1 00:00:06,530 --> 00:00:09,030 [suspenseful music] 2 00:00:09,830 --> 00:00:11,730 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Underneath Scotland's capital 3 00:00:11,830 --> 00:00:13,960 city of Edinburgh, a hidden world lies in darkness-- 4 00:00:17,330 --> 00:00:18,460 a world of lions dens-- 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,730 There was an actual lion here in this pit? 6 00:00:20,830 --> 00:00:23,260 In this pit. 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,030 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): --seedy vaults-- 8 00:00:25,130 --> 00:00:28,760 I'm standing in a den of thieves and drunkards, huh? 9 00:00:28,860 --> 00:00:29,100 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): --and paved over, 10 00:00:30,830 --> 00:00:34,060 This looks like you've got an underground city. 11 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:35,960 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): This modern metropolis is literally 12 00:00:36,060 --> 00:00:38,300 supported by over 10 centuries of its dark past-- 13 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:41,800 That's the floor level of the City Chambers up there. 14 00:00:41,900 --> 00:00:43,900 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): --from secret Masonic meeting places 15 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:46,630 and illegal whiskey distilleries, 16 00:00:46,730 --> 00:00:51,000 to rumored underground sex parties and massive dungeons, 17 00:00:51,100 --> 00:00:54,200 and even a possible resting spot for the Holy Grail. 18 00:00:54,300 --> 00:00:57,660 Edinburgh's underworld is a secretive city of its own. 19 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,130 We're peeling back the layers of time 20 00:01:00,230 --> 00:01:03,330 to uncover the "Cities of the Underworld, Scotland's Sin 21 00:01:03,430 --> 00:01:04,860 City." 22 00:01:12,100 --> 00:01:16,000 [music playing] 23 00:01:21,460 --> 00:01:23,900 Located in the heart of the Scottish hills, 24 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,630 Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh 25 00:01:25,730 --> 00:01:29,030 has a history that stretches through the ages. 26 00:01:29,130 --> 00:01:34,060 From its secret bunkers to its seedy past, 27 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:35,060 there's an underworld here that can 28 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,800 rival any place in the world. 29 00:01:37,900 --> 00:01:38,530 I'm Eric Geller. 30 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,800 tells two very different stories. 31 00:01:43,900 --> 00:01:45,500 There was the enlightened and educated capital 32 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,060 that flourished up above, while a world 33 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:48,960 full of the poor and plague ridden 34 00:01:49,060 --> 00:01:51,400 lived simultaneously down below. 35 00:01:51,500 --> 00:01:53,760 1,000 years of Scottish secrets are 36 00:01:53,860 --> 00:01:55,530 buried beneath these streets, and they're 37 00:01:55,630 --> 00:01:57,460 about to be revealed. 38 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,260 [suspenseful music] 39 00:02:03,100 --> 00:02:04,360 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): It all began over 300 million years 40 00:02:04,460 --> 00:02:07,830 ago, when a glacier eroded this extinct volcano to create 41 00:02:07,930 --> 00:02:11,200 a nearly 450 foot high plateau with sheer cliffs 42 00:02:11,300 --> 00:02:12,530 along each side. 43 00:02:12,630 --> 00:02:14,730 This terrain may have made this city a nearly impregnable 44 00:02:14,830 --> 00:02:15,300 fortress. 45 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:23,930 There's limited space and lack of flat foundations. 46 00:02:24,030 --> 00:02:26,700 To make matters worse, constant attacks from outsiders 47 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,860 made it nearly impossible to live outside the city walls. 48 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,830 The fortifying wall built to protect the Scots from attack 49 00:02:32,930 --> 00:02:35,730 seriously limited building space. 50 00:02:35,830 --> 00:02:38,530 So residents had to get creative. 51 00:02:38,630 --> 00:02:41,800 The rich built up, and constructed the first high rise 52 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:45,300 apartments in the world in the late 16th century. 53 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,730 And the poor went down, creating their own mini city 54 00:02:47,830 --> 00:02:49,130 beneath the streets. 55 00:02:49,230 --> 00:02:51,730 And these cities are all still there. 56 00:02:51,830 --> 00:02:53,860 You just have to know how to get to them. 57 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,430 [suspenseful music] 58 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,630 The Royal Mile is the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh's Old 59 00:03:00,730 --> 00:03:02,500 Town. 60 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,430 With a castle at the top and the Royal Palace at the bottom, 61 00:03:05,530 --> 00:03:08,330 it's one of the steepest and oldest streets in the city. 62 00:03:08,430 --> 00:03:10,530 Now, today the mile is bustling with life. 63 00:03:10,630 --> 00:03:12,260 But 400 years ago, it was the site 64 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,530 of Edinburgh's darkest days. 65 00:03:15,630 --> 00:03:18,060 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): In 1644, 66 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:19,060 the last of several plague epidemics 67 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:22,100 ripped through the city. 68 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,330 It was an extremely painful disease, 69 00:03:24,430 --> 00:03:27,700 with vomiting, bleeding, and infected boils, and a mortality 70 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,360 rate of up to 75%. 71 00:03:30,460 --> 00:03:33,360 And I was going to ground zero of the deadly plague epidemic. 72 00:03:36,930 --> 00:03:39,500 [suspenseful music] 73 00:03:40,460 --> 00:03:40,760 Chris. 74 00:03:42,300 --> 00:03:44,400 Nice to see you, as well. 75 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:44,760 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): I met with archaeologist Chris A. 76 00:03:44,860 --> 00:03:45,760 Kelly. 77 00:03:45,860 --> 00:03:46,930 If you follow me through here, we'll 78 00:03:47,030 --> 00:03:47,700 have a look around Mary King's Close. 79 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:48,760 Oh, great. 80 00:03:48,860 --> 00:03:50,130 Thank you. 81 00:03:50,230 --> 00:03:50,960 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Chris was going to take me over 82 00:03:54,060 --> 00:03:55,960 Almost 80 feet beneath the Royal Mile 83 00:03:56,060 --> 00:03:58,360 sits a street called Mary King's Close. 84 00:03:58,460 --> 00:04:00,800 It's just one of dozens of streets buried 85 00:04:00,900 --> 00:04:02,560 beneath the modern ones. 86 00:04:02,660 --> 00:04:06,030 But instead of being filled in, this street 87 00:04:06,130 --> 00:04:10,100 was sealed up and forgotten until now. 88 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,800 [suspenseful music] 89 00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:19,860 CHRIS A. KELLY: Here we are, Mary King's Close itself. 90 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:23,900 This looks like you've got an underground city. 91 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,630 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): It was a massive underground city, now 92 00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:28,930 buried 80 feet beneath the streets. 93 00:04:29,030 --> 00:04:31,730 This hidden neighborhood, still lined with apartments, 94 00:04:31,830 --> 00:04:34,130 was once 350 feet long. 95 00:04:34,230 --> 00:04:36,060 That's more than a football field. 96 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,030 Today, almost 200 feet of it still remain. 97 00:04:39,130 --> 00:04:42,760 But this underground world wasn't always underground. 98 00:04:42,860 --> 00:04:45,660 When the city was constructed nearly 900 years ago, 99 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:50,060 it was built up around one main thoroughfare, the Royal Mile. 100 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,700 Off the Mile where closes or narrow alleyways 101 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,260 like Mary King's, the one I was about to explore. 102 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,200 Closes as were lined with high rise apartments and shops. 103 00:04:59,300 --> 00:05:01,030 The alleyways made the hilly terrain 104 00:05:01,130 --> 00:05:03,100 and cramped quarters more manageable to maneuver. 105 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,600 They extended out from the mile that ran down 106 00:05:05,700 --> 00:05:07,630 the volcanic hill, down the steep hills of the growing 107 00:05:07,730 --> 00:05:09,300 city. 108 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,260 The word close comes from enclosure. 109 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,860 And today these passageways are found all over the city, 110 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,760 both above and below the ground. 111 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,630 So is this the idea-- that this would have been the actual 112 00:05:25,730 --> 00:05:26,560 close, as it were? 113 00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:27,060 Indeed, it was. 114 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,100 Open air, open to the sky, but not 115 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:31,900 necessarily open to the sun. 116 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,030 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): 300 years ago, I 117 00:05:34,130 --> 00:05:37,730 would have been walking down the open air Mary King's Close. 118 00:05:37,830 --> 00:05:39,460 The high rise apartments along the close 119 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,960 could have been up to 14 stories high, 120 00:05:42,060 --> 00:05:44,100 and would have blocked out most of the sun. 121 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,430 But for the poor who were unlucky enough to live 122 00:05:46,530 --> 00:05:48,900 at the bottom, lack of sunlight was the least 123 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:50,960 of their problems. 