Egyptians OBVIOUSLY worked granite [REDUX]

I dunno, I just don't get it.
Sources:
Brief overview of Egyptian art through time:
smaek.de/en/grand-tour/art-an...
Where I learnt about the Great Harris Papyrus and Men & Bak.
Manley, Bill. “Chapter 4 ‘All The Craftsmanship Was Under My Attention’: The Artists.” Egyptian Art, Thames & Hudson, 2018.
Stats for the Lateran Obelisk
Curran B.A. (2016) Obelisks in Ancient Egypt. In: Selin H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-77...
The Brien Foerster video I quoted (I do hate that he described the writing as "crappy", so rude, so disrespectful, so arrogant):
• Ancient Artifacts In E...
Thumbnail by:
/ isterenzi
/ stefanmilo
Disclaimer: Use my videos as a rough guide to a topic. I am not an expert, I may get things wrong. This is why I always post my sources so you can critique my work and verify things for yourselves. Of course I aim to be as accurate as possible which is why you will only find reputable sources in my videos. Secondly, information is always subject to changes as new information is uncovered by archaeologists.
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www.stefanmilo.com
Historysmilo
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[@StefanMilo]

Context for anyone who missed the first video: I basically released this same video a week earlier where I asked the same questions but they were phrased differently because I was questioning the idea that Egyptians couldn't work granite at all. Some in the comments thought that I was taking the weakest interpretation of the idea that Egyptians inherited some monuments. So I went away, thought about and reworded the questions.

[@ruththinkingoutside.707]

Thanks for putting the potentially straw info back up for us that were so bummed we missed the first one.. even if it’s rewritten.. 😬😬😬.. appreciate all your hard work!

[@amirmograbi]

So you found the first video, then lost it. Then you found another video improving on the first one you found. Cheeky of you to claim you make these videos

[@Alritealritealrite]

@@amirmograbi what

[@polygonalmasonary]

I would agree with your observations and comments except for one 'Glaring Anomaly', which I will get to shortly...... It is an anomaly the entire academic community, and yourself either ignore completely, say ,Well it must have been the [insert relevant civilization here] because there it is !!' or give some convoluted explanation as to how it was done, whilst providing absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support their explanations. Furthermore, no modern reproduction has ever been accomplished to the same degree of precision of this anomaly even using modern power tools and modern cranes. The anomaly exists in Egypt, the walls that make up the Valley Temple in Giza, but most proximately the remaining few layers of covering stones on the second pyramid. The anomaly is 'Polygonal Masonry', virtually identical examples of which can be found all over the globe. Even Easter Island has a small remaining section of Polygonal Masonry looking identical to that found in Cusco Peru. The methodology of Polygonal Masonry has not, and can not be explained by modern man we simply 'Do Not Know' how it was achieved and why it is spread all across the globe. Because we do not yet have a reliable method to date 'Rocks' and when they were worked upon, In many places I firmly believe the masonry has been 'falsely' attributed by academia to civilizations that obviously inherited the structures as their 'Inferior' brick work is always seen on top of the megalithic polygonal masonry. Until someone comes up with a 'Believable explanation' and/or a modern reproduction of a polygonal wall by someone using the 'Stated copper chisels and Diorite stone hammers', I continue to regard Polygonal Masonry as 'The Smoking Gun' to an alternate human history that academia really wishes wasn't there at all.

[@paulcrossley1120]

@@polygonalmasonary interesting. There is unanswered questions around the number of similar pyramid type structures around the world (with different artistry though). I would love it if Stefan could research in to this and inform us of his considered view…

[@GaryLaughlin0302]

Milo couldn’t have possibly made this video, he simply inherited it

[@Gorboduc]

It was left behind by an advanced KZbinr who left no other sign of existing, but we can assume they had a more consistent beard than Stefan's rather primitive attempts to emulate them in this video.

[@aquamarine99911]

Yeah, the split screen technique is reminiscent of the short-lived Woodstock civilization, which unfortunately left no other signs of its existence. Much to the dismay of archeologists, Max Yasgur conveniently plowed the field immediately after the concert. You still might find the occasional roach clip left there, if you're lucky.

[@giannixx]

The video is too complex to have been made by Stefan alone.

[@neanineto5516]

A much more advanced ancient culture which had long since perfected KZbin made this fine video. Look at how much it weighs to begin with.

[@oreiono7453]

Clearly he just commented over the original comments, crapily

[@zackshrigley]

I'm a blacksmith and tool historian. Working any rock is easy, but especially granite since it's a igneous rock with varying grain sizes. If the statues were made of chalcedony, that would be a head scratcher.....but it's just granite and granite cuts granite, so does any harder rock, including sand.

[@StefanMilo]

In that rose granite they loved to use you can really see the different grain sizes, seems to me. When that Egyptian bloke was rubbing another boulder on it, it was literally pouring off. Couple of thousands guys doing that would make great progress on the rock.

[@JesseJames83]

@@StefanMilo adding 2k more men to a 4 man project doesn't help productivity.

[@SDSKamikaze]

@@JesseJames83 I think it is safe we assume Stefan meant scaling up the numbers of rocks being worked on to facilitate the massive projects the ancient Egyptians achieved. You're not being as clever as you think you are.

[@JesseJames83]

@@SDSKamikaze I'm exactly as clever as I think I am. I realize what Stefan is doing with the numbers; I'm also pointing out an unmentioned truth - pouring more men onto a project doesn't always get it done/done faster. That's an intelligent limit Stefan will happily concede to.

[@SDSKamikaze]

@@JesseJames83 You're so desperate to point out a flaw you're showing your lack of critical thinking. 2000 men won't shape one but of granite any quicker than 4, perhaps. However, 2000 men will shape the hundreds or thousands of separate pieces of granite required for a temple, for example, much more quickly. That is clearly what Stefan was talking about.

[@bobcranberries5853]

As a mason it really ticks me off too when I hear people talk about aliens building great pyramids or the stonework in Peru. It’s really good stonework but it’s not impossible stonework

[@101spacecase]

I actually argue with this dude who says he was in construction industry at all levels an he still thinks the ruins at Gobekli Tepe are alien or some deal. I've told an told me he dates are just wrong an you can clearly see where they used scaffolding etc. Yet they always point to some heavy object are are like how did they move it etc?? I'm like they had ways prob some type of crane etc.. They disagree to this day etc lol

[@bobcranberries5853]

@@101spacecase Look up on KZbin “Man moves huge stone without machinery” then send it to your friend. Maybe he’ll shut up. Or man moves 20 ton block by hand

[@101spacecase]

@@bobcranberries5853 Brilliant I enjoyed this. Thanks I know its fun to point aliens or some pre civilization but it really needs to stop. When I look at these structures I'm amazed at what Humans could build out of stone simply amazing.

[@bobcranberries5853]

@@101spacecase it is amazing but they didn’t have TV to watch our iPhones to play on. They didn’t have cars to maintain and their houses were quite simple. They had so few distractions.

[@bobcranberries5853]

@@101spacecase you’re welcome. And just think it was an uneducated man with a rudimentary understanding of leverage.

[@ThePrinceofParthia]

That father/son funerary monument was breathtaking not only in detail but also the context. One of the most literal examples of a snapshot in time I've seen from any pre-photography society.

[@dark_messiah8183]

I could barely believe it. History is so cool

[@jkasiron2275]

The first meme, perhaps? It was an awesome thing, tho, and moreso because of how personal and relatable it was.

[@StefanMilo]

Yeah it’s fantastic, truly beautiful

[@TristanCleveland]

My favourite statue in Egypt was of a scribe and his wife. Just a little state of themselves, like a family portrait. Couldn't believe it. They clearly loved each other, and I could see it, 3-4 thousand years later.

