We wish we would’ve had a cameraman when we filmed all over Egypt! 😆 It’s a lot to focus on when you’re trying to learn about a site while filming every moment possible. Looks nice to just be able to cruz around freely without worrying about filming lol.
@@AncientPresence you guys put out some brilliant videos though. Really glad you guys didn’t fall into becoming audience captured into putting out videos of ancient tech conspiracy theories despite being open minded. You and world of antiquity are doing great stuff 👍
@@casualviewing1096 Thank you! We totally started out our UA-cam journey in the lost civilization mentality, and made videos about that lol, but through our diligent research we just kept finding more evidence that guided us to a totally different understanding. Our Serapeum series is an ode to that journey, we left no stone unturned and we hope it can help many other people to gain a more well rounded understanding of these kinds of sites with so much hype around them.
Your series on the Serapeum is excellent! I really appreciated that you were able to translate the original notes. I was shocked that wasn’t already available online!
Finally retired and financially secure enough to make a trip like this, so of course my failing health prevents it. So, I really appreciate this series of videos by an actual historian. Thank you, sir!
That’s what I’m scared of, that when I’m finally able to go on trips like this, I’ll either be too old or too ill to do so. I so badly want to travel the world, to Petra in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Peru, and many more. I hope you get better soon, or at least well enough to make the trip!
@@CChissel yep. I can relate. Better half stage 4 in ICU as I type this. Sure wish we could have traveled more. If you read this and never quite get around to it, consider how manynoldbdudes wish they had the memories....and GO.
@@stripeytawney822 I’m sorry that you’re not doing so well, I feel for you and I hope things do look better for you. And yes, I think about how I might be old one day, regretting ever have travelled. Sometimes I think about just scrounging up all my money and going, without any real idea how I’d get back or survive, and just try to make it work somehow. I live paycheck to paycheck and I’ve considered just dropping everything and selling what little I have and just going, if things don’t get better for me financially, I think I may just do that, and worry about the consequences later. At least that way I’d have an interesting story someday if I survive lol. Thank you for your kind words and again, you are in my thoughts and I hope against all odds you’re able to leave the ICU and recover, or at the very least, have a peaceful and relaxing rest of your days. I feel the need to say that I love you, if only because you have given me some more inspiration and determination to go after my dreams, and I hope it’s not overstepping of me to say that, and also because I don’t think enough people hear it as much as they should. So I’ll just leave it at a thank you, sincerely.
I was invited to go to see the president and prime Minister of Sri Lanka right before covid. My landlord knew them and I would go with him. Car blew up and then had 9k in dental work needed. Couldn't go. Then the were kicked out of the country. Good news is he knows the next President too.
Great job on the latest installment of this series, David! The footage you captured is truly remarkable and your explanation was thorough and informative as usual. Your detail of the Serapeum was particularly noteworthy, and I am grateful that I could help with this episode by providing you with some footage of the Ahmose sarcophagus and lid! Looking forward to the next one and your return to Egypt!
Also your pronunciation of the Serapeum is unique, compared to how to the local Egyptians pronounce it, and how I’ve heard others say it. Made me rethink how it should be pronounced with more emphasis on the ‘a’ for the apis.
I am a nut for consistency. Serapis, Serapeum. But when putting Greek into English, so many variations of pronunciations (and spellings) have developed.
Fantastic video David, well done! You got phenomenal footage and explained a huge amount of Saqqara under one roof. Your breakdown of the Serapeum was great and we’re glad we could help you with a photo of the Ahmose sarcophagus. We wish we would’ve got more and higher quality footage when we visited Egypt, but we were rookie film makers back then lol. Thanks for directing people to our channel 🙏 We’re looking forward to doing a podcast with you soon.
My goodness, this is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for the content, I'm envious of your adventures! Saqqara would be at the top of my list of places to visit in Egypt.
Wonderful video. It brings great memories of my visit to Egypt many years ago. I was fortunate to visit Giza and explore the great pyramid. There was an extraordinary sense both of age and the sheer weigh of rock above my head when I stood in the chamber deep beneath the pyramid. The sphinx was amazing and timeless when you consider the eons it has sat and watched the passage of the sun and stars above it. But my visit to the Seraphim at Saqqara was the highlight. It was completely empty and silent except for myself and my partner. The long passageways and each huge sarcophagus set in its dark chamber were enveloped in the most extraordinary atmosphere. I came away with a feeling of wonder which has never left me.
Look at the great paintings and carvings showing people who perform music and play on instruments. People who understands numbers, symmetry, and communication. Yet there are those among us who think the same people needed space alien technology to build their world.
I like these videos where there is lots of closeup footage of the work that was done throughout a given site. It's amazing how much imperfection the LAHT types have to walk past in order to find those perfectly cut and fitted stones that a hair won't fit in-between. They gotta do some creative filming and editing to avoid an honest warts and all perspective. As well as going out of their way to avoid discussing original source materials like Mariette's notes that explain what the LAHT types claim is unexplainable.
I am over the moon to discover you, this video is so good, I was misled with other UA-camrs start to believe this was impossible to Egyptians to build. I was told was aliens and , nonsense rubbish. Thank, you are amazing
I really can't wrap my head around the fact that you didn't took an angle ruler to measure the incredible and advanced megalithic precision of the sarcophagus and walls! Such a waste! As usual, fantastic video for us ruins collectors around the world.
Thoroughly fantastically done! Without question the best travel guide on the subject. You make it sensible, enjoyable and fascinating. Why watch a movie when you guys are at the helm? Thank you all for bringing us along!
Great video again! High quality and professionally shot. Probably the videographer's worst nightmare to shoot: from bright sun to no-light catacombs.. But he/she managed well.. ;-) Thanks for the interesting video content also! I was not familiar with all this, and happy to know a bit more about ancient Egypt. The restored hieroglyphs are fantastic! Probably many many manhours went in it. It is also good you mentioned what we see today is what is left of 1000s of years of cemetery use and all its constructions, so the art work is the life line.
