All language subtitles for Forbidden Knowledge - Alien Artifacts (2022) 1080p WEBRip x265 An0mal1

[mystical music]

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- [Narrator] The scientific
discovery of fossilized trees

dating back more than
260 million years

has shocked the
scientific community.

Together with other
recently discovered

fossilized plant and
tree discoveries,

on Antarctica, these
finds suggest something

that should not be.

That the world's
coldest, driest continent

was once green and forested.

Amongst other things,
scientists have had to come up

with an explanation of how
trees were able to survive

within a few degrees of latitude
of the south pole itself,

where it's dark for
six months of the year.

But what does all this mean
for scientific theories

about Antarctica?

Will they have to be changed?

An ancient forested Antarctica.

Over a hundred years ago, Royal
Naval Officer and explorer,

Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated
expedition to Antarctica

discovered fossils of plants
on the Beardmore Glacier

less than 310 miles
from the South Pole.

The expedition's chief
scientist, Edward Wilson

recorded these remarkable
findings in his diary,

writing that most
of the bigger leaves

were like Beech leaves
in shape and venation.

At the time, these discoveries
were dismissed by scientists

as mistaken or exaggerated.

Their significance
almost completely ignored

for over 100 years.

However, over the
last decade or so,

a few scientists
have begun to suspect

that Edward Wilson may
have been onto something.

Even so, when proof
was finally discovered,

they were as shocked as anyone.

The fact is, that Antarctica
has not always been

a forbidden land of ice.

Millions of years ago, when
the continent was still part

of the huge Southern
Hemisphere landmass

called Gondwana, forest
grew near the South Pole.

From around 400 million
to 14 million years ago,

the Southern continent
was a very different

and much greener place
than Antarctica is today,

with a much warmer climate.

The warmth came from the
size of the land mass itself,

with Gondwanaland keeping
away at the cold currents

that encircle Antarctica today.

Professor Jane Francis of
the University of Leeds

in the UK, has spent 10
field seasons in Antarctica,

collecting fossil plants
and received the Polar Medal

from the Queen in 2002.

She's still in awe at the
thought of a green Antarctica.

"I still find the idea that
Antarctica was once forested

absolutely mind-boggling.

We take it for granted
that Antarctica

has always been a
frozen wilderness,

but the ice caps only
appeared relatively recently

in geological history."

One of the professor's most
important fossil discoveries

was made in the
Transantarctic mountains,

were high up on glaciated peaks,

she and her team found
a sedimentary layer

packed full of fragile
leaves and twigs.

Analysis showed that these
fossils were the remains

of stunted bushes of beech,

dating back to mere 3
to 5 million years old.

Consequently, they were
some of the last plants

to have lived on Antarctica
before the deep freeze set in.

But other fossil discoveries
from the continent revealed

the incredible fact that
truly sub-tropical forests

existed on Antarctica
during much earlier times

during the age of dinosaurs.

According to Dr. Vanessa Bowman,

who works with Francis at
the university of Leeds,

"Go back 100 million years ago,

and Antarctica was
covered in lush rainforest

similar to those that
exist in New Zealand today.

We commonly find
whole fossilized logs

that must have come
from really big trees.

But the strangest and most
inexplicably characteristic

of these polar forests
was their adaptation

to the Antarctic light regime,

close to the pole in
winter, it is always night.

While in the summer, the sun
shines even at midnight."

Professor David Beerling
the University of Sheffield

explained the problem
that these Antarctic trees

must have faced.

During prolonged periods
of warm winter darkness,

trees consume their food store.

And if this goes
on for too long,

they will eventually starve.

To understand how
these Antarctic trees

survived against such
seemingly insurmountable odds,

Professor Beerling investigated
the types of plants

that once grew on Antarctica.

What we did was grow
seedlings of these trees

in blacked-out greenhouses,

where we could simulate
Antarctic light conditions.

We also raise temperature
and CO2 concentration

to match ancient
growing conditions.

We found that trees made so
much food during the summers

that this eventually caused
photosynthesis to slow down.

As a result they couldn't
fully take advantage

of the long hot summers
for photosynthesis."

So, Professor Beerling's
experiments demonstrated

that trees were able
to cope extremely well

with the highly
unusual environment.

These hardy ancient trees
were also able to withstand

alternating months of
pure sunlight and darkness

before eventually succumbing
to history's greatest

mass extinction.

The discovery at fossil trees.

In 2016, Erik Gulbranson,
a paleoecologist

from the University of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee,

and his team discovered
the oldest polar forest

on record from the
southern polar region.

Although the forest has not
yet been precisely dated,

Gulbranson believes that
it probably flourished

about 280 million years ago
before being swiftly buried

in volcanic ash,

which fortunately preserved
it down to the cellular level.

In Gulbranson's words,

"They're actually some
of the best preserved

fossil plants in the world.

The fungi in the wood itself
were probably mineralized

and turned into stone
within a matter of weeks.

In some cases probably while
the tree was still alive,

these things happen
incredibly rapid.

You could have witnessed it
firsthand if you were there."

Ancient fossil trees that
date back 100 million years,

can also be found in a small
part of Alexander island

on the west coast of
the Antarctic peninsula

with logs up to 23 feet
high still standing upright.

Incredibly, the roots of
these coniferous trees

are still attached
to the carbonaceous
soil deposits today.

Scientists from Rice
University in Houston, Texas

undertook research on fossil ice

from the Antarctic peninsula,

and were extremely
surprised to discover

that the region was
covered in tundra

up to 12 million years ago.

The continent's
gigantic ice sheets

began forming about
38 million years ago,

with the Antarctic
peninsula the last area

to be covered in ice.

There has always
been controversy

in the scientific
community about how quickly

this glaciation took place.

Scientists have now
determined the exact species

of plant that existed on
the Antarctic peninsula

12 million years ago, and
concluded from fossil record

that there was a long
gradual process of glaciation

over the peninsula.

In 2018, more new
forests were discovered

by researchers from
the University of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee

on the frozen slopes of the
Transantarctic mountains.

Here, they discovered gray
rocks containing fossils

from Antarctica's
ancient forested past.

The team discovered fossil
fragments of 13 trees

that are well over
260 million years old,

showing that this
forest flourished

at the end of the
Permian period,

before the first dinosaurs
walked the Earth.

Then came the
Permian extinction.

Many geologists and
paleoecologists believe

that the Permian extinction
occurred over the course

of 15 million years
during the latter part

of the Permian period,

299 million years to
252 million years ago.

What caused this
great extinction

of 90% of the world's
species at the time

is still shrouded in mystery,

though we know it was
triggered by a volcanic event.

However, the team from the
University of Wisconsin

actually discovered
five new fossil forests

that would have
lived into and beyond

the Permian extinction interval.

These forests may give
us a vital information

about this mysterious
extinction event,

According to Erik Gulbranson,
these new findings

tell us how these organisms
were reacting or responding

to the climatic or
environmental changes

that were taking place
during the extinction crisis.

