All language subtitles for The UnXplained s05e10 Holy Relics.eng

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A gleaming dagger

with a pharaoh's curse.

A powerful spear that makes
its wielder invincible.

And a massive carved stone
that contains a prediction

about the end of the world.

Throughout history,
there have been clothes,

possessions, even human bones,

that have been considered
precious mystical objects.

These sacred relics are revered
by cultures all around the world

and are believed to be imbued
with incredible powers.

Is it possible
that seemingly ordinary items,

like a linen cloth
or a soldier's spear,

can actually have the
ability to perform miracles?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

? ?

SHATNER: All over the world, there
are tens of thousands of museums

that contain a
seemingly infinite number

of ancient artifacts.

The vast majority of these
antiquities are preserved

because of their
historical significance

as a link to humanity's past.

But there are
certain items that,

according to many belief
systems, are special,

and may possess mystical energy.

These objects are
commonly referred to

as sacred relics.

JONATHAN YOUNG: The
thing about a relic is that it is

a manifestation
of holiness itself.

If we have an object that
contains divine energy,

then you have something of
sacred power in human hands.

So there's a great
sense of reverence.

DOMINIC STEAVU:
Typically, sacred relics

would come from
divine individuals

or individuals of
incredible spiritual standing.

There's a transfer
of that person's power

onto the relic, and the relics

come to acquire
a divine dimension

and a divine, uh,
potency as well.

SHATNER: Do sacred relics

really contain
extraordinary powers?

Perhaps clues can be
found by examining an object

that belonged to an
ancient Egyptian pharaoh.

A British excavation team led
by archaeologist Howard Carter

enters an underground
ancient Egyptian burial chamber.

Once inside, they
break a protective seal

that guards the tomb
of King Tutankhamun.

CHRIS NAUNTON:
Carter lifts up a lamp,

and they look through
and see that Tutankhamun

is buried with
this fantastic array

of more than 5,000 objects.

The room is absolutely
full to bursting

with gold and precious stones

and various other
precious and valuable items,

more or less exactly in
places they'd been left

more than 3,000 years ago.

SHATNER: Of the thousands
of wondrous artifacts

found in King Tut's tomb,
perhaps the most extraordinary

is an exquisitely forged
13-inch iron dagger.

NAUNTON: The dagger is
a really sensational object

with a golden sheath,
which is decorated

with a chaste feather pattern.

It was placed on
the thigh of the king,

and of all the 5,000
objects in the tomb,

the vast majority of them were
nowhere near as close as that

to the very body of the king.

So, this is something
very, very important.

RAMY ROMANY: King Tut's reign

was about 1330 BC.

At that time, King Tut's dagger
was a very important piece,

as a symbol that the gods
handed him this power.

That's why the iron dagger
was buried with King Tut.

He needed it on his
journey to the afterlife.

STEAVU: In the afterlife,

King Tut was charged, uh,
with the very important mission

of assisting the sun god Ra.

Ancient Egyptians believed
that when the sun set every day,

Ra would traverse
the underworld,

which was a dark,
murky, watery place

fraught with dangers
and demons and beasts.

So, King Tut would
use this dagger

to literally defend and fight
off these hordes of enemies.

And so, there's this belief
that the blade of the dagger

had miraculous
and spiritual powers.

SHATNER: The idea that King Tut
was buried with a mighty iron dagger

to vanquish foes
in the afterlife

is certainly a great story.

But is it possible
that the dagger

actually possesses divine power,

as the ancient
Egyptians believed?

Perhaps the answer lies

in the mysterious
origins of this sacred relic.

NAUNTON: The Egyptians had,
essentially, no ability in smelting iron

at the time of Tutankhamun.

And so, the iron, uh,
from this dagger that's, uh,

Tutankhamun was buried
with, it comes from elsewhere.

The Egyptians,
of course, thought

that the only
reasonable explanation

for the presence
of a very exquisitely,

perfectly worked iron
dagger was that the iron itself

was some kind of gift
directly from the gods.