Valuable point David in comparing evolution of sarcophagi in and of itself. Great to see you out and about retracing familiar steps where lesser men have walked before you ie: pseudo-archeologists .
I was super curious about the relief tomb wall paintings & wondering if they were built-up with the equivelant of plaster just as you showed the unpainted ones. Wow, carving out the negative spaces around the figures must have been stressful. One slip of your chisel & someone loses a nose, foot or hand. 😱 The ingenuity of moving those huge sarcophagi into place is really admirable. Just because they lacked modern technology like electricty & steel didn't mean they lacked technology or engineering skills or a basic understanding of physics. Truly breathtaking & awe inspiring. Thank you so much for the tour ❤
A wonderful tour. Great visuals. I liked your emphasis on craftsmanship in the Serapeum rather than "ancient high tech" and "precision" and what archaeologists actually found regarding rollers. There's plenty to marvel over without concocting mysteries that have already been explained evidentially. Thanks again to you and Natalie for your informative series.
Is it a coincidence that every ancient culture across the world who worked with megalithic stones suddenly stopped at the same time? If it was worth inventing once independently and then lost, then why not again? These cultures had to have been connected and shared knowledge.
@@deluego3603 Is it a coincidence? I'm not sure it's a fact. You would have to check a lot of dates. Did megalithic building stop in France or Britain or Japan at the same time? Seems it may have stopped in Anatolia before Egypt, and much later in Peru. There are lots of reasons for changes in architectural styles or construction techniques, for eg. changes in belief, new material discoveries, and political and economic factors. It may be that the cost of such building projects was too high; Maybe invasions, famines, and other disasters obliterated knowledge. As for cultural connections, sure. Travel and trade were common. But you need evidence- items from far off areas, pottery, seals, written accounts etc.- to say for sure. One thing that human cultures share in common is the human mind with its innate structures of consciousness. It may well be that similar ideas can be produced independently at the time because humans face similar challenges. Hope this was helpful.
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this! Love these videos, I’m living vicariously through you in hopes one day I’ll be able to visit these amazing places of human history.
I just got caught up with this travel series and it's absolutely fantastic! It made me really want to travel to Egypt. I love when you showed interactions between you, Natalie, your guides and the locals. Also the food looks divine! I've heard that the tourism police can be extremely annoying, even harassing people and trying to confiscate cameras. Did you guys have much trouble with them? Do they do that to everyone, or were they more interested in your group because you were filming? I would love to hear more about your experience in that regard. Thank you so much for the fantastic educational content!! Keep up the great work 😊
Amazing series loving every minute of it, one of the best Egyptian tour/documentaries I've ever seen. I've fished for nile perch 12 years ago, and I can confirm those fish in the carvings are most definetly accurate in scale.
_"Necessity is the mother of all invention"_ Moral: ancient peoples like the Egyptians were certainly "less technological" than we are today. Yet they ultimately were still humans the same as us and thus the capacity to adapt to one's environment and utilize the same existed. This results in yet another adage which is apropos here: _"There is more than one way to skin a cat"_
I've been to the Serapeum easily a dozen times. You learn something new every time. By the last time I was there, the guards knew me so well, they would let me do (within reason) whatever I liked. The second to very last alcove on the left, in your map, contains a rose granite box. As you know, the Serapeum boxes were finished in situ; well, what WE saw showed that the box was only half polished, and in the inside there was an exact straight line across, perfectly polished on one side, and rough where the material was outside the lines. Very very surprising, of course, since all of the videos of modern granite polishing that I have been able to find show the stone being polished using rotating tools. What were they using?
In Egyptian quarries one can find partially completed statues etc. which were being worked in situ prior to subsequent movement to their final destination. This would make sense as it would allow for moving less heavy loads - as opposed to a solid block of stone. Then as you alluded to the craftsmen on the other end could do the finishing work prior to final installation. Apis Bulls however were only periodically interred. This means the temple might have obtained a partially completed block - to have it sit possibly for years until needed at which point the finishing work is completed by perhaps a new team of craftsmen in the employ of the temple. This could account for the "disparity" of work one sometimes sees. If an Apis Bull did not die of natural causes it would be ritually killed after 25 years. By then the temple staff could have changed over. As to how. Sides were likely chipped somewhat smooth using gneiss stone tools early on - and later iron tools. Remember that what you saw in the Serapeum represented = the last areas to be completed as the other parts are closed to the public. That then means Late New Kingdom/Persian period + Ptolemaic period = or Iron Age. While the Egyptians invariably imported some iron tools at some point - the Persians upon conquering Egypt facilitated their smelting their own iron rather than obtaining it from abroad. So sides would be chipped down and then sanded smooth using blocks and an abrasive compound like sand or corundum - probably in a medium of some type like semi-viscous clay. Think modern kitchen cleansers for countertops where you have mild grit in an emulsion medium. p.s. - look at photos of stone sarcophagi online. On some where you see closeups of the inner corners you can see a thin "band" along the bottom. That would correspond with above. Using a block it would be difficult to get down to the very bottom as the width of the sanding block would prevent it. Thus the area above that thin "lip" is polished while the very bottom is less so. For polishing statues then perhaps a polishing medium as noted using supple leather cloths as the Egyptians obviously tanned leather as others did. Imagine some apprentice sitting them with a leather polishing cloth and an emulsion-based polishing medium endlessly polishing away what the master craftsman created......... 😥
@varyolla435 WOW, amazing response. Very educational, thank you! Since you obviously know a lot about the Serapeum, can I ask you a couple questions? 1) If the serapeum boxes were ceremonial, why are they buried underground? 2) Why do the lids hermetically seal? 3) why the extreme precision if they were ceremonial? 4) Why are the boxes "dug out" in places where there are imperfections or cracks (called "undercutting" or "stress relief grooving" ). This harms the "perfect" appearance of the box, and as you know, the Egyptians were perfectionists. This all alludes to me to the boxes having a "function," and not being ceremonial at all. What do you think?