Having a fossilized record
of the extinction interval

is our only understanding
of how life on the planet

goes through such an event.

A rainforest during
the age of dinosaurs.

In April 2020, it was
revealed that scientists

had discovered the remains
of temperate rainforests,

which flourished in Antarctica
around 90 million years ago.

Fossil remnants of this
forest were discovered

on the ocean floor
in the Amundsen sea

off the coast of
west Antarctica.

The significance of the find
lies largely in its location,

as 90 million years ago,
this west Antarctic forest

would have been a mere 560
miles from the then South Pole.

Ulrich Salzmann, a
professor of paleoecology

and paleoclimatology at
the Northumbria University

in the UK, commented,

"The numerous plant
remains indicate

that 93 to 83 million years ago,

the coast of west Antarctica
was swampy landscape

in which temperate
rainforest grew.

Similar to the forest
that can still be found,

say, on New Zealand's
south island.

in order for such a
landscape of dense vegetation

to have existed in Antarctica,

there would have had
to have been little

or no ice sheet present.

And carbon dioxide levels
would need to have been higher

than previously thought."

And this exactly is what
scientists now believe

was the case 90 million
years ago on the continent.

Antarctica continues to
provide the scientific world

with surprises, which
will surely mean

they have to constantly
update many of their theories

about its history
and prehistory.

Who knows what other revelations

about this strange
continent lie in wait.

[intense music]

- [Narrator] Scientists have
uncovered decorated artifacts

dating from between 40,000
and 75,000 years ago

from Tanzania, and the
Southern tip of South Africa,

that show that man
developed the capacity

for symbolic thought long
before previously believed.

The discovery of these artifacts
could present huge problems

to conventional thinking
about human history.

Elite human decoration.

The earliest kind of
decoration used by humans

was probably ochre,

which we know was used
over 200,000 years ago

in the Middle Stone Age
and Middle Paleolithic.

The earliest evidence
of it's use in Africa

dates back 285,000 years.

"Ochre," is an umbrella
term for a range of earthy,

iron-rich rocks, composed of
iron oxides or oxyhydroxides

such as shales, sandstones,
mudstones, and specularite.

In Africa, ochre is
still used for protection

from the sun and against
insects, such as mosquitoes.

It has also been
scientifically proven

to inhibit the effect
of UV radiation,

and also has many other uses.

Fascinatingly, ochre appears
in the archeological record

around the same time as
anatomically-modern humans

and became more frequently used

from about a hundred
thousand years ago

at many Middle Stone Age sites.

The origins of symbolic thought.

One of the most often
debated questions

in the study of early man is,

when did the origins of
modern human behavior begin?

When and where did
our common ancestors

first begin to behave in
ways similar to ourselves?

Although it is well-known
that homo sapiens

were anatomically modern by
200,000 years ago in Africa,

there's never been evidence

to support the idea
that these humans

could be capable
of modern behavior.

But all that changed
with the discovery

of the "Blombos Hands" on
the 24th of April, 2004,

by a team of scientists led by
Dr. Christopher Henshilwood,

a South African
archeologist affiliated

with University of
Bergen in Norway,

and the State University
of New York at Stony Brook.

The discovery was
made at Blombos Cave,

on the shore of the Indian Ocean

200 miles east of Cape Town.

Archeologists now
believe, that due to these

and other findings,

most ancient symbolic
traditions in Africa

date back at least
100,000 years.

Years after these
amazing discoveries,

new discoveries relating
to early homo sapiens'

cognitive abilities are still
challenging mainstream views.

The Blombos Cave discoveries.

The archeological
site at Blombos Cave

contains Middle Stone Age
archeological deposits,

including hearths, bone,
stone, marine shells,

and sand in discrete layers

dated to between 100,000
and 72,000 years ago.

This is seen by many researchers

as probably the most
important period

in the early development
of modern human behavior.

Published results from
Blombos Cave indicate

that some aspects of
modern behavior evolved

during the early
late Pleistocene,

after 100,000 years
ago in Africa.

Excavations at the cave match
recent and older findings

from a number of African
Middle Stone Age sites

that date to this time period,

The discoveries at the cave
show that people apparently

had the intention to make a
statement about themselves

with jewelry about
30,000 years earlier

than any previously
identified personal ornaments

used by our human ancestors.

This was the conclusion
of the archeologists

who discovered a
collection of tiny shells

pierced with holes, as
if they had been prepared

for stringing as
primitive beads.

The 41 pea-sized shell
beads were uncovered

in groups arranged
by sizes and shade.

Each cluster probably
representing a single piece

of jewelry.

According to researchers,

the strings of bead
represent the oldest,

well-dated examples of people
making and wearing jewelry.

This can be interpreted
as further evidence

that these people
possessed a language

capable of sharing the symbolic
meanings of these objects.

Two years before the
discovery of the beads,

Dr. Henshilwood reported the
discovery of other evidence

of possibly complex symbolic
thinking by the inhabitants

of Blombos cave, including
abstract engravings,

and finely worked bone
tools and weapon points.

The shell beads of Blombos
cave were from a small

snail-like mollusk, which
must have been brought

by the group from rivers
more than 10 miles away.

All the recovered
shells from Blombos Cave

will carefully pierced
around 75,000 years ago

using a bone tool to create
a key hole perforation.

These were then strung and
worn as a personal ornament.

Archeologists discovered
signs of repeated rubbing

on the beads, assigned
that they had been rubbed

against one another
and against the cord,

resulting in discrete use-wear
surfaces on each bead.

Such patterns of wear are
not present on the shells

in their natural environment.

Microscopic residues of
ochre, discovered inside

some of the beads probably
resulted from deliberate

coloring by the wearer or
perhaps by transfer, when worn.

Henshilwood and other
researchers believe

that this small, but
growing record of very early

artistic artifacts from Africa,

a vital evidence that
modern behavioral traits

such as the use of external
symbols developed slowly

over a couple of
hundred thousand years,

not abruptly after our
ancestors emerged from Africa,

as some archeologists
have suggested.

However, not all
researchers agreed

with Dr. Henshilwood's
interpretation

that these mysterious
artifacts were expressions

of a modern type of creativity.

Indeed, a few of them
have even questioned

whether the shells were
actually used as beads.

Archeologist Randall White
of New York University,

for example, does not believe
that humans made the holes

in the snail shells saying,
"I'm disturbed by the fact

that there are no tool traces."

Up until the discoveries
in Blombos Cave,

the earliest African
personal ornaments

were 13 ostrich eggshell
beads from Kenya,

dated to 40 to 45,000 years ago.

Other slightly more
recent evidence includes

a 43,000 year old perforated
teeth from Bulgaria,

and 41,000 year old
marine beads from Turkey.

Discoveries in Tanzania.

In 2000, archeologists
reported finding

ostrich eggshell beads,
as well as ochre pencils

and fish bones at a site in
the Serengeti National Park

of Tanzania.

