1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:04,083 WILLIAM SHATNER: Twisted cords concealing secrets 2 00:00:04,250 --> 00:00:06,167 to an ancient mountain empire. 3 00:00:06,333 --> 00:00:09,708 A quest of mythic proportions 4 00:00:09,875 --> 00:00:12,833 carved into a mysterious runestone. 5 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,833 And a universal ruler 6 00:00:16,042 --> 00:00:21,292 intentionally hidden for all eternity. 7 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:24,167 Throughout the course of human history, many kingdoms 8 00:00:24,375 --> 00:00:26,958 have prospered and expanded their territory, 9 00:00:27,125 --> 00:00:30,708 only to one day collapse into the sands of time. 10 00:00:30,875 --> 00:00:32,458 And with their demise, 11 00:00:32,583 --> 00:00:36,042 secrets as to how these cultures lived, 12 00:00:36,208 --> 00:00:39,417 fought, and ruled simply vanished. 13 00:00:39,542 --> 00:00:44,000 Fortunately, tantalizing clues left behind 14 00:00:44,208 --> 00:00:47,292 offer historians and archaeologists 15 00:00:47,458 --> 00:00:50,417 the opportunity to piece together 16 00:00:50,583 --> 00:00:53,542 what remains of the ancient past. 17 00:00:53,708 --> 00:00:57,667 For instance, what can an intricate gold artifact 18 00:00:57,833 --> 00:01:02,000 from a mountain lake or a towering megalithic pyramid 19 00:01:02,208 --> 00:01:05,000 reveal about the people who made them? 20 00:01:05,208 --> 00:01:08,833 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 21 00:01:09,042 --> 00:01:11,167 ♪ ♪ 22 00:01:25,875 --> 00:01:29,083 Perched precariously on a mountaintop 23 00:01:29,250 --> 00:01:31,417 nearly 8,000 feet above sea level 24 00:01:31,583 --> 00:01:34,000 lies an ancient city that looks like 25 00:01:34,125 --> 00:01:36,167 it's floating in the clouds. 26 00:01:36,333 --> 00:01:41,375 Built around 1450 A.D., this curious engineering marvel 27 00:01:41,583 --> 00:01:45,875 stands as the crowning achievement of the Inca Empire 28 00:01:46,042 --> 00:01:49,333 and is known as Machu Picchu. 29 00:01:51,083 --> 00:01:53,667 Machu Picchu is a technological marvel. 30 00:01:53,750 --> 00:01:56,250 For one thing, it's a fairly good-sized city, 31 00:01:56,417 --> 00:01:59,458 and it was built at an incredibly high elevation. 32 00:02:00,458 --> 00:02:02,125 And it's sculpted into the mountains. 33 00:02:02,292 --> 00:02:04,542 It takes a bit of time to even get up there. 34 00:02:04,708 --> 00:02:06,958 EDWIN BARNHART: The moment you walk in, you think to yourself, 35 00:02:07,083 --> 00:02:09,250 "How did anyone 36 00:02:09,375 --> 00:02:13,042 build this on top of sheer cliffs?" 37 00:02:13,208 --> 00:02:15,417 It's a perilous journey. 38 00:02:15,625 --> 00:02:18,667 The mountainside is straight up and down. 39 00:02:18,792 --> 00:02:22,250 And so, after climbing up to this huge height, 40 00:02:22,417 --> 00:02:25,000 you see that the buildings themselves 41 00:02:25,167 --> 00:02:27,667 seem to blend into the landscape. 42 00:02:27,750 --> 00:02:31,917 As an archaeologist who has worked on sites 43 00:02:32,083 --> 00:02:34,250 around the world and seen incredible 44 00:02:34,417 --> 00:02:36,000 engineering achievements, 45 00:02:36,125 --> 00:02:38,667 Machu Picchu kind of blows it all away. 46 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,208 We're talking massive, multi-ton stones 47 00:02:43,375 --> 00:02:45,833 shaped and moved into place, 48 00:02:45,958 --> 00:02:48,125 and they fit together perfectly. 49 00:02:48,292 --> 00:02:53,500 And this mountain site, somehow, was transformed into 50 00:02:53,667 --> 00:02:58,333 an enduring city and survives 500 years later 51 00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:01,708 in absolutely perfect condition. 52 00:03:01,875 --> 00:03:05,667 SHATNER: Perhaps the greatest mystery of Machu Picchu 53 00:03:05,792 --> 00:03:09,083 is why did the ancient Incas choose to build 54 00:03:09,250 --> 00:03:11,542 a sprawling city 55 00:03:11,708 --> 00:03:15,875 in such an inaccessible mountain location? 56 00:03:16,042 --> 00:03:19,625 SABINE HYLAND: The Incas had a incredibly sophisticated culture. 57 00:03:19,708 --> 00:03:22,542 We know that in the Inca Empire, when a building was built, 58 00:03:22,708 --> 00:03:25,875 it had to be made strong in the spiritual world 59 00:03:26,083 --> 00:03:28,417 as well as in the physical world. 60 00:03:29,750 --> 00:03:33,667 As you walk through, you can see how the Inca artists 61 00:03:33,875 --> 00:03:36,833 echoed the shapes of all the mountains in the construction 62 00:03:36,958 --> 00:03:41,375 of Machu Picchu in honor of the mountain gods around it. 63 00:03:41,542 --> 00:03:45,500 On the other hand, just saying that only tells us a little bit. 64 00:03:45,667 --> 00:03:47,917 There is still a huge amount of mystery 65 00:03:48,042 --> 00:03:49,792 about what Machu Picchu was for. 66 00:03:50,833 --> 00:03:53,667 SHATNER: Some believe that Machu Picchu's true purpose may be connected 67 00:03:53,792 --> 00:03:56,750 to the great ruler who ordered its construction, 68 00:03:56,875 --> 00:03:59,667 Emperor Pachacuti. 69 00:03:59,875 --> 00:04:03,500 Machu Picchu was built by the Emperor Pachacuti, 70 00:04:03,708 --> 00:04:06,208 who's known as, really, the founder 71 00:04:06,375 --> 00:04:09,542 of the Imperial phase of the Inca state. 72 00:04:09,708 --> 00:04:12,625 One thing to remember is that, in the Inca Empire, 73 00:04:12,833 --> 00:04:14,958 the emperors can... were considered divine. 74 00:04:15,125 --> 00:04:16,667 They were considered like gods. 75 00:04:17,708 --> 00:04:21,333 And when an emperor died, his body was mummified, 76 00:04:21,542 --> 00:04:24,917 and it was treated as if he was still alive 77 00:04:25,042 --> 00:04:27,583 so that their worship could continue. 78 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,500 And so, after Pachacuti's death, 79 00:04:31,625 --> 00:04:35,083 his family would still go and use Machu Picchu, 80 00:04:35,250 --> 00:04:37,417 and we believe that when they did so, 81 00:04:37,583 --> 00:04:41,333 they brought the mummified body of the emperor with them. 82 00:04:42,583 --> 00:04:45,667 SHATNER: Did Emperor Pachacuti build Machu Picchu 83 00:04:45,792 --> 00:04:48,125 to be a sacred site in the mountains, 84 00:04:48,250 --> 00:04:51,167 where his mummy could rest for all eternity? 85 00:04:51,333 --> 00:04:53,458 It seems like a reasonable theory, 86 00:04:53,625 --> 00:04:55,583 but there's just one problem. 87 00:04:55,750 --> 00:05:00,500 Pachacuti's remains have never been found. 88 00:05:01,375 --> 00:05:04,000 However, in recent years, 89 00:05:04,208 --> 00:05:06,792 some have suggested that the emperor's mummy 90 00:05:06,958 --> 00:05:12,250 may be hidden in a secret chamber at Machu Picchu. 