Original subtitles

Narrator: THEY'RE WATCHING YOU.

MORE THAN 4,000 SATELLITES CIRCLE THE EARTH.

EVERY DAY, THEY UNCOVER NEW, MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA

THAT DEFY EXPLANATION.

[ BEEPING, DISTORTED MUSIC ]

DISCOVERED FROM THE SKIES,

THE LOST FUGITIVES OF THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP.

Hunt: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHOLE COMMUNITIES

LIVING FOR GENERATIONS

IN THIS WILDLY INHOSPITABLE PLACE.

Narrator: THE HUNT FROM SPACE

FOR THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE.

SOME PEOPLE SUGGEST THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY

THE INSPIRATION FOR KING ARTHUR.

Narrator: AND THE TOWN THAT NEVER WAS.

WHAT CAN MAKE A TOWN JUST DISAPPEAR?

Narrator: BAFFLING PHENOMENA.

MYSTERIES FROM SPACE.

WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY?

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

[ WHIRRING ] [ BEEPING ]

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

[ BEEPING CONTINUES ]

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ] [ WHIRRING ]

**

[ BEEPS ]

SEPTEMBER 2019.

A NASA SATELLITE SCANS THE BORDER

BETWEEN THE STATES OF VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA.

Hunt: LOOKING AT THIS IMAGE, THERE IS A LOT OF FARMLAND.

BUT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE,

THERE'S A VERY LARGE SORT OF RECTANGULAR BLOCK.

Bellinger: IT'S JUST LIKE A HOLE,

THERE'S NOTHING THERE.

IT LOOKS VERY FOREBODING.

**

Narrator: NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT HAYLEY CHAMBERLAIN

RECOGNIZES THE OMINOUS FEATURE.

Chamberlain: WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IN THIS IMAGE

IS A PLACE CALLED THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP.

Narrator: THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP IS A HUMID, FETID MIRE

COVERING 750 SQUARE MILES.

THE DISMAL SWAMP IS A GREAT NAME FOR THIS PLACE

BECAUSE AROUND EVERY CORNER

THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S POISONOUS, VENOMOUS,

OR HAS BIG ENOUGH TEETH TO END YOU.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS,

THIS HOSTILE WILDERNESS IS THE SITE OF

ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY MYSTERIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

[ WILDLIFE CHIRPING ]

WE HAVE TANTALIZING BITS OF EVIDENCE THAT ENSLAVED PEOPLE

MADE THEIR WAY TO THE SWAMP AND LIVED THERE.

Narrator: THE ACCOUNTS DESCRIBE HOW

FROM THE MID-17th CENTURY ONWARDS,

GROUPS OF DESPERATE RUNAWAYS, KNOWN AS MAROONS,

ESCAPE INTO THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP,

NEVER TO EMERGE.

Hunt: WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT SURVIVAL HERE,

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIVING FOR GENERATIONS

IN THIS WILDLY INHOSPITABLE PLACE.

[ CRICKETS CHIRP ]

Narrator: YET PHYSICAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THESE TALES

HAS REMAINED ELUSIVE,

LEADING TO MANY HISTORIANS DISMISSING THEM AS FOLKLORE.

**

RIGHT HERE?

Sayers: ABOUT HERE.

TODAY, DAN SAYERS AND BECCA PEIXOTTO

ARE PREPARING TO VENTURE DEEP INTO THE SWAMP.

YOU READY? READY.

OKAY. LET'S GO.

**

THE ARCHEOLOGISTS ARE ON THE HUNT FOR RELICS

OF THE SWAMP'S LOST MAROON COMMUNITIES,

AND THEY'RE TURNING TO LiDAR AERIAL TECHNOLOGY

TO HELP THEM IN THEIR QUEST.

LiDAR IS PULSES OF LIGHT THAT ENABLE US

TO ESSENTIALLY SEE THROUGH THE TREES

AND SEE WHAT THE LANDSCAPE OF THE SWAMP

LOOKS LIKE IN A WHOLE NEW WAY.

AS IT SCANS THE TREE CANOPY, THE LiDAR CAMERA REVEALS

A SERIES OF STRANGE SHAPES.

**

TO REACH THEM,

SAYERS AND PEIXOTTO MUST WAVE NORTHWARDS

DEEP INTO THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP'S

VAST INTERIOR.

**

WHEN STORIES OF FUGITIVES

ESCAPING INTO THESE MARSHLANDS FIRST EMERGE,

THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP IS THREE TIMES THE SIZE IT IS TODAY.

AN ALMOST IMPENETRABLE 2,000-SQUARE MILE QUAGMIRE

THICK WITH PANTHERS, BEARS, AND VENOMOUS SNAKES.

**

ITS STAGNANT WATERS ARE ALIVE WITH INTESTINAL PARASITES

AND A BREEDING GROUND FOR MALARIA.

Bellinger: IT'S ONE THING TO THINK ABOUT SOMEBODY ESCAPING

OUT OF DESPERATION INTO THE SWAMP

AND HIDING THERE,

IT'S ANOTHER THING ALTOGETHER TO TRY TO WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND

HOW THEY COULD HAVE ACTUALLY MADE A HOME IN THIS PLACE.

IF YOU COULD GO THIS WAY A BIT IN THE WATER.

Sayers: OH. AND THEN TURN LEFT.

Narrator: AS SAYERS AND PEIXOTTO

APPROACH THE SHAPES REVEALED IN THE IMAGE,

THE TERRAIN BEGINS TO CHANGE.

YOU CAN SEE THEIR EYES THERE.

LOOK AT THAT. THAT IS DRY GROUND RIGHT THERE.

THE LiDAR DATA HAS UNCOVERED A VITAL CLUE

TO THE FUGITIVES' FATE.

IT REVEALS THAT THERE WERE AREAS OF DRY LAND

IN THE MIDST OF THIS VERY INHOSPITABLE SWAMP.

THIS IS A HUGE REVELATION.

THAT COULD ACTUALLY BE WHERE THESE ESCAPED SLAVES SETTLED.

