Sensation auf Teneriffa? Neue Daten zu den rätselhaften Pyramiden – Teil 1 (Abora TV)

Summary

The program presents the Abora team’s latest research trip to Tenerife, where it is investigating the age and history of the islands’ stepped stone structures. Guest researcher Dominique Görlitz argues that some structures may be much older than commonly accepted explanations suggest. The presenters describe the findings as potentially significant, while acknowledging that measurements and analysis are still underway.

Main ideas

• The age and purpose of Tenerife’s stepped structures are disputed. The program describes the conventional interpretation as relatively recent agricultural stone terraces or piles. Görlitz argues that some may instead be ancient constructed monuments and compares them with stepped structures elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
• The researchers challenge the usual timeline for settlement. The program says a commonly cited estimate places the arrival of the Canary Islands’ Indigenous peoples around 1000 BCE, partly because older settlement evidence has not been recognized. Görlitz says the new research could challenge that chronology. The speakers also note that “Guanches” properly refers to Tenerife’s Indigenous people, although the term is often used broadly for Indigenous peoples across the islands.
• The structures may have been built or modified in multiple phases. The presenters emphasize that dating one stone or wall does not necessarily date an entire complex. Later communities could have added to, repaired, or repurposed older structures. They compare this with castles and other monuments that accumulated different building phases over time.
• The team sees possible astronomical alignments. Görlitz describes one complex as a possible “macro-calendar,” with geometric features aligned to the cardinal directions. He also says a small upper terrace appears aligned north–south and toward the Southern Cross, which he associates with a period between roughly 3000 and 1500 BCE. These are presented as interpretations, not independently established conclusions.
• Local knowledge is treated as important evidence. The researchers recount discussions with landowners and residents about remembered construction, soil removal, buried steps, and the history of walls and terraces. They argue that these observations can help identify where to sample and interpret changes to the sites.
• The program proposes a wider cultural connection. Görlitz links the Canary Islands’ structures to a hypothesized ancient seafaring culture associated in the discussion with Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Sardinia, and the Atlantic. The presenters suggest this could prompt a reassessment of ancient maritime contact. These broad connections are the speakers’ hypotheses and go beyond what the Tenerife measurements alone can establish.
• The results are preliminary. The team says it still needs to complete its gamma-radiation calibration and present or reassess the data. The program reports that some results suggest ages well beyond 500 years and that particular stones may be thousands of years old, but it does not provide a completed, fully calibrated set of dates in this episode.
• The researchers call for continued independent work. They say more stepped complexes need to be sampled before broader conclusions can be drawn. The episode also appeals for public donations to support further fieldwork and laboratory analysis.

Dating and sampling method described

1. Collect stones from inside the structures. The team says it removed building stones from locations intended to represent internal layers, rather than relying only on exposed surfaces.
2. Protect samples from light. Samples were wrapped in foil after collection to preserve the signals used in OSL analysis.
3. Prepare the samples in the laboratory. The researchers describe cleaning and scraping extremely thin surface layers before measurement. They also refer viewers to a separate film explaining the preparation process.
4. Measure optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). OSL is described as a way to estimate when a stone was last exposed to light. The team says it handled the samples under red light to avoid changing the relevant signal.
5. Examine the surrounding geology. The team says it dug at locations around the monuments to sample underlying or older ground, helping distinguish the history of the site from the history of the stones used in construction.
6. Account for environmental radiation. The OSL signal must be interpreted relative to the radiation dose accumulated by the sample. The researchers say they measured alpha and beta radiation, used a dosimeter left at the site for a year, and later measured gamma radiation within the structures.
7. Measure gamma radiation in situ. Because gamma radiation can penetrate substantially into stone, the team says it inserted a radiation instrument into the structure to measure conditions inside the masonry. It also measured uranium, thorium, and another isotope, and used a lead-capped control measurement to reduce the influence of surrounding material.
8. Use the combined measurements to interpret construction phases. The researchers compare OSL signals and isotope readings from different walls, ramps, and samples. Differences may indicate different stone sources, environmental histories, or building phases. The team says further analysis is needed before firm dates can be announced.

Speakers and sources featured or discussed

• Frank Stoner — Host and interviewer, identified through the video context; the subtitles do not consistently capture his name.
• Dominique Görlitz — Guest researcher presenting the Abora team’s findings and interpretations.
• Jacqueline Heer — Shown or quoted reacting to the preliminary results; she calls them “incredible.”
• Local landowners and residents, as recounted in the discussion:
  • Miguel — Owner of land at the Santo Domingo site.
  • Santiago (“Santi”) and Viti — Owners associated with the San Marcos pyramid; their recollections about the site are discussed.
  • Gustavo — Abora project manager, described as helping with local access and coordination.
• Researchers and archaeologists mentioned or shown in connection with the work:
  • Dr. Horche Sánchez — Involved in gamma-radiation measurements.
  • Georges/Georgios — Laboratory specialist involved in analysis; the subtitles render the name inconsistently.
  • Dr. Michael Rappenklück — Mentioned as a collaborator studying the structures.
  • Professor Peter Tomkins — Discussed in relation to archaeological material from Crete.
  • Professor Del Arco, Dr. Beatrice Galina, and Alicia, a park director — Mentioned in connection with local archaeological work and a meeting.
  • An unnamed Russian archaeologist — Described as participating in the discussion.
• Other historical or archaeological sources mentioned: Thor Heyerdahl and Diodorus of Sicily, as well as an unnamed ornithologist or researcher whose claims about South America are discussed.