Ancient Civilizations Knew Things We Rediscovered Only in the 20th Century.

Get comfortable, relax, and let your mind slow down. Tonight, we’re going on a journey into the strange, fascinating, and unexpected. When Cleopatra stood before the Great Pyramid, it was already ancient. The pyramids were already ancient history in Cleopatra's time. And Cleopatra is ancient history to us. And they were not the beginning. 12,000 years ago- before Egypt, before Mesopotamia, before the wheel - people built a monumental temple from stones weighing up to 20 tons, on a hill in what is now Turkey. It was first identified in 1994. And even after decades of excavation, we still don't know exactly why it was deliberately buried. Today, we go back. All the way back. What you'll discover in this video: The mechanical computer built around 100 BCE that was lost for more than 1,400 years Why the city of Mohenjo-daro had a sewage system remarkably advanced for its time The weapon that burned on water for centuries — and whose secret was eventually lost How Maya astronomers calculated the movements of Venus with extraordinary precision The largest city north of Mexico around 1100 CE that almost nobody has heard of Why a devastating demographic collapse swept across the Americas after European contact The ancient writing system used by an entire civilization that remains undeciphered Every fact in this video is based on historical and archaeological evidence. Documented. Researched. And in many cases, still debated by scientists and historians. Some of these discoveries may change the way you think about what human beings were capable of - long before the modern world existed. CHAPTERS 00:00 - The Scale of Time: Cleopatra and the Pyramids 19:08 - Lost Knowledge: Greek Fire, Roman Concrete, Damascus Steel 38:07 - The Astronomers: Stonehenge, Maya, Babylon 57:57 - The First Cities: Uruk, Mohenjo-daro, The Bronze Age Collapse 1:14:52 - Egypt: The Civilization That Lasted 3,000 Years 1:33:10 - The Americas Before Columbus 1:50:08 - Greece and Rome: The Foundation We Stand On 2:11:19 - The Mysteries That Remain 2:29:20 - What We Are and Where We Come From If you enjoy calm, fascinating stories that make you see the world differently, subscribe to KNOW BEFORE SLEEP. More relaxing journeys, curious discoveries, and surprising ideas are waiting for you.