All language subtitles for Mysteries.Of.The.Abandoned.Hidden.America.S01E06.WEBRip.x264-ION10

Abandoned structures
hold the secrets

of America's past.

A national treasure once
sailed the seas,

holding a mystery
in its belly.

My grandfather once said

that "everyone would like
to know the top speed,

but Uncle Joe Stalin,

he's not gonna find out."

A clifftop complex

that kept America at
the cutting edge

of a global
technological revolution.

It's the very root
of what we all carry
in our pockets today.

This is where it all began.

And a frozen neighborhood,

once a safe haven
for thousands of Americans.

You could
kind of work with people

and meet with people

and experience people in
an environment

that was nonjudgmental
of who you were.

Scattered across
the United States

are abandoned structures,

forgotten ruins of the past,

monuments to a bygone era.

Each shines a light on
the story of this land

and its people.

These are the secrets
of hidden America.

In Philadelphia,

a pinnacle of
American engineering

rusts in the Delaware River.

A lot of these piers have
really fallen into disuse.

But at one pier,
you see this massive ship.

It's not a cargo ship.

It's sleek and trim.

It's a passenger vessel.

But it is in
really poor shape.

On board is a labyrinth of
corridors and hatches.

Inside is peeling paint,

dead wires
dangling from the ceiling.

There are no
distinguishing features
to orientate yourself.

Everything has been removed,
including the interior walls.

This vessel is
a diamond in the rough.

It may be rusting,

but beneath that grime
is an amazing story.

This ship was once
the most famous
passenger liner in America.

But few knew what was
going on below deck.

These were
top-drawer national secrets,

highly classified by
the Pentagon

and they weren't released to
the public for decades.

The stories of this vessel

have passed through the
generations of one family.

Susan Gibbs is
the granddaughter of
the man who built it.

The first time
I came on board the ship,

I was haunted a bit.

It's seemed like everyone
had forgotten about the ship.

Today,
the ship floats by the pier,

unnoticed by most.

But 50 years ago,
it was the most luxurious

American ocean liner
on the seas,

featuring a swimming pool,

two bars,

two theaters

and a place for the
rich and famous to party.

We are entering
the grand ballroom.

You can imagine women in
gowns and stoles and...

men in their dapper tuxedos

and listening to the music,

which would have been
over there.

It just would've been
so magical.

The ship played host

to all sorts of
celebrities of the day.

Salvador Dali,

Duke Ellington,

the Kennedys,

even John Wayne.

This is the SS United States,

a 50,000-ton steamship,

the most sophisticated
high-tech vessel of its day.

It was an
absolute masterpiece of
marine architecture.

And it integrated all of
the latest technologies

that could make a ship sleek
and fast and elegant.

If you look closer at
the chimney stacks,

you can see they have
a very unusual design.

These are pointed almost like
an aircraft's wing,

but on its side.

It's one of the many quirks
of this vessel.

The stacks are
part of a number of
innovative design choices

from the mind of one man
from Pennsylvania,

a man called
William Francis Gibbs.

My grandfather was
obsessed with ships
since childhood.

And even when he went on
to Harvard,

uh, to study,

he would spend a lot of
his time in his dorm room

designing ships and
neglecting his formal studies.

When he was still
a student,

Gibbs drew the design for
what would become

the SS United States.

He called it
his "perfect ship."

But two world wars saw
those plans put in a drawer.

By 1940,

Gibbs owned his own
ship building business.

He took an order
that would have

a profound influence on him
for the rest of his life.

He was tasked with building
the nation's Liberty ships.

The Liberty ships
provided that vital lifeline
of supplies

that kept Britain alive until
the US could come in and help

turn the tide of the war.

The Liberty ships
were one of the great
engineering success stories

of the second world war.

Factories could churn out
a 7,000-ton vessel

in just six weeks.

At the close of
the second world war,

Gibbs had produced
over 5,000 warships.

But his perfect vessel was
still on the drawing board.

In 1949,

he shook hands on a deal
to bring his dream to life.

Gibbs wanted to go
back to building

the beautiful fast
passenger liners

that he had built
before the war.

And he knew now he might
get his chance to build
his ultimate ship,

his dream ship.

In 1950,

his company started building
the SS United States

to the design he drew
decades before,

but with a few changes.

There is no wood
anywhere on this ship

because wood can burn,

wood can set on fire,

and my grandfather
absolutely forbade that.

