All language subtitles for Mysteries.from.Above.S03E04.1080p.WEB.h264-BAWD_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: Cutting-edge technology

unearths a secret
in the Peruvian desert.

- I don't know of anywhere on Earth,
that looks like this.

NARRATOR: Drone footage reveals the
truth about an ancient Arabian city.

- It's breathtaking.

NARRATOR: Cryptic rings of a giant's
wheel staring up from the ground.

- It's kind of like a maze,
which only makes it more mysterious.

NARRATOR: And headless stone gods
in the mountains of the Middle East.

- This is a place not short
on mysteries. It's incredible!

NARRATOR:
Everywhere we look on our planet,

there's evidence of the past.

NARRATOR: In nature...

in buildings...

in relics.

NARRATOR: Each holds a mystery

that technology
now allows us to see from above.

What new secrets are revealed?

Across the globe lie countless

magnificent and mysterious
ancient structures...

..each one holding
long-hidden secrets

that can only be uncovered
by a view from above.

To the west
of Peru's Andes mountains

is one of the driest regions
on Earth -

a land that has remained virtually
unchanged for millions of years.

Here,
around 14km from the Pacific coast,

drone footage reveals a bizarre
ridgeline

carved into the mountain landscape.

- What are we seeing here?
- It looks like there's a hill

and what appears to be the scales
of a dragon along its back,

as if one were buried there,
with its treasure, perhaps.

- I've never seen anything like
this. What is this place?

NARRATOR: This massive hilltop
structure is known as Chankillo.

And this uncanny site
has been a mystery for centuries.

- Chankillo is several hectares
in size.

Chankillo contains several
monumental human constructions

that are spread out
over this deserted landscape.

Part of it is a huge construction
known as the Fortified Temple.

It's a fortification
that contains and protects a temple

that is probably devoted
to the cult of the sun.

But the area of Chankillo
is clearly defined by the 13 towers.

NARRATOR: These strange towers
loom above Chankillo,

arranged in a perfect line
from north to south.

- Why are you erecting
a series of towers

along the top of a hill
in the middle of a desert?

- Are the 13 towers
part of an elaborate defence -

maybe observation posts
or watch towers?

NARRATOR: Perhaps a clue
can be found 13,000km away

in the Judean Desert
of southern Israel.

WOMAN: Here,
the legendary fortress of Masada

looms high above the Dead Sea.

This isolated rocky bastion

witnessed the defiant final stand

of survivors of the Jewish revolt
against Roman rule

after the fall of Jerusalem in 70CE.

- When we look at Masada

what we see are some unmistakable
similarities to Chankillo.

- Both sites are on high ground.

YATES-ORR: But Chankillo is not
nearly as dramatically constructed.

Whereas the edges of Masada
deliver a more natural fortress

with steep mountain slopes
that make it virtually unassailable.

- At the Chankillo complex there are
no signs of turrets or battlements.

- Architecturally,

these towers don't look like
they were built for defence.

NARRATOR: If these ruins aren't
the remains of an ancient fortress,

what else could they be?

- My initial interest in Chankillo

was to study the origins of warfare
in the Andean pre-Hispanic world.

But I also found, in the literature
of the 19th century

travellers and explorers,

a mention of the number of towers -

13 - as a clue into a
possible astronomical function.

- The rising and setting of the sun,
the solstices, phases of the moon

and the position of
particular stars and constellations

have been used
in all ancient civilizations

to determine seasons, months
and years.

- Wherever we take a closer
look at ancient sacred structures,

what we often discover
is that in every culture,

people are preoccupied

with measuring and recording
the passage of time.

NARRATOR:
Ancient time-keeping structures

have been discovered
all over the world.

And there may be a clue
at one of the oldest of these sites

10,000km away
in Crathes, Scotland.

- The Warren Field timber hall is
an impressive archaeological site

associated with the earliest farmers
in northern Britain.

A total of 12 pits
were revealed here.

- The pit groups' relative sizes
and distinctive shapes

are highly suggestive
of the lunar phases.

- Archaeologists were able
to prove that the pit alignment

was developed
to mirror the phases of the moon,

passing from one to the next
along the alignment.

- Could this be what's happening
in Chankillo?

- We needed to research
the possibility

that these were horizon markers.

That these were the lines of a ruler

built on the sky
to keep track of the sun.