91 00:05:14,542 --> 00:05:19,333 In 2010, a French engineer by the name of David Crespy 92 00:05:19,542 --> 00:05:25,375 was doing some measuring work within the city of Machu Picchu. 93 00:05:26,417 --> 00:05:30,333 And he noticed what was quite clearly a doorway, 94 00:05:30,542 --> 00:05:32,542 blocked up by stones. And it clearly 95 00:05:32,708 --> 00:05:36,542 was blocking the entrance into some kind of a chamber. 96 00:05:37,917 --> 00:05:41,042 He reported it immediately to the authorities, 97 00:05:41,167 --> 00:05:44,375 and people have suggested that this might well be 98 00:05:44,542 --> 00:05:47,000 the entrance into some kind of tomb. 99 00:05:47,208 --> 00:05:51,458 We could be looking at a royal burial. 100 00:05:51,625 --> 00:05:54,958 So, is it the tomb of Pachacuti? 101 00:05:56,167 --> 00:05:57,833 HUGH NEWMAN: Now, they did 102 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,667 more tests and more scans, and they found what appeared to be 103 00:06:00,792 --> 00:06:05,667 gold-lined steps going down into this area. 104 00:06:05,750 --> 00:06:07,875 They wanted to push forward and excavate this, 105 00:06:08,042 --> 00:06:09,333 because this would have been, 106 00:06:09,542 --> 00:06:11,500 without doubt, the most important discovery 107 00:06:11,667 --> 00:06:13,500 ever found at Machu Picchu. 108 00:06:13,583 --> 00:06:16,333 But then, apparently, the Peruvian government 109 00:06:16,458 --> 00:06:17,583 have kind of put a block on it 110 00:06:17,750 --> 00:06:19,708 and stopped the progression of this. 111 00:06:19,917 --> 00:06:23,667 Because they were concerned if it was dug into it may collapse. 112 00:06:23,875 --> 00:06:27,417 SHATNER: Are Pachacuti's mummified remains, and with them, 113 00:06:27,583 --> 00:06:31,333 the secrets of Machu Picchu, concealed in this chamber? 114 00:06:31,542 --> 00:06:35,000 For now, the answers may lie sealed behind a stone wall. 115 00:06:37,292 --> 00:06:38,792 But perhaps there's another way 116 00:06:38,875 --> 00:06:41,667 to solve the mysteries of Machu Picchu. 117 00:06:41,833 --> 00:06:45,667 Although the Inca did not leave behind any written records, 118 00:06:45,875 --> 00:06:50,500 they did encode information in strange threads 119 00:06:50,708 --> 00:06:53,333 that are known as quipus. 120 00:06:53,458 --> 00:06:58,167 HYLAND: Quipus are twisted chords that redefine what writing is, 121 00:06:58,375 --> 00:07:00,958 because some of them are incredibly complex 122 00:07:01,125 --> 00:07:04,417 with hundreds of pendants, dozens of colors, 123 00:07:04,583 --> 00:07:06,833 and they have knots that represented words, 124 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,708 and they were read syllable by syllable. 125 00:07:10,875 --> 00:07:13,000 If you're in an empire like the Incas, 126 00:07:13,208 --> 00:07:16,667 where people spoke many, many, many different languages, 127 00:07:16,833 --> 00:07:20,542 if you have a writing system or a communication system 128 00:07:20,708 --> 00:07:23,333 that is not tied to speech 129 00:07:23,500 --> 00:07:26,167 but uses symbols, uses ideas, 130 00:07:26,375 --> 00:07:28,583 then people who speak different languages 131 00:07:28,708 --> 00:07:31,625 can come together and understand those records. 132 00:07:32,708 --> 00:07:34,667 And what's really mysterious 133 00:07:34,792 --> 00:07:37,667 is that there were narrative quipus. 134 00:07:37,875 --> 00:07:40,250 And, supposedly, these narrative quipus 135 00:07:40,417 --> 00:07:43,417 had biographies. They had poems. 136 00:07:43,542 --> 00:07:46,125 They had histories. They served as letters. 137 00:07:46,250 --> 00:07:47,750 The Incas would have used quipus 138 00:07:47,917 --> 00:07:50,000 during the construction of Machu Picchu. 139 00:07:50,208 --> 00:07:52,125 If we could decipher them, 140 00:07:52,250 --> 00:07:55,875 quipus could give us insights into that whole process. 141 00:07:56,042 --> 00:07:59,500 That could really unlock the mysteries of the Incas for us. 142 00:08:00,542 --> 00:08:03,542 SHATNER: Will translating these intricate rope knots reveal 143 00:08:03,708 --> 00:08:07,542 why the Inca built the mountain kingdom of Machu Picchu? 144 00:08:08,583 --> 00:08:10,875 It's an intriguing possibility, and one that illuminates 145 00:08:11,083 --> 00:08:15,875 how important it is to decipher the relics of the past. 146 00:08:16,083 --> 00:08:19,708 Like in the case of a delicately crafted miniature 147 00:08:19,875 --> 00:08:23,083 found hidden in the jungles of Colombia. 148 00:08:23,250 --> 00:08:26,375 It's a piece of art that many believe tells the story 149 00:08:26,542 --> 00:08:30,500 of an ancient culture with riches so vast 150 00:08:30,667 --> 00:08:33,125 they built a city constructed entirely of gold. 151 00:08:33,583 --> 00:08:35,167 Its name? 152 00:08:35,375 --> 00:08:36,708 El Dorado. 153 00:08:46,375 --> 00:08:50,792 SHATNER: Spanish conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, 154 00:08:50,958 --> 00:08:54,542 capture the Incan Emperor Atahualpa, 155 00:08:54,708 --> 00:08:57,875 and kill 5,000 of his men in the course of just one hour. 156 00:08:59,875 --> 00:09:03,708 Pizarro is on a quest to both conquer the New World 157 00:09:03,917 --> 00:09:06,833 and plunder as much gold as he can find. 158 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,292 Pizarro starts to take these gold and riches 159 00:09:10,458 --> 00:09:12,083 from the kingdoms of the Andes. 160 00:09:12,208 --> 00:09:14,792 And this really starts a precedent for conquistadors 161 00:09:14,917 --> 00:09:17,958 trying to take riches and send them back to Europe. 162 00:09:18,083 --> 00:09:21,250 This quest for gold is what drives them. 163 00:09:22,375 --> 00:09:25,000 BELLINGER: From the European point of view, once there was 164 00:09:25,167 --> 00:09:28,667 the hint of gold up in the hills of South America, 165 00:09:28,875 --> 00:09:32,000 it was an absolute frenzy. 166 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,083 The indigenous people all around them 167 00:09:35,292 --> 00:09:38,042 were literally draped in gold, 168 00:09:38,208 --> 00:09:42,750 the likes of which Europeans never would see back at home. 169 00:09:45,208 --> 00:09:48,000 SHATNER: As the Spanish conquistadors encountered indigenous people 170 00:09:48,208 --> 00:09:49,792 throughout South America, 171 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:55,167 they heard stories of a vast city made entirely out of gold. 172 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:01,167 In fact, the Spanish came up with a name for the golden city. 173 00:10:01,375 --> 00:10:04,917 They called it El Dorado. 174 00:10:05,083 --> 00:10:09,542 The name El Dorado comes from the words "the golden." 