This ship was going to be
totally safe.

During the wars,

Gibbs had learned that
more sailors were lost to fire

than to drowning.

The only wood allowed
on the ship

was the cutting board
in the kitchen

and the Steinway piano
in the ballroom.

He was obsessed
with safety.

He liked to say of the
SS United States,

"You can't set her on fire.
You can't sink her.

You can't catch her."

But the biggest
changes to the design

were below deck,

made to appease
the ship's benefactor,

the US Government.

The SS United States

was the realization
of a dream

for architect
William Francis Gibbs.

Passengers on deck
could indulge

in the fruits of
postwar prosperity.

But hidden below was the
beating heart of a warship.

Gibbs' idea was

the government would help him
fund this super-fast ship

for use as a luxury
passenger liner.

But it would also have
a dual use.

In an emergency, in a war,
it can be converted

into the fastest troopship
ever known.

The ship's powerplant
was, you know,

the heart and soul
of the vessel.

This ship could go so fast.

The goal was to outrun
enemy torpedoes.

And, basically,
the ship could be converted

into a troopship
in only a matter of days.

Gibbs also changed
his design to accommodate

an advanced series
of watertight compartments.

Each could be sealed
in the event of a breach,

ensuring a single torpedo
couldn't sink the vessel.

There were just
these elaborate mechanisms,

where from the bridge

and from various points
of the ship,

you could control
the watertight doors
throughout the vessel.

So that if there was
ever a breach,

a fire or water,

it could be quickly localized.

On July 3rd, 1952,

the ship set sail on
its maiden voyage

and crossing from
New York Harbor to
Great Britain.

The SS United States
was designed

to be the fastest
passenger ship ever built.

So he actually tested models
of the ship in a wind tunnel

to design a structure
that would be as
aerodynamic as possible.

This was the first time this
has ever been done for a ship.

Gibbs promised
his ship would be
the fastest on the sea,

putting his reputation
on the line.

The maiden voyage of
the SS United States

was extraordinary.

So I hear.
I was not on board.

Many passengers
stayed up all night

the night that
the record was broken,

drinking and dancing
up and down this deck

where I'm sitting now.

And conga lines,
drinking out of the bottle,

I mean,
just incredible festivities.

My grandfather was not--
he was on board,

but he was not in
the conga line.

He was up on the bridge
with the captain

and with some other dignitaries.

And he was so proud.

On July 7th,

the SS United States
completed its journey

nearly half a day
ahead of schedule.

The ship went from
the US to Great Britain

in three days and ten hours.

It shattered previous records,

and amazingly,

that record still stands today.

He told a reporter,

"I've dreamed of this moment
for 40 years."

And I think it was the
high point of his entire life.

But the age of
the cruise liner
was coming to an end.

Boeing and
the Douglas Aircraft Company

had made transatlantic travel
cheap and fast.

The SS United States was
decommissioned in 1969,

eventually ending up here
in Philadelphia's Pier 82.

Today, the SS United States
is the most visible legacy

of a man who transformed
American seafaring.

William Francis Gibbs
was one of the most

important engineers in
American history

and, yet, his name is
mostly forgotten today.

This ship was Gibbs' dream
from a very young age.

And it took him the length
of almost an entire career

as a ship builder

before he got a chance
to see it come alive.

He was ultimately
trying to create
the perfect ship.

He used that phrase,
"the perfect ship,"

a symbol connecting
this country

with the rest of the world.

So, yes, I-- I think
he accomplished his goal.

30 miles
from the Great Lakes,

a former go-to destination
was abandoned

when a new law
transformed America.

So we're in
Northern Michigan,

center of the Great Lakes,

a few miles from
the border of Canada,

which means
the winters get pretty cold.

There's a network of roads
and various buildings.

But they're in
some state of decay.

Hundreds of
buildings lay empty.

One is larger than the rest.

One of the buildings
is much larger than
all the others.

It's painted this
brilliant green color

and it's sitting beside
the lake,

which is now frozen.

Vestiges of
small-town America

mark where people
used to gather.

Elsewhere,
there's a small shop

that clearly closed
some time ago.

Perhaps it was one of the
last businesses left standing.

These buildings
are what's left of
a thriving community

that sought
peace and prosperity.

But six decades ago,

a turning point in
American history

drove the people away.

