Even though there's no picture, there's a very clear description of the statue written at the time by a chronichler, Damião de Góis. The original text is this, my rough translation below: "uma estátua de pedra posta sobre uma laje, que era um homem em cima de um cavalo em osso, e o homem vestido de uma capa como bedém, sem barrete, com uma mão na crina do cavalo, e o braço direito estendido, e os dedos da mão encolhidos, salvo o dedo segundo, a que os latinos chamam índex, com que apontava contra o poente". My rough translation: "a statue of stone laid upon a slab, that has a man bareback riding a horse, and the man was dressed with a cape for rain, without a hat, with a hand on the horse's mane, and his right arm stretched out, his fingers retracted except for the second finger, to which the latins call index, with which he was pointing west."
I'm Azorean. The first I heard of this story was in an old book at the Toronto Reference Library some 30 years ago. The secret's out now. There are also basalt pyramids on Pico that may predate the Portuguese. Great topic for another video.
The pyramids on Pico were too questionable from a bunch of different reasons for me to consider them "evidence", although they likely will become more proven towards that end as time goes on
@@RareEarthSeries Unfortunate, as I've been searching for videos that shine a light on what those pyramids are and who built them. There's nothing. I'm from São Jorge, the island next door, and no one ever talked about them. It's as if they never existed even though they've been there all along, hidden in plain sight, just like the monster waves at Nazaré. Portugal 🇵🇹 is the land of best kept secrets. Love your videos. Cheers from the Big Smoke.
@@TagusMan São Jorge was my favourite island by far, I'll be making a video on the history of your cheese culture soon enough! The pyramids of Pico may well become something in the future as more studies search out what they could be, but for the most part it seems like someone (maybe Portuguese or a hermit of sorts) aligned rocks in a North/South orientation - possibly older than Portuguese settlement, possibly not, possibly entirely fake in their own way My guess is that they'll be proven to be something "important" eventually, but we aren't there yet
@@RareEarthSeries São Jorge is my favourite island by far! Great minds think alike. My father's family is from the Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo, and I was baptized in the church. My father used to ring the bells back in the day. A couple of fun facts about the people of Caldeira, my people... A few who emigrated to Toronto, ended up working on the CN Tower. Growing up in the fajã meant having no TV, no radio, no electricity, no real contact with the outside world. And yet here they were helping build the tallest, most technologically advanced structure on the planet. And in the 1970s, a few of my aunts and uncles moved to a mining town called Pine Point in the Northwest Territories, likely making them the most northern Portuguese enclave in the world, and they were all from Caldeira, one of the most remote villages in all of Portugal. Can't wait for the São Jorge episode. My island. It's mine! Cheers amigo.
Azorean here! (From Pico though) and I had never heard about this! It's a shame that stories like there are rarely told, but thankfully the Regional Government has taken to encouraging schools to teach Azorean History and Culture. Maybe someday it will even come to be appreciated in the mainland, but for now, I'm thankful that our Government has at least a sense of respect for our heritage and doesn't try to make us "act more Portuguese".
@@RareEarthSeries Yeah, every island is special and full of tales to tell! I suppose that you know that already though :p, you've done a pretty thorough job
It's an obvious element of colonialism. Catalonia has their own education autonomy and they are not happy...we don't even have that. Since the beginning Portugal did remove anything that separated Azores from Portugal, like forbidden anything Flemish, last names, language... Most scandalous and proves it all was the law that prohibited any archelogical work related to anthropology, no one 1cm will be done says the law. It's pretty clear Azores is no normal colony. Portugal will go on and beyond, even the democratic revolution (25 de Abril) can be seen has a way to prevent Azores independence.
@@izzy0052 That is fascinating. You are from an Island Tribe? Or you are from Portugal? Or you are from an Island Tribe near Portugal? And you speak Portuguese? Was the message that you translated written in Portuguese? Because to me, I thought it was Spanish! I am only a student of Spanish, I am not a fluent native of any Spanish country, but I attempted to learn Spanish out of respect to the many hardworking Spaniards, and Central and South America and all the island nations who also speak Spanish and came to the USA to continue to be hardworking and contribute to society. And, sometimes if you ask a fluent Spanish speaking American for directions in a predominantly Spanish nieghboirhood, they will say, Lo siento, yo no espek eh engles' and then if you ask them in Spanish, Donde esta la terera de liquor y cervesas, porque a mi esposo necesita tomar bebidas afrutadas, como una nina bonita pequena? Then they answer you clearly as the nose on your face 😈"THREE BLOCKS THAT WAY" And 😮🤔🧐🤨😕😶🙄 I think she just said like 2seconds ago that she doesn't speak English, and then bam!!! ENGLISH!!! WTF!!
@dr. Will J. Rosenblatt We are as Portuguese as the Brazileans are Portuguese. We were the new world before the Americas, many people fleed from persecution in continental Europe, merchants searching for new business, free slaves from Africa on the way to North America. We had strong Flemish presence much like in Brazil, to the point Portugal forbid the language and last names.
It is a true shame that the statue has been lost. I suppose there haven't been any proper archaeological expeditions to examine the site or look for ancient settlements? I mean, someone carved the statue!
@@PlatinumAltaria Although the Romulus and Remus story is obviously myth, the cave was very real and used for hundreds and hundreds of years during Roman times. It could very well be found, and maybe is, we just wouldn't know if it's *the* cave. I think it was the festival of Lupercalia that every year started in the cave.
@@Vlad-sj5yw A cave was attributed as the "true location" of the myth, just as people today think that Camelot refers to a real place. But they were probably made up as stories first, and later ascribed truths the authors didn't intend.
I don't know why, but every one of your videos gives me a feeling of nostalgia. This warm and bubbly feeling of a distant past. Love your unique style, keep it up.
At my job I do about 5 hours of actual work in an eight hour day. For food I go fill a cart and swipe a piece of plastic. I would argue the remote island life is more complicated.
i think the subtext was they didn't know that someone had ever been there yet there was a statue there, also discovering new places in those days would have been huge news.
