Priceless Artifacts Destroyed by Human Stupidity

Uncovering History: From Schliemann's Explosive Quest to Modern Day Destruction - Witness the race against time as ancient treasures fall victim to greed, negligence, and ignorance. Explore the shocking stories behind lost heritage.
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[@backwashjoe7864]

This is why you should always place a curse on your ancient artifacts.

[@PHelsing]

or a nuke(preferably cobalt) in them in case of the statue

[@everettd2]

This comment wins

[@JMurdochNZ]

So true.

[@danielreuben1058]

How about a curse where the person is cursed to travel the world to ancient wonders and clean them? And to clean the crappers.

[@ferociousgumby]

Oh yeah, like that giant boulder that nearly crushed Indiana Jones!

[@littlerave86]

When visiting Teotihuacan several years ago, we met a barrier in front of the pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, whose steps are adorned by large stone heads of Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc. Tourists would so commonly break off pieces of the statues to take home, that the authorities had to completely restrict access to the whole pyramid.

[@danielgertler5976]

Oh yeah i didn't go there but i went to a mayan temple city to (i believe it was) their moon goddess, and they had to bar tourists from climbing the steps or any access to any of the other structures. The only part you could interact with was the ancient mayan road that was still there.

[@Jason-fm4my]

Common sense really.

[@roosjen]

@@Jason-fm4myyes, but tragic that it is necessary

[@roosjen]

It happens everywhere. Stonehenge used to be freely accessible, but people couldn’t leave it alone, so that was restricted also. Fences kept people from dropping down sheer cliffs at Western Ireland’s shoreline, but people would just step over them to take a look or take a photo. And selfie culture is adding insult to injury when people who act so disrespectfully get affirmation for their actions by thousands of like, encouraging them and others to top their previous acts of disrespect or outright destruction. Perhaps the days when we feared great and small gods and deities in every little part of our world and kept to ourselves to avoid angering them weren’t so bad after all.

[@yoyojoseph]

Are you a time traveller? Tenochtitlán hasn't existed for centuries... Mexico City was built over it

[@Whittz.Youtube]

So much of human history is destroyed by human stupidity

[@marktg98]

Humanity itself will eventually be destroyed because of its own stupidity.

[@AJWRAJWR]

Yeah, but how much more of human history was created by humans? All of it.

[@marktg98]

@@AJWRAJWR That doesn't mean certain humans aren't giant pieces of shit.

[@scottdoesntmatter4409]

Gee Simon, did you take the time to address Islam's dedication to destruction of priceless artifacts, artwork etc? The defacement of the Great Pyramids? Attacks on legendary works of art? Did you know that Islam has been doing this for over a thousand years, beginning with Mohammed himself?!

[@mccleandazza4618]

Yeah the religion of peace has wiped out so much history in that region

[@keithwalmsley1830]

Someone once asked Einstein what he thought was the difference between genius and stupidity , he pondered for a while and then said "genius has it's limits"!!! 🤣🤣

[@andymanaus1077]

My son recently told me that he never believed me when I first told him, about four years ago, how idiotic people could be. After experiencing multiple interactions with stupid people, he now believes what I said; "Even when you think you've seen the most brainless thing a person could do, sooner or later someone will come along and do something even more stupid." Our discussion revolved around one of his work colleagues taking a 12 foot aluminium boat out for a ride with a 25hp outboard motor on the back. (A 25hp is WAY overpowered and overweight for such a small craft.) He and his father decided to leave the boat trailer strapped to the boat. They spent the day cruising around the estuary, with the steel trailer attached. The next trip, these geniuses decided to leave the trailer attached to their car. I guess they finally realised that boats run better without a trailer attached to their underside. After nearly tipping the boat up and over from trying to go too fast with too much weight over the stern, they suddenly cut power. The bow slammed down and the shock caused the motor to jump off the transom and into the 12 metre deep river. They had not bothered to tighten the motor's transom screws. They had not put oars, life jackets, an anchor or rope into the boat and the tide was taking them out to sea. It took two hours before someone noticed they were in trouble and towed them back to shore just before they were dragged out of the seaway and into the open ocean. The kicker was that this moron told my son he didn't know how he and his father had had such "bad luck" with their boat. It didn't even occur that their misfortune was entirely due to their complete lack of preparedness and intelligence.

[@ToTheNines87368]

a very good quote, I like it, but the likelihood that Einstein actually said that is about as great as his other unsourced quotes.

[@qlqnen]

its*

[@3ch1dna07]

Nothing is fool proof to a talented fool.

[@Jesse-cw5pv]

Do really think someone went up to Einstein and asked what the difference between genius and stupidity is? Think about how dumb of a question that is. Do a FACT CHECK on whether Einstein actually said 'the difference between stupidity and genius is genius has its limits.' Turns out that your quote is made up. That's not a real Einstein quote at all. Stop repeating it. Can't believe people are dumb enough to believe someone would go up to one of the smartest people and ask 'uh what's the difference between a smart person and dumb person?' You think that dumb of a question would be remembered for 100 years? How do people believe this dumb of shit. Even if you were dumb enough to believe it, just fact check it and you'll see it's not real. But instead you hear something you like and spread the false info around. Stoo

[@BacaryLasagne]

"Idiocy needs no introduction" *proceeds to have the shortest introduction of any Simon Whistler video*

[@andyyang3029]

That's how you know it's not a brain blaze episode 😂 never seen an introduction there that's less than 10 minutes

[@alexchu3599]

In a dark dungeon/basement in Prague, Danny is whipping some poor Megaprojects writer for the lack of introduction while going on about a pickled onion sandwiches for an hour.

