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[William Shatner] Mystical
lost cities

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that have captivated explorers
for hundreds of years,

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mysterious tunnels that draw
extraordinary adventurers

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into hidden tombs,

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and entire lost worlds
just waiting to be found.

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Africa.

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The immense size and immediately
recognizable shape

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of this incredible continent

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can only be described
with one word:

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iconic.

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Its landscape
is endlessly diverse,

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holding vast,
uncharted wilderness,

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mysterious, ancient ruins,

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dramatic local legends,

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and not to mention
paradigm-shifting discoveries

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that have both challenged

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and rewritten the history
of our species on planet Earth.

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What is it

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that continues to draw
explorers and adventurers

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to expansive
and enigmatic Africa?

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

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♪ ♪

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[Shatner] The continent
of Africa.

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This majestic landmass spans

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an incredible
11.7 million square miles,

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a space that would comfortably
fit the United States,

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China, India and most of Europe.

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And Africa's massive scale

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is echoed
in its natural features,

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like the world's
largest hot desert,

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the planet's longest river,

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and Earth's highest
freestanding mountain.

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Africa is also home
to the largest

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and the tallest creatures
on dry land.

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But even today,
the sheer size of the continent

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is largely underestimated.

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[Ben McGee] Africa is actually

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a lot bigger
than people think it is,

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and there's a reason for that.

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The type of world maps
that we've used,

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the Mercator map,
have effectively shrunk

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the size of Africa--
'cause it's in the middle--

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and stretched things
near the poles...

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...making Africa look much
smaller than it actually is.

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Africa is unbelievably big

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and incredibly diverse
when it comes to topography.

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It encompasses
giant rift valleys,

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plains,

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desert savannas.

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Just when you move
through one area,

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you get to another
that's completely different.

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And, uh, this all has
the effect of lending Africa

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a sense of perpetual mystery.

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[Shatner] Africa's unparalleled
diversity and scale

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has created a legendary allure

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that has inspired
countless explorers

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determined to reveal
its hidden secrets.

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But might Africa's
most profound mystery

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surround its role

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in the very birth
of all mankind?

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One of the great mysteries
of Africa is,

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"Is that where
we're really from?"

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Did humans come from Africa?

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In 1871, Charles Darwin

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took on human evolution
in his book Descent of Man.

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And he theorized
that since the two animals

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that were most closely
related to humans

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were gorillas and chimpanzees,
and they're both from Africa,

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he says that is more likely
than not where humans come from

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and that Africa
is the cradle of humanity.

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So the search for the origin
of our species became

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this great obsession
of explorers.

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[Shatner] Darwin's
monumental theory

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inspired many
scientific adventures in Africa.

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And more than a century
after his hypothesis,

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American paleoanthropologist
Donald Johanson

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was scouring Ethiopia
when he discovered

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three million-year-old bones

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that would ignite the attention
of the entire world.

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[Karen Bellinger] In 1974,

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a paleoanthropologist
working in Ethiopia discovered

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a fossil that was
hugely important.

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They called her Lucy.

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And it was clear
from her lower body

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that she walked upright.

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And this was a missing link.

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It was the first

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kind of transitional fossil
discovered to link

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ape ancestors
and early modern humans.

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[Stephanie Wynne-Jones] The
discovery of Lucy

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was really important,

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um, because although there'd
been this long recognition

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that human origins
probably came from Africa

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and were to be found
within Africa,

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Lucy remains that sort of moment

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when that point
was proven for the first time.

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[Shatner] In 2026,
exciting new fossil evidence

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of early man was discovered
in a cave in Morocco,

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proving that the story
of mankind is still unfolding

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on this mysterious continent.

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Since the 1800s,

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the Western world
has been captivated

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by the exciting tales
of legendary explorers

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like David Livingstone,

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the first European to cross
the massive continent...

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...and Henry Morton Stanley,

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who covered thousands
of miles of Africa's interior

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and shared his adventures
in a famous chronicle entitled

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Through the Dark Continent.

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[Wynne-Jones] The idea

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of exploring
into the heart of Africa

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really goes back
to the 19th century.

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There were geographers
and historians

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traveling through Africa
on exploratory expeditions

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to try and shed light on places

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that were unknown
to European science.

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But even today,
there's so many places and areas

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about which we have
very little knowledge.

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There's so much still to know.

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[Shatner] Today,
modern-day explorers

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like ecologist Julian Bayliss

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are continuing to explore Africa
and map the areas

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that remain difficult
for humans to survey.

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I've probably organized and run
over 50 scientific expeditions

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in mountains, in forests,
in rainforests in Africa

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because it still holds
largely unexplored areas

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that humankind haven't
necessarily been to before.

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And it all started

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with Mount Mabu
in northern Mozambique.

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I was using satellite imagery

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to locate
these isolated forests.

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And that area of forest
turned out to be

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the largest rainforest
in Southern Africa.

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And we've been finding
new species.

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It was tremendously exciting.

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But there are many, many dangers

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in running expeditions
in-in Africa.

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We have to drive
through the bush,

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and it's very easy to get lost.

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We have the dangerous
animal side of things,

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especially
in this part of the world.

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Other dangers
are things like traps.

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So, the local people
use something called a gin trap,

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which is like a bear trap.

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They will basically
sever your foot.

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And the traps are buried
underneath the ground.

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You cannot see them.

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So there's many risks.

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[Shatner] In 2012,

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Julian Bayliss made
a remarkable discovery.

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Satellite imagery revealed

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what he believed
was an untouched,

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ancient forest in the sky

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known as Mount Lico.

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[Bayliss] So, immediately,

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all these questions
started to come,

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having seen
that first impression

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of Mount Lico
on the satellite image.

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Mount Lico is known
as a sky island.

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It has steep sides going up
to the basin of a rainforest.

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What's going on here?

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Why isn't that forest disturbed?

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And of course,
the only way to find out

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is to go and have a look.

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[Shatner] Despite the danger,

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in 2018, Julian and his team

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mounted an expedition
to climb 400 feet of sheer cliff

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to explore
this mysterious sky island.

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After their treacherous climb,
they discovered

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what could only be described
as a lost world.

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[Bayliss] So this forest,
potentially,

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has been undisturbed

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for millions and millions
and millions of years,

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providing sufficient time

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for the animals
that are found in there

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to develop into new species.

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We found a new species
of butterfly.

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We found a new species of frog.

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We even found
a new species of crab

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in the only stream
on top of Mount Lico.

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And seeing it
with your own eyes,

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there's a feeling
of exhilaration, excitement,

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reverence for a untouched,

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magical, ancient land

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that nobody, or very few people,

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have ever set foot in before.

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Africa

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is such a unique
and wonderful place

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because it still holds
a lot of mystery,

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a lot of magic,
and a lot of adventure.

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[Shatner] Based
on Julian's work,

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hundreds of new species
have been discovered

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throughout these so-called
sky islands of Africa.