Narrator: THE ISLANDS REVEALED FROM THE SKIES ARE SHIELDED

FROM POTENTIAL PURSUERS

BY MANY MILES OF DEEP, PUTRID WATER

AND DENSE VEGETATION.

I CAN SEE DOZENS OF PEOPLE OR MORE CERTAINLY LIVING IN THIS

AT ONE TIME, MAYBE EVEN HUNDREDS.

**

Narrator: YET AS SAYERS AND PEIXOTTO EXPLORE THE ISLAND,

THEY FIND NO EVIDENCE OF ANY SETTLEMENTS.

**

SO THEY BRING IN A TEAM TO UNDERTAKE A FORENSIC SEARCH

OF THE LANDSCAPE.

INCREDIBLY, WHEN THEY SCRATCH BENEATH THE SURFACE,

THEY FIND BUILDINGS,

THEY FIND WATER COLLECTION SYSTEMS,

PIECES OF POTTERY JARS.

WHAT IT REVEALED WAS

THAT MAROONS WERE LIVING FULL LIVES HERE

RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SWAMP.

Sayers: PRETTY MUCH AS ANYWHERE WE PUT A SHOVEL IN THE GROUND,

WE'RE FINDING SOME KIND OF EVIDENCE

THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE LIVED HERE.

Narrator: BETWEEN THE YEARS 1619 AND 1860,

THE AMERICAN SLAVE POPULATION

GROWS FROM 20 TO ALMOST 4 MILLION.

THE SCALE OF THE SETTLEMENTS DISCOVERED HERE

SUGGESTS THAT DURING THIS TIME,

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FLED INTO THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP

AND MADE THEIR HOME THERE.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR WHOLE LIVES,

THEY CAN HAVE CONTROL.

THEY UNDERSTOOD THE SWAMP IS THE BARRIER THAT PROTECTS THEM

FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND KEEPS THEM SAFE.

Narrator: AS THEIR NUMBERS SWELLED,

EMBOLDENED MAROONS SECRETLY WORK FOR LOCAL MERCHANTS,

INCLUDING A YOUNG GEORGE WASHINGTON

WHO HAD BEGUN TO ACCESS THE SWAMP'S TIMBER RESERVES.

Paul: WHAT'S AMAZING IS THAT THEY'RE NOT JUST ABLE

TO HANG ON TO THEIR FREEDOM,

BUT EARN A LIVING WHILE DOING IT.

Narrator: FOLLOWING THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY,

THE MAROONS FINALLY EMERGED FROM THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP

AS FREE PEOPLE.

EVIDENCE OF THEIR WORLD WAS QUICKLY SWALLOWED BY NATURE.

BUT THANKS TO ARCHEOLOGISTS USING AERIAL IMAGING,

THEIR HEROIC STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM HAS BEEN REMEMBERED.

Sayers: WHAT WE SEE IN THE STORY OF MAROONS

IS PEOPLE IN VERY ADVERSE CONDITIONS

TAKING CONTROL OF THEIR LIVES, THEIR FAMILIES,

AND IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ BEEPS ]

Narrator: THE AGE OF SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE HAS PROVIDED US

WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY NEW PERSPECTIVE ON OUR PLANET,

REVEALING BIZARRE PHENOMENA WHICH ARE OFTEN HARD TO EXPLAIN.

BUT SOMETIMES THE BIGGEST MYSTERIES

AREN'T WHAT YOU CAN SEE FROM SPACE, BUT WHAT YOU CAN'T.

THIS IS REALLY STRANGE IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS MAP,

THERE'S A TOWN CALLED AGLOE HERE,

BUT WHEN I LOOK AT THE SATELLITE IMAGE,

THERE'S NOTHING THERE.

ACCORDING TO THE SATELLITE IMAGES,

AGLOE HAS JUST VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE.

WHAT COULD MAKE AN ENTIRE TOWN JUST DISAPPEAR?

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP --

WHAT'S MESSING WITH NEVADA'S WEATHER?

THERE'S ONLY ONE THING THAT I KNOW IT COULD BE,

AND THAT'S A BIOLOGICAL SIGNAL.

Narrator: AND SOMETHING WEIRD IN THE WATERS OFF SCOTLAND.

THAT'S SO STRANGE,

IT'S LIKE TEETH COMING OUT OF THE OCEAN.

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: A SATELLITE PASSING OVER UPSTATE NEW YORK

HAS UNCOVERED A MYSTERY.

ON THE MAP,

THERE'S THE TOWN OF AGLOE,

BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SATELLITE IMAGES,

IT'S NOT THERE.

WHAT CAN MAKE A TOWN JUST DISAPPEAR?

Narrator: ROB NELSON KNOWS OF ANOTHER URBAN VANISHING ACT

THAT COULD SHED LIGHT ON AGLOE'S FATE.

THERE ARE FEW INSTANCES WHEN AN ENTIRE TOWN

IS COMPLETELY ERASED OFF OF THE MAP,

ONE OF THOSE IS TIMES BEACH, MISSOURI.

[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

Narrator: THE STORY OF TIMES BEACH BEGINS IN 1925

WHEN, AS PART OF A PROMOTION,

A LOCAL PAPER OFFERS CHEAP PLOTS OF LAND FOR SALE

ALONG MISSOURI'S MERAMEC RIVER.

ORIGINALLY, THE TOWN STARTED AS A BUNCH OF VACATION HOMES

OUT IN THE COUNTRY,

BUT THEN A THRIVING COMMUNITY DEVELOPS.

Narrator: YET BY THE 1970s,

THE ONCE PROSPEROUS TOWN HAS RUN OUT OF MONEY

AND CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO MAINTAIN ITS ROADS.

Fanara: ESPECIALLY IN THE SUMMER,

THE ROADS GOT REALLY DUSTY.

DUST IS KICKED UP,

SPREADS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY,

AND IT REALLY BECAME A PROBLEM.

Narrator: TO STOP TIMES BEACH FROM DROWNING IN DIRT,

IN 1972, TOWN OFFICIALS HATCHED A PLAN.

