there is a lost city of ancient Providence hidden in the jungle just hours from Cartagena that offers a unique peek into the storied past of Colombia and let's visitors truly grasp what life was like over 1200 years ago this city ciudad perdida is even older than Machu Picchu and is amazingly preserved for having survived in such proximity to major urban centers for so long the city consists of 169 terraces carved into the side of a hill overlooking the Bureau Taku River it was inhabited sometime around 800 AD around the time Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the West in Europe and Danish Vikings were sacking the fledgling city of London while the true origins of this site are lost at time local tribes including the arhuaco and the Kogi's have been visiting it for decades perhaps even centuries before its modern discovery these people believe the site is a sacred city part of a network of villages throughout the area inhabited by their ancestors evidence collected since its modern discovery leads experts to conclude that the site was likely the centre for manufacturing and perhaps a political stronghold in ancient times further evidence shows that the ruins were abandoned sometime during the Spanish conquest of Colombia around the time Cartagena was founded Ciudad perdida literally means the lost city these ancient ruins located in the hilly jungle of Colombia roughly four and a half hours south of Cartagena earned that name because they rested hidden away in the greenery until 1972 decades after most of these similar ancient ruins were uncovered in the area the lost city was discovered almost by accident by a band of treasure looters following up on local legend they plundered the ruins for ceremonial urns and other bits of treasure that found their ways onto the colombian black market however the discovery did not go unnoticed by the proper authorities and soon after accredited anthropologist and archaeologists came in to secure the site between 1976 and 1982 the entire site was secured mapped and partially restored to its previous glory after 30 years of research only 10% of the site has been excavated the area includes carved houses of many sizes over 200 terraces stone line paths and staircases that lead to circular plazas intended for social gatherings ceremonial and feasting areas canals and storehouses the objects found by archaeologists include pottery for ritual and everyday use gold work and necklaces of semi-precious stones treasure robbers who named it the Green Hell have repetitively looted the site however they did not manage to take everything stars and lions carved in stones suggest the existence of a unique system of communication between its old inhabitants the indigenous population still lives in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta their homes resemble the huts of their ancestors and are constructed in discrete corners of the forest to allow a sense of privacy for the families for them Sierra Nevada is the heart of the world it's worth rediscovering the treasures of this archaeological masterpiece which is so remote from the modern world and revived its ecological and spiritual balance Ciudad perdida has been under the global heritage funds protection since 2009 our racks famous ruins of Babylon can be found about 56 miles south of Baghdad next to the Euphrates River Babylon which can be translated to the gate of the gods served as the center of ancient civilization for over 1,500 years it's been revered as one of the world's biggest treasures its Hanging Gardens now covered in desert sands are one of these so-called seven world wonders however time as well as centuries of turmoil and warfare in the region have not been kind to the ruins Babylon is estimated to have been constructed over 2600 years ago in biblical times rulers like Alexander the Great Zaire seized and Herodotus all reigned from the city the ruins which include Nebuchadnezzar's palace and the Tower of Babel were made of mud bricks Nebuchadnezzar who ruled from 605 to 563 BC was responsible for much of the city's finest architecture Babylon's decline began around 538 BC when Cyrus the Great and his army of Persians conquered the city the swirling desert sands buried parts of the city after its decline entering criminals nabbed many of the sights mud bricks and other ancient artifacts during colonial times the late 1800s and early 1900s much of the ruins were carried off to Europe today the original Ishtar Gate can be found in Berlin at the Museum of the Near East for example thanks to an expedition of German archaeologists ex Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein rebuilt the ruins in the early 1980s his new vision of Babylon was harmful to the original ruins scientists say because he used cheap modern materials on these sites ancient foundations Hussein's likeness was imprinted on many of the newly constructed monuments in the early 2000s when US and Danish troops were in Iraq attempting to bring down Hussein there were troops stationed in the ruins army officials acknowledged their damage to the site in 2006 after US troops left Babylon the city of Babel ceased ownership of the ruins and opened a major tourist attraction on the site some of the buildings erected by Saddam Hussein have been remodeled and are rented out to visitors the country's Minister of Culture director case Hussein Rashid beam on the situation to the new york times in 2009 when he said most of the people in some officials have no respect for heritage they think archaeological sites are just a bunch of bricks that have no value at all the Iraqi government recently reopened the oldest part of the ruins even though experts say this will probably cause even more damage to the already crumbling site as technology improves with tools like remote sensors and satellites archaeologists can see more detail more clearly and faster with these leaps