- For that to work,

you need to position something
like the towers

along the arc that the sun
describes on the horizon.

But you also need to determine
a fixed point on the ground.

We hypothesized
that this was the observing point.

Let's imagine
this is the astronomer's chair,

where he or she sits
and looks through the telescope

to study astronomical phenomena.

This relatively narrow corridor

is actually leading
to a particular point

where you can see the 13 towers

in their most magnificent
presentation.

This wall,
even though right now on the surface

you cannot see all of it,

when excavated it continues...

,,up to this point
forming a narrow threshold.

This turned out to be
a very, very special place.

Even if you are two metres
behind the threshold...

..you will not see
the full 13 towers.

I like to think of it
as the focus mechanism in a lens.

Only when you are
in the right position,

does the picture come into focus.

Here, just as well, only when
you are at the right position,

do you have an unobstructed
view of the 13 towers.

NARRATOR: At one end of the line
stands a tower

that marks the June solstice.

And, at the other end,
another marks the December solstice.

A space between the two
middle towers marks the equinox.

Every tower in between
marks a date.

GHEZZI: We have estimated that you
can determine any day of the year

with a precision of one or two days.

So it's really an amazing
device that is highly precise,

especially in the context of a
society without a writing system.

While there is a west observing
point where we are right now...

..we hypothesized
there must have been,

on the other side of the towers,
an equal building

containing an east observing point.
But we had to prove it.

- Finding this
eastern observation point

is the crucial piece to proving
how this amazing calendar worked.

- If Ivan's theory is correct,

the 13 towers not only tell
the time of day at sunrise

but will also be able to do
the exact same thing at sunset.

- That would make this the most
sophisticated solar calendar

on the planet.

- But in the four square kilometres

of windswept rock outcrops
and sand ramps

it was like looking for
the proverbial needle in a haystack.

NARRATOR: In order to crack
this centuries-old case,

researchers turn to
a high-tech view from above.

- This is a thermal camera,
not a normal optical camera,

so the sensor
is actually reading temperature.

Chankillo is a place where most
of the archaeological features

are very close to the surface.

But when they're buried, we cannot
see them with normal drones.

(drone whirs)

Infrared technology
takes advantage of the fact

that these materials
that are buried under the surface

absorb solar radiation
during the day

and emit this radiation
at different temperatures at night.

So we come here with this drone
at night

and we can take pictures
that are actually

thermal images of what's going on

and we can see it
in the form of a map.

NARRATOR: What will this
cutting-edge view from above

uncover about this
2,000-year-old mystery?

- When flying the drone
armed with an infrared sensor

over the area where we expected
the east observing point to be...

..we were able to see
this small structure.

There's absolutely nothing else

except
this relatively small platform

leading us to conclude that,
yes, it is an observing point.

It was really
like a eureka moment for us.

It was a very exciting moment
of celebration.

We kept coming at night,

for sunset, for sunrise,
to recreate that sense of discovery.

Without the view from above

it would have been nearly impossible

to prove convincingly that this
was an east observing point.

- This eastern observation point

proves the ancients
tracked the movement of the sun

as it passed over the towers from
the east as well as from the west.

Observing the towers from both ends

meant they could tell time
at sunrise and at sunset.

- One of the things
that amazes me about Chankillo

is that we are experiencing exactly
the same astronomical phenomena,

the same alignment
that people designed to watch.

And that is incredible.

I feel like I'm being transported
into the past 2300 years

by seeing exactly the same
magical phenomenon

that occurs here every day.

- Truly a masterwork that could only
be fully appreciated from the air

and a mystery that could have only
been solved with a view from above.

NARRATOR:
From sun-baked rock to arid sands,

ancient structures rise in remote
and unforgiving landscapes.

On the parched desert plains
of north-western Saudi Arabia...

..a majestic monolith rises from
a lonesome outcrop of sandstone.

This strange edifice rises
a stunning 23 metres high.

- It sort of looks like
a massive, grand house.

- Could the monolith
actually be a sandstone dwelling?

NARRATOR: Perhaps
a clue lies 12,000km away,

nestled in the Colorado Cliffs
of Mesa Verde.

- Mesa Verde
has over 600 Puebloan abodes

built into natural
sandstone alcoves.

- Many of these homes
have multiple rooms

and some structures are large
enough to house at least 150 people.

- There are over 4,000
archaeological sites

weaved into the landscape,

from small villages, to longhouses.