[@rowboat8343]

I agree. This is the history I live for. Kings and war are what gets taught in school, but I much prefer to here who the people were. How did they live day to day, what did they they do, what did they eat, what were their lives like? I love that we can now learn these things.

[@randysmith5435]

I took a class where we made a metabasalt Celt using only stone tools and sand as an abrasive. I finished in under two days. I made a nephrite pendant with a bow drill and feldspar as an abrasive. Nephrite is one of the hardest toughest stones worked by our ancestors all over the world. The kind of person who says it had to be aliens greatly underestimates the fact that for ninety-five percent of our history we made and used stone tools. In that time humans became expert in the properties of stone and how to work it. If the armchair experts would get out of their chairs and do a little physical labor and experimental archeology they would see that with the patience of those who didn't have diamond drills and electricity to make things easily and fast made those beautiful things without alien help. It's that simple.

[@TheBrynwen]

This

[@randysmith5435]

@@TheBrynwen Huh?

[@zithanthropus6385]

If it were so simple and easy then why can't egyptology reproduce the work? I'm not claiming aliens by the way

[@randysmith5435]

@@zithanthropus6385 I am no expert by any means. I am a dabbler. I have tried my hand at everything from flint knapping to swordsmithing. I'm fascinated by the patience and determination our ancestors had. Those are the two factors that brought us to this point in our species development. I say this point and not some self glorifying word like ascended because the story isn't over yet. The advent of agriculture and metalworking ushered in a new age for Egypt. With the annual flooding of the Nile people were brought together under the pharaohs to work metal's and build public works and monuments that imbued their people with a sense of common pride which we call nationhood. These common goals were given even more significance by a priesthood wielding the power of fear and reward. Not just Egypt but all over the world this scenario played out at different times with different gods and players. The end result is always the same. Civilizations rise, crest and fall. It can be seen in the pride and craftsmanship of the first handaxes made by Home Erectus. It is hard to comprehend their patience until you remember there was no television or computers. An Inuit hunter would spend his downtime drilling a 10 pound granite cobble to make a seal- brainer. The Azteca and Maya made beautiful eccentric portraits in chert and obsidian. The aerodynamics of the boomerang and karli was developed out of necessity to live. Look at the drilled granite Warhammers made by the Scandinavian Neolithic culture. In North America people worked with only antler picks and baskets to build earthenworks. Its patience and pride. Check some of these things on the internet without the narrative of alien or gods intervening it does us a grave disservice to belittle the intellect of our ancestors.

[@randysmith5435]

And the short answer is the time and craftsmanship is still being put into more portable jewels that are seldom seen outside of the collections of the super rich. I once saw an exhibit of such amazing jewels at the museum in Toronto. Look up statue of naked youth in obsidian quartz and gold. It's sublime!

[@LuxisAlukard]

When someone says: "I don't understand how did they make that?", I say "You don't know how your computer works, but you use it and you don't praise aliens for that!"

[@stripeytawney822]

Or their phone. Or their car, or their TV, or their microwave....

[@robbertdenhollander448]

But my laptop has litteraly "Alienware" on it.

[@stevenfeduk4833]

If aliens made the pyramids, then why not believe aliens made computer ware as well? Wee!

[@bbirda1287]

Don't you know all modern technology came from Area 51? Once Quark learned English, he spilled the beans, it's all Ferengi.

[@jamesonh2962]

A lot of them literally will say that everything they don’t understand is from aliens lol

[@davidbennett9691]

The nonsense argument "even today we can't reproduce this work" neglects the fact that we have no one alive today who comes from an uninterrupted tradition of stonework, nor do we have anyone willing to devote their entire lives to the work.

[@bbirda1287]

There is definitely something to be said for craftsmen passing down knowledge from father to son for generations, something we've definitely lost with modern business practices. I mean, stuck in a job, sure, but to work for the Pharaoh on monuments? That's job security right there.

[@pablosturm6640]

@@bbirda1287 Not just job security. Literal salvation. A worker who worked on the pyramids got the right to be entombed next to it. The (ancient) egyptians were anal about the afterlife and the steps taken to ensure deceased people could have a decent living in it were spectacular. Aside from elaborate, secure tombs, complex rituals to ensure passage into the afterlife and preparation of the corpses to ensure the body stays intact in its journey to the afterlife, they believed that the afterlife was just a continuation of regular life, people would still need food, clothing, currency and so forth as such they were buried with such items to ease their start in the next life. So working for the pharao in life was a guarantee for a good life in the afterlife. Which is a pretty good motivator, considering what people from other cultures and times were willing to do for religious reasons (crusades etc). This whole thing is also why grave robbing was one of the worst offenses in ancient egypt as it meant literally stealing the clothes and money of people in the afterlife. Imagine going about your day and suddenly your clothes vanish off your body because some ahole on another plane of existance robbed your grave.

[@MLM68]

They have been reproduced

[@Bowie_E]

I didn't even realize that this was an issue people insisted on fixing. We've been working stone for hundreds of thousands of years. Surely it's believable that we got really good at it eventually.

[@Chris.Davies]

We have been working stone for 3 million years, thank you.

[@Reginaldesq]

@Simone Well, yes but we are connected to single celled organisms too. Maybe we can draw the line somewhere?

[@andybeans5790]

A lot of it stems from poor, eurocentric scholarship that discounted any culture not associated with European civilisations, both pre-classical civilisations and those which rose alongside the favoured Greeks and Romans. Some historians theorised that Romans travelled to and colonied Far Eastern regions, without any supporting evidence, rather than admit that the ancestors of local people could have built the monolithic ruins rediscovered by early European explorers.

[@The_Reality_Filter]

@@andybeans5790 which historians theorised that Rome colonised anywhere in the far east, that's absolute gibberish and no historian would dare put his name to that theory.

[@buddhaspriest7487]

Yeah but then the quality went down significantly. Some of us are simply arguing that human civilization is older than we currently presume.

[@carymartin1150]

Not only could the Egyptians move the obelisk, but obviously the Romans were able to as well given how they relocated it to Rome, thus the ability to move very large objects around in antiquity cannot be disputed.

[@StefanMilo]

Exactly

[@parkieshark]

Nonono clearly the untraceable advanced civilization sent a guy forward in time to pick up the obelisk and move it. If archaeologists would just look underwater this would be common knowledge

[@kevincrady2831]

In case you do a sequel for this video, here's another question you can throw in: *Where is all the Atlanteans' regular stuff?* Where are their graves, their non-monumental ordinary settlements, their pottery, trash middens, tools, weapons, and so on? We can find all these things for other cultures (including the Egyptians)--and even for sparse camps of Neanderthal hunter-gatherers. Why would the Younger Dryas cataclysm be sooooo selective that it would wipe out every single trace of the Atlanteans (aside from Cool Stuff made from stone), but leave tools and campsites of _Homo erectus_ intact? Small tribes of hominids left more evidence than a global advanced civilization, really?

[@GraemeMarkNI]

Aaah because it was a “spiritual” culture, not a material one 🙄

[@kevinjohnbetts]

His Graham Hancock video asked these question too Kevin. Even if we accept that an glacial era advanced civilisation might have existed it is virtually impossible for all evidence of its existence to have been swallowed by the oceans. Sea level rise was not so rapid that said civilisation could not move away from their flooded territories to higher elevations. If they did not move for some reason then they weren't that advanced.

[@lenabreijer1311]

Also where are the mines? If they had the strong metal to work granite easily then they were mining and smelting. Where are they?

[@arthurkoopmanswatercolors]

It's somewhere deep under the Azores in a place called Bikini Bottom. There are ancient submerged beaches on the ocean floor though...

[@kevinjohnbetts]

@@lenabreijer1311 You know that you don't *need* 'strong metal' to work granite don''t you?

[@NORTH02]

I feel like as educational science youtubers, we have an obligation to debunk certain topics every few months.