[@slcpunk2740]

​@@andyyang3029there are a few but they're far between

[@slcpunk2740]

​@@alexchu3599Mmmm pickled onions

[@scottdoesntmatter4409]

Gee Simon, did you take the time to address Islam's dedication to destruction of priceless artifacts, artwork etc? The defacement of the Great Pyramids? Attacks on legendary works of art? Did you know that Islam has been doing this for over a thousand years, beginning with Mohammed himself?!

[@jrmckim]

While living in Japan, I witnessed so MANY tourists of all nationalities trespass into temples without any regard for rules or restrictions. Most monks are passive and did their best to keep people out of certain areas. Even going so far to trample the memorial for the crash of Japan Airlines 123 where 500 lost their lives. People will literally do anything for a selfie...

[@arcturionblade1077]

Yikes. I've lived in Japan for over 11 years and seen my fair share of rude, pushy tourists (most of them being mainland Chinese, ugh, and I say this as a Chinese American myself). But that's beyond the pale.

[@pakde8002]

Same thing here in Bali except now the authorities are very aggressive in deporting anyone who desecrates holy sites. Unfortunately there are so many and not readily apparent (even some very old trees are considered sacred) that a lot of people have been deported for minor infractions. They need to have more information available and not just assume everyone knows the very complicated rules that vary from place to place or just stop allowing tourists into sacred sites. But then that money 🤑

[@dansihvonen8218]

Do you find standing in a non public part of a temple equal to destroying unique artifacts?

[@battlesheep2552]

Clout is one hell of a drug

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

@@dansihvonen8218 May I walk into your bedroom and start going through your drawers???

[@amb163]

This hurt my heart to watch. Not only is crap like this happening every day, there is also a MASSIVE black market for artifacts of historical and scientific value that have been bought up and essentially hidden away, probably never to be seen again. Items that could answer questions about different cultures and the human race as a whole. I suppose at least they're still out there, instead of being destroyed by ignorance or malice... but still. UGH.

[@danf7411]

I don't think you can ever stop that, what kind of history nerd wouldn't want a venus statue Mesopotamian tablet statue fragment ect. It does belong in a museum but artifact hunters can make a life time worth of money but finding the right object and right buyer.

[@PenisPotato898]

As long as muslims are allowed to destroy any other religious artifacts it will never change. Their refugees carry on the same way of thinking of destruction of nonislamic artifacts.

[@anna9072]

And with archaeology, context is essential. Even if these artifacts could be recovered, much of the context will have been lost, and with it, much of its scientific value. True, in a museum it is accessible to everyone, not hidden away to bolster someones vanity, but recovering the item can’t restore the damage done to the site and loss of the information provided by its context within it.

[@amb163]

@@anna9072 Yes, fantastic point!

[@amb163]

@@danf7411 THIS history nerd (me, I'm the history nerd with a history degree) wouldn't want one of those items in my personal possession, even if I were rich enough to buy one. But you're right -- the $ aspect just effs everything up in a lot of cases.

[@emmaess9958]

Tragic. Unforgiveable in some cases. Maybe it would help us feel better to do a video on people who helped to save works of historic worth. The German who refused to blow up the Ponte Vecchio during WWII. The American who saved Chartres cathedral in that same conflict. The folks who saved Grand Central terminal in NYC. And etc. Even Notre Dame in Paris was under threat of being pulled down at one point. And Rockerfeller helped rebuild Reimes' cathedral after the Germans shelled it. Good things happen as well as bad ones. Keep hope alive!

[@kennylast2565]

I remembered a story of a German general that defied Hitler's direct order to completely level Paris with heavy artillery when the Germans were losing Paris. Hitler apparently asked the general "Is Paris burning yet?"

[@dinsdalemontypiranha4349]

Thanks for mentioning this. After watching that very depressing video you cheered me up.

[@KuK137]

@@kennylast2565 Lol, that's bullshit nazi whitewashing, often done by said nazis to clear themselves. In 30s, when no one threatened them yet, they destroyed millions of priceless art and historic artifacts calling them "degenerate art" and somehow these ""heroes"" back then did it super obediently and without defying anything...

[@user-dc9gq8mq5u]

hope is for the past and realism is for now,people are yet again less cultivated then even a few decades ago and the future promised then is all past gone and maybe humanity too!don,t spreading false optimism because its goiing only be worst!enjoy now what remains left yet from the glorious past for its gone forever!

[@ha-meemfirozezaman1417]

@@kennylast2565 that German general's name was Dietrich von Choltitz, the last military governor of Paris in 1944. His main specialization was scorched earth policy. But, in a historical irony/twist, he allegedly disobeyed Adolf Hitler's orders to destroy the city, and instead surrendered it to Free French forces when they entered the city on 25 August. Choltitz later asserted that his defiance of Hitler's direct order stemmed from its obvious military futility, his affection for the French capital's history and culture, and his belief that Hitler had by then become insane. Other sources suggest that he had little control of the city thanks to the operations of the resistance, and could not have carried out such orders.

[@xessenceofinsanityx]

How about the time Rio Tinto blew up at 46,000 year old indigenous Australian site? How many places in the world can boast evidence of nearly 50 millennia of continual use...and they called the vandalism a 'misunderstanding'

[@littleblackcat2273]

Yes, when I was watching this video, I was wondering if the Juukan caves incident would be brought up. Looks like there is plenty of scope for a part-two of this series if this one gets enough views!

[@mandywalkden-brown7250]

No-one expects decent behaviour from Rio Tinto, ever!

