Did dinosaurs walk the earth in the twelfth century?
What if history got it wrong? Deep in the ruins of Cambodia’s Ta Prohm temple—where Tomb Raider was filmed—there’s a carving that defies explanation. It looks exactly like a stegosaurus… but it was carved centuries before modern paleontology even existed.
Coincidence? Misinterpretation? Or could this be proof that dinosaurs and humans once coexisted?
In this episode, we dive into one of archaeology’s most fascinating mysteries. From lost dinosaur survivors to ancient fossil discoveries, we explore shocking evidence from across the world—including prehistoric carvings in Peru, Mexico, and even England—that could turn everything you thought you knew about history on its head.
Skeptics scoff, scientists shake their heads, but after what I saw… well, you might just question everything.
Takeaways:
- The Ta Prohm temple in Cambodia features a carving resembling a stegosaurus, raising questions about the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans.
- Experts assert that the stegosaurus existed approximately 150 million years ago, creating a time paradox with the temple's 12th-century construction.
- Theories explaining the stegosaurus carving range from the survival of a small dinosaur population to the Khmer discovering and accurately depicting fossils.
- Other global artifacts, such as the Acambaro Figures and Ica Stones, suggest a historical connection between humans and dinosaurs, prompting further investigation into ancient knowledge.
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Transcript
What if everything you thought you knew about dinosaurs was wrong?
Speaker A:In the depths of a 900-year-old Cambodian temple lies a carving that shouldn't exist.
Speaker A:A creature that looks eerily like a stegosaurus, etched in stone before modern paleontology began.
Speaker A:And it's not alone.
Speaker A:From mysterious underground chambers in ancient temples to unexplained artifacts on 3 contin, today, we're diving into one of archaeology's most provocative mysteries.
Speaker A:Skeptics call it nonsense.
Speaker A:Scientists say it's impossible.
Speaker A:But after what I saw, well, you might just question everything you've been taught about prehistoric life.
Speaker A:Hey, I'm Luke.
Speaker A:I'm an author of archaeological adventure novels.
Speaker A:I travel the world looking for stories to put into my books and to share with you right here on the Adventure Story podcast.
Speaker A:Okay, so it's true that there's a lot of evidence that dinosaurs existed a long time before humans, like millions of years.
Speaker A:But we all know that absence of evidence is not, yeah, you guessed it, evidence of absence.
Speaker A:Last year, Mrs.
Speaker A:R and I visited Cambodia to research for one of my books, the Lotus Key, which is set there.
Speaker A:And at the world famous Ta Prohom temple, where Tomb Raider was actually filmed, we saw something that no one can properly explain.
Speaker A:Ok?
Speaker A:They try to explain it with comments like, it can't be true.
Speaker A:You're seeing things.
Speaker A:And I don't think that makes any sense at all or whatever, but I saw it with my own eyes.
Speaker A:Carved on the wall of a 12th century temple is a picture of a stegosaurus.
Speaker A:Now, let me set the scene.
Speaker A:Ta Prohm, as I said, was built in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII.
Speaker A:It was a Buddhist monastery and a university.
Speaker A:It's one of the few temples in Angkor that's left in what we might call a natural state, meaning it's got these massive trees growing all over it that were never cleared away.
Speaker A:It really is a totally magical place that gets this thriller author's creativity going, as you might be able to tell.
Speaker A:But hidden among the thousands of incredible carvings on the walls which cover almost every inch of the temple, is our mysterious Jurassic friend.
Speaker A:The carving shows what appears to be an animal with a row of plates along its back, remarkably similar to how we envision a stegosaurus to look today.
Speaker A:This is where it gets interesting.
Speaker A:According to experts, the stegosaurus lived around 150 million years ago and went extinct about 145 million years ago.
Speaker A:So finding what looks like one carved on the wall of a 12th century temple raises to me at least some Fascinating questions.
Speaker A:Let's look at some of the main theories.
Speaker A:First of all, there's the lost dinosaur camp.
Speaker A:These people suggest that maybe, just maybe, a small population of Stegosaurus survived in the dense Cambodian jungle until more recent times.
Speaker A:Now, while this might sound far fetched, remember that we're still discovering new species today.
Speaker A:In fact, there was a prehistoric fish, the colocanth.
Speaker A:I'm sure it's not pronounced like that.
Speaker A: , but found alive and well in: Speaker A:Then there's the ancient paleontology theory.
Speaker A:Some researchers suggest that the Khmer people might have discovered dinosaur fossils and accurately reconstructed them into what a living animal looks like.
Speaker A:This wouldn't be completely unprecedented.
Speaker A:I don't think there's evidence that Chinese dragons were inspired by discovered dinosaur fossils.