and Technology we hope many more lost cities will be rediscovered all over the globe Kollek rule is a maya archaeological site in the state of kemp eesh it's located deep in the jungle of the greater Patton Basin region and only 22 miles from the Guatemalan border Kollek mall is one of the most powerful and largest ancient cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands collet mole is a modern name kah means to lock means adjacent and moral signifies any artificial mound or pyramid so that makes colic mole city of the chu adjacent pyramids the first recording of Kollek mole was from Silas London in 1931 a year after he found the site he informed Sylvanus Morley of the existence of the site and that there were more than 60 structures Morley decided to visit the ruins himself and did so on behalf of the Carnegie Institute of Washington in 1932 in the 1930s surveys mapped the site core and recorded 103 structures like the majority of great classic period centres of the southern Maya lowlands Kollek mole eventually arrived at a decline nevertheless a political reorientation during the middle of the late classic period allowed collet rule to take part in northern traditions and as a result it was able to take advantage of the region's prosperity during the pre Classical period activity was mainly of a ceremonial nature the presence of offerings in Collegeville buildings such as that of effigy and sensories evidence human activity dating until the late Postclassic period in the patent region of camp eesh colic mole evidences an uninterrupted architectural sequence which extends across 14th centuries 550 BC to 900 AD its outstanding architecture includes figures sculpted in stones and modeled in stucco other noteworthy features of the site are a great quantity of styli and dated monuments upon which the history of college Bulls rulers is recorded toward the end of the middle classic period 700 to 300 BC in the Maya region important public urban works were undertaken during this period the largest structures of college Bulls history were constructed this was also when the site's first public architecture appeared marking an effort to define administrative activities during the fifth century in college more extensive remodeling was initiated although this activity did not include a modification of the city's urban plan which was established in the pre-classic period among these works is the noteworthy remodeling of the great foundation of structure to the rulers who inherited the throne of college mule initiated public as well as private urban works such as palatial complexes in various sectors of the city they built structures to be used in artistic production and specialized craftsmanship it was here where members of the royal lineage ordered the making of ceramics and other objects used in rituals it's likely that towards the end of the late classic period 600 to 800 a.d a series of reforms and public works were initiated changing the city's image the peak of greatest prosperity in Collegeville occurred during the late classic period during which the majority of monuments known as smooth snow I were erected in the great plaza construction at the time however was restricted to minor remodeling this eras high yield regarding ceramic production along with that of earthly classic period indicate that both periods represent times of greatest human population at the site the city of Petra capital of the Novation Arabs is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world it's located 240 kilometres south of the capital Amman and 120 kilometres north of the Red Sea town of Aqaba see the map Petra of the world wonder is undoubtedly Jordans most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction and it's visited by tourists from all over the world it's not known precisely when Petra was built but the city began to prosper as the capital of the debating empire from the 1st century BC which grew rich through trade and frankincense myrrh and spices Patra was later annexed to the Roman Empire and continued to thrive until a large earthquake in 363 AD destroyed much of the city in the 4th century AD the earthquake combined with changes and trade routes eventually led to the downfall of the city which was ultimately abandoned by the middle of the 7th century petra appears to have been largely deserted and it was then lost to all except local Bedouins from the area in 1812 a Swiss explorer named Johannes Burkhardt sent out to rediscover Petra he dressed up as an Arab and convinced his Bedouin guide to take him to the lost city after this Petra became increasingly known in the West as a fascinating and beautiful ancient city and it began attracting visitors and continues to do so today Petra is also known as the rose-red City a name it gets from the wonderful color of the rock from which many of the city structures were carved the Novation's buried their dead in intricate tombs that were cut out of the mountain sites and the city oscillate temples a theatre and following the Roman annexation and later the Byzantine influence a colonnaded Street and churches in addition to the Magnificent remains of the Novation city human settlement and land use for over 10,000 years can be traced in Petra where great natural cultural archaeological and geological features merge Petra has also the city in which Indiana Jones hunted for the Holy Grail in the movie Indiana Jones in the last excavations are ongoing and more secrets are being revealed one of the last excavations to puzzle archaeologists brought to light Hellenistic style artwork more than 2,000 years old depicting a child with wings playing the flute on December 6 1985 Petra was designated a World Heritage Site awesome Petra was chosen by the Smithsonian magazine as one of the places you should visit before you die chorale is considered as the oldest city in Peruvian territory with over 500,000 