124 00:05:51,060 --> 00:05:53,360 For the common folk, there was no sewage system or garbage 125 00:05:53,460 --> 00:05:55,230 pickup. 126 00:05:55,330 --> 00:05:58,230 Instead, the streets we were walking through 127 00:05:58,330 --> 00:06:02,430 became a river of sewage washing up at people's doorsteps. 128 00:06:02,530 --> 00:06:03,360 CHRIS A. KELLY: The only sanitation 129 00:06:05,430 --> 00:06:06,800 The only way of getting rid of their rubbish 130 00:06:06,900 --> 00:06:10,030 was literally to put it in the bucket and then chuck it out. 131 00:06:10,130 --> 00:06:13,200 What they used to cry was gardyloo, from the French garde 132 00:06:13,300 --> 00:06:15,430 a l'eau, mined out for the water, which of course, was not 133 00:06:15,530 --> 00:06:17,260 what they were throwing out into the close. 134 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:18,360 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): The emergence 135 00:06:21,830 --> 00:06:24,030 Now, these people from above, they're just taking 136 00:06:24,130 --> 00:06:25,730 their buckets of [bleep] and everything else. 137 00:06:25,830 --> 00:06:26,830 They dump 'em down here. 138 00:06:26,930 --> 00:06:27,900 Oh, indeed. 139 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:29,760 So if someone shouted gardyloo, you'd 140 00:06:29,860 --> 00:06:32,600 have to dive for the wall or a door. 141 00:06:32,700 --> 00:06:35,200 Now, let me guess that if you live down here, 142 00:06:35,300 --> 00:06:36,530 this would not be the best place to live. 143 00:06:36,630 --> 00:06:38,630 Oh, no, especially if the rain came washing all the filth 144 00:06:38,730 --> 00:06:41,700 It might flodown.o 145 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:43,800 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): 350 years ago, this street 146 00:06:43,900 --> 00:06:47,030 would have been a flowing river of waste. 147 00:06:47,130 --> 00:06:49,760 With waste washing up knee deep into the houses, 148 00:06:49,860 --> 00:06:52,760 disease spread like wildfire. 149 00:06:52,860 --> 00:06:55,600 What made it worse was that the people who lived down here 150 00:06:55,700 --> 00:06:58,000 hadn't discovered how the disease was spread. 151 00:06:58,100 --> 00:06:59,730 CHRIS A. KELLY: They thought that the plague was caused 152 00:06:59,830 --> 00:07:02,960 by invisible bad smells called miasmas, 153 00:07:03,060 --> 00:07:04,730 or they believed it was down to witches and the influence 154 00:07:04,830 --> 00:07:07,960 of the devil, and ghosts, and spirits. 155 00:07:08,060 --> 00:07:09,100 They didn't realize that it was the filth they were living 156 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:11,960 in that was causing all the problems. 157 00:07:12,060 --> 00:07:13,160 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): This secret labyrinth 158 00:07:13,260 --> 00:07:16,630 of alleyways and rooms was hit hard by the plague. 159 00:07:16,730 --> 00:07:18,730 In an effort to contain the epidemic, 160 00:07:18,830 --> 00:07:22,230 city officials put Mary King's Close on lockdown. 161 00:07:22,330 --> 00:07:25,060 If you were infected, you were quarantined inside your home. 162 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,460 That meant it wasn't long before every member of your family 163 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,830 was a dead man walking. 164 00:07:31,930 --> 00:07:34,100 Hundreds died in these apartments, 165 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,260 and the bodies were kept indoors until the plague cleaner came 166 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,230 down these very streets to cart them away. 167 00:07:39,330 --> 00:07:41,500 Some say the plague is the reason this entire neighborhood 168 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,030 is now underground-- that the city bricked over 169 00:07:45,130 --> 00:07:50,030 the closes, literally burying the plague victims alive. 170 00:07:50,130 --> 00:07:53,300 But recent studies show covering Mary King's Close had nothing 171 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:54,500 to do with the plague. 172 00:07:58,160 --> 00:07:59,130 My god, look. 173 00:07:59,230 --> 00:08:00,060 It looks up, like, what-- 174 00:08:02,700 --> 00:08:03,760 of what building? 175 00:08:06,630 --> 00:08:07,860 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): The City Chambers 176 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,360 is a massive structure that was sitting right above us. 177 00:08:10,460 --> 00:08:13,130 Today it covers Mary King's and several other concealed 178 00:08:13,230 --> 00:08:15,030 buildings and alleyways. 179 00:08:15,130 --> 00:08:17,260 Covering the city of the poor was 180 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,530 one of the most drastic changes of street level in history. 181 00:08:20,630 --> 00:08:24,930 In the late 17th century, as the small city began to grow, 182 00:08:25,030 --> 00:08:27,430 they started to run out of space. 183 00:08:27,530 --> 00:08:29,960 But instead of building outside the city walls, 184 00:08:30,060 --> 00:08:33,760 they simply built up. 185 00:08:33,860 --> 00:08:36,560 Three centuries ago, the people of Edinburgh 186 00:08:36,660 --> 00:08:39,700 actually changed the way their city was shaped. 187 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,230 Using the mile as its backbone, they literally 188 00:08:42,330 --> 00:08:43,900 raised the level of the steep hillsides 189 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:45,660 to run parallel to it. 190 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,430 This massive facelift used the existing structures 191 00:08:49,530 --> 00:08:52,030 to hold up the weight of the new streets and buildings. 192 00:08:52,130 --> 00:08:53,760 In turn, the closes and their tenements 193 00:08:53,860 --> 00:08:56,930 became the vaults or basements below the new city streets. 194 00:09:00,430 --> 00:09:03,000 2 and 1/2 centuries later, the walls of the basement 195 00:09:03,100 --> 00:09:06,330 still hold up the six story building up above, but not 196 00:09:06,430 --> 00:09:08,630 without reinforcements. 197 00:09:08,730 --> 00:09:09,660 So what is this right here? 198 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,230 Ah, now that-- this is a savior arch. 199 00:09:12,330 --> 00:09:14,430 When they put the vault here in the 18th century 200 00:09:14,530 --> 00:09:16,830 to support the Royal Exchange, that 201 00:09:16,930 --> 00:09:19,460 meant there was pressure coming from different angles. 202 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:21,300 And they were probably worried-- the architects, 203 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,130 that is-- that it could be cracked or even collapse. 204 00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:25,430 And this thing, of course, was intended to take the weight 205 00:09:25,530 --> 00:09:27,430 and spread it. 206 00:09:27,530 --> 00:09:29,930 [music playing] 207 00:09:30,030 --> 00:09:32,360 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): This subterranean neighborhood 208 00:09:32,460 --> 00:09:35,430 turned modern day foundation was a feat of engineering-- 209 00:09:35,530 --> 00:09:38,160 an ingenious way to make the most of the limited space 210 00:09:38,260 --> 00:09:40,260 the city had to work with. 211 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:44,100 At the same time, it buried a piece of plague ridden past, 212 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,630 creating a time capsule of darker days 213 00:09:47,730 --> 00:09:49,430 80 feet beneath the streets. 214 00:09:54,300 --> 00:09:58,000 [ominous music] 215 00:09:58,460 --> 00:10:00,100 Edinburgh has seen tough times-- 216 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,630 bloody wars, fierce fires, deadly epidemics. 217 00:10:03,730 --> 00:10:06,560 But each battle has only made the city stronger. 218 00:10:06,660 --> 00:10:08,360 Its population boomed, forcing Edinburgh 219 00:10:08,460 --> 00:10:10,760 to expand and rebuild. 220 00:10:10,860 --> 00:10:12,060 With the horrors of the plague behind it, 221 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:13,830 the city was ready for a facelift. 222 00:10:17,060 --> 00:10:19,100 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): This facelift 223 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,730 came in the late 1700s, when Edinburgh first began 224 00:10:21,830 --> 00:10:24,060 to build past the city walls. 225 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:25,960 The threat of attack was over, and it 226 00:10:26,060 --> 00:10:29,430 was time for the city to grow. 227 00:10:29,530 --> 00:10:32,200 Five bridges sprung up around the Old Town, 228 00:10:32,300 --> 00:10:35,030 allowing Edinburgh to stretch in all directions. 229 00:10:35,130 --> 00:10:37,260 But these bridges weren't built over water. 230 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:39,800 They covered land. 231 00:10:39,900 --> 00:10:42,660 That's because travel over the hilly terrain beyond Castle 232 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:44,960 Hill was too steep and dangerous to cross. 233 00:10:45,060 --> 00:10:47,900 So engineers provided the connections, 234 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,430 and people moved freely between the old and new town. 235 00:10:50,530 --> 00:10:53,500 But there's one bridge that did much more than link Old Town 236 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,900 with New Town-- the South Bridge. 237 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,800 And its unusual construction actually created another world. 238 00:11:00,900 --> 00:11:04,400 [suspenseful music] 239 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:05,530 Des. 240 00:11:07,460 --> 00:11:08,760 Des, thank you for meeting with me. 241 00:11:08,860 --> 00:11:09,760 Not at all. 242 00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:10,700 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Des Brogan 243 00:11:12,660 --> 00:11:14,000 See this bridge here? 244 00:11:14,100 --> 00:11:15,030 Right? 245 00:11:15,130 --> 00:11:16,460 Lovely, lovely, big bridge. 246 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,560 This is the only one of 19 arches 247 00:11:19,660 --> 00:11:20,430 that you can actually see. 248 00:11:23,300 --> 00:11:25,360 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Des was one of the first 249 00:11:25,460 --> 00:11:28,000 to enter the lost Blair Street Vaults-- 250 00:11:28,100 --> 00:11:29,130 vaults that had been forgotten and sealed up 251 00:11:29,230 --> 00:11:31,130 for almost 70 years. 