And there's even a palace
built into the cliff.

AGRAWAL: But this monolith
is completely standalone.

There doesn't appear to be
any immediate neighbours

like you can see with a lot
of the dwellings at Mesa Verde.

HOFFMAN: It seems so strange
for someone to build a big house

with no windows and one door in
the middle of the desert by itself.

NARRATOR: This mysterious
monolith on the Arabian plains

is known locally as Qasr al-Farid.

- From Arabic to English, this
translates to the Lonely Castle.

- The exterior is fabulous

but it doesn't seem
to have the same attributes

found at other Arabian castles
in this region.

- It's not built on a slope
and there are no artillery walls

or towers.

- There are rough, unfinished
chisel marks on the lower third,

which makes me think that it was
actually carved from the top down.

- Which is really odd
because castles, lonely or not,

normally start life
from a firm foundation

and are forged from the bottom up.

- I'm really not convinced
that this is a literal castle.

NARRATOR: The Lonely Castle
is indeed not what it seems.

Undisturbed for almost 2,000 years,

it's a sandstone sculpted
burial tomb.

NARDI: It's a huge tomb.

Was this built for someone extremely
prominent in the ancient world?

- The tomb was apparently paid for
by a decorated general

who died in battle
before it was finished.

But I don't think
he's even buried here.

- Usually tombs like this
aren't solo,

they're the centrepiece
in a bigger complex

to show off the deceased's
wealth and social status.

- Is there more to uncover here?

NARRATOR: To find an answer, we
search with a vast view from above

and discover the lonely castle is
not as lonely as we first thought.

- It appears so isolated

but it's actually the largest
of over a hundred tombs.

- There's over
ten square kilometres of desert

with numerous buildings
hand-carved into giant boulders.

- There seem to be
clusters of necropolises

disguised by the natural landscape.

NARRATOR: This is
the Al-Hijr Archaeological Site,

also known as Hegra.

- What I really want to know
about Hegra is this -

who is inside all of these tombs?

- All the tombs vary in size, from
one small room to larger chambers.

Some are easily accessible,

but others you have
to brace yourself to climb into.

- I would imagine the bigger tombs
can hold numerous graves,

depending on the status
and size of a family.

NARRATOR:
Perhaps a closer view from above

can reveal clues
as to who's inside these tombs.

- They're each decorated
differently with crowsteps, eagles,

intricate figures,
snakes and sphinxes.

Sphinxes? Those are
those mythical hybrid creatures

that you mostly get
in Ancient Egypt.

- Is it possible
that pharaohs were entombed

all the way over here
in Saudi Arabia?

- I don't think so.

Pharaohs were typically buried
in pyramidal shrines.

- And don't rock-carved
Egyptian temples

typically
heavily feature

Osirian pillars and hieroglyphs?

We're not seeing those here.

- On some tombs, you can find the
monstrous face of the Gorgon Medusa.

I'm pretty sure that's
the calling card of the Greeks.

- Don't you think the columns
look quite Romanesque?

- There's obviously
a mix of influences -

from Greek to Roman and Egyptian.

- Could all of these people
be buried here?

- It's not impossible
but I'm more inclined to suggest

that these motifs
were just borrowed by someone else.

NARRATOR: A closer look
at the decorations on the tombs,

reveals even more clues.

- More than 50 facades
have inscriptions or petroglyphs

etched into the rock.

- Can these writings tell us
exactly who's buried here?

They might, but how are we
going to translate the language?

NARRATOR:
Perhaps a key to this cipher

can be found only 14km away

on mount Jabal Ikmah.

- Jabal Ikmah is considered
a crossroad of civilizations.

- This mountain
contains around 450 inscriptions,

writings and drawings
on its rocky cliffs.

- There are messages from
several kingdoms still set in stone.

- It's an unprecedented collection

of the region's
most ancient languages,

which we can use
as a sort of open reference library.

NARRATOR: Like Jabal Ikmah,

the monumental tombs at Hegra
feature early Arabic dialects

but also Latin and Greek.

- It's such an assortment of prose,

it seems impossible to know
who used this necropolis.

NARRATOR: Perhaps what
is needed to solve this mystery

is not a view from above
but a view from within.

NARRATOR: In 2008,
archaeologists excavating the tombs

found crucial clues - human bones
buried with impressive artifacts.

- The people entombed
here were definitely elite.

