Original subtitles

(faint electronic beep)

(thrilling music)

- [Narrator] Perched atop the remains

of a long extinct volcanic formation,

an ancient fortress rises from the ashes of a fiery past.

- How did the ancient engineers manage to construct

such an elaborate complex on a near vertical rock face?

- [Narrator] On a remote island,

stone sentinels bear silent witness to the power

of human creation.

Hewn from a foundation forged in molten rock.

- Each statue is unique,

with distinct facial features

and subtle variations in design.

- [Narrator] And an intricate Hindu temple showcases

the extraordinary vision of the architects who transformed

a volcanic canvas into a masterpiece of devotion,

blending faith and artistry of an unprecedented scale.

- The level of detail achieved by the ancient sculptures

is indeed astonishing.

- [Narrator] These monumental achievements,

born from Earth's eruptive legacy,

serve as enduring reminders of humanity's ability

to shape the raw materials of our planet's turbulent history

into awe-inspiring works of engineering.

(thrilling music)

(gentle music)

Towering 180 meters above the central plains of Sri Lanka,

the massive granite rock formation of Sigiriya stands

as a pillar of ancient engineering and artistry.

- When you first look at Sigiriya,

you're straight away in awe

because it's so hard to imagine being able to build

on top of this rock surface but also getting up there.

The fact that they had to chip away at the side

is truly amazing,

and I can't think of anything else

that's quite compared to it.

- [Narrator] The palace complex atop

the rock formation occupies approximately 1.5 hectares,

consisting of elaborate gardens, pools,

and other structures.

Its sophisticated hydraulics systems,

some still functioning today, span hundreds of meters.

- The irrigation systems are really interesting.

I'm no mechanical engineer,

but I can absolutely recognize the ingenuity behind this.

They run perpetually just gravity-fed systems

to deliver water to the most important parts.

There was so much thought put into this design

to recognize the vision of this beautiful,

lush garden and metropolis really.

- Some of the evidence we have of the use

of this palace comes from these stunning frescoes

which still survive of women bathing,

which have been known as cloud maidens or celestial nymphs.

They could also be members

of the female court or concubines.

- [Narrator] Often hailed as the Eighth Wonder of the World,

this UNESCO World Heritage Site

has inspired as much mystery and intrigue

as it has awe throughout its storied history.

- So how did this violent world give birth

to the magical Sigiriya that we see today?

How did the ancient engineers manage to construct

such an elaborate complex on a near-vertical rock face?

- [Narrator] Also known as the Lion Rock,

Sigiriya's imposing presence has long captivated visitors.

But the story behind the origins

of the colossal formation lies hidden within its stone.

- Two billion years ago,

this area was a hotbed of volcanic activity.

- Seeing the full picture requires us to step back in time

long before humans walked the Earth.

- There were no lush rainforests.

There were no ancient structures.

This was just a hotbed of fire and molten rock.

- [Narrator] As volcanoes erupt,

sometimes some of the magma doesn't make it to the surface.

Instead, it's solidifies within a volcano's throat.

This hardened magma forms what is called a plug,

essentially a giant cork of solid rock sealing the volcano.

In active volcanoes,

these plugs can act like pressure cookers.

Volcanic gases accumulate beneath the hardened magma,

causing a dangerous buildup of pressure within the volcano

and explosive eruptions.

- And then, over time,

with climate and erosion and wind and rain

that beats away at the softer stone on the outside,

essentially leaving just the plug intact.

- [Narrator] What is left today is the core

of incredibly hard granite

that has withstood the test of time.

- It's a testament to the immense forces

that shaped our planet.

This structure stands as a natural monument

to the Earth's fiery past.

- [Narrator] Once hidden within a volcano,

this awe-inspiring rock now stands proudly

as a silent witness to billions of years of Earth's history.

But the mysteries of Sigiriya extend beyond

the rock formation itself

to the remains of the grand complex on and surrounding it,

creating conflicting theories regarding its first settlers

and their ultimate purpose.

- Were the monks even the first to lay ground here?

Or does its mysterious history stretch back even further?

- This provides us with a unique window

into the evolution of a human culture in this period.

- [Narrator] Centuries ago, between 477 and 495 CE,

the rock formation was primarily used as a royal residence.

Its origins, steeped in a saga of treachery and violence.

- Historical accounts tell us that King Kashyapa came

to power through betrayal and bloodshed.

According to these stories,

although he was the eldest son of his father King Dhatusena,

he was illegitimate.

His mother was a commoner.

And so when it came time,

he was passed over for his younger brother, Moggallana.

Infuriated, King Kashyapa raised an army

and marched against his father.