252 00:11:31,230 --> 00:11:32,230 Let's go and see them. 253 00:11:32,330 --> 00:11:33,330 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): In fact, it's 254 00:11:33,430 --> 00:11:36,860 entrance is so camouflaged by the 21st century 255 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,060 that we had to walk through a modern day office building 256 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,130 to get to it. 257 00:11:40,230 --> 00:11:43,030 [ominous music] 258 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,030 DES BROGAN: Here you are in one of the covered vaulted 259 00:11:58,130 --> 00:11:59,530 chambers. 260 00:11:59,630 --> 00:12:00,660 And this keeps going. 261 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:01,400 I can see it right now it keeps going. 262 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:04,000 What That's right. 263 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,200 And this bridge was across a valley. 264 00:12:09,300 --> 00:12:12,800 And then, on the outside of the bridge, they built houses. 265 00:12:12,900 --> 00:12:15,860 And that's why you can't see the bridge, except for that one 266 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,030 arch where the road runs through. 267 00:12:18,130 --> 00:12:19,960 So what you have just done there just now 268 00:12:20,060 --> 00:12:22,960 is walk down a flight of stairs, through the old houses, 269 00:12:23,060 --> 00:12:25,130 right under the bridge itself. 270 00:12:25,230 --> 00:12:26,600 And that is where we are, right under the bridge. 271 00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:27,700 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): So the office 272 00:12:31,430 --> 00:12:34,600 But how did these vaults get underneath the bridge? 273 00:12:34,700 --> 00:12:36,730 It all started when space on the South Bridge 274 00:12:36,830 --> 00:12:38,100 began to sell at a premium. 275 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,200 Businesses built shops on top of the bridge 276 00:12:41,300 --> 00:12:42,930 to make the most of the foot traffic. 277 00:12:43,030 --> 00:12:45,800 Soon tenement houses went up alongside the bridges, 278 00:12:45,900 --> 00:12:49,600 covering all of the 19 arches except the one I had just seen. 279 00:12:49,700 --> 00:12:51,800 To maximize space, floors and ceilings 280 00:12:51,900 --> 00:12:53,800 were built beneath the blocked-in arches, 281 00:12:53,900 --> 00:12:58,030 creating dark, vaulted chambers. 282 00:12:58,130 --> 00:13:00,730 I was 50 feet beneath the busy South Bridge, 283 00:13:00,830 --> 00:13:03,800 and had stepped 200 years back in time. 284 00:13:03,900 --> 00:13:06,760 This vast labyrinth spanned over 1,000 feet, 285 00:13:06,860 --> 00:13:09,900 making the bridge above as long as three football fields. 286 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,600 This whole area would have been filled with taverns, cobblers, 287 00:13:12,700 --> 00:13:14,700 dressmakers, and glass blowers. 288 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,930 But not all of these subterranean businesses 289 00:13:17,030 --> 00:13:19,600 were on the up and up. 290 00:13:19,700 --> 00:13:22,400 Many believe whisky was invented in Scotland. 291 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:25,300 And it's always been a deep seated part of the culture, 292 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,330 keeping folks warm in the winter and even 293 00:13:27,430 --> 00:13:28,930 "curing" common ailments like smallpox. 294 00:13:29,030 --> 00:13:31,800 But in the early 1700s, a hefty government tax 295 00:13:31,900 --> 00:13:33,800 made it nearly impossible to get. 296 00:13:33,900 --> 00:13:35,860 That didn't stop the Scots. 297 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,700 They took their distilleries underground. 298 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,160 In the 1790s, there were only eight licensed distilleries 299 00:13:42,260 --> 00:13:43,960 in the entire country. 300 00:13:44,060 --> 00:13:47,230 But there were over 400 illegal ones, 301 00:13:47,330 --> 00:13:51,400 just like the one I was standing in beneath South Street Bridge. 302 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:53,430 These vaults were the perfect place for distillers 303 00:13:53,530 --> 00:13:54,530 to make their booze-- 304 00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:00,600 Now, this is one of our vaulted chambers with something 305 00:14:00,700 --> 00:14:02,060 of a history to it. 306 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,500 This is one of the places where the whiskey was distilled 307 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:06,500 illicitly. 308 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,530 And, of course, you can see why this would be an ideal place, 309 00:14:09,630 --> 00:14:13,930 far away from the public, very dark, narrow points of entry 310 00:14:14,030 --> 00:14:14,130 It to it. 311 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:17,430 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): It was a battle between the tax 312 00:14:17,530 --> 00:14:19,630 collectors and the illicit bootleggers, much of it 313 00:14:19,730 --> 00:14:22,400 plotted out underground. 314 00:14:22,500 --> 00:14:23,900 An elaborate network of smugglers 315 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,700 was constantly on the lookout for tax men. 316 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:29,730 These clandestine groups came up with ingenious ways of skirting 317 00:14:29,830 --> 00:14:31,860 the law, like transporting whiskey in broad daylight 318 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:33,230 inside a coffin. 319 00:14:33,330 --> 00:14:36,360 But the hardest part came before the whiskey was even made. 320 00:14:36,460 --> 00:14:39,860 Raw materials like grain, yeast, and coal for boiling 321 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,930 were bulky and not easy to sneak in past the public above. 322 00:14:43,030 --> 00:14:46,100 But the criminals in this vault had that problem all 323 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:47,360 figured out. 324 00:14:47,460 --> 00:14:50,430 It's simply through a hole in the street. 325 00:14:50,530 --> 00:14:53,530 By that you can remove protective covering up 326 00:14:53,630 --> 00:14:54,830 in the street and dump your coal, 327 00:14:54,930 --> 00:14:56,860 heavy materials like coal down here. 328 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,660 And that then is used to boil up your mash for the distilling 329 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:01,960 of the whiskey. 330 00:15:02,060 --> 00:15:04,060 So that's their illicit coal hole. 331 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:06,460 DES BROGAN: Yes, indeed, that's what it is. 332 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:06,830 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Illegal whiskey 333 00:15:09,260 --> 00:15:11,330 The engineering masterpiece that was the South Bridge 334 00:15:11,430 --> 00:15:12,500 began to leak. 335 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,160 During construction, the budget was tight 336 00:15:15,260 --> 00:15:16,860 and it was never waterproofed. 337 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,260 So legitimate businesses moved out, 338 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:21,530 and Edinburgh's poor moved in. 339 00:15:21,630 --> 00:15:24,330 The vaults became Edinburgh's slums. 340 00:15:24,430 --> 00:15:26,960 Evidence suggests that brothels and pubs opened up 341 00:15:27,060 --> 00:15:30,360 in the damp abandoned vaults, creating an underground city 342 00:15:30,460 --> 00:15:32,760 of homeless hookers and convicts. 343 00:15:32,860 --> 00:15:35,930 It was so dangerous that no law abiding citizen, not even 344 00:15:36,030 --> 00:15:39,130 the police, would dare set foot near the vaults. 345 00:15:39,230 --> 00:15:41,860 But some may have been forced down here. 346 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,530 These very vaults are rumored to be the old stomping grounds 347 00:15:44,630 --> 00:15:48,830 of the murderous duo Burke and Hare, better known as the Body 348 00:15:48,930 --> 00:15:50,430 Snatchers. 349 00:15:50,530 --> 00:15:52,230 When William Burke and William Hare were here, 350 00:15:52,330 --> 00:15:54,760 the city was growing up above. 351 00:15:54,860 --> 00:15:55,960 And the medical profession was flourishing just 352 00:15:56,060 --> 00:15:57,300 beyond South Bridge. 353 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,900 The best and brightest came here to study medicine. 354 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,500 But this need for knowledge created an interesting problem. 355 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,900 By law, medical students could dissect the bodies 356 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:07,760 of executed criminals. 357 00:16:07,860 --> 00:16:09,000 But with most of Edinburgh's criminals 358 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:11,330 hiding out underground, untouched, 359 00:16:11,430 --> 00:16:13,460 there was a need for fresh corpses. 360 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:16,700 So entrepreneurs Burke and Hare got crafty. 361 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,460 They went on a murdering spree, killing nameless travelers 362 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,430 or prostitutes, whose deaths wouldn't cause much concern. 363 00:16:23,530 --> 00:16:25,730 They traded in the corpses for cash. 364 00:16:25,830 --> 00:16:28,060 Some say, before they made the deal, 365 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,060 the cadavers were stored right here underneath South Bridge. 366 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,230 The cool temperatures would have kept the bodies fresh, 367 00:16:33,330 --> 00:16:35,930 and its proximity to the university 368 00:16:36,030 --> 00:16:37,960 made it less likely they'd be caught in transit. 369 00:16:38,060 --> 00:16:40,900 Eventually, the damp vaults were leaking so much 370 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,260 they became uninhabitable, and weren't even fit for storing 371 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:45,130 cadavers. 