@@catsfive First is Egypt = is hot..... So just as they created their own tombs underground away from prying eyes and the heat - so they created temples as well. The searing heat can cause rapid breakdown of bodies. Some years back at Saqqara Egyptologists unearthed an ancient mummification chamber which was = 30 meters beneath the ground - so as to escape the heat above. Next is the lids were not so much "hermetically sealed" as simply heavy = so as to prevent violation of the body the same as with their own. They Egyptians believed the body was required for the afterlife and hence they took measures to preserve and protect them. The Egyptians were not "perfectionists" = and nice things cost money. So it costs money to install an Apis Bull and the Pharaohs were not always all powerful and wealthy. This is historical documentation to show whereby a Pharaoh at the end of the New Kingdom period was so impoverished they took to opening tombs in the Valley of the Kings to remove wealth. Thus Apis Bull internment were commissioned by the Pharaohs who accordingly invested the time and resources they could afford. That is why in some cases you see more "perfection" - and in other cases flawed sarcophagi which were still used.
Hey Professor Miano, you ever hear about the "mysterious Black Goo" that is all over and inside one of the boxes in the Osiris Shaft? Some of the "lost technology" types make a big deal about it. Well, these two podcasters, "The Serpent Bros" found an old water pump in the same room as the box. Was probably used back in the 70s to clear out water. The pump is covered with the same "mysterious goo" That one popular UA-camr, BF, I'm pretty sure even mentioned that he had the goo tested and it contained "bitumen" so it's been pretty obvious all along that it was engine oil. But he still acted like it was all related to some lost high tech I can imagine an Egyptian pump from the 1970s would leak lots of oil. It was probably manufactured in the 1930s. They probably had jugs of oil and kept them on top of or inside the box. It's so absurd that all these other "researchers" never noticed the old oil covered pump sitting nearby the "mysterious goo" cover box
The 1930s Meyers model water pump was first discovered in situ by Boris Seyid back in the 1990s. The original work was not from the 1970s, rather it dates back to the 1930s failed attempt to pump water out by Selim Hassan. This video on my UA-cam channel was first to explain the whole history and solve the black goo / water pump mystery in this video here ua-cam.com/video/VI_6ojYUdFY/v-deo.html
Waxes, resins, oils are used to improve the color and sheen of finished stone surfaces in lieu of proper polishing technologies Over time and with repeated applications build-up and chemical break down occurs resulting in "mysterious goos"
@@SpeedLockedNZ yeah for sure, I know. Only reason I mentioned that is that Forester tells his viewers that just because the goo tested as "related to bitumen" or whatever that that means it's ancient
The ancient Egyptians seems to have been masters of the principle "work smarter, not harder". Who needs a dangerouns heavy-duty crane contraption to lower a super-heavy stone box into place, when you have plenty of sand nearby?
_"Necessity is the mother of all invention"_ So your crane example reflects this precept as man eventually developed cranes to allow for what he did previously by other means = more easily - hence more practical. Many of the inventions we take for granted today are based upon ancient principles of what was done by hand or via simple devices and we developed machines to allow for = commercialization of the process.
You just can't fail to be amazed by the beauty of the artistic reliefs in the tombs, the creations must have taken many many hours of dedication & skill to create. I'm guessing they were also most likely created using candle light.
Oil lamps + mirrors. Think the headlight on your car. It is nothing more than a light source surrounded by a reflective surface to focus the light in a given direction. So the Egyptians like many others used oil lamps. It is believed they would twist their wicks in a way as to allow them to burn efficiently + they added salt to the oil to reduce the amount of soot given off. They probably used a high grade oil as well. As to mirrors. Before modern mirrors people for millennia used polished metal mirrors. Since metal can obviously be shaped it therefore becomes possible to create a curved polished surface - not unlike your headlight uses - which helps reflect the light given off by lamps onto a wall surface. Final thought. If you are not used to working in darkened conditions you'd probably find doing so using light from lamps difficult - at least initially. If however you spend a lot of time underground - like say miners might do = your eyes get used to working in conditions of lower light. The Egyptians who dug the tombs were probably like miners in that their eyes got used to working under less than optimal light conditions. 🤓
Environment. Some underground tombs still contain well done depictions because of their location. They were situated away from flooding/moisture and did not incur undue damage from things like earthquakes. Other tombs however were found to be chock full of debris and their ceilings collapsed because the limestone they were hewed from was weak and damaged over time and they were situated in flash flood areas.
Been so many years since I went there---lots more is open to the public now! Road Scholar still runs a reasonably priced two week trip hitting all the high lights including three day Nile cruise and Abu Simbel.
The info on the Serapeum is very interesting. What book source were you using for the information on dating each of the boxes? I have visited the Serapeum a few years ago. This is one of the most interesting sites in Egypt, after the Pyramids of Giza. Thanks for the video. Great job!
Dropdown menu....... This channel as academic ones often do = provide you with source material. As an aside. Egyptologist Aiden Dodson is an expert on the temple and the Egyptian bull cults. You can get open source PDF's on work he has done which will answer your questions. Do an internet search on him and the temple and it should show you various results about his writings.
Could you make a video about the greco bactrian cities in palestine and afghanistan in the future. About the indo greeks and the mix that existed between greek culture and buddhist culture during those times of which we have the oldest buddah statue.
Great production that explained so much I wasn't sure of in the past and only had the wacky channels to force feed me information that was there to inflate their egos and reinforce non truths. Nice one.....
Awesome video!! Super bummed you didn't go through what the dishes were, tho 🤣 I appreciate these kinds of videos because I'll likely never have the resources to make a trip like this (Powerball is our "plan A"). Keep up the excellent work, Dr M 👍
I have to say David, your channel is highly informative and very professionally done. keep up the good work! By the way, have you been to Monte Alban in Oaxaca Mexico? Its quite an ancient site and the city of Oaxaca is a delight to visit.