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But beyond the continent's
natural wonders,

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Africa is also home

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to legends of lost civilizations

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and a mythical lost city.

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[Shatner reads on-screen text]

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This endless expanse
of dry savannah covers an area

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of 350,000 square miles

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from Botswana to Namibia
and South Africa.

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Its name is derived
from Tswana words

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that describe
a "waterless place"

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and a "great thirst."

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[thunder crashing]

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But after a good rainy season,

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this semidesert
becomes a thriving habitat

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for thousands of diverse animals

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and a magnet for curious
and courageous adventure seekers

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like wildlife journalist
Adam Cruise.

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The Kalahari
is a very fascinating desert.

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And it's massive.

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I mean, it's this big
blank space in Southern Africa.

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But the most interesting thing
about the Kalahari is,

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it is packed with wildlife,

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especially lions.

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There are a lot of lions
in the Kalahari.

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Exploring and walking around

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is not as easy as it could be.

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You've got to be very, very
vigilant about temperatures,

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about wildlife,
and about the expanse,

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because it's...

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it's easy to get lost there,
and I have many times.

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I had always gone
into the Kalahari,

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first as a boy with my family,

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and gone to do, uh, safaris,

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just go look at wildlife.

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And then I started
reading more about

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the previous explorers
into the Kalahari,

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which prompted me
to go with more purpose.

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The last three
or four expeditions I did

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into the Kalahari was for
the sole purpose of searching

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for the Lost City
of the Kalahari.

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[Shatner] The Lost City
of the Kalahari

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is the stuff of myth and legend,

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an ancient metropolis
believed to be hidden

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somewhere in Africa's
great southern desert,

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constructed in antiquity

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by an unknown civilization.

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And the fascinating tale
of this mysterious place

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began in 1885

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with the exploits
of a famous Canadian entertainer

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turned explorer named
William Leonard Hunt,

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who often went
by the self-proclaimed name

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The Great Farini.

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[Cruise] The Great Farini.

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He was a showman.
He was a circus man.

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But he wanted to be an explorer,

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and that's why he found himself
in the Kalahari.

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And he thought
he would write his name

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among the greats by crossing
the Kalahari and back

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and documenting it.

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So Farini charts his journey
through the Kalahari.

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He has a companion with him

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who was an early photographer.

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He photographed the dunes,

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documented the great waterfalls
called the Augrabies,

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he photographed the trees
and these massive nests

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that basically
take up a whole tree.

260
00:12:56,375 --> 00:12:59,167
There was no doubt
that Farini was there.

261
00:13:01,167 --> 00:13:03,917
So, Farini comes back
from his trip to the Kalahari,

262
00:13:04,083 --> 00:13:07,792
and he writes a lengthy,
galloping book

263
00:13:07,917 --> 00:13:11,708
about his exploits,
Through the Kalahari.

264
00:13:11,875 --> 00:13:14,167
Three-quarters
through the whole story,

265
00:13:14,292 --> 00:13:16,333
he drops in the fact
that, one day,

266
00:13:16,500 --> 00:13:18,333
they stumbled across some ruins.

267
00:13:18,500 --> 00:13:21,125
He talks about a circular wall

268
00:13:21,250 --> 00:13:24,500
about three-quarters
of a mile long.

269
00:13:24,708 --> 00:13:26,750
He talks about a fluted column.

270
00:13:26,917 --> 00:13:29,042
And then there's an altar.

271
00:13:29,208 --> 00:13:30,708
He can't find any inscriptions,

272
00:13:30,875 --> 00:13:32,458
and because they're
running out of water,

273
00:13:32,667 --> 00:13:34,167
he says they have to leave.

274
00:13:34,333 --> 00:13:37,500
And that is
the first full description

275
00:13:37,708 --> 00:13:39,667
of the Lost City
of the Kalahari.

276
00:13:40,708 --> 00:13:45,625
And from that description,
there were hundreds of people

277
00:13:45,792 --> 00:13:49,917
trying to find
this mythical place.

278
00:13:50,917 --> 00:13:52,750
[Shatner] Farini's
tantalizing tale

279
00:13:52,917 --> 00:13:55,250
electrified
the public's imagination,

280
00:13:55,375 --> 00:13:58,167
and soon a new wave
of fearless explorers,

281
00:13:58,333 --> 00:14:01,000
motivated by fortune and glory,

282
00:14:01,125 --> 00:14:02,792
ventured into
the great sandy abyss

283
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,542
of the Kalahari
in search of this lost city.

284
00:14:08,583 --> 00:14:10,292
[Andrew] One of the people
that became involved

285
00:14:10,458 --> 00:14:12,292
with the search
for a lost civilization

286
00:14:12,458 --> 00:14:17,500
in the Kalahari
was Joshua Norman Haldeman.

287
00:14:17,708 --> 00:14:20,667
He was the grandfather
of Elon Musk.

288
00:14:20,833 --> 00:14:24,417
And from 1953 onwards,

289
00:14:24,583 --> 00:14:27,500
on 12 separate occasions,
he would go

290
00:14:27,667 --> 00:14:29,917
to the Kalahari with his family

291
00:14:30,083 --> 00:14:32,167
and they would search
for evidence

292
00:14:32,375 --> 00:14:35,542
of some kind of, um,
you know, civilization.

293
00:14:36,750 --> 00:14:38,375
[Lance Geiger] In 1964,

294
00:14:38,542 --> 00:14:40,333
there's an explorer
by the name of A.J. Clement.

295
00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:42,583
He publishes his narrative
of the expedition.

296
00:14:42,750 --> 00:14:44,958
And A.J. Clement concludes that

297
00:14:45,125 --> 00:14:46,292
Farini was lost the whole time,

298
00:14:46,458 --> 00:14:48,042
that he didn't know
where he was.

299
00:14:48,208 --> 00:14:50,917
And A.J. Clement does come upon

300
00:14:51,083 --> 00:14:53,167
a bunch of natural rocks--
dolerite--

301
00:14:53,375 --> 00:14:55,792
which he thinks
might be what Farini saw.

302
00:14:55,958 --> 00:14:58,000
So, maybe it was dolerite,

303
00:14:58,208 --> 00:15:00,583
and Farini just didn't know
what he was seeing,

304
00:15:00,708 --> 00:15:02,833
or maybe he found something
that is, right now, buried

305
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,625
under the sands of the Kalahari.

306
00:15:06,708 --> 00:15:09,250
[Shatner] For those inclined
to take on the challenge,

307
00:15:09,417 --> 00:15:13,083
the possibility of discovering
a mythical lost city in Africa

308
00:15:13,250 --> 00:15:14,833
is a seductive proposition

309
00:15:15,042 --> 00:15:18,958
that could rewrite
Africa's ancient history.

310
00:15:19,167 --> 00:15:21,667
But to this day,
no one has managed

311
00:15:21,833 --> 00:15:23,500
to confirm Farini's claims.

