20 Greatest Ancient Historical Revelations of 2023

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Dr. Miano provides his top 20 list of the best historical finds of the past year.
CONTENTS
00:00 Introduction
01:08 No. 20
03:45 No. 19
04:41 No. 18
05:38 No. 17
06:25 No. 16
07:16 No. 15
07:54 No. 14
09:08 No. 13
10:06 No. 12
10:49 No. 11
11:47 No. 10
12:38 No. 9
13:32 No. 8
14:30 No. 7
15:30 No. 6
16:27 No. 5
17:32 No. 4
18:34 No. 3
19:27 No. 2
20:16 No. 1
To see 2023's greatest ARCHAEOLOGICAL discoveries, see here: • 20 Greatest Archaeolog...
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► REFERENCES
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journals.plos.org/plosgenetic...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
www.cell.com/cell-genomics/fu...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
www.maajournal.com/index.php/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
journals.plos.org/plosone/art...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas...
www.nature.com/articles/s4422...
cordis.europa.eu/article/id/4...
link.springer.com/article/10....
hal.science/hal-04244008v1/fi...
www.ebl.lmu.de/fragmentarium
www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...
www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-...
Professor Miano's handy guide for learning, "How to Know Stuff," is available here:
www.amazon.com/How-Know-Stuff...
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[@WorldofAntiquity]

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and enjoy all the amazing features MyHeritage has to offer. If you decide to continue your subscription, you’ll get a 50% discount. bit.ly/WorldofAntiquityJan24

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

no

[@beepboop204]

i think the biggest discovery was finding out you were engaged

[@hydrolito]

Mystery of rocks moving on there own in a different video was caused by the weather.

[@syasol]

yh but myheritage is an israeli company, and we should instead be divesting and boycotting all israeli companies since they benefit from the ethnic cleansing of native palestinians in occupied palestine

[@xanxanxan123]

With all the clickbaits and pseudoarchaeology on KZbin, you are truly a rare gem. For someone who doesn't have the opportunity to study history but loves learning about it, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Dr. M, for sharing your knowledge with us. I wish you good health and hope everything goes well in your life. ❤

[@infowarriorone]

Yup he's a real 'mythbuster'.

[@demonflowerchild]

Xan, great name😂😊

[@manbearpig710]

He’s still won’t acknowledge the vases being scanned rn lol. Data revealing that the crazy ones like me have been right about lost civilizations

[@LosRikos]

If you also enjoy space related discoveries like this kinda stuff check out John Michael godier

[@xanxanxan123]

@@manbearpig710 huh did you remember to take your medication? I hope you did

[@SaszaDerRoyt]

As an archaeologist who works more in the cultural/humanities side of things, all this stuff like archaeo-magnetism is basically sourcery to me, I'm always so impressed by what the scientists in this field can do

[@s.w.4409]

My greatest personal discovery of 2023: this channel!

[@Deipnosophist_the_Gastronomer]

Nice one.

[@mayascribe7757]

And David will lead you to many more discoveries!

[@2M3TAL4U]

'24 for me

[@kimblecheat]

Love the linguistic discoveries-want to read the earlier epic of Gilgamesh.

[@meesalikeu]

yeah i wonder how different it is.

[@Dept_Of_Ducks]

I wrote a paper in university comparing different published translations. I really want a hard copy to add to my collection but it doesn’t look like it’s out there yet as a book.

[@kariannecrysler640]

Udzi being so photogenic after being dead so long is a great discovery imo. The Yamnya culture horse domestication is more excellent discovery.

[@helenamcginty4920]

Its Ötzi I think. Ive only heard it pronounced ertzi. Hes in wikipedia.

[@kariannecrysler640]

@@helenamcginty4920 thanks! Not on the right device for fact checking myself. Greatly appreciated ✌️💚🤘

[@dnocturn84]

@@helenamcginty4920 Yes, it's "Ötzi". Named after the valley he was found in. The "Ötztal" = Ötz Valley. The ö sound in Ötzi doesn't really sound like ertzi, but it is close enough for English speakers, I guess.

[@infowarriorone]

Great content as always. I love it when historians and archaeologists discover that people were more intelligent, crafty and competent in the past than was previously understood.