His brother fled to South India.

His father was captured, and according to some accounts,

Dhatusena met a pretty gruesome end.

In one version, Kashyapa had him walled up alive.

- [Narrator] In 473 CE, Kashyapa and Migara orchestrate

a coup against Dhatusena.

Kashyapa imprisoned his father and seizes the throne.

Following this brutal seizure of power,

King Kashyapa seeks an impregnable stronghold

to protect himself.

Fearing retribution from his brother Moggallana,

who had fled to India,

Kashyapa looked for a more secure location for his capital,

but where?

Drawing inspiration from Alakamanda,

a mythical celestial city of Buddhist lore,

Kashyapa envisions his grand new capital

and royal residence atop Sigiriya's lofty heights.

- Kashyapa has managed to get himself on the throne.

He's still in a weakened position.

He needs to make a symbolic gesture that shows his power

and his longevity.

This huge, massive stone column rising out of the jungle

provides the perfect basis for a defensible fortress,

and it offers an opportunity for Kashyapa

to project his power and might to everyone around.

- [Narrator] But further analysis challenges the idea

that Kashyapa is the original settler of this area,

suggesting that its history predates the King

by at least centuries.

Evidence suggests this site was originally

a Buddhist monastery,

possibly dating back to the third century BCE.

- Sigiriya obviously had these pre-histories

even before King Kashyapa decided

to build his own palace there, and one of them was monastic.

One of the elements that we find resonating across cultures

is the idea of being of height and divinity.

So, in that sense, I think it would have been

a perfect choice for a monastic community

to build a community

that would be both ascending spiritually, but also isolated.

- [Narrator] Modern archeology reveals curious features

that don't align with the image

of a fifth century royal residence.

Surrounding Sigiriya are numerous rock shelters and caves,

their entrances bearing distinctive carved features.

- Sigiriya has the other attribute

that would have lent itself to a ritual site.

It's very clear there was a long tradition

of using this space for living,

but also for ritual purposes.

- The shelters were created under large boulders

with carved trip ledges.

- [Narrator] This seems to suggest long term habitation,

which leads to the question:

Who were these early inhabitants?

A closer examination of these caves

reveals ancient inscriptions nearby;

inscriptions dating back to the third

and first centuries BCE,

record donations to these shelters to Buddhist monks.

- This is the first real piece of evidence

that its history stretches far beyond its time

as a royal palace.

- [Narrator] A historical record

of the monarchs of Sri Lanka also describes the area

as a large forest, before King Kashyapa transforms it.

- But were the monks even the first to lay ground here,

or does Sigiriya's mysterious history

stretch back even further?

- [Narrator] Excavations at the Aligala Rock Shelter uncover

the earliest traces of human occupation at the site,

revealing a story

of human activity stretching back millennia.

- The remnants include modest personal items,

so not in line with the lavish trappings

of a royal lifestyle.

- We know historically,

going back to Neolithic and even Mesolithic times,

that the use of caves had served ritual purposes.

And archeologists and other scholars are convinced

that there are a lot of reasons for this,

including the fact that its natural properties lend it

to the mysterious, darkness pierced by light periodically.

The fact that it can be an entrance

that can seem to be a passageway, perhaps to an underworld.

- [Narrator] The discoveries paint a vivid picture

of prehistoric life.

- We find evidence of the manipulation

of the stone in there.

So, for example, they created water channels

so that water could recede naturally.

So all of this tells us that the caves were one of the ways

in which local people adapted to the environment

in order to have a thriving social life,

as well as an economic life.

- [Narrator] But one of the most groundbreaking discoveries

at Aligala is evidence of early iron production,

dating back to 900 BCE.

This place is a site at a crucial juncture

in human technological development,

the transition from stone to metal tools.

- This is a unique window into the evolution

of human culture in this region over thousands of years.

- [Narrator] While prehistoric humans found shelter

in Sigiriya's caves,

it was King Kashyapa's grand vision

that would ultimately transform this natural wonder

into an architectural marvel.

How did the usurper king turn a formidable rock fortress

into one of the ancient world's

most sophisticated urban centers?

- Sigiriya stands as one of the best preserved examples

of ancient urban planning in South Asia.

- [Narrator] Its layout demonstrates a sophisticated blend

of geometric precision and adaptation

to the natural landscape.

- Its design is a masterclass

in balancing symmetry with asymmetry.

- [Narrator] At first glance,

Sigiriya's water gardens appear perfectly symmetrical

with their rectangular pools and straight pathways.

But a closer look reveals subtle asymmetries

that create harmony with the surrounding landscape.