We now know, however,

thanks to very recent
scientific analysis,

that the iron doesn't come
from iron ore in the ground,

it is meteoric iron,

which comes from a meteorite
landing on Earth from space.

For Egyptians, the sky
is where the gods were.

So, you have to understand,
at that time in ancient Egypt,

3,500 years ago,

a meteorite falling
on Earth with iron in it,

and piece of it
looked like a dagger,

symbolically, that piece of
iron was a gift from the gods

for the ancient Egyptians.

SHATNER: Did the
ancient Egyptians believe

that King Tut's dagger
had otherworldly powers

because it literally
came from another world?

Perhaps, but some people
think that the sacred nature

of this relic was more
than just symbolic.

As evidence, they
point to a series

of mysterious
deaths that took place

after archaeologists removed
the dagger from King Tut's tomb.

NAUNTON: There's
the moment where

Howard Carter's
archaeological team

peers into an undiscovered tomb,

and sees loads of
gold and treasure.

And then, shortly
after Carter's sponsor

the Earl of Carnarvon
dies relatively suddenly in...

unusual, surprising
circumstances.

SHATNER: The Earl of Carnarvon's
cause of death was reportedly

a mysterious form
of blood poisoning,

and he died only four months
after the tomb had been opened.

All told, seven members
of the expedition

unexpectedly died in the
years after King Tut's dagger

was removed from
his sarcophagus.

Many believed that
tampering with the dagger

had unlocked a deadly curse,

and that the untimely
deaths were proof

of the weapon's
otherworldly power.

If the dagger's there
for the king's protection,

and the point at which
the dagger is removed

by a clumsy, unsuspecting,
unbelieving archaeologist.

That's the moment at
which some nastiness

befalls the archaeologist.

Then, I think, if you
believe in the curse,

perhaps the dagger is
centrally important to that.

Does King Tut's dagger

actually possess some
kind of extraordinary power?

And if so,

can that power be
explained by science,

or is the answer more profound?

Perhaps clues about
the nature of sacred relics

can be revealed by examining

a biblical artifact that was
thought to be so powerful,

it's believed to have
been locked in a vault

deep beneath the Vatican.

SHATNER: Every
December, millions

of Jewish people all over
the world come together

to celebrate an eight-day
festival known as Hanukkah.

According to tradition,

during the holiday,
the Jewish faithful

light a candle each night

on a special candelabra,
called a menorah.

This sacred practice is referred
to as the Festival of Lights,

and it has been performed
for more than 2,000 years.

While Hanukkah is a
happy, family celebration,

the menorah actually
commemorates

an ancient Hebrew relic that,

according to the Old
Testament of the Bible,

stood five feet tall, was
made out of solid gold,

and was said to be imbued

with the power of God.

The Temple Menorah

is a sacred treasure.

The original menorah

was built in the same time

that was the Ark
of the Covenant.

The laws of the candelabra,

the Menorah, were very precise.

Those artifacts built
in the days of Moses

had a special power to them,

not symbolically, but actually.

SHATNER: Under God's
instruction, the holy Temple Menorah

was used to light a
sacred place of worship

for the Israelites,
and was constructed

with seven branches to represent
the seven days of creation.

Today, the menorah
used during Hanukkah

has nine branches to memorialize

one of the ancient
relic's great miracles.

We know from history

that in the second century,
before the Common Era,

the Greek empire

came into the land of Israel.

When the Greeks came,

they defiled the temple,

all of the sacred oil

used for the lighting
of the menorah

were destroyed.

AMIR HUSSAIN: A group of
Jews, who are under occupation,

revolt and they're able
to overcome the Greeks.

They're able to
reconsecrate the menorah.

Except, of course, they
don't have enough oil

that you use as the fuel.

They have oil for the
lamp to light for one day.

Miraculously, the lamp
lights for eight days,

which, when you think about it,

doesn't seem like
such a big miracle,

but if you think about it,
from a Jewish point of view,

if nature is under
the control of God,

this is one of the
signs of God's favor.

