Ancient Egyptian Port Found Near Great Pyramid Site | Secrets in the Sand | History Documentary

A bizarre discovery in the sand of Wadi al-Jarf may reveal the secret of Egypt's largest pyramid. They have to be man-made. But what are they? Astonishing camel rock art discovered on the edge of the desert in Saudi Arabia may change our understanding of human history in the region. This site is much, much older than we initially thought. And an extraordinary rock formation discovered in the Sahara is out of this world. It's really an awe-inspiring sight. But what exactly is it? Astonishing discoveries unearthed from the depths of the desert. Ancient lost cities. Forgotten treasures. Mysterious structures. Extraordinary curiosities once lost to the sands of time are finally exposed. As new technology uncovers remarkable tales hidden beneath the deserts of the world, the secrets in the sand will finally be revealed. Around 150 kilometers south of Suez, Egypt, along the western coast of the Red Sea is Wadi al-Jarf. This region is part of Egypt's eastern desert, a roughly 220,000 square kilometer section of the Sahara that conceals innumerable mysteries lost in the sands of time. Around 95% of Egypt's population lives within 20 kilometers of the Nile River basin, while the rest of the country is virtually uninhabited because of the hostile desert environment, Wadi al-Jarf included. A team of marine archaeologists from the French Institute of Archaeology and Sorbonne University are investigating a remote section of the Red Sea coast at Wadi al-Jarf when they discover something strange in the water. At first sight, it looks sort of like a landform running parallel to the shoreline. And at low tide, it becomes even more visible. It could be a shoal, which reaches that form where a current deposits material that builds up over time and creates a shallower area. But shoals are usually made up of sand or other fine sediment. However, this formation at Wadi al-Jarf appears to be made of rock. The marine archaeologists continue their investigation underwater and discover that the formation is L-shaped, stretching about 160 meters eastward and then turning southeast and extending for roughly another 120 meters. This is a huge structure. Whatever it is could have been on land when it was constructed. And then over the years, erosion and rising sea levels aid into the coast, and it ended up submerged. Maybe it's the ruins of an ancient palace that sat close to the shore or a military outpost for defending against enemies coming from the sea. But this is a desolate area. There's no evidence that there was ever a city here or anything even worth defending. As the team explores beneath the water, they make another surprising discovery, 22 limestone blocks on the seafloor, all with a hole cut into them. They're about the size of a microwave and have been shaped into a trapezoid with rounded corners. So they have to be man-made. But what are they? The team moves the excavations onto the shore at Wadi al-Jarf and unearth more evidence of ancient activity, the ruins of two large stone structures about 30 meters in length and 8 to 12 meters in width. The building seemed to have five or six rooms separated by low walls constructed with limestone and pebbles, the same materials used to build the underwater structure. Another 99 limestone blocks with holes cut into them were found. But unlike the ones discovered on the seafloor, these seem to have traces of rope attached to them. So the limestone blocks found at Wadi al-Jarf are most likely anchors. The ones found on the seabed probably fell off boats. And the ones found at the collection on land were probably stored in the two buildings that were discovered. Given the L shape and the presence of anchors, it's likely the underwater structure was a pier, which also would have served as a breakwater, protecting moored ships from the ravages of the Red Sea. Considering all the evidence found in the vicinity of the pier, it looks like there must have been significant maritime activity on this part of the coast. In 1823, a British explorer discovered tunnels around 6 kilometers inland from the location of the pier. But nobody had investigated them further. Interested in a possible connection, the team ventures to the site. There are 30 long, narrow tunnels carved into the hillside. They average 15 to 20 meters in length, 3 meters in width, and 2 and 1 half meters in height. Clearly, they're man-made. And they're spacious enough for human activity. But what were they for? Exploring the tunnel complex further, the team discovers something strange, hundreds of pieces of wood. Several pieces of the wood are thought to be parts of oars. And there are also lengths of rope and dozens of jars. So this whole system of tunnels looks like it must have been used as a storage area for boat parts and supplies for voyages. But maybe this tunnel system was used for more than just storage and supplies. It's entirely possible that whole boats were assembled and stored here. All signs point to Wadi al-Jarf being a major seafaring hub, which is kind of strange, considering that population centers at the time were hundreds of kilometers across the desert. And there's no evidence of any infrastructure or extensive human presence