The expensive treasures
buried with them include coins,

bronze bracelets, rings,
necklaces and glass beads.

- And there are also commodities
like combs, cosmetic tubes

and embroidered handkerchiefs.

- Organic material and textiles
found on the bones

show the bodies were carefully
covered with a mixture

of fats and resins from
incense-bearing trees and shrubs.

- Wasn't it the Egyptians
who famously use resin

in their funerary rites?
- They did.

But so did the Romans.
And the Greeks.

It was a typical ancient burial
practice for important people.

- That gives us the usual suspects
but no actual answers.

- This is somewhat blowing me away.
I mean, who on earth do these bones,

wrapped up in leather and slathered
in balm, actually belong to?

- To our surprise, most of
the remains uncovered at Hegra

are dated from the ancient Nabataean
Kingdom from the 1st Century CE.

NARRATOR: The Nabataeans
were a nomadic tribe

who brought considerable wealth and
influence across the ancient world.

But the discovery of their remains
here, at Hegra,

raises more questions than answers.

- How did they get here?

I mean, the Nabataeans aren't known
to have originated from this area.

- Why would they be entombed
that far from home?

NARRATOR: Perhaps the answer
to this desert riddle

lies 450km away in Jordan,

home to the once mighty capital
of the Nabataean Empire,

the ancient city of Petra.

- The remains of Petra in Jordan
feature royal Nabataean tombs,

obelisks, temples,
palaces and sacrificial sites.

- You've got houses, you've got
streets, you've got an amphitheatre,

you've got a monastery,
and even a treasury.

NARRATOR:
Petra is one of the world's

most spectacular
archaeological sites -

a massive, ancient city made of more
than 500 ornate buildings and tombs.

- All so skilfully engineered
into sandstone...

just like the tombs at Hegra.

- Does that mean it's possible Hegra
isn't just a necropolis?

NARRATOR:
Could the Nabataeans have built

a second, giant city in the desert?

- Was Hegra actually once
a bustling metropolis?

NARRATOR: Answers to this mystery
may be revealed

by another view from above

over the ancient Nabataean capital
of Petra.

- These two Nabatean wonders
are both carved from sandstone

with similar designs, decorations

and both are home
to hundreds of tombs.

NARRATOR: Could Hegra and Petra
have been sister cities?

And what histories could these
two stunning sites have in common?

- We know
that the Nabataeans at Petra

were really prolific wheeler dealers

and they were trading
spices and silk

with China, India, Rome and Egypt.

NARRATOR: Petra was a thriving
trading hub on the Incense Route,

a network extending
over 2,000km

that allowed traders
to transport goods

from the Near East
across the Arabian Peninsula

to the Mediterranean.

- So, you've got to ask yourself,
if Hegra was Petra's sister city,

was it also an important pitstop
on the famed Incense Route?

- Yes.
Hegra was a crossroads of commerce,

perfectly situated where
the north-south Incense Route

intersected with other inland
trade routes.

- Hegra was an important stop

for traders
crossing the Arabian Peninsula

carrying frankincense, spices and
luxury goods from Yemen and India.

- Which likely explains many
of the borrowed cultural influences

found at Hegra - people from all
walks of life came through here

and inspired the Nabataeans.

- But why did life at Hegra end?

- The Nabataeans were basically
eventually forgotten

after the Roman emperor Trajan
conquered them in 106 CE.

- The archaeological remains
were never reused or restored.

NARRATION: And Hegra's legacy
faded into the desert.

- There's no doubt that Hegra

is among the best-preserved
archaeological areas in the region.

- And, amazingly,
in over 2,000 years

it hasn't been impacted by any
urban or industrial development.

- Meaning what's left here at Hegra

is probably one of the most reliable
representations

of the Nabataean civilization
in the entire world.

NARRATOR: An incredible testament to
the past best discovered from above.

NARRATOR: From giant mysteries
carved by ancient civilizations

to cryptic mountaintop formations,

the view from above
reveals centuries-old secrets.

Atop the militarized zone
of the Golan Heights

between Israel and Syria

lies a part of the world
that is home

to the oldest traces
of human history.

- This part of the world has been
at the crossroads of human history

since before the first words
were ever written down.

NARRATOR:
Here the view from above

reveals one of the strangest sights
in the entire Middle East...

..a giant spoked wheel
made from piles of stone.

- This place is massive. You can't
take it in from a human height.

