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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:02,126 --> 00:00:03,585 WILLIAM SHATNER: A vast subterranean chamber 2 00:00:03,668 --> 00:00:06,043 hidden for centuries. 3 00:00:06,085 --> 00:00:11,418 A legendary lost treasure buried in an ancient mine. 4 00:00:11,501 --> 00:00:14,168 And a town in the Australian Outback 5 00:00:14,251 --> 00:00:19,668 that is located entirely underground. 6 00:00:19,751 --> 00:00:23,210 For as long as humans have walked the Earth's surface, 7 00:00:23,293 --> 00:00:25,543 we've also wondered about 8 00:00:25,626 --> 00:00:29,918 what lies beneath our feet deep underground. 9 00:00:30,001 --> 00:00:32,543 Are there profound secrets about our planet 10 00:00:32,585 --> 00:00:38,210 buried beneath layers of rock, or hidden in vast caves? 11 00:00:38,293 --> 00:00:41,335 What can the subterranean world 12 00:00:41,418 --> 00:00:43,835 tell us about humanity's past, 13 00:00:43,918 --> 00:00:48,335 and perhaps even its future? 14 00:00:48,418 --> 00:00:51,376 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 15 00:00:51,418 --> 00:00:53,376 ♪ 16 00:01:06,293 --> 00:01:09,335 SHATNER: Human beings have a strong desire to learn 17 00:01:09,418 --> 00:01:12,418 everything we can about the planet that we live on. 18 00:01:12,501 --> 00:01:16,918 After all, we've launched satellites into outer space 19 00:01:17,001 --> 00:01:20,876 that have photographed every inch of the Earth's surface, 20 00:01:20,918 --> 00:01:24,043 and we've used deep-sea submarines 21 00:01:24,126 --> 00:01:27,210 to journey to the bottom of the ocean. 22 00:01:27,293 --> 00:01:32,293 However, there is one final frontier in our world 23 00:01:32,376 --> 00:01:38,210 that remains almost totally shrouded in mystery. 24 00:01:38,293 --> 00:01:42,751 For we have yet to fully explore the vast underground depths 25 00:01:42,835 --> 00:01:45,043 of our planet Earth. 26 00:01:45,085 --> 00:01:50,251 It's really uncommon for someone to know how deep the Earth is. 27 00:01:50,376 --> 00:01:54,668 Very smart people often guess, "hundreds of miles?" 28 00:01:54,751 --> 00:01:58,585 When in fact, it's 4,000 miles to the center of the planet. 29 00:01:58,668 --> 00:02:03,126 L.A. to New York is just a fraction of that, 30 00:02:03,210 --> 00:02:06,001 with the 2,700 miles. 31 00:02:06,085 --> 00:02:08,460 The mass of the Earth is great. 32 00:02:08,543 --> 00:02:12,376 And when you think about the amount of rock 33 00:02:12,460 --> 00:02:14,918 that's piled on rock, on rock, 34 00:02:15,001 --> 00:02:19,960 that pressure is incredible and prevents us from going deeper. 35 00:02:20,043 --> 00:02:22,751 So, what's beneath our feet? 36 00:02:22,876 --> 00:02:25,043 We don't know. 37 00:02:25,085 --> 00:02:27,376 Mankind's relationship with the underground 38 00:02:27,460 --> 00:02:30,335 stems from our innate curiosity, 39 00:02:30,418 --> 00:02:34,460 and the ground beneath our feet is open season for that. 40 00:02:34,543 --> 00:02:37,585 SHATNER: Today, scientists and explorers are compelled 41 00:02:37,668 --> 00:02:40,543 to investigate the subterranean world, 42 00:02:40,626 --> 00:02:45,335 in hopes of shedding new light in the darkness of its depths. 43 00:02:45,418 --> 00:02:48,376 But these efforts are just the latest chapter 44 00:02:48,418 --> 00:02:51,418 in humanity's long quest to learn more 45 00:02:51,543 --> 00:02:54,960 about all that we cannot see beneath us. 46 00:02:57,043 --> 00:03:00,501 In fact, our fascination with the secrets of the underground 47 00:03:00,626 --> 00:03:03,335 stretches back thousands of years. 48 00:03:05,293 --> 00:03:10,043 Going back 3,500 years, we find drawings and paintings 49 00:03:10,126 --> 00:03:11,793 underground where it's completely dark. 50 00:03:13,418 --> 00:03:16,376 So, we can see how our early ancestors 51 00:03:16,460 --> 00:03:19,543 connected mythology to the underground, 52 00:03:19,585 --> 00:03:22,543 in terms of their relationship to the Earth. 53 00:03:22,543 --> 00:03:24,543 These explorations and forays 54 00:03:24,668 --> 00:03:28,210 meant something on a spiritual level. 55 00:03:28,335 --> 00:03:29,460 They were pushing as far as they could go 56 00:03:29,543 --> 00:03:31,210 with the technology that they had. 57 00:03:33,335 --> 00:03:35,585 BRADLEY GARRETT: The underground has always been important 58 00:03:35,668 --> 00:03:38,210 in human history, and it's tantalizing 59 00:03:38,293 --> 00:03:39,710 but it's also kind of frightening. 60 00:03:39,835 --> 00:03:44,960 For instance, we can look to Hades in Greek mythology, 61 00:03:45,085 --> 00:03:47,668 this underworld which is a metaphor 62 00:03:47,751 --> 00:03:50,918 for not being blessed by the light of the heavens. 63 00:03:51,001 --> 00:03:53,710 Also, we can look to Dante 64 00:03:53,751 --> 00:03:57,751 going into the seven circles of Hell in an Inferno. 65 00:03:57,835 --> 00:04:01,335 All of these point to an underground space 66 00:04:01,418 --> 00:04:03,585 that you'll go into and never come out from. 67 00:04:03,710 --> 00:04:06,460 (man screaming) 68 00:04:06,585 --> 00:04:08,710 SHATNER: While often described as a place of danger, 69 00:04:08,835 --> 00:04:12,126 darkness and doom in the legends and folklore 70 00:04:12,210 --> 00:04:14,335 of cultures around the world, 71 00:04:14,418 --> 00:04:17,793 it was during the 18th and 19th century 72 00:04:17,876 --> 00:04:20,210 that the perception of an underground world 73 00:04:20,251 --> 00:04:24,876 became less mythological and more scientific. 74 00:04:24,918 --> 00:04:28,126 This evolution in thinking is perhaps best illustrated 75 00:04:28,210 --> 00:04:31,543 in author Jules Verne's seminal novel 76 00:04:31,626 --> 00:04:34,376 Journey to the Center of the Earth, 77 00:04:34,460 --> 00:04:38,001 which was published in 1864. 78 00:04:38,085 --> 00:04:41,126 LYNNE McNEILL: Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth 79 00:04:41,210 --> 00:04:45,460 is the story of a professor, his nephew and their guide 80 00:04:45,543 --> 00:04:47,376 going into the center of the Earth 81 00:04:47,460 --> 00:04:50,376 through a volcanic crater in Iceland... 82 00:04:51,835 --> 00:04:55,710 ...making their way through these subterranean passages 83 00:04:55,751 --> 00:04:58,585 and finding prehistoric plant life 84 00:04:58,668 --> 00:05:01,376 and creatures and maybe even a suggestion 85 00:05:01,418 --> 00:05:04,751 of some sort of humanlike creature 86 00:05:04,835 --> 00:05:07,460 that they glimpse but don't interact with. 87 00:05:07,585 --> 00:05:11,210 Jules Verne was a well-read author, 88 00:05:11,335 --> 00:05:13,835 he was up on the science of the day, 89 00:05:13,918 --> 00:05:18,543 and he made a really scientific effort 90 00:05:18,668 --> 00:05:23,043 at describing an entire subterranean world. 