This land was once
home to hundreds of people.

Blair Evans is part of a
small community that remains.

We moved back here
two years ago

and have been here
full-time since.

But I've been involved in
the community a lot for,

you know, my entire life.

Decades ago,

thousands of people would
make the journey
to Northern Michigan.

Most were drawn to one wooden
building by the roadside.

This was a
major hub of activity.

Day and night,

this area was just
extraordinarily active.

This is the Flamingo Club,

a music hall for some of the
biggest stars of the 1950s.

The Four Tops, Sam Cooke

and Sammy Davis Jr,

they all came to perform
at Idlewild.

What Idlewild is
is definitely
a multifaceted question.

And, so, what Idlewild is,
in the minds of people

who are familiar with the
institution of Idlewild

and the myth of Idlewild,

is a kind of oasis.

There was hunting,

there was fishing,

there was boating,

there was swimming,

everything that people
might wanna do

on an all-American vacation.

Tens of thousands
of holiday-makers

flocked to this country resort
in Northern Michigan.

To some, Idlewild went by
another name.

They called it Black Eden.

In Michigan's
northern woodlands

is a vacation resort
like no other.

Blair Evans was just a boy

when famous musicians
came to Idlewild.

Actually, there were
a couple doors to, uh,
kind of peek in,

depending on how knowledgeable
you were of the operations.

There was also
a door in the back.

Yeah, we had been known
to sneak past

the first line of defense

and trying to take a peek
and see what folks were doing.

But Idlewild was
unique among resorts.

Since the 1930s,

if was one of the few safe
havens for Black Americans,

even in the integrated north.

One thing about
segregation in the South

is that it was mandated
by law.

But in the north,

you had separation
by custom,

by practice.

And so in the north,

Blacks and whites,
for example,

would live in largely
separate neighborhoods.

The children would go
to separate schools.

What happened in reality

was that separate was
rarely equal.

When Black Americans
faced racism,

some entrepreneurs saw an
opportunity to make money.

Idlewild was actually started
by four white entrepreneurs.

They possibly had
a moral purpose
behind their enterprise,

but they also realized
the potential
to tap into the Black dollar.

Idlewild was probably the most
popular vacation destination

for African-American families.

It is said that there
would be 25,000 people here
on a weekend,

which is just an
absurd number of folks.

People from Chicago, Indianapolis,

Detroit,
all those cities around,

would really
come into the area.

So it was really huge
during that time period.

I always wanted
to go to Idlewild

to see what it looked like
as a vacation spot,

as a resort, as a town.

I just wanted to see what
the community looked
and felt like.

But for some,

Idlewild was more than
a summer retreat.

It became a place for
Black business to thrive.

Herman and Lela Wilson were
some of the first settlers.

They lived
right across the street.

And that small garage you can
see, right behind it,

is actually where
their grocery store started.

The Wilsons sold holiday homes

and built the store
to provide for the residents.

They started
a small setup

in the little garage
attached to their house

and really discovered
that they were the need.

I mean, as far as
groceries were concerned,

you could get pretty much
everything you needed here.

But now,
businesses like Wilson's

and the Flamingo Club
are closed.

Rows of holiday homes
are empty.

Guest numbers plummeted
in the summer of 1964.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

was a high point of
the Civil Rights movement

and it removed key barriers
that African Americans faced.

So it meant greater mobility,
access and opportunity.

What that does is it
sets the table for Black folk

no longer wanting to just
live in a Black community.

Now people were like, "No, we
no longer need the safe haven

that this place once provided.

We feel empowered
and embolden

to go to some of these
white places now.

Black Americans
flocked to vacation spots

all across the United States.

Idlewild's unique
selling point had gone.

Everybody went
and explored everything,

and that's perfectly understandable.

And Las Vegas started
pulling a lot of acts.

Atlantic City started
pulling a lot of acts.

They had access to capital

that entrepreneurs
in Idlewild did not have.

By the end of the '60s,

Idlewild had only a fraction
of the guests it once had.

The heady days as America's
Black Eden were over.

We in America of
African descent wear a mask.

We have two faces.

We have the face for White
America that we put forward,

and we the face that
we put forward

when we're within our tribe.

So at a place like Idlewild,
you were with your tribe.

So you could let down your
guard, you could be authentic

and you could have
a deep sigh of relief.