The archeologists
were not able to date

the two carved donut-shaped
pieces of ostrich shell

precisely, but they came
from the same layer,

as tools from the
African Middle Stone Age

between 280,000 and
45,000 years ago.

For some reason, the
mysterious discovery

was not announced
until four years later,

in March 2004 at the
Paleoanthropology Society

meeting in Montreal.

Despite the uncertainty
over their exact age,

one of the archeologists
who discovered the beads,

Curtis Marean from the
Institute of Human Origins

and Department of Anthropology
at Arizona State University,

stated that they were
unambiguous examples

of symbolic behavior.

What is modern human behavior?

But why do decorated beads mean
that we may have discovered

the earliest examples of
modern human thinking?

Research has shown that symbols
cannot exist in isolation,

but generally form a part
of interlinked systems.

Modern human behavior is
usually defined as behavior

that is caused by socially
constructed patterns

of symbolic thinking,
actions, and communication.

The capacity for
symbolic thought

is not the main defining factor
for modern human behavior,

but rather it is the use of
symbolism to organize behavior

that defines us.

So, early humans were
first behaviorally modern

when symbols became
an inherent part

of their daily lives.

In basic terms, this means
that people were using

the artifacts that they made
to organize their social world

in a similar way as we do today.

Within each group of people,

such as those at
the Blombos Caves,

artifacts may have had meanings
that could be understood

only by members of that group.

A good example is the
design of the bead necklace

discovered in the cave,

which may have carried
a significant meaning

that was not understood by
people outside the group.

The findings from Blombos
cave and from Tanzania,

and the subsequent
re-analysis and excavation

of other relevant sites have
resulted in a clear change

in our understanding of
the timing and location

of the development of
modern human behavior.

Archeologists believe
that these discoveries

undoubtedly reflect the
acquisition of completely

modern cognitive abilities by
Southern African populations

at least 100,000 ago.

Although scientists are aware

that these are vastly
important discoveries

in terms of early
man, they still seem

to be a little reluctant to
believe very early dates.

Randall White commented,

"If the dates hold up, we
now seem to be seeing a trail

of representational objects
that is increasingly older

as we move back from
Europe into Africa."

[intense music]

The Dashka Stone is a
controversial artifact

that is believed by some,
to be the guidelines

used by the architect
of the world.

Known as the, "Map
of the Creator,"

The stone tablet has
baffled researchers

since its discovery in 1999.

As impossible as it may
seem, Russian experts believe

the stone map could be
120 million years old.

The Dashka slab depicts
not only the environs

of the Ural mountains,

but also a series of civil
engineering projects,

including 7,457
miles of channels,

several dams,

and hieroglyphic notations
of unknown origin.

The accuracy and
perspective of the map,

suggests that it was
created from an aerial point

of observation.

The hieroglyphs have not,
as of this time of writing,

been deciphered, but are
thought to be related

to an ancient form of Chinese.

Archeologists from the
Bashkir State University

discovered the Dashka
Stone in the Ural mountains

of eastern Russia on
July the 21st, 1999.

The discovers were
immediately struck

by the size of the tablet.

It measures 58 inches
high, 42 inches wide,

and six inches thick,
and weighs one ton.

Upon further examination,

the researchers were
even more stunned.

The tablet appears to
show a highly accurate

topographical map
Bashkiria, a specific area

of the Ural Mountains,

at a scale of
approximately one to 1.1km.

Alexander Chuvyrov, a professor
at Bashkir State University

who led the team, named
the stone "Dashka,"

in honor of his grandfather
who was born on that day.

He said, "At first sight,
I understood that this

was not a simple stone piece,

but a real map, and
not a single map,

but a three-dimensional.
You can see it yourself."

The "Map of the Creator," is
comprised of three levels,

strongly suggesting that it
did not originate in nature

but was artificially made.

The first layer is
roughly seven inches

of a cement or ceramic
compound based on dolomite.

The second layer is roughly
1 inch of diopside glass

enriched with silicon.

The third layer is only
a few millimeters thick

and is made of a
calcium-porcelain mixture,

perhaps to give the
tablet added protection,

or perhaps to create
a diffused light

to better illuminate the stone.

"How did we manage to identify
the place?" said Chuvyrov.

"At first, we could not
imagine the map was so ancient.

Happily, relief of today's
Bashkiria has not changed

so much within
millions of years.

We could identify Ufa
Height, while Ufa Canyon

is the main point of our proofs,

because we carried
out geological studies

and found its track
where it must be

according to the ancient map.

Displacement of
the canyon happened

because of tectonic stabs
which moved from east.

The group of Russian
and Chinese specialists

in the field of cartography,
physics, mathematics,

geology, chemistry, and
old Chinese language

managed to precisely
find out that the slab

contains the map of Ural region,

with the rivers Belya,

Ufimka,

Sutolka.

You can see Ufa Canyon, the
break of the Earth's crust,

stretched out from
the city of Ufa,

to the city of Sterlitimak.

At the moment, Urshak River
runs over the former canyon."

The Dashka stone undoubtedly
points to a Ural civilization

more advanced than
previously suspected.

However, the claims that it
was made 120 million years ago

by a geographic creator
are mostly likely false.

The Bashkir researchers
derived this date

from a pair of ancient seashells

found locked in the stone slab.

The first shell could be as
old as 500 million years old.

The second shell could be
as old as 120 million years.

Why these shells, still
intact, were incorporated

into the tablet, or if they
were purposefully included

at all, they cannot
be known for certain.

Scientists suspect that aside
from the ancient shells,

the tablet was made
approximately 3000 years ago.

However, it is exceedingly
difficult to radiocarbon date

the engravings themselves.

Great attention has
been paid to the variety

of magnificent megalithic
structures around the world.

Yet very little is
reported on the mysterious

and impressive set of stone
structures that can be found

in the Ural Mountains of Russia.

In the Sverdlovsk Oblast
region, in the middle Urals,

there can be found
numerous dolmens.

According to controversial
descriptions,

a dolmen is a type
of single-chambered
megalithic tomb.

However, there is really
no evidence to suggest

that they were initially
constructed as tombs.

Rather, it seems that
subsequent civilizations

chose to use them
for this purpose.

Dolmens are usually comprised
of two or more vertical stones

supporting a flat
horizontal stone on top.

There can be variations,
ranging from relatively simple

to very complex.

The dolmens in the Urals
are considered to be small

compared to other dolmens,

ranging from approximately
1.5 to 2.5 meters

in width and length.

There is some variance in
the dolmens of the Urals,

with two distinct styles.

The stone plate dolmens are
created with a mound of stones

that have an attached chamber.

These usually have a
square court in front,

and are sometimes surrounded
by smaller stones.

The boulder dolmens are
constructed from large boulders

that form a chamber.

The chamber is covered by
one or more flat stones.

There is some variation
in structure of the
boulder dolmens,

but they all have
two entrance points.