The blend of regularity and irregularity

is a hallmark of advanced design principles.

- The design doesn't fight against the natural features

but incorporates them seamlessly.

- [Narrator] Boulders become parts of buildings,

natural depressions are turned into ponds,

and the rock itself becomes a dramatic backdrop

for the entire city.

Boasting a complex network of dams, canals, lakes,

and underground water conduits,

Sigiriya's water management system is nothing short

of revolutionary for its time.

- What was done by these ancient designers and architects

is they stored the water.

They collected it.

During the monsoon rain period,

they would collect the water on top of the rock

and store it in cisterns at the highest portions

of the rock.

So basically we have this elevated source of water

and we're storing it.

And then through a system of pipes and channels cut

into the rock,

we can then take that water to lower elevations

to our water gardens, to our pools, et cetera.

So this system is really amazing because what they did

is they relied on the elevation difference

between the cisterns and the water features

to create pressure.

- [Narrator] But while these ingenious water features serve

a practical purpose, they also hint at a more indulgent use.

- There are features of Sigiriya

which hint at a very different purpose

than simply a fortress,

that instead paint a picture of a place of beauty,

a place of luscious terraced gardens

and beautiful fountains fed by elaborate hydraulic systems,

of mirrored walls with elaborate frescoes

of half naked celestial women.

This was not your average fortress.

It was a pleasure palace.

- [Narrator] But the most striking evidence

for this theory lies on the rock wall itself.

During King Kashyapa's reign in the fifth century,

the wall was plastered and polished to such a high degree

that it created a mirror-like effect.

But why create a reflective surface on a fortress wall?

On the rock face opposite the Mirror Wall,

artwork lends further credence to the suggestion of Sigiriya

as a sanctuary of indulgence.

- It takes us into their minds,

into their systems of values.

It gives us a sense of their personalities.

And so in that sense,

they are extraordinarily valuable windows into the past.

- [Narrator] These frescoes depict dozens of female figures,

often referred to as cloud maidens or celestial nymphs.

These paintings are remarkable,

not just for their artistic quality,

but for their subject matter,

which has also been a subject for debate.

Some argue these women represent Apsaras,

celestial beings in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.

Others suggest they are portraits of women

from King Kashyapa's court or harem.

- The sensual nature of these frescoes does align

with the theory that this was some type of pleasure palace.

- [Narrator] However, it is important to note

that religious art in South Asia

often incorporates sensual imagery,

so these frescoes don't necessarily indicate

a purely secular purpose.

While Sigiriya's Mirror Wall may have been intended

to reflect the stunning frescoes,

it would unexpectedly become a canvas in its own right,

preserving a trove of information on Sigiriya's rich past.

(gentle music)

Beginning in the early seventh century,

visitors to Sigiriya leave their mark on this wall

in the form of graffiti.

Over 1,800 pieces of prose or poetry

have now been identified,

offering a fascinating glimpse into the minds

of ancient travelers.

- Graffiti is just one of those delightful encounters

with the past,

which scholars find in many different contexts.

- [Narrator] Many showcase a high literacy level

and a deep appreciation for art and poetry.

And these writings also confirm that Sigiriya was indeed

the residence of King Kashyapa.

- And what it does is bring you to the individuals

who were there in different points of time.

- [Narrator] The Mirror Wall graffiti also provides insights

into the social structure of ancient Sri Lanka.

Of the 685 individuals identified through the graffiti,

there emerges a cross-section of society,

royalty, officials, clergy and even metal workers.

A dozen of these writers are women,

and many note their names and places of origin.

- The graffiti on the Mirror Wall reveals valuable insights

into Sigiriya's changing role over time.

From an archeological perspective,

coming across graffiti is a tangible moment with the past.

You're able to get a sense of individuals who walked

in the same room that you're in, and it's quite remarkable.

- [Narrator] There's a notable absence of graffiti

for about 100 years after Kashyapa's death,

suggesting the site was inaccessible during that time.

Later, it seems the Buddhist monastery

that took over the site may have allowed visitors

as a source of income,

leading to this outpouring of written expression.

So what can studies of ancient handwriting tell us

about cultural and evolutionary context?

Today, the Mirror Wall remains

a striking historical document,

reflecting not only images,

but valuable information on those who visited Sigiriya

throughout the ages.

- A wall polished to a mirror finish,

and elaborate frescoes of half-naked celestial women,

was this a fortress or a pleasure palace?

Or a little bit of both?

- Sigiriya is one of the most unique

and beautiful places I've ever visited as an archeologist.

