Original subtitles

WILLIAM SHATNER: A mysterious Roman chalice

transformed by light.

A blazing inferno

wielded by ancient armies.

And a 2,000-year-old artifact

that may have generated electricity.

Today, we tend to think that modern society

stands at the pinnacle of technological ingenuity.

But is that entirely true?

The historical record has revealed

numerous ancient innovations

that were centuries ahead of their time,

including earthquake detectors, schematics for flying machines

and weapons of mass destruction.

Is it possible that our ancient ancestors

were far more advanced than we realize?

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

? ?

SHATNER: Within this modern city lie the ruins

of what was once the capital of the Roman Empire.

For centuries, Rome was the most sophisticated metropolis

in the ancient world.

And Roman engineers

also built breathtaking structures

throughout Europe and the Mediterranean,

many of which can still be seen today.

These engineering marvels

have endured the ravages of time for nearly 2,000 years,

and stand as magnificent monuments to Roman ingenuity.

The Romans were certainly

the most brilliant engineers of the ancient world.

When we think of Rome today, we think of the Colosseum,

we think of the aqueducts, we think of triumphal arches.

All of them are an emblem of Roman civilization.

They could discern effective technologies

and then exploit them to a much greater extent

than anyone ever imagined previously.

SHATNER: The engineering achievements

of ancient Rome are well known

and continue to capture people's imagination.

But is it possible that the Romans

were even more advanced than most of us realize?

And could they have possessed technology

that rivals our own?

The curator of the Gallo-Roman Museum

announces an extremely rare archaeological discovery.

Using a metal detector, a local hobbyist unearthed

a fragment of an ancient Roman artifact.

This tiny piece of bronze was once part

of a mysterious object known as a Roman dodecahedron.

STEPHEN BULL: Any discovery

of a Roman dodecahedron is remarkable and unusual,

because there's not many more than 100 known to exist.

Generally, a dodecahedron is a 12-sided item,

and the Roman dodecahedron

was about the size of a baseball and had 12 sides.

They were hollow inside and multifaceted,

with different balls or spikes around the outside of them,

which are very difficult to create

through molding or construction.

SUVEEN MATHAUDHU: Roman dodecahedrons have been found all over Europe,

and nobody knows for sure how they were made.

The craftsmanship that it would take

to make a bronze Roman dodecahedron

would have been very challenging

for a metal artisan to make at the time.

So, it could have been an example

of the skill of an artisan

to show, like, "Look what I can do,"

because it was very complex and bronze was not cheap.

SHATNER: Historians theorize

that Roman engineers may have fashioned dodecahedrons

using a sophisticated molding process.

But why did the Romans go to such lengths

to craft so many intricate and peculiar pieces of bronze?

What purpose could these strange dodecahedrons

have possibly served?

What's strange about them is that there is no record

of what they were used for.

And it's still quite a puzzle and a mystery to historians,

what function they actually served.

However, there's a number of uses that have been proposed,

from tools in astronomical calculations

to candleholders,

as well as implements in religious performances.

What they are has been disputed many times.

And I do veer towards the very practical explanation,

and that is that it was a sort of knitting device,

because if you put yarn

around the various protrusions on the dodecahedron,

you can create a sleeve

or a tube of knitted fabric.

In theory, that is something really practical

because some Roman garments are depicted with sleeves.

There is still a huge amount of mystery

around these very peculiar objects.

But one of the most popular theories

is that it had a more mystical function.

Perhaps it was used in divination

or sorcery or fortune-telling.

Some historians wonder whether these objects

were used for forbidden rituals.

Now, if these were indeed tools for the so-called dark arts,

this raises the question, is this part of the reason

why there are no records explaining

what this dodecahedron was used for?

SHATNER: Whether Roman dodecahedrons were used during rituals

or for more pragmatic purposes,

they remain a fascinating enigma,

and suggest that the Romans' craftsmanship

was far ahead of their time.

Not unlike another artifact from ancient Rome...

A one-of-a-kind chalice that features

extraordinary properties.

On a pedestal in the British Museum

sits an ornate and mystifying Roman artifact

that is known as the Lycurgus Cup.

KAROL WIGHT: The Lycurgus Cup

is an incredible work of ancient Roman art

that dates to the fourth and fifth centuries AD.

It's incredible because it's part of a rare body

of ancient glass vessels called cage cups.

Cage cups were manufactured by a master carver

who very carefully diagrammed

the design he wanted to cut into the glass

and then very carefully executed that cutting.