312
00:15:23,708 --> 00:15:27,125
And based on his background
as an entertainer,

313
00:15:27,292 --> 00:15:30,583
many have wondered,
was his monumental discovery

314
00:15:30,708 --> 00:15:33,208
just part of the act?

315
00:15:35,208 --> 00:15:37,458
[Geiger] The Great Farini
made his fame

316
00:15:37,583 --> 00:15:41,458
walking on tightropes
across Niagara Falls.

317
00:15:41,625 --> 00:15:46,125
And he becomes very famous
as a performer,

318
00:15:46,333 --> 00:15:47,917
and then he makes
the very odd choice

319
00:15:48,083 --> 00:15:51,625
to go and explore Africa.

320
00:15:53,458 --> 00:15:57,083
[Cruise] The unexplained mystery
with this Lost City

321
00:15:57,250 --> 00:16:01,000
of the Kalahari
is the man Farini himself.

322
00:16:01,167 --> 00:16:03,500
His job was to entertain.

323
00:16:03,625 --> 00:16:07,375
His job was to fabricate.

324
00:16:07,542 --> 00:16:10,667
So the question is,
did he really see something,

325
00:16:10,875 --> 00:16:13,625
or was he entertaining us?

326
00:16:13,833 --> 00:16:15,833
He knew how to tell a story.

327
00:16:16,042 --> 00:16:19,250
Was it a real one,
or was it fiction?

328
00:16:19,375 --> 00:16:22,167
[Shatner] Was the Lost City
of the Kalahari

329
00:16:22,292 --> 00:16:26,833
a complete fabrication concocted
by a convincing storyteller,

330
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,125
or could it be
a very real place?

331
00:16:30,292 --> 00:16:33,667
Perhaps clues can be found
in the ancient stone structures

332
00:16:33,833 --> 00:16:36,792
that dot this epic landscape.

333
00:16:36,958 --> 00:16:41,375
Throughout Southern Africa,
there are magnificent ruins.

334
00:16:41,542 --> 00:16:45,083
One just has to think
of the Great Zimbabwe ruins.

335
00:16:45,208 --> 00:16:47,500
This was once a huge city.

336
00:16:47,667 --> 00:16:50,500
Mapungubwe in South Africa
comes to mind.

337
00:16:50,667 --> 00:16:53,917
Another walled city,
and they are all over the place.

338
00:16:54,083 --> 00:16:56,417
So, if they are there,
there's a good chance

339
00:16:56,542 --> 00:16:58,667
that there could have been
something similar

340
00:16:58,875 --> 00:17:00,125
in the Kalahari.

341
00:17:00,250 --> 00:17:03,167
If there is a lost city
to be found,

342
00:17:03,333 --> 00:17:05,375
you cannot afford
to not go and look for it.

343
00:17:05,542 --> 00:17:07,583
Imagine having that
to your name.

344
00:17:07,750 --> 00:17:11,250
I'll definitely be
going back to the Kalahari.

345
00:17:12,333 --> 00:17:14,208
I've got the Lost City fever,

346
00:17:14,375 --> 00:17:18,167
and I think, unfortunately,
uh, it's a permanent one.

347
00:17:19,125 --> 00:17:21,833
Finding the Lost City
of the Kalahari

348
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,583
remains a lofty goal
for many explorers.

349
00:17:24,708 --> 00:17:26,833
However, if it's discovered,

350
00:17:27,042 --> 00:17:29,167
will a never-before-known
civilization

351
00:17:29,375 --> 00:17:31,667
need to be added
to the history books?

352
00:17:31,875 --> 00:17:33,250
Who can say?

353
00:17:33,417 --> 00:17:37,833
But there is another
actual city in Africa

354
00:17:37,958 --> 00:17:40,083
sitting in complete ruin,

355
00:17:40,208 --> 00:17:43,708
and no one knows why,
centuries ago,

356
00:17:43,875 --> 00:17:46,583
it was mysteriously abandoned.

357
00:17:50,875 --> 00:17:52,667
[Shatner reads on-screen text]

358
00:17:52,833 --> 00:17:57,333
Scattered along the majestic
330-mile coastline

359
00:17:57,500 --> 00:17:59,625
lies the remnants
of a once thriving

360
00:17:59,708 --> 00:18:02,167
medieval trade network.

361
00:18:02,333 --> 00:18:07,000
Among the 116 historic
Swahili settlements

362
00:18:07,208 --> 00:18:10,083
are the major port city
of Mombasa

363
00:18:10,208 --> 00:18:13,167
and the breathtaking beaches
of Malindi.

364
00:18:13,375 --> 00:18:17,500
And nestled between them,
in an ancient rainforest,

365
00:18:17,667 --> 00:18:23,208
are the ruins of a mysteriously
abandoned town called Gedi.

366
00:18:24,375 --> 00:18:26,833
[Wynne-Jones] When Gedi
was first discovered,

367
00:18:27,042 --> 00:18:29,333
it wasn't
a completely unknown site.

368
00:18:29,542 --> 00:18:32,000
The people who live around
Gedi have always known

369
00:18:32,167 --> 00:18:33,417
about the ruins.

370
00:18:33,583 --> 00:18:37,167
There are many local stories

371
00:18:37,375 --> 00:18:39,958
about the association
of the site with spirits,

372
00:18:40,083 --> 00:18:42,833
and many of the Swahili
on the coast

373
00:18:42,958 --> 00:18:46,167
think of Gedi as being the site
of many of their ancestors.

374
00:18:46,333 --> 00:18:49,167
And then some
of the other local groups

375
00:18:49,375 --> 00:18:51,708
believed that it was
the home of ancestral spirits

376
00:18:51,875 --> 00:18:53,583
and should be avoided.

377
00:18:53,792 --> 00:18:57,333
It was first excavated
starting in the 1940s,

378
00:18:57,458 --> 00:19:01,625
by the pioneering archaeologist
of the Swahili coast

379
00:19:01,833 --> 00:19:03,250
called James Kirkman.

380
00:19:03,417 --> 00:19:07,292
And there was a written account
of Kirkman's excavations.

381
00:19:07,458 --> 00:19:09,042
And actually,
it was the first Swahili site

382
00:19:09,208 --> 00:19:11,667
ever to be excavated.

383
00:19:11,875 --> 00:19:13,750
The inhabitants of Gedi

384
00:19:13,875 --> 00:19:18,333
are definitely part
of what we understand

385
00:19:18,500 --> 00:19:20,625
as the Swahili
coastal tradition.

386
00:19:20,750 --> 00:19:23,875
But there are no histories
that relate to Gedi,

387
00:19:24,083 --> 00:19:27,000
um, which is quite unusual,
because there are histories

388
00:19:27,208 --> 00:19:30,042
that relate
to other towns nearby.

389
00:19:30,208 --> 00:19:33,458
Who exactly came to Gedi
in the 11th century,

390
00:19:33,625 --> 00:19:36,125
um, we don't completely know.