I still cannot comprehend how you have the structure on top

of this large, secluded mass of land,

and how they were able to sculpt the natural bedrock

and then build on top of it

and create these really intricate systems.

- [Narrator] From the engineering feet

of Sigiriya's grand fortress,

an army of carved stone sentinels dot the landscape

of a remote South Pacific island,

rivaling even Sigiriya's awe-inspiring grandeur.

Poised on the windswept grasslands of Easter Island,

the somber faces of the Moai

have captivated our collective imagination for centuries,

while challenging our understanding

of an ancient civilization.

- You know, when we look at

these remarkable stone monolithic sculptures

which have such strong features,

they're compelling to look at,

and you do want to understand why they felt

that these features were so important to memorialize.

- These sculptures are massive.

The biggest one is 86 tons.

That's equivalent to seven school buses,

seven school buses, one sculpture.

That's amazing.

- Nearly 1,000 statues showcase

remarkable artistic consistency

despite being carved over a period of 500 years.

- [Narrator] With the largest standing

at an imposing ten meters tall,

the mystery surrounding these statues remain as monumental

as the Moai themselves.

And perhaps most intriguingly,

what led to the systematic toppling of these revered statues

in the years before European contact?

In the vast expanse of the South Pacific,

a tiny speck of land is known as Easter Island.

- I think, with Easter Island

the appeal is that it's so remote,

it's just so far away from what seems to feel like anything.

And the fact that you've got these amazing stone monuments

that were obviously created by an ancient civilization out

in the middle of nowhere,

is just very astounding and interesting.

- [Narrator] Formed by the eruption of three volcanoes

between 780,000 and 110,000 years ago,

Easter Island is small,

spanning about 164 square kilometers.

Also known as Rapa Nui by its indigenous inhabitants,

it is one of the most isolated inhabited places on Earth.

It sits over 3,000 kilometers from the coast of Chile,

and roughly 2,000 kilometers away from

the nearest populated island.

- How did anyone find this remote outpost,

let alone settle it?

- [Narrator] Most evidence points to Polynesian settlers

arriving sometime between 400 and 800 CE.

And some sources suggest a much later arrival,

as late as 1200 CE.

According to legend, however,

Easter Island was settled by a Polynesian chief

named Hota Matu'a,

who sailed there with his family in a double canoe.

- To get there would have been an extraordinary

and daunting journey, one has to imagine,

because they're over a thousand miles from the nearest land.

They would have had to be skilled at sailing or rowing.

They would have known the sea.

So they obviously had nautical skills

that were critical to their success.

- [Narrator] Would they be navigating thousands of miles

of open ocean,

using only the stars and currents as their guide?

Can we imagine what it would be like

to come across an island as remote as Easter Island?

The Rapa Nui, a complex society that still exists today,

grew to near 15,000 on this remote island.

They eventually gave birth to towering statues

that remain to this day, the Moai.

- The Moai are believed to represent deified ancestors,

created to honor important chiefs

or other high-ranking individuals.

- [Narrator] While many are buried up to their shoulders,

earning them the popular title of Easter Island heads,

Moai are actually full body statues.

- They were believed to embody the mana,

or the spiritual power of the person they represented.

- The Moai are some

of the world's most recognizable figures,

and essentially what they are,

are these monolithic stone structures that are carved

in the shape of people.

- [Narrator] The size and number of Moai a clan could create

and erect were seen as a display of their power and status.

Larger statues required more resources and labor,

indicating greater influence and wealth.

But where on this remote island did they come from?

Clues lie within the silent depths of an extinct volcano,

where the quarry of Rano Raraku is revealed.

The Raraku isn't just a quarry, however.

It's a time capsule slowly revealing the secrets

of Moai creation.

Discoveries here have completely revolutionized

our understanding of how these Moai came to be.

- When we take a look at the remarkable legacy of the Moai,

the fact that they are cut in a very sophisticated way,

this tells us we're dealing with a society,

which is a complex society already by this time.

- [Narrator] Excavations of this volcanic crater expose

a massive open air workshop.

Close to 400 Moai, in different stages of completion,

are found frozen in time.

- If the Moai are a representation of their culture

and the individuals coming together as a group,

then it's not surprising that they were built out of

the volcanic rock,

because that is something that is also enduring.

It built the island.

It's why the island is there.

And now they are bringing these sculptures representing

the people out of the bones of the island itself.

- [Narrator] This discovery changes our understanding

of Moai production.

It wasn't a simple assembly line.

It was a complex, multi-stage process

that evolved over time.

As archeologists dig deeper,

they uncover clues to the ingenious techniques used

by the ancient Rapa Nui sculptors.