And then that piece of glass was connected to the inner wall

of the cup, which is why they're called cage cups.

And the Lycurgus Cup is one of these rare examples

that were very carefully made,

and only made in very small quantities.

SHATNER: According to historians,

the cup depicts a mythical ruler named Lycurgus,

and the artifact most likely belonged

to an Ancient Roman nobleman

who would have used the chalice to sip wine.

But what's most remarkable about the Lycurgus Cup

is what happens to it when light hits the glass.

WIGHT: The Lycurgus Cup

is made with a very special glass

that's called dichroic glass.

And what that means is that when light is bouncing off

the outside of the glass,

the color of the cup appears to be an olive green color.

But when the light is passing through the glass

from the interior through to the exterior,

the glass looks a reddish color.

The Lycurgus Cup is quite an intriguing artifact

because it's really one of a kind.

The fact that it has these very unique material properties

suggested it may have had

some kind of ritualistic or ceremonial function

and perhaps that interplay between light and color

may have added some mystique or intrigue

around these rituals that took place.

SHATNER: How did the ancient Romans

create a chalice with such mesmerizing optical properties?

It's a fascinating mystery. And in recent years,

experts have discovered that the key

to the Lycurgus Cup's unique effect

is actually invisible to the naked eye.

The secret to the optical behavior

of the Lycurgus Cup lies in the fact

that there was nanoparticles of silver and gold

embedded in the glass that changed the optical properties.

This was one of the earliest...

If not the earliest... examples of a nanocomposite material.

It's possible that the Romans

might have created this cup by accident.

That it might have been a contamination

at the site of where a glass cup was being made.

But it is also possible

that they knew about this technology of nanoparticles.

And this knowledge might have been employed

and used in the creation of this cup.

The history of the Lycurgus Cup is shrouded in mystery.

But the glass was created by these ancient craftspeople

and has survived to this day.

It's a Roman technology that has stood the test of time.

SHATNER: Does the Lycurgus Cup prove

that the Romans had a deeper understanding

of science and technology than we commonly think?

It's a fascinating possibility.

And perhaps further evidence of ancient sophistication

can be found by examining a devastating weapon of war

can be found by examining a devastating weapon of war

that was known as Greek fire.

SHATNER: For four long years, Arab forces have laid siege to

the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

But then the Byzantines risk a daring counterattack

and unleash a devastating inferno.

Streams of flame shoot out from Byzantine vessels,

lighting the water on fire

and incinerating the Arab ships.

This fearsome weapon would come to be known as Greek fire.

GILLAN: Greek fire was one of the most formidable weapons of its era.

Imagine your ship suddenly being engulfed in flames

that were almost impossible to extinguish.

Not only was there this immense physical danger

but there was also a massive psychological impact.

The loud roar of the flames... The sight of it,

the sound of it... Was really enough

to put terror into these Arab forces.

BULL: At sea, Greek fire was very useful

because if there's something a mariner really has a fear of,

it's being set light to on a ship.

Because there's nowhere to go.

And so, Greek fire had a terrifying aspect to it,

setting light to ships and burning people.

SHATNER: Throughout the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire

used Greek fire to strike fear into the hearts of fighting men.

But how did the Byzantines develop

such a powerful weapon of mass destruction?

RESSLER: Greek fire acquired its name

simply because the Byzantines spoke Greek.

It was quite mysterious because it was

very quickly established as a state secret

of the Byzantine Empire.

So we don't have a really good, clear idea of what

its constituents were or precisely how it operated.

But we do know that it was a very effective weapons system.

SHATNER: While the exact formula of Greek fire

may be lost to history,

experts have proposed several theories

regarding the composition of this fiery concoction.

RESSLER: Most scholars agree that the basic constituent materials

were probably naphtha, a naturally occurring

hydrocarbon, mixed with pine resin.

The naphtha provided the flammability

and the pine resin thickened the substance

and caused it to burn longer once it had been ignited.

The secret to Greek fire being used on water is probably

the addition of quicklime, which likely gave it

an explosive quality that allowed it to burn

and have much more damage on water.

In fact, the water played a role in perpetuating the reaction

and causing the burning to increase.

There is certainly speculation as to the different recipes

for Greek fire, but it would be very difficult to say

what the classic Greek fire actually is.

And nobody has actually recreated it

with perfect accuracy.

SHATNER: It seems that, just as the Byzantines intended,

the mystery of Greek fire may never be solved.

But there's another enigmatic weapon from antiquity

that experts can examine more closely

because its secrets are preserved in steel.