175 00:10:09,708 --> 00:10:13,000 That's literally what it translates to. 176 00:10:13,208 --> 00:10:16,000 The Spanish trekked through rain forests 177 00:10:16,208 --> 00:10:19,375 and across swollen rivers and up icy mountains 178 00:10:19,542 --> 00:10:24,167 in search of what they assumed had to be a hidden city of gold, 179 00:10:24,292 --> 00:10:28,792 a place of untold riches just waiting to be plundered. 180 00:10:30,125 --> 00:10:32,500 There were similarities to all of these stories, 181 00:10:32,667 --> 00:10:35,333 and that kept the Spaniards thinking, 182 00:10:35,542 --> 00:10:39,125 "Well, maybe there's something to this. Maybe it's not a myth." 183 00:10:39,292 --> 00:10:43,500 And because they don't know exactly where it is 184 00:10:43,708 --> 00:10:47,625 it starts to be thought of as a lost city. 185 00:10:48,708 --> 00:10:49,958 SHATNER: The Spanish belief that El Dorado 186 00:10:50,083 --> 00:10:53,833 was a real lost city of gold was reinforced 187 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,500 when they came into contact with a mysterious civilization 188 00:10:57,667 --> 00:11:01,208 known as the Muisca people. 189 00:11:01,375 --> 00:11:04,917 The Muisca were the indigenous people who occupied 190 00:11:05,125 --> 00:11:07,708 this particular highland area of the Andes, 191 00:11:07,917 --> 00:11:10,250 which is, today, Colombia. 192 00:11:10,375 --> 00:11:12,958 And they occupied this area for about a thousand years, 193 00:11:13,125 --> 00:11:16,667 beginning in 600 AD. And, in fact, 194 00:11:16,792 --> 00:11:18,667 they were so sophisticated 195 00:11:18,875 --> 00:11:21,000 that they really take their place alongside 196 00:11:21,125 --> 00:11:24,250 better known empires in the region, such as the Inca. 197 00:11:25,333 --> 00:11:28,458 LEVY: The Muisca were incredible goldsmiths. 198 00:11:28,667 --> 00:11:31,875 They were really skilled craftsmen at goldwork-- 199 00:11:32,042 --> 00:11:35,792 finely wrought, thinly pounded gold. 200 00:11:35,958 --> 00:11:38,833 They made animals, they made gold 201 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,000 that was depictions of their deities. 202 00:11:43,208 --> 00:11:47,125 SHATNER: Spanish Conquistadors searching for El Dorado 203 00:11:47,292 --> 00:11:50,875 came to believe that it was built by the Muisca 204 00:11:51,083 --> 00:11:54,333 because of a curious ritual they supposedly performed 205 00:11:54,500 --> 00:11:55,917 high in the mountains 206 00:11:56,042 --> 00:11:59,917 at a body of water known as Lake Guatavita. 207 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:03,875 When the Muisca initiated a new leader, 208 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,833 there was a very specific ceremony 209 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,750 that they performed on Lake Guatavita. 210 00:12:10,958 --> 00:12:14,708 The leader would plaster his body in gold dust. 211 00:12:15,958 --> 00:12:19,708 He would climb into a raft surrounded by priests. 212 00:12:19,875 --> 00:12:23,000 At his feet was a pile of offerings, 213 00:12:23,167 --> 00:12:25,750 gold and jewels. 214 00:12:25,917 --> 00:12:28,667 Once they had paddled out to the middle of the lake, 215 00:12:28,875 --> 00:12:31,583 he would make his offering to the god. 216 00:12:31,750 --> 00:12:35,333 And that involved dropping all of the valuables 217 00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:37,875 off the raft into the water, 218 00:12:38,042 --> 00:12:40,958 and then diving in himself, so that the gold dust 219 00:12:41,083 --> 00:12:44,333 would be washed from his body. 220 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:47,458 LEVY: When the conquistadors begin to hear about these rituals 221 00:12:47,583 --> 00:12:50,083 that involve gold and a golden man, 222 00:12:50,208 --> 00:12:55,333 it stood to reason that this place, El Dorado, 223 00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:57,958 a lost city, is going to be somewhere out there. 224 00:12:59,333 --> 00:13:01,833 SHATNER: The Spanish heard rumors that the Muisca 225 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,375 had performed this golden ceremony at Lake Guatavita 226 00:13:05,542 --> 00:13:07,167 for a thousand years, 227 00:13:07,375 --> 00:13:09,875 since the beginning of their civilization. 228 00:13:11,125 --> 00:13:13,833 The conquistadors believed that El Dorado 229 00:13:14,042 --> 00:13:17,750 must be an ancient, hidden city where, centuries earlier, 230 00:13:17,958 --> 00:13:21,042 the ancestors of the Muisca had stockpiled 231 00:13:21,208 --> 00:13:26,125 vast amounts of gold to be used in the sacred ritual. 232 00:13:26,292 --> 00:13:30,208 LEVY: As conquistadores kept trying to find El Dorado, 233 00:13:30,375 --> 00:13:32,542 they found a lot of gold, 234 00:13:32,708 --> 00:13:34,750 they found goldwork made by the Muisca 235 00:13:34,875 --> 00:13:37,708 that was really, really elaborate, 236 00:13:37,875 --> 00:13:40,958 and they kept getting just enough 237 00:13:41,125 --> 00:13:44,375 to sort of tantalize them to know or believe 238 00:13:44,542 --> 00:13:45,625 that there would be more, 239 00:13:45,792 --> 00:13:48,833 but they never quite found 240 00:13:49,042 --> 00:13:51,792 the El Dorado that they had been looking for. 241 00:13:53,250 --> 00:13:56,750 SHATNER: Although the Spanish failed in their quest to find El Dorado, 242 00:13:56,917 --> 00:14:00,292 for centuries, treasure hunters from around the world 243 00:14:00,458 --> 00:14:03,417 journeyed to South America in search of the lost city. 244 00:14:05,708 --> 00:14:08,583 And then, in 1912, 245 00:14:08,792 --> 00:14:10,958 an incredible discovery was made 246 00:14:11,083 --> 00:14:14,500 at the bottom of Lake Guatavita. 247 00:14:15,542 --> 00:14:19,750 LEVY: Hartley Knowles, a British engineer, came to Lake Guatavita 248 00:14:19,917 --> 00:14:22,625 and, with a mining company, was able 249 00:14:22,792 --> 00:14:27,125 to completely drain the lake to the bottom. 250 00:14:28,250 --> 00:14:33,083 He found gold, rumored to be about $20,000 worth, 251 00:14:33,250 --> 00:14:35,667 but what happened was as the lake went down, 252 00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:38,792 all the silt and mud at the bottom 253 00:14:38,958 --> 00:14:42,042 hardened in the sun until it was like concrete, 254 00:14:42,208 --> 00:14:45,792 and they couldn't get any more gold out of the bottom. 255 00:14:46,833 --> 00:14:49,375 JAGO COOPER: They cut a notch out of the side of the hill 256 00:14:49,542 --> 00:14:51,042 and drained the lake. 257 00:14:51,208 --> 00:14:53,708 But it only remained drained for about 24 hours 258 00:14:53,875 --> 00:14:55,625 before the lake refilled. 