There are no hills around,
there are no mountains.

So, whoever built it, they couldn't
actually see these circles.

- So, how did they construct it
in such a picture-perfect radius?

And who did they do it for?
What is the purpose of this place?

- In a land steeped in history,
it could be just about anything.

NARRATOR: In Arabic,
it is called Rujm el-Hiri,

meaning the
"stone heap of the wild cat."

In Hebrew,
it is named Gilgal Refaim,

a reference to a race of giants
in the Bible.

For others, it is simply called
the Giant's Wheel.

- Sitting in plain sight
but unnoticed for centuries,

it wasn't until after
the Six Day War of 1967

that the Golan
was surveyed by archaeologists

and this structure was spotted
by Israeli aerial reconnaissance.

NARRATOR: From above we see
that this mysterious structure

consists of a large circle of rocks,

containing four smaller
concentric circles,

each progressively thinner
and some incomplete.

Between the circular walls
are interconnecting radial walls,

creating the shape of a wheel.

- So, what is this thing?

- That's a question
historians, archaeologists

and other experts
have been asking for years.

No other structure like it
has been found in the Near East.

- When I see the full layout
from above,

it reminds me of one thing
in particular and that's castles.

Actually, concentric castles
if I'm going to be exact.

- This is the holy land, after all,
and the crusaders brought

a whole new level of fortresses
to the region.

- Is this what we're seeing?

The ruins of a once mighty
Christian stronghold?

- Well,
the location is certainly on-point.

For centuries, European powers
clashed with Muslims

for control of holy sites
considered sacred by both groups.

And present-day Israel
was in the middle of it all.

NARRATOR: Could the Giant's Wheel

have been some kind
of crusader fortress?

NARRATOR: Roughly 40km to
the southwest lies a possible clue -

the crusader castle of Belvoir.

- Built around 1168, it is
one of the earliest known

and best preserved examples
of concentric castle design.

- The main feature of a concentric
castle is a set of circular walls.

You have this inner wall
built out of stone

with turrets positioned at intervals
and then that is all surrounded

by this equally thick but lower
stone wall on the outside.

The walls are at different levels

so the people on the inside
can shoot things out

without hitting the people
on the outside. Goes over them.

- Although Belvoir Castle
is not circular, like some others,

you can still clearly see
by its ruin's footprint

how it looks like one castle
nested inside another.

The similarity to the Giant's Wheel
is striking.

- But the walls of the Giant's Wheel
were never high enough,

even in their prime,
to give a strident defence

like you would see
in a concentric stronghold

like the one at Belvoir Castle.

- And there's no evidence of a moat
or a drawbridge.

- And the Giant's Wheel
is not situated

in a particularly strategic location

or at least not one that's very
obvious to any modern eye.

NARRATOR: And there's another
problem with the fortress theory.

- The Giant's Wheel
is very, very old.

Thought to have been built
around the year 3,500 BCE.

RISKIN: That means it's older
than the Egyptian pyramids.

That's way before the crusaders ever
got anywhere close to this land.

NARRATOR: So if the Giant's Wheel
wasn't built for defence,

what was its purpose?

- Archaeologists believe the site

could likely have been
a ritual centre of some kind,

possibly one linked
to a cult of the dead.

- We know other Neolithic circles

were built
for worshiping ancient gods

or for the commemoration
of the dearly departed,

both of whom would have been able
to see those circles from above.

YATES-ORR: Is this what we have here
in the Golan Heights?

A centre for a cult of the dead?

NARRATOR:
Roughly 550km to the north,

another ancient structure
may offer a hint.

Atop a limestone plateau

in the arid southeastern
Anatolia region of Turkey

stands the world's greatest
and oldest known megalith temple -

Gobekli Tepe.

BELLINGER: Gobekli Tepe is a complex

of more than 20
circular stone enclosures.

Archaeologists believe the sprawling
11,500-year-old site

was first used at the dawn
of the Neolithic period,

which marked the appearance of the
oldest permanent human settlements

anywhere in the world.

HOFFMAN: This is as old as history
can get.

We're talking over twice as old
as the Giant's Wheel.

NARRATOR:
Discovered in the early 1960s,

archaeologists believe
Gobekli Tepe was a sanctuary

used by widespread groups
of nomadic hunter-gatherers.

RISKIN: This site is built up
of a bunch of circular structures

supported by
these massive stone pillars.