Speaker A:And of course, there's the don't believe what you see people who say it's just a poorly executed carving of a boar or a rhinoceros with the background foliage creating the illusion of plates on its back.
Speaker A:They note that the plates aren't clearly connected to the animal's body, or at least that's what they say.
Speaker A:And they say, well, the head is a bit more pig like shape than dinosaur like shape.
Speaker A:I was there.
Speaker A:I don't think so.
Speaker A:But here's what fascinates me the most about this mystery.
Speaker A:The quality of the craftsmanship throughout Tab Prom is exceptional.
Speaker A:These were not amateur artists.
Speaker A:The Khmer Empire was known for its artistic precision and attention to detail.
Speaker A:So why would you suddenly get sloppy with one carving?
Speaker A:Was it sort of like dinner time or it was 5 o'clock on a Friday and just sort of, oh, that'll do, or move on.
Speaker A:What's even more interesting is that this carving isn't hidden away on some dark corner.
Speaker A:It's right there on a major wall surrounded by other expertly carved animals that are easily identifiable as local species.
Speaker A:These artists clearly knew what they were doing.
Speaker A:Let's talk about Ta Prohom Temple for a minute, because it has some other mysteries involved in it too.
Speaker A:The temple is also known for its magic squares, grids of numbers that add up to the same sum in every direction, like some kind of ancient Sudoku puzzle.
Speaker A:Some researchers believe these squares might contain mathematical knowledge that was lost to time.
Speaker A:And there's talk, I love this, of underground chambers and hidden passageways beneath the temple complex.
Speaker A:Of course.
Speaker A: In: Speaker A:Some historians believe these vaults might contain sacred Buddhist texts.
Speaker A:Or royal treasures from the Khmer Empire.
Speaker A:Even more intriguing are the stories of a network of tunnels connecting Ta Prohom to other Angkorean temples.
Speaker A:Ground penetrating radar surveys have shown anomalies beneath the temple that could indicate hidden chambers, but no full excavation has been approved.
Speaker A:Like many aspects of Ta Prom, these potential underground secrets so far remain tantalizingly out of reach.
Speaker A:Back to our dinosaur maybe I could agree with the badly drawn pig theory if this was the only one in existence.
Speaker A: ceramic pieces discovered in: Speaker A:Among them are detailed dinosaur sculptures that look surprisingly accurate to our modern understanding of how these creatures appeared.
Speaker A:Peru gives us the controversial Ica or Ica stones, thousands of carved rocks showing what appear to be humans hunting and living alongside dinosaurs.
Speaker A:While these stones have fascinated researchers for decades, their authenticity is hotly debated.
Speaker A:In Utah, you'll find the Native American petroglyphs.
Speaker A:At Natural Bridges National Monument, some swear this shows a dinosaur.
Speaker A:Skeptics, of course.
Speaker A:What do you think?
Speaker A:They say it's a lizard, but when you look at the scale and the distinct features, well, decide for yourself.
Speaker A:Even back in Cambodia, there's more potential dinosaur carvings beyond our friend at Ta Prohm.
Speaker A:The nearby Pre Khan Temple has similar mysterious reptilian creatures carved into its walls.
Speaker A:And there's even examples right here on my home shores.
Speaker A: there's a brass etching from: Speaker A:The anatomical details are surprisingly accurate for something supposed to be imagined.
Speaker A:Once again, of course, there are plenty of rational explanations for these artifacts.
Speaker A:Maybe the artists had found fossils and tried to reconstruct what they saw.
Speaker A:Maybe they're misidentified conventional animals or.
Speaker A:Or I like this one, actually.
Speaker A:Later additions by pranksters.
Speaker A:Yes, someone drew it just to fool you.
Speaker A:But when you start seeing these patterns across different continents and cultures separated by vast distances and time, I've got to say, it just makes you wonder, doesn't it?
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Speaker A:A very special and important announcement to make at the end of the podcast today as well as you know, Mrs.
Speaker A: son and I visited Cambodia in: Speaker A: andmine Relief fund this year: Speaker A:Although there are several charities who do great work in this area, this is the one who runs the museum we visited.
Speaker A:In addition to removing the mines that were left over from the conflicts, many years of conflict there, they work with an organization that has built nearly 50 schools on or near old minefields.
Speaker A:And as an ex teacher, I find that supporting education is such an important thing.
Speaker A:We supported an educational charity last year and it's important to me to do that again this year.
Speaker A:That means that a small percentage of the money that you pay for my books that support me through Patreon or other ways, audio books, whatever, ends up improving the lives of people in the area that inspired my story and this podcast episode.
Speaker A:Now, should you be interested, you can see the work the Landmine Relief Fund do on their website, landmine relieffund.com and of course there'll be a link in the show Notes.
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