I find it interesting and intriguing how mythical and embellished the stories we tell each other can become, as long as there is no evidence to corroborate or disprove them. Thank you for another glimpse into one of the stories of a people in a desolate place.
I loved this episode and maybe it’s just because I am old, or maybe it’s because everything is a lot more funny the closer you get to life’s end,... but I absolutely love reading the comments and seeing goofy children fight over topics. It’s really fitting for the idea of this video. I wish you all the very best!
Portugal needs to throw more funding to their archaeology department. Your Azore series I have been really enjoying and there is so much history that is waiting to be discovered
Spain too, theres so much pre indoeuropean stuff to still discover for sure, it would be cool to find out more about why the greeks talked about tartessos so much
@@joerosa2532Regardless, the narrator's charismatic speech encouraged you to listen to the video in it's entirety. This is what's known as "rare talent!"
Loving your content mate.. each story laid out with just the right amount of intrigue, but you so carefully avoid over-cooking the stories. Excellent narratives.. thank you
This is gonna sound stupid, but I always forget that there’s islands in the middle of the Atlantic. Idk, every time I think of isolated islands such as this one, I think of the pacific.
translation for what we see at the end of the video, written in portuguese on the wall: "Once upon a time, the story of the island that beat the pirates..."
If the statue really was taken back to Portugal, there’s at least a slim chance it (or parts of it) could be found somewhere in the recesses of some museum or old house
I can't explain why, but this is actually one of the best stories I've heard. Someday, when New York, Moscow and Tokyo are long gone, I hope someone, somewhere remembers this little rock, it's people and that lost statue because as thrilling as discovery can be, it's the mysteries and legends that draw us onto the path. Great video.
It's important to take into account how the stories people tell themselves are integral to how they filter the world, how these stories often determine their views & identities. It might go a long way in making the way in which we navigate the many differences which divide all of us more compassionate & productive.
@@RareEarthSeries Hehe, its both a compliment to you and also a genuine query. I wonder if its because other channels that dabble in this kind of content intentionally push the more sensational aspects of the stories and kind of pander to their audience, whereas you're a little more sober in your delivery and, quite frankly, its almost like you revel a bit in pointing out the BS.
@@yikemoo I sell a complicated narrative in a rather pretentious style without the required cult of personality or self-promotion Never meant for the masses unfortunately
What a wonderful perspective on these people and all of humanity! Your oratory is beautiful and I could feel your intended passion through the entire presentation. Please keep up the work (and encouragement) which we all deserve. 😎💜
Fantastic little video! I’ve always been very fascinated by the Azores. It’s a shame the school system in the United States doesn’t teach or mention the Azores or the island system that makes up this tiny community found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. With that being said, someone really should make a stone statue of the lone Horseman to replace the one that was stonefly by the mainland of Europe.
My gut felling says phoenicians or cartaginians, a priest in the 1500's (Gaspar Frutuoso) examined the writing that also existed in the cliffside below the statue and said it looked Chaldean, hebrew or greek
Chaldean, Hebrew, or Greek, ah. Three languages with alphabets that look completely unlike one another and have basically no commonalities graphically or linguistically. That's like saying it could be Basque, English, or Japanese.
There wasn't a statue, nor any other human artifact. It's too hard to get to the islands by going west, and people in the Americas probably didn't feel like dying in the Atlantic trying to go east.
Also, his claim that no one could decipher the markings, ever. Like, that is false by definition. Someone had to have understood then when they were originally made. 🤦 Maybe he means no white European men, so it doesn't count?
When aliens from another planet will arrive to earth, they will call us the "story telling people" because that's who we are. Humans define ourselves by the stories we tell ourselves.
No they won't do either thing each of you ascribe to them, why? because they are Aliens and not humans, you are both humanising something you don't know anything about, no one does. Just like Walt disney making a mouse wear clothing and walking on two legs and talking.
My best guess on who built it? Probably the Norse. They had horses and were known to have settlements in Vinland (America) and made trips over the Atlantic. The unintelligible words on it may have been a form of Futhark, which the Portuguese probably would not have known. As far as a man on a horse with a cloak...sounds like it could have been a monument to Odin on Sleipnr, which was a common depiction of him (usually carrying Gungnir, his magical spear). Gungnir would return to Odin no matter where he threw it and would always hit its target. Maybe the statue wasn't pointing west, but Odin throwing Gungnir at Vinland? Corvo has no ravens or crows. Why would they name an island after a bird that does not exist there? Coincidentally, Odin was famously known for his two pet ravens, Hugin and Munin. Maybe that is how the island got its name?
More probably even, no one did it. It was 100% a myth. That whole story about the Portuguese crown taking the statue and, conveniently, losing it, an excuse to explain why no one has ever seen it...
About Vinland. The Vikings were able to grow barley and bees in Greenland and grapes in Vinland (Labrador). In 2024, despite 1200 years of global warming, barley, grapes and bees cannot be grown in Greenland or Vinland.
The Norse were great explorers but weren't really known for erecting statues. Assuming for a moment that the statue was real & not just part of some foundation myth, a far more likely candidate would be the Phoenicians. Like the Norse they also were great seafarers. The Phoenicians established colonies across North Africa and the Iberian peninsula (one of which, Carthage, later became a maritime empire and is another candidate) and at least according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, circumnavigated Africa on behalf of the Egyptian pharoah Necho II. Unlike the Norse, they left plenty of statues behind for archaeologists to later find. Unlike the Phoenicians or Carthage the Norse also didn't have much of a presence in the Iberian peninsula, which presumably would have been a stop for anyone on their way to discovering the Azores. It's probably just a local legend, but the statue were ever found I think the safest bet is on it being Phoenician or Carthaginian.