[@MossyMozart]

@infowarriorone - I wholeheartedly concur!

[@joyboyrtg7495]

Gawd you’re the best type of person to cover this! Keep up your job! It’s very well appreciated

[@meesalikeu]

fantastic rundown. i remember the roman concrete story made big news in mass media as i recall that story. thx as always. 🎉

[@neva_nyx]

I am sooo excited about the translation of the cuneiform! So much to be rediscovered!

[@helenamcginty4920]

Have a look at Irving Finkel an amazing man with proper merlin type beard. He is the curator and translator of cuneiform clay tablets, thousands of them, in the British Museum. His video on The Ark before Noah based on the Babylonian version that predated the bible one is fascinating.

[@neva_nyx]

​@helenamcginty4920 thank you! Yes, I love him! He has several lectures here on KZbin.

[@therongjr]

1:20 - When you said "portable X-ray machines," my first thought was: "He can't expect us to believe that they discovered ancient portable X-ray machines!?"

[@yodasmomisondrugs7959]

Really enjoy these "Year End Discoveries."

[@WhiteOwlOnFire_XXX]

Love these longer videos. They’re also good for the algorithm as well. Gives you more watch time.

[@NawDawgTheRazor]

Dr. Miano is the real deal. I love that we can still learn from ancient technology to use in the modern day.

[@user-et2ti5nk9e]

Thanks as always for the great content! So grateful to live in a time where such high-quality videos made by experts are free and accessible!

[@feliloki7]

Went crazy over the yamnaya horse riding bas-relief! that is beautiful! also would love to hear you talk about the Dolmens of the Caucasus on which there is almost nothing but misinformation online

[@TT3TT3]

So interesting...thanks!

[@Kinetic-Energy117]

Important new discoveries brought to us by Dr. Miano is always appreciated 👏 Thank you for keeping us in the know.

[@bloodyvampy69]

I love your work and I am so grateful you made your e-book free. I love learning about different cultures and civilizations, so I take every possible opportunity to absorb whatever I can. For instance, I found out I'm a descendant of Prince Andres of the Arpad dynasty, so I read and watched as many free sources I could to learn about that ancestor.

[@dirtywhip]

I really thought the discovery of the secret recipe for Roman concrete would be much bigger news… superior to our present-day concrete, I’d think this is HUGE

[@kersebleptes1317]

A wonderful summary of a single year's advance! Many thanks. 🏆

[@welcometonebalia]

Thank you.

[@kencreten7308]

I waited 15 hours to watch? ... I was like, "how did I miss that!" Thanks much for the vid.

[@nanceeM1313]

So did I! 🤗 cheers~☆

[@julilla1]

Oooh, it's all so exciting!

[@daily.trades]

Thank you for the content!!!!

[@Carlton-B]

I think the ability to read the Herculaneum scrolls is the most interesting discovery, followed by the faster reading of cuneiform texts. My only problem with AI is that it has been known to invent things that don't actually exist, but careful supervision by experts should eliminate that problem. "The Picts ... had local origins, contrary to common assumptions." There are lots of "common assumptions" in archaeology, or erroneous deductions, and it is nice to see hard science correcting the record. In this day and age, DNA testing of newly excavated bones should be automatic.

[@manbearpig710]

They can’t actually read them. People still debate what is translated lol

[@ladeedaa]

Professor big bird is such a breath of fresh air 😂 love ya

[@eldridgebrown3907]

That is some of most wonderful information. I always love hearing new tools and methods used to find ancient things.

[@mitchmegaw7201]

How many languages would people know in ancient times? Would a trader need to know several while a farmer may need just a couple? How common were language barriers?

[@ANONM60D]

Amazing video. Thank you

[@NoneRain_]

Amazing vid. Thank you!

[@thesausagecontinuim1971]

cheers doc, more interesting stuff to wrap my ever eager brain around!!

[@WoodSprite4ever]

I'm so excited by all of this 😃😃😃 Thanks for the update upload Wow what an amazing year 🎉😂

[@shannonkilpatrick-ls7ul]

Another great vid. Every year we get to see further and further into the past. Exciting

[@dustin_gray]

Thanks, Dr Miano.