[@mehere8038]

yup, I was waiting for that one, especially with the Mayan & Chinese incidents, it fits in well with those, deliberate destruction cause "it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission" Or rather, it's easier to pay the minuscule fines to make a fortune by removing a "problem" historical site. Internationally though I think Rio Tinto got more attention for losing a radioactive tictac than that destruction

[@byrongsmith]

@@mehere8038 Though at the time, Rio Tinto had government approval for the destruction, since legislation meant that once mining approval had been given (back in 2013), it couldn't be revoked, even in light of new information (archaeological work had significantly pushed back the dating of human activity in the cave, and it had risen to be regarded as being of the highest level of archaeological significance). Despite knowing all this, the WA govt did nothing to prevent Rio Tinto from moving ahead with their planned destruction, and Rio Tinto did nothing in the face of the urgent and persistent pleas of Aboriginal people and archaeologists. The media didn't really pick up the story until after the destruction had occurred, meaning the public backlash that saw Rio Tinto execs offering apologies and a couple resigning came too late to save the site.

[@dgcaz1]

Wasn't the Queen of England a huge investor in Rio Tinto?

[@chimpinabowtie6913]

Perhaps worse is the mining/exploration industry which routinely ignores any archaeological evidence unearthed through their digging. If they inform authorities of any finds, their work must come to a halt immediately, for research to be done, so who knows what treasures have been blown up and ploughed through for the sake of a quick buck...?

[@darinsingleton3553]

By allowing thoughtlessly malignant idiots to remain anonymous after perpetrating their acts of destructive stupidity, we almost certainly guarantee future acts of irreparable damage.

[@bodan1196]

By naming them, we could almost certainly guarantee future acts of irreparable damage, to those idiots. And their "kind". And what is more damaging, to thoughtlessly destroy an artifact, or intentionally harm another human being? Or hating an entire group for the act of one? If the rest of the world were intelligent enough, then yes, adding "world infamy" to their punishment would be... satisfying, but you must keep in mind, that half the population of the world is less intelligent than the average human. So... I'm ok not knowing.

[@jrmckim]

Knowing their names and nationality won't bring back the artifacts. They were fined and sent home.

[@Itchyknee88]

Well I think we’ve found 2 of the idiots in question…

[@Trendkilla]

I think keeping them anonymous is a good idea. Just as I think billing them for the priceless artifact, spending the rest of their days trying to pay it off, is a good way to make people less careless around them.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

If the fines are big enough it should stop people, as long as the fines are public knowledge. A slap on the wrist fine though is just asking for it to happen again. The fine should be a minimum of 25x the cost of their entire trip, or the cost of restoration, whichever is less.

[@lucasamarante281]

Part.2 - the truck driver Janier Vigo ignored road signs and drove over one of the Nazca lines in Peru. - the destruction of the historic city of Palmyra by ISIS during Syria's civil war - the fire at the Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro) due to government negligence, lack of funds and water hydrants without water destroyed several linguistic documents of languages ​​of extinct brazilian native peoples, the african throne of Dahomey, egyptian sarcophagis and mummies, frescoes from Pompeii and several dinosaur fossils only found in brazilian territory

[@SEAZNDragon]

I'm sure parts 3, 4, and 5 have already been written and Simon is saving them for one of his creative bankrupt periods.

[@Vaeldarg]

Don't forget about the war monument in Serbia. That's a pretty recent one.

[@earth2006]

Two things the Communist Chinese couldn't care less about. The lives of it's people and anything that doesn't turn into something that can be made into a world dominating weapon or something they can sale to create the beforehand mentioned weapon.

[@foo219]

Parts three through 15 - The British and the Vatican.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

The 2 bamiyan Buddhist cave sculpture in Afghanistan blown up by Taliban

[@nomdeguerre7265]

The Venetian/Frankish sack of Constantinople probably deserves several episodes all by itself..... I once worked a field school in New Mexico. It was an ancient archaic seasonal processing site. We arrived one day to find a huge hole right in the site, exposing the skeleton of a burial. The 'pot hunters' had taken the skull and left the rest scattered in the hole. If that skull cursed them for the rest of their lives, they deserved it.

[@azrael7891]

The fourth crusade?

[@piotrswat169]

@@azrael7891yes also burning of the library of Alexandria

[@ceres5177]

At this point it seems like human nature to destroy our own past, whether with malicious purpose or completely on accident.

[@Oddworld2024]

Destroy it and then re write it it’s history to suit one’s needs for those in power. Disrespect at its finest. worst. Shame people still do this not realising the mess of our world mostly over history. And the this happened no it didn’t this happen but this way. Another group says no this happened. Sadly you’ll never know it all when one deletes cultures scriptures buildings. Or any signs the previous peoples ever were. Why? Still trying to figure out greed. Never understood it. Guess I’m not selfish minded. And not understanding “it’s mine” mentality. Working hard for your community is far better for everyone. As well as learning about one another’s cultures fully before judging them. And not putting all groups of people in one bag. As if one culture is mentally on the same page. None are. Example, I’ve never met one person who believes in god and the bible in the exact same way as anyone else. Or sees that storey for the way it was written. And follows the same thing they revolve thier lives around. Yet they are alll correct in their belief? I guess.

[@Loralanthalas]

It's rough on the simulation to keep so much information.

[@The13thRonin]

It's not human nature. It's leftist nature.

[@hsmd4533]

He didn’t even mention the most egregious examples of destruction: woke idiots destroying history by rewriting it, and unregulated immigration destroying western nations.

[@killahp123]

​@@Loralanthalasshhhh... reptoids are always listening...

[@phlebgrl6064]

People show such a lack of respect for historical artifacts, from trying to take ridiculous selfies, to climbing up pyramid steps clearly marked as sacred or forbidden. I believe that the punishment for such disrespect should be much harsher than it is now, otherwise people will continue this shameful behavior.