91 00:05:23,085 --> 00:05:24,751 It's a fictional book, 92 00:05:24,835 --> 00:05:28,001 but it really resonated with people's imaginations. 93 00:05:28,085 --> 00:05:30,668 SHATNER: Journey to the Center of the Earth 94 00:05:30,751 --> 00:05:34,043 had a profound effect not just on science fiction readers 95 00:05:34,168 --> 00:05:36,793 but also on actual scientists, 96 00:05:36,918 --> 00:05:41,085 who were inspired to explore deeper than ever before. 97 00:05:41,168 --> 00:05:44,251 By the 20th century, modern drilling technology 98 00:05:44,251 --> 00:05:47,043 gave scientists a new tool for satisfying 99 00:05:47,085 --> 00:05:52,668 our ongoing curiosity about what lies underground. 100 00:05:52,751 --> 00:05:58,543 The most famous effort to drill into the planet started in 1970, 101 00:05:58,585 --> 00:06:01,418 when the Soviet Union embarked on an ambitious attempt 102 00:06:01,501 --> 00:06:05,001 to reach as deep as possible into the Earth. 103 00:06:06,376 --> 00:06:08,043 The project, which was conducted 104 00:06:08,210 --> 00:06:13,126 on the Kola Peninsula in Russia, lasted for more than 20 years, 105 00:06:13,210 --> 00:06:15,460 and resulted in what is referred to 106 00:06:15,543 --> 00:06:18,626 as the Kola Superdeep Borehole. 107 00:06:18,710 --> 00:06:21,335 The hole, which is nine inches wide, 108 00:06:21,418 --> 00:06:27,626 reaches an astounding 7.6 miles into the Earth. 109 00:06:27,710 --> 00:06:29,710 The Kola Superdeep Borehole 110 00:06:29,751 --> 00:06:33,126 is just a really thin, narrow hole 111 00:06:33,126 --> 00:06:35,085 straight down into the Earth. 112 00:06:35,168 --> 00:06:38,751 One of the reasons why they made the hole that shape 113 00:06:38,835 --> 00:06:42,293 is that the wider the space it is that you're drilling, 114 00:06:42,418 --> 00:06:45,543 the more resistance that you run into. 115 00:06:45,585 --> 00:06:48,418 One of the biggest obstacles 116 00:06:48,543 --> 00:06:52,126 to digging that hole was the temperature increases 117 00:06:52,210 --> 00:06:54,335 about 60 degrees Fahrenheit 118 00:06:54,418 --> 00:06:57,168 for every kilometer that you go down. 119 00:06:57,251 --> 00:07:01,543 These teams found, when they were drilling down, 120 00:07:01,626 --> 00:07:04,668 that the rock started to behave like plastic. 121 00:07:04,751 --> 00:07:08,668 And that the solid rock was actually gumming up 122 00:07:08,751 --> 00:07:11,043 the works of-of their drills. 123 00:07:11,043 --> 00:07:13,626 ROBERT SCHOCH: There's so much pressure there, 124 00:07:13,710 --> 00:07:15,710 there's so much heat there, eventually, 125 00:07:15,751 --> 00:07:20,001 they could drill no deeper and they had to abandon it. 126 00:07:20,001 --> 00:07:21,168 And since then, 127 00:07:21,251 --> 00:07:25,210 there has been no project that has gotten deeper. 128 00:07:25,293 --> 00:07:29,085 It's actually the deepest hole that has ever been drilled 129 00:07:29,168 --> 00:07:31,585 to this day by humans. 130 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:34,710 SHATNER: While the Kola Superdeep Borehole 131 00:07:34,793 --> 00:07:37,210 is an inspiring feat of engineering, 132 00:07:37,251 --> 00:07:39,376 at 7.6 miles in depth, 133 00:07:39,418 --> 00:07:42,168 it only reaches less than one percent 134 00:07:42,251 --> 00:07:44,918 down to the center of the Earth. 135 00:07:45,001 --> 00:07:49,001 And in fact, many experts believe that instead 136 00:07:49,085 --> 00:07:51,460 of using drills to dig into the underground, 137 00:07:51,543 --> 00:07:53,210 we should instead listen 138 00:07:53,251 --> 00:07:56,126 to subtle vibrations in the earth 139 00:07:56,126 --> 00:08:00,085 that are called seismic waves. 140 00:08:01,251 --> 00:08:03,043 By studying seismic waves, 141 00:08:03,085 --> 00:08:06,751 scientists detected two giant structures 142 00:08:06,835 --> 00:08:09,918 deep inside of the Earth's mantle. 143 00:08:10,043 --> 00:08:12,835 These formations are so oddly shaped 144 00:08:12,918 --> 00:08:16,126 that they are commonly referred to as "Earth blobs," 145 00:08:16,251 --> 00:08:21,585 and according to experts, Earth blobs pose a dire threat 146 00:08:21,668 --> 00:08:23,751 to the survival of humanity. 147 00:08:25,751 --> 00:08:28,418 GARNERO: These blobs are massive. 148 00:08:28,501 --> 00:08:32,001 Hundreds of miles tall, the size of continents, 149 00:08:32,085 --> 00:08:37,376 very irregular in shape, and they're very hot. 150 00:08:37,460 --> 00:08:40,335 The temperature of the surface of the Sun 151 00:08:40,418 --> 00:08:42,793 is the temperature of these things. 152 00:08:42,876 --> 00:08:45,501 There's the possibility that over time, 153 00:08:45,585 --> 00:08:48,710 these blobs might rise 154 00:08:48,793 --> 00:08:52,418 and come to the surface and would result 155 00:08:52,501 --> 00:08:55,918 in crazy intense volcanic eruptions. 156 00:08:56,001 --> 00:08:58,876 MICHIO KAKU: The gigantic energy 157 00:08:58,918 --> 00:09:01,960 from a volcano comes from underground, 158 00:09:02,043 --> 00:09:05,543 underground from the core of the Earth itself, 159 00:09:05,626 --> 00:09:11,168 creating a catastrophe beyond human comprehension. 160 00:09:11,251 --> 00:09:14,251 And so, when it comes to what's underneath our feet, 161 00:09:14,335 --> 00:09:16,293 we have to watch out. 162 00:09:17,418 --> 00:09:19,126 It's staggering to think 163 00:09:19,251 --> 00:09:20,876 that we've only managed to drill 164 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,168 less than one percent into the Earth's crust. 165 00:09:23,251 --> 00:09:26,626 But even so, archaeologists continue to make 166 00:09:26,710 --> 00:09:29,543 shocking underground discoveries all the time, 167 00:09:29,668 --> 00:09:35,168 such as a baffling man-made cave system in China 168 00:09:35,251 --> 00:09:38,085 that was carved thousands of years ago 169 00:09:38,168 --> 00:09:42,251 by a mysterious unknown civilization. 170 00:09:50,293 --> 00:09:51,793 SHATNER: In a small village, 171 00:09:51,876 --> 00:09:54,501 a group of farmers begin draining several ponds 172 00:09:54,585 --> 00:09:58,335 to create space for new planting fields. 173 00:09:58,418 --> 00:10:00,668 But as the waters recede, 174 00:10:00,751 --> 00:10:03,626 they make a remarkable discovery. 