SO THEY HAVE THIS BRILLIANT IDEA,

JUST COVER THE ROAD IN WASTE OIL WITH THE IDEA

THAT THE OIL WILL STICK TO THE DIRT AND DUST

AND CREATE, LIKE, KIND OF A CHEAP ASPHALT.

WHAT THE TOWN DIDN'T KNOW

IS THAT THE OIL BEING SPRAYED IS MIXED WITH CHEMICAL WASTE.

Narrator: UNBEKNOWN TO THE ROAD SPRAYERS,

THE TANKS USED TO STORE THE OIL ONCE HELD

AND ARE STILL CONTAMINATED WITH DIOXIN.

IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF DIOXIN, THINK AGENT ORANGE.

IT'S HIGHLY TOXIC, AND IT'S HIGHLY CARCINOGENIC.

Narrator: SINCE IT WAS FIRST USED IN VIETNAM,

AGENT ORANGE HAS KILLED OR MAIMED OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE,

AND ITS MOST TOXIC INGREDIENT IS BEING SPRAYED

OVER THE ROADS OF AN UNSUSPECTING TOWN.

Carter: ANIMALS ARE DYING,

PEOPLE ARE BECOMING TERRIBLY ILL,

THE HOSPITALS ARE FILLING UP.

BASICALLY THE COMMUNITY IS LIVING A NIGHTMARE.

Nelson: THE EPA COMES IN,

THEY FIND LEVELS OF DIOXIN THAT ARE OFF THE CHART,

SO THEY BUY THE LAND, EVERYBODY LEAVES.

Narrator: FOLLOWING THE RESIDENTS' EVACUATION IN 1983,

THE EPA RAZES TIMES BEACH TO THE GROUND

AND REMOVES THOUSANDS OF TONS OF CONTAMINATED SOIL.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE,

SOME TERRIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

THAT WIPED AGLOE OFF THE MAP?

Narrator: YET STUDIES OF HISTORIC IMAGES

AND LOCAL LAND RECORDS SUGGEST THIS ISN'T THE CASE.

THIS IS REALLY WEIRD, NO MATTER HOW FAR BACK YOU GO,

THERE'S NOTHING AT THIS SITE.

THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF AGLOE EXISTING OTHER THAN ON THE MAP.

Narrator: ANALYSTS DISCOVER AN UNEXPECTED REFERENCE TO THE TOWN

IN MID-20th CENTURY COURT DOCUMENTS

RELATING TO A MAPMAKING MOGUL CALLED OTTO LINDBERG.

OTTO LINDBERG IS BASICALLY THE KING OF ROAD MAPS

ON THE EAST COAST.

Narrator: LINDBERG'S EMPIRE IS BUILT ON THE SUCCESS

OF THE WORLD'S FIRST TRULY MASS-PRODUCED VEHICLE,

THE MODEL T FORD.

Ruben: ROAD MAPS SUDDENLY BECAME VERY IMPORTANT

IN THE 1920s AND 30s

BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE HAD CARS.

BEFORE THEN, YOU COULD LIVE MOST OF YOUR LIFE

WITHOUT VENTURING BEYOND A SMALL AREA.

Narrator: BY THE 1930s, LINDBERG'S FIRM,

THE GENERAL DRAFTING COMPANY,

IS PRINTING 20 MILLION MAPS PER YEAR

AND UNDER MASSIVE FINANCIAL PRESSURE

TO PROTECT ITS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FROM COMPETITORS.

TO KEEP RIVALS FROM PLAGIARIZING THEIR MAPS,

CARTOGRAPHERS WOULD USE SOMETHING CALLED A PAPER TOWN.

THESE ARE FAKE TOWNS AND STREETS THAT A CARTOGRAPHER

WILL JUST MAKE UP AND PUT ON THEIR MAP

ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROTECTING THEIR COPYRIGHT.

THEY GENERALLY PUT THESE PAPER TOWNS

IN REALLY REMOTE PLACES

SO THAT IF YOU COULD FIND ONE OF THESE TOWNS ON A RIVAL'S MAP,

IT PROVED THAT THEY STOLE YOUR WORK.

THE COURT DOCUMENTS REVEAL THAT THE GENERAL DRAFTING COMPANY

MADE UP THE TOWN OF AGLOE IS ONE OF THESE COPYRIGHT TRAPS.

SOON, THE RUSE APPEARS TO PAY OFF.

Ruben: A COUPLE YEARS LATER,

RAND McNALLY ISSUES THEIR MAP OF NEW YORK STATE,

AND GUESS WHAT'S RIGHT IN THE SAME PLACE?

THE TOWN OF AGLOE.

Narrator: YET WHEN GENERAL DRAFTING TRIES

TO SUE RAND McNALLY FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT,

THE STORY TAKES ANOTHER STRANGE TWIST.

RAND McNALLY'S LAWYERS ARGUED THAT WHEN THEY WENT TO THE TOWN,

THEY FOUND A PLACE CALLED THE AGLOE GENERAL STORE.

THE OWNERS OF THE STORE REVEALED THAT THEY HAD SEEN

THE NAME AGLOE ON THE MAP

AND ASSUMED IT MUST BE THE NAME OF THE PLACE,

SO THEY NAMED THEIR STORE THE AGLOE GENERAL STORE.

Narrator: CAUGHT IN THEIR OWN COPYRIGHT TRAP,

THE JUDGE RULES THAT AGLOE LEGALLY EXISTS

AND THROWS GENERAL DRAFTING'S CASE OUT OF COURT.

SO THE TOWN OF AGLOE HAS HAD QUITE A JOURNEY,

IT WENT FROM BEING A FAKE TOWN TO BEING A REAL TOWN

TO BEING A FAKE TOWN AGAIN.

Narrator: WHEN THESE OLD MAPS ARE DIGITIZED,

MOST PAPER TOWNS ARE ERASED FROM HISTORY.

BUT AGLOE REMAINED, INVISIBLE FROM SPACE.

IT MAKES ME SUSPICIOUS OF OTHER PLACES ON THE MAP.