259 00:14:57,417 --> 00:14:59,542 But what they found was some objects that sort of showed that 260 00:14:59,708 --> 00:15:04,167 this idea of offerings being thrown into the lake was true. 261 00:15:05,333 --> 00:15:08,208 SHATNER: Even more incredible evidence of the Muisca rituals 262 00:15:08,375 --> 00:15:12,958 was found later, in 1969, in a nearby cave. 263 00:15:13,167 --> 00:15:16,083 BELLINGER: In 1969, some villagers 264 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:19,750 stumbled upon an absolutely spectacular find 265 00:15:19,958 --> 00:15:22,583 in a ceramic jar. 266 00:15:22,708 --> 00:15:25,625 They found an exquisite raft 267 00:15:25,833 --> 00:15:29,167 crafted all out of gold. 268 00:15:29,292 --> 00:15:31,958 The workmanship was incredible. 269 00:15:32,125 --> 00:15:35,042 But even more exciting is that 270 00:15:35,208 --> 00:15:38,667 it corroborated everything that had been written down 271 00:15:38,833 --> 00:15:42,333 about the Muisca rituals in Lake Guatavita 272 00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:45,000 when they were initiating a new ruler. 273 00:15:46,042 --> 00:15:48,292 SHATNER: Since the story of the ritual performed by the Muisca chief 274 00:15:48,458 --> 00:15:51,750 was proven to be true, does that suggest that 275 00:15:51,917 --> 00:15:55,333 the tales of El Dorado, the lost city of gold, 276 00:15:55,542 --> 00:15:57,375 could also be true? 277 00:15:57,500 --> 00:16:01,958 And if so, where might it be hidden? 278 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:08,250 LEVY: Cities in the Amazonian region, over time, have a tendency 279 00:16:08,417 --> 00:16:13,167 to become absorbed and enveloped by the jungle. 280 00:16:13,375 --> 00:16:16,333 South America is an incredible place to keep secrets 281 00:16:16,542 --> 00:16:20,667 and for a lost city like El Dorado to dwell. 282 00:16:21,625 --> 00:16:25,708 SHATNER: Could El Dorado have really existed only to be swallowed up 283 00:16:25,875 --> 00:16:30,500 by the dense jungle, its vast riches buried and beyond reach? 284 00:16:30,667 --> 00:16:34,542 Perhaps one day other precious artifacts like the golden raft 285 00:16:34,667 --> 00:16:36,542 will be unearthed and provide yet another clue 286 00:16:36,708 --> 00:16:40,583 to solving the mystery of the lost city of gold. 287 00:16:42,042 --> 00:16:43,917 But there's another object of fascination, 288 00:16:44,042 --> 00:16:46,167 this one made of stone, 289 00:16:46,375 --> 00:16:49,208 that inspired a search of an entirely different kind-- 290 00:16:50,042 --> 00:16:51,833 a quest to find a mythical outpost 291 00:16:51,958 --> 00:16:54,667 of the infamous Nordic warriors 292 00:16:54,875 --> 00:16:57,250 known as the Vikings. 293 00:17:02,792 --> 00:17:04,458 SHATNER: According to a collection of medieval prose 294 00:17:04,667 --> 00:17:07,042 called the Icelandic Sagas, 295 00:17:07,208 --> 00:17:10,292 a group of Vikings were said to have taken a daring voyage 296 00:17:10,458 --> 00:17:13,500 from Scandinavia across the Atlantic Ocean 297 00:17:13,708 --> 00:17:18,667 on a journey to reach a faraway realm known as Vinland. 298 00:17:18,833 --> 00:17:22,000 The Sagas describe Vinland as a bountiful paradise 299 00:17:22,208 --> 00:17:24,375 and, for centuries, historians thought 300 00:17:24,542 --> 00:17:26,708 it was merely the stuff of myth and legend. 301 00:17:29,042 --> 00:17:31,375 But then, in 1960, 302 00:17:31,542 --> 00:17:35,167 Norwegian husband-and-wife team Helge and Anne Ingstad 303 00:17:35,375 --> 00:17:39,333 set out to prove not only that Vinland was a real place 304 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:44,042 but also that it was located in North America. 305 00:17:45,667 --> 00:17:48,500 SCOTT A. MELLOR: Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad combed the entire 306 00:17:48,708 --> 00:17:52,125 coast of Canada to try and find this site. 307 00:17:52,292 --> 00:17:54,250 And they were very confident that the Sagas 308 00:17:54,417 --> 00:17:56,667 had an element of fact about it. 309 00:17:56,792 --> 00:17:58,458 And they were right, they did. 310 00:17:59,875 --> 00:18:01,667 SHATNER: The Norwegian couple uncovered the remains 311 00:18:01,875 --> 00:18:05,792 of a Viking settlement on the northern tip of Newfoundland 312 00:18:05,958 --> 00:18:09,750 that dated to the 11th century AD. 313 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,167 This profound discovery, which is now 314 00:18:13,333 --> 00:18:16,625 a UNESCO World Heritage Site called L'Anse aux Meadows, 315 00:18:16,833 --> 00:18:21,625 is indisputable proof that the Sagas may hold more truth 316 00:18:21,792 --> 00:18:26,083 about the Vikings than we ever thought possible. 317 00:18:47,542 --> 00:18:50,458 BILL: L'Anse aux Meadows is actually the physical evidence 318 00:18:50,625 --> 00:18:56,375 of Scandinavian habitation on the North American continent. 319 00:18:57,333 --> 00:18:59,833 The Vikings did discover North America 320 00:19:00,042 --> 00:19:02,542 500 years before Christopher Columbus. 321 00:19:03,750 --> 00:19:07,500 THOMPSON: We know that there were Viking settlements in the New World. 322 00:19:07,708 --> 00:19:10,208 When I was a young boy that was considered a legend. 323 00:19:10,417 --> 00:19:12,083 Now it is historical fact. 324 00:19:12,250 --> 00:19:14,125 And they may have actually been more extensive 325 00:19:14,292 --> 00:19:16,208 than we see in the Sagas themselves. 326 00:19:16,417 --> 00:19:19,750 MELLOR: L'Anse aux Meadows is in Newfoundland. 327 00:19:19,875 --> 00:19:22,375 And we know that they were there. 328 00:19:22,542 --> 00:19:24,542 But then, of course, it begs the question, 329 00:19:24,708 --> 00:19:26,583 how far in did they get? 330 00:19:26,750 --> 00:19:28,875 SHATNER: Is it possible the Vikings 331 00:19:29,042 --> 00:19:31,625 traveled deep into North America? 332 00:19:31,792 --> 00:19:34,625 Well, there are those who believe the answer is yes, 333 00:19:34,792 --> 00:19:37,500 and they claim the proof can be found 334 00:19:37,625 --> 00:19:39,708 more than 2,000 miles away from Newfoundland... 335 00:19:42,917 --> 00:19:45,417 ...in Alexandria, Minnesota. 336 00:19:46,458 --> 00:19:50,083 This small city, about 130 miles northeast of Minneapolis, 337 00:19:50,250 --> 00:19:53,333 is home to the Runestone Museum. 338 00:19:53,542 --> 00:19:58,042 Inside is an artifact that many point to as evidence 339 00:19:58,208 --> 00:20:01,083 that the Vikings traveled well beyond 340 00:20:01,250 --> 00:20:03,167 the northeastern tip of Canada 341 00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:06,333 and into the heartland of America. 