175 00:10:03,751 --> 00:10:05,335 CLEMENTS: The villagers saw 176 00:10:05,418 --> 00:10:07,835 the water was slowly going down 177 00:10:07,918 --> 00:10:09,626 and there were steps going down. 178 00:10:09,710 --> 00:10:12,001 So, they got very excited that this was 179 00:10:12,085 --> 00:10:14,210 some kind of, you know, archaeological discovery. 180 00:10:14,251 --> 00:10:16,460 And when they went inside, 181 00:10:16,543 --> 00:10:18,460 they found that they were in a group 182 00:10:18,585 --> 00:10:23,793 of underground man-made caverns. 183 00:10:23,876 --> 00:10:26,460 SHATNER: Once the water was completely drained, 184 00:10:26,460 --> 00:10:30,668 the villagers discovered a series of astonishing chambers 185 00:10:30,751 --> 00:10:34,835 that had been carved underground centuries earlier. 186 00:10:34,918 --> 00:10:37,418 Further excavations revealed the existence 187 00:10:37,501 --> 00:10:40,835 of 24 massive caverns. 188 00:10:40,918 --> 00:10:44,210 Each cavern covers an area of approximately 189 00:10:44,210 --> 00:10:46,001 11,000 square feet, 190 00:10:46,085 --> 00:10:49,251 or roughly the size of two mansions. 191 00:10:49,335 --> 00:10:53,418 Archaeologists have also noted that the walls, pillars 192 00:10:53,501 --> 00:10:58,168 and ceilings of the caverns were all precisely carved 193 00:10:58,251 --> 00:11:01,876 to have an unusually smooth and symmetrical appearance. 194 00:11:01,918 --> 00:11:06,751 All told, the massive underground complex 195 00:11:06,835 --> 00:11:09,376 measures 320,000 square feet, 196 00:11:09,418 --> 00:11:12,918 which is the size of more than five football fields. 197 00:11:13,001 --> 00:11:17,001 These incredible man-made structures 198 00:11:17,085 --> 00:11:23,085 are collectively referred to as the Longyou Caves. 199 00:11:23,168 --> 00:11:25,751 The discovery of the Longyou Caves 200 00:11:25,835 --> 00:11:28,001 is very fascinating 201 00:11:28,085 --> 00:11:31,293 because there was absolutely nothing to suggest 202 00:11:31,376 --> 00:11:35,293 that there were these carved, beautiful caves 203 00:11:35,376 --> 00:11:37,168 actually beneath the water. 204 00:11:37,251 --> 00:11:41,710 And so, when the actual caves were discovered, 205 00:11:41,793 --> 00:11:44,043 everybody was absolutely amazed 206 00:11:44,210 --> 00:11:49,418 because there was no indication that they existed. 207 00:11:49,501 --> 00:11:52,126 They have these pillars inside them 208 00:11:52,210 --> 00:11:55,960 which are anything up to 100 feet in height. 209 00:11:56,085 --> 00:11:58,793 And there are long corridors. 210 00:11:58,918 --> 00:12:02,585 There's some beautiful relief carvings on the walls 211 00:12:02,668 --> 00:12:05,585 of animals and dragons and things like this 212 00:12:05,668 --> 00:12:09,126 that are of immense sophistication 213 00:12:09,251 --> 00:12:12,126 in their design and the manner that they were carved. 214 00:12:12,210 --> 00:12:16,835 NEWMAN: When you look at the carvings, the chisel marks are so uniform, 215 00:12:16,918 --> 00:12:20,418 there's very detailed shaping of some of the stones. 216 00:12:20,543 --> 00:12:22,043 To the untrained eye, it looks like something created 217 00:12:22,126 --> 00:12:24,835 in the last 20 or 30 years. 218 00:12:24,918 --> 00:12:26,918 Some people suggest the caves 219 00:12:27,001 --> 00:12:29,001 are one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, 220 00:12:29,085 --> 00:12:32,918 but they weren't discovered until 1992. 221 00:12:33,085 --> 00:12:35,376 So this raises so many questions. 222 00:12:35,460 --> 00:12:38,626 SHATNER: Based on the carvings on the walls 223 00:12:38,710 --> 00:12:41,876 and artifacts recovered in the chambers, 224 00:12:42,001 --> 00:12:46,043 archaeologists estimate that the extraordinary Longyou Caves 225 00:12:46,085 --> 00:12:48,876 are roughly 2,000 years old. 226 00:12:48,918 --> 00:12:51,710 While there are similar ancient underground structures 227 00:12:51,751 --> 00:12:53,293 throughout China, 228 00:12:53,376 --> 00:12:58,001 the size and sophistication of the Longyou Caves is unique. 229 00:12:58,085 --> 00:13:02,335 But just who exactly carved these enormous caverns 230 00:13:02,418 --> 00:13:05,001 and why remains a mystery, 231 00:13:05,085 --> 00:13:07,585 because there is no mention of this site 232 00:13:07,668 --> 00:13:09,460 in the historical record. 233 00:13:12,376 --> 00:13:17,251 How is it possible that the existence of 24 caves 234 00:13:17,376 --> 00:13:19,043 can go unrecorded? 235 00:13:19,126 --> 00:13:22,501 This is very strange because the Chinese 236 00:13:22,585 --> 00:13:25,085 have always been very meticulous 237 00:13:25,168 --> 00:13:29,418 in the way that they've recorded provincial data. 238 00:13:29,501 --> 00:13:31,418 And yet, there was absolutely nothing, 239 00:13:31,501 --> 00:13:35,126 no mention whatsoever of these caves. 240 00:13:35,210 --> 00:13:38,710 CLEMENTS: The caves themselves are so massive, 241 00:13:38,751 --> 00:13:40,460 such a huge undertaking. 242 00:13:40,543 --> 00:13:42,418 It's not something that a bunch of local villagers 243 00:13:42,543 --> 00:13:43,876 might have done for a hobby. 244 00:13:43,876 --> 00:13:46,293 We can estimate that it would have taken 245 00:13:46,418 --> 00:13:50,710 a thousand people, working 24 hours a day, 246 00:13:50,751 --> 00:13:55,418 six years to carve out these caverns. 247 00:13:55,501 --> 00:13:58,376 There ought to be some kind of geographical feature, 248 00:13:58,460 --> 00:14:00,418 some kind of odd-looking hill or an infield valley 249 00:14:00,501 --> 00:14:03,960 or something where all that sandstone has gone, 250 00:14:04,043 --> 00:14:05,418 but we don't know where that is. 251 00:14:05,418 --> 00:14:07,210 SHATNER: In recent years, 252 00:14:07,335 --> 00:14:10,251 some historians have suggested that the Longyou Caves 253 00:14:10,335 --> 00:14:13,001 disappeared from history because they were intended 254 00:14:13,001 --> 00:14:15,043 to be secret caverns 255 00:14:15,126 --> 00:14:18,668 that were never meant to be found. 256 00:14:18,751 --> 00:14:21,376 We do not know who built the caves. 257 00:14:21,418 --> 00:14:24,168 But we can guess, considering the fact 258 00:14:24,251 --> 00:14:26,210 that they're 2,000 years old, 259 00:14:26,293 --> 00:14:29,793 that they were built in a period called the Warring States. 260 00:14:29,918 --> 00:14:32,335 And at the time, China was a patchwork 261 00:14:32,418 --> 00:14:34,835 of different kingdoms all fighting each other. 262 00:14:34,918 --> 00:14:40,335 And the fact that they are not mentioned in ancient documents 263 00:14:40,335 --> 00:14:43,043 could well be a factor of their use 264 00:14:43,085 --> 00:14:45,793 for some kind of strategic purpose. 