Not my first guess. The Norse weren't big on making stone statues and it sounded like it had been there for a while when it was found. The Norse didn't start sea fairing until around 800Ad. There are other archeological sites that have been dated to 2200bc. The only sea fairing people who liked to explore at the time were the Minoans. Most likely it was them.
@@dcc2351 I was just commenting on another guy about how Atlantis probably referred to the Minoans (prosperous island nation close to Greece which disappeared very suddenly) and not an actual place in the Atlantic ocean - but hey, maybe both ideas were right!
I enjoy your videos very much! They are well made and your narrative is easy to listen to, and informative. What I want to know…is how do you like what you’re doing and how/who makes it work?
I can’t believe someone was on that island potentially hundreds of years before the Portuguese for long enough to carve a full-sized stone statue but didn't leave behind any other artifacts or structures...
@@rwalker0130 I've heard the claims that the Vikings and Phoenicians reached the Azores, but never the Polynesians, who originated significantly farther to the east. Think you could explain that one?
@@thediplomasta5891 yeah I’v seen his channel but his videos tend to get into the more fantastical views, while I’m not saying he is wrong, there isn’t much of actual proof in them. I like his work. But I’d like to see some proof for his theories. I can’t refute his claims all together but I can’t just blindly subscribe to them. Hope you get my point. Secondly, this channel is waaay different than what Praveen does.
People often wear sports merchandising from teams they don’t even know about. When I was 10 or so I remember some teens wore NY Yankees caps. I’m from Spain, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t even know the Yankees are a baseball team
Imagine how blessed these islanders feel to be far away from the crazy news of these times. I bet they are glad to be on an island away from the mainland. Great story, thanks for the video.
This is not that big of a mystery. The islands were visited by the Phoenicians. Also the Romans did know about North America. During one civil war, a defeated Roman general in Spain contemplated evacuating his forces to the western lands. Stashes of Roman coins are found throughout the US. There was early contact with the west. This statue was created by a seafaring culture not Azoreans because they did not have horses.
The story I heard was that statue was pointing EXACTLY towards …MARS! Yes, that ancient statue’s arm, hand and index finger was pointing like a laser to the Red Planet. I was also told that Elon Musk and a crew of highly skilled astronomers stopped by just before he started his space exploration company and took detailed measurements of the statue. Yes, the real one is hidden inside a volcanic cave that can only been seen at night and at the correct time of the year. Excelsior Ad Astra!
I too assume you are joking. But for whomever takes this on trust bear in mind that when Mars is visible in the sky it apparently travels from the eastern horizon to the western horizon through the course of each night.
The only thing you could point at in the sky that would never move relative to your location on earth would be the North Star, also called Polaris. And that’s only if you’re in the northern hemisphere; for the southern hemisphere there’s no equivalent sufficiently bright polar star.
I suspect that this is just an ancient urban legend. It has many of the hallmarks of one, especially an explanation as to why it can't be found now. Also, someone would have absolutely transcribed the unintelligible carvings. The fact that no one did in the so-called "Age of Exploration" is telling.
@@RareEarthSeries Does the evidence really go back that far? Or could it be that someone came up with the story about a lifetime later, when the first settlers did their eponymous deed?
@@lonestarr1490 It wasn't the first settlers, just the explorers, and yes the records go back that far and begin then (as far as I am aware without the capacity to read Portuguese natively), and later the statue was described in detail by a fairly reliable source well past the discovery But that doesn't mean it wasn't a fabrication, simply that we can expect they started the story at the very beginning
@@RareEarthSeries Alright. Intriguing! But to add to what Conundrum said: depicting a rider sounds, at least to me, an aweful lot like something a Portuguese of that era might expect of a statue. I mean, there are equestrian statues from ancient Greece and such depictions from Egypt and Persia (but only reliefs, I think). But it wasn't really, like, the style of time, wasn't it?
The Phoenician god of the sea, Yaam, would have been symbolized by a horse(man), and sailors in that era would attach a horse's head to the front of their ships - it would have also featured on their coinage and general traditions Not to say it is Phoenician, specifically, merely that it wouldn't be out of character for early maritime societies of the Mediterranean
Very similar experience with me. I watched his first Azores video 2 or 3 weeks ago, and right now I'm typing this/watching this video in Ilha das Flores, looking at Corvo. I wasn't even planing on coming to the Azores, but life (work) happened. Quite something.
Other than the incredible narration and well-written storytelling you compose. The shots and sights you display are a great part of the fantasy you portray. Thank you for showing us these rare snippets of life in faraway lands.
Your description of Corvo sounded like description of Tristan da Cunha, until you mentioned the statue. In California, there are many people from the Azores. They are great farmers.
Maybe some Vikings got blown off course and were marooned on the island and erected that statue in honor of their leader, and the indecipherable script was runic. Perhaps it is even older, Carthaginian or Phoenician with a similar back story. Keep in mind it is likely people discovered the Azores well before the Portuguese officially charted it, but just kept their locations to themselves and never bothered to put it on a map. Basque whalers come to mind.
Lol no the azores are in fact 1500ish kilometers from the coast of Portugal. So he is correct. Edit: you may have been thinking physically 2000km down in the Atlantic because he says “2000km deep”. he’s clearly not under water so I’m assuming he means distance from land.
Most of the Azorian islands would be all connected to each other and thus meaning people would then be living in the calm areas next to the ocean, so in another words, Azores was a massive giant island back in 20.000bc or even 12.400 current era. or 10.400/10.200 BC before being ingulfed by all the water rushing..
I sailed there a few years back and the statue was actually a huge crested penguin pointing his big ole flipper wing thing towards Florida, and the writing on there was English and it said “yum yum get ya some” with a scannable barcode link that took you to the Dan-O’s website
It is an interesting story to tell, because it would make more sense the other way around. Rather then it being a beacon pointing where to go, it makes more sense pointing where they came from. Since the winds and tides made getting there on anything powered by wind from the east a damn difficult task for virtually no gain. That obviously fails on closer inspection too(for instance horses were not native to the americas) but to me it seems the easier, and more fantastic lie doesn't it? To claim the very first people to come to those islands.. did so sailing east, just as the Portuguese had. that it was a way for some far flung edge of new world explorers to remember home as they tried to cling to life on those rocks and vanished into time.