342 00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:11,625 Because on display is the remarkable yet controversial 343 00:20:11,792 --> 00:20:13,917 Kensington Runestone. 344 00:20:14,083 --> 00:20:19,292 The Kensington Runestone is about the size of a gravestone. 345 00:20:19,458 --> 00:20:23,833 And it was discovered in 1898 in Kensington 346 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,958 in Douglas County in Minnesota 347 00:20:26,125 --> 00:20:30,333 by a Swedish immigrant, Olof Ohman, 348 00:20:30,542 --> 00:20:35,458 and it is covered in runes. 349 00:20:35,583 --> 00:20:38,208 And what intrigues people is that 350 00:20:38,375 --> 00:20:40,750 it seems to be incontrovertible proof 351 00:20:40,917 --> 00:20:42,625 that the Vikings were there. 352 00:20:43,667 --> 00:20:47,208 THOMPSON: Runes are Viking works of art. 353 00:20:47,375 --> 00:20:49,167 And runestones are located 354 00:20:49,333 --> 00:20:50,583 pretty much throughout the Viking realm. 355 00:20:50,750 --> 00:20:53,125 Runes were kind of cumbersome to write with. 356 00:20:53,292 --> 00:20:55,417 And so things tended to be short. 357 00:20:55,542 --> 00:21:00,125 So what you end up with is very often cryptic poetry 358 00:21:00,250 --> 00:21:02,333 with a tremendous amount of meaning 359 00:21:02,500 --> 00:21:04,833 packed into very obscure passages. 360 00:21:04,958 --> 00:21:07,333 So, even to be able to understand these runes 361 00:21:07,458 --> 00:21:10,042 was sort of a master craft. 362 00:21:11,167 --> 00:21:13,875 SHATNER: For over a century, people have speculated about the meaning 363 00:21:14,042 --> 00:21:17,917 of the cryptic markings on the Kensington Runestone. 364 00:21:19,375 --> 00:21:21,167 By comparing it with other known runestones, 365 00:21:21,375 --> 00:21:23,667 historians have theorized that the stone 366 00:21:23,792 --> 00:21:28,542 tells the tale of a Viking expedition. 367 00:21:28,708 --> 00:21:31,833 McMAHON: Allegedly, the Kensington Runestone 368 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,375 has an intriguing story 369 00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:36,500 written in Runic script, 370 00:21:36,667 --> 00:21:39,458 about a group of about 30 Vikings 371 00:21:39,625 --> 00:21:42,500 who journey from Vinland 372 00:21:42,667 --> 00:21:45,958 all the way down into what is now Minnesota. 373 00:21:48,083 --> 00:21:50,167 Now, ten of them are massacred 374 00:21:50,333 --> 00:21:53,583 en route by the local people. 375 00:21:54,708 --> 00:21:57,708 But the suggestion is that these Vikings 376 00:21:57,875 --> 00:22:01,833 made it to the interior of North America. 377 00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:04,833 SHATNER: Based on this translation, 378 00:22:04,958 --> 00:22:08,125 many believe that the Kensington Runestone is a memorial 379 00:22:08,292 --> 00:22:13,083 to Vikings who died on their quest to explore North America. 380 00:22:13,250 --> 00:22:18,083 But skeptics have questioned the stone's authenticity. 381 00:22:19,167 --> 00:22:22,375 McMAHON: This could either be a genuine account 382 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:26,500 of an incredible journey by intrepid warriors 383 00:22:26,625 --> 00:22:30,167 deep into America, or the other theory 384 00:22:30,250 --> 00:22:32,625 is that this was Swedish immigrants 385 00:22:32,792 --> 00:22:35,083 trying to prove to their neighbors 386 00:22:35,208 --> 00:22:38,042 that they had a much longer presence 387 00:22:38,208 --> 00:22:40,167 and an entitlement to be there 388 00:22:40,375 --> 00:22:43,542 because their ancestors had been there. 389 00:22:44,583 --> 00:22:49,708 But the idea that these warriors ventured deep into North America 390 00:22:49,875 --> 00:22:54,625 into places that we know well today, Minnesota-- 391 00:22:55,292 --> 00:22:57,125 that really captures the imagination. 392 00:22:59,167 --> 00:23:01,875 Did a group of Viking explorers, 393 00:23:02,083 --> 00:23:04,750 adorned with axes and shields, 394 00:23:04,958 --> 00:23:07,667 venture deeper into the forests of North America 395 00:23:07,875 --> 00:23:09,375 than we've been led to believe? 396 00:23:09,542 --> 00:23:11,125 Whatever the truth may be, 397 00:23:11,292 --> 00:23:15,083 discoveries that rewrite the timeline of human history 398 00:23:15,208 --> 00:23:17,792 have far-reaching implications. 399 00:23:17,958 --> 00:23:22,417 Such is the case with an ancient kingdom in Southeast Asia 400 00:23:22,583 --> 00:23:25,917 that constructed what may be 401 00:23:26,042 --> 00:23:29,167 the oldest pyramid on Earth. 402 00:23:36,583 --> 00:23:39,958 In the countryside of this lush, tropical island 403 00:23:40,167 --> 00:23:41,667 located in the Indian Ocean 404 00:23:41,875 --> 00:23:44,792 lies a mountain that, from a distance, 405 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,542 looks no different from any other peak in the region. 406 00:23:47,708 --> 00:23:51,708 But close examination of the mountaintop reveals 407 00:23:51,875 --> 00:23:55,333 a series of ancient stone terraces 408 00:23:55,542 --> 00:24:00,000 that are littered with thousands of megalithic blocks. 409 00:24:00,125 --> 00:24:03,083 This intriguing site is known 410 00:24:03,250 --> 00:24:05,958 as Gunung Padang. 411 00:24:07,792 --> 00:24:09,667 NEWMAN: Gunung Padang has all these 412 00:24:09,792 --> 00:24:13,417 remarkable kind of hexagonal basalt columns 413 00:24:13,542 --> 00:24:15,625 as part of the entire construction. 414 00:24:15,708 --> 00:24:17,833 Hundreds of thousands of them, in fact. 415 00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:20,625 Each of the stones-- they weigh up to 416 00:24:20,792 --> 00:24:22,917 about a third of a ton each. 417 00:24:23,125 --> 00:24:25,792 They make up the foundation, and they're also placed 418 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,917 in certain configurations at the top. 419 00:24:29,083 --> 00:24:32,500 There's something very powerful about this place. 420 00:24:32,708 --> 00:24:35,583 It was only really rediscovered by farmers 421 00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:38,167 over the last few decades. 422 00:24:38,375 --> 00:24:40,667 It is almost untouched. 423 00:24:40,833 --> 00:24:44,000 It's like it hasn't been known about for thousands of years. 424 00:24:44,167 --> 00:24:47,125 It makes you wonder who could have done this and when. 425 00:24:47,292 --> 00:24:51,667 SHATNER: The thousands of stone blocks strewn atop Gunung Padang 426 00:24:51,792 --> 00:24:55,625 are a perplexing sight. It's hard to imagine 427 00:24:55,708 --> 00:24:58,208 what structure they could have been part of 428 00:24:58,375 --> 00:25:00,208 or what purpose they served. 429 00:25:00,375 --> 00:25:02,792 And the origin of these curious ruins 430 00:25:02,958 --> 00:25:05,042 has long been shrouded in mystery. 