And here's the thing -
these were crafted and arranged

by prehistoric people
who had not yet developed

metal tools or even pottery.

- The similarity
with the Giant's Wheel,

it's incredible, actually,
because you've got these

concentric rings that are connected
by these radial walls,

which are kind of like spokes,
and they're at irregular intervals.

And what they do
is to divide the circular areas

into unequal segments.

- But, unlike the Giant's Wheel,
the pillars of Gobekli Tepe

are richly decorated with
figurative anthropomorphic details

and reliefs of wild animals

providing archaeologists
with rare insights

into the particular iconography
of the period

and even prehistoric
spiritual beliefs.

- Anthropologists point to
these stone carvings

as proof of a cult of the dead,

inferring that the carved animals
are there to protect the deceased.

NARRATOR: With no such carvings
at the Giant's Wheel,

does the Gobekli Tepe
cult of the dead offer other clues?

Are there other powerful symbols
here at work?

What could the concentric
circular design mean?

- Researchers suggest that
the concentric circle design

might represent ripples
on the surface of a lake

when an object
is dropped into the water -

circular undulations that symbolise

the miraculous cycle of death
and rebirth for the ancients.

NARRATOR: Throughout history,
and even pre-history,

humans have built long-lasting
monuments to honour their dead.

- Is it possible
that the Giant's Wheel

was originally an elaborate grave?

- We know that these neolithic
tombs, called dolmans,

are formed
by getting this large slab

resting on these stone uprights

to form a kind of protected tomb.

Now, these are common throughout
Europe, the Middle East and Asia,

but these structures
are rarely constructed

in a series
of concentric rock circles

like we see on the Golan Heights.

NARRATOR: Can a closer look at the
centrepiece of the Giant's Wheel

reveal an important clue?

YATES-ORR: At the centre of
the Giant's Wheel is this chamber.

Is it possible
that it's a burial chamber?

HOFFMAN:
Despite extensive excavations,

precious few relics have been found.

To date only some bronze arrowheads,
a single pin and golden earrings.

- But, and most importantly,

no human remains have been found.

And, even more confounding,

some archaeologists have recently
claimed that the central dolmen

was built from smaller rocks

that were assembled
roughly 1,500 years

after the surrounding walls
were constructed.

- Meaning even if it were a tomb,

that may not have been
the site's original function,

as the dolmen tomb may be
over a thousand years newer

than the site itself.

- We're not only left with questions
of who the dolmen was built for,

we're not even sure it was built as
a burial chamber in the first place.

NARRATOR: Could there be
another explanation?

- When you've got so few artifacts
recovered at the site

and you've got no human remains,

maybe the Giant's Wheel
was a different type of mausoleum -

a place where the deceased
weren't actually buried

but rather were laid to rest.

- We might be left
with a rather grisly conclusion -

the Giant's Wheel
was an excarnation facility.

- What we might have here
is a sky burial.

- The bodies of the deceased
would be placed

on top of stone mounds or towers,
out in the open air,

so they could be picked clean
by vultures.

NARRATOR: Still practiced
today in remote parts of India,

China, Tibet and Mongolia,

sky burials were once popular
in the ancient Middle East.

And signs of this tradition
still stand in nearby Iran,

structures known as
Towers of Silence.

- A Tower of Silence
is a circular, raised structure

built for excarnation -

that is the exposure of human
corpses to the elements

for decomposition.

RISKIN: The Yazd Tower of Silence
in Iran is an excellent example.

This ancient circular tower still
stands but it's not used any more.

- Could this be
what we're seeing in Israel?

Is it the remains
of a sky burial platform?

- Although the practice of
excarnation was widely practiced

all throughout this region
by many different groups,

it's impossible for experts to know
if the Giant's Wheel

was intended for this purpose.

NARRATOR: Today,
the truth behind the Giant's Wheel

has yet to be uncovered.

- Someone built this huge structure.

We just don't know who or why

or exactly when or how.

- The Giant's Wheel
remains an absolute mystery

and it's one that can only be truly
appreciated when viewed from above.

NARRATOR: On the highest peak
of the Eastern Taurus mountains

in southeastern Turkey,

an ancient site
holds an eerie mystery.

- What is this place?

It looks like a mountain top

crowned with a huge pyramid.

- It's like a mountain
sitting on top of another mountain.