For eight long months, European Crusader Knights,

on a quest to conquer the Holy Land,

lay siege to this Middle Eastern city.

In the course of the bloody fighting,

the Crusaders encounter numerous Muslim warriors

who wield astonishing, razor-sharp swords

that are forged from steel that seems to be unbreakable.

The European invaders named these fearsome weapons

after a nearby city, and thus, the blades

became known as Damascus swords.

For the time, the properties of the Damascus blades

bordered on the edge of magic.

Damascus swords had extraordinary,

legendary performance because of their sharpness,

compared to some of the materials at the time.

They were ten times as hard on the edge.

They were also highly superplastic,

meaning that they could bend extremely and still

spring back into the original shape.

And this was something that was observed by the Crusaders.

They saw these blades that they claimed

could bend 90 degrees, that could

cut silk in half in the middle of the air.

For anyone who was in a fight against a Damascus blade,

the behavior of that sword would have been

mind-blowing to observe.

SHATNER: More than 500 years after the end of the Crusades,

the remarkable properties of Damascus swords

continue to inspire fascination and mystery.

What made these ancient blades

so exceptionally strong and flexible?

And how were they created?

Curiously, the answer can be found

not in the city of Damascus, but rather,

3,000 miles away, in India.

MATHAUDHU: In southern India,

they developed the steel that was used, eventually,

to make Damascus swords and blades.

The legends of Indian steel go back to ancient times.

Over time, via trade routes around the Arabian Sea,

the Indians were able to move those materials into Persia,

and that became the center of trade from which Indian steel

got distributed to the rest of the world.

SHATNER: It's fascinating to think that the legendary

Damascus swords trace their origins back to India.

But how did Indian craftsmen

create such incredible steel?

What did they know that the rest of the world didn't?

MATHAUDHU: One of the keys to making high-quality steel

is getting the material to be very hot,

typically thousands of degrees,

and that was very difficult in ancient times.

But in India, they had developed technologies

where they were able to use monsoon winds

to fuel these fires

and get them to very high temperatures.

SHATNER: The idea that the strength of Damascus swords

was forged in the intense flames of Indian fires is intriguing,

but it doesn't completely solve the mystery.

Because even with today's powerful furnaces,

experts still cannot precisely recreate Damascus swords.

And according to one theory, the secret may lie

in the raw material Indian craftsmen used

to fashion their steel.

Iron ores vary tremendously from place to place.

No two ores are exactly alike.

One theory is that there just happened to be an iron ore

with just the right chemical properties,

that happened to be available in India,

and this was the real basis for the very

high-quality steel that was produced from that material.

RESSLER: The reason that the secret to Damascus steel was lost

is that the ore sources ran out,

and so we can't know the individual elements

that were in those iron ores.

There is no way for us to go back in and recreate

the magic that they had done with those original swords.

While we may never know how ancient armies

created inextinguishable flames or unbreakable swords,

we do know that these extraordinary weapons

we do know that these extraordinary weapons

struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.

But not all ancient technology

was designed to be used in battle.

For instance, archaeologists

unearthed what appeared to be merely a small clay jar,

but it may have actually been

the world's first battery.

SHATNER: In the basement of the National Museum of Iraq,

the director of the museum, Wilhelm K�nig,

stumbles upon three small artifacts

that an archaeological team unearthed two years earlier.

He finds a five-inch-tall clay pot,

a copper cylinder and an iron rod.

K�nig dates the objects to roughly 2,000 years ago.

But what's more incredible

is that he theorizes that these seemingly unremarkable items

might have been designed to work together

to form an ancient piece of technology.

Two years later, K�nig publishes his autobiography

in which he announces his stunning claim to the world.

He argues that these three artifacts

may have actually been the world's first battery.

MICHAEL DENNIN: When you look at the Baghdad Battery,

it does have the key components of making a battery,

which is it has two metals of different properties.

Those are your positive and negative electrodes, and then

you need a material between them that allows for

the flow of charge to occur.

That could have been something as simple as

vinegar or wine or lemon juice.

And so it is completely reasonable,

with these components,

to presume that it might have been

a battery of some type.

SHATNER: Is it possible

that the so-called Baghdad Battery really was

an ancient source of electricity?

It's a fascinating theory,

and modern scientists have actually conducted tests

to find out whether it might be true.

In 1940, an American by the name of Willard Gray

who worked for

a General Electric high voltage laboratory

recreated the Baghdad Battery,

and he was able to produce about a one or two-volt charge.

This is incredibly low.