431 00:25:06,875 --> 00:25:10,833 But in 2013, archaeologists excavating the mountain 432 00:25:11,042 --> 00:25:14,625 discovered that the truth about this mysterious site 433 00:25:14,833 --> 00:25:18,792 is hidden beneath layers of dirt and rubble. 434 00:25:20,625 --> 00:25:23,167 COLLINS: A team of experts did drilling, 435 00:25:23,333 --> 00:25:28,833 they did radar surveys and they did radiocarbon testing. 436 00:25:28,958 --> 00:25:32,750 And what this revealed is that, beneath the site 437 00:25:32,875 --> 00:25:35,875 that is visible today, which includes a number 438 00:25:36,042 --> 00:25:38,750 of incredible stone settings and rock mounts, 439 00:25:38,875 --> 00:25:41,375 is something even more incredible. 440 00:25:41,542 --> 00:25:44,500 We now know that this site 441 00:25:44,625 --> 00:25:48,000 does actually conceal beneath it 442 00:25:48,208 --> 00:25:50,292 a massive pyramid complex. 443 00:25:51,708 --> 00:25:55,167 NEWMAN: Gunung Padang is really like a step pyramid 444 00:25:55,333 --> 00:25:57,917 buried under stone and earth. 445 00:25:58,083 --> 00:26:01,583 And the evidence suggests this is extremely ancient 446 00:26:01,792 --> 00:26:04,375 and is a very, very important place. 447 00:26:05,458 --> 00:26:07,292 SHATNER: The revelation that Gunung Padang is actually 448 00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:12,000 the ruins of a massive pyramid made headlines around the world. 449 00:26:13,042 --> 00:26:16,292 And in recent years, further investigation of the site 450 00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:19,750 has been led by geologist Danny Hilman. 451 00:26:19,917 --> 00:26:23,500 Danny and his team believe they have uncovered evidence 452 00:26:23,708 --> 00:26:25,583 of a hidden chamber. 453 00:27:15,875 --> 00:27:18,042 SHATNER: The discovery of a chamber buried underground 454 00:27:18,208 --> 00:27:21,833 has added to the mystery of Gunung Padang. 455 00:27:22,042 --> 00:27:25,000 But the most significant revelation so far is that 456 00:27:25,125 --> 00:27:30,750 this structure might be the oldest pyramid ever built. 457 00:27:49,667 --> 00:27:52,000 SHATNER: Ancient Egypt's Pyramid of Djoser 458 00:27:52,208 --> 00:27:55,333 has long been considered the world's oldest pyramid. 459 00:27:55,458 --> 00:27:58,708 But based on Danny Hilman's research, 460 00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:01,083 Gunung Padang's buried pyramid 461 00:28:01,250 --> 00:28:06,208 could be ten or even 20,000 years older. 462 00:28:07,333 --> 00:28:11,833 If Gunung Padang is a 20,000-year-old pyramid, 463 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:16,750 it would place an hitherto undiscovered culture 464 00:28:16,875 --> 00:28:18,917 at the heart of Indonesia. 465 00:28:19,083 --> 00:28:21,833 And it would completely disrupt our understanding 466 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,833 of the evolution of human technology around the world. 467 00:28:50,208 --> 00:28:52,000 SHATNER: Do the technological achievements 468 00:28:52,208 --> 00:28:55,000 of a lost civilization lie hidden 469 00:28:55,167 --> 00:28:58,333 within the stone chambers of this ancient pyramid? 470 00:28:58,542 --> 00:29:01,500 It's no surprise that the empires of the past would 471 00:29:01,625 --> 00:29:05,833 go to great lengths to conceal their most precious secrets. 472 00:29:06,042 --> 00:29:10,250 Such is the case surrounding the actual resting place 473 00:29:10,417 --> 00:29:12,500 of one of the most feared rulers in history. 474 00:29:13,208 --> 00:29:17,000 It is the mystery of the lost tomb 475 00:29:17,208 --> 00:29:18,417 of Genghis Khan. 476 00:29:27,167 --> 00:29:30,167 SHATNER: Towering above the sparse landscape is a massive, 477 00:29:30,375 --> 00:29:34,500 130-foot-tall statue made of stainless steel. 478 00:29:34,708 --> 00:29:37,833 This magnificent monument is a depiction 479 00:29:37,958 --> 00:29:41,167 of Mongolia's most famous ruler: 480 00:29:41,375 --> 00:29:44,000 Genghis Khan. 481 00:29:44,167 --> 00:29:47,500 THOMPSON: Genghis Khan is one of the most prominent figures 482 00:29:47,625 --> 00:29:49,917 in all of history. And he came up as 483 00:29:50,083 --> 00:29:52,833 a very small, minor player in what was a small, 484 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:55,292 minor country that most of the world hadn't heard of. 485 00:29:57,042 --> 00:29:58,583 But by the time he had died, 486 00:29:58,750 --> 00:30:00,333 he had conquered most of the known world. 487 00:30:01,333 --> 00:30:02,958 STEAVU: Genghis Khan is unquestionably 488 00:30:03,125 --> 00:30:05,167 Mongolia's greatest cultural 489 00:30:05,375 --> 00:30:07,500 and historical and national hero. 490 00:30:07,708 --> 00:30:10,667 He was at the head of 491 00:30:10,875 --> 00:30:13,000 one of the largest empires in the world, 492 00:30:13,125 --> 00:30:15,542 second only to the British Empire. 493 00:30:15,750 --> 00:30:19,000 And many people, maybe outside of Mongolia, 494 00:30:19,167 --> 00:30:23,417 might remember Genghis Khan for the bloodshed and conquests. 495 00:30:24,458 --> 00:30:28,542 But he was also at the origins of many technological, 496 00:30:28,667 --> 00:30:33,375 scientific, astronomical developments and advancements. 497 00:30:36,042 --> 00:30:38,750 SHATNER: After 20 years of empire building, 498 00:30:38,917 --> 00:30:42,625 Genghis Khan died in the year 1227 AD 499 00:30:42,792 --> 00:30:46,083 while battling the Western Xia dynasty. 500 00:30:47,208 --> 00:30:50,458 Khan's exact cause of death is a mystery. 501 00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:54,125 But before he passed, he commanded that 502 00:30:54,292 --> 00:30:57,042 his final resting place should be unmarked 503 00:30:57,167 --> 00:31:01,208 so that his tomb would be undisturbed forever. 504 00:31:02,375 --> 00:31:05,708 STEAVU: The circumstances of his burial are quite mysterious. 505 00:31:05,875 --> 00:31:08,500 According to legend, Genghis Khan's body 506 00:31:08,667 --> 00:31:10,500 was brought back to Mongolia 507 00:31:10,667 --> 00:31:13,292 by a group of 2,000 servants 508 00:31:13,458 --> 00:31:17,833 who were guarded by a group of soldiers. 509 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,208 The servants were all killed by the soldiers. 510 00:31:22,375 --> 00:31:25,542 Now, the soldiers themselves were then killed 511 00:31:25,708 --> 00:31:27,917 by a second group of soldiers 512 00:31:28,083 --> 00:31:31,625 who then themselves committed suicide 513 00:31:31,792 --> 00:31:34,042 so that the burial site would remain 514 00:31:34,208 --> 00:31:37,167 forever undisturbed and unknown. 