[@d.m.collins1501]

yes! there is no shame in doing the same topic more than once. God knows the flat-earthers and Atlantis-first assholes make the same video over and over and over again.

[@jamesrussell7760]

I agree, damned straight. If the bull-shitters aren't called out then the entire genre will inevitably end up in the crapper.

[@joekansas]

Debunk water erosion on the Sphinx

[@joekansas]

Tell us how these pieces of paper we're forced to wear supposedly stops a virus when they are intended to prevent droplets from going into open wounds.

[@ApeX-pj4mq]

@@joekansas The virus uses those droplets to move around places

[@mirrorblue100]

It would be a better KZbin if every content provider was as diligent yet humble as you, Stefan. No need to say more. Thanks for what you produce.

[@Sarcaman]

Great video Stefan, I feel your frustration. I was lucky enough to do a lot of travelling over 2016/17 and unfortunately even with the evidence staring people in the face, they refuse to believe people are and were capable of such construction. At Ollantaytambo in Peru, there are the famous stone walls that you cannot fit a piece of paper between. Tourists were ignoring the guides saying "look around you" at all of the walls they had built leading up to this one - you could see clear progression of skill. Instead tourists were talking very loudly about how no one really knows the truth and its quite clearly impossible for humans to create this. It's a massive disservice to the ability and ingenuity of human beings who would have dedicated years to their craft and used thousands of people for these mega constructions.

[@TonyTrupp]

It’s silly too when that tight fitting megalithic work is built upon terraces or foundations that have loose rough smaller rocks, as is the case with the sun temple megaliths at ollantaytambo. The megalithic work obviously came after the foundations it sits upon.

[@AndrewBlucher]

The thing I find astonishing is the lack of belief in their OWN abilities.

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

@@AndrewBlucher Blame the "everyone gets a trophy" bullshit.

[@The_Reality_Filter]

@@TonyTrupp that's certainly not the case at Baalbek/Heliopolis where the foundation stones of the temple of Jupiter appear to be by far the largest and heaviest.

[@TonyTrupp]

@@The_Reality_Filter i wasn’t talking about baalbek, but since you bring it up, this is a good video about that site, explaining how they were moved: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJrCkHeipN1mbKs

[@yegirish]

This would be tangential to your normal topics, but a video in the evolution of stone-working techniques over time would be super cool

[@StefanMilo]

Yeah I have thought about doing a series of videos in engineering topics. We’ll see!

[@fearsomefoursome4]

huge this

[@ryandugal]

Maybe start with an episode just on points!

[@ryandugal]

Spear & arrow points that is. Guess that’s where it all started. Or was it simple knives?

[@tweakgawdtaydoegangsteppah3689]

@@ryandugal he don't know he got a ape brain ctfu and another what happen to monkeys making these weapon still mmmmmmmmmm please elaborate

[@budershank]

The over arcing theme if this video is Stefan was trying to get his 10,000 steps in. Great video as always.

[@johngriffiths118]

I think you will find the Aliens did the walking

[@seantierney3]

the biggest problem I have with the reasoning about the Egyptians not working granite is a lack of imagination and cost of labor. it is weird to think that a preexisting culture could do something that a latter one would then be completely unable to figure out. really these people don't understand hand work and that a large amount of labor hours being spent on making objects was normal. it didn't matter how slow the process was as long as progress could be made. the ancients worked long days every day pretty much. not 40 hour work weeks.

[@analyticalmindset]

thats what a super consumerist and capitalist society will do to a mind. Makes people think no person in history would ever dedicate themselves to a life long project or passion. Like seriously other than spending time with the family, swimming and eating .. what else is there to do to keep the mind busy. When I was a little kid I would spend days drawing. time would fly by and I wouldn't stop until the drawing was done.

[@imjennasidel6703]

The processes were not slow that the thing.

[@Chris.Davies]

In fact, they did NOT work long hours. That is a myth. These were well-paid employees, not slaves!

[@kevinjohnbetts]

@@Chris.Davies Being 'well paid employees' doesn't invalidate the idea that they worked long hours! Those skilled in a particular craft will work long hours today. They may take three month holidays in recompense but that's neither here nor there.

[@YeahNoTellTheTruth]

This is like saying if one civilisation did something then surely another civilisation in the same or near to it did did something also... what a simplistic and quite frankly ignorant way of thinking. Ever looked at technology that was lost but reinvented centuries later?

[@Vitosaurus]

Sometimes, this kind of thorough work is really taken for granite.

[@MichaelGMoney]

Yeah this video is really gonna Rock some peoples boats. This guy uses just stone cold logic, whereas some peoples entire argument is built on sand.

[@TheBrynwen]

Groan!

[@Chris.Davies]

Judging by how many people can be engaged in moving an object, and recent experiences in North Korea of a friend of mine who installed a Gondola with no heavy equipment, he says the following, "Humans have absolutely no trouble moving anything under 50-tons, no matter where it is going. Once it gets over 1,000 tons, things get difficult, but not impossible."

[@huletnadof313]

As I read your comment Stonehenge comes to mind. No diesel engines, jackhammers, or rock saws yet whoever built this structure was able to cut large slabs of rock (the vertical stones weigh about 25 tons), move them for miles, and then set them in place. Probably used ropes, rolling logs, and brute strength to move everything. People have been engaged in moving big rocks for a long time.

[@captainflint89]

scientists against myth is a fantastic channel where they actually cut granite with FLINT , copper and diorite stone

[@VatticTV]

Cheers for the suggestion. It's Scientists Against Myths, though :)

[@emZee1994]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@Jyyhjyyh]

I've been arguing about these things on the internet for years and by the end the "lost advanced civilization" side of the argument usually boils down to "yeah I guess it's possible Egyptians/Romans/etc. could have done it but it would have been hard and time consuming"

[@Panteni87]

The findings in Turkey are evidence that there were older civilizations that were more advanced than we previously thought (i have forgotten the name of the place in turkey), however, there is not a single shred of evidence that they even had contact with pre-dynastic egyptians (if at all, probably indirectly through trade) or that the Egyptians needed them. Those people are so focused on fantasy that they forget the true miracles of humanity. but for those arguing against "passed down information from older civilizations", we don't know what we will discover in the future. Was there a civiliation in the Sahara when it was still green? What is hidden underneath the Sand of Africa and the middle east? We simply don't know. Even the ideas of who the sea-people were that caused the bronze age collapse is largely a mystery (although there are some theories more convincing than others). But everyone just needs to chill out and not take themselves so seriously. History is a very fluid thing, and new discoveries are made very year in unexpected places, so one side needs to take off the tinfoil hats, but the other side needs to open their mind a little bit. There's few people as destructive as a scientist with a closed mind (one notable example: lysenko)

[@georgethompson1460]

@@Panteni87 The sea people theory is on the wane as other factors like soil erosion, earthquakes and plague are believed to have caused an economic collapse that broke the major powers of the bronze age.

[@Panteni87]

@@georgethompson1460 sources please. Because three separate peoples described them as the straw that broke the camel's back. There's even first-hand accounts of witnesses from three separate literate people. So I would need a bit more than the word of someone on the internet.

[@Jyyhjyyh]

@@Panteni87 I assume you are talking about Göbekli Tepe?

[@jkasiron2275]

@@Panteni87 I think George meant that the Sea People theory isn't regarded as sufficiently holistic to explain the bronze age collapse by itself, and the Sea People migration is increasingly being seen as an early consequence of the forces at work behind the bronze age collapse. As with any large scale disaster, the extent that any one factor plays is difficult to isolate when there are so many variables to consider. The arrival of the Sea Peoples was certainly significant, but it is possible that the bronze age collapse was already well underway and they might just have been beneficiaries of the factors that left the major powers (except Egypt) too weak to resist invasion. Not trying to speak for George here, but that's how I was interpreting what he said.