that you typically find at a busy port site. Why would the ancient Egyptians build this harbor complex in the middle of nowhere? In Egypt, a discovery in the waters of the Red Sea sparks interest from archaeologists and draws a potential connection to a series of tunnels six kilometers inland. Exploring the tunnels further, the team makes an astonishing discovery that may be one of the most important in the storied history of Egyptian archaeology. There are around 800 pieces of inscribed papyri, and most are very well preserved because of the dry desert environment and also from being in the tunnels where they were sheltered from the elements. The archaeologists set about analyzing and translating the papyri and find that one of the best preserved pieces makes reference to the year after the 13th cattle count, or approximately 2,570 BCE during Pharaoh Khufu's reign. Famously, Khufu's tomb lies within the largest pyramid in Egypt, the Great Pyramid of Giza, an architectural feat commissioned by the pharaoh himself. The cattle count was a way for Egyptian officials to collect taxes based on assessing the value of a farmer's crops and livestock. They traveled from place to place every two years and quite literally counted cows. If the papyri were written after the 13th cattle count of Khufu's reign, then that means that this was the 27th year of his time in power, and they date back almost 4,600 years. These are the oldest inscribed papyri ever found, and the harbor at Wadi al-Jarf is the oldest of its kind. Their remarkable age is even noted in the Guinness Book of World Records. Further analysis of the papyri not only reveals the age of the harbor site, including the pier originally discovered, but surprising details about what transpired at the harbor during Khufu's reign. There are two basic categories of documentation. The first is a sort of accounting ledger, detailing deliveries to the area. The second, and by far the more intriguing of the two, seems to be the daily diary of a man named Merer. He appears to have been a bureaucrat of some kind, who was in charge of a team of men ferrying goods throughout Egypt. At one point, the journal mentions a stop at Tura, a town known for its limestone quarry. Merer describes loading their boat with stone and taking it up the Nile River, so it seems likely that they were building something. But what exactly was it? Merer's diary also references reporting to the noble Ankaf, who was thought to be the half-brother of Khufu and a powerful figure within the pharaoh's inner circle. It's long been suspected that Ankaf oversaw the building of the Great Pyramid at Giza. We know that Tura limestone was used for the pyramid's outer layer, so Merer's diary provides a glimpse into the logistical and engineering feats required to build one of the wonders of the world. One thing that has puzzled experts over the years is how the ancient Egyptians got the massive stones to Giza to build the pyramids. The Nile is several miles away, and it would have required a Herculean effort to transport them over land. According to Merer's account, the stones were taken from Tura directly to Giza by boat, which supports the popular theory that the Egyptians redirected parts of the Nile, probably using canals, and constructed a major port close to the pyramid complex at Giza. But if Merer and his men were involved in the building of the Great Pyramid, then why was his diary found over 200 kilometers away at Wadi al-Jarf? Wadi al-Jarf is about 50 kilometers across the Red Sea from the Sinai Peninsula, the location of Egypt's mining operations. Some experts believe that Merer's responsibilities were more focused on acquiring and delivering materials like copper and turquoise that were needed to make the tools used to build the Great Pyramid. So the harbor was probably built to secure easy access to the resources needed for these huge construction projects. And despite this important role, Wadi al-Jarf was probably only in use for a few decades. Why the harbor was ultimately abandoned is still up for debate. But the common belief is that it may have been shut down at the end of Khufu's reign, having served its purpose of helping to build the Great Pyramid. Maybe for his final act, as operations at the harbor came to an end, Merer simply tossed the papyri into the tunnel and sealed the entrance, symbolically closing the book on this chapter of ancient Egyptian history, only for it to be opened again an astounding 4,600 years later. This is a monumental discovery. Merer's diary provides the only firsthand account of the logistical and engineering achievements that went into one of the most storied construction projects in world history. In northern Saudi Arabia, just south of the city of Saqqaqa, is the Al-Nafu Desert, which translates to the Great Sand Dune Desert. This is the second largest stretch of the Arabian Desert and features massive crescent-shaped reddish sand dunes. The extreme heat of this desert can reach as high as 54 degrees Celsius and never drops below 15 degrees, even in the winter. Not much thrives here in this 65,000 square kilometer desert. It even has a reputation for being impassable and incredibly inhospitable. Along the northern edge of the desert, eight kilometers outside of Saqqaqa, researchers exploring the region are drawn to a crumbling outcropping of three striated sandstone rock spurs and find clear traces of human life. Along the rock face are carved outlines of what looks like legs and bodies. Some are very faint etchings, and others are crumbling, rounded out shapes. But they are clearly images of animals. The artworks are large, practically life-sized, measuring 1 and 1 half to 2 and 1 half meters in length, with legs up to 1 meter tall. These are very distinctive animals. They're camels. Camels are an essential part of Saudi Arabian culture, integral to modern life, and are still celebrated today. 