00:00Egypt has ruled as the owner of the world's oldest pyramid, until now.
00:06A newly discovered structure in Indonesia may predate Egypt by thousands of years.
00:12If this is true, it rewrites history.
00:15The world's first pyramid was born during the last ice age, and it's now located in the middle of the jungle.
00:22At first glance, Ganung Padang does not exactly scream pyramid.
00:26It looks more like a big mound with scattered stones tossed all over it.
00:32But, recent excavations have revealed that far beneath the surface, there are stone structures buried in multiple layers, deeper, and much older than anyone expected.
00:43We're talking possibly 27,000 years old.
00:47This is serious if we're talking about humankind's history.
00:51Today, the oldest known ancient society with this kind of building knowledge is probably 11,000 years old, and used to occupy the region of modern-day Turkey.
01:02We've talked about Gobekli Tepe in some of our previous videos.
01:06Ganung Padang has got the scientific community divided and raising big, life-changing questions.
01:13You see, the site of Ganung Padang has long been considered sacred by the locals.
01:18Many even call it the Mountain of Enlightenment, and still use the site to perform mystical ceremonies.
01:26Westerners had no clue this place existed until the late 1800s.
01:30That's when a Dutch explorer heard whispers about a strange mountain, and went to see it for himself.
01:36Just four hours south of Jakarta, he found something wild.
01:42Stacked terraces connected by rough stone steps, massive flat stones covering the ground, and towering pillars everywhere.
01:51To him, it looked like an ancient ceremonial site, maybe even a burial ground.
01:56For almost a hundred years, mainstream archaeologists simply ignored Ganung Padang.
02:03The story resurfaced when a group of farmers brought attention back to the mountain in 1979.
02:09By the 80s, researchers finally started digging and found pottery fragments dating back to somewhere between 45 BCE to 22 CE.
02:19But here's where this story gets interesting.
02:23Some studies suggest the deepest layers of Ganung Padang are between 16 to 27,000 years old.
02:31That means this pyramid could have been built during the last ice age.
02:36And if that's true, it's older than Egypt's famous pyramids, the ones we thought were the world's first.
02:42This whole theory comes from geologist Danny Hillman.
02:47His team used ground-penetrating radar, core drilling, and carbon dating to study Ganung Padang.
02:53And what they found was pretty wild.
02:56According to Hillman, this place is like a giant ancient layer cake, built in stages over thousands of years.
03:04The youngest layer is around 3,000 to 4,000 years old.
03:08That's roughly the age of the pyramids in Egypt.
03:11When you dig a little deeper, you find Unit 2, which was built between 7,500 and 8,000 years ago.
03:19But here's where things get truly mind-blowing.
03:23Hillman claims the deepest layer, Unit 3, could be as old as 27,000 years old.
03:30His study suggests that Ganung Padang isn't just a hill.
03:34It's a stepped pyramid, complete with chambers and hollow spaces hidden underground.
03:38Although there's not much info about these chambers.
03:43The geologist does admit his theory sounds crazy, but he says it's all real and legitimate data.
03:50Hey, this is just one theory.
03:52Those who disagree with Hillman say Ganung Padang was not man-made.
03:56It was nature-made.
03:57Maybe not the upper parts, which Hillman calls Unit 1.
04:00The lowest units, which are the units that could change our collective history, are the problem.
04:08To understand what the fuss is about, we need to look at the soil.
04:12The area that Ganung Padang was built on is filled with volcanoes, which means it sits on top of volcanic soil.
04:20Hillman's team drilled into the mound and found something odd.
04:24Younger soil wedged between much older rock layers.
04:29To them, this was a clear sign that the stones were stacked, not naturally formed.
04:35After all, in nature, Younger soil doesn't just sink beneath ancient rock.
04:39That would be like discovering fresh ink beneath the pages of an ancient manuscript.
04:44You know, something doesn't add up unless someone put it there on purpose.
04:48However, skeptics such as volcanologist Sutkinell Brauntal argue that Ganung Padang is not a human-made pyramid,
04:58but rather the remains of an ancient volcano.