[@Grimpmann]

I'm the guy that crosses ropes to get a closer look. As a free man, I do as I wish, and will not be gatekept from viewing things up close. That being said, I would never be destructive.

[@ruthbaker5281]

I’m not impressed by your “I’m a free man” statement. You may say you would never be destroy but you would be exactly the one destroying something “by accident “ and then feeling like no one should know it was you.Grow up.

[@Grimpmann]

@@ruthbaker5281 I don't care about you or what you think. I'll continue to do what I do.

[@Grimpmann]

@@tubatim I carry a gun so it would most likely be them ending up in a grave.

[@gandalflotr2898]

There whites and Chinese what are you expect

[@ashb7846]

That last one of “we’re waging war against stone” as a flippant disregard of their behavior makes me think of people who say “Why do you care? We’re not technically hurting anyone?” And the response I think of is “Well why then do you care since you’re also not helping anyone?”

[@solleytara]

They need to fine these companies millions of dollars so that it hurts their pockets or put a hold on their permits so that construction gets shut down immediately. I know it easier said than done but these relics and sites are priceless. Treat them that way!

[@foo219]

Millions of dollars won't hurt them much. The punishment needs to be proportional to the crime. Force the companies into liquidation, and make the board members individually responsible for the crimes. Sixty years to life with no possibility of parole. Actually I think any company that violates a law should be forced into liquidation.

[@teng029]

It's amazing to me that all it takes is a very small act by stupid people to ruin anything for everyone else..

[@wendycregan2147]

That's how.i feel when I think about nuclear weapons 😅

[@florendilhobbit2099]

Sometimes small, but sometimes literally huge machinery and/or Explosives in a deliberate attempt.

[@zyvernious]

Honestly that last one made me, SEETHINGLY MAD, I'm hella agnostic and do believe religious site and artifacts should be preserved at all cost

[@ghiggs8389]

Same. I knew of the Buddhas several years before their destruction. Their destruction was the first time I'd heard the name Taliban, but definitely not the last. Fcking savages.😢

[@Vaeldarg]

"What are you complaining about...we are only waging war on stones" Must be why the Taliban are known for making their Mosques out of wood/metal. Oh, wait.....

[@matteste]

It was clear that he had no reason to do what he did. They could have easily been removed from there and put elsewhere, but no, to him the mere fact that those statues existed was a crime in and of itself. All he really wanted was to destroy culture.

[@mehere8038]

The 45,000 year old religious site destroyed by mining company Rio Tinto makes me madder!

[@mccleandazza4618]

Hey hey hey , that's the religion of peace your talking about 😂

[@Varyell]

As a history enthusiast. As a man who loves to know and ponder the mysteries of ancient times as much as I read into recent eras scarcely a hundred years old. This whole episode made my soul scream with indignant rage. Just like when I heard ISIS was bombing Akkadian and Assyrian sites from some of the most ancient temples and cities in the Middle East. I mean. This was educational. But. Simon. I leave this episode deeply wounded.

[@SotonSam]

This stuff makes my heart hurt so much. Makes me so so so sad knowing what we could've had from an era long gone

[@lordMartiya]

Hi, guy from Cremona here. And let me tell you, we weren't outraged, we were murderous. As a city we don't really care of many things aside for violins and our three "T"s (turòn, that is our internationally renomated turrón. Turàs, that is the Torrazzo, third tallest brickwork belltower in the world and the oldest still standing. And tetàs, that is the large "female attributes" of the local ladies)... And that statue was one of the things we care about as a whole. And we're well known for being easily angered. We went and fixed it, and trust me, the reason those guys' names are unknown is because paying for the job must have been the condition to not doxx them and watch the results.

[@beagleissleeping5359]

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, Ohio. The sight was nearly raised to the ground during WW1 to build an army base, but the commanding officer(s) made sure to build over and around the mounds so they could be restored later. 👍👍👍

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -- Albert Einstein

[@jonathandewberry289]

The China Ikea was criminal but this is the sad reality: there is something in the Mainland Chinese mentality that cannot NOT smash them open to get stuff. In that case, they didn't quite get the tombs secured and there were photos where you could see obviously, 'tombraiders' had looted it and literally trails of the gold or whatever items they were carrying as they ran back out of the site.

[@danf7411]

That's why China will never risk letting anyone into its cultural heritage sites.

[@leoli2450]

GTFO with your casual racism. It isn't "mainland chinese mentality" but more "poor people mentality". Knowing that you live in THE most historical artifact-rich nation on earth and you can make what normal office workers earn in multiple months with only several days of hard work is very attractive for some people...

[@catatoblob8598]

Dude China's just filled with poor people.

[@kevingluys3063]

So he wanted to find the gold of Troy, and completely disregarded the fact that the gold of Troy would be with Agamemnon in Greece

[@MichaelEilers]

Sadly wrecking antiquities isn’t just a modern problem. The majority of Egyptian tombs were plundered often just months after the burial took place, and the limestone and white marble faces of the pyramids were gone within a few hundred years of their construction. Disregarding the importance of the past isn’t a modern convention alone.

[@Tuisto]

You're right, but it was actually even worse then that. The locals, over thousands of years dismantled entire pyramids and other monuments down to the ground, just for the raw stone building material. Entire pyramids and monuments are now little more than unrecognizable piles of rubble. Remember that the local builders just considered The Rosetta Stone as just another rock to be used inside a wall. Think of that, the stones of a Pharaoh's pyramid hacked down to be used as blocks for a farmers goat shack.

[@grapeshot]

I know in my state of Ohio we lost many Native American burial sites to urban sprawl and farmland.