265 00:14:45,876 --> 00:14:46,751 So, "We're not gonna tell the enemy 266 00:14:46,835 --> 00:14:48,251 "where our secret bunkers are. 267 00:14:48,376 --> 00:14:50,335 We're not gonna tell them where our secret supplies are." 268 00:14:50,418 --> 00:14:53,085 SHATNER: Could the Longyou Caves have been a subterranean place 269 00:14:53,168 --> 00:14:56,001 to hide critical supplies 270 00:14:56,085 --> 00:15:01,001 or even people from encroaching enemy forces? 271 00:15:01,085 --> 00:15:04,043 Or could their purpose be tied to the deep waters 272 00:15:04,126 --> 00:15:06,918 that shrouded their location? 273 00:15:08,168 --> 00:15:10,710 What's interesting about the Longyou Caves 274 00:15:10,793 --> 00:15:13,668 is it seems that when they flooded, 275 00:15:13,751 --> 00:15:17,251 the water helped maintain the structural integrity. 276 00:15:17,335 --> 00:15:20,876 Somehow, it took the load off some of the beams, 277 00:15:21,001 --> 00:15:23,210 for example, holding up the roofs. 278 00:15:23,293 --> 00:15:25,335 Now that the caves have been drained, 279 00:15:25,418 --> 00:15:28,001 the Chinese have been obliged to add 280 00:15:28,085 --> 00:15:30,043 extra buttressing to hold them up. 281 00:15:30,085 --> 00:15:32,876 And so, I think they were 282 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,085 a storage facility, um, and I think, 283 00:15:35,168 --> 00:15:37,751 certainly, many of them were intended for water. 284 00:15:37,835 --> 00:15:40,126 The area is drought-prone, 285 00:15:40,210 --> 00:15:43,710 so in the event of some kind of military crisis, 286 00:15:43,751 --> 00:15:48,085 it would have been very handy to have a secret base 287 00:15:48,168 --> 00:15:51,460 with enough water for them to live on for years. 288 00:15:51,543 --> 00:15:56,043 SHATNER: Were the Longyou Caves hidden beneath a pond for centuries 289 00:15:56,085 --> 00:15:59,418 because they were built to be a secret water reservoir? 290 00:15:59,501 --> 00:16:02,376 Or could they have had another purpose, 291 00:16:02,376 --> 00:16:04,543 that has yet to be unearthed? 292 00:16:04,585 --> 00:16:08,501 For now, the answer remains lost to history. 293 00:16:10,585 --> 00:16:13,626 But in modern times, the caves have become 294 00:16:13,751 --> 00:16:17,751 an important source of pride for the people of Longyou, 295 00:16:17,835 --> 00:16:21,960 who regularly hold festivals in this ancient underground space 296 00:16:22,085 --> 00:16:25,251 to commemorate their heritage. 297 00:16:25,376 --> 00:16:28,876 The story of the Longyou Caves is actually very fascinating 298 00:16:28,918 --> 00:16:32,043 because it would seem that by looking 299 00:16:32,126 --> 00:16:34,126 beneath the earth itself, 300 00:16:34,251 --> 00:16:38,251 we're obviously going to discover many, many caverns, 301 00:16:38,335 --> 00:16:42,501 underground chambers or even cities 302 00:16:42,501 --> 00:16:46,293 done by human hands that have been completely lost, 303 00:16:46,418 --> 00:16:50,126 and that's a very exciting prospect. 304 00:16:52,210 --> 00:16:56,293 Archaeologists are conducting ongoing excavations 305 00:16:56,418 --> 00:16:59,001 in an attempt to unravel the mystery 306 00:16:59,085 --> 00:17:02,043 of who built the incredible Longyou cave system. 307 00:17:02,126 --> 00:17:04,876 But some experts believe the best way to solve 308 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,543 an underground mystery is not by digging, 309 00:17:07,585 --> 00:17:11,418 but rather by researching historical texts. 310 00:17:11,501 --> 00:17:14,335 For instance, there's a copper mine 311 00:17:14,418 --> 00:17:17,418 in southern Israel that, according to the Bible, 312 00:17:17,501 --> 00:17:22,293 may have been the hiding place of King Solomon's treasure. 313 00:17:26,043 --> 00:17:28,251 SHATNER: In the deserts of southern Israel 314 00:17:28,335 --> 00:17:32,960 lies a mountainous region that is called the Timna Valley. 315 00:17:33,085 --> 00:17:34,626 Today, this area is known 316 00:17:34,710 --> 00:17:38,543 for its uniquely shaped sandstone cliffs. 317 00:17:38,626 --> 00:17:44,876 But more than 3,000 years ago, the Timna Valley was the site 318 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:47,668 of a vast network of copper mines. 319 00:17:49,793 --> 00:17:53,793 MULLINS: In the Timna Valley, mining activity took place 320 00:17:53,876 --> 00:17:54,960 for a long, long time, 321 00:17:55,043 --> 00:17:56,710 and most of the mining operations 322 00:17:56,751 --> 00:17:58,418 took place underground. 323 00:17:58,501 --> 00:18:02,168 The deepest is about 115 feet. 324 00:18:02,293 --> 00:18:06,335 They would hew in the ground circular shafts, 325 00:18:06,418 --> 00:18:09,710 and going down that shaft, 326 00:18:09,751 --> 00:18:15,335 they would cut steps into the side of the shaft. 327 00:18:15,418 --> 00:18:18,501 And they would tunnel along horizontally, 328 00:18:18,585 --> 00:18:21,376 where they would extract the copper 329 00:18:21,460 --> 00:18:23,876 and take it back up to the surface. 330 00:18:23,918 --> 00:18:27,543 SHATNER: In recent years, the Timna mines have attracted attention 331 00:18:27,585 --> 00:18:29,710 because there are those who believe 332 00:18:29,751 --> 00:18:33,418 that buried underground in one of these deep tunnels 333 00:18:33,543 --> 00:18:38,793 is the legendary lost treasure of the biblical King Solomon. 334 00:18:41,001 --> 00:18:43,001 In the Old Testament of the Bible, 335 00:18:43,085 --> 00:18:45,376 King Solomon is described as a noble 336 00:18:45,501 --> 00:18:49,043 and wise ruler of Israel. 337 00:18:49,210 --> 00:18:52,460 Historians believe that Solomon was a real person 338 00:18:52,543 --> 00:18:56,460 who lived in the 10th century BC. 339 00:18:56,585 --> 00:18:58,460 King Solomon is an intriguing figure 340 00:18:58,585 --> 00:19:02,085 because the Bible makes so many claims about him 341 00:19:02,168 --> 00:19:05,376 controlling vast amounts of territory. 342 00:19:05,418 --> 00:19:07,710 According to the Bible, 343 00:19:07,793 --> 00:19:12,251 Solomon expanded ancient Israel considerably, 344 00:19:12,335 --> 00:19:14,210 from the Euphrates river in the north 345 00:19:14,335 --> 00:19:18,251 all the way to the River of Egypt, 346 00:19:18,376 --> 00:19:21,876 and so, a much more expansive territory. 347 00:19:22,001 --> 00:19:24,168 The Bible also describes 348 00:19:24,251 --> 00:19:29,501 Solomon controlling vast amounts of wealth. 