- The Moai are pretty fascinating

because they're actually made

of relatively hard volcanic ash.

When you think of the Rapa Nui and their technologies,

they don't have metal implements.

So carving such large statues out of volcanic ash takes

an immense amount of work,

because you just don't have tools

that are gonna be very efficient.

- [Narrator] Experts uncover evidence

that the statues were carved while still attached

to the bedrock.

It appears that the sculptors would outline the Moai shape

and then carefully chip away at the surrounding stone.

Then they would separate it from the rock face

and finish the back.

The level of detail and consistency across hundreds

of statues speaks to a highly organized

and skilled workforce.

The Moai are primarily carved from tuff,

a compressed volcanic ash that is relatively soft

and easy to carve when first exposed, but hardens over time.

- This is a soft rock, which makes it easier to carve,

which helps illustrate the delicate features of the Moai,

like the elongated ears, the defined chin, the heavy brows.

- [Narrator] Further archeological research reveals

that the ancient sculptors also used three other types

of volcanic rock, basalt, red scoria, and white trachyte.

- These sculptures, when we look more closely

at how they're fabricated,

also point to larger scale economic relationships,

perhaps trading networks,

certainly sharing and organization around the movement

of certain kinds of specialized stones.

For example, the eyes were made of either coral or obsidian,

which would have had to have been carried from elsewhere.

We also find them mobilizing many different kinds of rock

in the production of it.

- [Narrator] Excavations unveil specialized tools,

including a type of chisel called toki,

used to expertly carve the stone giants.

- A team of archeologists uncovers more

than 1,500 volcanic stone basalt carving tools.

- [Narrator] The carving process

likely involved multiple stages,

including percussion flaking, pecking, and grinding.

Toki were typically ground to sharpen them.

- Finding tools, from an archeological perspective,

is probably one of the most important finds

that you can have,

because these artifacts tells a bigger story

from the perspective of the individuals

who were able to sculpt something so large and monumental

with their bare hands.

And it just goes to show that human ingenuity comes

in all shapes and sizes.

And these tools are fundamental to understanding

how the Moai were made.

- [Narrator] These discoveries led to analysis of the tools

and new insights into the society that created

the Moai statues.

The findings challenged previous theories about competition

and collapse on Easter Island,

suggesting instead a more co-operative

and sophisticated society.

The Toki are made from basalt,

quarried from various sites across the island.

But analysis of the chemical makeup of Toki reveals more

than just the tools' composition.

- These tools represent parts of a bigger story.

- [Narrator] It suggests a level of cooperation

and shared resources among different groups,

challenging long held theories

about Easter Island's history.

- It paints a picture of a people who shared knowledge

and resources and worked together on large scale projects.

- [Narrator] With the largest erected Moai weighing

a staggering 86 tons,

the monumental task of transporting these colossal statues

across kilometers of rugged terrain

would demand significant teamwork and ingenuity.

- Moving these sculptures across the island

at 78 tons a piece, it seems like an astronomical feat.

And how did they do that?

They didn't have the modern equipment that we have.

Who knows what that terrain was like?

It couldn't have been an easy task.

- [Narrator] The Moai were placed

on stone platforms called Ahu, often facing inland,

as if watching over their descendants on the island.

- The idea that the Moai were set up to protect

the people on the island comes from the way

that they're facing.

They're facing inwards,

they're facing towards the village, they're watching.

And this goes along with the fact that they're very large.

They're watching over you.

And this is a common refrain that we feel

if somebody's watching over us,

somebody looking down on us from above,

then they're there to protect or care for us.

- [Narrator] So why was protection

an important element of society?

What did they need protection from?

How prevalent was superstition in the Rapa Nui society?

- When they're facing outwards,

they're more a warrior protector.

But when they're facing inwards,

they're a protector that's a guardian

of the people who live there.

- [Narrator] Some suggest the statues were dragged

on sleds made from the island's now vanished palm trees.

- Some of the other things that they might have done

would be to roll them out on logs,

or to lever them from spot to spot.

- [Narrator] Others proposed they were moved upright

in a walking motion.

The latter theory has gained significant traction,

supported by fascinating archeological recreations.

- There's lots of theories how they might have done it.

One of the ones that's most talked about

is sort of walking these sculptures,

just pivoting them with ropes,

to move them across the island like they were walking.

Imagine seeing that?

- Dragging the entire mass of an object is very difficult

because you have a huge amount of friction with the ground.

It's very hard to move the entire object.

It's much easier to rotate the object,

because then you're not employing all of the friction

that you would have in dragging it.