05:02He believes the mixed layers of young soil and old rock are the result of natural erosion and geological processes,
05:09not human construction.
05:11Volcanic activity can create unusual formations over time,
05:15and without clear signs of tools, carvings, or human remains,
05:19many experts remain unconvinced.
05:22The mystery boils down to this paradox.
05:25Are we looking at the ruins of a lost civilization,
05:28or are we simply misinterpreting the work of nature?
05:33Most archaeologists say that to prove an ancient civilization existed,
05:37you first need signs of culture, art, tools, structures, something man-made.
05:43That's exactly why archaeologist Dibble, one of Hillman's biggest critics,
05:48isn't buying the pyramid theory.
05:50He argues that without solid proof of human activity,
05:54all we really know is that the soil in the mound is 27,000 years old,
05:59and that alone doesn't mean people were building pyramids back then.
06:03But here's the thing.
06:05The more we dig into ancient history,
06:07the more we find that our ancestors were capable of things we never imagined.
06:13The idea of advanced civilizations existing during the Ice Age
06:16seems far-fetched to many archaeologists.
06:19After all, who could have the technology and knowledge
06:22to build massive structures like pyramids in such a harsh environment?
06:26This is where some researchers, particularly Graham Hancock, come in.
06:32Hancock is known for his controversial theories
06:34that say that advanced civilizations may have existed during the Ice Age.
06:39The last Ice Age lasted from about 2.5 million years ago
06:44to roughly 11,700 years ago.
06:47During its peak, huge ice sheets covered large parts of North America,
06:51Europe, and Asia,
06:52making it a challenging time for human survival.
06:56Most archaeologists believe that humans during this period
06:59were mainly hunter-gatherers,
07:01moving from place to place in search of food and shelter.
07:04The idea that they had skills to build a massive pyramid-like structure
07:08is hard for many to accept.
07:11However, researchers like Graham Hancock
07:13argue that advanced Ice Age civilizations could have existed
07:17and been wiped out by cataclysmic events
07:20such as floods caused by melting glaciers.
07:23According to Hancock,
07:25these ancient cultures may have built monumental structures like pyramids.
07:29One of Hancock's most notable books,
07:32Fingerprints of the Gods,
07:33explores this theory in depth.
07:35He looks at evidence from ancient monuments
07:37like Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza
07:39and the megalithic structures in South America
07:42and suggests that these could be the remnants of a forgotten civilization.
07:46Hancock's theories imply that knowledge and skills
07:49passed down from this ancient culture
07:51were eventually rediscovered and used by later civilizations
07:55like the Egyptians and Mayans.
07:58If we apply this to Gnung Padang,
08:00the idea becomes even more fascinating.
08:04Could this ancient site in Indonesia
08:05be a remnant of a long-lost civilization
08:08that existed during the last Ice Age?
08:10We'll have to keep digging to figure this out.
08:14Either way, while scientists debate the origins of Gnung Padang,
08:18local myths offer a different explanation.
08:21One of the most famous local legends
08:23tells the story of King Silawangi,
08:25a powerful ruler who wanted to build a grand palace in a single night.
08:30With supernatural strength,
08:32he began stacking enormous stones to create his masterpiece.
08:36But as the first light of dawn appeared,
08:39he realized he had failed to finish in time.
08:42Frustrated, he abandoned the project,
08:44leaving behind the massive rock formations that we see today.
08:48While this story isn't historical fact,
08:51it reflects how deeply Gnung Padang is embedded in the local culture.
08:56Even today, the site is considered a place of spiritual energy,
09:01attracting visitors who believe in its mystical power.
09:05Hindus from the island of Bali
09:07climb the mountain steps to conduct rituals
09:09related to the rising of the full moon.
09:13Followers of a variant of Indonesian martial art
09:15practice their discipline high on the mountain.
09:18As these sacred rituals continue,
09:20archaeology and geology keep trying to figure out
09:23if this really is the oldest man-made structure in the world.
09:29That's it for today.
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