515 00:31:38,208 --> 00:31:40,125 THOMPSON: Many great rulers in many parts of the world 516 00:31:40,292 --> 00:31:43,958 have wanted not to display one's body, but rather to hide it. 517 00:31:44,042 --> 00:31:46,750 And that would have been the practice by Genghis Khan. 518 00:31:46,875 --> 00:31:50,083 Because he knew that his tomb, if it was ever uncovered, 519 00:31:50,208 --> 00:31:55,000 would be an enormously political tool for whoever uncovered it. 520 00:31:55,208 --> 00:31:57,542 And he wanted to control that legacy. 521 00:31:58,583 --> 00:32:01,125 SHATNER: In the eight centuries since Genghis Khan's death, 522 00:32:01,250 --> 00:32:03,708 many have tried to find his tomb. 523 00:32:03,875 --> 00:32:07,167 But thus far, no one has been able to defeat 524 00:32:07,333 --> 00:32:10,750 Khan's drastic measures to keep its location a secret. 525 00:32:11,792 --> 00:32:15,333 Which naturally begs the question: where could it be? 526 00:32:22,208 --> 00:32:25,125 A French archaeological expedition ventures 527 00:32:25,292 --> 00:32:27,708 deep into this rugged region of northern Mongolia 528 00:32:27,875 --> 00:32:31,208 to find Genghis Khan's lost tomb. 529 00:32:33,375 --> 00:32:35,292 The team believes that the tomb may be hidden near 530 00:32:35,458 --> 00:32:41,083 a particular mountain peak that is known is Burkhan Khaldun. 531 00:32:59,542 --> 00:33:02,333 SHATNER: Burkhan Khaldun is almost 8,000 feet high 532 00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:05,375 and covers more than 93 square miles. 533 00:33:06,375 --> 00:33:08,417 Exploring this vast, rugged terrain is made 534 00:33:08,583 --> 00:33:11,042 even more difficult because in 2015 535 00:33:11,208 --> 00:33:15,250 the mountain was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 536 00:33:15,375 --> 00:33:18,833 rendering if off-limits to any excavations 537 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,375 in search of Genghis Khan's tomb. 538 00:33:22,333 --> 00:33:24,833 Mongolians, in general, still desire 539 00:33:24,958 --> 00:33:26,792 to honor Genghis' Kahn's wishes. 540 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:31,625 They discourage archaeological digs to try to find the tomb. 541 00:33:31,833 --> 00:33:35,917 He is still very, very much a hero in Mongolia. 542 00:33:36,083 --> 00:33:38,125 And his wishes are still respected. 543 00:33:40,042 --> 00:33:41,042 SHATNER: Because of the restrictions against 544 00:33:41,208 --> 00:33:43,167 searching Burkhan Khaldun, 545 00:33:43,292 --> 00:33:45,542 members of the French expedition decided that 546 00:33:45,708 --> 00:33:48,958 the key to finding Genghis Khan's tomb 547 00:33:49,083 --> 00:33:52,292 was to explore the mountain from the sky. 548 00:33:52,458 --> 00:33:55,167 And in 2016, they used drones 549 00:33:55,375 --> 00:33:58,500 equipped with both photographic and infrared cameras 550 00:33:58,708 --> 00:34:02,417 to do an unprecedented survey of the area. 551 00:34:22,750 --> 00:34:25,167 SHATNER: After surveying the mountain from above, 552 00:34:25,333 --> 00:34:27,958 the French team made an extraordinary discovery. 553 00:34:28,125 --> 00:34:32,000 They identified a mound that was 130 feet high 554 00:34:32,167 --> 00:34:34,500 and 820 feet wide 555 00:34:34,667 --> 00:34:38,583 that they believe might be man-made. 556 00:34:50,500 --> 00:34:54,583 The French team that accessed the mountain 557 00:34:54,750 --> 00:34:58,542 identified that the pyramid-shaped elevation 558 00:34:58,708 --> 00:35:01,083 also had a little shrine 559 00:35:01,250 --> 00:35:03,833 and it sits atop of this sacred mountain. 560 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,417 So, they speculate that this would 561 00:35:07,625 --> 00:35:10,250 probably be where Genghis Khan is buried. 562 00:35:11,458 --> 00:35:13,208 SHATNER: Is it possible that the structure 563 00:35:13,375 --> 00:35:16,750 discovered by the French expedition on Burkhan Khaldun 564 00:35:16,917 --> 00:35:19,792 is the tomb of Genghis Khan? 565 00:35:22,333 --> 00:35:24,500 For now, that question is unanswered, 566 00:35:24,667 --> 00:35:27,667 because the Mongolian people remain committed to honoring 567 00:35:27,833 --> 00:35:30,167 the revered emperor's dying wish 568 00:35:30,375 --> 00:35:33,667 that his tomb should never be found. 569 00:36:11,417 --> 00:36:14,583 SHATNER: Located near the border of Russia and Mongolia, 570 00:36:14,750 --> 00:36:18,292 this region is known for its vast grasslands. 571 00:36:18,458 --> 00:36:23,125 But in 2021, archaeologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences 572 00:36:23,250 --> 00:36:25,458 made a remarkable discovery. 573 00:36:25,667 --> 00:36:28,333 While conducting an aerial survey, 574 00:36:28,542 --> 00:36:32,750 they spotted an enormous symbol known as a geoglyph 575 00:36:32,875 --> 00:36:37,333 that was formed using carefully arranged pebbles and sandstones. 576 00:36:39,333 --> 00:36:40,833 PAUL BAHN: In Central Asia we have something called 577 00:36:40,958 --> 00:36:42,500 the Siberian Bull. 578 00:36:42,708 --> 00:36:44,917 It's a very simple drawing just done with dark stones 579 00:36:45,042 --> 00:36:48,750 making the outline of a tail and the back legs of an animal. 580 00:36:48,875 --> 00:36:52,458 And, fortunately, it's linked quite closely 581 00:36:52,625 --> 00:36:54,667 to an early Bronze Age burial, 582 00:36:54,875 --> 00:36:59,542 so we reckon it must date to back to 2,000 BCE. 583 00:36:59,708 --> 00:37:04,333 It is some 4,000 years old, and still there. 584 00:37:04,458 --> 00:37:06,375 Research on this is still ongoing, 585 00:37:06,542 --> 00:37:09,208 but it shows that there's still so much 586 00:37:09,375 --> 00:37:12,625 about these geoglyphs and the beliefs and the values 587 00:37:12,792 --> 00:37:15,583 that were held by the ancient people who made them 588 00:37:15,750 --> 00:37:17,125 that we do not know. 589 00:37:18,167 --> 00:37:22,500 SHATNER: The Siberian Bull is ten feet tall and 13 feet long, 590 00:37:22,667 --> 00:37:25,000 and is the first geoglyph of an animal 591 00:37:25,167 --> 00:37:26,833 discovered in Central Asia. 592 00:37:27,042 --> 00:37:28,667 But what's more remarkable is that 593 00:37:28,792 --> 00:37:31,667 even larger ancient geoglyphs have been found 594 00:37:31,875 --> 00:37:34,000 all over the world. 595 00:37:34,208 --> 00:37:36,458 Many of them are so vast 596 00:37:36,583 --> 00:37:40,167 that they can only be identified from the sky. 597 00:37:40,375 --> 00:37:42,250 BAHN: Geoglyphs are an astonishing phenomenon. 598 00:37:42,375 --> 00:37:43,417 They're found in many, many parts of the world, 599 00:37:43,542 --> 00:37:45,042 primarily in deserts. 