For six decades,

people like Blair have
kept the resort open,

keeping the flame lit
at America's Black Eden.

There really is
an amazing depth of
self-reliance,

entrepreneurship,
self-determination

that really emerged
in this place

when it wasn't in
other places.

And I think that can point us
towards a lot of possibilities
for the future,

in addition to
understanding the past.

In Marin County,

just north of
the Golden Gate Bridge,

is a site that helped
usher in a new era

in the way America
and the world communicated.

This is such a beautiful
part of America

with the most amazing views
of the Pacific Ocean.

Lots of people
pass through this area,

maybe they're on a hike,
they're going surfing,

but they're completely
oblivious to
the rich history of this site.

One feature of
the landscape
that is hard to ignore

is a collection of
tall thin masts.

But there are other things
here that are harder to spot.

Down near the coast,

there's this large
abandoned-looking building

hidden amongst the trees.

Once upon a time,

it concealed
a revolutionary machine.

In that far building,

it was truly
Frankenstein stuff.

High-voltage, sparks,

and it sent an
enormous bolt of electricity

through that antenna.

And it was called into action
on a momentous day.

One of the most
traumatic events
in American history

has a direct link
to this site.

But it's one that actually
gets left out
in history lessons.

On the Pacific Coast
just north of San Francisco,

two large buildings stand
at either end
of a vast plot of land.

One is in serious disrepair.

The second one is a gorgeous
white art deco-style building.

You can see the wires
coming off the masts

and going into
the white building.

So it's beginning
to become clear

that this is some sort of
radio communication site.

Written on one side
is "RCA Communications Inc."

The Radio Corporation
of America.

They built this communications
hub between 1929 and 1931.

Inside, you've got these
old machines

that are still working
and humming away.

It's kind of this,
you know, treasure trove

of old radio tech,

which is really cool.

But the story here begins in
the fields to the northeast

with the few remaining pieces
of a pioneering structure.

In the early teens
of the last century,

nothing that
we see behind us existed.

But they decided this
was the spot

that they would
build their radio station.

Richard Dillman,
chief operator
of today's station,

knows how to untangle
the old from the new.

What we see here

is the base of one of
the antenna masts

that were here in this field.

You see how big it was
in diameter?

And it was 300 feet tall.

And it was just one of nine
of these massive structures.

These giant towers with
these concrete foundations

and they're
huge and impressive,

but they're just there
to support the cable,

which is actually how
the messages are transmitted.

The company in charge
of the site

was owned by one of
the most celebrated scientists

of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries,

Guglielmo Marconi.

Marconi was an engineer,
inventor and entrepreneur.

And eventual
Nobel Prize-winning scientist.

One of his greatest
contributions to science

was he discovered how to send
and receive Morse code

without wires.

So this wireless
technology was revolutionary.

And it paved the way

for all the technology that
we see before us now.

The little devices that we now
carry with us everywhere,

as a matter, of course,
all have their roots

in the technology that was
pioneered here at this site.

The original
antennas at Bolinas

were erected by Marconi
in 1914

with the purpose of sending
Morse code messages

wirelessly across the Pacific.

But this site was part of
something even bigger,

a global
longwave radio network.

The plan was to have
several high-powered stations

sort of girdle the world

and basically provide
instantaneous communication

from like any point
across the globe.

The antennas were
just one piece of the puzzle.

It was only when they were
hooked up to the building
nearer the coast

that their full potential
was realized.

This building today is in
a sad state of disrepair.

Few people know it's here

and fewer still
know what it was for.

But, in fact,
it played a significant role

in Marconi's plan
for global communications.

This building was
the powerhouse

of the transmitting antennae
that was outside.

To transmit signals

over the vast distances
that Marconi wanted,

a huge amount of energy
needed to be generated.

This is the beating heart of

the Marconi transoceanic
transmitting system.

We're standing right here
where this machinery
was located.

And it was enormous,
loud, dangerous,

high-voltage equipment.

Once the powerful
primary signal
had been produced,

it was then tuned before
being sent along cables

to the antenna field,

where it would then
be broadcast.

One of the main destinations
for these communications

was another Marconi station
on Hawaii.

Hawaii is a gateway
radio communication

to the rest of the world.

So if you get to Hawaii,
you can get everywhere else.

But just nine years
into the life of

the Bolinas longwave
radio station,

Marconi made a
scientific breakthrough

that had major consequences.