Great footage and info. Good to remark how well made the boxes are, but also the imperfections. Clearly the so called lost advanced civilization, had nothing to do with this
I loved this one the best of this latest series. Very good. And I can't figure out why you didn't reference the nut job tour guides that talk about laser cuts and machine work on these stone vaults. Finally, some good content about Egypt
Not only a treat for the eyes .... I also learn correct pronunciations. Thanks Dr. Miano. I May not😢get there but your trips are the next best thing. Enjoyed watching your trip. Happy Friday❤
Granite, basalt, diorite Sarcophagi at Serapeum were built by later Greek and Persians not Egyptian, why? to stop robbers, all older Egyptian limestone sarcophagi were smashed by robbers.
I have some questions as a professional stonemason about some of the general building work and some of the maintenance would you be interested in hearing them?
Wish that the guide would not touch the murals, surprised that he did not know better!! Visited Saquara in 2008 and it certainly was absolutely stunning, especially the tomb of Ty, although hardly any of the gorgeous murals in this tomb are included in this excellent video!
From a general standpoint you are correct. One must however allow for the fact that such sites are preserved and maintained and access is limited to that end. As an example. The tomb of Tutankhamun = as a visitor duplicate. The Egyptian Dept. of Antiquities created an identical tomb which visitors can go to and touch everything because = it is merely a facsimile. The actual tomb is restricted and they only allow a certain number into it each day to limit potential damage from moisture etc.. Moral: in areas where they do not want people "touching" = there are barriers. Some things however as noted it is okay to touch. It just depends.
I like how at 44:24, you debunk hours of pseudo archeology content from UnchartedX by just saying draft version. His theory is that the boxes were inherited by the Egyptians because because only looking at this unfinished, he concludes that the hyeroglyphics in their draft version were inferior to the finished boxes.
@@Leeside999 I also like how in the same video about the Saqarra boxes, he totally ignore the other boxes which have perfectly finished hyerogplyhics on them.And he never mentions other places in Ancient Egypt where work exists in various stages of completion...
@@Leeside999 Maybe it wasn't, I don't know. But an inherited box can be engraved with a draft and then abandoned for whatever reason just like a freshly made one, correct? It's not really evidence either way.
What a marvellous and informative video! The amount of information available to you is staggering, quite as staggering as the amount of wilful ignorance displayed by Unhinged X in a video on this topic. I did not get to see most of what you have talked about at Saqqara, either because it was not available to tourists in the late 1970's, or our guide's time table didn't allow for it. Of course, I might have balked at some of the tunnels, as I had at entering the great pyramid at Giza [though I had no difficulty going into the tomb of Rameses in the Valley of the Kings]. To say that these videos are better than being there in person is absolutely true in my case. When viewing your food related conclusion, I ate some dolma [stuffed grape leaves], cheese and bread. Mediterranean food is as great as the historic relics! Thanks again for the wonderful, fact filled video. Keep up the great work.
Hiring a cameraman for this trip was such an inspired decision. Looks really good!
We wish we would’ve had a cameraman when we filmed all over Egypt! 😆 It’s a lot to focus on when you’re trying to learn about a site while filming every moment possible. Looks nice to just be able to cruz around freely without worrying about filming lol.
@@AncientPresence you guys put out some brilliant videos though. Really glad you guys didn’t fall into becoming audience captured into putting out videos of ancient tech conspiracy theories despite being open minded.
You and world of antiquity are doing great stuff 👍
@@casualviewing1096 Thank you! We totally started out our UA-cam journey in the lost civilization mentality, and made videos about that lol, but through our diligent research we just kept finding more evidence that guided us to a totally different understanding. Our Serapeum series is an ode to that journey, we left no stone unturned and we hope it can help many other people to gain a more well rounded understanding of these kinds of sites with so much hype around them.
Your series on the Serapeum is excellent! I really appreciated that you were able to translate the original notes. I was shocked that wasn’t already available online!
Some Indiana Jones homage would be nice.
Finally retired and financially secure enough to make a trip like this, so of course my failing health prevents it. So, I really appreciate this series of videos by an actual historian. Thank you, sir!
That’s what I’m scared of, that when I’m finally able to go on trips like this, I’ll either be too old or too ill to do so. I so badly want to travel the world, to Petra in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Peru, and many more. I hope you get better soon, or at least well enough to make the trip!
@@CChissel yep. I can relate. Better half stage 4 in ICU as I type this.
Sure wish we could have traveled more. If you read this and never quite get around to it, consider how manynoldbdudes wish they had the memories....and GO.
@@stripeytawney822 I’m sorry that you’re not doing so well, I feel for you and I hope things do look better for you. And yes, I think about how I might be old one day, regretting ever have travelled. Sometimes I think about just scrounging up all my money and going, without any real idea how I’d get back or survive, and just try to make it work somehow. I live paycheck to paycheck and I’ve considered just dropping everything and selling what little I have and just going, if things don’t get better for me financially, I think I may just do that, and worry about the consequences later. At least that way I’d have an interesting story someday if I survive lol. Thank you for your kind words and again, you are in my thoughts and I hope against all odds you’re able to leave the ICU and recover, or at the very least, have a peaceful and relaxing rest of your days. I feel the need to say that I love you, if only because you have given me some more inspiration and determination to go after my dreams, and I hope it’s not overstepping of me to say that, and also because I don’t think enough people hear it as much as they should. So I’ll just leave it at a thank you, sincerely.
I am thinking of planning a trip around the total eclipse that will go over Luxor in a few years. Gonna be one of the longest of the century.
I was invited to go to see the president and prime Minister of Sri Lanka right before covid. My landlord knew them and I would go with him. Car blew up and then had 9k in dental work needed. Couldn't go. Then the were kicked out of the country. Good news is he knows the next President too.