I DON'T THINK DELAWARE REALLY EXISTS,

AND I GREW UP THERE.

[ WHIRRING ] [ BEEPS ]

Narrator: COMING UP --

THE $30 BILLION FISH WARS...

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS INDICATE THAT MANY OF THE FISHING VESSELS

ARE SERVING AS A KIND OF MARITIME MILITIA.

Narrator: ...AND A MYSTERY IN SIN CITY.

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE SKIES OVER LAS VEGAS

THAT'S BEING PICKED UP BY THE RADAR, BUT WHAT IS IT?

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ BEEPS ] [ WHIRS ]

Narrator: SPY SATELLITES SCAN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA,

A 1.5 MILLION-SQUARE MILE PATCH OF OCEAN

THAT IS OF INTENSE INTEREST TO MILITARY ANALYSTS.

THE SOUTH CHINA SEA IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST

STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE WORLD.

IT'S A LARGE REPOSITORY FOR LOTS OF NATURAL RESOURCES

THAT COMPETITORS IN THE REGION WANT TO GET AHOLD OF.

Narrator: THE BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THESE WATERS

HAS LONG BEEN DOMINATED BY CHINA,

WHICH HAS CONSTRUCTED A SO-CALLED GREAT WALL OF SAND

AMONG THE REEFS,

ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS BRISTLING WITH MILITARY HARDWARE.

CHINA IS GOING FOR THE CLASSIC TAKE-IT-BY-OCCUPATION STRATEGY,

AND IT'S HARD TO ARGUE THAT THEY DON'T OWN SOMETHING

WHEN THEY HAVE A HUGE MILITARY OUTPOST THERE.

[ WHIRS ]

Narrator: ON FEBRUARY 28, 2019,

A SATELLITE UNCOVERS UNUSUAL ACTIVITY ON LADD REEF,

A TERRITORY CLAIMED BY CHINA'S MAIN MILITARY COMPETITOR

IN THE REGION,

VIETNAM.

Carter: WHAT YOU HAVE IS A LOT OF STRANGE BOATS

IN THIS CORRIDOR ALONG THE WATERWAY.

Kays: ZOOMING IN ON THE BOATS,

YOU CAN SEE THEY HAD THESE CROSS SHAPES,

SO THEY'VE GOT SOME KIND OF BOOMS STICKING OUT

FROM THE SIDE.

Narrator: THE STRANGELY-SHAPED BOOMS

COULD BE EVIDENCE OF VIETNAM

MUSCLING IN ON THE REGION'S MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE.

Kays: THE SOUTH CHINA SEA IS A REALLY HEAVILY FISHED AREA.

THESE CROSS-SHAPED STRUCTURES ARE ACTUALLY BOOMS

USED TO HOLD NETS

THAT THE FISHERMEN USE TO CATCH THE SEAFOOD.

Narrator: BUT SUBSEQUENT IMAGES REVEAL THERE'S SOMETHING WEIRD

ABOUT THIS FISHING FLEET.

Kays: IT'S ANCHORED IN THE SAME SPOT FOR A LONG TIME,

WHICH ISN'T USUALLY A GOOD STRATEGY FOR CATCHING FISH.

AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY,

THEY DON'T ACTUALLY HAVE FISHING GEAR IN THE WATER.

Narrator: EXPERTS THINK SATELLITES HAVE UNCOVERED

A DISTURBING NEW TACTIC

IN THE BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THESE WATERS.

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS INDICATE THAT MANY OF THE FISHING VESSELS

IN THIS AREA ARE ACTUALLY NOT FISHING AT ALL

BUT RATHER SERVING AS A KIND OF MARITIME MILITIA.

Narrator: IN 2019, A U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REPORT

REVEALS THAT COMPETING NATIONS ARE USING VAST FLEETS OF VESSELS

TO PATROL THESE WATERS.

DISGUISED AS FISHING BOATS,

BUT EQUIPPED WITH REINFORCED HULLS,

30 MILLIMETER GUNS, AND MINES.

THEY'RE SENDING OUT THEIR COMMERCIAL FISHING FLEETS

UNDER THE DUBIOUS CLAIM OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY

WHEN IN REALITY THEY'RE PERFORMING A MILITARY FUNCTION.

Narrator: THE CAMOUFLAGED FLEETS

DISABLE THEIR GPS TRACKING SYSTEMS

SO THEY CAN HARASS AND RAM OTHER NATIONS' BOATS

WHILE REMAINING ALMOST INVISIBLE TO SATELLITE SURVEILLANCE.

SO THERE'S REALLY THREE WAYS

ANY NATION CAN APPROACH CONTROLLING TERRITORY --

THE FIRST IS THROUGH DIPLOMACY,

THE OTHER ONE IS OVERT MILITARY ACTION,

AND THEN THERE'S THIS THIRD WAY THAT FALLS SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN,

AND THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THESE FISHING MILITIAS.

Narrator: STUDIES SUGGEST THAT CHINA ALONE OPERATES

AROUND 20,000 SUCH CRAFT,

WHICH IT USES AS A KIND OF SECRET NAVY.

[ BEEPS ] [ METAL CRUNCHES ]

AND UNDER MARITIME LAW,

FISHING BOATS ARE ALMOST IMMUNE TO RETALIATORY ATTACKS.

Munoz: IT'S INCREDIBLY CLEVER,

BECAUSE IF ANY OF THE OTHER REGIONAL POWERS

TRY AND CALL CHINA OUT FOR THEIR ACTIONS,

THEY HAVE A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY.

Narrator: THE SATELLITE IMAGE SUGGESTS

THAT VIETNAM IS ALSO ADOPTING THE USE OF SUCH MILITIAS

TO DEFEND ITS ASSETS.

THE VIETNAMESE KNOW THAT THEY CAN'T COMPETE WITH CHINA

ECONOMICALLY OR MILITARILY,

WHAT THEY CAN DO, THOUGH, IS INTIMIDATE

AND TRY TO PREVENT CHINA FROM TAKING OVER IN THIS AREA.