349 00:19:29,585 --> 00:19:34,460 Solomon decides to build a temple, uh, in Jerusalem. 350 00:19:34,460 --> 00:19:38,043 The temple becomes the home of God, 351 00:19:38,085 --> 00:19:41,918 and he spares no expense. 352 00:19:42,001 --> 00:19:43,793 And he was so committed 353 00:19:43,876 --> 00:19:47,793 to having the best temple in the region 354 00:19:47,876 --> 00:19:51,085 that he actually imports the finest materials 355 00:19:51,085 --> 00:19:54,085 to build this temple. 356 00:19:54,168 --> 00:19:57,251 SHATNER: According to the Bible, Solomon's temple was built 357 00:19:57,376 --> 00:20:00,793 from the best limestone and cedarwood. 358 00:20:00,793 --> 00:20:05,710 Inside, the walls were overlaid with pure gold, 359 00:20:05,710 --> 00:20:09,793 and Solomon adorned the temple with objects made out of copper, 360 00:20:09,876 --> 00:20:13,751 which was also a precious metal at the time. 361 00:20:16,751 --> 00:20:18,876 King Solomon ruled Israel for 40 years 362 00:20:19,001 --> 00:20:22,418 before dying in 931 BC. 363 00:20:22,543 --> 00:20:25,793 Upon his death, Solomon reportedly left behind 364 00:20:25,876 --> 00:20:29,043 an enormous amount of gold and other riches 365 00:20:29,126 --> 00:20:33,085 in his magnificent temple. 366 00:20:33,085 --> 00:20:37,501 But then, in 586 BC, 367 00:20:37,585 --> 00:20:40,543 the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem 368 00:20:40,626 --> 00:20:44,376 and sacked Solomon's temple. 369 00:20:44,460 --> 00:20:49,376 When the Temple of Solomon was destroyed in 586 BCE, 370 00:20:49,460 --> 00:20:53,293 all the temple treasures were lost to history. 371 00:20:53,376 --> 00:20:57,751 An ancient legend says that Solomon's treasures 372 00:20:57,876 --> 00:21:01,793 were taken out of Jerusalem and buried. 373 00:21:03,876 --> 00:21:07,251 There are those who believe that the treasures 374 00:21:07,376 --> 00:21:09,710 are, to this day, still hidden. 375 00:21:09,751 --> 00:21:13,876 SHATNER: For centuries, the legend of King Solomon's lost treasure 376 00:21:14,001 --> 00:21:18,668 has been a source of fascination and mystery. 377 00:21:18,751 --> 00:21:21,751 In 1885, the story was exposed to a wider audience 378 00:21:21,876 --> 00:21:25,126 when author H. R. Haggard wrote his famous novel 379 00:21:25,210 --> 00:21:27,626 King Solomon's Mines, 380 00:21:27,710 --> 00:21:30,710 which speculated that Solomon's treasures 381 00:21:30,793 --> 00:21:35,418 were hidden deep in an underground mine shaft. 382 00:21:35,501 --> 00:21:39,376 But if there is some truth to this legend, 383 00:21:39,501 --> 00:21:45,043 then where is King Solomon's treasure buried? 384 00:21:45,126 --> 00:21:50,460 For some, the most likely location is the Timna mines. 385 00:21:50,585 --> 00:21:52,751 MULLINS: The Timna Valley is located 386 00:21:52,835 --> 00:21:56,210 not more than 150 miles from Jerusalem. 387 00:21:56,251 --> 00:21:59,668 So we're talking about close proximity. 388 00:21:59,751 --> 00:22:04,835 At Timna, there are 10,000 mine shafts, maybe more, 389 00:22:04,835 --> 00:22:09,960 and so, it's easy for people to kind of say, 390 00:22:10,043 --> 00:22:11,668 "There must be a connection." 391 00:22:11,751 --> 00:22:13,710 SHATNER: In the last several decades, 392 00:22:13,793 --> 00:22:16,418 numerous researchers have tried to prove that the Timna mines 393 00:22:16,501 --> 00:22:19,585 are, in fact, the hiding place 394 00:22:19,668 --> 00:22:23,710 of King Solomon's lost treasures. 395 00:22:23,751 --> 00:22:25,876 Some of the first evidence in support of this theory 396 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,376 was found by an archaeologist named Nelson Glueck, 397 00:22:29,460 --> 00:22:32,376 who conducted a series of excavations at Timna 398 00:22:32,418 --> 00:22:35,126 in the 1930s. 399 00:22:35,251 --> 00:22:36,460 COLLINS: Nelson Glueck 400 00:22:36,543 --> 00:22:39,793 made a huge study of the-the copper mines, 401 00:22:39,918 --> 00:22:41,543 the smelting works, 402 00:22:41,668 --> 00:22:44,585 and also, the camps of those that were there. 403 00:22:44,668 --> 00:22:50,793 And what he found under the ground was pottery 404 00:22:50,876 --> 00:22:56,126 dating from the 9th to 10th century BC. 405 00:22:56,251 --> 00:22:59,210 And this was the exact time frame 406 00:22:59,293 --> 00:23:03,043 of the reign of King Solomon. 407 00:23:03,126 --> 00:23:05,835 And so, for Nelson Glueck, 408 00:23:05,918 --> 00:23:12,293 he felt that he had discovered evidence of Solomon's mines. 409 00:23:12,376 --> 00:23:14,793 SHATNER: Nelson Glueck's discoveries 410 00:23:14,876 --> 00:23:18,668 made sensational headlines around the world. 411 00:23:18,751 --> 00:23:21,460 However, despite years of searching, 412 00:23:21,585 --> 00:23:25,626 Glueck was unable to locate the fabled treasure, 413 00:23:25,710 --> 00:23:29,710 and some experts began to think that Glueck was wrong 414 00:23:29,835 --> 00:23:34,210 to associate the Timna mines with King Solomon. 415 00:23:34,293 --> 00:23:38,585 But then, in 2019, 416 00:23:38,668 --> 00:23:42,710 a team of archaeologists led by Professor Erez Ben-Yosef 417 00:23:42,793 --> 00:23:46,751 of Tel Aviv University, made a remarkable discovery. 418 00:23:46,835 --> 00:23:50,460 While excavating an ancient mining worksite at Timna 419 00:23:50,543 --> 00:23:52,710 that is referred to as Slaves' Hill, 420 00:23:52,835 --> 00:23:55,793 they found more evidence that links this location 421 00:23:55,876 --> 00:23:57,710 to King Solomon. 422 00:24:36,293 --> 00:24:38,626 When you take the totality of this, 423 00:24:38,710 --> 00:24:42,668 the Bible and what it says about King Solomon, 424 00:24:42,751 --> 00:24:47,543 the presence of these copper mines in the deserts of Israel, 425 00:24:47,626 --> 00:24:51,210 and put all these elements together, 426 00:24:51,293 --> 00:24:52,626 for people of faith, 427 00:24:52,710 --> 00:24:54,793 it gives them a greater assurance 428 00:24:54,876 --> 00:24:57,085 of the truthfulness of the Bible, 429 00:24:57,168 --> 00:25:00,668 that it involves real people 430 00:25:00,668 --> 00:25:03,626 in real places in a real time. 431 00:25:05,710 --> 00:25:08,043 Is the treasure of King Solomon 432 00:25:08,126 --> 00:25:10,543 hidden somewhere in the Timna copper mines? 433 00:25:10,626 --> 00:25:14,626 Experts continue to search for clues deep underground 434 00:25:14,710 --> 00:25:18,460 in hopes of answering that long-standing question. 435 00:25:18,585 --> 00:25:21,751 Not unlike another subterranean mystery 436 00:25:21,835 --> 00:25:24,626 that has also persisted for centuries. 