6:09 OMG. This shot gives me goosebumps. HOW effin' beautiful! I'd love to trek around there. I wonder what all the sections are, are they wood or stone fencing or piled up branches? Are those sheep or horses in the crater?
Aw, man, this is one of those seemingly irrelevant mysteries that bug me from time to time. Doubt it will be something truly incredible in the long run, but a curiosity. And it bugs me as much how it has been neglected and what happened to it as much as it bugs me not knowing more about it.
Fascinating story, and one which makes me wonder why no archaeological explorations were ever done on the island. If there's a statue, there must be plenty more buried and waiting to be found.
Funny how the old man you got into a shouting match about how he believed the Portuguese were the discoverers of the Azores is no doubt simultaneously aware of the existence of this statute. Indeed it is probably a source of pride for him. Amazing how many contradictory beliefs can fit in a human head, and how much we can completely unaware of the conflicts. What a constant chore it is to keep such a garden flourishing and to keep it being completely choked with weeds!
Deposit your Carthaginian coins here:
www.patreon.com/rareearth
Love ya brother man.
Well it isn't impossible that Punic traders/explorers may have stumbled across the island, but is is rather out of the way...
Great that this story is being recounted in our modern times, a link to our ancient and mysterious past.
You can see a face at 101 in your video.
I think it does matter who built it
Even though there's no picture, there's a very clear description of the statue written at the time by a chronichler, Damião de Góis. The original text is this, my rough translation below: "uma estátua de pedra posta sobre uma laje, que era um homem em cima de um cavalo em osso, e o homem vestido de uma capa como bedém, sem barrete, com uma mão na crina do cavalo, e o braço direito estendido, e os dedos da mão encolhidos, salvo o dedo segundo, a que os latinos chamam índex, com que apontava contra o poente".
My rough translation: "a statue of stone laid upon a slab, that has a man bareback riding a horse, and the man was dressed with a cape for rain, without a hat, with a hand on the horse's mane, and his right arm stretched out, his fingers retracted except for the second finger, to which the latins call index, with which he was pointing west."
"uma estátua" I see what you did there.
@@FirstDagger what do you mean?
@@arturrosa3166 Maybe it has something to do with the song by Madredeus?
maybe the vikings landed on the island before the Portuguese and built the statue?
@@FirstDagger sopa de estatua.
I'm Azorean. The first I heard of this story was in an old book at the Toronto Reference Library some 30 years ago. The secret's out now. There are also basalt pyramids on Pico that may predate the Portuguese. Great topic for another video.
The pyramids on Pico were too questionable from a bunch of different reasons for me to consider them "evidence", although they likely will become more proven towards that end as time goes on
@@RareEarthSeries Unfortunate, as I've been searching for videos that shine a light on what those pyramids are and who built them. There's nothing. I'm from São Jorge, the island next door, and no one ever talked about them. It's as if they never existed even though they've been there all along, hidden in plain sight, just like the monster waves at Nazaré. Portugal 🇵🇹 is the land of best kept secrets.
Love your videos. Cheers from the Big Smoke.
@@TagusMan São Jorge was my favourite island by far, I'll be making a video on the history of your cheese culture soon enough!
The pyramids of Pico may well become something in the future as more studies search out what they could be, but for the most part it seems like someone (maybe Portuguese or a hermit of sorts) aligned rocks in a North/South orientation - possibly older than Portuguese settlement, possibly not, possibly entirely fake in their own way
My guess is that they'll be proven to be something "important" eventually, but we aren't there yet
@@RareEarthSeries São Jorge is my favourite island by far! Great minds think alike. My father's family is from the Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo, and I was baptized in the church. My father used to ring the bells back in the day.
A couple of fun facts about the people of Caldeira, my people... A few who emigrated to Toronto, ended up working on the CN Tower. Growing up in the fajã meant having no TV, no radio, no electricity, no real contact with the outside world. And yet here they were helping build the tallest, most technologically advanced structure on the planet.
And in the 1970s, a few of my aunts and uncles moved to a mining town called Pine Point in the Northwest Territories, likely making them the most northern Portuguese enclave in the world, and they were all from Caldeira, one of the most remote villages in all of Portugal.
Can't wait for the São Jorge episode. My island. It's mine! Cheers amigo.
if you first heard this story from an old book 30 years ago, the secret has been out for over 30 years. not now
Azorean here! (From Pico though) and I had never heard about this! It's a shame that stories like there are rarely told, but thankfully the Regional Government has taken to encouraging schools to teach Azorean History and Culture. Maybe someday it will even come to be appreciated in the mainland, but for now, I'm thankful that our Government has at least a sense of respect for our heritage and doesn't try to make us "act more Portuguese".
Pico is such an incredible place I had an unbelievable time there
@@RareEarthSeries Yeah, every island is special and full of tales to tell! I suppose that you know that already though :p, you've done a pretty thorough job
It's an obvious element of colonialism.
Catalonia has their own education autonomy and they are not happy...we don't even have that.
Since the beginning Portugal did remove anything that separated Azores from Portugal, like forbidden anything Flemish, last names, language...
Most scandalous and proves it all was the law that prohibited any archelogical work related to anthropology, no one 1cm will be done says the law.
It's pretty clear Azores is no normal colony. Portugal will go on and beyond, even the democratic revolution (25 de Abril) can be seen has a way to prevent Azores independence.
@@izzy0052 That is fascinating. You are from an Island Tribe? Or you are from Portugal? Or you are from an Island Tribe near Portugal? And you speak Portuguese?
