Unearthed

Manchu Picchu,

an ancient abandoned city in the clouds,

the Jewel of a long-lost civilization...

The Incas.

The true purpose of this site

has been a mystery for centuries,

but today, investigators are making new discoveries

that change our understanding of Manchu Picchu.

Every day is different in Manchu Picchu.

Every minute is different in Manchu Picchu.

Their breakthroughs are rewriting the history

of these enigmatic ruins.

I think we're still really at the very beginning

of learning about it.

Now, archaeologists believe they're on the verge

of cracking hidden messages the Incas left behind.

If we could understand this code,

imagine what we could learn about the Incas.

To solve the mysteries of Manchu Picchu,

we'll pull apart this city stone-by-stone.

We'll dive deep through its walls

and temples to unearth the astonishing secrets

that lie at the heart of this forgotten wonder.

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Manchu Picchu in Peru... Lost for centuries,

beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Modern archaeologists discovered these enigmatic ruins

more than 100 years ago.

Today, new ideas are coming to light

which could change our understanding

of why Manchu Picchu is here.

If you think about the effort and the skills

that the Incas must have had in order

to build something like this in this exact spot

makes it almost unbelievable.

The ruins are perched along a perilous Ridge

between two prominent mountain peaks.

Stepstone terraces cling to the steep mountainside.

Machu Picchu's near-pristine stone buildings are packed

full of ancient Inca technology.

A mysterious curved building stands out

in the geometric cityscape.

Why is it so different from the buildings around it?

What was the purpose of this city in the clouds?

There are many theories...

From a royal palace to a trading hub.

José Bastante is Manchu Picchu's chief archaeologist.

He believes the answer lies in the buildings themselves

and is uncovering evidence that tells a different story.

Most of the things going on in Manchu Picchu are related

to the ceremonial part.

Teams of archaeologists are investigating every structure

at Manchu Picchu,

and they're discovering that many of the buildings

seem to align with the movements of the sun.

Could they be linked to the Inca religion?

The sun is the most important deity of the Incas.

José thinks many of the structures here

are dedicated to the sun.

One of the most intriguing is the curious building

with the unique curved sides.

Stripping away these walls reveals a vast granite block.

Beneath this finely polished rocky outcrop,

a small room with mysterious niches in the walls.

Some of the finest Inca masonry at Manchu Picchu forms

the temple's curved sides.

And a mysterious groove in the polished rock aligns

with the rising sun on the winter solstice,

the shortest day of the year.

Archaeologists think that this strange

building could be a temple to Mark

the sacred cycles of the sun.

José believes this temple isn't the only structure

to look to the skies.

This strange stone sticking out of the bedrock

is known as the intiwatana.

Did this peculiar stone also perform a religious function?

Today is one of the most important solar events

in the Inca calendar... The equinox,

which marks a change in the seasons.

On most days of the year, the intiwatana stone

and everything around it,

including people, cast a shadow,

but on the equinox, as the sun reaches noon,

something strange happens.

The intiwatana stone's shadow disappears.

Was it designed to Mark this special day?

Because of the particular shape and angles

of this lithic sculpture that we call intiwatana,

that is actually an altar,

there is no shadow cast during the equinoxes.

So how did they do it?

All along the equator, on the equinox,

the sun passes directly overhead

causing shadows on the ground to practically vanish,

but Manchu Picchu is 13 degrees south of the equator

where the sun is not overhead.

To Mark this special day, the Incas must have sculpted

the rock to lean at precisely 13 degrees

so that it points directly at the sun.

These structures seem to suggest that Manchu Picchu

is a Vatican City in the clouds,

a place where the Inca could interact with their

most important god... The sun.

Did the Incas choose this site high in the mountains

to get a better view of the sky?

It's a tempting theory, but there's a problem.

Machu Picchu is regularly shrouded in cloud.

So why build a temple complex to the sun here?

José believes a brand-new discovery helps to explain

why the Incas built their solar observatory

in such a challenging environment.

This huge rocky outcrop that resembles a mountain

is a shrine.

This Inca shrine

has concealed its secrets for decades.

What they didn't realize is that there was

something else over here

that they didn't notice, and we have just found.

Hiding in plain sight, José has uncovered artwork.

What we're seeing is traditionally called rock art,

but in the Andes, this is a quilca.

José doesn't think this rock art, or quilca,

was made by the Incas and could be centuries older.

These graphic motifs have no relationship

whatsoever with the Inca civilization

during 15th and 16th century.

Manchu Picchu mountain may have been sacred

for thousands of years, long before the Incas.

This is an evidence of presence

of pre-Inca people in the area.

We are talking about between 800 to 1200 a.d.

now, archaeologists believe this mysterious painting

might be a clue to why the Incas were drawn to this remote site.

What we're proposing is that this place

was considered as sacred even before the Incas.

The Incas just arrived and realized

the sacredness of the place.

José believes Manchu Picchu was built here

because it was already a sacred site

with an ancient connection to the gods.

But did the Incas build Manchu Picchu

simply to worship their gods?

Or is there another explanation for the city's construction?

Could the answer be locked away inside the skeletons

of Manchu Picchu?

Manchu Picchu is one

of the most jaw-dropping sites in the world.

Each year, this ancient wonder attracts

nearly a million visitors.

But the purpose of Manchu Picchu has always been a mystery.

Some archaeologists believe it's a religious site,

but there are enough houses for more than 500 people.

Why were these people here, and what did they do?

I think we're still really

at the very beginning of learning about it.

In terms of what daily life was like,

we're just scratching the surface.

Beyond the impressive temples

and religious structures,

there are many practical buildings.

More than 140 houses were home to the people that lived here,

but who were they?

Archaeologists searching for clues

on the slopes below the houses

have uncovered a gruesome surprise.

More than 170 skeletons litter the landscape in makeshift tombs

covered with boulders.

Could these human remains hold clues

to why Manchu Picchu was built?

Today, the skeletons lie in the Peruvian city of Cuzco,

the Inca capital.

Richard burger and Lucy Salazar are examining

the bones found at Manchu Picchu.

Some of the skeletons have deformities,

including strange elongated skulls.

Could these provide another clue to why Manchu Picchu was built?

Richard and Lucy measure the shape of the skulls.

This intriguing shape is not a natural deformity.

Some ancient Peruvian communities would bind cloth

around their children's heads

to change the shape of their skulls

and make them look taller.

But not every skull has been deformed in the same way

or at all.

Why?

Richard believes Manchu Picchu was a melting pot

of different cultures,

disparate people from across the empire

living side by side in one remote place.

The crania of these skeletons had a variety

of cranial deformations,

and since cranial deformation in ancient

Peru was often a marker of ethnicity,

it implied that the skeletons

came from different geographical areas.

Richard needs further evidence to prove his theory,

so he analyzes the bones at an atomic level.

There are various kinds of atomic structures

of most elements.