SHATNER: For even more dramatic
evidence of the Menorah's divine power,

some point to the fact
that throughout history,

anyone who tampered

with this sacred relic

suffered dire consequences.

ANDREW COLLINS: In AD 70,

the Romans sacked Jerusalem,

and they carried off
all of the treasures

of the temple to Rome.

And this is celebrated

in the so-called
Arch of Titus in Rome.

And you can actually
see on this relief,

the actual menorah
being carried away.

And it's said that thereafter,

Rome was sacked by the Vandals

in 455 AD.

HUSSAIN: The Vandals take
the menorah back to Carthage.

And then, that's sacked
by the Byzantines.

And so, everyone that gets this,

at some point, their
empire gets destroyed.

And is there a sense
of, oh, is this because

God's providence
isn't with these people?

TONY McMAHON: The menorah
ended up in Constantinople,

the capital of the
Byzantine empire.

But apparently, the Jewish
residents of Constantinople

warned the emperor
that the Jewish God

does not like his treasure

being held by other people,

and the emperor gets
rid of the menorah.

COLLINS: It was felt
that having the menorah,

this item of incredible
divine power there,

was gonna bring destruction.

And thereafter, it vanishes.

SHATNER: Could the Temple
Menorah actually have divine powers?

For now, we have only

the historical
accounts to consider,

as the menorah has been lost

for more than a thousand years.

However, according
to one incredible theory,

the menorah might
still exist today,

and it may actually be hidden

deep beneath
Vatican City in Rome.

COLLINS: People have
believed since medieval times

that the menorah, and
also the Ark of the Covenant,

were kept in a cave,

beneath the actual site

of the Vatican
itself, suggesting

that they were
hiding the menorah,

and that this may well
have remained here

through to modern times.

Of course, the Vatican
denies actually possessing

this holy relic, so we
can only but speculate

on whether it is or
isn't still there today.

But if the Vatican does
still possess the menorah,

why would they want to keep it?

Is it something to do
with the divine power

that it's thought to hold?

SHATNER: Is it
possible that the menorah,

and also the Ark
of the Covenant,

are locked behind closed
doors at the Vatican?

And if so, have
these holy artifacts

been hidden because their powers

should not be tampered
with, as some believe?

If the blessing of God was
upon this sacred artifact,

then the blessing of God
remains upon this sacred artifact.

And indeed, those who would seek

to violate that sacredity,

or dishonor it,

would indeed become
subject to the wrath of God,

which is not something
anyone would want to incur.

If it's true that the
Temple Menorah

is locked away in the
Vatican for our protection,

then it probably
should stay there.

And incidentally, there
are those who believe

that another sacred relic
should also be kept off limits.

It's an ancient spear,

that is said to give its
possessor the power

to conquer the world.

SHATNER: While the
Old Testament of the Bible

describes numerous holy relics,

including the menorah

and the Ark of the Covenant,

there are also sacred objects

that are mentioned
in the New Testament.

One of these
artifacts is a spear

that was reportedly
wielded by a Roman soldier

during the crucifixion
of Jesus Christ.

RICHARD SPENCE: The
origin of the spear comes from

the Gospel of John.

Jesus is on the cross,

the Romans are trying to
figure out whether he's dead,

because there's
a lot of pressure

to get him down and bury him.

There was a Roman soldier,
who someone told him,

"Stab this guy, finish him
off, make sure he's dead."

The Christian
tradition says the name

of this Roman soldier who
pierces Jesus is Longinus.

And there's a
story that develops,

that he's blind, or
he's nearsighted.

And so when he
pierces the side of Jesus,

the blood and the
water comes out,

that lands on his eyes,

and it makes him able to see.

It's this miracle

because, of course,
the blood of Christ

is this miraculous
sort of thing.

SHATNER: According
to Christian belief,

when this ordinary
spear touched Jesus,

it became a sacred relic,

and was referred to
as either the Holy Lance

or the Spear of Destiny.