[@fakshen1973]

Technology moved slowly in those times. So imagine generations and generations of human beings today, all using basically the same tools and medium. Imagine how deep the knowledge of sculping the same material over and over and over again for generations. Their minds and dexterity were just as great as ours. They are the same humans.

[@MrTeniguafez]

Whenever I see "there's NO WAY these people could have made these ancient works!" I just think about that guy who made a replica of Stonehenge with only contemporary tools. By himself

[@kevincrady2831]

Wally Wallington, right? Oh, and he moved the stones (in his case giant concrete blocks) using clever application of basic physics. No Sonic Resonators or Levitation Rays necessary.

[@emZee1994]

Just looked that up and wow! That guy basically disproves all the conspiracy theories

[@russellmillar7132]

Wally's the boss, foreman and cleanup crew!

[@SirDarthDragon]

Somewhere out there in the afterlife, egyptian pharaos are watching subbed History channel: "These Pyramids could not be build by humans, they must have been build by [powerfull, technologicaly advanced sky beeings]." Pharao: "Damn right you are."

[@chloepeifly]

the father-son engraving... i have no words, we’re so lucky to have had it survive this long so that we can get this glimpse into such an intimate part of these people’s lives. it’s honestly astounding that anyone refers to any of the hieroglyphics as “crappy”, i hate that too. people just want there to be some kind of mystery to be solved, when they could just use their critical thinking skills and be able to appreciate this civilization’s dedication and skill. it’s always come off as incredibly disrespectful, to me, to insinuate that a group of people were incapable of accomplishing something. have you seen people??? we accomplish huge things all the time, even that far back in time.

[@pjk9225]

Oh thank you! I started watching your videos then someone else’s video popped up saying how the Egyptians must’ve used sonic drills, my bs detector went off but I was a tad blazed and gave it a tiny bit of stock. Glad to learn more about them that ACTUALLY happened

[@achristiananarchist2509]

I've done some amateur stone carving over the years and the idea that the Egyptians just couldn't work granite sounds kind of insane to me. While people imagine hammering away at a piece of rock with a metal chisel when they think of stone working (and there is certainly a bit of that, especially with larger pieces), the tools I spend the vast, vast majority of my time using are files. I could carve a stone statuette from start to finish with no other tools at all if I had a good file set. Now I have the luxury of high quality modern metal files, but the reason I bring this up is to point out that it's perfectly possible, and even often desirable, to carve stone by shaving away tiny bits of it at a time. My usual pattern is to cut the block to a general shape, file it into it's final form, polish with steel wool, do fine detail work with a dremel, and then do a second round of light polishing. It would be entirely possible though to do the whole thing with just the filing step, or even just the polishing step. It would take much more time and effort than my spoiled modern ass would be willing to put in, but it's perfectly possible to carve a high quality granite statue just by getting it wet and rubbing it in the right places really hard for a really long time with another stone, a piece of wood, or even a rough cloth. As long as you can remove material, no matter how little, you can shape that rock as long as you are willing to work at it long enough. There isn't some technological line you cross where now you have the power to shape granite. Water shapes granite all by itself. It just takes a long ass time. The implication seems to be that you need metal tools, which is just strange. Why aren't you finding atlantean metal tools in these areas then? What that seems to imply to me is that this granite was just carved without metal tools.

[@nevy2203]

It would really be ironic if a future archeologist dug up our civilization and said “they obviously weren’t smart enough to build these, must be aliens”

[@scvcontra5362]

I can see some future history channel dude telling our gullible descendants that the idea that we went from horses to the moon in less than 150 years isn't possible, so it must be aliens.

[@Alex-qq1gm]

People say this about our society *today*. Apparently the US used alien technology from Roswell to launch the information age.

[@davidleomorley889]

@@Alex-qq1gm You: "Apparently the US used alien technology from Roswell to launch the information age." Me: LMFAO!! Do you also believe in Santa Claus or have you let go of that one?

[@georgethompson1460]

@@davidleomorley889 okay what are you mocking exactly?

[@davidleomorley889]

@@georgethompson1460 We are all on our own stage of learning about life...and realizing the scams that are taking place right in front of our eyes. What seems real and what we eventually grow out of, changes and fluxes as we get older..if we keep and open mind. Some people are addicted to believing in what gets them most excited. The belief that the US used alien technology from Roswell to launch the information age...is just as ridiculous as believing in Santa Claus ... to experienced people. Inexperienced people like to believe in ancient alien technology...like kids like to believe in a guy who lives at the north pole with flying reindeer and a lost race of crafting elves. Again...we are all on our own stage of learning about life.

[@adroaldoribeiro4529]

It really bamboozles me how these ancient guys actually did all that rock carving, and left little to describe how they did it. Like it was so mundane and normal to create a relief in rock with such precision. The same way we wouldn't leave documents today informing future civilizations how we opened doors or got some water from the tap

[@hm5142]

Everyone couldn't do it, only a few, so they had no motivation to spread their secrets. Remember, the Masons are a secret society for the same reason.

[@danic9304]

There has always been a strand of Egyptology that wasn't able to reconcile the glories of ancient Egypt with the absence of white builders - initially early Egyptologists invented a history of early european contact to explain how these wonders came to be, with the African elements of their development coming in after the great works - I don't know if there is a direct line from that to the current claims of alien builders or lost Atlantians, but it is interesting to me that the focus of alien conspiracies is on Egypt and not ancient Greece

[@leonardthompsonjr3948]

Exactly!

[@Free_Falastin2024]

Systemic racism is alive and well, even in archaeology.

[@smcic]

good point, I never thought about the comparison to ancient Greece.

[@diogosaraiva9547]

I definitely think this is the most accurate explanation for this tradition of interpretation on ancient civilizations. My research as a historian focuses on this exact same trend but in writings about the Maya from the 19th century, which were profoundly influenced by the egyptology of the time and the theories europeans had been developing about the origin of native americans since 1492. If you trace back a genealogy of current theories of this sort - "gods were astronauts", presilurian hypothesis, atlanteans and all their subderivates - you can very clearly see the connection between their discourse and the discourse of authors that explicitly base their argument on the idea that the "builders couldn't be indigenous/african". In the maya context, we have traditions like the "master race that was killed off by the worker race", as imagined by Waldeck, Charnay, Edward H. Thompson, and many others (you can even see it represented in a story by William Burroughs called "The Mayan Caper); or the atlantis/mu theories, which were widely disseminated by Brasseur de Bourbourg and Le Plongeon, then adopted by english speaking writers like James Churchward and Ignatius L Donelly, as well as Blavatsky, and crucially erich von daniken and graham hancock. Other "natives didn't build these" theories are a lot less unbelievable than aliens, but still find no evidence and are nothing but fantasies created out of a refusal to believe in the ingenuity and capacity of (some) humans

[@aquamarine99911]

It's especially galling because Europe during the Middle Ages was one of the most backward places on Earth. All the more reason to suspect that aliens had helped Greece and Rome, then must have gone away and left the Europeans to forage in the mud. (Although I'm currently reading the Bright Ages, which looks at it differently).

[@davidleomorley889]

Pseudoscience victim: But Stefan, I've already invested years of my life watching "alternative history" KZbin videos and convincing myself that the Giza pyramids generated electricity...just like my hero Nikola Tesla. It's going to be very difficult for me to let go of that belief now and accept that I'm being fooled by people who are $tirring my emotion$, exploiting my ignorance...and ca$hing in on my inexperience. Lets face it, I like to get excited when I hear stories about "unsolved mysteries and "lost civilizations" on KZbin.