372 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,930 with rubble. 373 00:16:50,030 --> 00:16:52,660 Then, 12 years ago, the vaults were cleaned up, 374 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,300 and Des and other underground experts were allowed in. 375 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,460 The time capsule they found answered many questions 376 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,600 about Edinburgh's underground past. 377 00:17:00,700 --> 00:17:02,360 A little glass pistol. 378 00:17:02,460 --> 00:17:03,830 Now, this very well could have been filled with something. 379 00:17:03,930 --> 00:17:04,730 You could have put a cork in there 380 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:07,300 Yeah, could well have been. 381 00:17:08,930 --> 00:17:11,930 Because, of course, many of the people who lived in these rooms 382 00:17:12,030 --> 00:17:16,830 were very poor, and they would make their living from theft. 383 00:17:16,930 --> 00:17:19,460 I'm standing in a den of thieves and drunkards, huh? 384 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,360 So, now, what's above our head right now? 385 00:17:22,460 --> 00:17:24,600 One more level of arches, and then you've got the road. 386 00:17:24,700 --> 00:17:27,460 And, in fact, you can actually hear the traffic. 387 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:28,530 ERIC GELLER: Those people who are driving or walking 388 00:17:31,460 --> 00:17:31,530 No, absolutely not. 389 00:17:32,130 --> 00:17:36,200 This . 390 00:17:36,300 --> 00:17:37,930 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): It began as an engineering marvel 391 00:17:38,030 --> 00:17:40,260 meant to bridge old and new. 392 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,560 But instead, the construction of South Bridge 393 00:17:42,660 --> 00:17:45,000 created a lively and lawless underground 394 00:17:45,100 --> 00:17:46,560 inside its subterranean arches. 395 00:17:46,660 --> 00:17:48,860 It was a world far more dangerous 396 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:50,630 than anyone could have imagined. 397 00:17:50,730 --> 00:17:54,200 And both then and now, it's much closer than you think. 398 00:17:58,930 --> 00:18:02,430 [suspenseful music] 399 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,700 Edinburgh Castle dominates the city skyline. 400 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,860 The castle dates back to the 12th century, 401 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,500 but the extinct volcano it rests on is millions of years old. 402 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,430 Mother nature created the ideal castle fortress here, 403 00:18:15,530 --> 00:18:17,830 with steep cliffs to keep enemies out, 404 00:18:17,930 --> 00:18:20,160 and plenty of underground to keep them in. 405 00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:25,430 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Each year, over 1 million people 406 00:18:25,530 --> 00:18:29,060 visit Edinburgh Castle, the former home of Scotland's most 407 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:30,360 famous royalty. 408 00:18:30,460 --> 00:18:34,100 But few know of the world that sits underneath this nearly 409 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,130 1,000-year-old fortress, and I had special access down. 410 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:41,560 You must be Charlie. 411 00:18:41,660 --> 00:18:42,000 I am that, Eric. 412 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:44,230 Thank you, Charlie. 413 00:18:44,330 --> 00:18:46,000 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): I met with senior steward 414 00:18:46,100 --> 00:18:48,560 Charlie Hutton, who was gonna show me down. 415 00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:49,430 We've got to issue you a hard hat. 416 00:18:49,530 --> 00:18:50,630 Hard hat. 417 00:18:50,730 --> 00:18:53,100 Oh, this is hard hat, baseball style. 418 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:54,230 Set that on there. 419 00:18:54,330 --> 00:18:54,960 How do I look? 420 00:18:55,060 --> 00:18:56,130 You look grand. 421 00:18:56,230 --> 00:18:58,530 [ominous music] 422 00:19:00,100 --> 00:19:01,260 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Edinburgh Castle 423 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:03,460 has been damaged and rebuilt many times 424 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,300 in the city's turbulent history. 425 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,600 But a stronghold has existed here since the seventh century. 426 00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:11,960 The structure has all the fittings of a superfortress. 427 00:19:12,060 --> 00:19:13,900 It was the home of the Mighty Scots, 428 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,230 considered barbarians to the rest of Europe. 429 00:19:17,330 --> 00:19:19,400 Through the years, the Scots earned their fair share 430 00:19:19,500 --> 00:19:20,360 of enemies. 431 00:19:22,500 --> 00:19:24,730 in the castle's bowels-- 432 00:19:24,830 --> 00:19:27,000 lots of them. 433 00:19:27,100 --> 00:19:28,930 But the dungeons Charlie was taking me to first 434 00:19:29,030 --> 00:19:32,160 weren't the barbaric medieval dungeons I was imagining. 435 00:19:32,260 --> 00:19:34,730 And the prisoners these walls once held weren't the ones 436 00:19:34,830 --> 00:19:36,600 you'd expect. 437 00:19:36,700 --> 00:19:39,760 These subterranean rooms were first built in the late 1800s, 438 00:19:39,860 --> 00:19:43,630 as a bakehouse, to feed the many soldiers living on site. 439 00:19:43,730 --> 00:19:45,860 But when Britain found itself embroiled 440 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:47,560 in the Battle of the American Revolution, 441 00:19:47,660 --> 00:19:50,230 this bakery took on a whole new use-- 442 00:19:50,330 --> 00:19:51,330 to hold captured American sailors. 443 00:19:56,260 --> 00:19:57,700 ERIC GELLER: This looks like a dungeon down here, Charlie. 444 00:19:57,800 --> 00:19:58,560 This is a dungeon. 445 00:19:58,660 --> 00:19:59,400 This looks like a dungeon, huh? 446 00:20:01,060 --> 00:20:02,300 Yes. 447 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:03,430 And they would have been the prisoners in this. 448 00:20:03,530 --> 00:20:04,600 CHARLIE HUTTON: Yes. 449 00:20:04,700 --> 00:20:04,860 And they would have been sleeping in these cots? 450 00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:07,630 And they would have just gone on for rows and rows? 451 00:20:07,730 --> 00:20:08,660 Yeah. 452 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:10,430 They'd been going for rows and rows. 453 00:20:10,530 --> 00:20:11,360 And this room would have held how many people? 454 00:20:11,460 --> 00:20:12,430 40 people. 455 00:20:12,530 --> 00:20:12,560 40 people. 456 00:20:14,060 --> 00:20:16,660 So your Americans might have been hanging out in this area. 457 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:17,930 Could be in this part here. 458 00:20:18,030 --> 00:20:19,700 French probably had the nice hammocks there. 459 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:20,530 - Yeah. - You know how the French are. 460 00:20:20,630 --> 00:20:22,560 [upbeat music] 461 00:20:22,660 --> 00:20:24,560 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): 200 years ago, I 462 00:20:24,660 --> 00:20:27,360 would have been standing inside of a two level dungeon. 463 00:20:27,460 --> 00:20:31,060 Along with two solitary cells there were eight large cells, 464 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,430 each approximately 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall, 465 00:20:33,530 --> 00:20:38,000 and carved out of the lava rock 600 years ago by hand. 466 00:20:38,100 --> 00:20:40,560 At the height of the American Revolution, space was tight. 467 00:20:40,660 --> 00:20:43,430 And upwards of 1,000 sailors would have been packed 468 00:20:43,530 --> 00:20:44,700 in these very rooms. 469 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:47,100 Mutiny was always a concern. 470 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,660 But what were these Americans doing here in the first place? 471 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,700 The Americans began the Revolution without a navy, 472 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,000 but they quickly transformed their merchant ships 473 00:20:56,100 --> 00:20:59,800 into war vessels, and ironically chose a Scottish born captain 474 00:20:59,900 --> 00:21:01,700 as one of their naval leaders. 475 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,030 His name was John Paul Jones. 476 00:21:04,130 --> 00:21:06,300 And today this Scotsman is considered the father 477 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:07,400 of the American Navy. 478 00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:08,630 [explosions] 479 00:21:08,730 --> 00:21:12,100 He took the revolution right to the shores of Britain 480 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,900 by planning to attack seaside towns and vessels. 481 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,100 But if one of his hundreds of wartime ships 482 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,460 was captured in the process, the captain and crew 483 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,100 were immediately jailed. 484 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:22,760 Those Americans captured off the coast of Edinburgh 485 00:21:22,860 --> 00:21:24,500 were brought to these very rooms, 486 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,000 with no chance of escape. 487 00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:29,600 If you even were able to get through here, 488 00:21:29,700 --> 00:21:31,760 this is all of those steep cliffs that go down 489 00:21:31,860 --> 00:21:32,500 over 100 feet. 490 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:33,660 CHARLIE HUTTON: Yeah. 491 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:34,260 You had a long climb. 492 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:36,600 It would be a deadly fall, wouldn't it? 493 00:21:36,700 --> 00:21:37,600 Yeah. 494 00:21:37,700 --> 00:21:39,130 It most certainly would. 