Was the message that you translated written in Portuguese? Because to me, I thought it was Spanish! I am only a student of Spanish, I am not a fluent native of any Spanish country, but I attempted to learn Spanish out of respect to the many hardworking Spaniards, and Central and South America and all the island nations who also speak Spanish and came to the USA to continue to be hardworking and contribute to society.
And, sometimes if you ask a fluent Spanish speaking American for directions in a predominantly Spanish nieghboirhood, they will say, Lo siento, yo no espek eh engles' and
then if you ask them in Spanish,
Donde esta la terera de liquor y cervesas, porque a mi esposo necesita tomar bebidas afrutadas, como una nina bonita pequena?
Then they answer you clearly as the nose on your face 😈"THREE BLOCKS THAT WAY"
And 😮🤔🧐🤨😕😶🙄 I think she just said like 2seconds ago that she doesn't speak English, and then bam!!! ENGLISH!!! WTF!!
@dr. Will J. Rosenblatt We are as Portuguese as the Brazileans are Portuguese.
We were the new world before the Americas, many people fleed from persecution in continental Europe, merchants searching for new business, free slaves from Africa on the way to North America. We had strong Flemish presence much like in Brazil, to the point Portugal forbid the language and last names.
It is a true shame that the statue has been lost. I suppose there haven't been any proper archaeological expeditions to examine the site or look for ancient settlements? I mean, someone carved the statue!
Or the statue is part of a founding myth. It's like trying to find the wolf den where Romulus and Remus were raised.
it's just bullshit someone created years ago, and then everyone entered in the bullshit but now we don't get joke.
But, don't you see? As long as people talk about the statue, it will never be lost. It will always be right there, at the heart of the island.
@@PlatinumAltaria Although the Romulus and Remus story is obviously myth, the cave was very real and used for hundreds and hundreds of years during Roman times. It could very well be found, and maybe is, we just wouldn't know if it's *the* cave. I think it was the festival of Lupercalia that every year started in the cave.
@@Vlad-sj5yw A cave was attributed as the "true location" of the myth, just as people today think that Camelot refers to a real place. But they were probably made up as stories first, and later ascribed truths the authors didn't intend.
I don't know why, but every one of your videos gives me a feeling of nostalgia. This warm and bubbly feeling of a distant past. Love your unique style, keep it up.
wake up to reality.
I'm always amazed to find out about small inhabited islands out in the middle of nowhere. Makes me yearn for a less complicated life.....
Life without work? Lol
@@YoMumzinnit It's likely hard work to live there. From the video it doesn't very prosperous so folks may really struggle to get by.
@@rossmacintosh5652grow your own food, tight nit community, beautiful island. sounds like a win win to me
It’s a horrible place to live. A complete shit hole. Evil people that live here.
At my job I do about 5 hours of actual work in an eight hour day. For food I go fill a cart and swipe a piece of plastic. I would argue the remote island life is more complicated.
“Nobody had ever been there….”
Well, that would be a strange conclusion to arrive at given the available evidence.
@@chrisd8598 i swear you guys don't watch the vids properly
i think the subtext was they didn't know that someone had ever been there yet there was a statue there, also discovering new places in those days would have been huge news.
Vikings?
Well, someone was there
People are not clever
I find it interesting and intriguing how mythical and embellished the stories we tell each other can become, as long as there is no evidence to corroborate or disprove them. Thank you for another glimpse into one of the stories of a people in a desolate place.
This feels like something I'd expect in a fantasy book, and I love it. The island of the statue that points at a crucial thing in every age.
I loved this episode and maybe it’s just because I am old, or maybe it’s because everything is a lot more funny the closer you get to life’s end,... but I absolutely love reading the comments and seeing goofy children fight over topics. It’s really fitting for the idea of this video. I wish you all the very best!
Portugal needs to throw more funding to their archaeology department.
Your Azore series I have been really enjoying and there is so much history that is waiting to be discovered
fr as a brazilian person watching this season makes me understand my country’s cavalier attitude towards archaeology
@@yoymate6316 When I saw on the news your National museum burned down so many years ago. I legit cried.
Spain too, theres so much pre indoeuropean stuff to still discover for sure, it would be cool to find out more about why the greeks talked about tartessos so much
Or people can spend their own money and go document it themselves. Keep all governments out of our business.
Portugal is busy going bankrupt at this point.
This guy has perfected the art of sounding like he’s saying something really profound. A valuable skill, for sure.
It's called charisma. You either have it, or you have it NOT!
@@joerosa2532Regardless, the narrator's charismatic speech encouraged you to listen to the video in it's entirety.
This is what's known as "rare talent!"
Seriously, what the blazes did I just listen to?
@@fobbitoperator3620no cause it wasn't here.
@@fobbitoperator3620subjective… come back with something that isn’t…😊
Loving your content mate.. each story laid out with just the right amount of intrigue, but you so carefully avoid over-cooking the stories. Excellent narratives.. thank you
This is gonna sound stupid, but I always forget that there’s islands in the middle of the Atlantic. Idk, every time I think of isolated islands such as this one, I think of the pacific.
Lets not forget Bermuda. Its way out in the mid Atlantic, and not in the tropics.
Most of the Atlantic islands are formed along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and some of them like Saint Helena and Ascension Island are extremely isolated.
translation for what we see at the end of the video, written in portuguese on the wall:
"Once upon a time, the story of the island that beat the pirates..."
If the statue really was taken back to Portugal, there’s at least a slim chance it (or parts of it) could be found somewhere in the recesses of some museum or old house
The "Church" is nothing if not fanatical in hiding / destroying / denying the Truth.
Practice makes perfect... ☆
First of your videos I've seen. Nicely done. Kept me engaged the entire time. I'm subscribing. Keep up your good work
forever the most criminally underrated channel on youtube. So glad you can travel again evan your work is so important and I love you
love you too pal
I am at a loss for why you are not more frequently viewed on TH-cam. Excellently done. Fantastic video.