ROY FISHER: For believers,

the Spear of Destiny

actually pierced Jesus' side

and came in contact
with his blood.

For them, this would
mean that it does,

in fact, have some
kind of divine power,

because you can't touch the holy

without being changed
or transformed.

Because this was the only weapon

that is said to have pierced

the body of Christ,

the legend got going

that if you had the
Spear of Destiny,

the-the Holy Lance,

you could not be stopped.

You were invincible.

And a whole series of leaders
wanted to get their hands on it,

perhaps believing God
would then be on their side,

and they would prevail.

SHATNER: After
Jesus' crucifixion,

one of the rulers who reportedly

came into possession
of the Spear of Destiny

was the eighth century
French King Charlemagne.

SPENCE: Charlemagne,
Charles the Great

carried the lance in 47
victorious campaigns.

And spread his control over
much of France and Germany,

all the way into what would
now be Slovakia and Hungary.

And so, Charlemagne, in 800,

on Christmas Day is
crowned by the Pope

as emperor of the West.

And there were a lot
of people who believed

that the Spear of Destiny
explained his success.

SHATNER: Is it possible
that the Spear of Destiny

actually gave
Charlemagne the power

to vanquish his enemies?

Perhaps.

But if so, then such power

apparently came
at a heavy price.

LYNN PICKNETT: Legend says
that if you drop the Spear of Destiny

or lose it, or even
really step back from it,

all of your great victories

are going to be as
nothing, you will just fall.

And that's what
happened, apparently,

when Charlemagne carried
it into battle and dropped it.

He lost that battle,

even though with it,
he'd won 47 battles.

SHATNER: Was the
Spear of Destiny responsible

for both the rise and
fall of Charlemagne?

Perhaps the answer can
be found by examining

the fate of two men
who possessed the spear

during the 20th century.

German troops march
into Vienna, Austria,

and take control
of the capital city.

Hitler orders his soldiers

to storm the royal
Hofburg Palace

and seize the Spear of Destiny.

SPENCE: The spear sort of
appears in the modern stage

in March of 1938,

when the Republic of Austria

is annexed to the German Reich.

The Republic of
Austria had acquired

the spear some centuries before.

And that spear is taken
from there and it is taken

back to Nuremberg
in Germany proper,

and there it
remained until 1945.

SHATNER: On April 30, 1945,

Allied forces,

under the command of U.S.
General George S. Patton,

captured the German
city of Nuremberg.

In the aftermath
of the fighting,

American soldiers discovered
the Spear of Destiny.

SPENCE: Patton himself

took possession of the spear.

He liked to imagine himself
being the reincarnation

of all kinds of previous
military leaders,

some of which might have had

the Spear of Destiny with them.

SHATNER: After Patton
acquired the Spear,

events transpired
which suggested

that the legends about this
sacred relic might be true.

PICKNETT: It is
said that, basically,

the day before, um,
Hitler shot himself,

the Americans found
the Spear of Destiny,

and General Patton took it,

and that's what set Hitler off.

And then Patton himself,

he put it back into
the Hofburg Museum,

and shortly after that,
he died in a car crash.

So, all of these things

look like, yeah, there's
something to this legend.

SHATNER: Today,
the Spear of Destiny

is on display at the
Hofburg Museum in Vienna,

where tourists can
view this historic object,

and wonder whether it really did

sway the fate of
nations for centuries

because of its
connection to Jesus Christ.

FISHER: Humans down through time

and across many cultures have

believed in the power of

the Spear of Destiny.

So, the persistence
of human belief

in its power should
make us pause

and reflect on what
role that might play

in these legends about

victories, defeats and miracles.

Is the Spear of Destiny
just a historical artifact

or could it really
be a divine weapon

that bestows unlimited power

to whomever takes
possession of it?

If so... (chuckles)

we can only hope that it never

falls into the wrong hands.

But incredibly,
that is not the only

sacred relic connected
to Jesus Christ.