[@maxcasteel2141]

so many perspective changing discoveries in just one year. The egyptian art revisions is definitely changing the way I think, and I already loved those guys since learning about the satirical art they would make in Deir el Medina.

[@danitajaye7218]

You are amazing! I just found you! Already a huge fan of you and your content and your presentation of this important and fascinating information!!!!!!

[@tizzieblack3384]

Thanks. A useful site for up dating. I have unlearned stuff as well as learned it both valuable to my understanding of history.

[@rahrahrobbbieee]

Thanks. Nice job! 👍🏼👍🏼😎😎

[@WhoDoUthinkUr]

Really excited about the Scrolls .

[@edgarsnake2857]

Thank you, Doctor.

[@erinmcgraw5208]

So exciting!!! 🤩🩵

[@lambdasun4520]

Wowwww amazing I clicked as fast as a drugged squirrel!

[@kaisersozay99]

good one, thx

[@WhiteOwlOnFire_XXX]

This video was very helpful and informative

[@orsonzedd]

So two things about my ancestry. The first thing is that I managed to trace my family history all the way back to a fictional ice Giant. But the other thing was that I was actually able to contradict the family history my cousin had done and it helped me figure out that in fact we had been wrong about who our great great grandfather was

[@eniddachs8583]

Thanks!

[@WorldofAntiquity]

And thank you!

[@SMF314]

Awesome - even the commercial was interesting! Thanks!

[@mistyhaney5565]

I think the magnetic dating method will have the greatest long-term impact, but I love anything new about the Hittites.

[@MotoGiant]

good stuff!!

[@christophercripps7639]

New Indo-European language in Hittite archives is exciting, but IMO, it is not totally unexpected. My understanding is that the Hitties often recorded prayers and such in other languages, such as the nonIE Hurrian. There could be more hidden in the archives. Amazing that information from millenia ago is still preserved on clay tablets. Can anyone read a 3.5" floppy disc anymore? Of course, how much clay would be needed to store a terabyte of information?

[@Where_is_Waldo]

Number 9 just blew my mind, I love it. I can think of at least two people at work who would surely find that interesting.

[@dustyhughes1049]

i love learning about ancient history. i love Greek/Roman Mythology

[@regineb.4756]

Danke!

[@WorldofAntiquity]

And thank you!

[@corro202]

Great video.

[@98Zai]

I love #16! Of course they used the stars, they were an Island nation and had to rely on seafaring to survive. I wonder if I could find stars that align with places I visit frequently, would be fun to look at the sky and think about :)

[@tomhalla426]

As someone who has mixed mortar for masonry, quicklime/slaked lime tends to make concrete mortar weaker, but more workable. A definite tradeoff.

[@ianthompson-villeneuve6143]

very cool

[@_drawkward_]

I am still waiting for someone to formulate and use Roman concrete in modern times. It could revolutionize building (a concrete Renaissance, so to speak) especially in wet environments.

[@douglasphillips5870]

I think different cultures use different techniques based on need and availability of resources. Modern large scale concrete production doesn't lend itself as well to Roman concrete, but there could be cases where it's useful. Would it be advantageous enough to alter the process for limited pours though?

[@_drawkward_]

@@douglasphillips5870 specifically for seawalls, dam construction, etc. it seems like it would be worth the investment. Many old Roman aqueducts and seawalls are still around many centuries after the fall of Rome.

[@comsubpac]

We have much better materials.

[@Alderak1]

The concept that the Romans used wasn’t a mystery to us until 2023. Its been known the Romans used this method for years, it was simply confirmed in the study. The method has been used in modern construction before as well as in other self-healing materials in recent years.

[@COZYFORREAL]

Man this channel is gold mine

[@TheLionFarm]

17 was my favorite

[@user-ey6rc1uo3i]

Just imagine very carefully covering up your mistakes only for someone to come along 3000 years later and reveal them - and you thought no one would ever notice ...

[@witoldwisniewski9750]

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

[@omnologos]

How about reading 2600BCE as “BCE 2600”? This too would greatly help in understanding the dates in a video and avoid confusion with CE

[@theg0z0n]

Dank video drop from Dr. M, tastes good when it's still hot!

[@CrisSelene]

This was fascinating and I will read some of those papers. The Yamnaya and new Indo-European language ones for sure.

