus River Valley Civilization
09:58Also known as the Harappan Civilization, this ancient society lived in the Indus River Valley
10:03in what is now India and Pakistan some 5,000 years ago, making it one of the earliest civilizations
10:09on Earth.
10:10No less than a thousand sites have been discovered in a region covering a million square kilometers.
10:18The Indus, born of the Himalayan snows and bounded by Pakistan and India, is 3,000 kilometers
10:25long.
10:27This valley was home to a flourishing civilization.
10:30Despite its storied history, many things remain a mystery about it.
10:34Chief among these are its writing system and its fate.
10:37The Indus script lacks a proverbial Rosetta Stone, so it has yet to be deciphered.
10:41However, some theories exist as to why it disappeared.
10:45In 1977, British researcher David Davenport discovered that part of the archaeological
10:51site showed evidence of having been destroyed by an extremely powerful explosion.
10:58The prevailing reasons for its decline are outside invasion, possibly from Central Asia,
11:02as well as climate change and natural disasters, leading to drought and forcing its people
11:07to migrate.
11:09Number 3.
11:10Lost City of Helike Helike has always eluded those who have searched
11:14for it.
11:15This is what the Greeks told of a city that sank beneath the waves.
11:18Welcome to the city of Atlantis.
11:21No, not Atlantis.
11:23Helike.
11:24Unlike that legendary location, Helike is confirmed to have been a real place.
11:29Once part of the Achaean League, Helike sank underwater after an earthquake and tsunami
11:34devastated it in the 4th century BC.
11:37This is a Helike fault.
11:38We think this is the fault surface that was probably responsible for the earthquake that
11:42destroyed Helike.
11:44We know from an earthquake in 1861 that this fault has one peculiar quality.
11:51It makes the ground sink.
11:53For decades in the 20th century, archaeologists and marine explorers searched for Helike's
11:58location.
11:59It was finally discovered in 2001.
12:02However, while Helike has been rediscovered, there are still many secrets to uncover about
12:07this lost city, and its location underwater makes research a tough proposition.
12:13Number 2.
12:14The Antikythera Mechanism.
12:16Computers are a modern invention, right?
12:19Wrong!
12:20Recovered from a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of the same name, the Antikythera
12:24Mechanism is one of the oldest analogue computers ever discovered, dating from somewhere between
12:29the 3rd and 1st centuries BC.
12:31If it hadn't been discovered when it was in 1901, no one would possibly believe that
12:38it could exist because it's so sophisticated.
12:41The mechanism was designed for predicting not only the positions of the five observable
12:45planets in the night sky, but also eclipses decades in advance.
12:50Clockwork mechanisms were previously thought to not have been invented until centuries
12:54later.
12:55And given its complexity, it seems certain that the ancient Greeks had made other devices
13:00of similar construction and capability.
13:02It rewrites the history of technology.
13:05It tells us that things were going on in 2nd century BC Greece which we had no idea
13:13about.
13:14We still don't know how the mechanism was constructed with the tools available at the
13:18time, or what other mechanical wonders they made.
13:22Some have argued that it's so complex the Greeks couldn't have made it at all.
13:27There are even some who say it must have been created by aliens.
13:32Number 1.
13:34Ancient Age Collapse During the 12th century BC, the cultures
13:38of the Mediterranean Sea experienced violent upheavals that led to many of them either
13:42declining or falling outright.
13:44The suddenness of the collapse has intrigued archaeologists and historians for centuries.
13:50Records of the time indicate raids by so-called Sea Peoples, which may have contributed to
13:54political instability.
13:56The advent of iron weapons may have also led to more losses by existing civilizations who
14:01didn't adapt quickly enough.
14:03There's also evidence of a succession of disasters, including volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
14:08Pollen samples also suggest a period of higher heat.
14:12And climate change could have led to drought.
14:14The most common explanation involves some or all of these… a perfect storm that led
14:19to this massive societal collapse.
14:23Which of these mysteries are you most intrigued by?
14:26Let us know in the comments as next we travel to Egypt for a closer look at another world-famous
14:31site and another place about which there is a constant swirl of debate.