[@davidleomorley889]

190+ Egyptian History (Egyptology) Lectures/Interviews: kzbin.info/aero/PLSSFj6Q5TZYRQa22klcfvsPtO0c5TGKSa Examining the pseudoscience, my$tery mongering, misunderstandings and lie$: kzbin.info/aero/PLSSFj6Q5TZYTY2ztjDpket3xaXSbnMIXf

[@davidleomorley889]

@Andrew Egyptology is not mythology. Egyptology is a 200+ year old social science that relies on scientific experiments and evidence. Science claims very little. Science is simply the method of discovery that uses peer reviewed experiments and evidence to examine various theories. When new experiments and new evidence produce new understandings about Egypt's history, Egyptology, like the other sciences, moves to support those new understandings. Because Egyptology is a relatively new science, the views on Egypt's history are rapidly and constantly being updated and revised as new scholarship is produced and new evidence comes to light. That's part of the fun of studying the subject from the view of Egyptologists. “Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt.” ― Richard Feynman

[@analyticalmindset]

@@davidleomorley889 well said !

[@davidleomorley889]

@Andrew You: "I'm a scientist." Me: So what. Egyptology is not mythology.

[@davidleomorley889]

@Andrew You: "I've spent my entire life doing scientific research. It's heavily political and often not driven by the data. Especially when there are elder scions in the field who have spent a lifetime earning a reputation based on story that new scientists are calling into question with new data and ideas. They fight tooth and nail to suppress it and undermine the new researchers." Me: You simply have no idea what you're talking about. If you spent a few years watching the cut-throat debates taking place within Egyptology, you would never claim something so out-of touch.

[@discojelly]

.. "Shocking evidence, the scientists can't explain!!" Meanwhile, Stefan and other archeologists explain it perfectly....

[@itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

I've never understood the concept that the quality of workmanship some how shows a period of time. I'm a tradesman and I think my work is pretty decent, but I know lots of tradesman that their work isnt so great. Also people that aren't tradesman make things and they often aren't very good at all. Same as today... two objects made in the same town made in the same year can have vastly different levels of quality.

[@kipmay5101]

Stefan Milosavljevich have you ever considered doing a video with your analysis of the stonework done at Cuzco and Machu Picchu? I always appreciate your videos and analysis.

[@RobinDuehring]

yes, i find those far more challenging to explain. Especially the vitrified polygonal blocks.

[@OmegaF77]

@@RobinDuehring I hope we just leave with "It's challenging to explain" rather than "It's challenging to explain that indigenous peoples did this, so therefore aliens/Atlanteans/Aryans!"

[@devinshea2248]

This is the adult version of finding out Santa doesn’t exist.

[@animation1234111]

Didn't see the original. So excite.

[@rpullman]

When I lived in Upstate New York I frequently went in search of fossils in shale and limestone and quartz crystals in dolomite. I invariably returned home from a day's outing minus a chisel or wedge. So I expect that misplaced tools would be found on any quarrying or sculpting site.

[@StefanMilo]

There are a lot of tools yeah. Mainly stone pounders. But drill holes on the monuments have been found to contain particularly abrasive sand and tiny particles of bronze and copper.

[@rpullman]

@@StefanMilo Well if one of my many, many lost cold chisels turns up somewhere please let me know.

[@therealdarklizzy]

@@StefanMilo That is literally proof that they used copper to carve the stone.

[@equinoxomega3600]

So these people are saying that the ancient Egyptians were too primitive to work granite, but then claim that an even much older civilization had already done it before them.

[@0151.]

well the claim is that the civilisation that built them was wiped out and technology forgotten

[@jkasiron2275]

@@0151. Yeah, if Egypt hadn't plundered all of their statues and written all over them... :-)

[@kacperwoch4368]

11:52 ''What are Egyptians doing at granite quarries? Working.'' No one can deny I spat my tea all over my screen when I heard that.

[@TheSgrizli]

I think the bigger question is how his beard magically dissapeared and reapeared

[@formulajuan6038]

Aliens, of course

[@offthewoodwork3626]

That wasn't his beard. He just found it.

[@OsimonB]

I really appreciate that you approached this with respect and focused on the facts and didn’t make a video simply mocking people that have fallen down the rabbit hole

[@catalin612]

stefan: these writings are clearly made by egyptians me who has no idea what I'm looking at: yeah, clearly!

[@lindahudson6685]

Thank you, Stefan. The photos you showed were outstanding; one of the best compilations I've seen. Bravo!

[@stonewolf7850]

I'm baffled that people don't find enough to wonder and be amazed about in Egypt, as is.

[@peterhendriks1602]

Brian Forester suffer from as serious case of Dunning Kruger effect, or maybe he just needs a spectacular story to attract enough gullible people for the commercial trips he organises. Well done Stefan, clear logic and evidence always does the trick. Aristotle would have been pleased. Leave the super natural, or the semi super natural out of it. It always muddies the water.

[@TonyTrupp]

I really am curious if he really believes those weird alternative theories he pushes. He does seem so half hearted in a lot of his claims, just asserting that’s the way it is while offering very weak supporting evidence. I think maybe he’s learnt that there’s value in promoting that sense of mystery, that people like having unanswered questions, since that tends to sell more of his tours. Once people have answers they’ll stop looking for them. That behavior would make him a charlatan though, rather than just someone who’s confused.

[@jacobcreech4415]

Your channel is like a necessity to youtube. I'm sure from your point of view, it's a lot of hard work. From the viewer's point of view it is a no brainer and fits beautifully into what they want from a good channel. Stefan Milo reports on history, makes it entertaining, and has real scientists on his channel. What more could you ask for? I went back and watched this looking forward to today's upload. Thanks!

[@mick62569]

I remember watching that video about criticizing the artwork. I thought he had a good argument about comparing the artwork with the architecture. But watching your rebuttal totally blew away his argument. Nice work.

[@Toastypanda18]

The snarky captions are giving me life

[@MagnaMater2]

How come I always feel highly insulted whenever somebody says: 'Normal humans can't do it'? If you count the Lomekwian stone tool industry as a stone tool industry, mankind has been working with stone - (AND wood, AND grass that did both not survive) - for 3.300.000 years. So far as we know for now at the end of the Mesolithic, about 10.000 BP the Megalithic era kicked off, probably with big stone-monuments - partly - replacing - hypothetical - older wood-monuments because of durability. And then at the very last breath of the Stoneage after 4700 BP some guys come along that aren't happy with their megalithic family-hills, but think themselves larger than life and want a mountain... - And suddenly it is 'impossible', and best: 'Aliens did it'. Just because the first one that wanted a mountain built all for himself was - obviously - lunatic, and people were dazzled and charmed enough not to off him the moment he showed the first signs - neither he nor them were alien. On the contrary: Megalomania (and clustering and ducking around the big boys) is all too human. Every human population produces about 15-20% lateral thinkers who refuse to follow traditions and rules (at least when young). 5% of these are even brilliant and envision something completely new and if what they have been given by their culture isn't enough to make their ends meet, they find the means to make their - or rather their bosses - ends meet. That's not alien, this is just us.

[@aaronjaben7913]

I remember being a little kid watching "In Search Of" with Leonard Nimoy (basically "Ancient Aliens" of the 1970's) and my dad telling me it was bullshit.

[@fordprefect80]

I used to love that show as a kid. A bunch of fantastic nonsense that appeals to children, sadly some people never grow up.

[@bbirda1287]

That one where a Sasquatch attacked the guy in his mobile trailer, though, that was freaking terrifying. I still think about big hairy arms popping through the window.

[@cpoco]

There's also an inherent suggestion that there were never any apprentices, that everyone instantly knew how to work stone perfectly from the first time they picked up the tools. I found a video that showed some walls of a tomb (or some such) that were only partly done... they had the "sketches" showing where the parts were to go and some of the walls had started to be finished... ie a great site showing "work in progress". That sarcophagus you showed looked just like that (and just as you said)... as if it had been sketched in, ready to move to the next stage and then left because something happened to stop them working on it (which of course happened at a number of sites etc). Great work as always Stefan... you're a pleasure to watch and listen to (great gift too!).

