[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.49,0:00:03.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was a child growing up in Maine,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.07,0:00:04.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of my favorite things to do
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.97,0:00:08.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was to look for sand dollars on the seashores of Maine,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.17,0:00:10.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because my parents told me it would bring me luck.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.72,0:00:13.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you know, these shells, they're hard to find.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.67,0:00:16.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're covered in sand. They're difficult to see.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.19,0:00:20.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, overtime, I got used to looking for them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.12,0:00:21.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started seeing shapes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.82,0:00:25.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and patterns that helped me to collect them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.33,0:00:28.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This grew into a passion for finding things,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.94,0:00:31.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a love for the past and archaeology.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.59,0:00:34.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And eventually when I started studying Egyptology,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.76,0:00:39.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I realized that seeing with my naked eyes alone wasn't enough.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.21,0:00:42.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because all of the sudden in Egypt
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.09,0:00:45.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my beach had grown from a tiny beach in Maine
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.79,0:00:47.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to one eight hundred miles long
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.77,0:00:49.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,next to the Nile,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.86,0:00:51.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my sand dollars had grown
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.64,0:00:53.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the size of cities.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.96,0:00:57.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is really what brought me to using satellite imagery.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.13,0:01:01.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For trying to map the past, I knew that I had to see differently.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.43,0:01:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I want to show you an example of how we see differently
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.10,0:01:06.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,using the infrared.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.85,0:01:10.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a site located in the eastern Egyptian delta
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.15,0:01:11.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called Mendes.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.43,0:01:13.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the site visibly appears brown,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.96,0:01:15.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but when we use the infrared
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.100,0:01:20.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we process it, all of the sudden, using false color,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.31,0:01:22.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the site appears as bright pink.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.65,0:01:24.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What you are seeing
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.21,0:01:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are the actual chemical changes to the landscape
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.36,0:01:30.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,caused by the building materials and activities
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.56,0:01:32.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the ancient Egyptians.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.81,0:01:35.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I want to share with you today
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.43,0:01:38.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is how we've used satellite data
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.26,0:01:40.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to find an ancient Egyptian city,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.77,0:01:42.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called Itjtawy,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.47,0:01:44.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,missing for thousands of years.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.67,0:01:47.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Itjtawy was ancient Egypt's capital
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.66,0:01:49.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for over four hundred years,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.58,0:01:51.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a period of time called the Middle Kingdom
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.76,0:01:53.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about four thousand years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.52,0:01:56.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The site is located in the Faiyum of Egypt
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.46,0:01:58.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and site is really important because in the Middle Kingdom
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.71,0:02:01.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was this great renaissance for ancient Egyptian art,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.99,0:02:04.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,architecture and religion.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.31,0:02:07.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Egyptologists have always known the site of Itjtawy
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.40,0:02:10.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was located somewhere near the pyramids
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.50,0:02:14.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the two kings who built it, indicated within the red circles here,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.32,0:02:16.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but somewhere within this massive flood plane.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.72,0:02:18.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This area is huge --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.18,0:02:20.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's four miles by three miles in size.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.77,0:02:24.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Nile used to flow right next to the city of Itjtawy,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.01,0:02:27.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as it shifted and changed and moved over time to the east,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.61,0:02:29.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it covered over the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.64,0:02:33.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, how do you find a buried city
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.07,0:02:35.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a vast landscape?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.38,0:02:37.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finding it randomly would be the equivalent
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.55,0:02:39.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of locating a needle in a haystack,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.58,0:02:42.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,blindfolded wearing baseball mitts.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.43,0:02:46.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what we did is we used NASA topography data
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.10,0:02:49.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to map out the landscape, very subtle changes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.02,0:02:52.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We started to be able to see where the Nile used to flow.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.44,0:02:55.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you can see in more detail -- and even more interesting --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.51,0:02:58.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this very slight raised area
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.19,0:03:00.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,seen within the circle up here, which we thought could possibly be
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.57,0:03:03.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the location of the city of Itjtawy.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.01,0:03:05.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we collaborated with the Egyptian scientists
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.53,0:03:08.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to do coring work, which you see here.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.37,0:03:11.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I say coring, it's like ice coring, but instead of
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.02,0:03:14.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,layers of climate change you're looking for layers of human occupation.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.64,0:03:16.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And five meters down,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.44,0:03:18.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underneath a thick layer of mud,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.61,0:03:21.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we found a dense layer of pottery.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.93,0:03:24.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What this shows is that at this possible location
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.63,0:03:26.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Itjtawy, five meters down,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.43,0:03:29.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have of layer of occupation for several hundred years
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.49,0:03:31.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dating to the Middle Kingdom, dating to the exact period of time
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.99,0:03:33.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we think Itjtawy is.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.76,0:03:36.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We also found work stone --
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.100,0:03:39.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carnelian, quartz and agate that shows
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.33,0:03:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there was a jewelers workshop here.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.36,0:03:42.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These might not look like much,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.71,0:03:45.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but when you think about the most common stones
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.27,0:03:48.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,used in jewelry from the Middle Kingdom,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.03,0:03:50.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these are the stones that were used.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.36,0:03:52.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, we have a dense layer of occupation
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.83,0:03:54.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,dating to the Middle Kingdom at this site.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.57,0:03:57.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We also have evidence of an elite jewelers workshop,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.69,0:04:01.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showing that whatever was there was a very important city.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.30,0:04:03.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No Itjtawy was here yet,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.06,0:04:05.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we're going to be returning to the site
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.06,0:04:07.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the near future to map it out.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.19,0:04:09.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And even more importantly,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.41,0:04:11.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have funding to train young Egyptians
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.71,0:04:13.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the use of satellite technology
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.80,0:04:17.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they can be the ones making great discoveries as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.52,0:04:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I wanted to end with my favorite quote
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.64,0:04:22.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the Middle Kingdom --
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.33,0:04:26.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was probably written at the city of Itjtawy four thousand years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.62,0:04:29.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Sharing knowledge is the greatest of all callings.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.89,0:04:31.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's nothing like it in the land."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.74,0:04:37.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So as it turns out, TED was not founded in 1984 AD.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.74,0:04:39.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.86,0:04:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Making ideas actually started in 1984 BC
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.56,0:04:48.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a not-lost-for-long city, found from above.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.82,0:04:53.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It certainly puts finding seashells by the seashore in perspective.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.01,0:04:54.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.80,0:04:56.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.65,0:04:57.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.99,0:04:59.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)