495 00:21:39,230 --> 00:21:41,960 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): We were over 400 feet above sea level, 496 00:21:42,060 --> 00:21:45,060 in a medieval castle built atop the volcanic rock. 497 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:47,330 And like any fortress worth its name, 498 00:21:47,430 --> 00:21:49,800 it holds many carved out cells and hidden chambers 499 00:21:49,900 --> 00:21:51,600 under the Castle Rock. 500 00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:53,460 [suspenseful music] 501 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,360 Next stop-- an underworld fit for a king. 502 00:21:56,460 --> 00:21:59,330 Today the east section of the castle 503 00:21:59,430 --> 00:22:02,200 is a drum shaped building called Half Moon Battery. 504 00:22:02,300 --> 00:22:05,530 But in 1547, this entrance tower was the first line 505 00:22:05,630 --> 00:22:07,700 of defense in case of attack. 506 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,360 Beneath this battery sits an even older defense structure, 507 00:22:10,460 --> 00:22:13,030 and this one is the textbook version 508 00:22:13,130 --> 00:22:15,230 of what a fortified medieval castle would have looked like. 509 00:22:15,330 --> 00:22:17,900 It has a lion pit, and even escape routes 510 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,060 carved into the lava rock. 511 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:20,430 All right. 512 00:22:20,530 --> 00:22:22,530 Let's try not to bite it down here. 513 00:22:22,630 --> 00:22:23,860 This is great down here. 514 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,060 Look at this place. 515 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,030 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): This place was just 516 00:22:28,130 --> 00:22:31,830 a small part of what was once a super tower. 517 00:22:31,930 --> 00:22:35,360 The 700-year-old tower was a well fortified royal 518 00:22:35,460 --> 00:22:39,560 stronghold, the size of a modern 10-story building. 519 00:22:39,660 --> 00:22:43,530 Amazing, when you consider that it was built by hand. 520 00:22:43,630 --> 00:22:45,700 It was built to be a castle within a castle. 521 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,760 The idea was if the main castle fell into enemy hands, 522 00:22:49,860 --> 00:22:50,960 the king and his court would retreat into the immensely 523 00:22:51,060 --> 00:22:54,530 fortified secondary building. 524 00:22:54,630 --> 00:22:57,000 These rooms were big enough to hold not only the king, 525 00:22:57,100 --> 00:22:59,700 but also his family and royal court. 526 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,260 There were 10-foot thick stone walls soaring 100 feet high 527 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:04,030 to ensure their safety. 528 00:23:07,630 --> 00:23:11,100 60 feet below the ground level, an added safety measure 529 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,960 to protect the leader of the Scots. 530 00:23:14,060 --> 00:23:14,760 This is a great room. 531 00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:15,700 Look at this place. 532 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:17,800 This was the king's bedroom. 533 00:23:17,900 --> 00:23:19,600 This was the king's bedroom? 534 00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:20,730 King's bedroom. 535 00:23:23,300 --> 00:23:26,060 stories, these arched ceilings helped to distribute the weight 536 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:28,200 of the heavy castle up above. 537 00:23:28,300 --> 00:23:30,530 But what if an enemy did breach the castle's defenses 538 00:23:30,630 --> 00:23:32,760 and find the king's hideout? 539 00:23:32,860 --> 00:23:36,530 They were in for a deadly surprise. 540 00:23:36,630 --> 00:23:37,500 CHARLIE HUTTON: Just below you here 541 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,430 we have a pit and a lion's den. 542 00:23:39,530 --> 00:23:40,900 ERIC GELLER: There was an actual lion here? 543 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:41,560 There was a lion here. 544 00:23:41,660 --> 00:23:43,130 In this pit? 545 00:23:43,230 --> 00:23:44,830 In this pit. 546 00:23:44,930 --> 00:23:46,000 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): This last line 547 00:23:46,100 --> 00:23:49,000 of defense was incredibly simple but deadly. 548 00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:51,230 As the king withdrew into his chambers, 549 00:23:51,330 --> 00:23:52,760 his guards would have removed the wooden planks 550 00:23:52,860 --> 00:23:54,530 outside his door. 551 00:23:54,630 --> 00:23:56,900 The invading soldiers were then left with a 6-foot jump. 552 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,230 If they didn't make it, they fell almost 10 feet 553 00:24:00,330 --> 00:24:01,130 into the lion's den. 554 00:24:01,230 --> 00:24:02,860 [growling] 555 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,300 If things got so bad that the lion was unleashed, 556 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:07,760 we can be sure that the king would have been long gone. 557 00:24:07,860 --> 00:24:09,500 A secret escape route ensured that. 558 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,430 It was carved into the hillside beneath the castle, where 559 00:24:12,530 --> 00:24:15,360 a tunnel led to a door that opened up outside the castle 560 00:24:15,460 --> 00:24:17,630 walls. 561 00:24:17,730 --> 00:24:20,730 But if David's Tower was such a protective fortress, 562 00:24:20,830 --> 00:24:23,100 how did it get buried 30 feet within the Half Moon Battery? 563 00:24:26,060 --> 00:24:28,160 It all started in the 16th century, 564 00:24:28,260 --> 00:24:30,700 when David's Tower suffered heavy bombardment 565 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:31,930 from the English. 566 00:24:32,030 --> 00:24:34,430 There was a 5-year siege on the tower. 567 00:24:34,530 --> 00:24:37,730 In the end, the top of the tower collapsed, 568 00:24:37,830 --> 00:24:38,960 crumbling through the inside and leaving 569 00:24:39,060 --> 00:24:41,900 these subterranean rooms. 570 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,160 200 years later, the Half Moon Battery was built in its place, 571 00:24:45,260 --> 00:24:50,260 burying what was left of this medieval fortress. 572 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:53,800 But over 60 years ago, and nearly 30 years after David's 573 00:24:53,900 --> 00:24:56,160 Tower was rediscovered, these subterranean rooms 574 00:24:56,260 --> 00:24:59,060 would be used for protection once again. 575 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,330 It was the year 1939, and war broke out all over Europe. 576 00:25:02,430 --> 00:25:05,130 Bombing was a serious threat, and the Scots 577 00:25:05,230 --> 00:25:07,460 needed a safe place to hide their most valuable possession, 578 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,160 the crown jewels. 579 00:25:10,260 --> 00:25:13,000 What better place than deep inside a 14th century toilet 580 00:25:13,100 --> 00:25:14,560 fit for a king? 581 00:25:14,660 --> 00:25:17,330 CHARLIE HUTTON: This is the king's toilet. 582 00:25:17,430 --> 00:25:18,300 This is it, huh? 583 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:19,200 This is the king's throne? 584 00:25:19,300 --> 00:25:19,360 So the royal ass Oh, man. 585 00:25:21,630 --> 00:25:23,660 I wouldn't say this is fit for a king, 586 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,430 but it's not too bad for 14th century, huh? 587 00:25:26,530 --> 00:25:28,500 That's right. 588 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,600 In 1939, when the war broke, out the crown jewels 589 00:25:31,700 --> 00:25:33,260 were moved from the crown room, brought in here 590 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:34,500 and they were buried. 591 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:36,860 Did they pick this area for a reason? 592 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:38,030 Well, the reason would be would 593 00:25:38,130 --> 00:25:38,630 you like to go and dig in a toilet. 594 00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:43,530 Well, for crown jewels I might think about it. 595 00:25:43,630 --> 00:25:43,730 You know? 596 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:49,500 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): A nearly 1,000-year-old 597 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:51,830 subterranean dungeon carved into a nearly 300-million-year-old 598 00:25:51,930 --> 00:25:54,030 volcanic rock. 599 00:25:54,130 --> 00:25:55,560 I was at one of the highest points in the city. 600 00:25:55,660 --> 00:25:58,260 But down these steep slopes of Castle Hill 601 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:00,400 were many more underground cities 602 00:26:00,500 --> 00:26:01,100 just waiting to be explored. 603 00:26:06,660 --> 00:26:09,400 [suspenseful music] 604 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,000 The History of Edinburgh's underground 605 00:26:16,100 --> 00:26:18,560 occasionally relies upon a great deal of rumor and speculation. 606 00:26:18,660 --> 00:26:22,160 But the key to unlocking the truth about the underworld 607 00:26:22,260 --> 00:26:27,230 might just lie in the darkness of a long forgotten tunnel. 608 00:26:27,330 --> 00:26:29,330 Hidden between a playground and a basketball court, 609 00:26:29,430 --> 00:26:33,460 the remains of the city's once thriving railroad can be found. 610 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,600 But the Scotland Street Tunnel was much more than a railway 611 00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:37,830 line from the mid-1800s. 612 00:26:37,930 --> 00:26:41,530 It actually played a key role as a super bunker, 613 00:26:41,630 --> 00:26:45,160 saving hundreds of lives during World War II. 614 00:26:45,260 --> 00:26:46,700 [suspenseful music] 615 00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:48,030 Duncan? 616 00:26:49,460 --> 00:26:49,860 Hi, Duncan. 617 00:26:51,060 --> 00:26:51,230 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): And Duncan Frasier 618 00:26:52,930 --> 00:26:53,800 You got something interesting to show me? 619 00:26:53,900 --> 00:26:54,600 OK, let's go. 620 00:26:55,930 --> 00:26:59,300 dating back to 1847-- 621 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:01,330 a tunnel whose mere existence helped to create the Edinburgh 622 00:27:01,430 --> 00:27:04,060 we see today. 