Great job on the latest installment of this series, David! The footage you captured is truly remarkable and your explanation was thorough and informative as usual. Your detail of the Serapeum was particularly noteworthy, and I am grateful that I could help with this episode by providing you with some footage of the Ahmose sarcophagus and lid! Looking forward to the next one and your return to Egypt!
Also your pronunciation of the Serapeum is unique, compared to how to the local Egyptians pronounce it, and how I’ve heard others say it. Made me rethink how it should be pronounced with more emphasis on the ‘a’ for the apis.
I am a nut for consistency. Serapis, Serapeum. But when putting Greek into English, so many variations of pronunciations (and spellings) have developed.
@@WorldofAntiquity the consistency nut shines through with your consistent use of interred, even correcting yourself at 38:55 👏👏👏
@@Anyextee Ha! Yeah.
Fantastic video David, well done! You got phenomenal footage and explained a huge amount of Saqqara under one roof. Your breakdown of the Serapeum was great and we’re glad we could help you with a photo of the Ahmose sarcophagus. We wish we would’ve got more and higher quality footage when we visited Egypt, but we were rookie film makers back then lol. Thanks for directing people to our channel 🙏 We’re looking forward to doing a podcast with you soon.
Many thanks to you! Everyone go subscribe to Ancient Presence.
@@WorldofAntiquityCool! 👍Just subscribed 😊
Thanks Raina! 😃
@@WorldofAntiquity
What is the background music you are playing from about 15:34? It reminds me of _"Basic Instinct."_
{:o:O:}
Great job guys, you really care about accurate info👍🏻
Woo! Been waiting for this one! So glad you got to go!
8th wonder of the ancient world!
My goodness, this is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for the content, I'm envious of your adventures! Saqqara would be at the top of my list of places to visit in Egypt.
Wonderful video. It brings great memories of my visit to Egypt many years ago. I was fortunate to visit Giza and explore the great pyramid. There was an extraordinary sense both of age and the sheer weigh of rock above my head when I stood in the chamber deep beneath the pyramid. The sphinx was amazing and timeless when you consider the eons it has sat and watched the passage of the sun and stars above it. But my visit to the Seraphim at Saqqara was the highlight. It was completely empty and silent except for myself and my partner. The long passageways and each huge sarcophagus set in its dark chamber were enveloped in the most extraordinary atmosphere. I came away with a feeling of wonder which has never left me.
Look at the great paintings and carvings showing people who perform music and play on instruments. People who understands numbers, symmetry, and communication. Yet there are those among us who think the same people needed space alien technology to build their world.
Thanks Dave, Ms Hilder. Great show!
And thank you!
I like these videos where there is lots of closeup footage of the work that was done throughout a given site. It's amazing how much imperfection the LAHT types have to walk past in order to find those perfectly cut and fitted stones that a hair won't fit in-between. They gotta do some creative filming and editing to avoid an honest warts and all perspective. As well as going out of their way to avoid discussing original source materials like Mariette's notes that explain what the LAHT types claim is unexplainable.
Your videos are the most educational and truthful.
I am over the moon to discover you, this video is so good, I was misled with other UA-camrs start to believe this was impossible to Egyptians to build. I was told was aliens and , nonsense rubbish. Thank, you are amazing
That was gorgeous! Can't wait for the next few.
I really can't wrap my head around the fact that you didn't took an angle ruler to measure the incredible and advanced megalithic precision of the sarcophagus and walls! Such a waste!
As usual, fantastic video for us ruins collectors around the world.
Because that would be a dishonest portrayal of facts
@@GroberWeisenstein yes, of course, it was sarcasm.
Seems you have good taste in more than just ancient architecture. You lucky man. Thanks to both of you.
Natalie is a colleague, and yes, I am lucky to work with her.
@@WorldofAntiquity A very diplomatic response. 😉
Loving this series!!
Thoroughly fantastically done! Without question the best travel guide on the subject. You make it sensible, enjoyable and fascinating. Why watch a movie when you guys are at the helm? Thank you all for bringing us along!
Great video again! High quality and professionally shot. Probably the videographer's worst nightmare to shoot: from bright sun to no-light catacombs.. But he/she managed well.. ;-)
Thanks for the interesting video content also! I was not familiar with all this, and happy to know a bit more about ancient Egypt. The restored hieroglyphs are fantastic! Probably many many manhours went in it. It is also good you mentioned what we see today is what is left of 1000s of years of cemetery use and all its constructions, so the art work is the life line.
Valuable point David in comparing evolution of sarcophagi in and of itself. Great to see you out and about retracing familiar steps where lesser men have walked before you ie: pseudo-archeologists .
Awesome video! This is like a VIP tour & documentary all in one! Thank you!
By far the best series i've seen in 2023! :D
I was super curious about the relief tomb wall paintings & wondering if they were built-up with the equivelant of plaster just as you showed the unpainted ones. Wow, carving out the negative spaces around the figures must have been stressful. One slip of your chisel & someone loses a nose, foot or hand. 😱 The ingenuity of moving those huge sarcophagi into place is really admirable. Just because they lacked modern technology like electricty & steel didn't mean they lacked technology or engineering skills or a basic understanding of physics. Truly breathtaking & awe inspiring. Thank you so much for the tour ❤
This was a great video. Very enjoyable to watch and well presented. Thankyou.
A wonderful tour. Great visuals. I liked your emphasis on craftsmanship in the Serapeum rather than "ancient high tech" and "precision" and what archaeologists actually found regarding rollers. There's plenty to marvel over without concocting mysteries that have already been explained evidentially. Thanks again to you and Natalie for your informative series.
Is it a coincidence that every ancient culture across the world who worked with megalithic stones suddenly stopped at the same time? If it was worth inventing once independently and then lost, then why not again? These cultures had to have been connected and shared knowledge.