437 00:25:24,710 --> 00:25:27,126 One that involves the strange theory 438 00:25:27,251 --> 00:25:29,835 that there are vast open spaces 439 00:25:29,918 --> 00:25:33,126 located in the center of the Earth. 440 00:25:40,626 --> 00:25:42,876 SHATNER: Seismologist Dr. Paul Richards 441 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,626 and his team at Columbia University 442 00:25:45,626 --> 00:25:48,710 make a remarkable announcement. 443 00:25:48,793 --> 00:25:51,543 They discovered that while a full rotation 444 00:25:51,543 --> 00:25:54,085 of the Earth's surface takes 24 hours, 445 00:25:54,168 --> 00:25:57,335 the iron core at the center of our planet 446 00:25:57,418 --> 00:26:00,293 actually spins faster. 447 00:26:01,835 --> 00:26:03,918 AGNEW: They were measuring 448 00:26:04,001 --> 00:26:08,043 the rotation of the core of the Earth 449 00:26:08,085 --> 00:26:10,918 in relation to the surface of the Earth, 450 00:26:11,043 --> 00:26:14,293 and what they found was that it's not constant. 451 00:26:14,418 --> 00:26:17,918 And it leads people to believe 452 00:26:18,001 --> 00:26:20,793 that there is a disconnection between the two. 453 00:26:20,876 --> 00:26:23,293 Maybe it's not molten rock. 454 00:26:23,376 --> 00:26:25,168 It could be open air. 455 00:26:25,251 --> 00:26:27,835 So, when you put all of that data together, 456 00:26:27,918 --> 00:26:29,668 it leaves open the idea, 457 00:26:29,751 --> 00:26:32,668 the hypothesis, that Earth is hollow. 458 00:26:32,751 --> 00:26:35,585 Could there really be vast hollow space 459 00:26:35,710 --> 00:26:37,585 beneath the Earth's surface? 460 00:26:37,710 --> 00:26:40,376 It sounds crazy. 461 00:26:40,460 --> 00:26:42,876 And yet, for thousands of years, 462 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,001 the belief has persisted that beneath our feet 463 00:26:46,085 --> 00:26:49,585 there are not just caves and tunnels 464 00:26:49,710 --> 00:26:52,876 but an entire underground world. 465 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:59,710 The idea of the Hollow Earth is that we live on a shell 466 00:26:59,751 --> 00:27:04,543 and that inside the Earth is a hollow cavity 467 00:27:04,626 --> 00:27:07,626 with its own atmosphere, its own animals, 468 00:27:07,710 --> 00:27:10,751 and possibly, its own inhabitants. 469 00:27:10,835 --> 00:27:13,043 AGNEW: The concept of a Hollow Earth 470 00:27:13,126 --> 00:27:16,460 goes well back before written word. 471 00:27:16,460 --> 00:27:18,918 We have pictograms, 472 00:27:19,001 --> 00:27:23,001 cave drawings, things that describe 473 00:27:23,085 --> 00:27:25,251 either deities coming out of the Earth 474 00:27:25,335 --> 00:27:29,876 or man trying to communicate with deities in the Earth, 475 00:27:29,918 --> 00:27:33,335 and that's where the idea of a Hollow Earth came from. 476 00:27:33,418 --> 00:27:37,376 SHATNER: Of all the ancient tales about Hollow Earth, 477 00:27:37,460 --> 00:27:39,668 perhaps the most intriguing 478 00:27:39,751 --> 00:27:44,085 is one that involves the Garden of Eden. 479 00:27:44,168 --> 00:27:46,001 TZADOK: There is an ancient legend 480 00:27:46,085 --> 00:27:50,001 that is recorded from a very, very old text 481 00:27:50,085 --> 00:27:53,335 called the Sefer HaTemunah, the "Book of the Image." 482 00:27:54,543 --> 00:27:56,710 The legend tells us 483 00:27:56,751 --> 00:28:01,460 that a cave called Machpelah 484 00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:05,168 is the doorway to the Garden of Eden... 485 00:28:06,335 --> 00:28:09,626 ...which exists in inner Earth. 486 00:28:09,710 --> 00:28:12,251 But here's the interesting question: 487 00:28:12,376 --> 00:28:14,918 a garden in a cave? 488 00:28:15,001 --> 00:28:16,835 It doesn't work like that. 489 00:28:16,918 --> 00:28:22,085 Gardens have plant life that grows, requires sun. 490 00:28:23,876 --> 00:28:26,960 But in inner Earth, there's an inner sun. 491 00:28:27,043 --> 00:28:29,460 SHATNER: Could Adam and Eve have lived 492 00:28:29,543 --> 00:28:33,126 in a lush paradise deep underground? 493 00:28:33,210 --> 00:28:34,668 The incredible notion that people 494 00:28:34,751 --> 00:28:37,043 could inhabit subterranean spaces 495 00:28:37,126 --> 00:28:38,918 has been embraced not just in ancient times 496 00:28:39,001 --> 00:28:42,668 but also, in the modern era. 497 00:28:42,751 --> 00:28:45,626 In fact, by the turn of the 20th century, 498 00:28:45,751 --> 00:28:49,001 the fascination with Hollow Earth was so strong 499 00:28:49,085 --> 00:28:52,085 that a new generation of scientists and explorers 500 00:28:52,168 --> 00:28:55,126 set out to find proof of the existence 501 00:28:55,210 --> 00:28:58,418 of a so-called "Inner Earth." 502 00:28:58,501 --> 00:29:01,543 Perhaps the most fascinating of those expeditions 503 00:29:01,626 --> 00:29:03,918 was led by an American Naval officer 504 00:29:04,043 --> 00:29:09,460 named Admiral Richard E. Byrd in 1926. 505 00:29:09,543 --> 00:29:11,376 Admiral Richard Byrd 506 00:29:11,501 --> 00:29:16,710 was a famous American aviator and explorer. 507 00:29:16,710 --> 00:29:21,501 And he claimed that on one of the journeys 508 00:29:21,585 --> 00:29:24,001 that he made to the North Pole-- 509 00:29:24,085 --> 00:29:27,460 in an aircraft-- he came across 510 00:29:27,543 --> 00:29:32,335 an environment down below that was plush and green 511 00:29:32,418 --> 00:29:36,960 with animals, almost like a sort of Garden of Eden, if you like. 512 00:29:37,043 --> 00:29:42,751 In other words, what was seen, perhaps, by Admiral Byrd 513 00:29:42,835 --> 00:29:45,960 at the North Pole was actually an entrance 514 00:29:46,043 --> 00:29:48,460 into a parallel world, 515 00:29:48,585 --> 00:29:50,710 a parallel existence 516 00:29:50,793 --> 00:29:53,710 that exists and coexists with the Earth itself. 517 00:29:53,793 --> 00:29:57,126 SHATNER: Is it possible that Admiral Byrd 518 00:29:57,210 --> 00:30:01,043 saw an entrance to Inner Earth at the North Pole? 519 00:30:01,085 --> 00:30:03,793 Almost a century after his alleged discovery, 520 00:30:03,876 --> 00:30:06,876 there's no way to know for sure. 521 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,210 But modern science is trying to solve 522 00:30:10,293 --> 00:30:14,376 this centuries-old mystery by conducting seismic studies 523 00:30:14,501 --> 00:30:17,585 of the interior of the planet. 524 00:30:17,668 --> 00:30:21,293 One of the pieces of data that was really earthshaking 525 00:30:21,376 --> 00:30:25,460 was when Washington University published the discovery 526 00:30:25,585 --> 00:30:30,210 of another ocean underneath the crust of the Atlantic Ocean. 