53% of the Arabian Peninsula's camels are found in Saudi Arabia, providing food, labor, and entertainment. There is even a camel pageant at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival, awarding the most beautiful camel each year from Gulf and Arab countries. So it is not surprising that these magnificent beasts of burden would be featured in local art throughout the ages. Looking around, there are 12 separate panels with a total of 21 animal images. The animals include 17 camels and what is likely an early ancestor of the horse. Though somewhat isolated and desolate, given the surrounding sands, these rocks aren't so far from the nearest community about 8 kilometers away. So who created these images? In Saudi Arabia, on the edge of the Arabian desert, the discovery of camel rock art has astonished experts. The images of the rock spurs are reliefs, a technique of sculpting in which the image protrudes from the background but is still connected to it. They are made in both low relief, featuring slightly raised images, and high relief, where the image stands out in three dimensions from the flat surface, creating more shadow and distinction. Experts compare this site with the only other known three-dimensional camel reliefs at Petra in Jordan. The images at Petra's Bab Asik revealed a monumental sculptural group along a narrow passage that features herdsmen guiding camels. They're believed to be from 50 BCE and are among the earliest surviving reliefs in Petra. So it's possible these camel images outside Saqqaqa could be around 2,000 years old as well. The images in Petra are attributed to the Nabataeans, Arabian nomads from the Negev Desert who lived between the 6th century BCE and 100 CE. The Petra reliefs feature similar subject matter, but the works here in Saudi Arabia are smaller than the giant three-and-a-half-meter figures found there. Historic Nabataean caravan routes crossed through what is now the Saqqaqa Basin, connecting the entire peninsula, moving people and goods over hundreds of years. So it's possible they could be responsible for the images here too. However, another notable difference in the images is that the animals at Saqqaqa appear to be unharnessed and featured in their natural environments, where humans play a secondary role. This is unlike the Petra images, where the camels are being guided by men. So maybe they weren't created by the Nabataeans. While nomadic Neolithic people of Arabia did herd cattle, sheep, and goats, they had not yet domesticated camels, likely only hunting them for food. Surveying the area of ground and sediment around the rock bases, researchers discovered dozens of flint pieces among the crumbling rocks and sand. When flint, which is a form of quartz, is struck by a heavier or harder stone, it creates jagged and sharp fragments. The pieces of flint found here were likely tools used to create the artwork. To date the artwork, experts measure the regrowth of the rock's natural varnish, a dark or reddish coating caused by atmospheric exposure. This layer is mainly composed of clay and oxides and grows at only a few micrometers per thousand years. The depth of the varnish on the art reveals this site is much, much older than we initially thought, even older than the 2,000-year-old Petra camels. Further testing reveals that the Saqqaqa camel site actually dates to between 7,000 and 8,000 years ago, making these the oldest life-sized animal reliefs in the world. The site is astounding, not only given its age, but considering the efforts it would have taken to create it, especially given the available technologies at that time. While many areas of the rock spur are still quite imposing, digital reconstruction of the site leads experts to believe that the spurs would have reached up to 10 meters in height and were between 70 and 80 meters in length at the time the art was created. It's likely that the reliefs were created over different periods by multiple artists, whether taking on panels individually or working on them in tandem, which could explain the differences in style across the site. Given the enormous height and the fact that these life-sized two- and three-dimensional camels are seen throughout the rock surface, one would assume that whoever made these would have needed some form of ancient scaffolding. But why were they drawn here, seemingly in the middle of nowhere? On the edge of the Arabian Desert in Saudi Arabia, the discovery of the oldest animal reliefs in the world is pushing experts to unearth more answers. Archaeologists excavate a 1 by 5 meter, 40 centimeter deep trench on the north side of the center rock spur. They discover