NARRATOR: This is Mount Nemrut,
a 2,000-metre peak

crowned by a monumental
limestone shrine,

built to honour an ancient king.

- Beneath this massive mound
of rocky fragments

is rumoured to be the final resting
place of King Antiochus I,

who ruled the ancient Commagene
kingdom in the 1st century BCE.

- And there appeared to be
giant stone carved heads...

..and some of these,
they kinda look like garden gnomes.

- These stone heads
represent King Antiochus I

and they're a deified
anthropomorphic representation

of his Commagene kingdom

and a whole kind of other assortment
of Greek and Eastern gods

with a lion and an eagle
at each end.

- The fact that King Antiochus I
commissioned sculptures of himself

alongside two lions, two eagles

and various Greek and Eastern gods

is compelling proof
of his megalomania.

- He was a ruler who thought
he was equal to the gods.

- Archaeologists have long wondered
if the good king Antiochus

does indeed lie hidden underneath
the massive stone tumulus.

Any substantial digging
is pretty much impossible

without disrupting tons of stone.

- This is a place
not short on mysteries.

I mean, how did the ancients
amass this enormous quantity

of limestone fragments?

And then how do they transport it

to the top of the mountain?
It's incredible.

And an even more
compelling mystery is...

why are these giant stone heads
here? What was their purpose?

- It certainly wouldn't be
the only place in the world

where lone giant stone heads reside.

- Could there be clues
lying with other, ancient cultures

who crafted really similar,
massive stone heads?

NARRATOR:
Perhaps a clue can be found

17,000km away on Easter Island,

home to the most famous
oversized heads in the world.

- And, to be honest, the only reason
anyone knows where Easter Island is.

- Here the Rapa Nui people
created giant heads called moai

as monuments
to honour ancestors and chiefs

whose supernatural powers were
believed to protect the community.

- Between roughly 1100 and 1650 CE,

Rapa Nui carvers create some 900

of these kind of
very minimalist sculptures,

nearly all of which
are still in situ.

BILLSON: The giant stone sculptures

commonly weigh
between 10 and 12 tons.

Their average height
is roughly 13 feet,

but some are much taller,

considerably larger
than those on Mount Nemrut.

- Contrary to common belief, the
moai are more than just giant heads

they're actually whole-body
human figures.

Their oversized heads
epitomise a sculptural trait

consistent with the Polynesian
belief in the sanctity of the head.

- As with the giant heads
on Easter Island,

could the giant heads at Nemrut
have been carved

in honour
of the spiritual power of the head?

- A view from above reveals
there's something very different

about the heads at Mount Nemrut -
and it's standing right behind them.

- The stone heads are not
solitary sculptures

but rather belong to their statutory
bodies whose bases stand nearby. -

These giant stone heads
that we see today

were actually set upright
by archaeologists decades ago

and they were once actually
connected with their stone bodies.

But, at some point, as we can see,
they've been beheaded.

- So why did these huge stone
statues lose their heads?

- One theory that deserves attention
is perhaps the simplest.

Maybe the heads of King Antiochus
and fellow gods and guardians

were just victims of wear and tear
over time?

BILLSON: This region is legendary
for its harsh environment.

The desolate windswept mountain top

is exposed
to all manners of erosion.

- Maybe they just fell over?
Gravity as they say, always wins.

- But all ten statues? And only the
heads? That seems highly unlikely.

NARRATOR: Could there be
another natural phenomenon

behind the beheading
of these giants?

(heavy rumbling)
- (panicked shrieking)

BELLINGER:
This part of the world is notorious

for its unpredictable
and catastrophic seismic activity.

Earthquakes have
devastated parts of Turkey

since the beginning
of recorded history.

NARRATOR: Much of Turkey
is located on the Anatolian plate

which is squeezed by the collision
of two other tectonic plates,

the Arabian and Eurasian.

- And Mount Nemrut
sits right in the crosshairs

of these colliding tectonic plates.

- Could previous tremors
over the past 2,000 years

be responsible for the toppling
of these stone heads?

- Although this part of Turkey is
prone to violent seismic activity,

the likelihood that all ten heads,

and only the heads, break off,
seems very improbable.

KOUROUNIS: So, what separated
these heads from their bodies?

The next theory to consider

points to the handiwork
not of Mother Nature, but of humans.

- When you have
the fall of the Roman Empire

and the fall of the Greek Empire
before it,

you get the systematic destruction

of many of their buildings
and cultural emblems.