391
00:19:36,250 --> 00:19:40,500
Kenyan archaeologist
Dr. Freda Nkirote,

392
00:19:40,667 --> 00:19:43,375
with the National Museums
of Kenya,

393
00:19:43,542 --> 00:19:46,500
has been studying
the settlement for decades

394
00:19:46,708 --> 00:19:50,000
and has uncovered many clues
about the prosperous culture

395
00:19:50,083 --> 00:19:53,583
that once thrived there.

396
00:20:33,417 --> 00:20:36,083
[Wynne-Jones] We have found
glazed ceramics

397
00:20:36,250 --> 00:20:38,167
from the Islamic world,

398
00:20:38,333 --> 00:20:41,500
porcelains that had come
all the way from China.

399
00:20:41,667 --> 00:20:43,667
They'd been trading
far and wide.

400
00:20:43,833 --> 00:20:45,292
It had once been

401
00:20:45,458 --> 00:20:47,833
this sort of central point
in Indian Ocean trade.

402
00:20:48,042 --> 00:20:52,083
Over many centuries,
it grew as a center of wealth.

403
00:20:52,292 --> 00:20:55,000
[Shatner] The nature
of the exotic artifacts

404
00:20:55,167 --> 00:20:56,792
discovered at the Gedi ruins

405
00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,792
suggest it was once
a booming trade town.

406
00:21:02,083 --> 00:21:03,458
But for centuries,

407
00:21:03,625 --> 00:21:06,000
archaeologists
have yet to uncover

408
00:21:06,208 --> 00:21:08,708
what caused thousands
of people to flee

409
00:21:08,875 --> 00:21:12,542
such a well-built
and successful city.

410
00:21:12,708 --> 00:21:14,875
[Wynne-Jones] The big question
about Gedi

411
00:21:15,042 --> 00:21:17,333
is why it was abandoned.

412
00:21:17,458 --> 00:21:20,708
Mombasa and Malindi,
two of Gedi's nearest neighbors,

413
00:21:20,875 --> 00:21:23,500
not only continued
to be occupied

414
00:21:23,667 --> 00:21:25,708
but thrived in later centuries.

415
00:21:25,875 --> 00:21:27,458
They're still
major centers today.

416
00:21:27,625 --> 00:21:32,167
So why Gedi became unlivable

417
00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:33,375
is something that we don't know.

418
00:21:33,542 --> 00:21:35,667
We can only speculate.

419
00:21:36,708 --> 00:21:38,125
[Shatner] What could have caused

420
00:21:38,292 --> 00:21:40,625
an alleged mass exodus?

421
00:21:40,833 --> 00:21:43,167
While some theorize
it was disease

422
00:21:43,375 --> 00:21:45,292
or fresh water drying up

423
00:21:45,458 --> 00:21:49,542
or perhaps even
a disruption in trade routes,

424
00:21:49,708 --> 00:21:53,833
what's confounding is that based
on archaeological evidence,

425
00:21:53,958 --> 00:21:58,458
many believe Gedi was deserted
practically overnight.

426
00:22:33,875 --> 00:22:35,583
[Shatner] Did the residents
of Gedi

427
00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:38,750
really grab as much
as they could carry and run?

428
00:22:38,875 --> 00:22:42,292
And if so,
what were they running from?

429
00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:47,333
Well, local folklore suggests
a haunting possibility.

430
00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:49,458
It is said
that the people of Gedi

431
00:22:49,625 --> 00:22:53,500
may have been
escaping evil spirits.

432
00:22:53,625 --> 00:22:55,042
[Bellinger] The idea

433
00:22:55,250 --> 00:22:56,500
that evil spirits
had something to do

434
00:22:56,708 --> 00:22:59,542
with Gedi's abandonment
comes from

435
00:22:59,708 --> 00:23:03,292
a-a real and deeply embedded
spiritual belief

436
00:23:03,417 --> 00:23:05,917
in creatures known as jinn.

437
00:23:07,125 --> 00:23:09,417
The jinn inspires curiosity

438
00:23:09,583 --> 00:23:11,708
and a certain amount of fear,
even today,

439
00:23:11,875 --> 00:23:16,750
among local tribespeople
in the Gedi region.

440
00:23:17,792 --> 00:23:20,042
[Nkirote reads on-screen text]

441
00:24:00,875 --> 00:24:04,333
[Shatner] Was the belief in
powerful, supernatural creatures

442
00:24:04,542 --> 00:24:08,042
somehow responsible
for the abandonment of Gedi?

443
00:24:08,208 --> 00:24:11,083
It's just one of many questions
yet to be answered

444
00:24:11,292 --> 00:24:16,792
about the history of this
African archaeological enigma.

445
00:24:17,792 --> 00:24:20,667
Will the ruins of Gedi
ever reveal the secret

446
00:24:20,875 --> 00:24:23,125
of why this city was abandoned,

447
00:24:23,125 --> 00:24:23,225
of why this city was abandoned,

448
00:24:24,708 --> 00:24:28,167
or will its history remain
a fascinating tale of folklore?

449
00:24:28,375 --> 00:24:30,000
With so many different cultures,

450
00:24:30,208 --> 00:24:33,667
Africa is brimming
with intriguing local legends,

451
00:24:33,875 --> 00:24:39,625
including tribal tales
of mysterious blue stones

452
00:24:39,833 --> 00:24:44,125
that are said
to be rarer than diamonds.

453
00:24:48,417 --> 00:24:50,167
[Shatner reads on-screen text]

454
00:24:51,958 --> 00:24:53,333
This small
coastal country is known

455
00:24:53,542 --> 00:24:56,125
for its stunning natural beauty,

456
00:24:56,333 --> 00:25:00,917
diverse ecosystems, and
a wealth of mineral resources.

457
00:25:01,083 --> 00:25:05,417
Since 1930,
an estimated $15 billion

458
00:25:05,542 --> 00:25:08,458
worth of diamonds have
officially been mined here,

459
00:25:08,542 --> 00:25:12,667
including
the massive 969-carat rock

460
00:25:12,792 --> 00:25:15,667
known as
the Star of Sierra Leone.

461
00:25:15,875 --> 00:25:20,125
But in 1990,
a geological discovery

462
00:25:20,292 --> 00:25:23,792
of a very different kind
would dazzle rock experts

463
00:25:23,917 --> 00:25:26,500
and launch
a stone-hunting adventure

464
00:25:26,708 --> 00:25:29,792
that has spanned over 30 years.

465
00:25:29,917 --> 00:25:31,375
[Andrew] In 1990,

466
00:25:31,583 --> 00:25:33,375
an Italian geologist

467
00:25:33,583 --> 00:25:35,750
by the name of Antonio Pitoni

468
00:25:35,917 --> 00:25:39,333
went into Sierra Leone,

469
00:25:39,500 --> 00:25:43,625
and he found himself talking
with one of the chiefs

470
00:25:43,750 --> 00:25:47,917
of the Fula tribes
in that region.