623 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,030 [suspenseful music] 624 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,300 Over 100 years ago, space was tight in the city. 625 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:19,630 But planners knew they needed a way 626 00:27:19,730 --> 00:27:22,600 to get construction materials and equipment 627 00:27:22,700 --> 00:27:24,930 in and out of the town center. 628 00:27:25,030 --> 00:27:27,660 So they built Scotland Street Tunnel, an ingenious idea that 629 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:30,700 allowed freight trains to travel beneath the streets, 630 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,600 going from the city center to Scotland's bustling ports. 631 00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:37,400 But new railway lines prompted Scotland Street to shut down 632 00:27:37,500 --> 00:27:41,230 after only 20 years of train service. 633 00:27:41,330 --> 00:27:44,860 The tracks were ripped out, leaving an empty cavity. 634 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,160 The city above quickly forgot about the world down 635 00:27:47,260 --> 00:27:51,430 below until nearly 100 years later, when Hitler attacked, 636 00:27:51,530 --> 00:27:54,260 and the gaping hole beneath the houses 637 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:56,100 was transformed into a super bunker. 638 00:28:00,430 --> 00:28:01,300 ERIC GELLER: So there's all sorts of scattered debris 639 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:02,330 around here. 640 00:28:02,430 --> 00:28:04,830 It looks like some poles of some sort. 641 00:28:04,930 --> 00:28:06,030 Yeah. 642 00:28:06,130 --> 00:28:09,200 This was occupied during the Second World War. 643 00:28:09,300 --> 00:28:11,400 And-- and it was used for a number of things, including 644 00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:14,130 storage of important documents. 645 00:28:14,230 --> 00:28:17,160 And it was used as an air raid shelter, as well. 646 00:28:17,260 --> 00:28:18,660 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): In the 1940s, 647 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,600 World War II was raging through Europe. 648 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:24,030 This empty tunnel was over a half mile long-- 649 00:28:24,130 --> 00:28:26,230 the size of nearly 10 football fields-- 650 00:28:26,330 --> 00:28:27,530 making it the perfect subterranean 651 00:28:27,630 --> 00:28:31,900 bunker to protect citizens from Nazi bombs. 652 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,430 60 years ago, thousands of terrified locals 653 00:28:35,530 --> 00:28:37,500 filled these very walls whenever an air raid siren sounded 654 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:38,930 overhead. 655 00:28:39,030 --> 00:28:40,230 The world they left behind is nothing 656 00:28:40,330 --> 00:28:43,400 short of a subterranean city. 657 00:28:43,500 --> 00:28:45,160 ERIC GELLER: Duncan, what is this? 658 00:28:45,260 --> 00:28:46,300 Is this something for the railroad? 659 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:47,330 No, it certainly isn't. 660 00:28:47,430 --> 00:28:49,860 This is a toilet block. 661 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:51,260 A toilet block? 662 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:52,360 You mind Yeah. 663 00:28:52,460 --> 00:28:53,400 I need a few moments here. 664 00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:55,060 [chuckles] 665 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,530 This is-- this is like the kind of urinal you'd see 666 00:28:57,630 --> 00:29:00,600 at a sports stadium or something like that. 667 00:29:00,700 --> 00:29:01,730 Don't bang doors. 668 00:29:01,830 --> 00:29:02,960 Don't bang doors. 669 00:29:03,060 --> 00:29:04,000 Look at this. 670 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:05,960 [chuckles] 671 00:29:06,630 --> 00:29:07,530 OK. 672 00:29:07,630 --> 00:29:07,860 So let's if this is-- 673 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:10,460 This would be the ladies. 674 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:11,260 Right? 675 00:29:12,930 --> 00:29:12,960 in a little better shape here. 676 00:29:14,130 --> 00:29:15,500 They probably looked after them better. 677 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:15,800 - Look at that. - Oh. 678 00:29:16,900 --> 00:29:19,500 Now, this is-- now, this is fine-- 679 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:19,930 fine accommodations for the lady folk. 680 00:29:20,030 --> 00:29:21,630 Huh? 681 00:29:21,730 --> 00:29:22,030 Compared to Luxury. 682 00:29:24,230 --> 00:29:25,060 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): But people 683 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:26,660 weren't the only things protected 684 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:28,860 in this underground super bunker. 685 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,230 Evidence of filing cabinets, electrical wires 686 00:29:31,330 --> 00:29:32,860 to bring in light, and storage spaces 687 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:34,830 were all along the tunnel. 688 00:29:34,930 --> 00:29:35,830 Yes. 689 00:29:35,930 --> 00:29:36,800 During the war, the civil servants 690 00:29:36,900 --> 00:29:39,600 also found there was a need for storage. 691 00:29:39,700 --> 00:29:42,160 And they were very worried about losing valuable papers. 692 00:29:42,260 --> 00:29:45,600 So down here, they actually had storage rooms 693 00:29:45,700 --> 00:29:47,760 with filing cabinets in it to store these papers. 694 00:29:47,860 --> 00:29:48,660 What a wonderful idea. 695 00:29:50,430 --> 00:29:53,630 even relocated down here, forming a little community. 696 00:29:53,730 --> 00:29:55,230 That's because the risk of a bomb dropping 697 00:29:55,330 --> 00:29:57,500 on this neighborhood was very real. 698 00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:59,330 DUNCAN FRASIER: The German forces 699 00:29:59,430 --> 00:30:02,100 were coming over and trying to hit the docks, which 700 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:03,200 are very close to here. 701 00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:06,300 So people were very vulnerable living here. 702 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:07,760 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): There were no reported injuries 703 00:30:07,860 --> 00:30:09,960 inside this makeshift bunker. 704 00:30:10,060 --> 00:30:13,460 And after the war, it was nearly forgotten until, oddly enough, 705 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,000 someone realized the lack of light 706 00:30:16,100 --> 00:30:18,660 was perfect for growing mushrooms. 707 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,860 So in the '60s and '70s we would have seen a field 708 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:23,500 We'd be walking on of mushrooms. 709 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,230 We would have been-- all down the floor of the tunnel here, 710 00:30:25,330 --> 00:30:26,030 yeah. 711 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,460 and the mushroom farm inside it was closed forever 712 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:32,560 in the early 1970s, after a robbery in one of the railroad 713 00:30:32,660 --> 00:30:33,900 stations up above. 714 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,460 The bandits used this as the exit route 715 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:38,630 to escape the police. 716 00:30:38,730 --> 00:30:40,860 And they ran all the way down here, got out, and got away. 717 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,130 And because of that, for security reasons, 718 00:30:44,230 --> 00:30:45,260 they shut the tunnel. 719 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:46,430 What a shame. 720 00:30:46,530 --> 00:30:46,960 But for all thos Yeah. 721 00:30:49,130 --> 00:30:51,600 Huh? 722 00:30:51,700 --> 00:30:53,430 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Sealed off and forgotten, this site 723 00:30:53,530 --> 00:30:56,200 became a secret very few knew about. 724 00:30:56,300 --> 00:30:58,600 It was so secret, that when a shopping center was built 725 00:30:58,700 --> 00:31:02,630 in 1985, a pile was driven right through the roof. 726 00:31:02,730 --> 00:31:04,800 So tell me about this. 727 00:31:04,900 --> 00:31:06,630 Why is this here? 728 00:31:06,730 --> 00:31:09,960 This is here because they damaged the tunnel. 729 00:31:10,060 --> 00:31:12,960 The only time it was damaged, when they drove the piles down 730 00:31:13,060 --> 00:31:14,360 through it, not realizing that the tunnel was here. 731 00:31:14,460 --> 00:31:16,100 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): The tunnel was repaired, 732 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,300 and mall construction continued up top. 733 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,260 Today shoppers have no idea we're down here. 734 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:21,660 Neither do the commuters, as they 735 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:23,030 rush to catch their trains. 736 00:31:23,130 --> 00:31:24,800 Look, I got a train to catch. 737 00:31:24,900 --> 00:31:25,400 Could we go in that way? 738 00:31:25,500 --> 00:31:26,600 Yeah. 739 00:31:26,700 --> 00:31:26,960 Let's go and see. - Will you take me through? 740 00:31:27,530 --> 00:31:27,860 Let me lead on. 741 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:33,600 [train whistle] 742 00:31:33,700 --> 00:31:35,730 You can hear the whistles blowing. 743 00:31:35,830 --> 00:31:36,430 Now, watch out. 744 00:31:38,460 --> 00:31:38,930 All right. 745 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:41,930 I see light. 746 00:31:43,130 --> 00:31:45,430 Oh, man, do I see you light. 747 00:31:45,530 --> 00:31:46,460 This is the light at the end of the tunnel. 748 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:47,600 Yeah. 749 00:31:47,700 --> 00:31:49,000 So this is the train station right out here. 750 00:31:49,100 --> 00:31:49,730 This is the platform. 751 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,200 and they take a peek at this, do they 752 00:31:52,300 --> 00:31:53,430 have any idea what this is? 753 00:31:56,460 --> 00:31:57,800 People don't know what this is about. 