14:36The Great Pyramids.
14:37We all know what they are, but why is it so difficult to get inside and find out more?
14:46There are few more iconic buildings on Earth than the ancient pyramids of Egypt.
14:50Soaring up from the ground, their pointed tops piercing the sky above, they mark some
14:55of the most incredible landscapes found anywhere on the planet.
14:58But while everyone knows what these iconic structures look like from the outside, what's
15:03happening inside is much more mysterious.
15:13First things first, of course you can visit the pyramids… to at least view them from
15:17the outside.
15:19And they're a bucket list destination for so many travellers.
15:22But it's not a free reign once you get there, and with good reason.
15:25The Great Pyramid site in Giza, for example, where probably the most famous pyramids of
15:29all time can be found, is thought to be around 4,600 years old.
15:34And there are other pyramids that are even older than that.
15:37These incredible monuments are true, tangible history, then, that's still standing strong
15:42before us.
15:43Which is amazing, but it also means that they're subject to all kinds of rules and laws to
15:48protect and preserve them for many more years to come.
15:51For example, while there have been various daredevil climbers that have done so, it's
15:56illegal to climb the pyramids in Egypt.
15:59Especially just for the thrill of it.
16:00But also, while some parts of them are accessible to the public, the pyramids' internal chambers
16:06tend to be mostly closed off, too.
16:08Tickets to venture into those on the Giza site, for example, are often limited, and
16:12those who do go inside usually recall seeing only a few dusty corridors and darkened rooms.
16:18Again, given the historical significance of these places, it's perhaps unsurprising
16:22that those maintaining them want to avoid a public free-for-all.
16:26But what's a little more surprising is that exploring the pyramids is hard, as well, for
16:30actual explorers.
16:32There are a few reasons for this.
16:34One is that the pyramids are and were, first and foremost, tombs.
16:39Built for the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, they're the last resting places for the most powerful
16:43people of their time.
16:45The Great Pyramid of Giza, for example, is the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu of the 4th Dynasty,
16:50who reigned during the 26th century BCE.
16:53There is, then, an overriding desire to respect these sites, rather than just breaking them
16:58open for anyone to gaze upon.
17:00And also, because they are tombs, many of the chambers and rooms within them were sealed
17:05off when they were built, so it's not as though someone could just open a door into them,
17:10anyway.
17:12Another reason as to why exploring the pyramids is difficult in modern times is because that
17:16respect perhaps hasn't always been there in the past.
17:19Many of the pyramid sites have been visited by grave robbers or tomb raiders throughout
17:23their history, with unknown artefacts seemingly removed in many cases, long before any kind
17:28of organised archaeological survey could take place.
17:31Unsurprisingly, the authorities are keen to avoid this happening in the future, and so
17:36there are various legal hurdles to overcome before anyone can get beyond the standard
17:40tourist walkways.
17:42But arguably more than anything else, exploration of the pyramids is difficult because the authorities
17:47and most explorers are desperately keen not to damage anything.
17:51Maintaining the structural integrity of these things is of paramount importance to everyone,
17:56and so the prospect of large-scale drilling to get into them, for example, just doesn't
18:01satisfy anybody.
18:02The pyramids have stood for more than 4,000 years, but they could still be brought crashing
18:07down within moments… and that's the primary concern.
18:10As a result, the pyramids do continually rank as some of the most mysterious places on planet
18:15Earth.
18:16While we do have maps of their inside layouts, featuring estimates and projections for some
18:21of the chambers that could be there, there's precious little of any particular detail.
18:25They've been here for so long, but there's still so much that we don't know about them.
18:30And because of that, any discovery that is made is automatically headline news.
18:35Because while it is difficult for us to physically explore these monuments ourselves, science
18:39and technology is now enabling us to find at least some answers from afar.
18:44For decades now, researchers have been sending remote-controlled robots into the pyramids…
18:49to have a look around and send back footage, often to screens set up outside the pyramid
18:54itself.