So, if we take a Moai and put it on the ground,

and we rotate it upwards while pinning the bottom,

I'll actually move it up without having to move

the entire mass.

And then, again,

I pin the top and then I rotate the bottom up.

So I get this kind of walking motion

where I'm only moving about half the mass at a time

by using this walking technique to move the Moai up a hill.

- [Narrator] The idea draws further support

from Rapa Nui oral tradition.

Local legend actually states that the Moai walked

to their platforms.

This could be a metaphorical description

of the rocking/walking motion used to transport them.

The truth may involve a combination of methods adapted

to different terrains and statue sizes.

What's clear is that moving

the Moai required immense effort and planning.

The amount of labor and resources needed to create,

transport, and erect a single Moai suggest

a highly structured society with shared beliefs and goals.

So why did the Rapa Nui invest so much effort

into this practice?

By the time the Europeans first arrived

on Easter Island in 1722,

they found a decimated population and many Moai toppled.

For centuries, the creation of the Moai was central

to Rapa Nui culture,

but sometime in the 18th century this practice came

to an end.

- What happened to the society?

How did a culture capable

of such monumental achievements seemingly collapse?

- [Narrator] By 1868, all of the Moai had been toppled.

The reasons behind this shift,

and the alleged collapse of the Rapa Nui society,

have been the subject of intense debate.

Traditionally, many scholars believed in a narrative

of ecological collapse.

This theory suggested

that the Rapa Nui people overexploited their resources,

leading to deforestation, warfare, and population decline.

Recent research paints a new picture.

- Ongoing research in the form of archeological digs

and others is suggesting that actually colonization

was the real culprit.

That we actually have a thriving society much longer

than they initially thought, right until the 18th century,

and that it was the arrival of European colonizers

that ultimately led to the devastation

of the local population.

- [Narrator] These factors, including the devastation

of the island's population,

also disrupted traditional practices,

including Moai construction.

What was once seen as evidence of internal conflict

and societal collapse has now been painted as resilience

in the face of external pressure.

- When people invest so much time in constructing things

like the Moai or giant structures,

it really says it has to be very important to them

and a central feature of their culture.

- [Narrator] While some may have fallen due

to natural causes like earthquakes,

many were likely deliberately toppled during

the turmoil following European contact.

Rather than self-inflicted ecological disaster,

the changes in Rapa Nui society appear to be the result

of colonial impact.

The Rapa Nui people,

facing new threats and cultural upheaval,

may have turned against these symbols

of their traditional beliefs.

Nestled within the Ellora caves of Maharashtra, India lies

a Hindu temple also carved from volcanic rock,

but on a scale that seems to defy belief.

- The sheer size of Kailasa Temple is truly breathtaking.

- So the interesting thing about Kailasa is really,

it's difficult to envision at the start.

I mean, you're going to have to think about things

a little bit differently to construct it.

Most structures that humans build start with the ground up

so you can see where you're going.

With Kailasa, it's kind of the opposite.

- Ancient builders had to remove

an estimated 200,000 tons of rock.

This is the equivalent weight of 20 Eiffel Towers.

- [Narrator] Even more astonishing

is the level of detail achieved by its ancient sculptors.

- Kailasa is also well known

for its elaborate, ornate interior.

It has over 30,000 carvings.

These are often mystical beast deities,

narratives of Hindu stories,

and clearly the work that went into this was the work

of incredibly skilled artisans.

- [Narrator] For all its grandeur,

Kailasa Temple continues to astound experts to this day.

- You're basically carving out the negative space.

You're taking away from this rock

instead of adding something,

instead of building something from the ground up.

It just totally inverts your thinking process

of how to construct something.

- How did they manage to carve such a complex piece

of architecture from a piece of rock?

- [Narrator] As you enter,

you're greeted by the imposing entrance tower.

Moving past it,

you encounter the iconic sculpture of Ravana attempting

to lift Mount Kailash carved from a single rock.

Nearby stands the Nandi Mandapa,

housing a large sculpture of Shiva's sacred bull.

At the heart of the temple lies the main hall.

If you look up, you'll see a ceiling adorned

with intricate paintings.

The walls showcase scenes from Hindu epics.

But a burning question remains:

How did ancient craftsmen, armed with only basic tools,

manage to carve something so complex from a single rock?

Kailasa Temple's construction is generally attributed

to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I,

who ruled from approximately 756 to 773 CE.

- One of the greatest mysteries associated with the site

is where all that rock went.

- [Narrator] A captivating legend offers

a more romantic depiction of the temple's creation,

tying its construction to a miraculous healing.

- The queen prays to Lord Shiva,

vowing to build a grand temple dedicated to the deity

if her husband recovers.