[@ericnorman5237]

2:01 is changing their minds or change in plans other possibilities?

[@raviolijones5351]

MIANOOOOOO beast

[@Cookie222]

So glad I found your channel. I love this shit!!!! 💯. #6 magnetic bricks blows my mind! Dating non-organic artifacts! How is that not number one.

[@ciragoettig1229]

first readable word from the charred scrolls in herculaneum seems to have already become 5% of the text of an entire scroll, over 2000 characters decyphered in total, and the appropriate additional awards for that jump have been given. And the text they thus started working on seems to be a new one -- seems to be Philodemus (unsurprisingly), and given the subject matter in what is uncovered, might be (some of?) the rest of his theatrise On Music, of which we only have Book 4 otherwise. This year their aim is getting to 90% of that scroll. If that's realistic, seems this discovery/work is progressing quite nicely!

[@user-pj1ws8fn9w]

great

[@2degucitas]

Iberia making quality steel earlier than thought is a nice surprise.

[@venar1]

Excellent video. I can see AI played a huge role in 2023's historical discoveries.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

The added plaster self healing concrete is already available now. Its only good for micro cracks. It doesn't span gaps. I know of it because as you use lightweight cement blocks, the strength of the mortar becomes an issue, you dont want it stronger than the blocks. So you start adding plaster. I looked into it's characteristics and its just lauded for crack healing in small percentages almost without caveat (falsely).

[@ciarandoyle4349]

Let's hope Dr Miano's Greatest Archaeological & Greatest Historical Discoveries become annual events to look forward to every December/January. Meanwhile, here's a future wish list: 1. Old Tall Tales A: An archaeological DNA investigation of the age structure of the shepherding population of the hinterlands of the Eastern Mediterranean city states from around the end of the Bronze Age and the arrival of the Sea Peoples. I'm not expecting confirmation of the longevity of the prophets of the Book of Genesis. 2. Old Tall Tales B: An archaeological DNA investigation of the stature of the Greeks of the Bronze Age and earlier. Again, I'm not expecting confirmation that giants ever existed. 3. Decipherment of the cuneiform tablet written in the newly found Indo-European language: I'm half expecting it's a dialect of Hittite. 4. Further investigation of any archaeological remains of the language and iconography (heraldry?) of the Picts: The Picts seem to me to be part of the pre-Roman, pre-Irish, original Indo-European British (Celtic) population that once inhabited the whole island of Britain. 5. Re-examination of the conclusions drawn from the layout and orientation of ancient sites about calanders and astronomy: Have such conclusions been examined for coincidence, and downright statistical manipulation? (Akin to P-hacking, etc.) 6. A comprehensive overview of Ptolomy's maps: I presume the extant maps are copies of copies. Did the copyists adhere to Ptolomy's geometrical mapping framework, or did they just copy "by eye"? Did the accuracy deteriorate from copy to copy?

[@Mattiniord]

It was proved a few years ago by archaeologists from Swedens most northernly museum, Norrbottens museum, and scientists from Luleå Technical University, that steel was produced in north Sweden from at least 2000 years. This area was relatively relatively sparsely populated by nomad (saami ancestors) and along the coast by some sedentary settlements of saami or finnish ancestors. It was know that iron was produced since at least 400-300BC but not steel. However, I personally spoke with a fellow archaeology student when I studied in 1994, who was a volunteer at excavation of an old iron working site in the area, who made a then extraordinary claim. He said, when he felt that he was in company of a group he could trust, that the excavation leader and head archaeologist at a municipal museum, had found traces of waist products and some items that indicated that they had actually produced not only iron but also steel, ca 2400 years ago. Now, it may not sound as much compared to 900BC, but we are taking about northern Scandinavia, which most scholars still consider as an uninteresting backwater. And it would still be earlier steel production than in south Scandinavia. However, the archaeologist in question had told his crew that they must not say anything about it, because they could not definitely prove it. And if he published his theories he would most certainly be labelled a crackpot and all his excavation and research would be called into question. So by simply trying to get funds to make the necessary tests, he would basically destroy his career and ruin the museums reputation. So he could do nothing. So when Norrbottens museum a few years ago published their results, it was a bold move on their part. But they had taken help from top metallurgists, who also work with the development of modern swedish steel production who could prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that there was steel being produced and laminated into tools like knives to give stronger edges. It was basically a bombshell and no one could question it. However, it is still relatively unknown among archaeologists focusing on South Scandinavia and still not well known abroad. So, while not as old as the iberian find, Iberia was part of a international trade network and with a more dense population. In north Scandinavia most people were at least semi-nomadic. Still we know at least the coastal settlements could produce steel. And we know for certain that even the nomads had their own iron production sites from at least year 0. One was found and confirmed to that date and lies north of the polar circle, way north of it.