A main entrance to the side,

and a smaller entrance
between boulders.

The menhirs are the most
typical type of megalith

found in the Urals.

A menhir is a single
vertical stone.

They can be found singularly,
as a monolith, or in groups.

The menhirs found in the
Urals include monoliths

and groupings, and tend
to be roughly finished.

All of the monoliths
discovered to this point

are located near either a
settlement or a cemetery

from the Bronze
Age, 3300 to 600 BC.

Some of the menhir groups are
in rows, 13 to 18 meters long.

A circular shaped structure
was discovered at the village

of Akhunovo in Bashkiria.

Eight menhirs are formed
into a circular shape

that is approximately
25 meters in diameter.

While the dolmens and
menhirs are amazing

and mysterious
structures themselves,

the most amazing find in
the Urals are the megaliths

of Vera Island in Lake Turgoyak.

Dating to the Eneolithic period,

these megaliths are referred
to as "Megalith Number 1,"

"Megalith Number 2," "Megalith
Number 3," "Vera Island 9,"

and "Vera Island 4."

Megalith Number 1 is the
largest megalith structure

on the island, standing
at 16 by 9 meters.

It's cut into the bedrock
and covered with capstones.

It is orientated to the west,
and includes a long entrance,

a central hall,
and two chambers,

with a connecting corridor.

It includes windows and
sculptures of bulls and wolves.

It is speculated the
Megalith Number 1

served as a temple
at some point.

Megalith Number 2, pictured
in the feature image,

was found carved
into a rocky slope

with a mound
structure covering it.

It is orientated north
and contain two chambers

connected by a corridor.

Megalith Number 3 is
created by large boulders

with a square pit cut
into the center rock.

It's closed off by
vertical stone slabs

with massive boulders
as capstones.

Vera Island 9 is a cultic
ritual place with two menhirs,

while Vera Island 4 is a
cultic place surrounded

by vertical stones with a
small menhir in the center.

The megaliths of the
Urals are undoubtedly

an impressive sight,
yet strangely,

virtually nothing is known
about who created them,

how they were built,

or what purpose they
were intended to serve.

The megaliths stretch across
an immense area of land,

suggesting that they were not
all created by a single group.

Megalith Number 1 on
Vera Island is believed

to have been a
temple at some point,

however, other megaliths
present no obvious signs

that they were used for
any religious purposes.

Nevertheless, it is
possible that the megaliths

had a common use in
spite of the variances

in size and shape.

It is hoped that further
archeological research

may help to unravel
the mysteries

of these spectacular structures,

as well as the civilization
that created them

many millennia ago.

[intense music]

The Pharos lighthouse
of Alexandria

was the last of the seven
wonders of the ancient world

to remain standing.

Ancient travelers
speak of a mirror,

and sometimes even
of a huge lens

designed to increase the range
and visibility of the light.

Some think this mirror
used in the beacon

could be used as a weapon
to concentrate the sun

and set enemy ships
ablaze as they approached.

Over the last few decades,
remains of the Pharos lighthouse

have been turning up in the
harbor of modern Alexandria,

giving scholars
fascinating insights

into its original
design and appearance.

Ancient Alexandria.

In the Fourth Century BC,

Alexander the Great is said
to have founded over 70 cities

during his conquest of the
Middle East and Persia,

many of which bear his name,

One of Alexander's
objectives in his conquest

was to spread Greek culture,
and a vital part of this

was the establishment
of Greek-style cities,

which could operate the
centers for the dissemination

of Greek ideas and culture.

However, Alexander's conquests
resulted in Hellenistic

rather than a pure
Greek culture.

And this is to say a
combination of elements

of Greek and local cultures.

Home to the massive
Pharos lighthouse,

One of the seven wonders
of the ancient world,

and a great lost library,

the Mediterranean sea
port of Alexandria

was founded by Alexander
the Great around 330 BC.

And like many other
cities in his empire,

took its name from him.

After his death in 323
BC Alexander's empire

was left in the hands
of his generals,

with Ptolemy the First
Soter taking Egypt

and making Alexandra
his capital in 320 BC.

Formerly a small fishing
village on the Nile delta,

Alexandria became the seat of
the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt

and developed into
a great intellectual
and cultural center,

perhaps the greatest city
in the ancient world.

The city of Alexandria
founded in the small port town

of Rhacotis, was designed by
Alexander's personal architect,

Dinocrates, and
incorporated the finest

in Hellenic planning
and architecture.

The city was admired,
a few centuries later

by the Greek geographer
and historian Strabo,

63 BC to 21 AD, who wrote,

"The city has magnificent
public precincts

and royal palaces, which
cover a fourth or even third

of the entire area.

For just as each
of the kings would,

from a love of splendor,

add some ornaments to
the public monuments,

so he would provide
himself at his own expense

with the residence in addition
to those already standing.

The museum also forms
part of the royal palaces.

It has a covered walk,
an arcade with recesses

and seats and a large house,

in which is the dining
hall of the learned members

of the museum.

In the great harbor at
the entrance on the right,

there is the island
and the tower Pharos.

And on the other
side of the rocks

and the promontory Lochias
with the royal palace.

As one sails into the harbor,

there are on the left,
the inner royal palaces,

which are joined
to those on Lochias

and have groves and
many colorful lodges.

The Pharos lighthouse.

The lighthouse of
Alexandria was built

by Sostratus of Cnidus on the
edge of the island of Pharos,

outside the harbors of
Alexandria during the reigns

of Ptolemy the First and Second.

It was finished during the
reign of Ptolemy the Second

in about 280 BC.

With a height of over 330 feet,

it was so impressive
that it featured

in the established list

of the seven wonders
of the ancient world.

It was such an architectural
and technical success

that it has remained
the archetypal

of all lighthouses since.

For hundreds of years,
the lighthouse was,

after the pyramids of Giza,

the tallest manmade
structure in the world.

According to ancient sources,

the lighthouse was
built of limestone,

described as white
in some sources,

in three stages, all of
which sloped slightly inward,

the lowest was square,
the next octagonal,

and the top cylindrical.

A wide spiral ramp
led to the top,

where a fire burned at night.

Some ancient sources
attest to a giant statue

on top of a structure, possibly
representing Zeus Soter,

or even Alexander
the Great himself.

First century AD Roman
writer, Pliny the Elder,

describes the origins
of the Pharos lighthouse

as he knew them in his
work, "Natural History."

"The cost of its
erection was 800 talents.

They say, and not to
emit the Magnanimity

that was shown by the
king on this occasion,

he gave permission
to the architect

to inscribe his name
upon the edifice itself.

The object of it is, by the
light of its fires at night,

to give warning to ships
of the neighboring shoals,

and to point out to them,
the entrance to the Harbor."

The Pharos lighthouse
certainly seemed to produce

wonderment to many
of those who saw it.

Caesar himself admired that
it was of great height,

a work of wonderful
construction,

which took its name
from the island.