[@HowToPnP]

6:30 Fun fact: Egyptian scribes did mess up regularly. Hieroglyphics were (likely) a very ritualized script and not commonly used, so many of the artisans inscribing them on the wall just repeated what was given to them, without understanding what they were writing. If a mistake was found, it was filled with plaster and inscribed correctly. And in the thousands of years, the plaster fell out and we can now see the mistakes. But there was never any Atlantian writing under any of the plastered over segments!

[@thylacinenv]

Excellent Stefan. The problem with Mr Bright, Sibson, Foerster, etc is that they have no knowledge on how stone is worked. Modern masons are exceptional craftsmen but letter cutters are a breed apart displaying fantastic skills as well as artistic ability, it stands to reason that this was also the case in ancient Egypt. Compare a group of people's handwriting, perhaps one example is considered "beautiful" whilst some maybe almost unintelligible but they all started with an identical tool, a pen. Letter cutting is the same, it is a specialist skill and when done well it is a marvel.

[@jkasiron2275]

When Stefan suggested that the rough nature of some of the inscriptions might be due to incomplete work, I was wondering if it might have been customary for an apprentice to do the rough work and then the master would complete it? That would make the "unfinished work" hypothesis more likely, especially if there were not enough skilled artisans for such work available for all of the projects being done at the time.

[@thylacinenv]

@@jkasiron2275 you make a valid point. I have lettered all sorts of stone and to cut clean defined letters on granite is extremely difficult and that's with modern tools. Slate, limestone and sandstone are easier but require years of practice. Today CNC, Insomar and Sandblasting through stencils are lettering methods employed which achieve great results, thankfully there is still a place for the old skills.

[@JulesBrunoJjBaggy]

My family owns a rock and crystal shop. My mom has recently started believing in "lumerians" which are basically atlanteans because of some striations on some crystals being ancient encoded messages. 🤷‍♂️ I love my mom but that's weird to me.

[@17losttrout]

Probably best to get her checked out.

[@stripeytawney822]

You are mis-hearing your mother. She is talking about her vinyl discs, from Atlantic records.

[@Reginaldesq]

You can believe in bizarre stuff and still be a good person. The best strategy I have come across is to not tell them they are wrong but to simply say I heard about ..... alterative explanation, what do you think about that. They almost always explain it away but a year or 2 later it can just click.

[@juliankirby9880]

It’s called lemuria, and you should research it and tell your mom about this weird stuff you learned about that place and it’s peoples

[@FuzzyDunlots]

Love's atlanteans. Hates communists.

[@brandyjean7015]

As someone who has enjoyed crafting by: * Whittling wood (thanks Great Gramps) *Working in clay (more slab work, than wheel) *Soapstone & Alabaster small pieces too... I admire anyone who crafts anything in granite. Egyptian craftsman included.

[@suckmygme-darck9996]

The content and the way you present it is absolutely beautiful.

[@raystaar]

I feel your pain, Stefan. I have similar feelings respecting people who discredit William Shakespeare and attribute the authorship of his plays to everyone from the Earl of Oxford to Elizabeth I.

[@jonathansturm4163]

I have a theory that Shakespeare’s plays were written by someone else, _also_ called… William Shakespeare.

[@little_forest]

Aw man, question 2 just made me remember when I went into the Egyptian exhibition in Berlin more than 10 years ago and I was so freaking amazed and astounded of the quality of the chiselled stone inscriptions! I mean, that stuff had been lying in sand for thousands of years, how can the inscriptions be so perfect?! Also, the question of a possible technologically advanced prehistoric civilization is not even that interesting to me, but the fact, that since the dawn of humans, they had a similarly advanced cultural life and cultural practices that might have been unbelievable different, and similar at the same time! And Stefan, did you really give „concrete“ examples in the video, or „granite“ ones?! :P

[@lentevanzyl9643]

Love your videos! Keep doing what you’re doing :)

[@bgw33]

Thank you. Always pleased when another of your videos pops up in my reçus.

[@1harperaj]

Had to get in quick before the video is taken down again! You should know that your videos are based on sound logic and reasoning, rather that feelings and make believe, however, I must draw to your attention with regards to the hypothesis of the Papyrus writings, we all know that this was only done via laser printers… lol keep-up the good work

[@davidfleischer985]

Great video! Although, I'm also looking forward to the redux-redux where you crowdsource the most extreme conspiracy strawmen for a top tier shitpost

[@michaelhasfel7]

I discovered your channel thanks to your video about the Graham Hancock series on Netflix. I have to say for the record: I'm really impressed by the quality of your videos. Analyzing the anthropology and archeology of ancient civilizations using real science is wonderful, and you are certainly making a great contribution to spreading of these areas and critical and scientific thinking. My congratulations for your excellent work.

[@conorkelly947]

That Men and Bek inscription is incredible

[@earthknight60]

I really wish you'd just left the orginal video up, along with the original comments and the replies. The folks espousing ridiculous alternate ideas were getting trounced in the comments and there was a good discussion going.

[@monkeyd289]

Love the video! I don't want to make any broad statements because I don't know Brian Forester's work, but my very ignorant view of his ideas makes it sound like he enjoys the Ancient Aliens approach of assuming humans or civilizations are far too stupid to achieve the works commonly ascribed to them. I mention that because I think it would be great to see you or other experts do companion pieces to a lot of the more popular Ancient Alien videos in a similar way to how this video addresses the discussion about Egyptian granite.

[@russellmillar7132]

Foerster's one of the worst offenders owing to the fact that he WAS an archaeologist. He actually wrote books from the point of view of mainstream research. He wrote: A Brief History of the Incas, a scholarly work with solid information. He then made a pivot into pseudo science. He must have realized the money and fame were lacking in real research, and decided to go for the gusto.

[@emZee1994]

I second this notion

[@origaminosferatu3357]

Bless you, Stefan, you really are too good for this mad mad world. Another cracking video! I especially loved the stela of the father and son showing off their respective works/rulers. Such a personal snapshot of time, amazing!

[@andrewtwhittle]

Thank you for making this Stefan, as someone who has spent a lifetime working all kinds of materials including granite I have no problem accepting that the Egyptians were able to produce these carvings. As you say it is simply a matter of time and labour. I think that it is insulting to our forebears to assume that they weren't capable of making such marvellous things when the evidence is plain that they did.

[@michaireneuszjakubowski5289]

A lot of people tend to deny the achievements of many indigenous cultures, from Egypt to Peru, seemingly by default and almost as an article of faith... But I've yet to witness people argue (let alone with similar fervor) that, say, Mycenae was "inherited" by the Mycenaeans, or Hattusa by the Hittites, because their stoneworking skills "obviously" weren't up to the task. Really makes me think this has more to do with racial prejudice than anything else.

[@dr.zoidberg8666]

Got to agree. The ancient alien/atlantean conspiracy types smell an awful lot like when Karl Mauch decided that the ruins of Great Zimbabwe couldn't have possibly been built by black people, & so it must have been a copy of Solomon's temple made by the Queen of Sheba, of course.

[@jramir2]

You do know, those people are calling modern stone work inferior right? As in stone work by todays societies. Including white folk societies. These white conspiracy theorist, are calling modern stone work by white folks and others, inferior to the ancients. So what exactly is this race card that you are pulling, if these white conspiracy theorists, are saying modern stone work by white societies is inferior when compared to the ancients?

[@dr.zoidberg8666]

@@jramir2 It's just weird, brother. They never have these conspiracy theories about great & pasty ancient civilizations... Buuuut as soon as black or brown folk do something rad a long time ago, out come the aliens & the atlanteans. Pretty sus if you ask me...