18:55Not only is a single robot far less intrusive than an army of even well-meaning archaeologists,
19:00but it can also usually fit through smaller gaps.
19:03Some tiny shafts, for example, between one ancient room and another.
19:07In early 2020, for instance, news broke of a lightweight, five-kilogram robot that was
19:12used to again explore the Great Pyramid in Giza.
19:15It carefully travelled down a sixty-metre-long, recently-discovered square tunnel measuring
19:21only about twenty centimetres across.
19:23Eventually, it was blocked by a stone, perhaps purposely placed there, which meant that it
19:28still couldn't fully explore the expected room that lay beyond.
19:33But naturally, this mini-breakthrough should lead to greater research and efforts to work
19:37out how to get past that stone and further down the tunnel.
19:41Aside from robots, though, modern exploration of the pyramids has increasingly made use
19:45of particle physics to improve our view.
19:48The world-leading ScanPyramids mission, which was started in 2015, employs an entirely non-invasive
19:54process known as muon tomography to generate accurate 3D images of what's happening inside.
20:01Its most famous discovery to date came in late 2017, when a massive, previously unknown
20:07space was found in, again, the Great Pyramid, just above the Grand Gallery, a key room that
20:12was previously known about.
20:14This mysterious or hidden void, as it was widely dubbed, is at least 100 feet long.
20:20While many Egyptologists have claimed for years that there should be hidden spaces and
20:24gaps within the pyramids that we don't yet know about, this particular find forced everyone
20:29to take note.
20:30The dimensions are for something as significant as another hall or chamber, although work
20:35is ongoing to figure out exactly what the void's purpose is.
20:39As we move forward, the hope is that new technology like that employed by the ScanPyramids, as
20:44well as the fast-improving Explorer robots, could well take us into a new golden age for
20:49discovery in Egypt.
20:50A great sense of mystery has hung over these spectacular monuments for literally thousands
20:55of years, while the unanswered questions have mounted up from modern minds over the last
21:00few centuries, during which the pyramids have been subject to more and more speculation.
21:05Famously, there are various alternate theories around that claim that the pyramids might
21:09be more than just ancient tombs… that they might have in fact been put there by a higher
21:13power or an extraterrestrial being for some reason, rather than built by hand by thousands
21:18of dedicated workers, as conventional science and history continually says.
21:23Some of these more out-there ideas are likely born out of the fact that so much about the
21:26pyramids is still unknown, though, and physically exploring them up close is often impossible.
21:32But if we were to reach a time when all pyramids are 100% scanned so that there are no more
21:36hidden voids to uncover, perhaps then we'll finally have a better grasp on the truth.
21:42Between now and then, however, and especially as we learn more and more about the pyramids
21:45through modern technology, the calls to enable deeper exploration by hand are sure to grow.
21:51What's your verdict on the direction we should take from this point forward?
21:54Is it more important to drill through to the hidden chambers, even if it means risking
21:58wider damage to the pyramids themselves?
22:01Or should we continue as we have been doing, leaving those chambers untouched, but maybe
22:05never knowing for sure what's inside them?
22:08Perhaps one day in the future there will be no mystery left to solve when it comes to
22:12these magnificent places… because we'll have come to know them as well as we know
22:16the buildings of today.
22:17We'll have walked through them and marvelled at all the artefacts that they might still
22:21hold.
22:22But, equally, perhaps one day in the future the pyramids will no longer be standing.
22:26And not because of some devastating natural disaster, but because our curiosity, our need
22:31to know, will drive us too far and will destroy them.
22:36Everything has its time on Earth, and the pyramids have certainly had longer than most…
22:40but it's little wonder that there's a feeling of caution whenever the idea of probing
22:44deeper into them is debated.
22:45What's clear is that we'll never see their like again.
22:49And that's the real reason why you can't explore the pyramids.
22:52Again, what's your verdict?
22:54Let us know!
22:55Of course, there are other sites other than the pyramids that have been routinely targeted
22:59by explorers as well.
23:01Not least, the Amazon rainforest.
23:03So, in the final part of this video, we're headed to South America and into the very
23:08heart of the jungle.
