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Ancient Mysterious Structure Found on Russian Island | Secrets In The Ice | Science Channel
Ancient Mysterious Structure Found on Russian Island | Secrets In The Ice | Science Channel
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Legendas (122)
0:10
Deep in the single and mountains of southern Siberia, 20 miles from Russia's border with
0:16
Mongolia. A small island in the center of the frigid Lake Taroko harbors a big mystery.
0:22
At 4000ft above sea level, Lake Tiracol is high up in the mountains.
0:28
It regularly gets down to -50°F in the winter, and the ground surrounding the lake
0:34
is predominantly permafrost.
0:38
Archaeologists working in the remote mountains come across an unusual site in the
0:42
middle of the lake.
0:44
Out on a small eight and a half acre island, they see the ruined remains of numerous large
0:50
walls and buildings.
0:53
The crumbling walls and.
0:54
Ruins practically cover the entire island.
0:57
What is this place?
1:00
The complex is made up of a large rectangular external wall, 705ft long by 531ft wide.
1:09
Inside there are two main courtyards and the remains of a large central structure.
1:17
A chain of smaller, interconnected walled yards and buildings surround the perimeter.
1:24
The complex on the island is about the size of two football fields.
1:29
I mean, that is huge.
1:31
The exterior wall or curtain wall is also really thick.
1:35
About 40ft at its widest and also about 30 to 40ft high.
1:42
All the walls and buildings are made of clay bricks, so the site has become known as
1:46
Por-bazhyn or the Clay House.
1:50
Based on the types of material and construction methods used, archaeologists
1:54
believe the site must be at least 1000 years old.
1:59
It would have taken a lot of time and energy to build this enormous complex, especially in
2:05
such a cold and remote location.
2:07
But you can just imagine how it would have looked, this huge walled structure standing
2:12
out there in the middle of the lake.
2:13
It would have been really stunning.
2:18
Bizarrely, the archaeologists find very little evidence of human presence at
2:23
Por-bazhyn. When humans spend a prolonged period of time somewhere, they leave behind
2:30
what archaeologists call a cultural or occupational layer of artifacts.
2:35
But at this site they find nothing.
2:38
With no evidence to indicate who lived here.
2:41
Archaeologists must now dig deeper to determine what this massive structure was.
2:51
In the winter. This part of Siberia is cold, and archaeologists don't even find evidence
2:56
that they tried to heat this place.
2:58
No. No fires, no herds.
3:00
There were thick walls which could dampen some of the cold.
3:03
But when temperatures are well below freezing all winter long, this place would be
3:08
unlivable.
3:10
With no evidence of heating and no cultural layer, it doesn't appear that anyone actually
3:15
lived here.
3:17
Why would someone build such an elaborate structure on an island in the middle of
3:21
nowhere, only to leave it unoccupied?
3:27
At 40ft high, that exterior wall was really good for keeping people out, and its position
3:35
on the island is similar to the classic military tradition of building moats around
3:41
forts and castles.
3:43
If it's not a domestic structure, then perhaps it could have been a military site.
3:48
Who was living here around 1000 years ago that needed to protect themselves?
3:56
During the Middle Ages, the Uyghurs, a nomadic Turkic speaking people, once ruled an
4:02
empire that spanned across Mongolia and into southern Siberia.
4:07
They were known for their formidable fighting skills and dominated the area for
4:11
centuries.
4:17
Today, this area seems incredibly remote and out of the way, but during the Uyghur Empire
4:22
there were a number of trading routes and other villages nearby, so this site could
4:26
have been a strategic location for defence.
4:29
Looking at the outer walls.
4:30
Researchers do find the remains of a wooden fighting platform running along the eastern
4:34
side. So it's possible that this place was built with defence in mind.
4:41
But when you look closely at the structure and the layout, all of the rooms and smaller
4:47
courtyards do not open into the main square.
4:52
If troops suddenly needed to mobilize on short notice, this design feature would
4:57
create a bottleneck.
4:58
It would be a total disaster.
5:00
And remember, it's surrounded by water so quickly getting out of there is going to be a
5:05
challenge.
5:06
But maybe that was the point.
5:08
The tall walls would have been good for keeping people out, but could maybe also be
5:13
used to keep people in.
5:16
It's possible that this place was built to be used as a prison.
5:21
Islands are used as prisons all the time.
5:23
I mean, think of Alcatraz or Rikers Island, and the remote location on a lake would have
5:27
been a huge deterrent for prisoners hoping to escape.
5:34
Archaeologists find traces of repairs to the plaster walls, suggesting that the site had
5:39
been kept up and maintained for a long period of time.
5:43
Some of the interior walls were painted with red and black stripes, and even have evidence
5:47
of painted frescoes, so clearly whoever built this place was also invested in how it
5:52
would look.
5:55
But you wouldn't go through all that trouble of making it look nice just to keep prisoners
6:00
there. Maybe looking at the construction of the building itself and the materials that
6:06
were used can give us a clue as to the origin and the function.
6:13
Building on such a remote island would be extremely challenging.
6:16
The walls appear to be made by an ancient construction method called hangtou, also
6:21
known as rammed earth construction.
6:23
Clay rich soil is mixed with gravel or sand and pressed into wooden forms to create
6:28
bricks.
6:29
Uncovered at the site.
6:31
Preserved in the cold ground.
6:33
Researchers find decorative tiles with intricate patterns and dragon faces on them.
6:39
This suggests that the builders could have been Chinese, or maybe they'd studied Chinese
6:44
building methods.
6:46
Hongtu is a traditional Tang Dynasty style of building, and decorated roof tiles like
6:51
these were popular in China during the Middle Ages.
6:55
This area has been lived in and ruled over by many different groups and cultures over the
6:59
years. So until this material is dated, it's going to be really hard to get an accurate
7:03
assessment of who actually built this place.
7:08
But in 2020, an international team of researchers announced that they have made a
7:14
discovery that could solve the mystery of probation once and for all.
7:23
They have uncovered a well preserved wooden timber beam deep in the site's foundations.
7:29
The walls were primarily made of clay bricks, and wood was just a secondary construction
7:33
material. But because this beam was found in the base layers of the wall, it means it was
7:39
placed early on during construction.
7:42
But if archaeologists can date the wood, it'll give us much more precise information
7:49
about when the structure was built and who built it.
7:54
Scientists have determined that on very rare occasions, radiocarbon in the atmosphere can
8:00
inexplicably rise.
8:02
A largest jump like this occurred in the year 775.
8:07
This excess carbon is often seen in the rings of trees that were alive during that
8:12
era. On the wooden beam from Por-bazhyn, researchers were able to identify the growth
8:18
ring that was formed in 775.
8:21
From there, they simply counted the tree rings to the bark edge to find out exactly
8:26
when it was cut.
8:27
Two more rings formed after that year, so this tree must have been felled and used in
8:32
the summer of 777 AD.
8:35
This date places the construction of Por-bazhyn to the reign of Uyghur ruler
8:40
Tengri Bogd Khan.
8:43
He was really interesting.
8:45
Most of the Uyghurs at the time practiced Buddhism, but Bogd Khan had converted to
8:49
Manichaeism and he made it the official religion of his empire.
8:53
He was actively trying to convert his subjects, and may have needed a place for
8:58
them to study and pray.
9:00
Could this strange island complex be a manichaean monastery?