According to later Arab sources,

there was even a mirror
on the lighthouse,

probably a polished bronze,

which was used to
reflect a flame

over a greater
distance out to sea.

Some writers believed
that the mirror

may also have function as
a reflector of the sun.

Sometimes even directing
it onto enemy ships,

to blind them as they
approach the city.

Another tale said that it was
possible to use the mirror

to magnify the image of
the city of Constantinople,

more than 1700 miles
across the sea,

to observe what was
happening there.

On a pilgrimage to
Mecca in 1182 or 1183,

an Arab traveler and writer
traveled through Alexandria,

where he saw Pharos.

The structure was obviously
still in use then,

and in good repair.

He described it as,
"A guide to voyagers,

for without it,
they could not find

the true course to Alexandria.

It can be seen for
more than 70 miles

and is of great antiquity.

It is most strongly
built in all directions

and competes with
the skies in height.

Description of it falls short,

the eyes fail to comprehend it,

and words are inadequate.

So vast is the spectacle.

We measured one of the
four sides and found it

to be more than 50 arms
lengths, almost 112 feet.

It is said that in height,
it is more than 150 qamah,

One qamah is the
height of a man.

Its interior is awe inspiring
site in its amplitude,

with stairways and entrances
to numerous apartments,

so that he who penetrates and
wanders through its passages

may be lost.

In short, words fail to
give a conception of it."

Over the centuries,

earthquakes badly
damaged the lighthouse.

Though, there are records of
regular repairs and extensions.

In the 12th century, the
lighthouse was still standing,

almost 1500 years
after its construction.

But in the 1300's, it was
damaged severely by earthquakes.

It was still standing in 1349.

It was an Arab writer, visited
it in April of that year.

He noted, "Having gone to
the lighthouse on my return

from Marghrib in the year 750,

I observed that it state
of disrepair was such,

that it was no longer
possible to enter,

nor to reach the door
giving access to it.

It was not until the
end of the 15th century,

that the lighthouse
of Alexandria was
completely dismantled

and disappears from the
historical record for good.

The lighthouse's granite
foundations were later reused

in the fort constructed
on the site.

New evidence.

In 1994, a French-Egyptian
archeological team

made some fascinating finds in
the waters of Pharos island.

Hundreds of huge stone blocks.

It's believed that some of
these blocks fell into the sea,

when the lighthouse was
destroyed by an earthquake

in the 1300s.

A number of statues
were also discovered,

including a colossal
statue of a king

dating to the third century BC,

that seemed to represent
Ptolemy the Second.

In the 1960s, a companion
statue of a queen as Isis

was discovered nearby.

These statues representing the
deified Ptolemy and his wife,

who once positioned just
below the great lighthouse

facing the entrance
to the harbor.

According to Chris Scarre
of Cambridge University,

"Their finds confirm that
one side of the Pharos

collapsed into the sea,
and that much material

from this amazing structure
still lie scattered

on the seabed.

Only now, can we begin to
appreciate the true extent

and importance of the remains."

Excavations carried
on intermittently

at the site over the years,

and by July 2015,
archeologists had identified

no less than 2,843 blocks
from the Pharos lighthouse.

Investigations are
ongoing at the site,

And one can only wonder
what fascinating remains

from the great lighthouse
archeologists will turn up next.

In May 2015, it was revealed
that Egyptian authorities

that approved plans for the
construction of a replica

of the Pharos lighthouse
as close as possible

to its original location.

Apparently, this ambitious
plan came up against

some resistance, and
nothing has been heard of it

in the last five years.

So, one can only assume
it has been abandoned.

[intense music]

New revelations about
the Maya calendar,

are frequently
been headline news

over the last decade or so,

especially after the
predicted disasters of 2012

never happened.

However, a 2016 documentary
claimed to have decoded

the mysteries of the calendar,

and revealed dire warnings
about the future of humanity,

and also claimed to have
discovered incredible evidence

of extraterrestrial
contacts with the Maya.

The Maya calendar.

the Maya were a sophisticated
Mesoamerican civilization

whose territory included
present day Guatemala,

Belize, Honduras, El
Salvador, and the southeastern

Mexican states of Tabasco,
Yucatan, and Quintana Roo.

The six centuries from
about AD 250 to 900,

was the classic period
of Mayan culture,

when their artistic and
intellectual achievements

were the equal of any
pre-Colombian civilizations

in the Americas.

The Maya were the first
people of the Americas

to keep historical records.

Most of which had on
stele, stone monuments,

and contain records of civil
events in Mayan calendric

and astronomical knowledge.

Perhaps the supreme
example of the Maya's

cultural accomplishments
is that extraordinary

intricate calendar system,

which had a major influence
on the later Aztec calendar.

The calendar became
ominously significant

in the early 21st century,

as according to one
reading of it states,

on the winter solstice around
the 21st of December, 2012,

there were supposed to
be a catastrophic flood

in which the world
would be destroyed.

The incredible complexity of
the Maya calendrical systems

can perhaps be
explained in part,

by a need for power
and influence.

Decisions about dates
for sacred events,

and the agricultural
cycle were in the hands

of the Maya priests ,who
decided by consulting

the calendars when
the time is right

to perform certain tasks.

The priests' abilities
to decipher meaning

from the calendars in
terms of, for example,

when to sow and reap, or
which were favorable days

for marriage or war, meant
that they were able to exercise

an immense amount of
control over the population.

As the average citizen
was not required

to comprehend this
complex calendar,

the priests basically
had a free rein

to make the system as
intricate as suited them.

The end of the world in 2012?

The winter solstice
of December AD, 2012

in the Mayan Long
Count, signified the end

of the 13th Baktun cycle
that begun in 3114 BC.

the conclusion of the Mayan
calendar on this date,

alarmed many people who
believe that this signified

the violent destruction
of the world.

But did the Maya actually
predict such a cataclysm

with that calendar?

One of the most important
of the beliefs of the Maya,

was the idea of a
cyclical universe,

where the earth goes
through recurring creations

and destructions.

In the Book of Counsel, the
sacred book of the Maya,

probably written in
the late 16th century,

but dating back much earlier,

descriptions of
successive creations

and destructive
floods are prominent.

There are also
descriptions of the 3114 BC

creation on various
Mayan monuments,

such as the monolith
known as "Stele C,"

at a city in Guatemala.

Such text also
described creation,

including the organization
of the gods for example,

and not destruction, and also
relate to mythical events

much further back in
time than 3114 BC.

The Maya calendar's
also determined dates

far into the future,

such as the royal anniversary,

which will occur
in October of 4772,

hardly something that
they would have done

if the world had
already ended by then.

What the Maya calendar indicates
for the winter solstice

of 2012 should have been
interpreted as the conclusion

of an old, and the
beginning of a new cycle,

rather than the
end of the world.

The ancient Maya calendar
cycle still survives today

in southern Mexico and
the Guatemalan Highlands,

where it is looked after
by calendar priests

or day keepers
who still maintain

the 260-day sacred
count for divination

and other ritual activities.