[@jramir2]

@@dr.zoidberg8666 they don't have theories about Europeans because no European society was ever as great as ancient Egypt. It has nothing to do with race. They simply never had a great society that rival the immensity of Egypt, so there was never any mystery about Europeans. If Europeans had great pyramids, immense colossus statues remaining, they would question their origin. All they have is Stonehenge. And that's just a snack sculpture in Egypt. And they do not deny the achievements of blacks or others. When they celebrate the statues and their leaders that clearly depict blacks and others. What they ask and demand is for people to demonstrate how it's possible to carve a great immense society with simple chisels. Meaning the theory modern historians present to us, do not match up with their immense achievements. They do not question the race, only the theory they present as to how they were constructed with simple means.

[@michaireneuszjakubowski5289]

@@jramir2 "You do know, those people are calling modern stone work inferior right?" That's not terribly surprising. A lot of reactionary cultural movements focus on the perceived "devolution" of society. This might be an extreme case, but the Nazis' search for "Aryans" exemplified it best IMO. They were basically looking for a super-advanced civilization in Central Asia/Tibet, based on the assumption that if Indo-Europeans spread their language and culture so suddenly and so efficiently in the distant past, they MUST have been advanced and powerful enough to impose their customs on their neighbours. More so than the cultures that followed. And if that was the case, they must have left evidence of their "empire". Additionally, since it is evident their expansion has come to an end, the natural conclusion (well, to some) is that the Aryans just sat in their Urheimat, perfected their language and culture, then exploded all over Eurasia, just to "degenerate", possibly due to "intermixing with other cultures/peoples". Of course, there wasn't any regression from a past Aryan imperial glory, because none of this happened. Indo-European languages spread gradually over millennia, through many different modes, and often with almost no population replacement (which means the Aryans the Nazis were looking for were in all likelihood pretty brown). PS: I should add that the Nazis weren't alone in their Aryan beliefs - even otherwise non-racist thinkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries have been known to fall into that rabbit hole; J.P. Mallory talks about it in detail in the intro to his opus magnum.

[@bobbylondon7933]

Studied Egypt for several years at Uni and very much sick of listening to people with super limited historical understand or understanding of critical thinking explaining things from a top down approach (looking at the data with a premeditated question and retrofitting information). Whilst I understand videos like these are important for sparking debate. I sometimes wonder if these sort of videos in a way validate these unfounded, unsubstantiated and honestly, often racially motivated arguments about an ancient society's ability to create art. Do these videos in a way bring these fringe theories into the mainstream academic discussion where they do not belong?

[@bobbylondon7933]

In no way being critical of you for making the video, it was a good watch and I love your channel. Just a general larger question.

[@chubbymoth5810]

No,.. the sad thing is that a lot of knowledge is hidden behind pay walls and is inaccessible to the laymen to check. What is available is often ancient 19th or early 20th century stuff that whiffs foul odours of religious, racist and colonialist bias. Those that have had access to behind those walls and have been trained in how to interpret and dissect the old stuff can discern the facts from the fiction for the most part, but many others cannot. With TV channels like Discovery, History etc. that promote the insane anti scientific narrative for the simple reason it gets more views and ad revenue, this will remain an endless battle against skull fuckery. Obviously it doesn't belong in the wider academic discussion, but it certainly is pervasive in societal discussion and does a lot of harm to the mental health of our fellow man. In a sense it is no different from the crusader refuting Constantinople' s streets to be paved with gold. Well,.. everybody else says it is, so obviously the crusader debunking that notion wasn't there. Next thing he comes up with is those Saracens not being bloodthirsty heretics that eat babies, but people trying to keep out the barbarian raiders. Removing the fiction from the fact is basically what historians have as a mission.

[@bobbylondon7933]

@@chubbymoth5810 really interesting ideas! Much to ponder 🤔

[@emZee1994]

No I think they do the exist opposite. If you don't address the conspiracy theories you give them huge credibility. If I can never hear the counter argument then it's very easy for them to say that the reason they are being ignored is becuase they are right and the mainstream academia doesn't want people to know that

[@MrCmon113]

Lol, that kind of snobby attitude is the problem. Those fringe theories are already mainstream as far as viewers on youtube are concerned. They don't need to be "validated" by Stefan addressing them.

[@knightmarecityk]

1. With all that writing carved into nearly every surface, you can infer that the population was overwhelmingly able to read. Math and science could not be far behind. I for one think the three fed each other. 2. There are a significant number of tombs that are unfinished. Tracings of planned rough draft decoration or hieroglyphics are everywhere. They began creating the tombs and kept working until the person died but that work could be done over anywhere from weeks to years.

[@robertbrownm]

I feel like you made this for me. Stay tuned next week when Stefan cuts through granite for 12 hours straight with nothing but copper and sand.

[@jackalope99999]

I actually find it kind of disturbing how popular pseudoscience videos are on youtube, and how rabid the fans are to defend them against any questions

[@kerryn6714]

Thanks so much for this excellent upload Stepan. I remember over a decade ago when "Ancient Aliens" became popular, I was intrigued. But watching their ridiculous claims lead me to channels like yours. Thanks for helping me see history for what it really is, with no aliens required. I also must thank the "Scientists against myths" channel because they are just as brilliant as you. Cheers from a girl from Australia ✌🇦🇺🙃

[@emZee1994]

I agree. I'm glad people who actually understand what happened in ancient Egypt are making these videos. When all you see is the ancient aliens conspiracy theory then it starts to become the most likely explanation by default

[@carlpeberdy9086]

Thanks for the Scientists against myths recommend, I've just had a look, there's a whole load of interesting stuff there - I'll be fully occupied tonight!

[@kerryn6714]

@@carlpeberdy9086 My pleasure. They're a great channel, hope you get heaps of enjoyment from them ✌

[@ruththinkingoutside.707]

Yay.. I have been waiting very impatiently for this 😝😝

[@LukeBarw]

I literally can’t wait for these videos to come in, cheers 🙌

[@coppurt]

When made to choose between 'brown people did it' and 'ancient aliens did it', some people will ALWAYS choose the latter.

[@fluffytom82]

In this case neither "brown people" nor aliens did. They were Egyptians. Mediterranean caucasians, not sub-Saharan Africans.

[@offthewoodwork3626]

@@fluffytom82 Sub-Saharan Africans are not and were not the only brown people in the world. And that includes ancient Egyptians.

[@almostclintnewton8478]

for the sake of preventing a future comment war down here, let's just say groups of people not associated with "western civilization" Which is what OP meant by "brown people". White supremacy is a confused and ficcle thing and it's the main reason these theories got off the ground in the first place. A frighteing ammount of people looked at the populations that currently live and used to live in areas like egypt and could not conceive that cultures so different from what they had been implicitly taught was "superior" were capable of producing anything worth studying.

[@Naldito15]

They obviously used some methods that current archeology is not aware of. Cutting over a million giant stone blocks that weigh multiple tons with those copper saws that require sand and water to actually be somewhat functional is not possible. Not mention the copper saws go dull after a few minutes of use. The mainstream theory isnt really feasible when you take into account all of the factors

[@darrylnelson2952]

Not to mention, they have not found a single saw like the one shown in the video. And they would have needed tens of thousands because they wear down so quickly in the hard stone. There should be fragments of broken blades all over the place, even if they recycled them to make new ones. Some would still be left buried all over the area. Also, why did many of these civilizations admit themselves that they did not build these sites? and almost all the evidence is that the inferior work was done on top of the older better stonework in Peru etc.