754 00:32:02,830 --> 00:32:05,100 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): It's a forgotten tunnel first built 755 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,800 for freight trains, that later became a super bunker that 756 00:32:07,900 --> 00:32:09,260 saved lives. 757 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,330 This engineering marvel has withstood the test of time. 758 00:32:12,430 --> 00:32:14,230 And 10 feet beneath the ground, it's 759 00:32:14,330 --> 00:32:16,660 just one more example of Edinburgh's 760 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:18,160 saturated subterranean. 761 00:32:25,130 --> 00:32:27,800 [music playing] 762 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:29,030 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Edinburgh's long history 763 00:32:29,130 --> 00:32:31,800 is full of bias and corruption. 764 00:32:31,900 --> 00:32:34,200 From the subterranean streets of Mary King's Close-- 765 00:32:34,300 --> 00:32:35,730 where thousands of plague victims 766 00:32:35,830 --> 00:32:37,730 lived and died underground-- 767 00:32:37,830 --> 00:32:39,330 to the vaults of the South Bridge-- 768 00:32:39,430 --> 00:32:41,360 where thieves and illegal whiskey distillers 769 00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:43,830 hid from the public eye-- 770 00:32:43,930 --> 00:32:46,860 I'd seen the dark and seedy underside of the city. 771 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,400 But there's one forgotten spot in the sleepy suburb 772 00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:52,530 of Edinburgh that has a past no other site can rival-- 773 00:32:52,630 --> 00:32:56,230 a rumored past where Freemasons met in secret, 774 00:32:56,330 --> 00:32:59,130 where an ultra rich sex club conducted sexual rituals, 775 00:32:59,230 --> 00:33:00,900 and where the Knights Templar may 776 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:03,700 have even hidden the Holy Grail. 777 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:05,700 The site is called Gilmerton Cove, 778 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,460 and it lies underneath the small mining town of Watson, 779 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:10,960 just four miles from Edinburgh's city center. 780 00:33:11,060 --> 00:33:13,400 Though the mysterious cove's history stretches back 781 00:33:13,500 --> 00:33:16,930 hundreds of years, very little is actually known about it. 782 00:33:17,030 --> 00:33:19,530 But I found the one person who could let me in. 783 00:33:19,630 --> 00:33:20,600 Great tHi. 784 00:33:20,700 --> 00:33:20,800 Nice to meet you. 785 00:33:21,900 --> 00:33:23,460 Great. 786 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,130 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Just 10 feet beneath the streets, 787 00:33:25,230 --> 00:33:27,260 and directly beneath a local bookie joint, 788 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,830 was a carved out warren of rooms dating back centuries. 789 00:33:29,930 --> 00:33:33,260 Come down here. 790 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:35,800 Do you want to put a hard hat on? 791 00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:37,360 Some of the doors and ceilings are quite low, 792 00:33:37,460 --> 00:33:38,760 so just to stop you from banging your head. 793 00:33:38,860 --> 00:33:39,960 All right. 794 00:33:40,060 --> 00:33:40,960 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Mel Johnson 795 00:33:43,300 --> 00:33:44,360 every story and legend surrounding 796 00:33:44,460 --> 00:33:48,800 this secret suburban spot. 797 00:33:48,900 --> 00:33:51,030 Watson is a mining town, so holes beneath the streets 798 00:33:51,130 --> 00:33:52,730 are nothing special here. 799 00:33:52,830 --> 00:33:56,160 But when this site was officially excavated in 2002, 800 00:33:56,260 --> 00:33:57,560 experts were stunned. 801 00:33:57,660 --> 00:34:01,460 [music playing] 802 00:34:06,130 --> 00:34:08,460 There were seven subterranean rooms 803 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:12,960 that up until 225 years ago were still in use. 804 00:34:13,060 --> 00:34:13,800 MEL JOHNSON: This is Gilmerton Cove. 805 00:34:13,900 --> 00:34:15,960 ERIC GELLER: This is really neat. 806 00:34:16,060 --> 00:34:17,500 This is really impressive down here. 807 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:19,600 Even just seeing this a little bit here, it's great down here. 808 00:34:19,700 --> 00:34:20,030 It's quite bizarre, isn't it? 809 00:34:20,130 --> 00:34:21,330 Yeah. 810 00:34:21,430 --> 00:34:25,160 It's not-- it's not what you expect when you come down. 811 00:34:25,260 --> 00:34:27,930 It really is a very odd place. 812 00:34:28,030 --> 00:34:28,900 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): But what 813 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,800 made Gilmerton Cove even stranger 814 00:34:30,900 --> 00:34:33,060 was how it was constructed. 815 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:35,930 MEL JOHNSON: The whole cove has been excavated out 816 00:34:36,030 --> 00:34:37,960 of the sandstone bedrock. 817 00:34:38,060 --> 00:34:40,900 By using the bedrock they've created these rooms, 818 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,030 and passages, and spaces all the benches, 819 00:34:44,130 --> 00:34:45,000 and all the tables, all the doorways, 820 00:34:45,100 --> 00:34:47,530 everything has been carved away. 821 00:34:47,630 --> 00:34:48,630 ERIC GELLER: So that's what this is, is a sitting space. 822 00:34:48,730 --> 00:34:49,960 - Yes, it is. - Now, can I sit on this? 823 00:34:50,060 --> 00:34:51,460 Or this one looks like it's gonna break. 824 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:52,130 No, that's fine. 825 00:34:52,230 --> 00:34:53,160 All right. 826 00:34:53,260 --> 00:34:55,360 Well, I'll have a seat on the bench. 827 00:34:55,460 --> 00:34:57,060 That's my limestone bench that's carved out. 828 00:34:57,160 --> 00:34:59,460 This is great! 829 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:00,200 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): The official version 830 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,330 the home of a local blacksmith named George Patterson. 831 00:35:07,430 --> 00:35:09,260 He decided to build an underground dwelling where 832 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,260 he could work and live with his family. 833 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:13,660 It supposedly took Patterson five years 834 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:15,430 to carve out his home. 835 00:35:15,530 --> 00:35:18,060 But some say the cove is too elaborate to be the work of one 836 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,560 man. 837 00:35:21,660 --> 00:35:22,600 It's built around a main corridor that 838 00:35:22,700 --> 00:35:25,360 stretches for 40 feet. 839 00:35:25,460 --> 00:35:27,230 Carved entirely out of natural sandstone, 840 00:35:27,330 --> 00:35:30,100 it has two entrances and six main rooms. 841 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:32,300 Each room is decorated with built-in, 842 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:33,930 carved out natural furniture. 843 00:35:34,030 --> 00:35:37,030 The cove covers over 1,000 square feet, 844 00:35:37,130 --> 00:35:39,930 and is 10 feet beneath street level. 845 00:35:40,030 --> 00:35:43,100 After Patterson's death, the cove fell out of use. 846 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:47,260 And that's when his homey warren of rooms became a den of vice. 847 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:51,200 Away from prying eyes, the cove was an ideal spot for all sorts 848 00:35:51,300 --> 00:35:52,430 of illicit activities. 849 00:35:52,530 --> 00:35:55,200 There are rumors that it was used for illegal whiskey 850 00:35:55,300 --> 00:35:57,000 distilling and smuggling of goods. 851 00:35:57,100 --> 00:35:59,500 And there are even stories that these rooms were once 852 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:00,760 an underground brothel and pub. 853 00:36:00,860 --> 00:36:03,200 But even more salacious, the cove 854 00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:06,830 is rumored to be a meeting place for the notorious Hellfire 855 00:36:06,930 --> 00:36:07,630 Club. 856 00:36:09,700 --> 00:36:11,960 popular in the 18th century. 857 00:36:12,060 --> 00:36:14,960 The club met in secret, and is rumored to have held everything 858 00:36:15,060 --> 00:36:16,330 from orgies to satanic meetings in their subterranean 859 00:36:16,430 --> 00:36:18,260 hideaways. 860 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:20,460 Their motto was, do what you will. 861 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:23,060 And Gilmerton Cove might have provided the perfect amount 862 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:25,260 of privacy to do just that. 863 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,030 There are a lot of rumors about what this place was used 864 00:36:28,130 --> 00:36:28,460 Theories are that it was som for. 865 00:36:32,260 --> 00:36:35,800 that it was, you know, ritual or occult type activities, 866 00:36:35,900 --> 00:36:38,400 that the Covenanters hid down here. 867 00:36:38,500 --> 00:36:40,060 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): But the Covenanters 868 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,230 were around a century before the blacksmith Patterson, who 869 00:36:43,330 --> 00:36:45,660 was originally thought to have carved out these rooms by hand. 870 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:47,700 That meant the history of these rooms 871 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,560 could actually date back even further than originally 872 00:36:50,660 --> 00:36:52,360 thought, to an exceptionally bloody time in Scotland's 873 00:36:52,460 --> 00:36:54,030 history. 874 00:36:54,130 --> 00:36:56,060 The period was called the Killing Times, 875 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,230 and began in 1638, when the King of England 876 00:36:59,330 --> 00:37:01,300 tried to crack down on the Church of Scotland. 877 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:03,560 The Scots rose up against the king, 878 00:37:03,660 --> 00:37:05,930 and signed their version of the constitution 879 00:37:06,030 --> 00:37:08,630 called the National Covenant, to confirm their opposition 880 00:37:08,730 --> 00:37:09,960 to the king. 881 00:37:10,060 --> 00:37:12,960 But few realized their signature could bring death. 