also its possible that some of the structures are Ancient Human in Origin as the Ancient Humans where around then as well. I actually just watched a video on Installations00's channel about his theory on ancient humans and he ties in these structures because we don't know the exact origin. its a cool theory, but just wanted ot throw that out there that because we don't actually know who built them its possible some of the structures we encounter through the games are Ancient Human in Origin
I wonder if it's possible that this is where Mendicant Bias is imprisoned. I did a bit of reading on Halopedia as well and found this, "Mendicant was locked in eternal exile and entombed beneath a vast desert on the Ark"
@@DigitalDNA Where did you hear that? I'm mostly curious as there is no information about the location of this map given anywhere. I believe its on a different location on the ark because of the fact that a large portion of the ark is a desert. But I have never heard any information about the actual location of Sandtrap.
I remember the secret of Sandtrap was the text that Justin Hayworth put on the walls, and this is the same text that is on Epitaph. He said he wanted them to have meaning and meant for people to try to decipher them. That's not to say necessarily that they DO have meaning though, but I would reckon there is a code or something embedded cleverly. Those runes need to be deciphered! It's the last thing unexplained about the map
@@____________838 1 wrecked covenant phantom, 1 UNSC Albatross heavy transport, secondhand use. Also the UNSC elephants had to get there somehow. (Also ignoring the UNSC frigate very much in potential firing range of the towers)
I believe how Bungie was thinking about story relative to the various themes to each map is glossed over here partially when viewing it as something to solely keep everyone out of or away from. They didn't have to frame a map that's already unique in being a Forerunner artifact site this way, though Bungie places not only a crashed Albatross dropship and two Elephants, which while gameplay related are unique to this map and reflect that internally on some screens, but a frigate in the skybox to let us know that the UNSC has landed here. Note that other than the Banshee, specifically there for gameplay purposes alone, the only presence of Covenant forces lies in completely destroyed remains, likely destroyed by the defenses. Why were the UNSC able to land here? The UNSC, rather humanity, were *permitted* to land here while the various species of the covenant were not.
@@someirishkid9241While there could be a plethora of reasons explaining that, given that the covenant clearly were capable of getting near the area and could have shot a single Albatross down, I'd like to mention that the Albatross is not "crashed" so much as it is "buried". Halo 3 doesn't have dynamic weather so it's permanently that way but I don't really see any indication that it's damaged in any other way. Could have just landed abruptly, even. Contrast that to the covenant set pieces equally not modular, not player controlled, which are in tatters. I think the point is still very relevant that even if they weren't exactly permitted to land, the covenant was permitted 1000 fold less. This is consistent with the lore and more interesting than "nobody can ever come here ever because no reason" so I lean that way and I feel there's so much evidence to support it.
Something interesting is that if you go on the Halo 2 mission High Charity and take the elevator to the big room right before entering the Prophet's inner sanctum, you can see that symbol on the wall in classic graphics as the elevator is going up.
Halo Canon sent me here, and I'm most definitely intrigued by this theory. Very well put together and structured video. I think I might just have to wander the map for a while.
Recently saw a video on the sand trap text and I can safely say it's a monument of confession, a tomb of a forerunner whom wrote off the construction of the rings and was buried with the knowledge that for all the laws and reasons they had in place they were failing. Ever wonder why you never heard of an infected forerunner despite them being at war with them for thousands of years? Maybe they are a suspended and infected, hoping one day they can cleanse the parasites from a person of great power and knowledge.
Another piece of evidence that Sandtrap's Crypt contains a being of high power: wherever the Sandtrap text reappears in Infinite, it is in a place associated with the preserving and containing of sentients. It appears alongside the Cylixes (Cylixs? Cyli?) in the mission Foundation, and is present on the looming statues of the Silent Auditorium.
Hmm wonder if this needs a follow up video with he Sandbox text being found in infinite. Plus if it is a precursor. The Forerunners would definitely want to keep it as a prisoner, or dead. The Forerunners wiped out the Precursors , the last known one created the Flood as revenge, who's to say another precursor wouldn't make an even bigger scarier Flood.
You should revisit this, the text on Sandtrap can be found in very similar ways in the halo infinite campaign and it most definitely is related to the Endless. Brings new meaning to Sandtrap.