artifacts that range wildly in age, some date as far back as the mid-sixth millennium BCE, while others are as recent as 1587. Eight transverse arrowheads were among the artifacts discovered, and their style is indicative of items that were previously cataloged in Jordan. Transverse arrowheads tend to be much smaller than the triangular arrowheads you might normally think of. They can range from a few centimeters in length to the size of a thumbnail. Transverse arrowheads are a relic of ancient hunter-gatherer societies. They may be small, but they are deadly, designed to penetrate deep into the prey's flesh. These arrowheads are believed to date from 5,600 to 5,300 BCE. The evidence found in the trench supports the idea that Neolithic people seem to have repeatedly returned to this camel site over a wide spectrum of time. The rock's formations are positioned between the vast expanse of the desert and the mountainous massif to the north, an area of the Earth's crust that is defined by faults. The rocks at the camel site sit between 550 to 650 meters above sea level. And given their height above the sand, they would be visible from quite a distance, which could be helpful after a long, dusty trek through the extreme heat of the desert. Some people even think that the original formation may have looked somewhat like a camel from a distance. So perhaps the site and its camel reliefs were a landmark of some kind. Expanding the search, researchers and locals alike have uncovered another 11 rock art sites with similar carved and engraved images distributed along the edges of the Al Nafud desert, with a 12th site as far away as southern Jordan. Teams have identified a total of 27 panels depicting an astonishing 37 life-sized carvings of camels. They all share common characteristics, including details like hair, eyes, and ribs. It's believed that this site was in use over a prolonged period, and that communities likely revisited and added to the art over time. Though the exact reason people were drawn here is still unknown. The camel rock art sites across the Nafud desert, including at Sakaka, stand as evidence of a deep artistic tradition. Above all, these sites are testament to the fact that the wild camel was a creature of great cultural importance for the Neolithic peoples of this land. The beginnings of a relationship between man and animal that will remain an integral element of life in the region for generations to come. The Adrar Plateau in northwest Mauritania is a remote, hostile region of the Sahara Desert, mostly comprised of desolate canyons, imposing sand dunes, and parched, rocky landscapes. It's extremely dry here, averaging around 70 millimeters of rain annually. And that mainly falls during August and September, which would explain why the region is almost completely devoid of life. This extraordinary landscape is even more striking when viewed from above. All systems are good at this time. Astronauts aboard the Gemini 4 spacecraft on a four-day orbit around Earth are asked by NASA to photograph the planet's terrain. While flying over the Adrar Plateau, they spot something striking in the middle of the desert. It's a huge, circular formation on the ground that has concentric rings of different colors extending out from a large, central area. It looks kind of like a multicolored bullseye carved into the desert. And if the astronauts could see it from space, it must be absolutely massive. It's determined that the diameter of the structure is an astounding 40 kilometers. It's really an awe-inspiring sight. But what exactly is it? Named the Rashad Structure, but most commonly referred to as the Eye of the Sahara, this mysterious geological formation has perplexed scientists ever since its discovery. Perhaps it's an impact crater created when an object from space slammed into the Earth's surface. After all, a circular formation of this magnitude is very rare outside of meteorite strikes. Researchers in the area have found what are called brecciated cherts. These are small, angular pieces of sedimentary rock, similar to quartz, that are made up of smaller rock fragments and minerals that have been cemented together over time. Whenever there's a large extraterrestrial impact, a huge amount of debris in the form of different rock types is launched into the air. These fragments then fall back to the ground. And over the years, they slowly meld together. Breccias can be found at almost all major impact sites. Among them, northern Arizona's famous meteor crater, an almost otherworldly site gouged into the desert of the Colorado Plateau. It's a spectacular crater, roughly 1,200 meters across and 170 meters deep. It's thought to be around 50,000 years old, which is actually fairly young in geological time. About 150 kilometers southwest of the Eye of the Sahara is an impact site believed to be significantly older. The A'olul Crater could be up to 3 million years old. It's pretty close to the eye, so maybe this area was once a hotbed for meteorite activity. The A'olul Crater is quite a bit smaller, though, with a circumference of roughly 1.2 kilometers. But there are similar characteristics, like a raised rim around a relatively flat center. Further investigation at the Eye of the Sahara does not uncover any other evidence of