years of occupation and is the first civilization that was compared with Mesopotamia Egypt India China and Mesoamerica focal points of culture in the world it's located to the left bank of the soup River over a big Terrace at an altitude of 350 meters above the sea level the chorale flourished between the 30th and 18th centuries BCE this complex society arose a millennium after Sumer in Mesopotamia was contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramids and predated the Mesoamerican Olmec by nearly two millennia chorale was discovered by Paul Cossack in 1948 and further studied by archaeologists Ruth shady the urban complex of corral takes up more than 150 acres and holds plazas dwellings and a 28 meters high temple its urban plan was used by Andy and civilizations for the next 4,000 years one of the artifacts found a corral is a knotted textile piece named a quip ooh which archeologists believed was a method of keeping records other pieces found include flutes made of Condor and pelican bones and cornets made of deer and llama bones evidence of warfare has not been found a geoglyph was discovered in 2000 by Marco Machoke I and Rocio Aaron burro just west of corral the lines of the etching form a human face with long hair and an uncovered mouth at its peak approximately 3,000 people are believed to have lived in corral it's been said that Corral was a place of community formed by several lineages and leading by Kerekes who were the main governors of the site they directed every aspect of the cross citizens being corral the principal of all the crows ah goes or group of Kerekes the principal activity was religion and that's what United them as a nation it was the state policy it shows every aspect of their construction dedication to their deities with their squares fire altars where they celebrated every aspect of this religious life in corral there are seven big pyramids surrounded by other structures counting thirty-two mounds in total each of the pyramids has a specific function depending on the social and religious status of their citizens the major pyramid is located on the high sector of the site it was nine meters wide and 28 meters tall it was also a circular square a defined characteristic of crawl the gallery pyramid was a little structure where only one person could enter and do the rites or ceremony that was assigned the wonka pyramid is located near a Honka a sacred stone that functions as a solar clock the amphitheatre pyramid is the most important structure in the low sector that has obviously an amphitheatre where it might function as a celebration place for rituals and also has a circular Square where was buried 32 flutes beautifully decorated and conserved it was one of the earliest and possibly one of the most important civilizations in history but there's still a lot we don't know about its centerpiece the lost city of mohenjo-daro and the race is on to save its remains and better understand the mysterious society that built it mohenjo-daro was the center of a powerful ancient civilization and one of the world's earliest cities the Bronze Age metropolis flourished around 3000 BC in what India and Pakistan before its inhabitants is now mysteriously disappeared some 5000 years on archeologists believe the ruins could unlock the secrets of the Indus Valley people who occupied the once advanced city from its remains we know that they were skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water according to archaeologists mohenjo-daro or mound of the dead boasted flushable toilet and a water and waste system to rival many in modern Pakistan many publications still say that mohenjo-daro is located in India presumably referring to ancient India but since the creation of Pakistan in 1947 the site has been under the protection of the department of archeology and museums government of pakistan mohenjo-daro was discovered in 1922 by rd banerjee an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India two years after major excavations had begun at Harappa some 590 kilometers to the north large-scale excavations were carried out of the site under the direction of John Marshall k and eek sheet Ernest Mackay and numerous other directors through the 1930s although the earlier excavations were not conducted using stratigraphic approaches or with the types of recording techniques employed by modern archaeologists they did produce a remarkable amount of information that's still being studied by scholars today the last major excavation project at the site was carried out by the late dr. G F Dale's in 1964 and 1965 after which excavations were banned due to the problems of conserving the exposed structures from weathering since 1964 and 65 only salvage excavation surface surveys and conservation projects have been allowed at the site most of the salvage operations and conservation projects have been conducted by Pakistani archaeologists and conservators mohenjo-daro did not have any temples monuments or palaces like many of the other ancient civilizations it appears that there was no real central controlling government or royalty but there may have been elected officials from each region in the city representing them in a larger government it's been suggested that mohenjo-daro was run as a city-state the people of mohenjo-daro appeared to have preferred order and cleanliness too over-the-top displays of flashy wealth or dominance in society although evidence suggests mohenjo-daro did have wealth as there are artifacts made of ivory and gold but every home had its bathing Aryan drainage so it appears that people were on relatively equal nobody has certain what ended the Indus Valley Civilisation it could have been a change in the direction of the Indus River which would have seriously affected life in mohenjo-daro but this doesn't explain what happened to the rest of the civilization and its other cities today except for small