[@akaroth7542]

I went to CCSU. One of my history professors was one of the first in academia to actually want to study those sites...in the 70's. They were ignored/neglected by academia for that long : /

[@hadrian318]

because they were made 5 minutes before we got here, and are literally just piles of earth.

[@newshodgepodge6329]

Fellow Ohioan here. I don't doubt it one bit.

[@newshodgepodge6329]

​@@hadrian318Why don't you go excavate a pile of earth? Just pull the dirt in on top of you once you get a nice deep pit dug out.

[@grapeshot]

@@hadrian318 wrong

[@DonDon-df5ie]

Theres no arguing with stupid people, they'll just drag you down to their level and beat you at it.

[@fotulj]

“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” -Mark Twain.. might have been the quote you were looking for?

[@jonathandewberry289]

That doesn't make any sense, 'stupid' is not a person but an action or behavior. oof, speaking of 'stupid' we got an example right here yikes.

[@DonDon-df5ie]

@@fotulj that is the quote, thank you

[@DonDon-df5ie]

@jonathandewberry289 yes you are right

[@PerfectHandProductions]

@@jonathandewberry289 That was rude.

[@T.O.A.D.U.K]

Humanity is depressing. It is like we have a switch in us that likes to destroy as much as create.

[@alden1132]

Sometimes (more and more often lately, in fact), I am ashamed to be a member of my species.

[@JounLord1]

Just remember, even while there are humans who destroy great works of man and nature there are just as many who want to preserve them. People who dedicate their lives to saving artifacts and animals from disappearing forever. There is plenty of be ashamed of for humanity but plenty to be proud of. The fact these great works of art and archeology hurt so bad is because most humans do not agree with their destruction. Don't be ashamed to be a member of your species, be ashamed that some others are.

[@jjunture]

How did Simon know we would want to know the nationality of the tourists at 5:38…. Watching that story thinking “Please don’t be American, please don’t be American, please don’t be American…”

[@A_Ducky]

Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.. my hometown. An "Old Bridge" exists from 1566 to 1993 when the Croats shell it down into the river in the war ... while trying to capture the city for themselves. Good job 👏 They literally did worse than the Nazis, who didn't touch it.

[@andyyang3029]

And the Serbs shelled the historic walls of Dubrovnik.

[@theludonarrian]

The people who destroyed those works of art for selfies should have their names out there.

[@daryljones9367]

Prison

[@theludonarrian]

@@daryljones9367 Too good for them.

[@gandalflotr2898]

I agree Get shuned by society

[@aq5426]

All of this just makes me weep for humanity. We're such brutish thugs. :(

[@super-kami-guru]

I totally read this as "British thugs" 😂😂😂 works either way

[@TheGoodGman95]

to quote casual geographic "We are a violent vindictive monkey mafia that will burn down your home and kill your whole lineage if you mess with us."

[@PenisPotato898]

@@TheGoodGman95wow that’s a great way to describe the islamic/muslim people, it’s absolutely correct. Especially when their “prophet” was a child molester, he had a nine year old “wife” and consummated their marriage. So their religious idol sexually assaulted a 9 year old.

[@TheGoodGman95]

@@PenisPotato898 I mean you are not wrong

[@gandalflotr2898]

There whites what are you expect

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

There's a British tourist carved his SO's name into The Coliseum, recently. 😐

[@keithwalmsley1830]

Oh I know, makes me ashamed to be British, his excuse, "he didn't know how old it was"!!! I don't know if you're British yourself but we're not all thick cretins like this, honestly!!!

[@samsoncooper1]

Pretty sure he was European living in Britain or am I thinking of another dude?

[@weatherman667]

Ah, back in the good ol' days, when dynamite was the solution to every problem.

[@tonycowin]

I call them the cartoon days.

[@emilyauld8622]

I reckon that painting the restorer ruined is much more famous now, probably more valuable too 😂

[@littleblackcat2273]

That one reminded me of the Mr Bean movie.

[@WelcomeToDERPLAND]

I cant... I cant watch this episode, it'll hurt too much... ;~;

[@kathymarshall220]

There’s a sad irony about watching this video knowing it was most likely filmed a good while before a British bloke decided to carve his name into the colosseum less than a month ago 😞

[@pakde8002]

Sadder still he claimed he had no idea it was so old and wasn't aware of the cultural significance. That doesn't speak well for the English school system.

[@darkerarts]

He's not British, he is living there. Ivan Dimitrovis is from Bulgaria. Hopefully he will be residing in an Italian prison soon.

[@alden1132]

I shouldn't have watched this. My heart hurts.

[@redmoondesignbeth9119]

The small town of Aztec, New Mexico, US owes much of the town to the bricks from the Aztec National Ruins. Another sad story is from Jimmy Corsetti's "Bright Insights". He had been stationed in Iraq when he witnessed their government tearing down sites. He has photos at the end of this video "Bizarre Massive Winged Bulls from Ancient Iraq" from June 22.

[@mehere8038]

Same thing in Australia, Aboriginal people's stone homes were dismantled to build fences for the sheep that destroyed their land & culture as they were driven out. Those fences are now protected by "heritage orders" while those doing it try to pretend Aboriginal people lived in little bark huts that wouldn't last more than a week

[@Sweeeetpeaches69]

What's your source for Aztec, New Mexico? I live in the state, and I've literally never heard that. I also couldn't find it on Google. I did, however, find that the bricks are actually only adobe, so it would seem the two theories could not coexist. Curious to see your reply. Thanks!