impact. Naturally, explosive incidents leave traces behind. But such pieces of evidence simply aren't found here. Yes, they found breccia, but they were small and impacts severe enough to make a crater this large would leave much bigger rocks called megabreccia. You would also find shatter cones on surrounding rocks. These are marks and fractures caused by shock waves, but they haven't been found at the site. The Eye is also very shallow compared to how wide it is. It's 40 kilometers across, and yet it's only about 50 meters deep. If something hit the ground with enough force to leave a depression this wide, there would be evidence of the collision at least 10 kilometers below the surface of the Earth. So if the Eye isn't an impact crater, what else could it be? The origin of an enormous rock formation in the Sahara Desert has captured the curiosity of people worldwide, many who even think it might have mythical origins. Some theorize that the Eye is actually the remains of the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Plato first described Atlantis in writings dated to 360 BCE, claiming it was constructed using concentric rings that were varied between land and water, which kind of fits the description of the Eye. Critics are quick to point out that most scholars believe that the story of Atlantis is nothing but a rhetorical concept used by Plato, a morality tale about the destruction of an advanced utopian society. It's a bit of a far-fetched idea for several reasons. First off, Plato describes Atlantis' location as being in the Atlantic, just beyond the Pillars of Hercules, which most people assume to be in the Strait of Gibraltar, hundreds of kilometers away from the Eye. Atlantis is also said to have been surrounded by flat plains. That's not really an accurate description of the rugged landscape that surrounds the Eye of the Sahara. Plato also suggested that there was a main canal that ran through the city, but there's obviously nothing like that here. There's really no physical evidence to suggest that an advanced society existed here, but the Eye of the Sahara has been home to many interesting archaeological finds that are much older than the mythical Atlantis. Along the outermost rings, archaeologists have unearthed stone tools, mostly primitive oval and pear-shaped hand axes called bifaces, commonly used by early humans. This means that there could have been early human activity in this area over a million years ago. Maybe this was the site of some kind of ancient village where early humans lived. But no evidence of human-made structures have been found, and there are no other deposits that suggest that early humans lived here on a permanent basis. It's more likely that the area was used temporarily for hunting and tool making. And even if they did live here, that doesn't tell us anything about how the Eye was actually formed. A recent theory put forth by two Canadian geologists may just clarify the origins of the mysterious Eye of the Sahara once and for all. They believe that the Eye was formed more than 100 million years ago when the superconstant Pangea was pulled apart by plate tectonics, separating what are now South America and Africa. Molten rock bubbled up towards the surface of the Earth but didn't manage to break through, which produced a dome that's made up of layers of rock. This uplift also created fault lines in and around the Eye and melted limestone near the center, which collapsed and created the brecciated rock formations found there today. Then, sometime after, there was a violent eruption that caused the entire dome to disintegrate. And then it was just a matter of millions of years of erosion to create this spectacular formation. And so this striking ring-like appearance is likely due to the presence of different kinds of rock that erode at various speeds. There is fear among experts that as climate change accelerates desertification, the Eye of the Sahara could become buried in sand, and one of the most arresting geological formations on Earth would be lost forever. But until then, the great eye in the desert watches over us all. 150 kilometers southwest of Cairo, in the Western Desert of Egypt, lies a hot, dusty stretch of orange sand and dry rock formations known as Wadi al-Khatan. The Western Desert takes up 2 3rds of Egypt, covering nearly 700,000 square kilometers of the country in sand. Wadi al-Khatan is a remote desert valley that is made up of a series of escarpments with ancient sands that can be dated as far back as 48 million years ago. Under 43 centigrade heat and demanding field conditions, a team made up of paleontologists and master students are surveying a site when they discover a near-complete, though fragmented, fossil of an ancient creature. They carefully uncovered a partial skull, a series of disassociated vertebrae, and some other strange bones lying next to one another. This specimen measures nearly 2 meters in length. So the bones of this animal were found all together, articulated, connected to one another. And what this means is that there was no post-mortem movement, and therefore, the animal was found exactly where it died. This is clearly a sea creature, and a large one at that. But how did a sea creature end up in the middle of the Western Desert? The fossilized remains of a sea creature found deep in the Western Desert of Egypt have paleontologists eager to learn more about its past. You wouldn't know it by looking at this field of endless sand. But tens of millions of years ago, it was entirely underwater. 