471
00:25:48,125 --> 00:25:51,833
They started talking
about where diamonds came from,

472
00:25:52,042 --> 00:25:53,375
and this chief said
that they came from the sky,

473
00:25:53,542 --> 00:25:55,292
they fell from the sky.

474
00:25:55,458 --> 00:25:58,667
Pitoni said to him, "Well,
what else falls from the sky?"

475
00:25:58,875 --> 00:26:02,000
And the chief said to him,
"We can show you."

476
00:26:02,208 --> 00:26:05,833
And a shaman took him
to a location,

477
00:26:06,042 --> 00:26:09,458
and he started
digging up the ground

478
00:26:09,667 --> 00:26:13,000
and showed him
these blue stones,

479
00:26:13,208 --> 00:26:16,000
or skystones,
as they're also known.

480
00:26:16,208 --> 00:26:18,958
And the shaman said
that these fell from the sky.

481
00:26:19,958 --> 00:26:22,667
[Shatner] Stones that fell
from the sky?

482
00:26:22,875 --> 00:26:27,625
While the origin story was easy
to dismiss as local mythology,

483
00:26:27,750 --> 00:26:29,333
the rocks' jagged shape

484
00:26:29,500 --> 00:26:32,833
and unusual blue patina
was intriguing.

485
00:26:33,042 --> 00:26:36,042
And when gemologist
and rare meteorite collector

486
00:26:36,208 --> 00:26:39,625
Jared Collins saw
these enigmatic stones

487
00:26:39,750 --> 00:26:42,000
for the first time,
it would set him

488
00:26:42,167 --> 00:26:46,333
on a 12-year quest to answer one
simple question--

489
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:48,958
what are they?

490
00:26:49,125 --> 00:26:51,708
[Jared] In 2013,
I was in Hong Kong

491
00:26:51,875 --> 00:26:53,958
for the yearly gem show,

492
00:26:54,083 --> 00:26:56,208
and a dealer had invited me
to his house

493
00:26:56,417 --> 00:26:59,750
to see his collection
of rare gemstones.

494
00:26:59,875 --> 00:27:01,625
I see a blue rock.

495
00:27:01,792 --> 00:27:03,875
The blue is very striking.

496
00:27:04,042 --> 00:27:06,750
And I picked it up, and I knew

497
00:27:06,875 --> 00:27:09,125
there was something unusual
about this.

498
00:27:09,292 --> 00:27:11,375
And I asked the guy,
"What is this?"

499
00:27:11,542 --> 00:27:14,458
And he said, "That's skystone,
that's skystone."

500
00:27:14,583 --> 00:27:17,542
This is an object

501
00:27:17,708 --> 00:27:20,000
that supposedly came
from the heavens

502
00:27:20,167 --> 00:27:22,250
and was thrust into the Earth.

503
00:27:22,417 --> 00:27:24,417
I asked him
if he would sell it to me,

504
00:27:24,542 --> 00:27:26,125
and he said no.

505
00:27:26,208 --> 00:27:28,125
And this is a guy
that would sell anything.

506
00:27:28,250 --> 00:27:31,500
I think for almost a year,
I bothered this guy.

507
00:27:31,708 --> 00:27:34,583
He finally agreed
to sell me one gram,

508
00:27:34,708 --> 00:27:35,958
the small piece.

509
00:27:36,125 --> 00:27:37,833
And as soon
as I got ahold of it,

510
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,292
I immediately cut it in half

511
00:27:40,500 --> 00:27:43,292
and I sent half of it over

512
00:27:43,458 --> 00:27:46,417
to University of Washington
Earth and Space Sciences.

513
00:27:46,583 --> 00:27:49,833
And Dr. Tony Irving did
what I think is

514
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,333
the best analysis done to date.

515
00:27:52,542 --> 00:27:54,167
And he found

516
00:27:54,333 --> 00:27:57,958
that the stones are essentially
calcium orthosilicate.

517
00:27:58,125 --> 00:28:01,542
So it could be natural,
but his analysis was

518
00:28:01,708 --> 00:28:05,958
that it is probably artificial,

519
00:28:06,125 --> 00:28:08,292
it is a man-made material.

520
00:28:08,417 --> 00:28:11,542
He was not able
to identify the blue colorant.

521
00:28:11,750 --> 00:28:13,292
It's not like a pigment.

522
00:28:13,458 --> 00:28:14,833
You can't paint with it.

523
00:28:15,042 --> 00:28:18,208
The blue colorant
remains unknown.

524
00:28:19,292 --> 00:28:20,667
[McGee] The most anomalous
characteristic is,

525
00:28:20,833 --> 00:28:22,000
why is it blue?

526
00:28:22,208 --> 00:28:23,792
There are ways
you can add a dye,

527
00:28:23,958 --> 00:28:26,042
but we have no idea how

528
00:28:26,250 --> 00:28:28,500
that would have been
achieved there.

529
00:28:28,667 --> 00:28:32,708
When the stone is sampled
and pieces are broken off,

530
00:28:32,875 --> 00:28:35,583
the color kind of
falls apart with it,

531
00:28:35,708 --> 00:28:37,208
and so we have no idea

532
00:28:37,375 --> 00:28:40,500
what whoever made the skystones
used to turn them blue,

533
00:28:40,708 --> 00:28:42,125
and that's pretty cool.

534
00:28:43,208 --> 00:28:45,083
[Shatner] After
the initial analysis,

535
00:28:45,208 --> 00:28:49,375
Jared sent skystone samples
to 15 labs around the world.

536
00:28:49,542 --> 00:28:51,750
While the properties
of the blue coloring

537
00:28:51,917 --> 00:28:54,083
of the rocks
remain inconclusive,

538
00:28:54,250 --> 00:28:57,000
the extensive scientific tests
seem to suggest

539
00:28:57,125 --> 00:29:00,167
that the stone itself
was somehow

540
00:29:00,375 --> 00:29:03,292
forged by man.

541
00:29:04,208 --> 00:29:05,667
[McGee] The data produced

542
00:29:05,750 --> 00:29:08,042
when the skystones were analyzed
provides a match,

543
00:29:08,250 --> 00:29:10,833
and that's with what we call
a geopolymer--

544
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,208
in other words,
concrete or cement.

545
00:29:13,375 --> 00:29:16,667
According to the numbers I saw,
this could be anywhere

546
00:29:16,833 --> 00:29:19,417
from a few thousand to tens
of thousands of years old.

547
00:29:19,583 --> 00:29:20,833
We don't know.

548
00:29:21,042 --> 00:29:22,458
And so, maybe

549
00:29:22,583 --> 00:29:25,250
it's a mystery concrete
from civilization past.

550
00:29:26,292 --> 00:29:29,000
[Shatner] The analysis
of this mysterious material

551
00:29:29,167 --> 00:29:31,208
raises a fascinating question.