In 1923,

he developed a
shortwave beam system.

This had many advantages over
the longwave system.

Shortwave was much
more power efficient,

had far higher quality

and could travel much
further distances.

The arrival of
shortwave technology's

kind of the beginning
of the end

for the original
transmitting station.

It wasn't set up to take
advantage of this new wave

that was coming through.

A newer station
further inland was built,

leaving this one overshadowed.

The original transmitting
station fell largely
into disuse,

but it wasn't completely
shut down.

The new technology,
the shortwave technology

worked great but
it was fickle.

The old technology was solid.

It was there all the time.

It might have been slow and
it might have been expensive,

but it always got through.

And in 1941,

the trustworthy
Bolinas Transmitting Station

stepped up when America was
on the brink of catastrophe.

The Bolinas
Transmitting Station

was a hotbed of
pioneering radio work

throughout the early
20th century.

And in 1941,

the machines here were
called upon

during one of America's most
desperate times of need.

In the latter months of 1941,

it became apparent that

there might be
a conflict in the Pacific

between America
and the Empire of Japan.

On December 7th,
at 12:48 p.m. in Washington,

General Marshall ordered
the following message

to be sent to
Hawaii immediately.

Marshall intended to send
the message via the Army radio

but the shortwave
transmission failed

due to atmospheric conditions.

The Army radio
system was not up to the job.

But they knew that this
antique technology

would get the message across.

And that's how
the message was sent,

through this building
to Hawaii.

They were in
urgent need of a powerful
longwave transmitter

and Bolinas stepped in
to save the day.

The message arrived
at 7:33 a.m., Honolulu time.

The attack
began 22 minutes later.

But for some reason,

the message
wasn't flagged as urgent

and wasn't
decoded and delivered

to the Pacific Fleet HQ
for another seven hours.

So it arrived on
the deaths of Admiral Kimmel
and General Short

as the Japanese planes
were retreating
towards their carriers.

And they did not
get the message in time.

There's a great
unanswered mystery.

The priority stamp
was not put on that message.

More than 2,400
Americans died in the attack

and another 1,000 people
were wounded.

But how much difference
it would have made

if the message was
read earlier is questionable.

Admiral Kimmel and
General Short were under
very strict orders

about what they could do
in the way of preparation

to avoid the appearance of
a panic on the island.

So how much of a change
it would have made,

that's open to debate.

In the decades
following World War II,

both building were refitted
with newer transmitters

before finally ceasing
operations in the 1970s.

The Bolinas site sat empty
and neglected for years

until a group of
radio enthusiasts began

breathing new life into
the station in 1999.

And it remains
operational today.

It's a ship-to-shore
communication station now

and we're operating this
station just as it always has.

Tradition is enormously
important to us.

The original
transmitting building

is now in the process
of being restored

so more people can
appreciate its little-known
World War II story.

That building is the locus

of a very important element
in communications history,

political history

and military history of
the United States of America.

In the prairie state,

near the Mississippi River
is an ancient wonder

hidden in plain sight.

We're just outside St. Louis

and it's calm, it's quiet,

it feels natural,

but, in reality,
it's not natural at all.

Across this landscape,

mounds erupt from the ground.

When you start
to look around

and see the sheer number
of these mounds,

but also the shape,

it becomes clear that
these were made by humans.

You get the sense
that each one is hiding

some kind of secret
about the site.

And that must mean that
the biggest mound of them all

must hold the greatest
secret of all.

Well, ahead of us,

we can see
a large earthing structure

that was built by
the American Indians here.

And it's the center of
the site.

Dating back
over 1,000 years,

this was once the focal point
of an ancient civilization.

It was the largest prehistoric
American Indian settlement
north of Mexico.

But despite
its significance,

many have
never heard of this place.

There is a huge road

that runs right through
the center of the site.

If somebody was
driving down this road,

they probably wouldn't
have any idea

that they were driving through

one of the most
important sites in America.

Known as Monks Mound,

this vast man-made structure
dominates the site.

Where we're standing is

the largest prehistoric
earthwork in the Americas.

It's the largest
holy earthing mound

built by ancient people
in the Western Hemisphere.

Bill Iseminger
spent 50 years

as the site's archaeologist
and curator.

The base of it covers
over 14 acres

and it stands 100 feet high,

has several
different terraces.

We're standing
on the first terrace.