[@redmoondesignbeth9119]

@@Sweeeetpeaches69 You couldn't find info on Aztec or the bricks? I've lived in Aztec off and on for 40 years. A few summers ago I volunteered and lived on site. The info came from the archaeologists. I would say adobe also. Or stone. I never paid that much attention. I think the original dig was done by a Mr Morris??? And that is when the towns people took the bricks to build foundations for their buildings. Much of the site was covered up for posterity. The traffic was shaking the buildings. I would guess you could contact the Aztec National Ruins or the Aztec historical society. As a side note, I opened the Vanilla Moose for my mother and it is still there after 40 years and has a google site. Any other questions?

[@redmoondesignbeth9119]

@@Sweeeetpeaches69 I googled "Aztec, New Mexico Ruins Images" and you can tell there are a lot of rocks in the foundation and cut stone.

[@Sweeeetpeaches69]

@@redmoondesignbeth9119 No. I've been there in person on multiple occasions and there are no cut rocks. They're all specially created adobe. The entire thing that makes that site special is that they're man made stone-like bricks because there were no rocks in the area. The few stones that are part of the structures are uncut, round stones that certainly did not come from Aztec national ruins. Again, I'll take an actual resource, if you have one.

[@E4Alabbasy]

I'm not even an archeologist and I want to cry

[@danielreuben1058]

I know I should not be shocked by the stupidity of some people, but I sometimes still am. Like the guy who recently carved his and his girlfriend's initials on the coliseum. Let's bring back flogging in certain situations.

[@pakde8002]

Set lions on that jerk. And he had the gall to claim he didn't know it was that old or that it was culturally significant.

[@JaredlS10]

@@pakde8002 A bit overkill but as you said the gall of him saying he didn't know one of the most widely known ancient structures in the world was ancient is bullshit, I've been to the Coliseum and at the time you had to be apart of tour or pay your way in to even get close to the structure let alone carve your name on it. The couple was hopefully fined a buttload and had their visitation rights to Italy revoked.

[@BoxLab24]

Bro it’ll be history in a hundred years or so you think people back then didn’t vandalize it too? Graffiti is history too

[@danielkarlsson9326]

My personal belief is that people whom damage or destroy important historical artifacts be it by malice or by idiocy should be named on every frontpage of every major Newspaper or outlet over the whole world. And then be forced to walk naked through the parade road of the nation in which the incident occured while its citizen throws rotten eggs at them.

[@Chris-zg8rk]

Been bingewatching your videos on and off for a few weeks..love your content! Thanks : )

[@michaelhall4222]

Maybe a larger fine is required for companies that damage ancient sites or artefacts. Somewhere in the ballpark of 150million dollars

[@rickybuhl3176]

Perhaps punishments should be metered out in a manner befitting the time such monuments were constructed. Rather than a pittance in fines..

[@SirAsdf]

Wasn't there a story out of the UK recently where a construction company tore down a historic pub, while the owner was out doing something, so they could put up a new apartment building? Only to get told to put that shit back together the way they found it by the courts because it was a recognized landmark.

[@espurr3496]

Greed and stupidity for literally no gain

[@kalrandom7387]

Some of the worst destruction happened in the Americas, as it was being settled by the Europeans. Native American sites were being routinely ignored, and destroyed, and barely even paid attention to today.

[@drgunnwilliams8239]

Early "archaeological" was all about treasure hunting. Dynamite a method of treasure hunting of it's time.

[@Shoelessjoe78]

People: the source of nice things and also why we can't have nice things.

[@fangthedergon1863]

I was not ready for how upset knowing this stuff would make me

[@Beryllahawk]

That last one really makes me angry. I am not religious at all, but that's just plain infuriating. And with this kind of thing allowed - even encouraged - by that "government," who in HELL thinks they're ever going to be good neighbors to anybody? If they're willing to "wage war on stones" then they're fine with beating up mere people, it's easier. Nasty business.

[@penitent2401]

Did you know that the Taliban now that they have control of Afghanistan again are trying to preserve what's left of that site and others and opening it up for tourism charging visitors for entrance to make money. Buddhism has peaceful relations with their religion through history, they were just fanatic "our religion or death".

[@mfwiloseintouhoubossfights9305]

Heh what did you expect, same shit happened to temples back here in India when they invaded

[@shirleymental4189]

As an Advertisement executive, I think you'll find if you asked people whether they want some dusty old tomb or a nice new IKEA store they will go for the latter. You can't get a new table and chairs out of some thousand year old tunnel you know!

[@ecchikitty1395]

Oil pipeline moving thru native lands in South Dakota. Protesters made a map of burial sites in hopes construction would at least avoid damaging those. Bulldozers specifically targeted the noted locations.

[@aq5426]

Not at all surprised. White Supremacy strikes again. :/

[@KryssLaBryn]

A dozen years or so ago they were putting in a parking lot in iirc Norway, when they came across the only known *intact* pre-Christian pagan Norse religious site! We know next to nothing about the Norse (Viking) religion because their history and tales were passed down orally, and when the early Christians came along, as they did everywhere else, they did their level best to obliterate any hint of the culture and religion that had preceded them. A lot of the symbols go back at least to the Neolithic, but almost all of what we know is because of one Christian monk, Snorri Sturullson, writing down the tales his grandmother had told him around a century and a half after the region had been forcibly converted to Christianity. Without him, we wouldn't have the Poetic or Prose Eddas. Christians chopped down and burned the sacred groves, and set their own churches up on the old sites of worship. They murdered the priests and anyone who refused to convert. But one site-one, single site-was preserved. When the Christians were coming, the people who worshipped there hid it, burying the whole thing intact, leaving it for future generations to hopefully revive the old ways. It was found by accident, roughly two thousand years later, by people building a parking lot. As soon as word of the find got out, lovers of history and modern Heathens united to halt the project and preserve the site! ... Only to discover that it was already too late. The company had given archaeologists something like a week, and then they ploughed it under to put in the foundations of the parkade. I-They destroyed it. The only intact Heathen Norse worship site, and they *destroyed* it. For a *parkade.* And all we still have is old tales filtered through five generations of Christianity. Gods damn them to Niflhelm.