552
00:29:31,375 --> 00:29:33,875
Are the blue skystones
the product

553
00:29:34,042 --> 00:29:36,292
of an ancient
African lost technology?

554
00:29:36,458 --> 00:29:39,083
[Jared] One thing
that we do know is

555
00:29:39,208 --> 00:29:43,042
that whatever created it
needed a high temperature

556
00:29:43,208 --> 00:29:45,292
for a sustained period of time.

557
00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:50,000
That would require
having a kiln in Sierra Leone

558
00:29:50,167 --> 00:29:52,583
5,000, 6,000, 7,000,
8,000 years ago,

559
00:29:52,708 --> 00:29:56,000
which I'm pretty sure
that they didn't have.

560
00:29:57,042 --> 00:29:59,208
We know that the Mesopotamians
were the first

561
00:29:59,375 --> 00:30:02,333
to invent kiln technology.

562
00:30:02,458 --> 00:30:04,417
That would be
around 5000 or 6000 BC.

563
00:30:04,542 --> 00:30:05,750
So,

564
00:30:05,958 --> 00:30:08,542
is it a lost technology?

565
00:30:08,708 --> 00:30:10,500
The science keeps saying

566
00:30:10,708 --> 00:30:14,292
that it is potentially man-made,
artificial.

567
00:30:14,458 --> 00:30:18,542
What is this material doing
in Sierra Leone?

568
00:30:18,750 --> 00:30:20,167
I've spent more
than 12 years now

569
00:30:20,375 --> 00:30:21,958
trying to get
to the bottom of this thing.

570
00:30:22,042 --> 00:30:24,000
There is a mystery in here

571
00:30:24,167 --> 00:30:26,417
that is not yet
revealing itself,

572
00:30:26,542 --> 00:30:29,958
and I would really like
to find out what that is.

573
00:30:30,083 --> 00:30:32,500
Whatever the blue skystones are,

574
00:30:32,667 --> 00:30:36,208
they're undoubtedly
extremely rare and exotic.

575
00:30:36,375 --> 00:30:39,292
But there's another
African mystery,

576
00:30:39,458 --> 00:30:42,167
even more ancient,
that has captivated the world

577
00:30:42,333 --> 00:30:43,875
for more than 2,000 years--

578
00:30:44,083 --> 00:30:46,917
the yet-to-be
discovered location

579
00:30:47,083 --> 00:30:50,333
of Cleopatra's tomb.

580
00:30:54,292 --> 00:30:55,625
[Shatner reads on-screen text]

581
00:30:55,792 --> 00:30:57,917
This arid land is home

582
00:30:58,083 --> 00:31:00,167
to the world's longest river,
the Nile,

583
00:31:00,333 --> 00:31:03,083
and many ancient civilizations,

584
00:31:03,208 --> 00:31:07,250
including the kingdom of Kush
in modern-day Sudan,

585
00:31:07,375 --> 00:31:10,958
the Aksumite Empire in Ethiopia,

586
00:31:11,083 --> 00:31:13,875
and the powerful
and mysterious realm

587
00:31:14,042 --> 00:31:16,583
known as ancient Egypt.

588
00:31:17,583 --> 00:31:19,500
[Geiger] This great civilization
of Egypt--

589
00:31:19,667 --> 00:31:22,083
we don't always really think
about that as Africa, but it is.

590
00:31:22,292 --> 00:31:24,667
It left behind the pyramids
and the Sphinx,

591
00:31:24,792 --> 00:31:26,583
all these great structures

592
00:31:26,708 --> 00:31:29,167
that have lasted thousands
of years.

593
00:31:29,333 --> 00:31:32,875
But one of the reasons
that it so captivates us is that

594
00:31:33,083 --> 00:31:35,083
there's still so much
we don't know.

595
00:31:36,375 --> 00:31:37,917
[Shatner] Evidence
of a once advanced

596
00:31:38,042 --> 00:31:40,125
and thriving empire can be found

597
00:31:40,292 --> 00:31:42,500
in the extraordinary
engineering at Cairo,

598
00:31:42,708 --> 00:31:44,125
the grand temples

599
00:31:44,208 --> 00:31:46,917
and immaculate royal tombs
of Luxor,

600
00:31:47,083 --> 00:31:48,708
and the captivating ruins

601
00:31:48,875 --> 00:31:54,083
of ancient Egypt's last center
of power, Alexandria.

602
00:31:55,125 --> 00:31:56,833
[Shatner reads on-screen text]

603
00:31:56,958 --> 00:31:58,833
30 miles west of Alexandria.

604
00:31:59,042 --> 00:32:02,625
According to renowned
archaeologist Kathleen Martinez,

605
00:32:02,792 --> 00:32:05,750
who has led excavations here
for 20 years,

606
00:32:05,917 --> 00:32:10,083
this massive two-square mile
temple complex could unravel one

607
00:32:10,250 --> 00:32:12,167
of the greatest
enduring mysteries

608
00:32:12,333 --> 00:32:14,792
of the ancient Egyptian world.

609
00:32:15,917 --> 00:32:18,500
[Martinez] This is
an ancient temple, very sacred.

610
00:32:18,708 --> 00:32:20,083
And nobody

611
00:32:20,250 --> 00:32:23,167
thought it was
an important temple

612
00:32:23,250 --> 00:32:27,208
because it was
completely destroyed, abandoned,

613
00:32:27,375 --> 00:32:30,750
and there was very little
information about this place.

614
00:32:30,917 --> 00:32:33,500
It was the only temple in Egypt

615
00:32:33,708 --> 00:32:37,125
where you don't know
to whom it was dedicated.

616
00:32:37,292 --> 00:32:39,750
So I've said
we need to excavate.

617
00:32:39,875 --> 00:32:41,833
It could be
the final resting place

618
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:43,833
of Queen Cleopatra.

619
00:32:44,875 --> 00:32:46,708
[Shatner] Uncovering
the mysterious life and death

620
00:32:46,875 --> 00:32:50,083
of Queen Cleopatra--
the last pharaoh of Egypt--

621
00:32:50,292 --> 00:32:53,708
has been the ambition
of countless explorers.

622
00:32:53,875 --> 00:32:58,000
After ascending the throne
in 51 BC at just 18 years old,

623
00:32:58,167 --> 00:33:02,542
Cleopatra became the richest,
most powerful woman on Earth.

624
00:33:02,708 --> 00:33:08,083
Cleopatra VII was the last ruler
of Egypt, the last queen

625
00:33:08,208 --> 00:33:11,250
at a time when men were
really dominating all

626
00:33:11,417 --> 00:33:13,500
of the most important
political positions.

627
00:33:14,542 --> 00:33:16,792
She was a powerful woman
in her own right.

628
00:33:16,875 --> 00:33:19,833
Cleopatra's job really was
to advocate

629
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,667
for the needs of Egypt,
which at this point

630
00:33:22,792 --> 00:33:25,417
was very much
being ruled by Rome.