You are the Carl Sagan of travel.
he might not be going to space, but he's making us feel like we are.
I can't explain why, but this is actually one of the best stories I've heard. Someday, when New York, Moscow and Tokyo are long gone, I hope someone, somewhere remembers this little rock, it's people and that lost statue because as thrilling as discovery can be, it's the mysteries and legends that draw us onto the path. Great video.
It's important to take into account how the stories people tell themselves are integral to how they filter the world, how these stories often determine their views & identities.
It might go a long way in making the way in which we navigate the many differences which divide all of us more compassionate & productive.
How is this channel not getting more views? Good stuff, love your content and style.
Don't worry about views I'm just happy you like the show
@@RareEarthSeries Hehe, its both a compliment to you and also a genuine query. I wonder if its because other channels that dabble in this kind of content intentionally push the more sensational aspects of the stories and kind of pander to their audience, whereas you're a little more sober in your delivery and, quite frankly, its almost like you revel a bit in pointing out the BS.
@@yikemoo I sell a complicated narrative in a rather pretentious style without the required cult of personality or self-promotion
Never meant for the masses unfortunately
It’s amazing that you are able to create such a story based on a an echo of a myth
Yet another peak documentary, Rare Earth. I appreciate it.
What a wonderful perspective on these people and all of humanity! Your oratory is beautiful and I could feel your intended passion through the entire presentation.
Please keep up the work (and encouragement) which we all deserve.
😎💜
Fantastic little video! I’ve always been very fascinated by the Azores. It’s a shame the school system in the United States doesn’t teach or mention the Azores or the island system that makes up this tiny community found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. With that being said, someone really should make a stone statue of the lone Horseman to replace the one that was stonefly by the mainland of Europe.
The schools in America are to busy teaching woke B/S and 10thousand gender's.🍌
Has anyone, at the very least, gone out to check those rocks & see if there's an identifiable place for a statue to have once bee attached?
My gut felling says phoenicians or cartaginians, a priest in the 1500's (Gaspar Frutuoso) examined the writing that also existed in the cliffside below the statue and said it looked Chaldean, hebrew or greek
Chaldean, Hebrew, or Greek, ah. Three languages with alphabets that look completely unlike one another and have basically no commonalities graphically or linguistically. That's like saying it could be Basque, English, or Japanese.
Thoroughly enjoying the articulate and well versed use of language. Lots of depth and facts without becoming dreamy. Excellent.
1:34 "nobody had never been here" I think the existence of the statue would suggest otherwise.
There wasn't a statue, nor any other human artifact. It's too hard to get to the islands by going west, and people in the Americas probably didn't feel like dying in the Atlantic trying to go east.
Also, his claim that no one could decipher the markings, ever. Like, that is false by definition. Someone had to have understood then when they were originally made. 🤦 Maybe he means no white European men, so it doesn't count?
Every time you post a video I'm reminded how glad I am that you returned to making videos.
Fantastic as always
Appreciate ya Rudy
I'm an auld fella and am well versed in places of the world. But I never heard of Corvo before. Great stuff Rare Earth!
Stop notch , absolutely love your channel, keep up the great work.
When aliens from another planet will arrive to earth, they will call us the "story telling people" because that's who we are. Humans define ourselves by the stories we tell ourselves.
Nah, they will turn to each other and say "See, told you, look what beauty-unfolds because we added that 'story-telling-gene'!"
No they won't do either thing each of you ascribe to them, why? because they are Aliens and not humans, you are both humanising something you don't know anything about, no one does. Just like Walt disney making a mouse wear clothing and walking on two legs and talking.
My best guess on who built it? Probably the Norse. They had horses and were known to have settlements in Vinland (America) and made trips over the Atlantic.
The unintelligible words on it may have been a form of Futhark, which the Portuguese probably would not have known. As far as a man on a horse with a cloak...sounds like it could have been a monument to Odin on Sleipnr, which was a common depiction of him (usually carrying Gungnir, his magical spear).
Gungnir would return to Odin no matter where he threw it and would always hit its target. Maybe the statue wasn't pointing west, but Odin throwing Gungnir at Vinland?
Corvo has no ravens or crows. Why would they name an island after a bird that does not exist there? Coincidentally, Odin was famously known for his two pet ravens, Hugin and Munin. Maybe that is how the island got its name?
More probably even, no one did it. It was 100% a myth. That whole story about the Portuguese crown taking the statue and, conveniently, losing it, an excuse to explain why no one has ever seen it...
About Vinland. The Vikings were able to grow barley and bees in Greenland and grapes in Vinland (Labrador). In 2024, despite 1200 years of global warming, barley, grapes and bees cannot be grown in Greenland or Vinland.
The Norse were great explorers but weren't really known for erecting statues. Assuming for a moment that the statue was real & not just part of some foundation myth, a far more likely candidate would be the Phoenicians. Like the Norse they also were great seafarers. The Phoenicians established colonies across North Africa and the Iberian peninsula (one of which, Carthage, later became a maritime empire and is another candidate) and at least according to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, circumnavigated Africa on behalf of the Egyptian pharoah Necho II. Unlike the Norse, they left plenty of statues behind for archaeologists to later find.
Unlike the Phoenicians or Carthage the Norse also didn't have much of a presence in the Iberian peninsula, which presumably would have been a stop for anyone on their way to discovering the Azores.
It's probably just a local legend, but the statue were ever found I think the safest bet is on it being Phoenician or Carthaginian.
Not my first guess. The Norse weren't big on making stone statues and it sounded like it had been there for a while when it was found. The Norse didn't start sea fairing until around 800Ad. There are other archeological sites that have been dated to 2200bc. The only sea fairing people who liked to explore at the time were the Minoans. Most likely it was them.
@@dcc2351 I was just commenting on another guy about how Atlantis probably referred to the Minoans (prosperous island nation close to Greece which disappeared very suddenly) and not an actual place in the Atlantic ocean - but hey, maybe both ideas were right!