IMAGE ANALYST BRONWYN AGRIOS

THINKS THE STORY DOESN'T END THERE.

THIS CHANNEL THAT CONNECTS THE LAGOON TO THE OCEAN,

IT LOOKS REALLY UNNATURAL.

LOOKING BACK IN TIME TO SEPTEMBER 4, 2016,

THERE'S NO SIGN OF THIS CHANNEL.

AND THEN JUST TWO SHORT MONTHS LATER,

THERE'S INFRASTRUCTURE BEING BUILT.

Narrator: THE SHIPS SEEN FROM SPACE APPEAR TO BE

GUARDING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MYSTERY FACILITY

IN THE CENTER OF THE REEF.

THIS DREDGE CHANNEL IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE CLEAREST INDICATORS

THAT WE HAVE THAT VIETNAM IS READY TO RAMP UP

ITS MILITARY OPERATIONS THERE.

Narrator: WHAT'S MORE, CHINA'S ADVERSARY APPEARS

TO BE GETTING HELP FROM ANOTHER MILITARY SUPERPOWER.

INTELLIGENCE SUGGEST THAT THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT

IS BUILDING AN ENTIRE NEW MILITARY FLEET

UNDER CONTRACT AND LICENSE FROM RUSSIA.

[ PROPELLER WHIRS ]

Narrator: WITH RUSSIAN AID, THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT

HAS QUADRUPLED ITS MILITARY SPENDING,

UPGRADING ITS SMALL RIVER-BASED NAVY

INTO A FULLY FLEDGED COASTAL FIGHTING FORCE.

THERE IS A HUGE MISCONCEPTION IN THE WESTERN WORLD

THAT CHINA AND RUSSIA ARE VERY, VERY CLOSE ALLIES.

THAT IS NOT THE CASE WHATSOEVER.

Munoz: TENSIONS WITHIN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

HAVE BEEN BUBBLING FOR DECADES,

BUT WITH THE RECENT RAMP UP IN MILITARY CAPABILITIES

BY BOTH RUSSIA AND VIETNAM,

THE THREAT OF ESCALATION IS HIGHER THAN IT'S EVER BEEN.

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP --

NEVADA'S MASSIVE FLYING BLOB...

Major: THIS IS STRETCHING ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE,

WHAT IS IT?

Narrator: ...AND A 2,000-YEAR-OLD ENIGMA.

THIS IS VERY MYSTERIOUS INDEED.

LOOKS LIKE A HALF-BURIED GIGANTIC TURTLE SHELL.

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ BEEPS ]

Narrator: ACROSS THE GLOBE,

SATELLITES ARE AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TOOL

FOR TRACKING EXTREME WEATHER.

BY COMBINING THE IMAGE WITH DOPPLER RADAR DATA,

THEY CAN REVEAL THE INTENSITY AND DIRECTION

OF A WEATHER FRONT.

DOPPLER RADAR USES RADIO WAVES TO DETECT THE POSITION

AND MOVEMENT OF THINGS LIKE WATER DROPLETS

IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

Cerveny: WHEN WE LOOK AT A DOPPLER RADAR IMAGE,

IN ESSENCE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS AN X-RAY MACHINE FOR THE AIR.

Narrator: ON JULY 26, 2019, THE WEATHER DATA SHOWS

WHAT APPEARS TO BE A MASSIVE WEATHER FRONT

DESCENDING ON LAS VEGAS.

Fanara: SEEING THIS GREEN BLOTCH,

THIS TELLS ME THAT LAS VEGAS IS GETTING A SOAKING.

Narrator: BUT IT TRANSPIRES THAT SOMETHING WEIRD IS GOING ON.

Cerveny: WHEN WE LOOK AT LAS VEGAS,

WE'RE NOT SEEING ANY KIND OF RAINFALL.

SO WHAT IS CAUSING THIS SIGNAL THAT WE SEE ON RADAR,

BUT IT'S NOT RAIN?

Narrator: GEORGE KOUROUNIS HAS A THEORY.

Kourounis: THERE ARE NUMEROUS MILITARY INSTALLATIONS

IN THE NEVADA AREA,

AND IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WHAT WE'RE SEEING ON RADAR HERE

IS THE RESULT OF SOME CHAFF DISBURSEMENT COUNTERMEASURES

TESTING THAT THEY'RE DOING.

IN 2013,

A CLOUD OF SUCH COUNTERMEASURES MESSES

WITH DOPPLER READINGS IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA.

WELL, IT IS THE BLOB THAT ATE HUNTSVILLE ON RADAR, AT LEAST.

A GIANT, ANGRY-LOOKING RED SPOT,

IT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF ALL KINDS OF FOLKS ON TUESDAY.

Kourounis: IF AN AIRPLANE RELEASES THE CHAFF,

THE CHAFF CAN THEN CONFUSE OR BLOCK THE RADAR SIGNAL

FROM HITTING THE PLANE THAT RELEASED IT,

BASICALLY MAKING THE PLANE INVISIBLE.

[ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: BUT SCALE ANALYSIS SHOWS

THAT WHATEVER IS HAPPENING ABOVE VEGAS,

IT'S NOT MILITARY TESTING.

THIS IS LIKE A BIG, ORGANIC BLOB

THAT'S STRETCHING ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE.

SO IF IT'S NOT CHAFF, AND IT'S NOT RAIN,

WHAT IS IT?

Narrator: TRACY FANARA THINKS THE IMAGE HAS CAPTURED

SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

Fanara: IF IT'S NOT ONE OF THESE ANOMALIES,

THERE'S ONLY ONE OTHER THING THAT I KNOW IT COULD BE,

AND THAT'S A BIOLOGICAL SIGNAL.

Narrator: FANARA THINKS THE MYSTERY BLOB IS ALIVE.

RADAR CAN PICK UP LIVING THINGS,

BUT FOR THIS TO BE A BIOLOGICAL SIGNAL,

THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A TON OF WHATEVER WAS IN THE AIR.

Narrator: NOT ONE LIVING THING, BUT COUNTLESS MILLIONS.