23:09Thankfully, though, we have some very modern technology to make the trip a little easier.
23:18How well do we really know our ancestors?
23:22How much do we really know about our ancient past?
23:26These are questions at the beating heart of modern-day exploration and archaeology.
23:31And thanks to a game-changing technological revolution in the field, we're quickly
23:36realizing that, actually, there's so much that we're only just beginning to understand.
23:51As with so many cutting-edge technologies, LIDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, began
23:58life as a tool used in space exploration, at one time featuring in the Apollo program
24:04in the early 1970s as part of early efforts by NASA to map the moon.
24:10In short, it's a mapping technique whereby lasers are directed at the ground from the
24:16air via planes, helicopters, or drones.
24:20The lasers hit the ground and rebound back, with LIDAR tech able to precisely measure
24:25the different distances at play, and therefore construct an accurate 3D map of the ground.
24:32Crucially, though, while operating at different wavelengths, LIDAR can penetrate through things
24:38that might have otherwise obscured the picture, things like leaves, tree canopies, and dense
24:44vegetation for example, which is why it's become such a vital and groundbreaking method
24:49in the exploration of Earth.
24:52The stereotypical image of an explorer or archaeologist is perhaps one of an intrepid
24:57adventurer, slashing their way through thick undergrowth in the middle of a distant jungle
25:02somewhere, in search of an ancient, legendary trail, or a treasure-laden lost city.
25:09But while a lot of hands-on groundwork similar to that is still carried out, times are certainly
25:14changing in the 21st century.
25:17The paper maps, compasses, and machetes of tradition do still have a place, but nowadays,
25:23with any journey into the wilderness, there's the potential for it to be significantly more
25:27planned and deliberate.
25:30Thanks to LIDAR, archaeologists can be so much more informed before they ever set foot
25:36onto an actual site.
25:38Over the 2010s, the technology really started to take off.
25:42So far, it has been variously used to gain a better understanding of multiple Mayan sites
25:48in modern-day Mexico and scattered ancient villages in the Amazon rainforest.
25:53It's also notably helped us to gain a clearer-than-ever picture of the famous Angor Wat Temple complex
26:00in Cambodia.
26:01In all cases, LIDAR maps have been produced from above, and they've revealed to archaeologists
26:07that the extent of these ancient locations is usually far greater than we had previously
26:13thought.
26:14It's now known, for example, that Angor Wat was once but one part of an even vaster ancient
26:20settlement, much larger than previously predicted, with LIDAR images able to pick out the roads,
26:27waterways, and homes that once crowded around the temple.
26:31Of course, the evidence for what LIDAR is now picking up has always been there, and
26:37perhaps it would have been discovered by traditional exploration on foot, given enough time, but
26:42this technology is fast-tracking us to near-instant results.
26:47It's said that LIDAR can achieve in just a few hours what it would otherwise have taken
26:52years of traditional groundwork to figure out.
26:55As the images are captured from above by machines, it's not as though LIDAR is a dangerous
27:00pursuit either.
27:02It's exploration at a distance, yes, but it undoubtedly gets results.
27:07Still, there are some that remain doubtful as to how heavily we should be relying on
27:12this technology, and to a certain extent, it still won't replace classic on-the-ground
27:18exploration.
27:19What LIDAR can do is produce high-resolution images accurate to within around 20 centimeters,
27:26but what it still can't do is determine exactly what it is that it's mapping.
27:32For that, archaeologists still need to get up close, on the ground, in the thicket, and
27:37in the mud.
27:39LIDAR is perhaps best used more like a contemporary guide then, highlighting areas of interest
27:45at a site that might otherwise have been easily overlooked simply because the jungle
27:49had become too overgrown, or the landscape had been too drastically altered in modern
27:54times.
27:55The laser imaging means that now, rather than blindly searching for things that may or may
28:00not be there, today's explorer can confidently descend onto a location that they know will
28:07yield results.
28:09It's one reason why it's said, by some, that we've recently entered into a new golden
28:14age for exploration, although, on the one hand, it would seem that, because most of
28:19the Earth is at least accounted for on maps, there isn't a great deal of our world left
28:24to discover.