- Here, because they're asking for divine help,

she has to make a promise.

And in that sense,

what do I think the person asking for help wants?

Well, it's a divine being. We need to build a temple.

And where is my hardship for asking for this boon or favor?

And I will fast until it's done.

So it's set up as a bargain, not just a prayer.

- When the king recovers,

the queen is eager to fulfill her vow.

- This not only saves the queen's life,

but also results in

the remarkable monolithic structure we see today.

- [Narrator] The Kailasa Temple story begins long before

chisel strikes the first stone.

To fully grasp its origins requires delving

into the area's volcanic past.

The entire Ellora complex sits atop

a massive plateau called the Deccan Traps.

- What many don't realize is that the very foundation

of the temple is volcanic in nature.

- [Narrator] This massive volcanic formation began

to take shape around 66.25 million years ago,

as India drifted northward over the Reunion hotspot.

- As India moves northward over this hotspot,

it triggers enormous volcanic eruptions.

- [Narrator] This geological event

triggered colossal fissure eruptions

spewing lava through cracks in the Earth's crust.

In less than 30,000 years,

these eruptions blanketed an area

of 500,000 square kilometers

with lava flows up to 3,200 meters thick,

forever altering the landscape

of what would become modern day India.

This ancient lava flow creates layer upon layer

of basalt rock,

providing the perfect canvas for the temple's creators.

- The builders of the temple weren't just master sculptors;

they were geological geniuses.

- [Narrator] The site's geology itself also influences

the temple's design.

- We know that rock is strong.

We know that it's monolithic.

So it doesn't have a lot of cracks in it.

It doesn't have a lot of defects which are going to act

as potential failure points for large structures.

So with Kailasa,

what they did was actually really innovative in that they,

very likely at the outset,

would recognize that if they built their structure

as they designed it, it would be self-supporting.

- [Narrator] While the volcanic origins

of the Deccan Traps provide the raw materials

for the Kailasa Temple,

they also set the stage for one of its greatest mysteries.

How did the ancient craftsmen carve this massive structure

from the top down?

- When we're building new structures,

we start at the ground up.

We start with that foundation

that's going to support everything we're gonna build above.

In this case, we're doing the complete opposite.

How do you even design where you're gonna get to?

You have to be thinking about the end even before you start

and thinking about what you're going to leave in place

and take away to make sure that that meets your needs

instead of putting a piece in place to build what you want.

It's the complete opposite thought process

of designing and building.

This is like, this is discovering.

- When we're digging structures in the ground

and relying on the native material

to support the structure in the long run,

it's always a bit of a gamble.

We build a lot of tunnels nowadays as engineers,

and we spend vast amounts of time drilling holes

into the ground to see what's underground

and whether we're going to encounter, you know,

a soft area or, you know,

some shale that's in the limestone

that's not gonna be load supporting in the long run.

So we spend a lot of time in monitoring

or figuring out what the ground looks like

before we start building structures underground.

When Kailasa was built,

we didn't have the technology to drill into the ground

and know what was there.

So they were taking a bit of a gamble

in that they may not have known specifically

whether there were seams or unusual materials

in the material that they were excavating

before they started.

So there is a bit of luck to what happened,

is that they didn't encounter anything

that was really problematic for the structure itself.

- [Narrator] The architects would have to envision

the entire structure within the rock

before they started carving.

Any miscalculation could have been disastrous

as errors couldn't be corrected easily

in the top down approach.

They likely started by carving out the temple's main shrine

and its roof then worked their way down,

removing more rock to create the lower levels,

courtyards, and subsidiary shrines.

- The process to me is that of shaping

and discovering along the way.

You might excavate out the major volumes.

You take away all the material

around that main central volume,

and then you start carving out the inside of it

to create that interior space.

- [Narrator] The craftsmen's skill is evident

in the temple's intricate details.

And, incredibly, this massive undertaking

was accomplished only using chisels and hammers,

the tools available in the eighth century CE.

The precision achieved

with such basic implements is astounding.

- And then you start going back to the details of things.

You carve in a sconce, you carve in a column,

you evolve the structure as you're discovering

and designing it, which is just really neat.

It sounds like a lot of fun

and a lot of hard work, obviously, as well.

You're taking this material away

and then you have to discard that material

as well somewhere else.

- [Narrator] This construction method would require

the removal of an estimated 200,000 tons of volcanic rock,

but perplexingly, it seems to have vanished into thin air.

To put the scale in perspective,

the amount of rock removed is enough to build

a three meter high wall stretching for two kilometers.

It's as if the 200,000 tons of rock simply vanished.