631
00:33:25,583 --> 00:33:28,500
One of the key ways
in which Cleopatra did this was

632
00:33:28,667 --> 00:33:32,375
by aligning herself romantically
with Rome's leaders.

633
00:33:32,542 --> 00:33:35,333
So she was very clever.

634
00:33:35,542 --> 00:33:37,708
But Cleopatra remains
mysterious to us

635
00:33:37,875 --> 00:33:41,708
because she was written about
by Roman writers,

636
00:33:41,917 --> 00:33:45,667
and Roman writers had a tendency
to denigrate her

637
00:33:45,875 --> 00:33:48,375
and to paint her
in a very particular light,

638
00:33:48,542 --> 00:33:50,125
which may or may not be true.

639
00:33:50,250 --> 00:33:51,500
And of course

640
00:33:51,708 --> 00:33:53,375
we don't know
where she was buried.

641
00:33:54,375 --> 00:33:57,125
[Naunton] The question
of the whereabouts

642
00:33:57,292 --> 00:33:59,875
and the nature
of Cleopatra's tomb is one

643
00:34:00,042 --> 00:34:04,625
of the great problems
for Egyptian archaeology.

644
00:34:04,708 --> 00:34:07,000
It seems almost like an anomaly.

645
00:34:07,125 --> 00:34:10,667
We are led to believe that
that tomb was in Alexandria.

646
00:34:10,875 --> 00:34:13,333
But we have, in fact,

647
00:34:13,500 --> 00:34:17,000
just about no archaeological
evidence for that tomb.

648
00:34:17,208 --> 00:34:18,917
[Shatner] For centuries,

649
00:34:19,083 --> 00:34:21,500
archaeologists and explorers
have searched the ancient city

650
00:34:21,708 --> 00:34:25,292
of Alexandria for the legendary
lost tomb of Cleopatra

651
00:34:25,458 --> 00:34:27,083
with no success.

652
00:34:27,208 --> 00:34:31,333
But based on her discoveries
at Taposiris Magna,

653
00:34:31,542 --> 00:34:34,958
many believe
Kathleen Martinez may be close

654
00:34:35,083 --> 00:34:39,000
to locating the great queen's
final resting place.

655
00:34:39,167 --> 00:34:43,333
[Martinez] Plutarch, one of the
most important ancient writers,

656
00:34:43,542 --> 00:34:46,958
said that Cleopatra was buried
in a temple of Isis.

657
00:34:47,958 --> 00:34:51,292
I've been excavating now
for 20 seasons.

658
00:34:51,458 --> 00:34:53,750
In the second season,

659
00:34:53,917 --> 00:34:57,458
we were able to discover
that this is an ancient temple

660
00:34:57,625 --> 00:34:59,667
dedicated to goddess Isis.

661
00:34:59,875 --> 00:35:04,833
We have uncovered more
than 3,000 artifacts,

662
00:35:05,042 --> 00:35:06,667
and most of the objects

663
00:35:06,875 --> 00:35:10,000
that we have discovered are
from the time of Cleopatra.

664
00:35:10,167 --> 00:35:15,833
We have discovered more than
600 coins portraying the queen.

665
00:35:16,042 --> 00:35:19,042
We have 21 catacombs,

666
00:35:19,208 --> 00:35:24,292
and most of those catacombs are
from the time of Cleopatra.

667
00:35:24,500 --> 00:35:26,875
And who was buried there?

668
00:35:27,042 --> 00:35:29,125
Generals, officials,

669
00:35:29,292 --> 00:35:32,708
high-rank people
around the queen.

670
00:35:32,875 --> 00:35:38,000
We have several statues of Isis,
including one

671
00:35:38,208 --> 00:35:41,500
that experts believe
could have been a statue

672
00:35:41,625 --> 00:35:44,000
of Queen Cleopatra herself.

673
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,292
All the evidence
that we are getting

674
00:35:47,458 --> 00:35:51,083
confirm the link
of this temple to the queen.

675
00:35:52,125 --> 00:35:55,042
[Naunton] The kinds of things
that Kathleen has found

676
00:35:55,208 --> 00:35:56,958
strengthen the idea

677
00:35:57,042 --> 00:36:01,542
that this was a temple
connected to Isis.

678
00:36:02,667 --> 00:36:05,667
And we also know that Cleopatra
went to great lengths

679
00:36:05,792 --> 00:36:07,833
to associate herself with Isis

680
00:36:07,958 --> 00:36:10,042
and to present herself as a kind
of manifestation of Isis.

681
00:36:10,208 --> 00:36:11,833
So it was very interesting

682
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,750
that there's that clear
association with the site

683
00:36:13,875 --> 00:36:16,667
and Isis and, therefore,
perhaps by extension, Cleopatra.

684
00:36:17,708 --> 00:36:20,250
[Shatner] Could Taposiris Magna
be the location

685
00:36:20,417 --> 00:36:22,625
of Cleopatra's lost tomb?

686
00:36:22,750 --> 00:36:25,542
While there are at least
20 more catacombs to unearth,

687
00:36:25,708 --> 00:36:28,458
the possibility became
more plausible

688
00:36:28,625 --> 00:36:30,083
with an underground discovery

689
00:36:30,250 --> 00:36:32,333
that would change the course
of the search

690
00:36:32,500 --> 00:36:36,583
and perhaps history
as we know it.

691
00:36:42,125 --> 00:36:45,125
[Shatner reads on-screen text]

692
00:36:45,292 --> 00:36:47,708
After years searching

693
00:36:47,875 --> 00:36:49,167
for the lost tomb
of Queen Cleopatra,

694
00:36:49,375 --> 00:36:52,750
archaeologist Kathleen Martinez

695
00:36:52,917 --> 00:36:55,500
discovers
something extraordinary--

696
00:36:55,667 --> 00:36:58,583
a mysterious, ancient tunnel

697
00:36:58,708 --> 00:37:02,708
hiding beneath
this enormous temple complex.

698
00:37:02,875 --> 00:37:04,500
[Martinez] The discovery
of the tunnel

699
00:37:04,667 --> 00:37:07,917
was with
archaeological excavation,

700
00:37:08,125 --> 00:37:09,542
systematic excavations.

701
00:37:09,708 --> 00:37:11,333
But we didn't know

702
00:37:11,458 --> 00:37:16,542
that this shaft
will go down 25 meters,

703
00:37:16,708 --> 00:37:21,458
and it was really hard
to go down and to excavate.

704
00:37:21,625 --> 00:37:26,000
So we had to continue
excavating with our hands.

705
00:37:26,167 --> 00:37:28,833
Encountering cobra,

706
00:37:28,958 --> 00:37:31,292
different type of snakes
and scorpions,

707
00:37:31,500 --> 00:37:32,917
which make it very difficult.