527 00:30:30,251 --> 00:30:35,001 They could actually read the waves crashing on a shore 528 00:30:35,085 --> 00:30:37,710 on the inside of the crust. 529 00:30:37,751 --> 00:30:40,210 That was really quite remarkable. 530 00:30:40,251 --> 00:30:44,251 When I see reports like that, it leads me to believe, 531 00:30:44,335 --> 00:30:46,085 at least, that there's a possibility 532 00:30:46,168 --> 00:30:48,501 that we have a Hollow Earth. 533 00:30:49,793 --> 00:30:52,001 If we gather evidence to prove 534 00:30:52,085 --> 00:30:53,960 that our planet is actually hollow, 535 00:30:54,043 --> 00:30:56,168 it could change everything. 536 00:30:56,168 --> 00:30:59,126 Maybe the ancients were right all along. 537 00:31:01,168 --> 00:31:04,918 Does the Earth really have enormous hollow expanses 538 00:31:04,918 --> 00:31:07,335 beneath its surface? (chuckles) 539 00:31:07,418 --> 00:31:10,710 It's a wild thought to consider, but one way or another, 540 00:31:10,835 --> 00:31:13,043 we may soon find out the answer. 541 00:31:13,126 --> 00:31:17,001 Because according to some, the future of humanity lies 542 00:31:17,126 --> 00:31:18,876 not on the surface of the planet 543 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,168 but rather deep underground. 544 00:31:29,376 --> 00:31:31,793 SHATNER: On the surface, this remote town 545 00:31:31,876 --> 00:31:35,168 which is located in a harsh sandstone desert, 546 00:31:35,251 --> 00:31:38,668 looks like a normal rural community. 547 00:31:38,751 --> 00:31:40,460 But appearances can be deceiving, 548 00:31:40,543 --> 00:31:42,043 because as it turns out, 549 00:31:42,126 --> 00:31:45,668 most of the town is located underground. 550 00:31:48,251 --> 00:31:50,585 Beneath the surface of Coober Pedy 551 00:31:50,668 --> 00:31:52,585 lies a subterranean world, 552 00:31:52,668 --> 00:31:56,168 complete with homes that are known as "dugouts" 553 00:31:56,293 --> 00:32:00,626 and other living necessities. 554 00:32:00,751 --> 00:32:04,585 Coober Pedy is-is an incredible town in the Australian Outback. 555 00:32:04,710 --> 00:32:08,376 You go down these ramps into an underground space, 556 00:32:08,460 --> 00:32:11,793 and then, you start seeing restaurants, 557 00:32:11,918 --> 00:32:14,293 hotels, 558 00:32:14,376 --> 00:32:16,376 people's houses, 559 00:32:16,501 --> 00:32:19,085 churches underground. 560 00:32:19,168 --> 00:32:25,168 All of this stuff excavated from this soft but very firm rock. 561 00:32:25,251 --> 00:32:28,501 SHATNER: What would possess people 562 00:32:28,585 --> 00:32:33,085 to live in such an unusual, underground community? 563 00:32:34,376 --> 00:32:36,876 Well, the history of subterranean living 564 00:32:36,918 --> 00:32:40,835 in Coober Pedy dates back to 1915, 565 00:32:40,918 --> 00:32:44,501 when miners first traveled to this area 566 00:32:44,585 --> 00:32:47,626 to dig for gold and precious opals. 567 00:33:32,418 --> 00:33:35,376 GARRETT: The name for Coober Pedy comes from Aboriginal people 568 00:33:35,418 --> 00:33:40,001 that lived there when the first explorers came out. 569 00:33:40,085 --> 00:33:42,043 Coober Pedy means "white man in a hole." 570 00:33:42,126 --> 00:33:44,543 (laughs) 'Cause they saw these people 571 00:33:44,585 --> 00:33:47,335 digging into these things and disappearing into the Earth. 572 00:33:47,418 --> 00:33:48,751 And of course, were confounded, like, 573 00:33:48,876 --> 00:33:50,126 "Why do you keep going in there? 574 00:33:50,251 --> 00:33:52,043 What do you want in this place?" 575 00:33:52,126 --> 00:33:53,418 (machinery whirring) 576 00:34:34,085 --> 00:34:35,626 SHATNER: Today, Coober Pedy is more famous 577 00:34:35,710 --> 00:34:38,793 for being an alternative lifestyle community 578 00:34:38,876 --> 00:34:41,376 than it is for opal mining. 579 00:34:41,460 --> 00:34:44,043 According to recent estimates, 580 00:34:44,126 --> 00:34:47,710 there are 1,000 individual dugouts carved 581 00:34:47,793 --> 00:34:50,085 into the rock at Coober Pedy, 582 00:34:50,210 --> 00:34:52,793 and approximately 2,500 people 583 00:34:52,918 --> 00:34:55,751 live and work here year-round. 584 00:35:14,418 --> 00:35:18,335 SHATNER: But do residents of this unorthodox community 585 00:35:18,418 --> 00:35:21,043 enjoy their subterranean existence? 586 00:35:21,168 --> 00:35:23,376 Well, if you ask the people of Coober Pedy, 587 00:35:23,501 --> 00:35:28,543 they'll tell you they wouldn't want to live any other way. 588 00:35:54,543 --> 00:35:56,126 SHATNER: While the story of Coober Pedy 589 00:35:56,210 --> 00:35:58,293 and its residents is extraordinary, 590 00:35:58,376 --> 00:36:00,460 some people believe that underground living 591 00:36:00,585 --> 00:36:04,751 is not a matter of lifestyle preference 592 00:36:04,876 --> 00:36:09,335 but rather, survival. 593 00:36:09,418 --> 00:36:11,210 In recent years, an increasing number 594 00:36:11,293 --> 00:36:14,460 of so-called "doomsday bunkers" have been built, 595 00:36:14,543 --> 00:36:16,460 which are designed to protect residents 596 00:36:16,543 --> 00:36:19,376 in the event of a catastrophe. 597 00:36:19,501 --> 00:36:23,168 One of the most prominent of these subterranean shelters 598 00:36:23,251 --> 00:36:25,210 is Vivos xPoint, 599 00:36:25,251 --> 00:36:29,668 which is located in South Dakota. 600 00:36:29,793 --> 00:36:34,043 Vivos xPoint is the largest survival community on Earth. 601 00:36:34,126 --> 00:36:36,835 It was originally a government facility 602 00:36:36,918 --> 00:36:41,251 that was in charge of munitions for World War II. 603 00:36:41,335 --> 00:36:45,210 We have 575 bunkers 604 00:36:45,293 --> 00:36:48,543 spread out across 7,000 acres, 605 00:36:48,626 --> 00:36:50,335 or about nine square miles, 606 00:36:50,418 --> 00:36:52,460 which is about half the size of Manhattan, 607 00:36:52,543 --> 00:36:57,960 that are now being used for underground living and survival 608 00:36:58,043 --> 00:37:03,043 in case of the worst possible events we might encounter. 609 00:37:03,126 --> 00:37:04,543 People who live out there, 610 00:37:04,585 --> 00:37:06,376 they're regular people like you and I. 611 00:37:06,460 --> 00:37:09,501 And they come from all different walks of life. 612 00:37:09,585 --> 00:37:12,001 I think it always pays to be prepared 613 00:37:12,085 --> 00:37:14,376 to survive whatever may come. 614 00:37:15,376 --> 00:37:16,710 GARRETT: If we think about 615 00:37:16,793 --> 00:37:18,751 bunkers that are being built around the world, 616 00:37:18,835 --> 00:37:20,126 all of these spaces are connected 617 00:37:20,210 --> 00:37:21,835 by a fundamental belief 618 00:37:21,918 --> 00:37:24,876 that the underground is a space of protection. 