[@DMTrance87]

I knew about that last entry... As soon as the heading came up my heart started breaking😭

[@byrongsmith]

Missed a big one: in May 2020, the multinational mining company Rio Tinto blew up a cave in Juukan Gorge (in what is now Western Australia) that had evidence of continuous human occupation for 46,000 years, a priceless archaeological and cultural site of the oldest continuous cultures in the world (the Aboriginal nations across the lands now called Australia). This was done with government approval.

[@egegul6343]

There is an ancient Roman city near where part of my family is from. People in the village apparently used to use carved stones from the part of the ancient city that was overground (the site itself was not yet excavated by then), so you end up with random blocks of carved stone on the bottom row of some houses made of mudbrick and wood, it’s quite the shock!

[@ElizabethJones-pv3sj]

Reverence for the past is a relatively recent part of western culture. When people were just barely surviving they took any chance they could to save time, money and energy so if there's some old stone already cut why wouldn't you re-use it. Now we call it recycling or upcycling.

[@simonhirschmugl5134]

Dude, half the buildings in Rome were built with material from older buildings in Rume, which were built with material from older buildings in Rome, built...

[@Mustang_Dan]

I wonder what artifacts that are unknown to us today, might have been discovered and kept by ancient civilizations until accidentally or purposefully destroyed, erasing their existence from history.

[@LMB1020]

Wow out of the 1,200 videos I’ve watched by fact boy… this is the earliest I’ve caught one!

[@davidgg1611]

Fact boy 😂

[@frankboogaard88]

Most Humans aren't stupid. But it is sad to know that those few that are caused so much damage.

[@holmes5670]

You've clearly never worked in retail or customer support

[@Indyofthedead]

Archaeologists be like: "it must have taken hundred... no, thousands of years to carve this thing." Corporations be like: "Hey, look, I made a bridge. It only took me like, what? Ten seconds? Eleven tops."

[@TheGeeza1980]

The Aboriginal caves in Australia that were completely demolished a few years back surely deserved to be on this list.

[@samueleeles-jp9ez]

I learn more from you in 12 min videos than I did in multiple years of school

[@antjejaeger7844]

When I saw the taliban destroy artifacts, I saw their faces and what I saw wasn't people believing, that what they do was the right thing. What I saw was pure evil. They knew that it was wrong and they liked it.

[@aq5426]

They thought they were getting brownie points with their version of the Evangelical Republican Jesus by destroying "idols".

[@haworthlowell805]

​@@aq5426I'm sure you're enjoying all the destruction in America then. Shame.

[@arcturionblade1077]

The cruelty is the point.

[@Vaeldarg]

@@aq5426 Buddhists: "That's a nice giant cube you have there at Mecca. Would be a shame if the same thing were to happen to it...." It isn't like the Muslim world didn't have things they would also like to not be destroyed, hence non-Taliban Islam leaders being like "uh, you idiots should probably not set this precedent..."

[@adamaziz7502]

@@VaeldargAs a Muslim i don’t agree with the Taliban but that’s not a good comparison the Kaaba or the black stone is the biggest pilgrimage site in the world that Afghani Buddha site isn’t its been abandoned if the Kaaba was destroyed you would literally have close to a billion muslims come down on the perpetrator like nothing ever seen before also we actually believe the Kaaba will be destroyed in the future as part of a prophecy even Allah’s holiest house will have its End the only infinite to exist is Allah himself

[@YOUNGPADAWON]

A 3k fine? That’s bread crumbs to a construction company

[@andrefiset3569]

In France as recently as June this year an alignment of 38 menhirs dated from 7000 years was destroyed to build an hardware store. The mayor's office denies any wrongdoing. But the worst for my part is Camillo Padermi who was in charge of the recovered Herculanum Papyri in 1752 who destroyed hundreds of them by cutting them in half and scraping layers of carbonized papyri to transcribe bits of texts. Now the papyri can be virtually unrolled by a 3D scanner.

[@1D991]

About 40 prehistoric standing stones in Carnac, France were destroyed to make room for a retail store last month

[@ajm2872]

"Hey, bossman, I found an arrowhead!" "No the fuck you did not."

[@samsoncooper1]

I dunno why cos doing things by the books gets your company a lot more money

[@su_shadow9326]

We got to document everything historical as much as we can, because in the end, nothing lasts forever. Be it due to brutality, stupidity, accidents, necessity, or time itself. All things will eventually be gone.

[@OhPlesus]

Ah humanity’s battle cry, “here’s something good, let’s wreck it!”

[@StoneInMySandal]

Heinrich Schliemann gets a lot of flack, but he is the father of modern archaeology. It was to prevent another wealthy enthusiast like him from wrecking everything that guys like Petrie, Erman, and even Carter developed the techniques we anachronistically judge Schliemann by today.

[@nicktallfox5266]

Schliemann is the father of archeology about as much as Freud is the father of psychology. Each one less of a father figure and more of a beligerantly drunk uncle shouting racist comments around the thanksgiving table with the above mentioned fields of research being made up by the people around him desperately trying to disprove his claims/disavow his methods.

[@rodrigodiazdevivar6183]

I was in Afghanistan....Sadly due to a certain religions belief, many ancient Buddhist sites were destroyed.

