logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
44m 9s

The Longyou Caves and Nan Madol: Two Mys...

Crackpot: A Conspiracy Podcast
About this episode

GET‌ ‌EVERY‌ ‌EPISODE‌ ‌AD FREE PLUS BONUS‌ ‌CONTENT‌ ‌AT:‌ ‌‌www.patreon.com/crackpotpodcast‌

In the 1960s, a group of farmers in China were digging for water when they made a startling discovery: a vast network of underground caves, carved by hand out of solid rock. The Longyou Caves are now considered one of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, but their origins and purpose remain a mystery.

In Micronesia, another mysterious ancient wonder lies hidden beneath the waves: Nan Madol. This artificial island complex is made up of hundreds of basalt columns, arranged in a labyrinthine pattern. Nan Madol is thought to have been built by the Saudeleur dynasty, but its exact purpose and timeline of construction are unknown.

In this episode, we explore the history, theories, and legends of the Longyou Caves and Nan Madol. We'll discuss the challenges of building these ancient sites, and we'll consider the different possibilities for their purpose.

Up next
Today
Ancient Aliens: Utsuro-bune UFO and the 1561 Nuremberg Wood Carving
Travel back in time this week as Tim and Zach discuss some truly unbelievable stories of ancient - ahem - aliens. Tim starts out the show sharing the bizarre Utsuro-bune incident of a spherical boat (UFO??!!) that washed up in Japan. What did the fishermen find? Did they have con ... Show More
51m 17s
Aug 18
Jack Parsons: NASA's Magical Past
Jack Parsons, the inspiration for Iron Man and devotee of Aleister Crowley, was a brilliant loner genius who revolutionized Jet Propulsion and Rocket Science. Without him, NASA would have never gotten off the ground. But without Magick and Thelema, Jack Parsons would never have c ... Show More
57m 56s
Aug 11
Pumapunku and Sanxingdui
Pumapunku and Sanxingdui are two ancient archaeological sites shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Pumapunku, located in Bolivia, is believed to have been built by the Tiwanaku people over 1,000 years ago. Sanxingdui, located in China, dates back over 3,000 years and is thought to h ... Show More
51m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2019
Cave of the Jaguar God
Crawl into the Maya underworld, where science meets spirits, shamans, and snakes. A long-forgotten cave could shed light on one of history's most enduring questions: why did the ancient Maya collapse? For more information on this episode, visit https://www.nationalgeographic.com/ ... Show More
31m 5s
Jul 2023
Playback: Modern Lives, Ancient Caves
There’s a lost continent waiting to be explored, and it’s right below our feet. We’ll dig into the deep human relationship to the underground—and why we understand it from an instinctive point of view, but not so much from a physical one. (Hint: We’re afraid of the dark.) In an e ... Show More
28m 39s
Dec 2023
Mini: 30 Years of Khufu? New Evidence from the Great Pyramid
How archaeology can increase your life expectancy by 40%! For centuries, popular perceptions of the Great Pyramid’s construction have hinged on Herodotos reference to “twenty years.” While historians have debated that, hard evidence on the reign of Khufu (and its length) has alwa ... Show More
26m 29s
Nov 2021
Modern Lives, Ancient Caves
There's a lost continent waiting to be explored, and it’s right below our feet. We’ll dig into the deep, human relationship to the underground, and why we understand it from an instinctive point of view — but not so much from a physical one. (Hint: we’re afraid of the dark.) Nati ... Show More
30m 26s
Aug 2023
122: Finding Agartha: The Search for the Hidden City in the Center of the Earth
Cultures around the world have myths that speak of a mysterious underground kingdom that exists deep within the earth, hidden away from the primitive and violent surface-dwellers: which is us. Picture a society untouched by time, unscathed by war, and unaffected by natural disast ... Show More
35m 26s
Jun 2021
What Egyptian Crocodile Mummies Tell us About Life, Death, and Taxes Thousands of Years Ago
Our story begins in 1899, when two archaeologists — Arthur Hunt and Bernard Grenfell — were on an expedition in Northern Egypt in an ancient town once known as Tebtunis on a search for mummies and other ancient artifacts. This was during a growing Western fascination with ancient ... Show More
54m 55s
Jun 2023
TARTARIA & THE MUD FLOOD: RISING FROM THE DEPTHS
Embark on an unprecedented journey of discovery unravel the mysteries surrounding a lost civilization, the Tartarian Empire, and the elusive phenomenon known as the mud flood. Join us as we dive into the questions that have lingered in the shadows of history—was there truly a los ... Show More
5m 16s
Nov 2023
L'île de pâque et le mystère de ses statues Moaï
Bienvenue dans Les Fabuleux Destins. Dans cet épisode, nous allons vous raconter l’histoire d’une île qui fait l’objet de nombreux mystères et fantasmes depuis sa découverte. Un petit caillou triangulaire, à peine plus grand que la ville de Nîmes, mais dont les statues moaï n’ont ... Show More
13m 44s
Aug 2021
Nan Madol: Venice of the Pacific
Nan Madol. It is one of the most awesome, enigmatic and unique ancient sites in the World, and yet most people have never heard the name. Labelled the ‘Venice of the Pacific’ by US aviators during the Second World War, this ancient Micronesian metropolis is not your usual city. S ... Show More
57m 23s
Oct 2023
Hugh Newman: New Discoveries at Gobekli and Karahan Tepe
Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe: The World's First Megaliths What is the earliest temple complex on Earth? Who built it? Is it really 7000 years older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids How did such a sophisticated civilisation evade detection for so long? In this groundbreaking litt ... Show More
1h 26m