Great, now you've made me sad for a rock once again Rare Earth
No matter what story you tell, I’m your devoted listener!
Obsequious
@@MrShanester117 your a servant to your own hubris
Not gonna lie, when you tell stories or speak of lore it gives me goosebumpa, in a good way. This just blows my mind.
I enjoy your videos very much! They are well made and your narrative is easy to listen to, and informative. What I want to know…is how do you like what you’re doing and how/who makes it work?
Always love the small but important stories like this
I can’t believe someone was on that island potentially hundreds of years before the Portuguese for long enough to carve a full-sized stone statue but didn't leave behind any other artifacts or structures...
Vikings, Phoenecians, Polynesians and Atlantans did some weird things I guess ;)
@@rwalker0130 We have no evidence vikings ever created stone statues. Carving runestones by the hundreds, yes, but no statues.
@@rwalker0130 I've heard the claims that the Vikings and Phoenicians reached the Azores, but never the Polynesians, who originated significantly farther to the east. Think you could explain that one?
Maybe they did, it nothing that was remarkable enough to be recorded by the Portuguese
@@sj7178 the americas were in the way
Your story telling is just amazing.
That's so sweet of you to say thank you
This channel is by far, I mean way far, THE BEST YT CONTENT AVAILABLE period !
Except for those one to two days a year when LEMMiNO uploads. But other than that, it is!
Your dissection of the story, of the people involved and humanity in general is masterful. Great work as always!
Love the guy in the Canucks hat. He may be the worlds most remote hockey fan
Amazing story brilliantly presented, as always 👍
Sailing to an island on a planet full of people & finding a statue, is like traveling to Mars & finding a statue 🙄
I really wish for you to visit the ancient lands of India someday and blow my mind with such amazing stories.
Someine already did. See: Praveen Mohan channel. It WILL blow your mind.
@@thediplomasta5891 yeah I’v seen his channel but his videos tend to get into the more fantastical views, while I’m not saying he is wrong, there isn’t much of actual proof in them. I like his work. But I’d like to see some proof for his theories. I can’t refute his claims all together but I can’t just blindly subscribe to them. Hope you get my point.
Secondly, this channel is waaay different than what Praveen does.
"This isn't about that statue..." Can't stop my brain from going "Yeah...but...It's also about that statue."
My guess is that it is sitting in the Vatican archives right next to the Ark.
☺ or the Smithsonian crushed it💕🇦🇺
Those cats at 5:30 were 100% throwin paws as soon as the camera cut.
Breathtaking landscapes!
This is best show ever since launch love u both and family from Wales UK well done keep it up 💓💖🌟
And just as mysterious ... how is that guy 6:27 become a canucks fan?
A lot of Portuguese from Madeira and Açores emigrated to Canada during the 70/80/90s
People often wear sports merchandising from teams they don’t even know about. When I was 10 or so I remember some teens wore NY Yankees caps. I’m from Spain, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t even know the Yankees are a baseball team
What a wonderful story! Thank you so very much.
Imagine how blessed these islanders feel to be far away from the crazy news of these times. I bet they are glad to be on an island away from the mainland. Great story, thanks for the video.
Makes me want to escape there.
I'm Brazilian, man. I like Portuguese a lot. I can say you got the spirit of Portuguese poetry. You touched their hearts.
This is not that big of a mystery. The islands were visited by the Phoenicians. Also the Romans did know about North America. During one civil war, a defeated Roman general in Spain contemplated evacuating his forces to the western lands. Stashes of Roman coins are found throughout the US. There was early contact with the west. This statue was created by a seafaring culture not Azoreans because they did not have horses.
The way that one cat lifted its paw as the other cat walked by killed me😂
Do we even know for sure if there ever was a statue in the first place?
Nope!
So well done, dude!
The story I heard was that statue was pointing EXACTLY towards …MARS!
Yes, that ancient statue’s arm, hand and index finger was pointing like a laser to the Red Planet. I was also told that Elon Musk and a crew of highly skilled astronomers stopped by just before he started his space exploration company and took detailed measurements of the statue. Yes, the real one is hidden inside a volcanic cave that can only been seen at night and at the correct time of the year.
Excelsior Ad Astra!
Pretty sure this is a joke but now days I really can't be sure; the hardcore Musk fans would genuinely believe this lol
I too assume you are joking. But for whomever takes this on trust bear in mind that when Mars is visible in the sky it apparently travels from the eastern horizon to the western horizon through the course of each night.
that's pretty cool,since Earth's rotation and orbit of both planets had to make it difficult to keep it that way.
The only thing you could point at in the sky that would never move relative to your location on earth would be the North Star, also called Polaris. And that’s only if you’re in the northern hemisphere; for the southern hemisphere there’s no equivalent sufficiently bright polar star.
The drip is impeccable in this video Evan
I suspect that this is just an ancient urban legend. It has many of the hallmarks of one, especially an explanation as to why it can't be found now. Also, someone would have absolutely transcribed the unintelligible carvings. The fact that no one did in the so-called "Age of Exploration" is telling.
I agree! But the idea that people who discovered a place would invent a story at the time of discovery about them not discovering it also feels odd.
@@RareEarthSeries Does the evidence really go back that far? Or could it be that someone came up with the story about a lifetime later, when the first settlers did their eponymous deed?
@@lonestarr1490 It wasn't the first settlers, just the explorers, and yes the records go back that far and begin then (as far as I am aware without the capacity to read Portuguese natively), and later the statue was described in detail by a fairly reliable source well past the discovery
But that doesn't mean it wasn't a fabrication, simply that we can expect they started the story at the very beginning
@@RareEarthSeries Alright. Intriguing!
But to add to what Conundrum said: depicting a rider sounds, at least to me, an aweful lot like something a Portuguese of that era might expect of a statue. I mean, there are equestrian statues from ancient Greece and such depictions from Egypt and Persia (but only reliefs, I think). But it wasn't really, like, the style of time, wasn't it?