However, even at this low-level charge,

there are still potential uses for this object.

SHATNER: It's incredible that modern scientists have verified

that this ancient artifact

could have actually been a working battery.

But what's even more astounding

is that the Baghdad Battery is strikingly similar

to the first modern battery that was invented

in the 19th century.

GILLAN: In 1800, the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta developed

the first modern battery, which we call the voltaic pile.

This was a groundbreaking innovation because it was

apparently the first time that electricity could be

produced and stored chemically.

The voltaic pile consisted of alternating layers

of copper and zinc with cardboard soaked

in salt water in between each layer,

which is actually remarkably similar

to the materials used for the Baghdad Battery.

So the idea that an object

that could have a similar function as a battery

existed 2,000 years ago is astounding.

And what it really shows us

is that if it were indeed a battery,

ancient civilizations were far ahead of their time.

SHATNER: If the Baghdad Battery was in fact a genuine piece

of ancient technology,

then it naturally begs the question:

what was it used for?

DENNIN: One proposed use

for the Baghdad Battery is electroplating.

Whether it's silver or gold or other metals,

onto jewelry.

It's definitely a possible use of it,

but this would have depended on exactly

what electrolyte was used,

how it was connected to the metal

to cause the electroplating.

So it's not an unreasonable assumption,

but it would have taken a little special engineering

around the battery itself to achieve that.

GILLAN: Another theory suggests that the Baghdad Battery

was actually used as a form of protection

for sacred statues of the gods

so that if anyone dared to touch one of these sacred statues,

they would have received a mild electric shock

from the Baghdad Battery.

Another theory is

that the Baghdad Battery was actually used

for medicinal purposes

as a form of mild electrotherapy.

The Romans and Greeks were actually using electric fish

to create a form of pain relief.

The ancient Egyptians also used electric Nile catfish

for treating certain nerve disorders in people

and also for pain relief.

So it's not unheard of to consider

that the Baghdad Battery could have been used

for similar purposes.

SHATNER: While it's fun to speculate about how the Baghdad Battery

may have been used in ancient times,

we may never unravel the mystery of this curious artifact.

Because, unfortunately, it has once again been lost to history.

GILLAN: In 2003, the National Museum of Iraq was tragically ransacked

in the chaotic aftermath

of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

The museum became a target for looters.

Among the relics and precious artifacts

that were stolen was the Baghdad Battery.

There's a lot more research we could do

to discover exactly how it worked

but we no longer have that opportunity.

COLLINS: Skeptics today obviously dismiss the idea

that the Baghdad Battery was indeed a battery.

However, the one thing we know

is that the Baghdad Battery works.

It has been replicated

again and again,

and people have shown

how it does generate current.

And we have to accept

that the ancients had a technology

which we only rediscovered in more modern times.

It's fascinating to think that,

when it comes to harnessing electricity,

ancient people may not have been completely in the dark.

And there's another remarkable invention from the past

that also resembles technology we have today.

This ingenious device,

which was created nearly 2,000 years ago,

could detect the tremors of earthquakes

from hundreds of miles away.

SHATNER: Earthquakes... they are perhaps

the most terrifying of natural disasters.

Even today, with modern technology,

we struggle to predict when or where

an earthquake will strike.

But once these forces of nature are unleashed,

experts can measure their power using sensitive instruments

called seismoscopes and seismometers.

CHARLES ADLER: When an earthquake occurs, essentially, sound waves

travel through the ground

from the epicenter of the earthquake

and they rock the ground back and forth.

Modern seismometers are built to pick up on that.

And that's, in fact, how we can detect earthquakes.

SHATNER: Measuring earthquakes immediately after they start

allows quicker evacuation and rescue efforts

and is certainly useful in our modern world.

But what if a technology

with the ability to detect Earthquakes existed

not just in modern times

but 2,000 years ago?

The Han Dynasty is a sprawling empire

that covers Ancient China and parts of Vietnam and Korea.

One day, Zhang Heng, chief astronomer to the emperor,

introduces a mysterious instrument to court.

He claims his device can detect earthquakes...

Events considered by the ancient Chinese

to be important signs from heaven.

Zhang Heng was an exceptional figure in Chinese history.

He could be described as a Renaissance man

that was centuries ahead of his time.

Zhang Heng developed one of the earliest instruments

to measure movements in the earth.

This seismoscope could be used to detect

certain natural phenomena, including earthquakes.

SHATNER: Unfortunately, Zhang Heng's original seismoscope,

which was a precursor to modern seismometers,

has been lost to time.

