 In 2018, we were completely spoiled with discoveries that were emerging out of Egypt and the surrounding area and in 2019 it doesn't look like that will let up. Now as far as discoveries go, everyone is individually important in their own right, though some may catch our imagination more than others. How these things become forgotten in the first place is the result of the loss of the intelligent presence, which is now reemerging along with these ancient artifacts. We as a civilization are of course constantly learning about a forgotten period in history. It is almost as if we are searching for something. Do you ever consider that we are programmed to search on this earth as a collective species? Look at the behavior of bumblebees, for example. What is it that us human beings are seeking with this search? Are we trying to understand the ancient past? Are we simply looking for wealth or are we looking to find something before the other guy finds it? Just a thought. The latest discovery that is emerging out of Egypt may surprise you. It was meant to be published in 1994, but due to unforeseen circumstances, maybe they found something they wanted to keep quiet. The publication and further excavation of the findings was put on the back burner. To hear this. Described as a forgotten Egyptian fortress on the Red Sea and discovered in collaboration with Polish and American archaeological efforts and published through the journal Antiquity, this discovery is sensational because it was once the stronghold of a town, Baraniki, which would have been heavily protected and built up around the Ptolemaic period 2,300 odd years ago. A double line of walls protected the western part of the fortress while a single line sufficed farther to the east and north. Square towers were built at the corners and in strategic places were sections of the walls connected. The western part of the fort, which consists of double walls, faces inland, suggesting that the defenders were particularly concerned about an attack coming from that direction. The biggest and the most fortified part of the Baraniki Fortress is a complex that is about 525 feet long and 262 feet wide and consists of three large courtyards and several associated structures, forming an enclosed fortified complex of workshops and stores. Within the fortress gatehouse, archaeologists found a rock cut well and a series of drains and pools that collected, stored and distributed both groundwater and rainwater. The two largest pools may have had a total capacity of over 17,000 liters. The fact that rainwater was drained and collected suggests that Baraniki had a more humid climate than today. Historical records indicate that Baraniki was part of a chain of ports constructed along the Red Sea to help supply war elephants to the armies of the Ptolemies. Another curious discovery that is new in 2019 is being excavated in Mexico, described as remarkable, first known temple of the flayed lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse. Ancient priests worshipped the god by skinning human victims and then donning their skins. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said the find was made during a recent excavation of Popoloka, Indian ruins in the central state of Puebla. Depictions of the god had been found before in other cultures, including the Aztecs. However, this is the first discovery of a temple directly associated with the cult of Zepetote. Ancient accounts of the rituals suggest victims were killed in gladiatory style combat or by arrows on one platform, then skinned on another platform. The layout of the temple at Tehuakan seems to match that description. So that is two curious discoveries that we were reading about and thought you guys would like to know also. There was also the successful landing by China of an unmanned lander onto the dark side of the moon for the first time. The images China have published are unremarkable and utterly disappointing, almost looking like CGI to some extent. The Chang'un 4 probe will explore the surface and carry out geological experiments. China plans to follow us up with further missions to return moon rock to laboratories on earth. From music fans, the phrase dark side of the moon will forever conjure up Pink Floyd's 1973 concept album. In reality, the far side of the moon is not dark. We never see it because the moon orbits the earth at around the same rate it spins. All parts of the moon receive sunlight. If you consider the Apollo orbit of the moon and the reports of music coming from the area by the astronauts, then you would be forgiven for thinking that this was the inspiration behind this album. Only problem with that is the fact that neither audio or transcripts were published until this century, so Pink Floyd couldn't be referencing any known lunar phenomenon in their album. Could they? There seems to be something tantalizing about the hidden side of the moon, though. The thought that it's always there circling the earth, yet just out of reach. There have been claims that astronauts saw a secret lunar base there, even some kind of castle, and some have even gone so far as to suggest aliens were encountered on the lunar surface. NASA unsurprisingly says there's no truth to any of these theories. It does seem possible, though, that at the height of the Cold War between the USA and Russia, both sides considered using the far side of the moon for a show of force. Reports claim there were plans to detonate a nuclear bomb there as a show of strength. Thankfully, even if that's true, the idea never got anywhere close to lift off. NASA has reported their first success of 2019 as New Horizons has now been back grainy images of the distant object Ultima Thule and news agencies around the world have been quick to name it, the Snowman. After being out of contact for 10 hours, ancient staff broke out in spontaneous applause on after confirmation signals were received from the probe, which could have been seriously damaged by even the smallest particles. We have a healthy spacecraft we just accomplished the most distant flyby, said one of the ecstatic team members who also said, we are ready for Ultima Thules, science transmission, science to help us understand the origins of our solar system. Exciting times indeed and you may have also heard of Iran's plans for space exploration, which are being condemned by the US in preempted warnings which Iran were quick to reject. The concern here is that Iran are in violation of a UN Security Council resolution because they use ballistic missile technology. Iran rejected the warning issued by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying its space vehicle launches and missile tests were not violations. Pompeo said Iran planned to launch in the coming months three rockets called Space Launch Vehicles that he said incorporate technology virtually identical to what is used in intercontinental ballistic missiles. The United States will not stand by and watch the Iranian regime's destructive policies place international stability and security at risk, Pompeo said in a statement. We advise the regime to reconsider these provocative launches and cease all activities related to ballistic missiles in order to avoid deeper economic and diplomatic isolation. Pompeo said the rocket launches would violate UN Security Council resolution 2231, which endorsed a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. It calls upon Iran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, but does not explicitly bar such activity. It is highly unlikely Iran will reach such capabilities on their own anyway, but they can but try, even with world superpowers barking in their backyard. And in lighter space related news, an astronaut has revealed how he ended up ringing the American Emergency Services from space after accidentally dialing 911. Andre Kuiper 60 was trying to contact NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston when he missed an all important number. The 60 year old said that in order for him to contact the Houston Center from space, he had to dial 9 for an outside line, followed by 011 for an international line. So there he was, floating around in space needing urgent assistance and he gets the typical 911 what's your emergency isn't that hilarious. We will leave it at that for the moment guys, there was just some stories we wanted to share with you and we hope you found them as interesting as we did. Plenty more to follow, comment below and as always, thank you for watching.