600 00:37:46,208 --> 00:37:48,167 And they are often of huge size, 601 00:37:48,292 --> 00:37:50,542 involving an enormous amount of work. 602 00:37:50,750 --> 00:37:53,500 Geoglyphs can be divided up, really, into the ones 603 00:37:53,708 --> 00:37:56,125 that just look like geometric shapes to us, 604 00:37:56,292 --> 00:37:57,833 and there are many, many of those. 605 00:37:58,042 --> 00:38:01,167 You have lines which just look like roads or paths 606 00:38:01,333 --> 00:38:02,875 going on for miles. 607 00:38:03,042 --> 00:38:06,167 And then, of course, you have what seem to us to be 608 00:38:06,292 --> 00:38:09,167 depictions of birds, animals, humans. 609 00:38:09,375 --> 00:38:12,500 And they must all have very different meanings 610 00:38:12,667 --> 00:38:14,542 to the cultures that produced them. 611 00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:19,500 NEWMAN: In March 2022, archeological researchers found 612 00:38:19,708 --> 00:38:22,167 what could be the largest geoglyphs on the planet 613 00:38:22,333 --> 00:38:25,083 in the Thar Desert of ancient India. 614 00:38:25,250 --> 00:38:27,542 They stretch over a huge distance, 615 00:38:27,708 --> 00:38:30,000 and one of them kind of forms into what appears to be 616 00:38:30,208 --> 00:38:32,083 a kind of strange spiral. 617 00:38:32,208 --> 00:38:36,292 And there's other ones which are like sinuous serpents. 618 00:38:37,833 --> 00:38:39,500 MIANO: One of the more fascinating geoglyphs 619 00:38:39,708 --> 00:38:41,458 is the Uffington White Horse that was found 620 00:38:41,625 --> 00:38:43,250 in Oxfordshire, England. 621 00:38:43,417 --> 00:38:46,000 They dug trenches and they filled them with chalk 622 00:38:46,167 --> 00:38:48,333 to create this beautiful horse, 623 00:38:48,542 --> 00:38:51,500 which itself is 3,000 years old. 624 00:38:51,708 --> 00:38:54,500 And we expect to find more as time goes on. 625 00:38:54,625 --> 00:38:59,333 SHATNER: Why did so many ancient cultures across the world 626 00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:02,375 labor to carve these enormous figures and symbols 627 00:39:02,542 --> 00:39:06,000 that could only be fully seen from the sky? 628 00:39:07,167 --> 00:39:09,375 Well, according to some researchers, 629 00:39:09,542 --> 00:39:12,667 it could be because the people who created the geoglyphs 630 00:39:12,875 --> 00:39:17,500 intended them to be viewed not by man but by gods. 631 00:39:18,875 --> 00:39:20,625 BAHN: It seems a reasonable supposition 632 00:39:20,750 --> 00:39:22,667 that a lot of these images, which only make sense 633 00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:25,792 from the air, were very much tied to things in the heavens. 634 00:39:25,958 --> 00:39:28,917 There are astronomical orientations 635 00:39:29,083 --> 00:39:30,458 of some of the lines 636 00:39:30,625 --> 00:39:33,542 and some figures may represent constellations. 637 00:39:33,708 --> 00:39:35,792 But there are so many possibilities because there are 638 00:39:35,917 --> 00:39:38,625 so many hundreds of different geoglyph types 639 00:39:38,750 --> 00:39:41,333 that you can't simply put one explanation on all of them. 640 00:39:42,375 --> 00:39:46,625 SHATNER: Recently, a new theory has been proposed to explain the famous 641 00:39:46,792 --> 00:39:52,000 Nazca Lines in Peru, which date back more than 2,000 years. 642 00:39:52,167 --> 00:39:55,292 BAHN: The great Nazca Lines are done in one continuous line-- 643 00:39:55,417 --> 00:39:57,750 the monkey or the spider. 644 00:39:57,917 --> 00:40:00,833 We've always assumed that the people who made the Nazca Lines 645 00:40:00,958 --> 00:40:03,375 were trying to communicate with gods, ancestors, 646 00:40:03,583 --> 00:40:04,958 spirits or whatever. 647 00:40:05,125 --> 00:40:07,500 But there was an idea put forward quite recently 648 00:40:07,625 --> 00:40:09,167 by an American scholar 649 00:40:09,333 --> 00:40:11,667 who thought that some of the geoglyphs 650 00:40:11,833 --> 00:40:14,958 might be linked to runoff from hills and channeling the water 651 00:40:15,125 --> 00:40:16,417 and helping the crops to grow. 652 00:40:17,458 --> 00:40:20,500 MIKE TUCKER: There's a trend in backyard gardening called permaculture, 653 00:40:20,625 --> 00:40:23,833 where the gardener digs trenches and 654 00:40:24,042 --> 00:40:26,542 creates swells or hills to sequester the water 655 00:40:26,708 --> 00:40:28,125 or capture the rainfall, 656 00:40:28,292 --> 00:40:32,000 so that way the ecosystem supports their own garden 657 00:40:32,208 --> 00:40:35,167 and they don't have to bring in extra irrigation. 658 00:40:36,208 --> 00:40:39,833 MICHAEL WYSESSION: In places like where the Nazca Lines are, 659 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:44,583 we see a very barren, arid, dry place, currently. 660 00:40:44,750 --> 00:40:47,125 But if you went back thousands of years, 661 00:40:47,292 --> 00:40:49,167 you'd find alternating periods 662 00:40:49,333 --> 00:40:52,125 of extreme rainfall events. 663 00:40:54,042 --> 00:40:56,750 NEWMAN: We don't have written records of what they were thinking 664 00:40:56,875 --> 00:40:59,833 or what they were doing and why they were building these sites. 665 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,500 The fact is there are different theories 666 00:41:02,625 --> 00:41:04,167 in different parts of the world as to 667 00:41:04,375 --> 00:41:06,083 what they could have been created for. 668 00:41:07,542 --> 00:41:09,167 But whether it's in a desert 669 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:12,042 or whether it's like chalk hill figures in ancient Britain, 670 00:41:12,208 --> 00:41:13,792 at least they still exist 671 00:41:13,958 --> 00:41:16,792 and we can appreciate and study them today. 672 00:41:16,958 --> 00:41:21,708 From high in the Andes mountains to the steppes of Mongolia, 673 00:41:21,875 --> 00:41:24,583 the evidence of powerful bygone civilizations 674 00:41:24,750 --> 00:41:26,042 is all around us. 675 00:41:26,167 --> 00:41:29,167 What can we learn from the ruins 676 00:41:29,333 --> 00:41:31,875 of these once-great cultures? 677 00:41:32,042 --> 00:41:34,500 Perhaps they show us a cautionary tale 678 00:41:34,667 --> 00:41:38,208 of how empires rise and fall, 679 00:41:38,417 --> 00:41:41,458 as well as reshape our understanding 680 00:41:41,583 --> 00:41:43,583 of human history as we know it. 681 00:41:44,625 --> 00:41:48,375 It's clear that our innate need to explore the mysteries 682 00:41:48,542 --> 00:41:51,875 of our ancient past will keep the search going, 683 00:41:52,042 --> 00:41:55,583 because the most closely guarded secrets 684 00:41:55,750 --> 00:41:58,333 of these mighty kingdoms remain... 685 00:41:58,542 --> 00:42:01,208 unexplained. 686 00:42:01,333 --> 00:42:04,042 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A E NETWORKS