However, based on ancient descriptions

of its general appearance,

historians have created models of the device

that are on display in museums throughout China.

ADLER: In shape, it was a huge urn

which had eight dragons

corresponding to different directions around the rim,

with their faces turned down

looking at large toads which had their mouths open,

and when an earthquake would occur,

the dragon facing in the direction of the earthquake

would eject a ball from its mouth,

which would then fall into the mouth of the toad.

There's an account of it in the Book of the Later Han,

and it describes how the seismoscope was

triggered one day.

No one at the court believed that it actually worked.

But then, a few days later,

a messenger came from about 400 miles away

reporting that there had been a massive earthquake.

And everyone at court was forced to admit

that this seismoscope could detect earthquakes

hundreds and hundreds of miles away.

GILLAN: This was an incredibly important piece of technology

because time was people's lives

when it came to natural disasters.

It allowed help to be sent straightaway

to the affected region

rather than having to wait days for the message to reach them.

STEAVU: This seismoscope was a technological marvel.

In the rest of the world, seismoscopes were not in use

and they were developed in Europe

only in the 17 or 1800s.

So Zhang Heng was numerous centuries ahead of his time.

SHATNER: Zhang Heng was clearly a scientific genius.

But how was he able to build such a remarkable device

centuries before anyone else?

And how did his extraordinary seismoscope work?

GILLAN: We don't actually know exactly how it functioned.

There are historical descriptions

explaining what it looked like,

the general components of it,

but in terms of the nitty-gritty functioning

of this ancient piece of technology it's still unknown.

SHATNER: Because both the seismoscope

and detailed specifications of its inner workings

no longer exist,

experts can only speculate

as to how Zhang Heng's device may have detected earthquakes.

STEAVU: It's been proposed, hypothetically,

that within the urn was a pendulum

which rested on a bronze ball.

When a seismic wave would come, the pendulum would move

in the same direction as the seismic wave,

and the bronze ball would move

in the opposite direction of the seismic wave,

and it would trigger a dragon head

to release a ball that it was holding in its jaws.

However, ultimately, the inner mechanisms

and function of the seismoscope remain a mystery.

SHATNER: The mystery of how this odd device detected earthquakes

in ancient times is fascinating.

And almost two full millennia later,

a team of Chinese scientists set out to finally prove

how the seismoscope could have worked.

In 2005, a team of scientists in China

recreated the seismoscope successfully,

and the device functioned as described in the sources.

It had a very high sensitivity

and was able to detect simulated earthquakes

from about four to 500 miles away.

Not only was it able to detect the simulated earthquakes,

it could also identify accurately the direction

in which they came from.

So from this, they could conclude

that this seismoscope was incredibly refined

and advanced for the era in which it was created.

The Chinese seismometer

was clearly centuries ahead of its time,

was clearly centuries ahead of its time,

and it's not the only instance of ancient people

designing technology that mirrors our own.

In fact, there was one Renaissance man

who foresaw a future filled with flying machines

nearly 400 years before they existed.

SHATNER: In the heart of the city stands the Louvre,

one of the most renowned museums in the world.

Of the hundreds of thousands of artworks contained

in its prestigious galleries,

the biggest attraction is the Mona Lisa,

which draws roughly ten million visitors every year.

The Mona Lisa is one of the many important paintings created

by celebrated Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci.

But curiously, da Vinci was much more than just a painter.

He was also a pioneer

who envisioned futuristic technologies.

RESSLER: Leonardo da Vinci

is widely regarded

as the quintessential Renaissance man

because he did it all.

He was an artist,

he was a gifted engineer

and he was also a great craftsman.

So, he had a wide array of skills

combined with a brilliant mind.

When we think of da Vinci,

we often think about his sketches

of amazing machines, and he compiled

this vast collection of sketches in his notebooks.

He was designing fortifications,

port facilities, canals,

catapults and tanks.

These sketches would be completely at home

in the notebook of an engineering student today.

BULL: Leonardo certainly had

an amazing imagination.

But one has to say that Leonardo's ideas

were too advanced for his time,

in the sense that he was stymied

by the lack of the right materials in the period.

However, the fact that very few of the things

Leonardo depicted actually were done

shouldn't really blind us to his genius.

SHATNER: While most of da Vinci's concepts

were too advanced to be built in the 15th century,

incredibly, some traces of his actual achievements

can be seen today.

Near Florence, a canal system

designed by da Vinci has been preserved,

and a military stronghold

he constructed in Switzerland still stands.