Is Sandbox on the ark? There's that cool Saturn-looking planet on the horizon that made me think these structures might reside elsewhere in the galaxy. It would be interesting to uncover what the bungie designers backstory to this map was.
Bruh, I just wanna say I love your channel. You’re so analytical, unbiased, and obviously a huge Halo fan. You deserve all the sponsors you’ve been getting, and I hope you BLOW UP for Infinite. You deserve it. Much respect ✊
When you pulled up that picture of busted up roads in Michigan, it hit too close to home (literally). Now I understand why I felt like I saw that pic before🤔🤔 Troy is where it's at tho don't come @ me🥴
Had this recommended after watching a video about Sandtrap's text tablet and architecture appearing in Halo Infinite's Silent Auditorium. After playing that mission, I think you're right. Something's down there.
I think you got some things wrong. Firstly, all Precursor structures were technically, "Alive," which meant that they were destroyed when the Halos fired (it still hasn't been explained how the mantle wasnt destroyed) so no, nothing on the Halos is Precusor made. Next, I dont think you fully get the situation between the Forerunners and Precursors when the array was built. The Precursors were long dead, killed by the Forerunners, any more that were found were also killed so they couldnt have worked alongside them and the Forerunners wouldnt have let any survive.
I am well aware of the jist of the Precursor story. I continually allow for them in this theory though based on the raw possibility that one may have been preserved by some means. All the language I found in reference to the origins of the preserved structures continually mentioned "ancient forerunner or older", indicating an ambiguity in ownership. It is within reason to say the Precursors were all assumed dead, but in the vast wild galaxy, the chances one was preserved, for whatever reason, isn't some far fetched idea. Stranger, less linear things have happened in Halo. Personally, I am much more keen to say that this theory most likely applies to a Forerunner being, but just given the context and understanding we have of the preserved sites, I cannot rule out another species being the resident.
Well, for one, the Mantle of Responsibility is a creed, not a Precursor relic. I think you mean the Domain, which was heavily damaged to the point that the surviving Forerunners had to repair it (sadly sacrificing one of their own to do so) in order to retrieve the materials necessary to leave the galaxy. By that point (and possibly earlier) in the war with the flood, they would probably overlook an entombed Precursor if just for the sake of survival. If anything, because Precursors were presumed extinct by that point, any survivors of the species unaligned with the Flood would be looked at with both reverence, and fear. More than enough cause to not risk waking it up or letting the Flood gain access to it.
Actually, there was a single Precursor that was around long after the extinction event. Even when the Flood were active. The Primordial. Killed by the Didact, he transferred his mind into the Flood's compound mind to become the Gravemind, and torture the Didact into madness before setting him free again, which resulted in his imprisonment. It's possible that another Precursor were trapped under the ruins to prevent the same from happening to them, a way to entrap their power, at least until the Halos fired. And given that the Flood can even survive the firing of the Rings, it's possible it had as well.
while people have noted already that the text on the golden plates on sandtrap are in various places in infinite, I'd like to highlight the last boss channels a type of orange energy from the very same plates from the statues holding them in the final room which by the by: are oddly shaped like the life preservation modules used by the librarian and her cohorts
Very impressive, nice work!! I believe that perhaps it may be a Forerunner of similar position as the Didact in the crypt. Perhaps one of the Forerunner Engineers who knew the inner workings of the Halo rings and perhaps he was deemed too dangerous
I've been really interested in sandtrap recently,y current theories are that it's a precursor, forerunner, some of the flood mendicant bias, or maybe even one of the endless. The last one isn't very likely but it's be cool with recent events
My theory: They're both the same map, just different times. Sandtrap is the original state, Sandbox is the extracted state (after all the sand and stone was dug up).
Small note, there are no Precursor structures that exist in the known galaxy. Precursors built everything with something called neural physics, which made them incredibly durable and able to last pretty much forever. However, their method of construction made them susceptible to the Halo Array's pulse. When the Forerunners fired the installations, they wiped out every trace of Precursor architecture out there.
I think it’s a forerunner crypt holding the master builder, or another important forerunner. It would need to be someone important who messed up pretty badly, but done something bad enough to be locked up. Just my thoughts.