There's another one
that many believe

has a different kind of power:

The gift of healing.

It's a linen cloth

known as the Shroud of Turin.

SHATNER: Inside the
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

the leader of the
Roman Catholic Church,

Pope Francis, prays before

a 14-foot-long,

ancient linen cloth.

The occasion attracts
media attention

because it is the first time

that the cloth has
been shown publicly

in over five years.

This Christian holy
relic is referred to

as the Shroud of Turin.

The Shroud of Turin
is this amazing relic.

At bottom, it's
a piece of cloth.

It shows a very faint sort
of image of a crucified man.

And the crucified man
calls us to remember

Jesus's death and resurrection.

BRIAN HYLAND: The Bible
talks about the burial cloths.

All four of the Gospels
mentioned that Jesus

was taken down from the cross,

he was wrapped in linen,

and then his body
was put in the tomb.

FISHER: According
to the legends,

the shroud is the cloth that
his dead body is wrapped in.

And because of the contact

with the body of Jesus,

that transforms and leaves

a lasting mark on the cloth.

And so, the shroud is believed

to be a holy relic because

you don't get much more holy

than the actual blood of Jesus.

HYLAND: After the resurrection,

the shroud completely
disappeared.

The first appearance
of the shroud

in the written record
is 1389 in France.

It was kept in the capital
of the Duchy of Savoy,

a place called Chamb�ry.

It had been moved
around from time to time.

But in 1578,

it was brought
from there to Turin.

And so it's a way for people

to be in the presence of Jesus.

SHATNER: The Shroud
of Turin has been venerated

by billions of
Christians for centuries.

For many people,

the best indication
of the shroud's

spiritual connection to Jesus

was revealed when
it was photographed

for the first time in 1898.

HYLAND: A man by
the name of Secondo Pia

took the first
photographs of the shroud.

And as he was developing
his glass plate negatives,

you see a very clear
image of the face,

and that's very, very unusual,

especially the
detail that's there.

The negative brought
out so much more detail

than is visible to the eye

when you look at the shroud.

When the photos
first became public,

there was a huge effect.

Some people

felt they were looking

at the actual face of Jesus.

COLLINS: From negative
image, Jesus comes alive,

and all the details

of the face can be seen properly

for the first time.

For you have the beard,

you have the hair,

you have the very long face.

It's like looking upon the icon

of Jesus.

SHATNER: While people all
over the world have been struck

by its stunning imprint

of the face of Jesus Christ,

not everyone's convinced

that the shroud is
a genuine holy relic.

Ever since the shroud first
really appears in history,

uh, there's been
controversy about it,

and there have been
questions about its authenticity.

In 1988, a group of scientists

were able to get permission
to get a sample from the shroud

and to subject it

to radiocarbon dating.

And then they announced,
with a 95% degree of certainty,

that the shroud was medieval.

ROBERT WILCOX: Suddenly,
there's this carbon 14 dating,

and they say that it
dates to the 13th century.

And, wow, that's
a tremendous blow

to everybody who thought
that the shroud might be real.

But then, as time went on,

experts began to look at it,

and it was finally determined

that the test was taken

from the very end of the shroud.

Not where the image is.

And it really turned
out to be a patch

that had been woven
by ancient weavers.

They weaved it back
together on that particular area.

When those guys came
out with their carbon 14

they tested the wrong piece.

Nobody's proved it a fake yet.

SHATNER: Despite the questions
about the shroud's credibility,

many Christians have
faith in its divine nature.

And as evidence, they
point to numerous accounts

of the shroud's
supposed healing powers.

Perhaps the most compelling case

is the story of the recovery
of a young British girl

named Josie Woollam in 1955.

HYLAND: Josie Woollam

was a young girl,
who at the age of five

developed a terrible
degenerative bone disease.

And after five years
of suffering this,

she, basically,

was approaching her final days.

Then Josie made a
pilgrimage to Turin,

and she actually had a chance
to put her hands on the shroud.