But of all the futuristic machines

envisioned by Leonardo da Vinci,

his most famous designs were in pursuit of his dream of flight.

For decades, modern historians have wondered,

did Da Vinci actually discover

the secret to soaring through the sky

centuries before the invention of the airplane?

Leonardo's understanding of flight was

certainly a lot deeper than many of his contemporaries.

He was one of the first people to study actual bird motion

to try to figure out how birds flew under their own power.

If you look at Leonardo's flying machines,

the first machines that he envisions in his notebooks

are, in fact, ornithopter designs, very much like birds,

where they flap their wings to generate the lift for flying.

And then he progressed on to designs

which were much more like gliders.

DENNIN: One of the really fascinating things

about da Vinci's efforts is he was very creative in thinking

about how humans might spin things or turn things.

One of the designs he had was an aerial screw.

And it's a particular structure like a propellor,

to provide lift and have something fly.

SHATNER: Leonardo Da Vinci's principle

of a single screw turning a propellor

to create lift is strikingly similar

to the mechanics behind the modern helicopter.

And over the years, engineers have been inspired

to bring da Vinci's visionary designs to life

through real-world experimentation.

MATTHEW LANDRUS: In 1976,

the Gossamer Condor was flown,

and it was he first human-powered flying machine

with one person operating

this propeller-driven glider, essentially.

It was the first attempt

at what Leonardo was trying to make.

ADLER: A crew at the University of Maryland

used Leonardo's design for the aerial screw.

The quadcopter design worked.

The air screws actually did provide enough lift

to lift the quadcopter up.

And so, there is some promise for a design like that.

So, Leonardo even today does inspire people in their designs.

SHATNER: How did Leonardo da Vinci

create technical designs that remain relevant

more than 500 years after his death?

We may never fully understand the depths

of his extraordinary genius,

but incredibly, there are those who believe

that an ancient civilization,

that an ancient civilization,

located in Mexico

might have actually invented rocket propulsion.

SHATNER: A heavy rainstorm inundates the ruins

of this ancient metropolis

located northeast of Mexico City.

Once the weather clears, archaeologist Sergio G�mez

discovers a mysterious sinkhole at the foot of a large pyramid

known as the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.

COLLINS: What this almighty storm did

was to reveal the entrance

into an underground tunnel

that went for around a hundred meters

directly beneath the pyramid.

A group of around 30 experts,

headed by G�mez, started to clear out these tunnels.

They came to these chambers

that were full of hundreds of yellow spheres.

And these were made out of clay,

and this yellow substance around them

was an oxidized form of pyrite,

so they would have shone in the light.

DAVID WALTON: Those yellow spheres

are all along the ceiling

and all along the walls of this tunnel.

If you have a torch, that torchlight

reflects off of the ceiling.

It looks like the stars in the sky.

And it's just incredible.

SHATNER: Archaeologists have also discovered

other puzzling artifacts at Teotihuacan,

including large quantities of liquid mercury

and sheets of mica crystals.

What's surprising is that these materials

are all used in modern technology.

So what are they doing in an ancient metropolis

that is more than 2,000 years old?

GILLAN: Because, for example, mercury is actually used

as a rocket propellant,

this has led many to suggest that their discovery

may provide evidence for some form of ancient technology,

perhaps used in propulsion or in energy creation.

This is very speculative, but if it were, in fact, true,

we would have to rethink everything we know

about ancient technology.

SHATNER: Is the presence of sophisticated materials

at Teotihuacan just a coincidence?

Or is it really possible that ancient people

invented an early form of rocket fuel?

Ultimately, it's hard to say,

because we still have much more to learn

about the technology of the ancient world.

COLLINS: Teotihuacan is one of the most sophisticated,

technologically advanced ancient sites in the world.

But the big mystery is we don't know who built Teotihuacan,

and how the ancients had this knowledge.

This is something that happens again and again.

We invent something

and instead of preserving the plans

or the technique, it's lost.

GILLAN: There is still a great deal of mystery

about ancient technology.

Whole histories of ancient cultures have been lost.

There's a lot more research we still could do

to discover forms of ancient technology

that may have been lost to time.

From enigmatic gold spheres

to incredibly powerful weapons

to devices that warn of impending disasters,

many ancient pieces of technology are fascinating

and challenge our understanding of history.

If we unlock the secrets of innovations from the past,

could that play a key role in developing

the technology of tomorrow?

It's an intriguing possibility,

but for now, the mysterious inventions of the ancients

will remain unexplained.

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