[@jonfisch4505]

Rio Tinto destroyed 40000 year old Australian rock art 😢

[@steveharrison76]

I like it when companies destroy irreplaceable artefacts or sites and then apologise saying that they will try to make sure it doesn’t happen again, as if it could happen again, what with them having destroyed the thing to begin with actively preventing a reoccurrence of the incident because IT’S BEEN DESTROYED MATE. Peak humaning. And incredibly depressing.

[@RiverSong1218]

The Art Institute of Chicago in the past had no signs up for some of their modern art. I nearly ruined an exhibit along with a family friend because the entire thing was set on the bare floor, no pedestal, no sign, and one side consisted of a single penny. Your reaction as a child is to find a penny, pick it up. I have always known to be respectful of others' belongings but even the adults on the trip with us agreed that was insane. We got yelled at and we asked where the name of the piece was and security couldn't even point out how we were supposed to be aware this loose change was art and not just loose change.

[@jantschierschky3461]

Mao has a lot to answer for. His insistence of destroying the past. Unfortunately the Chinese general attitude for historical important sites careless.

[@iainburgess8577]

This is why i have deep respect for curators, professional conservators & accredited restorers. I think that western society can kearn some cultural perspective on this from the east; a "pristine", unbroken piece holds less history than the one that was broken & restored. The first; its inherent history begins & ends with its production. Its value lies soley in a list of documentation narrating who has owned & for how long. The second can (should) still have provenance; that history of ownership. But Because it was worked on, w provenance of when, why, how; it picks up the history of the people who did the repair, provided the materials, what the process was, why the materials were used. Just like clocks. But extended to Everything possible.

[@joshwelburn6523]

I absolutely love these videos, I could happily have them on in the background to just listen to but the inconsistent audio is a rather annoying

[@nathanbrink6415]

There's a bunch of native American cave paintings near me. Back in the 30s, the local university decided to try sandblasting them to clean soot from hundreds of years of fires. It did not end well...

[@eaphantom9214]

03:43 - Dynamite? 😂😂 LOL

[@johntakolander8613]

Not only stupidity but also greed and a sick power hunger.

[@xelusprime]

A fine line between being clever and being smart.

[@lexi6916]

What gets me about the taliban in the last one is now they are trying to profit off it by selling images and trying to drum up tourism. It was just so short-sighted and unnecessary

[@pfadiva]

That sentence is a good description of the Taliban: short-sighted and unnecessary.

[@jimsmith7212]

"​In 1964, a man identified as Donal Rusk Currey killed a Great Basin bristlecone pine tree, which was the oldest tree discovered so far. Currey later said that he killed the tree accidentally and he understood the ramifications of his action only after he started counting rings of the fallen tree. According to Currey, his tree corer has got stuck in the tree and the corer got stuck so badly that it wouldn’t come out. Currey sought help from a park ranger who decided to cut the tree down to remove the corer. Once the tree was cut down, Currey began to count the rings and he then realised that the tree was almost 5,000 years old - the oldest tree ever recorded...... The tree cut down by Currey was nicknamed the Prometheus tree. Collectors Weekly wrote, "The Prometheus tree’s felling made it doubly symbolic, as the myth of its namesake captures both the human hunger for knowledge and the unintended negative consequences that often result from this desire. Though members of the scientific community and press were outraged that the tree was killed, Currey’s mistake ultimately provided the impetus to establish Great Basin National Park to protect the bristlecones." The park ranger was devastated and went to his grave believing he had killed the world's oldest tree. Only after his passing was an older tree was found.

[@donaldcampbell3043]

I was in an Anthropology class one day and my Professor a working Acheologist, was telling us about how they get a lot of funding for ongoing field work by allowing tourists to look around the site. He told us about a dig he was leaving in Thailand, excavating a Neolithic burial site full of burial pots, a group of American tourists was on site, and a rather rotund Southern Woman was climbing a ladder exiting a trench when she lost her balance and landed ass first on a burial pot that was in the process if being unearthed shattering an artifact that had been untouched for thousands of years... She was very very embarrassed and apologized profusely...

[@MrBadavidson9]

Imagine the taliban accepted japans offer to move them. That would of been one of the most impressive things humans would have ever done

[@scloftin8861]

Definitely the equal of moving the temple of Abu Simbel before the Aswan Dam was finished ... Would have been fascinating to watch as it was done as well.

[@jenohogan9254]

My heart is utterly crushed.

[@carlys7598]

I remeber watching a video on the Buddahs in college in the early 2010s and it was heartbreaking. Iconoclasm at its worst. The tourists making stupid mistakes is infuriating but understandable. However destroying those giant staus on purpose is unexcusable.

[@micheleupchurch3725]

Thank you ❤

[@edmondmartinez9617]

I always love when an international coalition "does everything" to prevent something yet somehow actually does absolutely nothing. Those ancient budhas are gone because nobody did anything to prevent it.

[@oliverstianhugaas7493]

Schlimann was just ahead of his time, a billionaire who wanted to change the world.

[@lDemonAngel]

If humans haven’t screwed it up yet, wait 5 minutes.

[@something1600]

If I had a time machine: I would stop Schliemann from blowing up Troy, and then beat him up for entertaining the idea of blowing up Troy.

[@bigboss-tl2xr]

Thanks again.

[@harouttorkomian5897]

Another awful thing caught on video from a few years ago was Azerbaijani forces taking pickaxes and jackhammers towards every single xachkar in a 1000+ year old Armenian cemetery. The saddest part was that they did it on purpose simply to erase any claim Armenia might have over the region.

[@Alaryicjude]

I'm not religious by any means but watching them literally blow up those Buddha carvings made me physically cringe. That is just sad. My beau told me they had done this kind of stuff (they apparently destroyed a lot of Sumerian artifacts as well) but seeing it is just tragic.