250 million years ago, this desert was the bed of the central Tethys Sea, named after the Greek goddess of the seas. It existed between the supercontinents of Gondwana and Laurasia before these landmasses broke apart, forming the modern continents and oceans we know today. The seafloor closed up with the settling of the plates approximately 50 million years ago, during the Cenozoic era. This left a shallow bay that eventually dried up. So even though it looks like a vast desert wasteland, this area is well-known for having the richest collection of marine fossils in Egypt. In 2015, a fully intact Bacillus aureus, one of the first prehistoric whales, was discovered. The Arabic name, Waji al-Hitan, means Valley of the Whales. It's called that because of the hundreds of ancient whale skeletons that have been discovered right here. So perhaps maybe this, too, is a whale. Among the numerous whale species discovered here in the valley, paleontologists have recently found Pheomacetus anubis, named after ancient Egypt's god of death. This is not your average whale by any stretch of the imagination. It's very small compared to modern whales. It's only about three meters long and weighed approximately 600 kilograms. Especially when considering that the average right whale living today is 18 meters long, and the blue whale can be up to 33 meters long. This whale has an elongated head with a long snout, indicating that it would have had a hefty bite for any unsuspecting prey. It's likely it would have been a carnivorous predator similar to today's orcas. But that's not even the strangest thing about this 43-million-year-old fossil of a whale in the desert. This whale seems to have legs, four legs, and legs are used for walking. It was a walking whale. More surprisingly, this is not the first walking whale discovered. In 2011, paleontologists in Peru found a four-meter-long whale fossil that had hooves and webbed feet. Through evolution, whales went from small-hoofed mammals who occasionally swam to the ocean-dwelling animals like blue whales that we have today. Further examination of the skull of the sea creature found in the wadi reveals two operacles, bone structures that protect the gills and define the connection of the head to the body. The presence of this bone structure here indicates that these remains are not those of a whale. In fact, it seems to be some type of very large fish. But what kind of fish is it? Paleontologists notice another particular set of unique bones known as the Weberian apparatus. This is amazing. The Weberian apparatus is a distinctive arrangement of small bones that connect the swim bladder to the auditory system. It enhances the fish's ability to hear under the extreme pressure caused by swimming in deep water. The bones of the Weberian apparatus are unique to the bony fishes, a category of 8,000 species, including carps, minnows, suckers, and catfish. Dating the bones to the strata layer they were discovered in, paleontologists are able to estimate the age of the fish to 37 million years old. Due to the extremely dry conditions of the desert that prevents moisture damage, these bones are incredibly well-preserved despite their age. And they're very anatomically modern. In fact, it's remarkably similar to its living relative, the catfish. The name catfish refers to the long feelers around the mouth that give the fish the appearance of having whiskers. And they are generally omnivorous scavengers and bottom feeders. Catfish are a diverse group of fish. And they're the most abundant freshwater fishes in the world, accounting for 22% of all fish found in freshwater. However, they were historically a saltwater species that adapted their tolerance to freshwater over many generations. It's likely a member of the Aridae catfish family, which lived primarily in the sea due to its high tolerance for saltwater. Paleontologists compare the reconstructed specimen discovered in the Wadi with other prehistoric fossilized catfish found in other regions of Africa and determine that this individual is, in fact, a new genus of catfish. This is the oldest and most complete catfish specimen found in this region today, named Hermotus haitianensis. Hermotus, from the old Arabic word for catfish, and haitianensis, meaning from the whale. This is also the first marine catfish to be found in the Valley of the Whales, meaning that even at two meters in length, it was still possibly prey to many of the mammalian predators in its midst. Every species plays a special role in its ecosystem. And each new fossil fills in a part of the larger picture that can't be properly understood until all members of its respective marine community are discovered. The importance of Wadi al-Haitan to the world of vertebrate paleontology cannot be understated. It's helping to answer questions about the lives, feeding behavior, and relationships of whales and other ancient sea creatures. This catfish discovery at Wadi al-Haitan contributes to an expanding and inspiring snapshot of marine evolution.