[@laurachapple6795]

SO excited for what's in those Herculaneum scrolls!

[@matthewludivico1714]

The use of AI to uncover letters on a burned scroll is amazing

[@PareliusC]

Has there been any of the same kind of DNA sequencing done on Otzi been done on any early Roman finds? Is is possible? I understand that Italian Alps are a long way from Latium and this area was inhabited by Celts in Roman times but, it draws parallels to the Roman myth of Trojan origins.

[@Eyes_Open]

Great list. I seem to recall that the Roman concete has the longevity advantage but modern concrete has the strength advantage. It will be interesting to see what benefits can be implemented from further study.

[@nanceeM1313]

Hello🤗

[@henryboyter3670]

Curious at the 20:30 mark. "Dated between 1650 and 1200 BCE" is a phrase that can be taken two ways. Is it a set of tablets with similar dates, but the dating has a wide range of error or is it a set of tablets with good dating where one is 1650, one 1200, and everything in between. I have seen this several times in videos from many authors when talking about the range of carbon dating of multiple objects.

[@WorldofAntiquity]

It means the collection consists of texts that were inscribed throughout this period.

[@M.M.83-U]

Awesome. N.19 I always assumed the Picts were celts, more or less. Does this discovery challenge such idea? If so on what level": genetic, language, material culture? N. 14 That's not new. At least here in Italy that was know years ago (I think more than a decade), linking him more closely to moder Sardinian than local alpine population.

[@Cookie222]

Wish you had Short Videos of each discovery so I could share the knowledge via text.

[@okman9684]

Can you take deep dive one the ayodhya temple ruins in india

[@briantwiss9078]

That kid from Oklahoma deciphering that scroll has me feeling severely unaccomplished in life

[@carriekelly4186]

Wait,youre telling us the ancient Egyptian paintings werent created in a photoshop illustrator program,then printed out and traced onto the wall first?😮🤣❤Precision art view shattered🤣❤️

[@helenamcginty4920]

Irrelevant info but I love that shirt. Looks good.

[@aic5073]

I like all your videos, but I think you should do one more video to put Ben Van Kerkwyk in his place.

[@MartinSchreiber-mc5mr]

11:04 horsemen moveing east. very clear map.

[@korionterivers9995]

It’s funny how brown Ramses the 2nd was, depicted by artist of his time!!

[@daniels4338]

Next we need to find out how much time had elapsed between revisions on the depictions in Egypt. Then we get to ask ourselves if we can even reliably date those depictions based on their content.

[@bethbartlett5692]

I'd be conservative responding to 8 bones in Britain as representative of "the Pics" as a whole.

[@2degucitas]

Egyptian mistakes were common. The so called "attack helicopter" made so famous by ancient aliens videos is actually the result of a mistake. When an engraver goofs he fills it with cement and starts over after it dries. After hundreds of years the cement can shrink and fall out. This is what's called "pamplisest", a tricky work that can sound like a family crime.

[@korionterivers9995]

Minoans were brown on those pictures as well. Almost as if the stories of it being an Egyptian/African colony holds some merit.

[@TorvusVae]

Okay, I'm not some like, expert on ancient Brittonic ethnology, but I've read a ton about sub-Roman Britain and I've never read anything about the Picts having foreign ancestry. Was that a serious academic theory being thrown around prior to this?

[@Norralin]

I thought the first one would be like "Ancient laptop" discovered

[@islandmonusvi]

….Good choice on the shirt👍🏼

[@scottowens1535]

Weren't the artists we know and prize most sketching and perfecting their vision? Seems natural. So funny that their thought of as others. They'd be working right next to you and you'd invite to the BBQ.!!

[@karinaalatorre5038]

👑👑👑