Archaeology Exposed
By Michael Collins, Wandering Wolf Productions
What if everything we’ve been told about archaeology is a carefully crafted story? What if the true intent behind excavations and site preservation isn’t as noble as we’ve been led to believe? What if everything you see at the most famous archaeological sites in the world is all just a facade?
I have spent the last 10 years traveling all around the world full-time, documenting hundreds and hundreds of sites in detail. During that time, a veil has slowly been lifted. After seeing so much, it has given me a greater understanding of the inner workings in the process, from discovery of a site, to its eventual transformation into a tourist attraction. Because this is the end result of every major archaeological site. Let’s break down the process in a very simplified format, and I’ll provide plenty of examples that in finding out, may ruin your day.
The first step in the process is of course, discovery. There are many ways this happens, and more and more these days, people with no experience, no degree, even from behind their computers at home using Google Earth, are discovering sites. But once it has gained enough attention, archaeologists get involved and then funding is secured.
Funding can come from a variety of sources such as universities, government grants, private donations or even businesses, especially when discoveries are made during building or construction projects where required by law.
After funding has been secured, excavations can begin. However, it is worth noting that the worldwide average for the excavations of sites is only 5% to 10%, and there definitely seems to be a reason for that which I’ll expand on further. For now, know that as the average for excavation is close to being reached, design plans typically come into play for how the site looked in its original state. It’s important to note, this can very often rely on quite a bit of conjecture on the part of the archaeologists.
So here is the main disappointing part of the process. With the design plans complete and having excavated enough for the site to, in effect, become a profitable attraction, everything stops. At least in terms of research as it was. A company or workers are hired and the design plans begin to come to life. Keep in mind, these are day laborers being moved in to reconstruct the site.
Once construction, or “reconstruction” is complete, tourism truly begins, often with big pushes in marketing and advertising. The “funding” that was secured needs to be recouped of course, but especially in the case of government grants, a new financial resource has just been acquired.
So none of this sounds overtly horrible you might say…where is the big reveal? Remember when I mentioned earlier that only 5% to 10% of sites on average are excavated? That is all that’s needed to turn these discoveries into a revenue generator and the proof is in the results. Otherwise, excavation would continue, pursuing even greater understandings from our history. But it doesn’t.
These sites are not “cared” for as you might expect. Concrete is poured to build up and hold collapsed walls, ancient stones are cut with modern stone saws and forced into place, trees are planted over areas known to still hold unexcavated ruins, parking lots are paved, and ticket booths and gift shops are constructed.
Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza are all concrete. Angkor Wat has been cut up into manageable pieces with stone saws and placed back together to where they think it all goes. Stonehenge was stacked as it is with cranes and is supported with steel rebar and concrete. Chaco Canyon is rebuilt with concrete. Baalbek has been cut up and stacked into portions of wall they clearly do not belong in. Sites in Belize have intricate looking carvings that are actually just modern plaster. The walls of Machu Picchu use concrete and archaeologists are currently working areas of the site under sealed off tents to keep information from the public, as I learned on a recent return visit. The Great Sphinx is even now being fully encased in modern stone. The Sphinx I’ve seen is not the Sphinx generations before me have seen and it won’t be the same Sphinx for generations in the future. The list goes on and on.
What function does any of this have in archaeology? The answer is none. It is for tourism and money. And that is the end goal, whether the archaeologist involved are ignorant or complicit in the process. We have covered over our ancient world history with amusement parks.The slithery tendrils of greed have burrowed their way into every aspect of the archaeological field so much so that the stories we are being presented with are no longer our stories. They are half truths, or perhaps only 5% to 10% of the truth built on top of each other, over and over again.
It’s big business. Colorado in the United States, generated $22.9 billion in earnings from heritage tourism in 2020. That is correct, I said Colorado. Not some world-famous site. Egypt’s tourism revenue in 2019 was $13.03 billion. The global heritage tourism market was valued at approximately $586.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $778.1 billion by 2030. It’s big business encroaching on becoming a trillion dollar a year industry in less than a decade. Archaeology has become a whore and big money organizations, governments and universities are its pimps.
The idea that everything we hear now about incredible discoveries being made isn’t filtered through the means of protecting financial interests is completely absurd, and people can sense it. No wonder the field is dying. With museums closing and university departments shutting down, it mimics the same thing happening in institutions, governments, and corporations all around the world. The rot has infested everything and people are becoming aware of it, upset, and no longer trust the voices that represent this disgusting money grab and attempt to monetize our shared past.
That is why people like Graham Hancock have such massive followings, because he is pushing back and questioning the accepted “truth”, and people like Flint Dibble remain irrelevant even as a specialist in his own field. Just look at the results from their debate on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2024. Going on JRE typically results in massive growth for individuals’ platforms. Today, Flint Dibbles YouTube channel sits at just barely over 40K subscribers, while Graham went on to release his second season of Ancient Apocalypse on Netflix and saw his platform grow to over 400K subscribers. Not to mention the fallout after Dibble was called out on countless platforms for lies and twisting the truth during the debate. People instinctively know when they are being lied to or misled, and they gravitate towards truth and genuineness.
There is and has been for sometime, a huge shift in people’s trust in institutional systems, and rightly so when more and more negative things keep getting exposed. It doesn’t help that they just continue to keep doubling down, so people are walking away, slowly but surely. And this is good, because people are starting to ask their own questions about things instead of taking at face value what the “experts” are feeding us. We want the receipts.
So, the next time you visit an ancient site, take a closer look at what you are actually seeing and ask yourself: Is this truly about honoring the past and learning more about our history, or is it another step in the commercial exploitation of an ancient site that could provide us a much greater understanding of our true history if not controlled by the corrupted system of modern archaeology?
How much of what we know about archaeology is genuine exploration, and how much of it is just an elaborate scheme to turn history into a cash cow?
If you want to learn more, check out my in-depth video on my YouTube channel, Wandering Wolf, releasing mid March 2025, and dive into my on location documentation of hundreds of these sites around the world.