[@richardstephens5570]

They didn't use saws to cut the giant blocks. First, they hacked off the weathered layers of granite first. Then they dug a trench around the granite to be cut. After the required depth of the trench was measured using a cubit rod, they would cut beneath the rock. Then after measuring how wide the stone needed to be, they would make holes in a straight line on top of the granite. Into these holes they would insert wooden wedges. They would pour water onto the wedges, causing them to expand and split the rock. Because of the trench cleared on the side, they could move the stone sideways instead of lifting them.

[@Clyde7709]

That is a lovely collection of hats. No future upload will be complete without one.

[@RichardKCollins]

When I was younger, for a few decades I carved wood and stone as a hobby. Quite a few. Now, I did try carving granite. It is not impossible, it just takes longer. Something in marble might take a few weeks. Something in granite a few months, or years. I was carving for fun and meditation, so carving softer stones was easier. But, if I got paid to carve, and the pharaoh wanted granite, and prestige and income and a good life warranted, I would take the time. I happened to run a website for sculptors for about a decade. It had 50,000 unique visitors each month. I met a lot of sculptors in every conceivable medium. Individual sculptors might start out inefficient, but fairly quickly they learn to carve better, faster and more efficiently. AND, when there are serious commission or monuments, they work together and share the work. So you might hire someone who could carve letters in granite. An artist or scribe could draw the letters, and someone else carve it. I agree, the Egyptians, or any other humans, with enough time and motive, can build most anything. It does require civilizations that are not living hand to mouth, barely existing, barely with time to think, let alone create in stone or other materials. I have worked every day for the last 25 years on the problem of global cooperation - for those problems that cannot be solved by one person, or a few thousand, but require the focused effort of tens of millions. And their cooperation. So I know the benefits of civilizations that can focus and do things. That does not require alien civilizations, nor lost civilizations. I would not completely reject the possibility of lost civilizations. There is a lot of time. And civilization does NOT require stone buildings, huge cities, or stone tools and conveniently permanent artifacts. Moral and spiritual quality does not depend on wealth and possessions. If might have nothing to do with possessions at all.

[@ByteMe619]

Ancient aliens, flat Earth, anti-vax, sovereign citizens, etc. etc. etc. people seem to delight in being deluded. I hope this video reaches the ones who can still be convinced

[@chcomes]

not sure if it is good for you to waste your time with these things. Outside of the fringes, such claims are not taken seriously

[@knorfft]

I love your videos so much!!! Great choice of music in this one, too!

[@Jobe-13]

Men must’ve been such a proud father of Bak becoming a craftsman working on Pharaoh’s temples.

[@fishypaw]

I think "lost civilization" and "ancient alien" type claims are so ridiculous, that they are not even worth addressing. The burden of proof is on the silly people who make these silly claims. Saying that, I appreciate you addressing it, and continue to enjoy your uploads. Cheers.

[@annaschrieber8087]

One can say an idea is unfounded or unsupported, without insulting or demeaning people you silly, ridiculous person.

[@aaron2709]

@@annaschrieber8087 Silly stuff should be called silly.

[@annaschrieber8087]

@@aaron2709 fishy said “silly people” and not just that their argument was “silly stuff” you silly Aaron

[@aaron2709]

@@annaschrieber8087 That's a great, overly-sensitive observation. How dare he assume silly stuff comes out of silly people. My appolo-jeez.

[@annaschrieber8087]

@@aaron2709 You do realize “silly stuff” is just a descriptive term fishy made up and is his opinion and not actually arguable right?

[@karinschultz5409]

What? There are still are people that believe that Egyptians could not work granite? They had ground stone querns and vessels made of granite and basalt in the Neolithic and Predynastic periods as early as Naqada dated to 3000BC. In Japan there are stone tools made from granite that are even older. This prejudice that early cultures could not have worked stone when it's clear they did is just that, is modern prejudice. As for Atlantis, seems that no one has found this "lost civilization" among the half dozen locations suggested so far. So if they even worked stone is speculative. Show me the proof.

[@MrCmon113]

Of course not, because they're at the bottom of the ocean and the only thing left is all of the large buildings of any ancient civilization across the world.

[@azcardguy7825]

This needs a part 2 asap

[@Mark_GL]

Great content as always!! Would love to see this type of approach on the Baalbek complex and specially the Trilithon, the three largest monoliths ever lifted, and the Stone of the Pregnant Woman.

[@earthknight60]

Take a look at the Scientists Against Myth channel, they cover a good bit of that.

[@ahmed--y]

People aren't realistic, too much cartoon. If you went to luxor you'll find too many unfulfilled projects where they used conventional techniques like building dune of sand to build a wall, and when the king dies they just stop working and leaving the dune for thousands of years

[@bozo5632]

You should thank the ancient aliens people, I'm watching this video twice.

[@occamrazor5180]

Stefan Milosavljevich - Thank you man! You provided photos of Egyptian frescas showing them knowing about advanced mechanics of drilling. In one of them - a guy holds a tool that resembles a bow, and the string is wrapped around a drilling shaft - no pun intended (as you might say). Egyptians 4-5 thousands years ago, were just the Homo Sapiens as we are today. They could've and might have used even more advanced techniques by *scaling* these "bows", using pulley wheels, pendulums, bronze drilling shafts and make it less miserable job by allowing more than one-two persons doing it at the same time. That's much more economical theory than introducing a long lost civ that should've existed alongside with nomadic Homo Sapiens, omg - Neanderthals possibly, or in a case of, I have a sudden acid reflux, Mr. Graham Hancock who would allow for such civ to have existed more than 100k ago, it would exist alongside Homo Erectus - at least in some pockets of a world. It's just incredible and doesn't make any sense to me.

[@hmalbet]

Always entertaining and educational. Thank you

[@armandom28]

UnchartedX and Bright Insight are amongst the most stupid channels out there regarding ancient history

[@disprogreavette8545]

Bright Insult is a cult, prove me wrong.

[@alexandergutfeldt1144]

But Stefan, first you said they worked with granit, then you promised 'concrete examples,' but continue to show granite .... All jesting aside, I am certain that human history and civilization is much older than we can prove, but there is preciously little evidence to be found, and Egyptian monuments and inscriptions are not among that evidence.

[@emZee1994]

I agree with you. I think humanity has gone through many cycles of civilisational reset, but the Egyptian monuments isn't proof of one

[@emZee1994]

@@Me-yq1fl Modern humans have existed for approximately 200,000 years according to modern science. Did civilization really just start 6,000 years ago? Or is it possible that humanity is constantly going through a cycle of growth and destruction? Where we start in the stone age, develop to the point that we destroy ourselves, and then start back again in the stone age and repeat the process. Now honeslty idk and the very nature of this question makes it impossible to prove so I'm left only with gut feeling, mathematical probability, and rational thought to guide me. Personally I think this is probably what happens again and again either due to humans crumbling under the weight of civilisation, or due to catastrophic natural disasters. But I acknowledge this belief is more relgion than it is science

[@lukeerik2752]

The hat goes on and he's Mike Stoklasa and now I can't unsee it.

[@indigoace261]

Great commentary, thanks for sharing.

[@julianguastadisegno]

I've seen both of this video's when they had less than 10 minutes of age

[@madmattdigs9518]

Hey, I have a question for you. Why is it that the most difficult to produce, most advanced precision works in ancient Egypt, are the oldest? Attributed to the first dynasty… Wouldn’t it make more sense to find that the earliest works were more crude, and over time they learned and made advancements in their technology, and got better… This is one of the points that I hear them make a lot. And it does seem like a valid point. What do you think about these observations?

[@labeardod]

Far more intriguing to me that these and other ancient civilizations' monuments / statues / etc. were created by the people of that time and not some 'lost civilization' or 'ancient aliens'. That this work was done by humans 100s and 1000s of years ago with such basic tools, but so much ingenuity. It's truly amazing and inspiring to think about. Especially for the projects that must've taken decades if not a century to complete. Such dedication.

[@aliahmed-kv5nt]

great work. thank you Stefan