@@deluego3603 Is it a coincidence? I'm not sure it's a fact. You would have to check a lot of dates. Did megalithic building stop in France or Britain or Japan at the same time? Seems it may have stopped in Anatolia before Egypt, and much later in Peru. There are lots of reasons for changes in architectural styles or construction techniques, for eg. changes in belief, new material discoveries, and political and economic factors. It may be that the cost of such building projects was too high; Maybe invasions, famines, and other disasters obliterated knowledge. As for cultural connections, sure. Travel and trade were common. But you need evidence- items from far off areas, pottery, seals, written accounts etc.- to say for sure. One thing that human cultures share in common is the human mind with its innate structures of consciousness. It may well be that similar ideas can be produced independently at the time because humans face similar challenges. Hope this was helpful.
This is an amazing video. Thank you for showing us around. By far the best short documentaries around!
Great, another amazing episode. Thank David and Natalie.
AWESOME ! Great video ! Thanks so much Dr. David. Always seeing & learning great new stuff here on this channel.
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this! Love these videos, I’m living vicariously through you in hopes one day I’ll be able to visit these amazing places of human history.
I just got caught up with this travel series and it's absolutely fantastic! It made me really want to travel to Egypt. I love when you showed interactions between you, Natalie, your guides and the locals. Also the food looks divine!
I've heard that the tourism police can be extremely annoying, even harassing people and trying to confiscate cameras. Did you guys have much trouble with them? Do they do that to everyone, or were they more interested in your group because you were filming? I would love to hear more about your experience in that regard.
Thank you so much for the fantastic educational content!! Keep up the great work 😊
They didn't give us any trouble, but this probably had a lot to do with our guide, Ehab, who has experience dealing with them.
What a fun and informative adventure! Really enjoying this series so far!
Excellent as usual, thanks David.
Amazing series loving every minute of it, one of the best Egyptian tour/documentaries I've ever seen. I've fished for nile perch 12 years ago, and I can confirm those fish in the carvings are most definetly accurate in scale.
The whole sand technique is so ingenious! What a shame that such incredible engineering ideas are swept away for mythical tales of aliens.
_"Necessity is the mother of all invention"_
Moral: ancient peoples like the Egyptians were certainly "less technological" than we are today. Yet they ultimately were still humans the same as us and thus the capacity to adapt to one's environment and utilize the same existed. This results in yet another adage which is apropos here:
_"There is more than one way to skin a cat"_
love this David! great video, informative and perfect for unwinding.
Great video, very clarifying, professor Miano! Best regards from Brazil!
The tomb of Mehu was my personal highlight. You are covering everthing so well that it seems not necessary anymore to go to Egypt myself!
It's still better in person!
Great detail thank you! The translation really cool .
Wonderful presentation clearly explained and illustrated. No need for embellishment or far fetched theories. Keep up the great work!
Informative, and very nicely produced, bravo! 👏
Wonderful video as always, thank you!
Awesome thank you for sharing with us!
I've been to the Serapeum easily a dozen times. You learn something new every time. By the last time I was there, the guards knew me so well, they would let me do (within reason) whatever I liked. The second to very last alcove on the left, in your map, contains a rose granite box. As you know, the Serapeum boxes were finished in situ; well, what WE saw showed that the box was only half polished, and in the inside there was an exact straight line across, perfectly polished on one side, and rough where the material was outside the lines.
Very very surprising, of course, since all of the videos of modern granite polishing that I have been able to find show the stone being polished using rotating tools. What were they using?
In Egyptian quarries one can find partially completed statues etc. which were being worked in situ prior to subsequent movement to their final destination. This would make sense as it would allow for moving less heavy loads - as opposed to a solid block of stone. Then as you alluded to the craftsmen on the other end could do the finishing work prior to final installation.
Apis Bulls however were only periodically interred. This means the temple might have obtained a partially completed block - to have it sit possibly for years until needed at which point the finishing work is completed by perhaps a new team of craftsmen in the employ of the temple. This could account for the "disparity" of work one sometimes sees. If an Apis Bull did not die of natural causes it would be ritually killed after 25 years. By then the temple staff could have changed over.
As to how. Sides were likely chipped somewhat smooth using gneiss stone tools early on - and later iron tools. Remember that what you saw in the Serapeum represented = the last areas to be completed as the other parts are closed to the public. That then means Late New Kingdom/Persian period + Ptolemaic period = or Iron Age. While the Egyptians invariably imported some iron tools at some point - the Persians upon conquering Egypt facilitated their smelting their own iron rather than obtaining it from abroad.
So sides would be chipped down and then sanded smooth using blocks and an abrasive compound like sand or corundum - probably in a medium of some type like semi-viscous clay. Think modern kitchen cleansers for countertops where you have mild grit in an emulsion medium.
p.s. - look at photos of stone sarcophagi online. On some where you see closeups of the inner corners you can see a thin "band" along the bottom. That would correspond with above. Using a block it would be difficult to get down to the very bottom as the width of the sanding block would prevent it. Thus the area above that thin "lip" is polished while the very bottom is less so.
For polishing statues then perhaps a polishing medium as noted using supple leather cloths as the Egyptians obviously tanned leather as others did. Imagine some apprentice sitting them with a leather polishing cloth and an emulsion-based polishing medium endlessly polishing away what the master craftsman created......... 😥
@varyolla435 WOW, amazing response. Very educational, thank you! Since you obviously know a lot about the Serapeum, can I ask you a couple questions? 1) If the serapeum boxes were ceremonial, why are they buried underground? 2) Why do the lids hermetically seal? 3) why the extreme precision if they were ceremonial? 4) Why are the boxes "dug out" in places where there are imperfections or cracks (called "undercutting" or "stress relief grooving" ). This harms the "perfect" appearance of the box, and as you know, the Egyptians were perfectionists. This all alludes to me to the boxes having a "function," and not being ceremonial at all. What do you think?