SURVIVORS FROM THE AGE OF THE DINOSAURS.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS AN INFESTATION OF GRASSHOPPERS.

[ INSECTS RUSTLE ]

Narrator: A COLOSSAL SWARM OF THE FOUR-WINGED INSECTS

IS DESCENDING ON THE VEGAS STRIP.

Major: IMAGINE YOU'RE GOING TO LAS VEGAS,

AND YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD TIME,

AND INSTEAD YOU END UP IN THE MIDDLE OF

AN OLD TESTAMENT-STYLE PLAGUE.

[ INSECTS RUSTLE ]

YOU'RE OUT IN LAS VEGAS ALL DRESSED UP,

HEELS ON, ROLLING DICE, AND OPEN THE CASINO DOOR

AND IN COMES THOUSANDS OF GRASSHOPPERS.

Narrator: THE GRASSHOPPERS' ATTACK ON SIN CITY

BAFFLES SCIENTISTS.

MOST OF THE TIME THEY'RE SOLITARY.

THEY'RE FOUND ALL THROUGHOUT THE WESTERN UNITED STATES,

AND THEY DON'T DO THIS BEHAVIOR.

SO WHAT IS IT THAT'S BRINGING

THIS HUGE SWARM OF GRASSHOPPERS TO LAS VEGAS?

I MEAN, I DON'T THINK THEY GAMBLE MUCH.

Narrator: STUDIES SUGGEST THE MEGA-SWARM

HAS ITS GENESIS SEVERAL WEEKS EARLIER

WHEN NEVADA'S DESERTS EXPERIENCED

UNUSUALLY WET, COOL WEATHER.

[ WIND WHISTLES ]

[ THUNDER CRACKS ]

Kourounis: THE UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS CAUSED THE VEGETATION

TO GROW FASTER,

AND THE DESERT COMES ALIVE WITH GREEN,

PERFECT CONDITIONS FOR FEEDING GRASSHOPPERS.

Narrator: THIS ABUNDANCE OF FOOD

KICK-STARTS A SIX-LEGGED SEXUAL MARATHON.

THE GRASSHOPPER REPRODUCTION SKYROCKETED.

THEY HAD MORE THINGS THAT THEY NEEDED TO SURVIVE

THAN EVER BEFORE.

AND SO THEIR POPULATIONS REACHED A TREMENDOUS SIZE.

Narrator: A FREAK WEATHER FRONT THEN FORCES THE SWARM

INTO THE SKIES

AND CARRIES IT THROUGH THE CLOUDS

TOWARDS THE CITY OF SECOND CHANCES.

IN THIS CASE, IT WAS A PERFECT CIRCUMSTANCE OF WIND AND STORMS

HAPPENING ALL AT THE RIGHT TIME TO LIFT UP MILLIONS OF BODIES

AND THEN DUMP THEM IN LAS VEGAS.

Narrator: EXACTLY WHY INSECTS ARE ATTRACTED TO LIGHTS

CONTINUES TO BUG EXPERTS.

BUT FOR THESE CRITTERS, THE LURE OF VEGAS'S NEON STRIPS

PROVES IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST.

[ WHIRRING ]

[ BEEPS ]

COMING UP --

THE MYSTERY OF THE MONK,

THE MOUND,

AND THE MEDIEVAL LEGEND...

Hunt: HE DOES CONNECT THIS PART OF WALES

WITH THE MYTHICAL KING ARTHUR.

Narrator: ...AND HITLER'S SECRET SUBS.

THE NAZI NAVAL THREAT IS REAL, AND IT'S TERRIFYING.

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ BEEPS ]

Narrator: JANUARY 27, 2019...

[ WHIRRING ]

...AS THE WorldView-3 SATELLITE ORBITS OVER NORTHERN EUROPE,

IT CAPTURES SOMETHING STRANGE IN THE WELSH COUNTRYSIDE.

[ WHIRRING ]

THIS IS VERY MYSTERIOUS INDEED. IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE

A HALF-BURIED GIGANTIC TURTLE SHELL.

Narrator: END TO END, THE MYSTERY STRUCTURE

MEASURES ALMOST 300 FEET.

IT'S OVERGROWN,

SO WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S BEEN LEFT ALONE

FOR ENOUGH TIME TO BE COMPLETELY TAKEN OVER BY NATURE.

Narrator: THE ANCIENT PEOPLES OF BRITAIN

ARE KNOWN TO HAVE ERECTED CIRCULAR STRUCTURES

TO MARK SEASONAL PAGAN RITUALS.

COULD THIS BE A MEGALITHIC HENGE AROUND 4,000 YEARS PLUS

FOR ASTRONOMICAL CALCULATIONS?

WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THIS POSSIBILITY.

Narrator: MARK HORTON DISAGREES.

HE TIES THE STRUCTURE TO THE HISTORY OF A NEARBY TOWN.

THE SITE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS IN THIS PLACE

CALLED CAERLEON,

WHICH IS A ROMAN LEGIONARY FORTRESS, AND IT SEEMS POSSIBLE,

THEREFORE, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT A ROMAN BUILDING.

Narrator: HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS REVEAL

THAT CAERLEON PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE

IN THE ROMAN EMPEROR CLAUDIUS'S INVASION OF WALES IN 48 A.D..

**

THE ROMANS ARE DRAWN HERE

BY THE COUNTRY'S RESERVES OF PRECIOUS METALS,

BUT FIND THAT ITS MOUNTAINS

ARE FIERCELY DEFENDED BY LOCAL WARRIOR TRIBES.

Horton: THE WELSH WERE DIFFICULT TO SUBDUE...

[ MEN SHOUTING ]

...AND SO THE ROMANS HAD TO MOVE THE MILITARY FRONTIER

INCREASINGLY TO THE WEST,

AND CAERLEON WAS THEIR BASE IN ORDER TO CONQUER WALES.

[ BIRDS CHIRP ] [ TOOLS CLATTER ]

Narrator: OVER THE FOLLOWING DECADES,

THE INVADERS TRANSFORM CAERLEON FROM A SMALL VILLAGE

INTO A FORTRESS TOWN BRISTLING WITH 6,000 SOLDIERS.

ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDIES REVEAL THE ROLE THE MYSTERY STRUCTURE

PLAYED DURING THE FOLLOWING THREE CENTURIES OF ROMAN RULE.

Horton: THE EXCAVATIONS SHOW

THAT THIS WAS A GREAT ROMAN AMPHITHEATER,

AND IT DATES TO THE 2nd CENTURY A.D..

THE ARCHEOLOGISTS FIND EVIDENCE OF GLADIATORIAL COMBAT,

COMBAT WITH BEASTS,

ALL OF THE TRIMMINGS OF ROMAN ENTERTAINMENT.

[ SOLDIERS MARCH ]

Narrator: IN THE LATE 4th CENTURY,

THE ROMANS START ABANDONING BRITAIN,

AND IT IS THE ROLE OF THE AMPHITHEATER DURING THIS PERIOD

THAT INTRIGUES SOME SCHOLARS OF BRITISH HISTORY.

IT APPEARS THAT WHEN THE ROMANS PULLED OUT OF BRITAIN,

THEY LEAVE BEHIND A BRAVE WARRIOR, A MIGHTY GLADIATOR.

WHOSE LEGEND DOES ACCRUE TO THIS VERY PLACE.

Merritt: ACCORDING TO THE CHRONICLES OF A MONK

IN THE 6th CENTURY A.D.,

THE WARRIOR AMBROSIUS AURELIANUS RISES FROM CAERLEON

TO LEAD THE BRITONS TO VICTORY AGAINST INVADING ANGLO-SAXONS.

HE IS NICKNAMED THE BEAR,

OR ARTOS IN THE LOCAL CELTIC LANGUAGE,

THE FIRST POSSIBLE REFERENCE TO KING ARTHUR IN HISTORY.

Horton: KING ARTHUR IS A VERY CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE

AMONG ARCHEOLOGISTS.

AT ONE END, PEOPLE SAY THAT HE WAS A COMPLETE FICTION.

OTHER PEOPLE SAY THAT ACTUALLY THERE WAS A HISTORICAL ARTHUR

THAT REALLY LIVED,

AND HE WAS OPERATING IN THE EARLY 6th CENTURY

AS A WAR LEADER.

Narrator: THE 1,500-YEAR-OLD TEXTS DESCRIBE

HOW ARTOS'S VICTORY OVER THE GERMANIC INVADERS

AT A PLACE CALLED MONS BADON

BRINGS A GENERATION OF PEACE TO BRITAIN.

THE BATTLE SITE HAS NEVER BEEN SATISFACTORILY IDENTIFIED.

BUT THE NOTION THAT THE HISTORICAL ARTHUR

MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIVING IN SOUTH WALES

IS NOT AN UNREASONABLE ONE IN THIS PERIOD, AROUND 500.

Narrator: 600 YEARS LATER, MORE POSSIBLE EVIDENCE EMERGES.

WE HAVE A 12th CENTURY MEDIEVAL CHRONICLER

OF THE HISTORY OF BRITAIN, GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH,

AND HE DOES CONNECT THIS PART OF WALES

WITH THE MYTHICAL KING ARTHUR.

**

Narrator: ONE OF THE MOST ENDURING ARTHURIAN TALES

IS THAT OF THE ROUND TABLE,

AROUND WHICH SIT AS MANY AS 1,600 KNIGHTS

TASKED WITH MAINTAINING ORDER IN THE KINGDOM.

Jellicorse: MAYBE THE TABLE IS A METAPHOR

FOR SOME KIND OF CIRCULAR STRUCTURE

AT WHICH THESE PERHAPS QUITE LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE

COULD HAVE GATHERED.

Horton: ALL YOU NEEDED TO DO WITH AN AMPHITHEATER

IS BLOCK UP THE EIGHT ENTRANCEWAYS,

AND YOU'VE GOT, NOT A PHYSICAL TABLE,

BUT A SPACE IN WHICH YOU ARE GATHERING TOGETHER.

Narrator: LIKE THE TALE OF ARTHUR HIMSELF,

THE FULL STORY OF THE STRANGE STRUCTURE

SEEN FROM SPACE MAY NEVER BE FULLY KNOWN.

Hunt: COULD THIS BE IN ANY WAY IDENTIFIED

WITH THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE?

STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN HISTORY.

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ] [ WHIRRING ]

Narrator: COMING UP --

SCOTLAND'S WEIRD ANCIENT MEGASTRUCTURES.

WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY THESE WERE BUILT.

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ FREQUENCY WARBLES ]

[ BEEPS ]

Narrator: FEBRUARY 23, 2020.

[ WHIRRING ]

THE GeoEye SATELLITE ORBITING OVER SCOTLAND

CAPTURES THIS IMAGE.

I'VE NEVER SEEN AN ISLAND QUITE LIKE THIS ONE.

THIS PIECE OF LAND APPEARS TO BE CONNECTED TO THE MAINLAND,

BUT IT'S NOT BY A ROAD OR A BRIDGE.

IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE TEETH COMING OUT OF THE OCEAN.

Narrator: THE 3,500-FOOT-LONG CAUSEWAY

IS TOO THIN FOR TRAFFIC.

IT APPEARS TO BE MADE FROM A LINE OF INDIVIDUAL STONES.

THIS LITTLE ISLAND CONNECTED BY WAY OF, LIKE, A TAIL

OR AT LEASH REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING CALLED CRANNOG.

CRANNOGS ARE ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS BUILT IN ANCIENT TIMES.

Narrator: CRANNOGS ARE ONE OF THE GREAT MYSTERIES

OF PREHISTORIC BRITAIN.

CONSTRUCTED BY HAND USING MONSTROUS PILES OF BOULDERS,

STUDIES SUGGEST THEY WERE ONCE CROWNED WITH STONE DWELLINGS,

POSSIBLY FOR RITUAL PURPOSES.

SOME SUGGEST THAT THEY COULD HAVE BEEN USED

TO MARK TRANSITIONS

FROM ONE PHASE OF LIFE TO THE OTHER.