Recent research.

In 2016, further research
into Maya calendar

reveal that the ancient
culture may have been much more

aware of nature than
experts first believed.

Abuelo Lolmay, an expert
on Mayan spirituality,

explained why the
calendar was so important

and integral to
his predecessors.

"The sacred calendar
is the most important,

because it's the one that
governs the life of humanity.

Not only individuals, but
also plants and animals

and all of nature.

The days of the sacred
calendar are 260 days,

combined with 13 numbers.

After reaching 13, it begins
with one to 13 again and so on,

until completing
the cycle of 260.

The same year, a
controversial film

made by investigative
journalist and filmmaker

Elizabeth Thieriot,
called, "Mayan Revelations:

Decoding Baqtun" was released.

The film, which
was shot in 2012,

features previously
unseen Mayan artifacts

from the sites of Tikal
and Quiriguá in Guatemala.

The film claimed to be
a guide to the secret

of how to live a fulfilled
life through spirituality,

following the Mayan example.

But one of the most
controversial parts of the film

is a contention that,
although Mayan writings

did not predict the
end of the world

when the calendar
cycle ended in 2012,

it does predict
that three-quarters

of the Earth's population
will be wiped out

in the ensuing 15 to 20 years.

The film also revealed
for the first time,

that there is a chamber
inside the Mayan pyramid

at Calakmul, which
has been dubbed,

"The Temple of the Mayan
extraterrestrial inscriptions."

The producer of the
film, Raul Julia-Levy,

said about extraterrestrial
connections with the Maya,

"According to the Mayan
council, archeologists

have been lying to the world
and covering things up.

They don't know how to
read the Mayan codices,

and they don't know what
the Mayan council knows.

This planet is not designed
for 7 billion people.

These sacred books
would encourage humans

to explore and
colonize other planets,

just like the Mayans did.

Mexico will release
codices, artifacts,

and significant
documents with evidence

of Mayan and
extraterrestrial contact,

and all of their information
will be corroborated

by archeologists.

I was told by the
officials that the Mayans

and the extraterrestrials
had a history of exchange.

This is as official
as it can get."

In 2011, Julia-Levy made a
black and white photo public,

which he said was taken in
Southern Guatemala in the 1930s,

showing a sculpted
had over 50 feet high,

carved in the jungle.

According to a letter by
archeologist Hector E. Mejia,

the monument astonishingly
dates back to between

3500 and 5,000 BC, and
is apparently evidence

of a superior civilization,

unlike any known to
have lived on Earth.

Julia-Levy claimed there
were government conspiracy

surrounding the photo
and the head it depicts.

Apparently after the photo
was taken in the late 1930s,

it was only published
once in a magazine,

and then was immediately
removed from circulation

by order of the
government of England.

He also said that the
head had been removed

from the Guatemalan jungle
and taken to the United States

to a secret location.

This controversial
photo was also included

in Elizabeth's film.

However, in 2012, Hector
E. Mejia publicly stated

that what he had
written to Julia-Levy

had been completely misquoted.

And he believed that the
head in the photo was a fake.

He even found
evidence that it was,

in fact, a modern carving
made shortly before the photo

was taken in the 1930s.

Latest discoveries.

In May, 2012,
newspapers ran the story

of the discovery of
that archeologists

believed to be the
oldest known version

of the Mayan calendar.

The incredible find was
made at the large Maya site

of Xultun in Guatemala.

Archeologists discovered
astronomical tables

dating back to the
ninth century BC,

painted and carved on the
wall of a residential building

charting planetary movements,
moon and star patterns,

and predictions for the
positions of celestial bodies

thousands of years in
the past or future.

These tablets, which predate
the oldest known finds

by at least 500 years, span
a period of over 7,000 years,

stretching far beyond
the present age.

Some researchers believe the
newly discovered depictions

of the Maya calendar
depicts the relationship

of the lunar cycle to Jupiter,

which would be
fascinating if true.

The co-author of the study
describing the incredible finds

was Anthony Aveni, a professor
of astronomy, anthropology,

and Native American
studies at Colgate.

Aveni said, "We're currently
expanding the study

of the possible
astronomical implications

of these Xultun inscriptions,

and I think it's entirely
possible that the Jovian period

might've been involved
as one of the periods

of commensuration.

There isn't much more
we can say at this time,

as there are no other
inscriptions at Xultun

that might relate to Jupiter,
at least as far as we know."

Aveni added that it
was no great surprise

that the Maya were keeping
astronomical records

so early, the evidence
of those records

simply did not
survive colonization,

or centuries of exposure
in a tropical climate.

But some of the paintings
at Xultun did survive,

escaping destruction
from weathering,

and even more surprisingly,

avoiding the
attentions of looters.

[intense music]

Divers working on a submarine
project in Macdonald lake

in the Halliburton forest
and wildlife reserve,

Ontario, Canada,
discovered a submerged,

man-made ancient
stone structure,

possibly 5,000 to
10,000 years old.

For some, this is
irrefutable evidence

of a long lost civilization
that inhabited the region

before the last ice age.

One or two researchers
have linked the discovery

to Canada's Stonehenge, a huge
5,000 year old stone wheel

discovered south of Alberta.

Who were the people
who constructed

these mysterious monuments,
and what do they represent?

The Halliburton Forest and
Wildlife Reserve Limited,

is a privately-owned forest,

comprising 120 square miles
in Halliburton County,

Ontario, Canada.

The owner-manager of the 25,000
hectare Halliburton forest

is Dr. Peter Schleifenbaum,
who inherited it

from his father.

Recently, various
sources on the net

carried a story about
a submarine survey
of Macdonald lake,

a popular tourist attraction,
which apparently took place

in 2008.

According to the story
during the survey,

divers encountered an
ancient stone structure,

which was thought to be
proof of the presence

of a mysterious ancient
culture in the area,

life from central
Ontario ancestors.

Staff at the Halliburton
forest and wildlife reserve

would often see this
unusual stone structure

balanced on the
top of a rock ledge

at a depth about 40 feet
below the present lake level,

whilst in the tour submarine,

which was in existence for
a few years at the site.

The structure consists of
a 1000-pound elongated,

south-pointing rock sitting
on a baseball-sized stone

at each side, which in turn
rested on a massive slab.

Initially, the structure was
considered a complex version

of a glacial erratic,
rocks carried by glaciers

thousands of years ago, and
left where they happen to melt

at the end of one of
the recent ice ages.

However, when various
geologists and archeologists

examined images on the subject,

some express doubts
about its natural origin.

The main objection
was that the structure

has straight edges
rather than rounded,

which would normally
characterize rocks
scoured by glaciers.

One alternative was that
the mysterious structure

was manmade,

but the problem was how
could that be established?

The Halliburton Forest and
Wildlife Reserve limited

decided to hire an
underwater archeologist

to examine the
structure more closely,

apparently after a brief
examination of the structure,

this unnamed
archeologist concluded

that it was undoubtedly the
result of human activity,

rather than an
accident of nature.