@@catsfive First is Egypt = is hot..... So just as they created their own tombs underground away from prying eyes and the heat - so they created temples as well. The searing heat can cause rapid breakdown of bodies. Some years back at Saqqara Egyptologists unearthed an ancient mummification chamber which was = 30 meters beneath the ground - so as to escape the heat above.
Next is the lids were not so much "hermetically sealed" as simply heavy = so as to prevent violation of the body the same as with their own. They Egyptians believed the body was required for the afterlife and hence they took measures to preserve and protect them.
The Egyptians were not "perfectionists" = and nice things cost money. So it costs money to install an Apis Bull and the Pharaohs were not always all powerful and wealthy. This is historical documentation to show whereby a Pharaoh at the end of the New Kingdom period was so impoverished they took to opening tombs in the Valley of the Kings to remove wealth.
Thus Apis Bull internment were commissioned by the Pharaohs who accordingly invested the time and resources they could afford. That is why in some cases you see more "perfection" - and in other cases flawed sarcophagi which were still used.
Wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful footage and your knowledge and insights.
Hey Professor Miano, you ever hear about the "mysterious Black Goo" that is all over and inside one of the boxes in the Osiris Shaft? Some of the "lost technology" types make a big deal about it.
Well, these two podcasters, "The Serpent Bros" found an old water pump in the same room as the box. Was probably used back in the 70s to clear out water. The pump is covered with the same "mysterious goo"
That one popular UA-camr, BF, I'm pretty sure even mentioned that he had the goo tested and it contained "bitumen" so it's been pretty obvious all along that it was engine oil. But he still acted like it was all related to some lost high tech
I can imagine an Egyptian pump from the 1970s would leak lots of oil. It was probably manufactured in the 1930s. They probably had jugs of oil and kept them on top of or inside the box.
It's so absurd that all these other "researchers" never noticed the old oil covered pump sitting nearby the "mysterious goo" cover box
The 1930s Meyers model water pump was first discovered in situ by Boris Seyid back in the 1990s. The original work was not from the 1970s, rather it dates back to the 1930s failed attempt to pump water out by Selim Hassan. This video on my UA-cam channel was first to explain the whole history and solve the black goo / water pump mystery in this video here ua-cam.com/video/VI_6ojYUdFY/v-deo.html
Bitumen is natural substance, it's been use for a very long time for many reasons, lamps, waterproofing, medical etc
Waxes, resins, oils are used to improve the color and sheen of finished stone surfaces in lieu of proper polishing technologies Over time and with repeated applications build-up and chemical break down occurs resulting in "mysterious goos"
@@SpeedLockedNZ yeah for sure, I know. Only reason I mentioned that is that Forester tells his viewers that just because the goo tested as "related to bitumen" or whatever that that means it's ancient
It's not ancient, and I explain exactly why it can't be ancient here: ua-cam.com/video/VI_6ojYUdFY/v-deo.html
Outstanding,thank you very much
Speaking for only myself, Dr Miano, I really like this style of your videos.
I like your take on this. Thanks for presenting this information.
The ancient Egyptians seems to have been masters of the principle "work smarter, not harder".
Who needs a dangerouns heavy-duty crane contraption to lower a super-heavy stone box into place, when you have plenty of sand nearby?
_"Necessity is the mother of all invention"_ So your crane example reflects this precept as man eventually developed cranes to allow for what he did previously by other means = more easily - hence more practical.
Many of the inventions we take for granted today are based upon ancient principles of what was done by hand or via simple devices and we developed machines to allow for = commercialization of the process.
Another fantastic episode thank you 👏👏👏
So fascinating, thank you for the great tour! 😊👌
Fabulous. I really enjoyed this. Cheers.
Just wow. What an experience this must’ve been.
Great documentary. I was in Saqqara 2 months ago but many of the tombs i could not see so many thanks for sharing
Great presentation of beautiful tombs! Wow.
How exciting!😍
Breathtaking video. Wonderful things❤.
This was really good. Thank you!
Quality production. Love the music.
You just can't fail to be amazed by the beauty of the artistic reliefs in the tombs, the creations must have taken many many hours of dedication & skill to create. I'm guessing they were also most likely created using candle light.
Oil lamps + mirrors. Think the headlight on your car. It is nothing more than a light source surrounded by a reflective surface to focus the light in a given direction. So the Egyptians like many others used oil lamps. It is believed they would twist their wicks in a way as to allow them to burn efficiently + they added salt to the oil to reduce the amount of soot given off. They probably used a high grade oil as well.
As to mirrors. Before modern mirrors people for millennia used polished metal mirrors. Since metal can obviously be shaped it therefore becomes possible to create a curved polished surface - not unlike your headlight uses - which helps reflect the light given off by lamps onto a wall surface.
Final thought. If you are not used to working in darkened conditions you'd probably find doing so using light from lamps difficult - at least initially. If however you spend a lot of time underground - like say miners might do = your eyes get used to working in conditions of lower light. The Egyptians who dug the tombs were probably like miners in that their eyes got used to working under less than optimal light conditions. 🤓
@@varyolla435 we STILL use giant sheets of reflective metal as mirrors to direct light during movie shoots. Candles and torches are not as effective.
INCREDIBLE Footage wow!
So so good! That was informal and funny!
Loved the series!!
Thank you for sharing!
Great stuff. Thanks folks.
The false door is amazingly preserved, it's almost hard to fathom how the color has stayed for so many thousands of years.
Astonishing how much of the 4000 year-old artwork is still in such good shape...
Environment. Some underground tombs still contain well done depictions because of their location. They were situated away from flooding/moisture and did not incur undue damage from things like earthquakes. Other tombs however were found to be chock full of debris and their ceilings collapsed because the limestone they were hewed from was weak and damaged over time and they were situated in flash flood areas.
Been so many years since I went there---lots more is open to the public now! Road Scholar still runs a reasonably priced two week trip hitting all the high lights including three day Nile cruise and Abu Simbel.