There was no immediate reaction,

no miracle cure on the spot.

But her health kept
improving and kept improving.

Eventually, she
actually got better.

HUSSAIN: The story of Josie
Woollam, it's extraordinary.

So, you've got this documented

miraculous healing
in the 20th century,

which, of course,
raises the question,

does the shroud cause a miracle

or is there
something else there?

That's what's really
fascinating about this.

It's incredible to think

that almost 2,000 years
after the death of Jesus,

we're still debating
the authenticity

of the Shroud of Turin.

Which is also the case

with the supposed bodily remains

of another important
spiritual figure.

It is a human tooth

kept in a temple in Sri Lanka

that some believe is a relic

of the Buddha himself.

SHATNER: Nestled on the
serene shores of a large lake

rests a sprawling
Buddhist temple called

the Temple of the Sacred Tooth.

It is known by this unusual name

because, inside the temple,

there is an elaborate
shrine which,

for more than 1,500 years,

has held one of
the most important

Buddhist relics in the world.

However, the relic cannot
be seen by the public

because it is encased
within seven gleaming caskets

made out of solid gold.

At the center of
those protective layers

is a human tooth that,
according to the faithful,

belonged to the Buddha himself.

The Buddha's tooth
is a sacred relic,

and it is venerated
three times a day

by Buddhists

on the island of Sri Lanka.

It is offered prayers

and worship morning,
noon and evening.

Praying to this tooth,

it's like being in the
presence directly

of the founder of your religion,

the historical Buddha.

Buddhism was founded
by Shakyamuni Buddha

who lived over 3,000 years ago.

He was a fully
enlightened being,

so he attained
perfect level of wisdom.

And his mission
was to teach others

how to end their suffering

and to continue his
teachings after he was gone.

STEAVU: Upon passing, the
relics that remained of the Buddha

were distributed
amongst his followers.

One of them made
its way to Sri Lanka

in the fourth
century, and this was

the Buddha's tooth.

Once a year, there is
a massive celebration,

the procession of the tooth.

And this is a
humongous festival.

There's music,

fire dances.

The Buddha's tooth

is carried on the back of
a very old noble elephant.

The pageantry is just
overwhelmingly beautiful

at this very large festival

that takes place once a year

in honor of the sacred tooth.

SHATNER: Although
most practicing Buddhists

are not allowed to
see the sacred tooth,

they genuinely believe
that it retains the life essence

of the Buddha himself.

In fact, some people claim

that being in the
presence of this tiny relic

is an extraordinary experience.

STEAVU: The sacred
tooth, it has the power,

allegedly, to heal anyone

who comes in contact with it.

There's the weekly
ritual in which it's bathed,

and the water is
then distributed

to people in order to cure
them of various illnesses.

JIE: Many people
have experienced

powerful energy,
a positive energy

from the Buddha's tooth.

It's a phenomenon that
inspires people's faith.

As Buddhists, we
believe that the Buddha

is still in the world.

SHATNER: The sacred tooth
that is kept in Sri Lanka is incredible,

but it is hardly the
only relic of its kind.

In fact, there are
reportedly more than

80,000 small fragments

of the Buddha's remains

that are kept in shrines
all over the world.

(chanting)

SHATNER: One of the biggest
collections of Buddha relics can be found

at the Wei Mountain Temple,

located in Rosemead, California

which houses some

10,000 relics of the Buddha.

JIE: At Wei Mountain Temple,

we have a finger
bone of the Buddha,

as well as a wrist bone

and a knee bone from the Buddha.

We make these relics
available for people

to benefit from being
in their presence.

SHATNER: Wei Mountain
Temple's collection

also includes a
tooth of the Buddha

that can be seen by the
public on special occasions,

and appears to possess

an extraordinary quality.

Because, even though the
Buddha died thousands of years ago,

this tooth is actually growing.

COLLINS: This tooth
is of immense size.

Today, it is over
three inches in length,

and allegedly, across
the past 3,000 years,

it's been growing, and it's
continuing to grow to this day.