The company also
employed a statistician

to calculate the probability
of these seven rocks

in the lake falling
on top of each other

to create what looked
like a structure.

The statistician determined
that the probability

of seven rocks falling
into such positions

at the right time and place
was almost impossible.

But if the structure was
manmade, what was it?

Who built it and when?

Some researchers
think it resembled

the prehistoric stone cairns
found throughout the world,

which serve as
monuments, burial sites,

markers for ceremonial land,
or even navigational aids.

Other thing it may be a burial
chamber or perhaps a dolmen.

Dolmens are a type of
single-chamber megalithic tomb,

mostly dating from the early
neolithic, 4,000 to 3000 BC.

Found in a variety of
places throughout the world,

but mostly in Northwest Europe,

particularly in the
region of Brittany France,

Britain, and Ireland.

The thick layer of silt
covering some of the surfaces

of the structures indicate
that they are very old,

but beyond that, without
further evidence,

it was impossible to
say when it was built.

However, when geologists
were consulted on the matter,

they apparently
pointed to a drought

which may have hit eastern
North America between

9,000 and 7,000 BC.

At this time,
conditions were so dry,

that water levels
in the Great Lakes

were as much as 165 feet lower,

and inland lakes like Macdonald
lake may well have been

at least 40 feet lower
than their current levels.

If the structure at
the Macdonald lake

is a prehistoric
monument of some kind,

why was it situated in
such a remote place?

One theory is that the sparse
local population at the time

may have been attracted
to the spot by lake trout,

often described
as glacial relict,

as they are a holdover
from the ice age

and live mainly in deep
cold water habitats.

One geologist suggested
that in prehistoric times,

Macdonald lake was
not a lake at all,

but part of an
ancient river system,

which made an ideal
habitat for the trout,

but no prehistoric
monuments of the cairn

or dolmen-type exist
in the USA, Canada,

or anywhere else in the
world dated to anywhere near

9,000 to 7,000 BC.

Does that make this structure
the oldest in the world?

Or should the glacial erratic
theory be examined further?

However, attractive
these explanations

for the lake
Macdonald's structure

being a prehistoric
monument are,

without further
evidence obtained in
an independent study,

or excavation unconnected
with the Halliburton forest

and wildlife reserve limited,

such as contemporary artifacts
or signs of manmade tooling

marks on the stones, we
cannot say this for sure.

There are one or two
researchers who have linked

the underwater structure
at lake Macdonald

to a mysterious monument
known as Canada's Stonehenge.

This would make the lake
Macdonald prehistoric structure

later in date, say
around 3000 BC,

though, still
unique to the area.

In his 2008 book
"Canada's Stonehenge:

Astounding archeological
discoveries

in Canada, England and Wales,"
author Gordon R. Freeman

puts forward the theory
that the ancient structure

is a prehistoric calendar.

A summary of the book on
Freeman's website states,

the discovery of a 5,000
year-old sun temple

and an ancient time machine.

Stone age calendar in
Canada, led scientist

Gordon Freeman to groundbreaking
discoveries in Stonehenge.

During field work and
research from 1986 to 2006,

Freeman found
striking similarities

between the surface
geometry of the two sites.

These similarities push
back the boundaries

of written history and have
far-reaching implications

for North American
and European history.

Could the same mysterious
ancient cultures

have built Canada's Stonehenge

and the lake
Macdonald structure?

Perhaps they were both
related to ancient,

astronomical observations?

Freeman describes what he
discovered at the ancient site

of Canada's Stonehenge
located in Vulcan County,

Alberta in his book,

"I had found an amazingly
accurate year-round calendar

in this sun temple
marked with rock lines,

pointing to sunrises, and
sets at critical dates.

I later learned of arguments
going on, mainly negative,

about whether Stonehenge
contained marked

observation lines to the
summer solstice sunrise,

and the winter solstice sunset.

By applying what I had
learned in Alberta,

to observing sunrises and
sets through Stonehenge,

I found that an accurate
entire year-round calendar

exists in Stonehenge."

The term "Canada's Stonehenge"
refers to the monument

known by archeologists
and historians

as Majorville medicine wheel.

Draw between 70 and 150 native
American stone structures

known as medicine
wheels spread over

the northern United States
and Southern Canada.

Though each individual
structure is unique,

the shape of the most common
type of medicine wheel

resembles that of a wagon
wheel lying on its side

with the central can, from
which lines of cobblestone

radiate outwards to a
surrounding ring of stones.

The diameter of medicine wheels,

as well as the number and
length of their spokes varies.

The largest so far
discovered has a diameter

of around 80 feet.

Occasionally, there
will be a break

in the outer stone circle

to allow a stone pathway
or entrance into the center

of the structure,

and sometimes one of the
spokes can be considerably

longer than the others, perhaps
signifying the importance

of the direction in
which it's pointing.

The dates of these medicine
wheels also vary considerably.

But it is acknowledged that
the oldest so far investigated

is the Majorville
medicine wheel,

which was started
around 5,500 years ago.

There was no doubt that
wheel may have served

some astronomical function,

but it is more probable that
this would have been part

of a wider ritual use perhaps
involving hunting magic

or Buffalo fertility.

This is not to say that
native Americans were not

sophisticated enough
to build observatories.

Far from it, but in
one sense to state

that the Majorville medicine
wheel was built only

to make complex
astronomical calculations

is to apply modern Western ideas

from a 21st century
technology-dominated era

back into the past.

This explanation
reflects our own concerns

with timekeeping, calendars,
computers, and space.

Not necessarily those
of the native Americans

who built and used
Canada's Stonehenge.

[intense music]

In the 1820s, England
medical doctor

and paleontologist
Gideon Algernon Mantell,

discovered some of the first
dinosaur fossils ever recorded.

But inside the
millions of years,

old deposits of chalk and flint,

he also claimed to
have discovered coins

and other antiquities.

Is his account to be trusted?

If so, how did they get there?

Gideon Algernon Mantell
and dinosaur fossils.

Physician, geologist,
and paleontologist,

Gideon Algernon Mantell
was born in Sussex, England

on the 3rd of February,
1790, the son of a shoemaker.

Mantell studied
medicine in London,

but in 1811 returned to Sussex

where he became a
successful surgeon.

But from an early age, his
passion had been geology,

and he developed an
interest and passion

for the various types of
fossils that could be found

in the chalk quarries in the
countryside near his home.

He practiced from his
house in Castle Place,

and at the same time made
significant discoveries

in the field and began
to build up a collection

of what became known as
his, "Mantellian museum."

When he started digging fossils,

all the known fossils
assemblages from
Cretaceous England,

a geological period that lasted

from about 145 to 66
million years ago,

where marine.

but Mantell discovered
the remains of terrestrial

and freshwater
ecosystems that he named,

"The strata of the
Tilgate forest."