monkeys living there these fascinating remains of prehistoric greatness are almost totally abandoned in the winter of 1850 a severe wind storm hit Britain causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths on the west coast of Orkney at the bay of scroll the waves and winds stripped the earth skara brae Orkney excavation from a large irregular knoll known in scottish as a how revealing an intact village al biet without roofs the how was left for undisturbed for 75 more years though in 1913 the site was plundered by a party with shovels who took away an unknown quantity of artifacts in 1924 another storm swept away part of one of the houses and it decided that the site should be made secure and more seriously investigated by university of edinburgh professor very gordon chilled chilled unearthed n clustered houses Europe's most complete Neolithic village which was occupied for 600 years from roughly 30 180 BC to 2500 BC the village of skara brae is steeped in 5000 years of history and was inhabited before the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge were even built many clues have been left about the lives of the occupations of skara brae the houses had many stone built pieces of furniture including cupboards dressers seats and storage boxes in the center of the room was a fireplace dried seaweed was burnt to provide warmth the houses had load doors and there's evidence that there was a male and female side to each house skara brae was further away from the sea than it is today and it's an evidence were farmers who raised cattle and sheep and cultivated barley fish bones and shells found in SCARA braised mittens indicate that the dwellers supplemented their diet with seafood they were makers and users of grooved ware a distinctive style of pottery other artifacts excavated include knives beads and other decorative items shovels and other tools and pins up to 10 inches long made of varied materials including animal fish bird and whale bone whale and walrus ivory and killer whale teeth the eighth house appears to be a work shed used to make simple tools the presence of heat damaged volcanic rocks a flue and fragments of stone bone and antler support this interpretation the people of skara brae even had a sophisticated drainage system which included a primitive form of toilet in each dwelling there have been many theories as to why the people of skara brae left and the evidence of prized possessions and half-eaten food left behind have led to the popular interpretation that the village was abandoned during a massive storm that threatened a barrier and sand in truth scarab raised burial was gradual and it had already been abandoned but for whatever reason no one can tell recently historian layered screen revealed striking similarities between skara brae and the Dogon of Mali who still practiced the same cosmology and traditions they once shared with pre-dynastic Egypt hampi is a temple town located in the ruins of the city of Vijayanagara which according to UNESCO is the last capital of the last great Hindu kingdom of Karnataka India listed as the group of monuments at hampi until today it continues to be an important center which houses the virupaksha temple and many other monuments from the 15th and 16th century there are many bastions and gateways which show that seven fortified lines originally surrounded the city the best preserved line is the seventh which enclosed the main city the monuments at the site are divided into three buildings religious civil and military buildings some temples even predate the Empire City and some of them are the jain temples located at Hema Kuta Hill - Devi shrines and smaller temple complexes the oldest struck are the Shiva shrines which date back to the 9th century AD many historians suggest that the site was part of the Maurya Empire from the 3rd century BC there are inscriptions from the 2nd century BC which were found during the excavation of hampi it's believed that before the reign of the Vijayanagara kings the region belonged to the Chiefs of compy Li a small town near the old city before the Deccan Muslim Confederacy took it hampi had been the best area of Vijayanagara Empire it was chosen because of its strategic location in 1830 were surveyed by Colonel Colin McKenzie who was the first surveyor-general of India hampi was a great architectural and historical significance and even today excavations are conducted in this area the most beautiful structures are the religious buildings and some of them are still open for pilgrims the most notable of these buildings are a tutor aya temple ba de Ville Inga krishna temple complex the jain temples the vittala temple complex and virupaksha temple the virupaksha temple also known as the pomp of aathi temple predates the founding of the Vijayanagara kingdom these civil buildings contain the zenana enclosure the lotus mahal the museum at kampala pura and the aqueducts and canals the military buildings embrace the elephant stables which housed the royal elephants and the kings balance part the Magnificent ruins of this old city and its surroundings are one of the most famous tourist attractions in Karnataka recent excavations have unearthed archaeological artifacts dating from the 3rd century BC too early in the second millennium documenting evidence from over 700 important sites these sites include ash mounds ancient settlements megalithic cemeteries temples and rock art these findings show that the Vijayanagara was densely settled for an extended period before the creation of the Empire Sanchi also known as caca nya caca Nava Kakuna vibora and bonus Ripper vana in ancient times is situated in the state of Madhya Pradesh it's a religious place with historical and archaeological significance Sanji is famous of the world for stupas monolithic a second pillar temples monasteries and sculptural wealth dating from third century BC to 12th century AD