708
00:37:33,083 --> 00:37:35,167
But we continue,

709
00:37:35,375 --> 00:37:37,833
because the tunnels go

710
00:37:37,958 --> 00:37:41,708
from the temple
to the Mediterranean Sea.

711
00:37:42,708 --> 00:37:45,333
It opened
to the Mediterranean Sea,

712
00:37:45,500 --> 00:37:48,375
leading me to understand that

713
00:37:48,542 --> 00:37:51,208
the temple was connected

714
00:37:51,333 --> 00:37:55,667
to another structure
that today is underwater.

715
00:37:57,542 --> 00:37:59,667
So we are going
to continue excavating

716
00:37:59,875 --> 00:38:01,375
and working in the sea.

717
00:38:01,542 --> 00:38:03,583
So there's a lot of work to do.

718
00:38:03,750 --> 00:38:06,458
The tunnel will be the key

719
00:38:06,667 --> 00:38:10,375
to discover the tomb
of Queen Cleopatra.

720
00:38:10,542 --> 00:38:13,917
[Naunton] We have to remember
that with ancient Egypt,

721
00:38:14,042 --> 00:38:15,917
the bodies
of deceased individuals

722
00:38:16,083 --> 00:38:19,708
were often placed in chambers
at the bottom of deep shafts,

723
00:38:19,833 --> 00:38:23,292
hidden away and protected
for all eternity.

724
00:38:23,458 --> 00:38:25,500
So the presence
of shafts and tunnels

725
00:38:25,667 --> 00:38:28,000
at the temple area immediately
puts us in mind

726
00:38:28,208 --> 00:38:30,625
of perhaps a monumental tomb
of some kind.

727
00:38:30,792 --> 00:38:32,708
And of course, until we know
exactly where it goes,

728
00:38:32,875 --> 00:38:35,125
it's very difficult
to say what it might be,

729
00:38:35,250 --> 00:38:38,333
but it is at the very least
very intriguing.

730
00:38:39,375 --> 00:38:41,875
[Shatner] While excavation of
the tunnel is far from complete,

731
00:38:42,042 --> 00:38:44,958
the search
for Cleopatra's lost tomb

732
00:38:45,083 --> 00:38:48,208
has attracted
another famous explorer,

733
00:38:48,375 --> 00:38:50,083
Dr. Robert Ballard,

734
00:38:50,250 --> 00:38:53,833
who famously found the sunken
wreck of the Titanic.

735
00:38:53,958 --> 00:38:56,708
[Martinez] Now we are working
on land and underwater

736
00:38:56,875 --> 00:39:00,000
with Dr. Robert Ballard,

737
00:39:00,208 --> 00:39:03,500
and we recently
make a major discovery--

738
00:39:03,667 --> 00:39:07,208
the port to the harbor
of Taposiris Magna.

739
00:39:08,875 --> 00:39:11,833
We are writing pages of history.

740
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:15,958
What kind of structures
could be now underwater?

741
00:39:16,875 --> 00:39:19,458
Could be another temple,

742
00:39:19,625 --> 00:39:21,500
could be a town.

743
00:39:21,667 --> 00:39:24,333
We don't know, but we believe

744
00:39:24,542 --> 00:39:28,042
this is the beginning
of another important journey.

745
00:39:29,083 --> 00:39:32,500
There's so much that people
don't know about Cleopatra,

746
00:39:32,625 --> 00:39:35,833
and this is one of the things
that we're trying to change.

747
00:39:35,917 --> 00:39:39,667
I'm convinced
that the discovery of the tomb

748
00:39:39,792 --> 00:39:42,167
will be the greatest discovery
of the century.

749
00:39:43,208 --> 00:39:44,875
[Bradshaw] If the tomb
of Cleopatra is discovered

750
00:39:45,042 --> 00:39:46,833
within our lifetime, it would be

751
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,500
unspeakably exciting.

752
00:39:49,667 --> 00:39:51,667
Partly, this is because
people have been looking

753
00:39:51,833 --> 00:39:54,708
for it for so long
but more importantly

754
00:39:54,917 --> 00:39:57,083
because of what it can reveal
to us.

755
00:39:57,250 --> 00:39:59,125
How did she die?

756
00:39:59,292 --> 00:40:01,250
What did she look like?

757
00:40:01,375 --> 00:40:04,625
Royal tombs for Egyptian rulers
were statements

758
00:40:04,792 --> 00:40:07,167
about how they wanted themselves
to be perceived.

759
00:40:07,333 --> 00:40:10,208
So we get Cleopatra's
perspective on things, finally.

760
00:40:11,792 --> 00:40:14,042
[Shatner] Will Cleopatra's
elusive lost tomb

761
00:40:14,208 --> 00:40:16,250
soon be discovered?

762
00:40:16,458 --> 00:40:20,417
Like many mysteries in Africa,
scientists, explorers

763
00:40:20,583 --> 00:40:24,167
and adventurers continue
their never-ending quest

764
00:40:24,375 --> 00:40:29,458
for answers in the birthplace
of all mankind.

765
00:40:30,625 --> 00:40:33,208
[Nkirote reads on-screen text]

766
00:40:57,750 --> 00:40:59,833
[Wynne-Jones] When you work
in Africa,

767
00:40:59,958 --> 00:41:01,750
you're often literally
writing the history

768
00:41:01,917 --> 00:41:03,458
for that place and that time.

769
00:41:03,625 --> 00:41:06,958
I think there are many
more stories to be told because

770
00:41:07,167 --> 00:41:09,000
each time we go out there,

771
00:41:09,208 --> 00:41:12,000
we're telling something new

772
00:41:12,208 --> 00:41:14,750
'cause there's still so much
to discover.

773
00:41:14,958 --> 00:41:18,417
Africa is a magnificent land,

774
00:41:18,583 --> 00:41:20,667
the cradle of civilization,

775
00:41:20,875 --> 00:41:23,917
offering
unprecedented diversity.

776
00:41:24,042 --> 00:41:27,250
It's also home to lost cities
and forgotten cultures,

777
00:41:27,375 --> 00:41:30,625
along with
otherworldly treasures buried

778
00:41:30,833 --> 00:41:33,833
in its endless deserts
and dense jungles.

779
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,000
And to think that scientists
and explorers could be

780
00:41:37,208 --> 00:41:39,208
on the precipice
of a great discovery

781
00:41:39,375 --> 00:41:42,875
that could forever change
the history of mankind--

782
00:41:43,042 --> 00:41:44,667
well, it makes
the hidden mysteries

783
00:41:44,875 --> 00:41:47,792
of this continent
even more exciting.

784
00:41:47,958 --> 00:41:51,500
What might be uncovered?

785
00:41:51,625 --> 00:41:55,000
The possibilities are
as monumental

786
00:41:55,208 --> 00:41:56,667
as Africa itself

787
00:41:56,833 --> 00:41:58,667
and for now remain...

788
00:41:58,875 --> 00:42:00,792
unexplained.

789
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,042
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