The Phoenician god of the sea, Yaam, would have been symbolized by a horse(man), and sailors in that era would attach a horse's head to the front of their ships - it would have also featured on their coinage and general traditions
Not to say it is Phoenician, specifically, merely that it wouldn't be out of character for early maritime societies of the Mediterranean
"Go forth, Jesus" made me laugh. My parents may have said something similar when I left home. Love the Canucks hat at 6:35!
Ask Mike the my pillow guy he KNOWS!!!!! 😂
I heard the my pillow talk guy found a few ballots in a parking lot with the same name on them. The name was Trojan magnum.
Okay that guy has got to be the world's most remote Canucks fan!! He should get an award or a jersey mailed to him 🤩💗
So faded! The legend of the Canuck made it there.... Guess lots throughout history have☺️
I am thankful for the comments section great video
I watched your first video on the Azores a week before someone from the Azores became my coworker. Blew his mind I had heard of the islands
Very similar experience with me. I watched his first Azores video 2 or 3 weeks ago, and right now I'm typing this/watching this video in Ilha das Flores, looking at Corvo. I wasn't even planing on coming to the Azores, but life (work) happened.
Quite something.
you discovered a fascinating story, and shared it with us all! thanks
It’s great that this story is being recounted in our modern times, a link to our ancient and mysterious past.
Love the Canucks cap the older gentleman was wearing!😊
Right?
Other than the incredible narration and well-written storytelling you compose. The shots and sights you display are a great part of the fantasy you portray. Thank you for showing us these rare snippets of life in faraway lands.
another excellent video and story, thank you for sharing with us!
I hope one day we discover evidence of who was there originally.
2:15 there's ALWAYS a Doggo barking whenever you're explaining something important
Your description of Corvo sounded like description of Tristan da Cunha, until you mentioned the statue.
In California, there are many people from the Azores. They are great farmers.
A story teller critiques story tellers.
The best magician can tell you how the trick is done and still leave you believing in magic
Because who else would be inclined to do so.
That was fascinating. I’ve subscribed for more. Thank you.
Was it a genuine manmade statue or a natural feature that looked remarkably like a weathered statue?
Love your channel 🙏
What a shame the statue is lost! Would love to see what was carved into it, if anyone nowadays has any suggestions for origin.
Maybe some Vikings got blown off course and were marooned on the island and erected that statue in honor of their leader, and the indecipherable script was runic. Perhaps it is even older, Carthaginian or Phoenician with a similar back story. Keep in mind it is likely people discovered the Azores well before the Portuguese officially charted it, but just kept their locations to themselves and never bothered to put it on a map. Basque whalers come to mind.
Wow! I love when I find something I never heard of. Thank you!
0:08 I think you meant either 2 km or 2.000 meters lol
Haha just heard that.
Lol no the azores are in fact 1500ish kilometers from the coast of Portugal. So he is correct.
Edit: you may have been thinking physically 2000km down in the Atlantic because he says “2000km deep”. he’s clearly not under water so I’m assuming he means distance from land.
Oh, that's where I left my statue. Was wondering where I dropped that.
If you go back 10,000 years when the sea was lower by say 100 meters, it would be interesting to see what is now covered.
Most of the Azorian islands would be all connected to each other and thus meaning people would then be living in the calm areas next to the ocean, so in another words, Azores was a massive giant island back in 20.000bc or even 12.400 current era. or 10.400/10.200 BC before being ingulfed by all the water rushing..
possibly a little more than 100 meters
glad u are back sir we missed u
I sailed there a few years back and the statue was actually a huge crested penguin pointing his big ole flipper wing thing towards Florida, and the writing on there was English and it said “yum yum get ya some” with a scannable barcode link that took you to the Dan-O’s website
Lol
It did NOT!
Well written and well presented. Thank you!
It is an interesting story to tell, because it would make more sense the other way around. Rather then it being a beacon pointing where to go, it makes more sense pointing where they came from. Since the winds and tides made getting there on anything powered by wind from the east a damn difficult task for virtually no gain.
That obviously fails on closer inspection too(for instance horses were not native to the americas) but to me it seems the easier, and more fantastic lie doesn't it? To claim the very first people to come to those islands.. did so sailing east, just as the Portuguese had. that it was a way for some far flung edge of new world explorers to remember home as they tried to cling to life on those rocks and vanished into time.
Like when the Mayflower finally landed, and the very first thing the Pilgrims saw when they stepped ashore was a European cooking pot 😂
Most isolated little back water communities have they're own mythical mcguffin that makes them special in the eyes of the locals
6:09 OMG. This shot gives me goosebumps. HOW effin' beautiful! I'd love to trek around there. I wonder what all the sections are, are they wood or stone fencing or piled up branches? Are those sheep or horses in the crater?
They are grazing plots. Mostly for cattle. Walls are made of volcanic rocks, and some use of hydrangeas bushes.
Aw, man, this is one of those seemingly irrelevant mysteries that bug me from time to time. Doubt it will be something truly incredible in the long run, but a curiosity. And it bugs me as much how it has been neglected and what happened to it as much as it bugs me not knowing more about it.
6:08 wow that caldera divided into fields like it was jolly old England looks so cool 😹
Fascinating story, and one which makes me wonder why no archaeological explorations were ever done on the island. If there's a statue, there must be plenty more buried and waiting to be found.
The real Horseman of Corvo is the friends we made along the way!
Funny how the old man you got into a shouting match about how he believed the Portuguese were the discoverers of the Azores is no doubt simultaneously aware of the existence of this statute. Indeed it is probably a source of pride for him.
Amazing how many contradictory beliefs can fit in a human head, and how much we can completely unaware of the conflicts. What a constant chore it is to keep such a garden flourishing and to keep it being completely choked with weeds!
Ask a religious fundamentalist.
That statue has more significance than any of the stories told about it