So there's two levels
up on top

and a smaller terrace off
on the west side.

We look at our cities,
including nearby St. Louis,

and we see tall buildings.

But, incredibly,
this human-made structure

was the tallest structure
in the United States

into the mid-19th century.

This lower terrace would've
held a number of structures.

But a large building atop
the mound was the focal point.

We found evidence of
a huge building.

It was over 100 feet long,
almost 50 feet wide

and maybe 30-40 feet tall, originally.

It probably had
multiple functions.

But this was the seat of
religious and political power
and authority.

Built by a people
known as the Mississippians,

this great mound was
the heart of an ancient city,

Cahokia.

This culture existed largely
between 800 and 1,500 AD.

But it's really
1,000 years ago

when the peak of this site
actually was.

But while this may
have been the seat of power,

archaeological finds elsewhere

reveal another side
to this civilization.

The mounds weren't
all necessarily meant
to be built upon.

Some of them hide
a darker secret.

The main site of
Cahokia stretched across
roughly 6 square miles.

Today, 80 of the original
120 mounds remain.

It's important to
understand that there were
no domesticated animals.

So everything from the digging
to carrying the soil

to dropping it
in different sites,

this was all done by people.

We've got
a variety of artifacts

that are representative of
Mississippian culture.

Um, one of the more
notable ones is

this item we call a hoe.

Well, this is what they use
to dig the dirt

to build these mounds.

For the last century,

excavations have been undertaken,

and slowly,
they've revealed a picture

of this sophisticated
hierarchical society.

So there's clues
in everything we find,

even the soil itself.

The pollen grains in the soil
will tell us something about
the vegetation

and the kinds of plants that
were around and growing,

the kinds of food
they were eating.

And in garbage pits, we find
a lot of the animal bone.

So we know that they were
doing a lot of fishing.

Everything we find give us
a little bit of more insights

into what daily life was like
here at Cahokia.

As the site grew,
so too did the population.

From around 1050 AD,

it went from just a couple
of thousand inhabitants

to somewhere between 10 and
20,000 half a century later.

We're standing in
the grand plaza right now

and we're at
the southern end of it.

It covers almost 40 acres

and it would be used as
a public gathering place.

So for ceremonies
and rituals and games

and markets and other kinds
of public activities.

At around 1,100 AD,

Cahokia would have been
larger than London

and maybe even Paris.

You know, people don't often
realize that we had

something that big here
in America.

But while this city
radiated power and authority,

by no means was it free
from troubles.

We know from
the digs around here

that there actually was
a fence, so to speak,

that was about 2 miles
in circumference

that surrounded the key
central part of the city.

It also indicates that
warfare and conflict

was a common part
of Mississippian culture
by this time.

And we see not just Cahokia,

but a lot of other
Mississippian sites are
being fortified as well.

Yet, while warring
neighbors may have been

the greatest threat
to the city's inhabitants

before the walls were built,

evidence found at the site
points to the fact that,

for some, the dangers
were closer to home.

There is suggestion that
perhaps they practiced

human sacrifices,

because underneath
some of the mounds

have been found victims
of appalling injuries.

In the site named
Mound 72,

a 1967 excavation revealed
a possible burial of a leader

and the remains of
numerous individuals

likely from the nearby area.

There was one pit
that had 53 women in it,

all about 15 to 25 years old

and apparently
have been sacrificed.

Next to them were four men

that had their heads
and their hands cut off

apparently in some ritual.

It's really not been found
at other places,

you know,
throughout the Midwest

with that kind of
burial treatment--

the mess,
the sacrifices and everything.

So, something different
was going on then.

But that's not typical of most
Mississippian places.

Whatever these
mass burials signified,

the greatest mystery remains.

Why did the population
begin to disappear
from around 1,200 AD?

There could have been
a number of things

that contributed to
its decline.

Perhaps political unrest,

drought, famine, disease.

The answers
are out there.

But with archaeology,
it's a long process.

The answers are literally
in the ground.

They're there,
but they must be discovered.

While many questions
about Cahokia remain,

the site still offers up
much to learn from.

Looking at lost cities

and declined civilizations
like this

is powerful and resonant
in the present

because it reminds us of
the fragility

and vulnerability of
our own cities,

our own settlements
in the present day.

And perhaps that can
provoke us

to take a bit more care
with our environment

and safeguarding the future.