619 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:28,335 So it completely makes sense, 620 00:37:28,418 --> 00:37:33,126 because humanity has always sought the underground 621 00:37:33,251 --> 00:37:36,168 to hide from a hostile environment. 622 00:37:36,293 --> 00:37:38,376 In the future, will millions of people 623 00:37:38,460 --> 00:37:42,251 actually live a subterranean existence? 624 00:37:42,376 --> 00:37:44,126 It may seem unlikely, 625 00:37:44,251 --> 00:37:46,543 but the truth is that humanity's fate 626 00:37:46,626 --> 00:37:50,710 may indeed rely on what's deep underground. 627 00:37:50,793 --> 00:37:54,793 For instance, there are places where people have drilled 628 00:37:54,876 --> 00:37:57,835 two and a half miles beneath the surface of the Earth 629 00:37:57,918 --> 00:38:00,585 in search of a rare and precious metal 630 00:38:00,710 --> 00:38:03,210 that is critical to our survival. 631 00:38:03,251 --> 00:38:05,543 Gold. 632 00:38:11,418 --> 00:38:15,626 SHATNER: In this nation located between South Africa and Mozambique, 633 00:38:15,710 --> 00:38:18,918 stands an ancient, stepped mountain canyon 634 00:38:19,001 --> 00:38:21,210 known as Bomvu Ridge. 635 00:38:21,293 --> 00:38:25,543 The Bomvu Ridge is significant because, according to experts, 636 00:38:25,626 --> 00:38:30,710 it is the site of the oldest mine in history. 637 00:38:30,793 --> 00:38:33,293 Radiocarbon dating, uh, shows evidence 638 00:38:33,376 --> 00:38:38,043 that this place was mined 40, 50,000 years ago. 639 00:38:38,168 --> 00:38:41,293 And 50,000 years later, 640 00:38:41,418 --> 00:38:44,376 the place is still producing iron today. 641 00:38:44,501 --> 00:38:46,376 So, the history of the human species, 642 00:38:46,501 --> 00:38:48,876 from the Stone Age to the digital age, 643 00:38:48,918 --> 00:38:53,376 has this relationship to going after the metals 644 00:38:53,501 --> 00:38:56,710 that we need at that particular place. 645 00:38:56,793 --> 00:39:01,043 SHATNER: It's astonishing to think that, from the humble beginnings 646 00:39:01,126 --> 00:39:03,668 of the first mine at Bomvu Ridge, 647 00:39:03,751 --> 00:39:07,001 there are now more than 6,000 active mines 648 00:39:07,085 --> 00:39:09,668 located all over the world. 649 00:39:09,751 --> 00:39:13,918 Some of today's mines extend incredibly deep into the Earth, 650 00:39:14,043 --> 00:39:18,460 such as the Mponeng gold mine in South Africa, 651 00:39:18,543 --> 00:39:20,251 which reaches an astonishing 652 00:39:20,251 --> 00:39:23,043 two and a half miles underground. 653 00:39:25,585 --> 00:39:28,543 Every year, more than 3.2 billion tons of iron, 654 00:39:28,668 --> 00:39:32,460 gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals 655 00:39:32,543 --> 00:39:35,293 are extracted from our planet. 656 00:39:35,376 --> 00:39:38,293 Today, we rely on mining perhaps even more 657 00:39:38,376 --> 00:39:39,960 than our ancestors did, 658 00:39:40,043 --> 00:39:44,418 because modern electronics depend on what are referred to 659 00:39:44,501 --> 00:39:46,585 as rare earth elements. 660 00:39:46,585 --> 00:39:48,293 KLINGER: The term "rare earths" 661 00:39:48,376 --> 00:39:51,751 refers to 17 chemically similar elements 662 00:39:51,835 --> 00:39:55,710 that have fantastic magnetic and conductive properties. 663 00:39:55,793 --> 00:39:58,668 They are called things like europium, 664 00:39:58,751 --> 00:40:01,543 lanthanum, praseodymium, cerium, 665 00:40:01,626 --> 00:40:06,043 and together they are absolutely essential 666 00:40:06,126 --> 00:40:09,043 for life as we know it today. 667 00:40:09,043 --> 00:40:12,710 We need these elements for medical technologies, 668 00:40:12,751 --> 00:40:15,710 communications, computer hardware. 669 00:40:15,793 --> 00:40:18,543 But eventually, rare earth elements 670 00:40:18,668 --> 00:40:20,668 are going to peter out. 671 00:40:20,751 --> 00:40:23,710 And the real question is, 672 00:40:23,835 --> 00:40:26,793 how deep will we go into the Earth 673 00:40:26,876 --> 00:40:28,793 to get the elements that we need? 674 00:40:28,918 --> 00:40:30,585 I think the simple answer to that is we will go 675 00:40:30,668 --> 00:40:33,210 as far as our technologies allow us to go. 676 00:40:33,251 --> 00:40:37,876 SHATNER: Will the Earth's supply of rare metals eventually run out? 677 00:40:38,001 --> 00:40:39,793 It appears the only way to find out 678 00:40:39,918 --> 00:40:41,876 is to keep digging into our planet, 679 00:40:42,001 --> 00:40:45,043 in search of both essential resources 680 00:40:45,126 --> 00:40:48,668 and also answers 681 00:40:48,751 --> 00:40:52,751 to the many mysteries that lie beneath our feet. 682 00:40:52,835 --> 00:40:55,501 GARNERO: As humans, we share 683 00:40:55,585 --> 00:40:57,710 this curiosity, 684 00:40:57,751 --> 00:41:01,043 this desire to understand what's beneath our feet. 685 00:41:01,168 --> 00:41:03,210 And we want to explore. 686 00:41:03,251 --> 00:41:05,418 We want to follow the breadcrumbs 687 00:41:05,501 --> 00:41:08,668 of this mystery of what is down there. 688 00:41:08,751 --> 00:41:11,876 COLLINS: Geophysical research 689 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:15,460 is revealing cave systems, caverns, 690 00:41:15,543 --> 00:41:18,501 and obviously, whole cities 691 00:41:18,585 --> 00:41:21,710 that were never known about in the past. 692 00:41:21,793 --> 00:41:25,085 And we are going to discover 693 00:41:25,168 --> 00:41:29,710 incredible things beneath the Earth in the future 694 00:41:29,793 --> 00:41:34,876 that we could not even have imagined existing before. 695 00:41:34,918 --> 00:41:38,543 There is something that compels humanity to explore underground, 696 00:41:38,585 --> 00:41:40,585 whether we're looking for precious metals 697 00:41:40,668 --> 00:41:42,626 or building new living spaces 698 00:41:42,751 --> 00:41:47,335 or simply satisfying our desire to descend into the unknown. 699 00:41:47,418 --> 00:41:49,918 And just like our ancestors before us, 700 00:41:50,043 --> 00:41:54,710 we'll keep digging in search of all the subterranean secrets 701 00:41:54,751 --> 00:41:58,043 held by our planet that, for now, remain... 702 00:41:59,251 --> 00:42:00,626 ...unexplained. 703 00:42:00,710 --> 00:42:02,501 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS 56338

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