28:25On the other, LIDAR technology is proving we've only just begun to scratch the surface
28:31of what's really there, and, in just the first few years since its introduction into
28:36archaeological study, it's genuinely forcing us to rewrite whole periods of human history.
28:43For example, our understanding has already changed regarding the Maya civilization.
28:49The rise and fall of Mayan cities across a roughly 3,000-year history up until the late
28:5517th century is reasonably well-known.
28:58There are numerous iconic sites and monuments found across Central America, including the
29:03ruins of Tikal in Guatemala and Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
29:09However, the early use of LIDAR over some Mayan sites suggests that their scope may
29:15have also been hugely underestimated.
29:18One of our first major LIDAR surveys in archaeology came in the year 2009 as part of the ongoing
29:25Caracol Archaeological Project led by the University of Nevada.
29:30Caracol itself is an ancient Mayan city in modern-day Belize.
29:34It was first discovered in 1937, and there has been a continuous and dedicated effort
29:40to excavate and explore it since around the mid-1980s.
29:44But in 2009, LIDAR was introduced, and the picture of Caracol dramatically changed almost
29:50overnight.
29:52Researchers were suddenly able to accurately map a far wider area than ever before as more
29:58than 70 square miles revealed itself to them, including new evidence of roads and canals
30:03fanning out from the center.
30:06Before LIDAR, Caracol had been thought of as a reasonably modest settlement.
30:11But after LIDAR, the reality was that Caracol was actually a large and sprawling city.
30:19Hence, nowadays, the LIDAR maps inform so much about how Caracol is studied.
30:25Of course, it's not as though LIDAR is the only example of how technology is driving
30:30modern exploration.
30:32Although there's a lot of work left to do in our efforts to map the seafloor, we've
30:36seen similar techniques used to improve our knowledge of the ocean too, allowing us to
30:42see through the waves at what's really there.
30:45But still, there's little doubt that LIDAR has kickstarted an incredibly exciting time
30:52for archaeology specifically.
30:54It's leading a new frontier for exploration, which is bringing to light whole buildings,
31:00landmarks, and communities that might have otherwise been lost forever.
31:04And so, in some cases, it really is prompting us to seriously rethink our own past.
31:11Estimates on the maximum populations for sites like Angkor Wat and Caracol have increased,
31:16for example, partially as a result of LIDAR discoveries.
31:21And in the bigger picture, this could change our understanding of how whole civilizations
31:26worked and of how much of a wider impact they might have had.
31:31With LIDAR typically helping to detail the outskirts of ancient cities as well, archaeologists
31:36are producing a whole range of new maps from which historians can draw new conclusions
31:42about how ancient societies were structured, how things like wealth, work, and trade were
31:48managed.
31:49And suddenly, we're connecting up ancient sites like we've never done before, seeing
31:54them not just as seemingly isolated ruins, but as shared remnants of a time and place
32:00that was once so much bigger.
32:03In archaeology, as in most things, modern technology is driving change at a phenomenal
32:09rate.
32:10Thanks to lasers from the sky, we're now scanning whole jungles within hours and realizing
32:16the true extent of the ancient secrets they hold.
32:19The contemporary explorer must still be ready to hack their way through dense forests, wade
32:25through rivers, and scramble through caves… but they can now do it all knowing that technology
32:31is lighting their way.
32:33So, what do you think?
32:35Which of the many mysteries of the ancient world are you most captivated by?
32:39And how do you envisage the future use of technology in our continual quest for answers?
32:46Welcome to the Uncanny Center for Science and the Natural Discovery of Uncanny Landscapes
33:09From the Pyramids to Stonehenge, from Angkor Wat to the Indus Valley, the history of humankind,
33:15of life on Earth, and of Earth in general, never disappoints.
33:20Everywhere you look, there are stories of old waiting to be told.
33:24And of course, with every passing moment, new history is always being made.
33:29What do you think?
33:30Is there anything we missed?
33:31Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
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