Pretty good theory. Well done! I've heard one or two others that are similar. And not that I'm trying to steal you thunder, But their is another channel called "Installation 00" definitely worth checking out! Lots and lots of lore and theory, detailed videos!
Given the timeline it might be possible. The conflict was long enough ago to where the Forerunners could have still been at least semi-regularly using stone material.
Loved your theory. I don’t actually think it is a tomb but certainly these maps keep something beneath them. Could be some ancient airtifacts or weapons. Also there is something the fanbase call “The sandtrap mystery” which is a code or something hidden in the wall scripts throughout Sandtrap (Sandbox too). It could be another piece of the puzzle. I don’t know man but the fact that this hasn’t been solved since Halo 3’s launch makes me feel amazed about Halo’s majesty and mysterious atmosphere as a franchise.
If the crypt room is really that big then there could be a gravemind in there. Graveminds are technically composed of corpses so maybe it was a way to give all those people a proper burial.
Pretty sure that Sandtrap is a dig site that the Brutes and Truth excavated. The architecture is obviously precursor. I think the story is that the UNSC took the site from the covenant some time during the events of halo 3. Its possible that it is a crypt for something more meaningful to the meta-plot given that there is a crypt-like location inside the largest structure. I assume the backstory of this map is related to the cut content from Guardian which it seems like was a major inspiration for the plot of the sequel trilogy. It is also known that Epitaph and the DLC map Citadel are located in the same region of the Arc
ME. BRO! It's the Endless. The glyphs are on ancient Forerunner structures, that are PRE-FORERUNNER. Look up an article by Haruspis, called "the connection between Forerunners and Humans"
Has anyone else cracked the hieroglyphics. Is Morse code with numbers. Then expanded and embossed letters that I can’t figure out. But I’m close. It’s definitely a memorial to someone who has died.
@@HydratedBeans I've actually gone into the files on the game and looked at it under there and it's DEEP. Nothing really of note except that it is waaay bigger than the map itself which is really odd...
I’m viewing this video in 2022… yeah seemed like you were DEFINITELY onto something that’s FOR SURE 😅 The exact ancient texts are cylix shaped Like the endless were at the end of the campaign… almost as if THE ARK AND the harbingers Auditorium are connected 🤔 this video is ahead of it’s time 😂
I kind of assumed that ‘minimal’ just meant like micro-organisms, but that was before you made me realize there could be a whole tomb under there… it’s also called sand “trap” so i am sold
0:56 I’m stuck here. I can’t get past him saying “analogs of time” instead of “annals of time”. Can someone please tell me what the rest of the video is about? (Since it gets lost over text, ^ this is sarcasm)
My two guesses is that either: 1. It is where the Didact is kept. 2. It is some other old Forerunners, since there is notably life support systems on the Ark which can be heard from Spark(?) in a side piece of dialogue when he's checking out Ark systems. As for the structures themselves, it's pretty clear that it was just the Forerunners saving old architecture, just as we do today. Their selfish need to preserve it is part of why they failed so hard against the Flood, since they cared more about preserving it all than actually fully focusing on dealing with the Flood. I also feel a big problem made when theorizing multiple stuff in this video is forgetting original intent with the games. Like, "precursors" and that kind of stuff keep getting brought up, but Precursors weren't a thing in Bungie lore, just as how Forerunners and Humans weren't different species in Bungie's lore.
I'm not a 100% on my Halo lore so feel free to correct me on this but: If the purpose of the towers is to both keep it's occupant in and keep intruders out, the structure itself is a tomb but there is a life sign down there, and the Forerunners meant for this place to preserve/memorialize something or someone. Could the occupant be the last living precursor but is also infected with the flood? What if the goal of Sandtrap was to preserve the last precursor until either the Forerunners or the Monitors discovered a cure for the Flood, a way to disinfect a host from the flood spores/infection form without killing it. Having a the last member of an ancient and powerful species be grateful towards you cause you cured it of the Flood seems like a pretty good idea.
No it has me thinking that maybe the ruins where highly over run by the flood so the Gravemind could collect information from an isolated precursor and now they have the guardian towers as an extermination program incase any flood that are left try to leave
The defense mechanism in Sandtrap though is Brute mines. Maybe over the millenias the actual defense mechanism broke down, while the one on Sandbox remained functional?