the Sanchi stupas are noteworthy for their gateways as they contain ornamental depiction of incidents from the life of Buddha and his previous incarnations Bodhisattvas as described in the Jataka tales here Gautam Buddha is depicted by symbols such as the wheel which represents his teaching Sanji was virtually forgotten after the 13th century until 1818 when General Taylor a British officer rediscovered it half-buried and well preserved later in 1912 Sir John Marshall director general of archaeology ordered the restoration work at the site during soon-jae times several edifices were raised at Sanchi and its surrounding hills the asik on stupa was enlarged and faced with stones and decorated with ballast trades staircase and a harm iike on the top the construction of temple 40 an erection of stupas two and three also date back to the same time in the 1st century BC the Andhra satavahanas who had extended their sway over the eastern mal WA caused the elaborately carved gateways to stupa one from the 2nd to 4th century AD Sanji and Vidisha came under the Kushan 'as and katrakas and subsequently passed on to the hands of the Guptas during the Gupta period some temples were built and sculptures were added the Great Stupa is 36.5 meters in diameter and sixteen point four meters high and it's one of the oldest stone structures in India with a massive hemispherical dome these stupas stands majestically the pave procession path around it has become smooth by centuries of pilgrims vez it's built originally as an earthen stupa by the emperor ashoka it was rebuilt in the third and second centuries BC the last of the additions to this remarkable stupa are the elaborate and richly carved four gateways or kuranes the first of the four gateways to be erected was the one at the southern entrance followed in chronological order by the northern the eastern and western gateways these stupas at Sanchi traced the development of the Buddhist architecture and sculpture at the same location beginning from third century BC to 12th century AD one of the most interesting features of all the scriptures here is the lack of images of the Buddha in human form the carvings have a wonderful vitality and show a world where people and animals live together in happiness harmony and plenty stylized depiction of nature is exquisite Lord Buddha has also been shown symbolically in inanimate figures presently under a unesco project Sanchi and another buddhist site Sante Hara is being further excavated conserved and environmentally developed the Archaeological Survey of India Museum situated at the entrance to the monument exhibits findings and remains of the excavated site among these are caskets pottery parts of gateways lion capital of the Ashoka pillar and images there are no words to describe the feeling you get as you set foot in an ancient lost city for the first time amongst the ruins are thousands of years of history that give us a rare glimpse into the past the forty five hundred year old city of Lothal was discovered in 1954 dating back to the second millennium BC Lothal was an important port on the Indian subcontinent during the Harappan era Lothal is an important archaeological site due to its scientific layout and a massive dock yard that facilitated trade with other civilizations at the time in the background of the valley at twelve thousand nine hundred feet is the lhari bank glacier beyond live perennial snow fields these sparkling snow fed pushed pouty Ganga which runs through the entire length of the six mile long one and a half mile wide Valley Lowell is in the western Indian state of Gujarat about 85 kilometres southwest of a medibot it was on the banks of the mythical River Saraswathi which is sensed right up Lothal was discovered after India had to give up the sites of Harappa and mohenjo-daro to Pakistan during the partition in 1947 a flourishing and prosperous City during the Harappan era its culture can be divided into two phases the remains dating from 2440 to 1900 BC are of a mature and thriving Harappan culture while those belonging from 1900 to 1600 BC represent the late Moroccan culture in its state of decline as in other cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation Lothal too had excellent architecture and Town Planning excavations of a real the town neatly divided into two parts the upper part of the Acropolis were the ruler and other important people of the city lived while the lower part was meant for common folks the entire city had a scientific drainage system well laid out paved roads and a bath for every house some of which were double storied and built on mud platforms the most architectural II sophisticated part of Lothal was its dock yard which provided berthing facilities for the ship's construction from kiln fired bricks the dock comprised a basin 214 meters long 36 metres wide and 13 metres deep a 13 metre wide channel on the northern side was included to facilitate entry of ships near the dock were warehouses for storage of cargo brought in by the ship's Lofa was an active business center and had business links with Mesopotamia Egypt and Persia beads made the city were quite famous and there's evidence of a bead factory in Lothal pottery was another flourishing industry the ruins of a fire altar suggest that the people of Lothal worshiped the fire God along with the sea god the unique Korriban system of weights and measurements was used in Lothal to Brick's weren't a perfect race of 100 by 50 by 25 and the decimal system was used for measuring width while there is still no sure reason for the decline of the city archeological evidence gathered by the Archaeological Survey of India appears to point to natural catastrophes mainly floods and storms as the source of locals downfall the worst consequences was the shift during the river cutting off access to the ships and dock [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]