The mystery of the absence of debris has given rise

to fascinating tales,

including the legend of a divine tool gifted

by Lord Shiva himself.

- Archeologists have not been able to figure out

where it is.

It seems to, in other words, have vanished.

And here we have this wonderful story of how the rock,

as it was being dug out of the temple, simply vanished.

It turned into mist.

And when we think about that, that says that Shiva,

to whom the temple was dedicated,

was supporting this and considered this a worthy tribute

in his honor.

- [Narrator] According to myth,

the tool called a Bhumi Astra,

had the power to turn rock and soil into vapor,

in addition to powers such as summoning jewels.

- It's an intriguing question, isn't it,

whether these stories

that seem to imply supernatural origins

to these famous temples are, in fact, you know,

generated by the fact that these

are spectacular sights in themselves.

And I think that that's it.

I think we have to put ourselves in the person

of the typical, ordinary person who comes across the temple

the first time and sees something extraordinary,

and Kailasa is one of those extraordinary sights.

- [Narrator] This miraculous tool allegedly allowed

the temple to be built from top to bottom

with incredible speed, leaving no trace of the removed rock.

While this supernatural tale serves

to capture the imagination,

researchers have unearthed more grounded explanations.

- When you're talking about 200,000 tons of material,

if we divide that by a density of four,

we're actually talking

about 50,000 cubic meters of material.

This is, it's a huge amount of material.

To put that in a modern perspective,

large dump trucks carry about ten cubic meters of material.

So, the 50,000 cubic meters of material

that was removed at Kailasa represents

about 5,000 dump trucks.

So imagine trying to do all that by hand

and trying to find a place to put all of that material.

- [Narrator] The rock could have been used

to build other structures in the area,

but no evidence of this has been found.

Others proposed that it was crushed

and used as building material elsewhere.

But again, there's no historical record

of such a massive undertaking.

Ancient builders may have had a system for removing

and disposing of the rock as they carved,

perhaps using a series of ramps or pulleys

to transport the debris away from the site.

- So as you excavate along,

you have to discard the material that you're extracting.

And there's no evidence of a city nearby, a town,

a village that would have needed

these materials or something.

There's no indication of where that refuse went.

We don't really know.

- [Narrator] This absence of historical documentation

only deepens the mystery.

Also discovered in the temple is a network

of hidden passages and chambers.

A main hidden passage features intricately carved walls

and a narrow entry leading to

an unknown chamber deep within the temple.

These secretive spaces

have puzzled researchers for centuries.

- What secrets do they hold?

Who was allowed to access them,

and what rituals or activities might have taken place

with their shadowy confines?

- [Narrator] Some speculate that these passages

may have been used for secret rituals,

perhaps ceremonies too sacred for public view.

- The fact that people have come

to build stories around them

that imply a more mysterious past is not surprising,

because here we are dealing with

a very profoundly spiritual place, a place that,

as a temple, functions in the cultural mindsets

of the people at the time, as a meeting zone,

a site of communication between the living and the dead,

between the divine and the earthly.

And as such, is it really that unreasonable

that they wouldn't believe that these interior, cavernous,

dark, mysterious spaces also participated

in that supernatural activity?

There's still so much we don't know about Kailasa,

how it was used.

And this includes these underground chambers and other areas

that clearly played an important role in the temple.

But how they were used, we don't know.

Could they have been sites of ritual,

of other kinds of religious or spiritual uses?

Very possibly. We simply don't know.

- [Narrator] As we continue to study

these mysterious passages and chambers,

we're left with more questions than answers.

Will we ever uncover the secrets hidden

within this ancient volcanic structure?

(gentle music)

Sigiriya, with its enigmatic origins

and elaborate engineering,

continues to challenge our understanding

of ancient Sri Lankan civilization.

- There are features of Sigiriya

which hint at a purpose very different

than simply a military fortress.

It hints at something far more beautiful,

a place of elaborate water fountains fed by complex

and sophisticated water hydraulic systems,

of beautiful terraced, well-kept gardens.

This was something different.

- [Narrator] The Easter Island Moai,

standing solemnly over a remote Pacific island,

remain silent on the mysteries of their past.

- They acted as a conduit between the mortal world

and the realm of the gods.

- [Narrator] And the Kailasa Temple,

carved from a single rock with inexplicable precision,

defies full explanation.

- Traditionally, to build a temple like that

would take years.

- [Narrator] The enduring questions and mysteries associated

with these ancient structures continue

to elude archeologists and historians to this day.

Will modern archeology

and science one day unveil their hidden secrets?

(gentle music continues)