Now, this in itself
is surely a miracle.

JIE: The tooth relic has been
growing since the time of the Buddha.

It's well known among
Buddhists that the relics

can multiply and grow.

These are not dead objects.
They are actually still living.

They are still part
of the Buddha's body.

SHATNER: According
to current measurements,

this Buddha's tooth is

more than twice the size

of a normal human tooth.

But what could be causing

this unusual growth?

Well, in 2012, a
group of scientists

conducted an experiment
to try and find out

whether mysterious
relics of the Buddha

have any unusual
characteristics.

STEAVU: This study
attempted to measure

the power of Buddha
relics on reality.

And so they placed
a vessel of water

next to some Buddha relics.

And, lo and behold,

the pH of the water
actually changed.

And it went up by 2.5 units,

which is significant.

Now, are these relics actually
imbued with sacred power?

This is a hard
question to answer.

But whether that's
a result of their faith,

or a result of the
actual sacred relic,

the effects are still there.

How can a tooth still be growing

centuries after the person it
belonged to has passed away?

Could it be because the tooth

retains the life essence

of the Buddha, as some believe?

Or is it just that we're
endlessly fascinated

by mysterious
objects from the past?

Like a 27-ton Aztec sculpture

covered in hieroglyphics,

believed to contain a prediction

about the end of the world.

SHATNER: At the
center of this capital city

stands the National
Museum of Anthropology.

Housed inside are more
than half a million artifacts,

some of which date
back 10,000 years.

The largest relic on display

is a massive, stone sculpture

that weighs 54,000 pounds,

or roughly as
much as a fire truck.

It is known as the
Aztec Sun Stone.

COLLINS: The Aztec Sun
Stone is arguably the most famous

of all of the relics

from the Aztec nation.

And the Sun Stone
is this massive

piece of olivine basalt stone,

which is three feet thick

and 12 feet in diameter.

Clearly, this
incredible-sized stone

was significant to these
people in some way.

SHATNER: The Aztec
nation was a vast empire

that ruled over what
is now Central Mexico

from the 15th to the
early 16th century.

Archaeologists
estimate that the Aztecs

carved the Sun Stone
in the early 1500s,

and that the statue
played a central role

in their sacred
worship practices.

According to one
incredible theory,

the ancient carvings
on the Aztec Sun Stone

may contain a dire warning

about the end of the world.

As you gaze upon the Sun Stone,

you realize that
it's broken into

various different facets.

And moving into the center,

you have a series of
wheels within wheels.

And this is because
the Aztecs believed

that four previous ages
had already taken place,

and that we, today,

exist within the fifth age,

and that this will
eventually come to an end...

when an eclipse takes place.

ED BARNHART: The very
center of the Aztec calendar stone

reminds the Aztecs

of the predicted end

of this current era.

But they never
actually specified

how long this fifth one will go.

So it is a dire warning.

The trouble is, we don't know
when that's going to happen.

SHATNER: Is this giant stone,

that was carved more
than 500 years ago,

really a warning

that we should be
mindful of today?

It appears that
only time will tell.

But this ancient artifact

continues to inspire
fascination and wonder

just like many other

sacred relics that are revered

all over the world.

FISHER: Most discussions

focus on the
historical authenticity

of holy relics.

"Is this actually the shroud?"

"Is this actually the spear?"

"Is this the real tooth?"

What I think these
conversations leave out

is maybe a more
fundamental question.

Is there power

behind deep, sustained

human belief?

This is a mystery that's worth

exploring as well.

Does the Aztec Sun Stone

predict the date
the world will end?

Can the Temple Menorah
unleash destruction

upon those not worthy
enough to possess it?

And what about the
Spear of Destiny?

Does it really contain the
power to conquer the world?

Well, it seems that the truth

behind these sacred relics

may ultimately
be a matter of faith.

And so, the mystery of
their supposed powers

will, in all likelihood,

remain unexplained.

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