WHAT IS REALLY STRIKING IS THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT

THAT WE KNOW WOULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED TO CREATE THEM.

Narrator: RECENT UNDERWATER EXCAVATIONS HAVE REVEALED

THAT SOME DATE FROM 3500 B.C.,

MAKING THEM OLDER THAN STONEHENGE

AND THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT.

Bellinger: THAT'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

WE'RE TALKING IN THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD,

BUILDING FAKE ISLANDS OFF THE COAST

AND CONNECTING THEM BY A STONE CAUSEWAY.

Narrator: GUY WALTERS THINKS THE LINE OF STONES

IN THE SATELLITE IMAGE HAS A MORE RECENT ORIGIN.

THEY'RE IN AN ABSOLUTE STRAIGHT LINE,

THEY'RE EVENLY SPACED

SO I'M THINKING MILITARY.

I RECKON THESE ARE PART OF A FORTIFICATION SYSTEM.

Narrator: THE STRUCTURES SIT AT THE MOUTH OF ONE OF SCOTLAND'S

MOST STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT WATERWAYS, THE FIRTH OF FORTH.

WHEN YOU SEE COASTAL FORTIFICATIONS LIKE THIS,

THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF IS THE SECOND WORLD WAR

WHEN BRITAIN REALLY BEEFED UP OUR COASTAL DEFENSES

ON A MASSIVE SCALE.

Narrator: DURING WORLD WAR II,

SCOTLAND'S SHIPYARDS ARE THE ENGINE

OF THE BRITISH MARITIME WAR MACHINE,

AND ITS COASTLINE IS THE BASE FOR THE MAIN FLEET OF THE NAVY.

Walters: YOU MAY NOT THINK THAT SCOTLAND'S

OF MUCH STRATEGIC INTEREST TO HITLER --

IT'S QUITE A LONG WAY NORTH, WHO NEEDS IT?

BUT NO, HE REALLY WOULD LOVE TO GET HIS HANDS ON IT.

Narrator: IN AN ATTEMPT TO CRIPPLE SCOTLAND'S INDUSTRIES

AND NAVAL BASES,

THE LUFTWAFFE UNLEASHES OVER 500 AIR RAIDS ON THE COUNTRY.

[ EXPLOSION ]

YET MORE DANGER COMES FROM THE NORTH SEA

IN THE FORM OF SNIPING ATTACKS FROM GERMAN SHIPS

BASED OUT OF NORWAY.

THE NAZI NAVAL THREAT IS REAL, AND IT'S TERRIFYING.

HITLER REALLY WANTS TO PUT A SIZABLE DENT

IN BRITAIN'S WARTIME EFFORTS.

Narrator: THE NORTH SEA NAZI THREAT FORCES THE ROYAL NAVY

TO DEPLOY SEVEN MASSIVE WARSHIPS AND 15 BATTLE CRUISERS

TO PROTECT SCOTLAND'S SHIPYARDS AND NAVAL BASES.

BUT FEARING ATTACKS FROM THE PROWLING U-BOAT WOLF PACKS,

PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL

INSTRUCTS GENERAL EDMUND IRONSIDE

TO SHORE UP THE EAST COAST

WITH A COLOSSAL LINE OF SEA DEFENSES.

Man: COASTAL DEFENSE, THAT MEANS DEFENSE OF A COASTLINE

OF 4,750 MILES.

NOW, THIS DEFENSIVE LINE RUNS ALL THE WAY UP

TO CENTRAL SCOTLAND,

SO IT'S MY MASSIVE HUNCH THAT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE

IS SOME OF IRONSIDE'S HANDIWORK.

Narrator: AS PART OF THIS DEFENSIVE LINE,

GENERAL IRONSIDE SLINGS GIANT NETS ACROSS THE FIRTH OF FORTH.

Man: ITS CHIEF USE IS TO PREVENT SUBMARINES ENTERING THE PORTS,

BUT IT IS OBVIOUS THERE'S SOME DEFENSE ALSO AGAINST ANY SHIP

WITH A CONSIDERABLE DRAFT.

Narrator: TO FURTHER PROTECT THE COAST,

ENGINEERS INSTALL GUN EMPLACEMENTS

ON THE ISLAND IN THE IMAGE

AND BUILD THE WEIRD SET OF SEA SPIKES STILL VISIBLE FROM SPACE.

Hymel: A SERIES OF BLOCKS IS SUNK IN THE WATER

TO CREATE SORT OF A WALL TO PREVENT THE GERMAN FLEET

FROM GAINING ACCESS TO THIS AREA.

THIS IS AN ISLAND READY FOR ANY SIGN OF NAZIS

COMING INTO THE FORTH.

IT IS WAITING FOR HITLER TO ARRIVE.

Narrator: TO TRY TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE

IRONSIDE'S DEFENSES,

THE NAZIS SECRETLY DEPLOY THE SEEHUND MINI-SUB,

A 39-FOOT-LONG ATTACK CRAFT CARRYING JUST TWO CREW,

YET ARMED WITH DEVASTATING WEAPONRY.

IT WAS CAPABLE OF CARRYING TWO OF THE SAME G7e TORPEDOES

THAT THE FULL SCALE U-BOATS WERE CAPABLE OF LAUNCHING.

IT COULD PENETRATE ALMOST ANYTHING

BECAUSE OF ITS SMALL SIZE.

Narrator: BETWEEN 1941 AND 1945, THE NAZI SUBS AND BRITISH NAVY

ENGAGED IN AN EPIC GAME OF SUBSEA CAT AND MOUSE

ALONG THE SCOTTISH COAST.

[ EXPLOSION ]

BUT THANKS TO BIZARRE DEFENSES SUCH AS THE ONE

REVEALED FROM SPACE,

TERROR NEVER REACHES THESE SHORES.

YOU JUST LOOK AT THESE JAGGED TEETH IN THE SEA,

THEY'RE REALLY HIGHLY VISIBLE REMINDER

OF THE MONUMENTAL EFFORTS TO PROTECT BRITAIN DURING THE WAR.