As early as 1820, he
had begun to find bones

of gigantic animals, and at
that time also discovered

a strange fossilized tooth,

unlike anything he'd
ever seen before,

but perhaps belonging
to a huge herbivore.

One day, the animal
associated with this unusual

odd-tooth would prove to be
among his greatest contributions

to science.

But at first, the scientific
community rejected

his ideas about being
from an unknown species.

French zoologist and
statesman, George Cuvier,

who established the science
of comparative anatomy

and paleontology, thought
it belonged to a rhinoceros.

Although the great
Cuvier's dismissal

was difficult to
accept for Mantell,

he persisted and sent
Cuvier more teeth,

eventually persuading
him to reconsider

his earlier decision.

Cuvier wrote Mantell a letter,

confirming his
support of his idea,

which Mantel proudly presented

at the Geological
Society's next meetings.

In the words of Mantell's
biographer, Dennis Dean,

"What a pleasure it
must have been for him

to confront his former critics,

who, more than
two years earlier,

had sneered at his
epoch-making fossils

and rather openly at himself,

the non-university son of
an unlettered shoemaker.

Now, all that was changed
for Gideon had done more

than win Cuvier's
sanction or approval.

Almost single-handedly, and
despite the virtual unanimous

disapproval of his most
esteemed colleagues,

he had persuaded
the French authority

to change his mind,
yet, so graciously

that Cuvier had willingly
recanted in public."

The fossil teeth belonged
to an animal that Mantell

called the Iguanodon,

which he realized was
an extinct colossal

herbivorous reptile,

and until his discovery,
completely unknown to science.

However, it was not until 1842,

that it was first recognized
as a new type of animal,

a dinosaur.

It was reconstructed
in a life-sized model

together with models
of other dinosaurs

in the grounds of
the Crystal Palace

in south London in 1854.

The Crystal Palace was a cast
iron and plate glass structure

originally built in Hyde
Park, London to house

the Great Exhibition of 1851.

In 1833, Mantell moved
his family to Brighton

where his medical practice
failed to such a degree

that the town council allowed
him to turn his big house

into a public museum,
showcasing his extraordinary

discoveries.

Admission cost to shilling,

in those days around
half a day's wages

for a laborer or servant.

Algernon Mantel wrote many
books throughout his life,

and was a respected member
of the Geological Society

of London, of which he became
vice president in 1848.

In 1835, he was awarded
its highest honor,

The Wollaston Medal, the
only person in its history

to receive it.

Mantel was elected a fellow
of the Royal society in 1825

and received a
Royal medal in 1849.

Mantell also kept a
regular journal from 1818

until the days before
his death in 1852.

Half of this journal
has been published,

whilst the remaining available
in typed transcripts.

Mantell's first and
most important book

published in 1822 was, "The
Fossils of the South Downs,

or illustrations of
the Geology of Sussex."

This work is now known
mainly for the large number

of fossils, almost all of
which were invertebrates

from the Cretaceous
and tertiary strata.

But particularly from the chalk

that Mantell described
and illustrated.

A great number of new
species named by him,

and now familiar
to paleontologists
all over the world.

Out of place artifacts.

In "The Fossils of the
South Downs," Mantell makes

an extra ordinary statement
about finding manmade artifacts

in ancient flint nodules
found in the chalk deposit,

as well as similarly
extraordinary finds
from elsewhere.

He says, "I cannot refrain
from mentioning in this place,

the extraordinary
circumstances of coins

and other antiquities having
been found enclosed in them.

Mr. Knight Spencer,
in a letter published,

in Bakewell's
Introduction to Geology,

relates the following
interesting story.

In 1791, 200 yards north
of the ramparts of Hamburgh

in a sandy soil, M. Lieskey
of the city picked up a flint,

and knocking it against
another, broke it in two.

In the center of the fracture,

he observed an
ancient brass pin,

and picking up the other half,

he found the corresponding
mold of the pin, so laid bare."

Mantell goes on to
quote another example

of the discovery
of manmade objects,

where they should not have been.

This time taken from an issue

of the gentleman's
magazine from the 1700s,

where mentioned was made
of an ancient brass key,

having been found in a block
of chalk at Guilford in Surrey.

What can possibly be the
explanation for these

extraordinary finds?

The presence of such coins
and other manmade artifacts

embedded in what
appeared to be rock,

laid down millions of years ago,

has suggested to some people
that there's a problem

with the way in which
archeological dating
has carried out.

The subject of artifacts
found in context

that are way out of sync
with the accepted chronology

of human history, known as
"Out of place artifacts,'

has always been a
controversial one.

Some researchers insist that
at various times in prehistory,

we've reached a high
level of civilization,

only for it to be
subsequently destroyed

without a trace by natural
or manmade catastrophes.

These outer place artifacts
are apparently the evidence

for advanced civilizations
existing in remote antiquity.

However, all is not as it seems.

At least with
Mantell's examples.

As regards his own finds
inside the flint nodules,

he adds in his book,
that it may be considered

as decisive of the
comparatively recent formation

of flint in certain situations.

Of the find mentioned in the
gentleman's magazine, he says,

that inquiries into the account

proved to be too apocryphal
to be worthy of credit.

Mantell returns to the
subject of such apparently

out-of-place artifacts
in an article

entitled "On the remains
of man and works of art

embedded in rocks and
strata," published

in the Archeological Journal
volume seven in 1850.

In this work, he states
a number of examples

of ancient manmade objects
being encased in rock,

and says that they
could all be explained

by natural geological processes.

In one example, which
he quotes, he says,

"During my early
attempts to investigate

the geological structure of
the southeast of England,

I one day received a note
from a South Down farmer,

informing me of the discovery
of a large iron nail

in the center of flint, which
he had accidentally broken.

I immediately rode a
distance of some 20 miles

to inspect this
wonderful curiosity,

and was not a little
surprised to find

my correspondent's statement
apparently borne out.

For he placed in my
hands, a large roll stone,

closely resembling externally,

the usual flint boulders
of the plowed lands

of chalk districts,

and which had been
split down the middle.

On one side was embedded
a large iron nail,

and deeply impressed on
the opposite surface,

the corresponding mold.

The slight inspection detected
the nature of this specimen.

It was not a flint, but an
aggregation of fine silica sand

that had been converted
into compact sandstone

by a solution of iron
derived from the nail,

which had served as
a nucleus to the sand

that had gradually
accumulated around it.

The facts described by Cohen
and Knight doubtless admits

of the same explanation, the
narrators having mistaken

a sandstone and modern formation
for a genuine flint nodule.

When residing at Brighton,
I obtained many specimens

of recent ironstone from the
fishermen who drenched them up

from the Bristol channel.

Cannonballs, horseshoes,
nails, chains,

fragments of bolts,
bars, anchors, and so on,

formed in the nuclei
of these masses.

Some of which were
exceedingly interesting

from the variety of
shells, zoophytes,

and other marine productions,

promiscuously impacted in
the same block of stone."

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