So, the heads and limbs
of countless statues

suffered significant damage
as they were toppled.

- Fully intact statues are seldom
found, archaeologically.

AGRAWAL: Did the statues at
Mount Nemrut suffer a similar fate

through acts of vandalism?

Or perhaps looters seeking royal
treasure from the burial mound?

BELLINGER: Archaeologists are
confident the immense stony tumulus

has remained impregnable since it
was constructed two millennia ago.

So looting
probably isn't the answer.

- OK, we can't rule out centuries
of roving bands of ne'er-do-wells,

but a closer look at Nemrut

leads experts
to a really different conclusion.

NARRATOR:
An examination of the statues

reveals that they were
not carved as one piece

but were instead made of multiple
pieces assembled together.

Is it possible the heads
were designed for easy replacement?

- In Roman times,
the removal of statue heads

was sometimes
a matter of pragmatism.

Roman statue makers often created

interchangeable,
archetypal body types

to be married with separate,
highly individualised heads.

If a sculpture of a hero
or an eminent person or ruler

lost their good name or their
honour or they just simply died,

the head was easily removed
and replaced by a new hero,

a better-known person
or a new ruler.

- The heads at Nemrut were
crafted separately from the statues

so, theoretically, they could have
been replaced or even swapped out.

But weighing tons apiece

and requiring weeks,
if not months, of sculpting -

never mind the arduous task

of transporting them
to the top of a mountain -

all that seems
like a highly unlikely scenario.

- Instead, archaeologists
believe that at some point

there was a collective effort
to demolish the statues

with no heed to King Antiochus I

and his desire
for eternal recognition. Too bad.

AGRAWAL:
Historians simply don't know.

Despite King Antiochus I's
best efforts to deify himself,

maybe his own people soured on him?

That could explain why people chose

to vandalise symbols
dedicated to him.

(crowd cheers)

- We've seen parallels of this
in modern times;

from ISIS
demolishing pagan statues in Syria

to Americans tearing down
or vandalising statues

of their own
problematic historic figures.

- This policy is known as
damnatio memoriae,

a Latin phrase meaning
"condemnation of memory."

What this does
is indicate that a person

is being excluded
from official accounts.

They're being cancelled in some way.

Now that someone could be considered
a tyrant or a traitor

or some other enemy of the state

and they're being vilified
for some reason

and basically cleansed,
expunged from the collective memory.

NARRATOR: Is this what happened
to the statutes on Mount Nemrut?

- If so, what caused the turn
against Antiochus?

Archaeologists and historians

can't point to any historical record
or particular event

that may have turned the people
against the good god-king Antiochus.

- Perhaps the key to solving
the mystery is the heads themselves.

AGRAWAL: Again, we look
at ancient Romans for insight.

If a particular person was hated
after they died

the Romans would chisel away
and deface any statue of them.

- When we take a closer look
at the damage on the stone heads

we're left with one conclusion -
that damage was intentional.

BILLSON: There's a pattern to it,
particularly their noses.

When and exactly why it was done
is lost to history.

But the facial damage
was not caused by strong earthquakes

or kids pulling a prank.

it was deliberate.

- King Antiochus was a small ruler

with big ambitions
and an even bigger ego.

And that, as we know, can sometimes
rub people the wrong way.

KOUROUNIS:
Inscriptions found at the site

commanded that people
celebrate his memory for eternity.

Unfortunately, his imperial cult

didn't last for long
after his death in 38BCE.

- But his statues survived
on top of Mount Nemrut.

OK, but they were in pieces.

No-one knows for sure why
they were decapitated or who did it,

but here they lay.

BELLINGER: Inscribed on the walls
are the parting words

of the self-styled King God
Antiochus.

Warnings to those
who would harm this work.

They go something like this,

"Whosoever, whether king or emperor,

harms the gods or this monument,

may they face
all manner of catastrophe."

- It's only with a view from above,
that we can fully observe

the legacy of King Antiochus'
shrine to himself

and the mystery that surrounds it,
lying unsolved in broken stone.

NARRATOR:
From an ancient calendar carved into

a Peruvian mountain ridge...

...to a city of the dead
in the Arabian desert,

to a mysterious wheel
named for giants

and headless sentinels protecting
a once-mighty king,

all long-standing secrets best
explored from above.

Subtitles by Sky Access Services