882 00:37:13,060 --> 00:37:15,300 Covenanters lost their homes. 883 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:17,400 They were harassed and tortured, driven 884 00:37:17,500 --> 00:37:19,230 to exile, sold into slavery. 885 00:37:19,330 --> 00:37:22,200 And many thousands were killed. 886 00:37:22,300 --> 00:37:24,700 As the king's army scoured Scotland looking 887 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:29,730 for Covenanters, many retreated underground in secret. 888 00:37:29,830 --> 00:37:31,700 ERIC GELLER: What is this? 889 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:33,460 MEL JOHNSON: Well, it's always been referred to 890 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,430 on the early plans as the punch bowl. 891 00:37:36,530 --> 00:37:37,230 The punch bowl? 892 00:37:37,330 --> 00:37:38,530 Yes. 893 00:37:38,630 --> 00:37:39,300 And it's mysterious. 894 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:41,500 It doesn't make any sense. 895 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:44,160 They've gone to some effort to-- 896 00:37:44,260 --> 00:37:46,760 to define. 897 00:37:46,860 --> 00:37:48,200 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): It doesn't look like much. 898 00:37:48,300 --> 00:37:50,160 But this bowl, carved out in the middle of the table, 899 00:37:50,260 --> 00:37:52,930 resembles a baptismal bowl. 900 00:37:53,030 --> 00:37:54,800 Did the Covenanters risk death and hold mass 901 00:37:54,900 --> 00:37:57,960 in this very room, while the king's army searched for them 902 00:37:58,060 --> 00:37:59,660 just 10 feet above? 903 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,530 Could they have carved out these rooms and not 904 00:38:01,630 --> 00:38:03,930 the local blacksmith? 905 00:38:04,030 --> 00:38:07,930 In 1897, the first attempt was made to find these answers. 906 00:38:08,030 --> 00:38:11,330 An extensive survey was launched in hopes of unlocking 907 00:38:11,430 --> 00:38:12,900 the mystery of these rooms. 908 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,000 They discovered its history may have been older than expected. 909 00:38:17,100 --> 00:38:18,830 The sharp chisel marks on the walls 910 00:38:18,930 --> 00:38:21,900 pointed to a much older and cruder way of carving. 911 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:27,160 Experts guessed the cove dates back nearly 400 years. 912 00:38:27,260 --> 00:38:30,230 This finding linked the cove to the time of the Covenanters. 913 00:38:30,330 --> 00:38:33,100 But experts uncovered other clues, leaving more questions 914 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:34,160 than answers. 915 00:38:34,260 --> 00:38:35,400 The cove is littered with graffiti 916 00:38:35,500 --> 00:38:37,500 from throughout the centuries. 917 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:41,300 But only one symbol was repeated in numerous places. 918 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:45,200 One of the interesting symbols on this table is this one. 919 00:38:45,300 --> 00:38:48,500 What it does resemble is a Masonic compass. 920 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:49,160 It sure does. 921 00:38:49,260 --> 00:38:50,700 It sure does. 922 00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:53,300 See the compass right there. 923 00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:54,000 [suspenseful music] 924 00:38:55,060 --> 00:38:57,960 symbols in Freemasonry-- onn 925 00:38:58,060 --> 00:38:58,860 a secret brotherhood whose origins 926 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:01,500 are shrouded in secrecy. 927 00:39:01,600 --> 00:39:03,860 But before elaborate lodges sprouted up around the world, 928 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,400 could the first Freemasons have met underground 929 00:39:06,500 --> 00:39:07,660 in this subterranean cove? 930 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,460 In 2002, excavations here revealed another clue that may 931 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:13,760 link the Masons to this site-- 932 00:39:13,860 --> 00:39:14,530 a secret doorway. 933 00:39:17,300 --> 00:39:21,600 There's some sort of entrance doorway in here. 934 00:39:21,700 --> 00:39:25,100 But this blocking-- this was all in place when we came down here 935 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:26,730 to do the excavation. 936 00:39:26,830 --> 00:39:28,200 We were told by the structural engineers 937 00:39:28,300 --> 00:39:32,260 not to move that, because the street is just up there. 938 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:33,500 Literally right there. 939 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:34,860 Yup. 940 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:36,760 So if you keep digging in here, the street may come down. 941 00:39:36,860 --> 00:39:39,800 Exactly, which is why we weren't allowed to. 942 00:39:39,900 --> 00:39:43,100 But we don't know what this-- what this doorway leads to. 943 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:45,030 So it could be just a shallow as that 944 00:39:45,130 --> 00:39:47,100 or it could go all the way underneath the street. 945 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:49,100 It could go all the way under the street. 946 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:50,160 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): This tunnel 947 00:39:51,700 --> 00:39:52,800 shrouded in mystery. 948 00:39:56,230 --> 00:39:58,960 is carved in its stone. 949 00:39:59,060 --> 00:40:01,230 The street might fall down if they dig any further. 950 00:40:01,330 --> 00:40:04,330 But if Gilmerton and Rosslyn are connected underground, 951 00:40:04,430 --> 00:40:06,860 then Gilmerton could actually be the final resting place 952 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:12,130 of the Holy Grail, brought here by the famous Knights Templar. 953 00:40:12,230 --> 00:40:14,300 The Knights Templar was a powerful order 954 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:17,700 of Christian Crusaders, disbanded in 1307 when the Pope 955 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:20,000 charged the Grand Master with heresy 956 00:40:20,100 --> 00:40:22,460 and burned him at the stake. 957 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,100 Many Knights fled to Scotland for safety, 958 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,100 along with their treasures and wealth. 959 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,730 Here they were far from the reaches of the Pope 960 00:40:29,830 --> 00:40:32,060 and Inquisition. 961 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:34,330 So what happened to their Holy treasures? 962 00:40:34,430 --> 00:40:36,600 No one knows for sure, but rumors abound. 963 00:40:36,700 --> 00:40:38,500 And one rumor, like this filled in tunnel, 964 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:43,360 points directly to Rosslyn Chapel. 965 00:40:43,460 --> 00:40:44,860 Rosslyn Chapel is just 7 miles outside 966 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,930 of Edinburgh, and 5 miles away from Gilmerton Cove. 967 00:40:48,030 --> 00:40:52,060 Built in 1446, it's literally bursting with symbolism, 968 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:54,960 linking this small chapel to the Freemasons 969 00:40:55,060 --> 00:40:57,430 and the ancient order of the Knights Templar. 970 00:40:57,530 --> 00:40:58,760 Many believe it was actually built 971 00:40:58,860 --> 00:41:00,500 to protect the treasures of the Templar, 972 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:03,800 including the Holy Grail. 973 00:41:03,900 --> 00:41:05,860 But could Gilmerton Cove actually 974 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:08,900 be the Grail's final resting place? 975 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:11,100 What better place to hide something that everyone's 976 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:13,300 looking for than a sleepy mining town 977 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:15,060 far away from suspecting eyes? 978 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:17,700 And the key to putting these rumors to rest 979 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,560 may just lie beyond this wall of rubble. 980 00:41:20,660 --> 00:41:22,100 MEL JOHNSON: We just don't know what-- 981 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:26,700 it's too unsafe to find out at the moment, unfortunately. 982 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:28,800 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): Today no one can say for sure what 983 00:41:28,900 --> 00:41:30,660 Gilmerton was used for. 984 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:33,200 But finding these mysterious clues carved in the walls 985 00:41:33,300 --> 00:41:36,200 beneath a bookie joint is sure to make anyone's imagination 986 00:41:36,300 --> 00:41:36,860 run wild. 987 00:41:39,100 --> 00:41:40,760 Mel says there are plenty of reasons 988 00:41:40,860 --> 00:41:42,530 to keep these stories alive. 989 00:41:42,630 --> 00:41:44,030 MEL JOHNSON: Edinburgh's famous for the vaults 990 00:41:44,130 --> 00:41:47,200 and the underground city in the center of the city. 991 00:41:47,300 --> 00:41:50,230 There's nothing else like this known at all. 992 00:41:50,330 --> 00:41:53,030 It's completely unique, and nobody really 993 00:41:53,130 --> 00:41:54,530 knows what its purpose was. 994 00:42:02,830 --> 00:42:05,700 ERIC GELLER (VOICEOVER): From tales of body snatching 995 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:08,130 to secret societies, from engineering masterpieces 996 00:42:08,230 --> 00:42:12,000 holding up the city to crown jewels stored down below, 997 00:42:12,100 --> 00:42:15,460 Edinburgh's underworld has been a multipurpose place. 998 00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:19,430 But down here it can be hard to distinguish fact from fiction. 999 00:42:19,530 --> 00:42:22,530 And the only people who could tell us for sure-- 1000 00:42:22,630 --> 00:42:24,400 those that once roamed these subterranean sites-- 1001 00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:26,800 are long gone. 1002 00:42:26,900 --> 00:42:29,060 And most have taken their secrets to the grave. 1003 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:30,930 That means modern day residents will just 1004 00:42:31,030 --> 00:42:33,460 have to keep on digging.