Excellent! Thanks you.
Wonderful, informative video. Thank you.
Great !
The info on the Serapeum is very interesting. What book source were you using for the information on dating each of the boxes? I have visited the Serapeum a few years ago. This is one of the most interesting sites in Egypt, after the Pyramids of Giza. Thanks for the video. Great job!
Dropdown menu....... This channel as academic ones often do = provide you with source material. As an aside. Egyptologist Aiden Dodson is an expert on the temple and the Egyptian bull cults. You can get open source PDF's on work he has done which will answer your questions. Do an internet search on him and the temple and it should show you various results about his writings.
No mention of power tools and saws. Refreshing content
Amazing 👏👏👏👏👏
Great video you did a really good job
Stunning 🙌
Fascinating presentation.
Catching up on your videos and leaving a hit-and-run like and comment for your Almighty Algorithm. Love what you do!
❤❤
this is outstanding. thank you.
Could you make a video about the greco bactrian cities in palestine and afghanistan in the future. About the indo greeks and the mix that existed between greek culture and buddhist culture during those times of which we have the oldest buddah statue.
Such a good episode!
Great production that explained so much I wasn't sure of in the past and only had the wacky channels to force feed me information that was there to inflate their egos and reinforce non truths. Nice one.....
Very nice footage, I especially enjoyed the interiors with the echoing voices.
Awesome video!! Super bummed you didn't go through what the dishes were, tho 🤣
I appreciate these kinds of videos because I'll likely never have the resources to make a trip like this (Powerball is our "plan A"). Keep up the excellent work, Dr M 👍
I have to say David, your channel is highly informative and very professionally done. keep up the good work! By the way, have you been to Monte Alban in Oaxaca Mexico? Its quite an ancient site and the city of Oaxaca is a delight to visit.
I have not yet been there!
Great footage and info. Good to remark how well made the boxes are, but also the imperfections. Clearly the so called lost advanced civilization, had nothing to do with this
I loved this one the best of this latest series. Very good. And I can't figure out why you didn't reference the nut job tour guides that talk about laser cuts and machine work on these stone vaults. Finally, some good content about Egypt
Thank you Dr Miano
Not only a treat for the eyes
....
I also learn correct pronunciations.
Thanks Dr. Miano.
I May not😢get there but your trips are the next best thing. Enjoyed watching your trip.
Happy Friday❤
Granite, basalt, diorite Sarcophagi at Serapeum were built by later Greek and Persians not Egyptian, why? to stop robbers, all older Egyptian limestone sarcophagi were smashed by robbers.
Fabulous. Thank you for sharing and passing on intriguing knowledge about our past!
I have some questions as a professional stonemason about some of the general building work and some of the maintenance would you be interested in hearing them?
Sure.
I am surprised that you are able to touch the inscriptions. Oils in your fingers should discolor or accelerate decay of the limestone.
What's the decay rate of finger oils on limestone ?
@@GroberWeisenstein depends on how many people touch it and how often, and if they kiss it too
@@histguy101 carbon build-up and patina formation will protect it from human oils which are too mildly acidic to have a discernible affect.
@@GroberWeisenstein tell it to the blassed pillars and sacred toes of st mary
@@histguy101 recessed carving like heiroglyphs vulnerable how ?
Can someone please explain this tradition to me. Why do people have to walk backwards around that pyramid at 0:50?
Ha, you weren't supposed to notice that. 😄
FASCINATING
Wish that the guide would not touch the murals, surprised that he did not know better!! Visited Saquara in 2008 and it certainly was absolutely stunning, especially the tomb of Ty, although hardly any of the gorgeous murals in this tomb are included in this excellent video!
From a general standpoint you are correct. One must however allow for the fact that such sites are preserved and maintained and access is limited to that end. As an example. The tomb of Tutankhamun = as a visitor duplicate.
The Egyptian Dept. of Antiquities created an identical tomb which visitors can go to and touch everything because = it is merely a facsimile. The actual tomb is restricted and they only allow a certain number into it each day to limit potential damage from moisture etc..
Moral: in areas where they do not want people "touching" = there are barriers. Some things however as noted it is okay to touch. It just depends.
I like how at 44:24, you debunk hours of pseudo archeology content from UnchartedX by just saying draft version.
His theory is that the boxes were inherited by the Egyptians because because only looking at this unfinished, he concludes that the hyeroglyphics in their draft version were inferior to the finished boxes.
Yep, one of Unchartedx's many dumb arguments.
@@Leeside999 I also like how in the same video about the Saqarra boxes, he totally ignore the other boxes which have perfectly finished hyerogplyhics on them.And he never mentions other places in Ancient Egypt where work exists in various stages of completion...
Out of curiosity, how does that rule out a draft version on an inherited box?
@@abelbabel8484 What evidence is there that it was inherited in the first place?
@@Leeside999 Maybe it wasn't, I don't know.
But an inherited box can be engraved with a draft and then abandoned for whatever reason just like a freshly made one, correct? It's not really evidence either way.
Great video, 👍
it wonderful!! i´ll love to visit egypt....
Fantastic! But wouldn't it be better for people to not touch the works of art in the tombs?
Yes.
What a marvellous and informative video! The amount of information available to you is staggering, quite as staggering as the amount of wilful ignorance displayed by Unhinged X in a video on this topic. I did not get to see most of what you have talked about at Saqqara, either because it was not available to tourists in the late 1970's, or our guide's time table didn't allow for it. Of course, I might have balked at some of the tunnels, as I had at entering the great pyramid at Giza [though I had no difficulty going into the tomb of Rameses in the Valley of the Kings]. To say that these videos are better than being there in person is absolutely true in my case. When viewing your food related conclusion, I ate some dolma [stuffed grape leaves], cheese and bread. Mediterranean food is as great as the historic relics!
Thanks again for the wonderful, fact filled video. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, Jay!