All language subtitles for The.UnXplained.S08E12.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

[William Shatner] A simple
wooden cup

with miraculous
healing abilities.

An ancient sword

that seems impervious
to the ravages of time.

And royal regalia so powerful

they're kept hidden
from human eyes.

Powerful objects have
captivated our imagination

for centuries,
in legendary tales

that include the likes
of a thunderous hammer,

a flying carpet

and even a sword
of invincibility.

But history also offers stories

of holy relics, golden jewels
and weapons of war

that can be described
as simply... magical.

Is it possible
that ordinary objects

can possess special powers
beyond our understanding?

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

♪ ♪

[Shatner] All around the world,
visitors walk

into museum galleries
to admire priceless art

and incredible
historic artifacts.

Some of the most magnificent
objects are often

kept behind thick panes
of protective glass

and monitored by security
around the clock.

Among these marvels to behold
are opulent crowns,

scepters and jewels
of kings and queens.

Royal regalia so valuable

that their worth is
not only measured in price

but in power.

[J.W. Ocker] The regalia
of royalty

and the objects of power around
them are very important, right?

Because without them,

a king, a queen,
the prince, a princess--

they're just like anybody else,
wearing regular clothes,

doing regular things.

But these objects of power,

whether it's the clothes
they wore,

the jewels they wore,

set them apart
as something different.

These weren't just people.

These were chosen by God,

or these were chosen
by the people even

to be set apart,

to lead,
to represent the country,

to be a symbol of the country.

[Roy Fisher] The power
that these objects seem to hold

is probably best thought of
as an entanglement

of several different elements.

Sometimes
it could be the rituals,

the efforts that are brought
to bear to craft and create.

Sometimes it appears
that there are certain rituals

that imbue objects
with additional powers.

We also have
to include the faith,

the belief, the commitments
of the communities.

So, really, the question of
where does the power come from

is a murky, complicated one

that asks us to look

at several different factors
simultaneously.

[Graham Phillips] There are
many objects of power

throughout history

that are said to be able to do

all sorts of different things.

They may be made out of objects

which were rare, like gold,
or they had jewels in them.

It may be because
they were blessed

by priests or by shamans.

Or it could simply have been

that the objects
were so venerated

that they then began
to have power.

It makes you wonder,

and it makes them
all the more mysterious.

[Shatner] Is the perceived
power of these objects

merely symbolic?

Or could they possess real

supernatural abilities?

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

[Shatner] Dignitaries gather
to witness

the coronation
of Emperor Naruhito,

the 126th monarch
to rule over the island nation.

[Alice Tseng] Emperor Naruhito,

on the outside,
seems like a regular person.

He's the eldest son
of the last emperor, Akihito.

And he went to college
in Japan and Oxford.

But he's not a regular person.

He comes from
a long lineage of emperors

from the same bloodline since

the year 660 BCE.

And this line
of emperors link back

to the sun goddess Amaterasu.

In Shinto belief,
she is the most powerful deity.

She was the one
who ruled over the heavens.

So that's what makes

Emperor Naruhito so special.

He is supposedly
the direct descendant

from a divine goddess.

[Shatner] While it's
a remarkable claim

that the emperor is a descendant
of a sun goddess,

what's even more intriguing
is that many believe

the proof of his divine heritage

can be found
in three magical, sacred objects

that have been shrouded
in secrecy

for an astonishing 2,700 years.

There are three sacred treasures
that are presented

to the emperor
at his coronation,

and they keep them under wraps.

Literally under wraps.

They are hidden away
inside boxes,

but supposedly,
they contain three sacred items

that invest him with the power
of a divine emperor.

The sword and the mirror
and the jewel.

And the sacred sword
and the mirror and the jewel

never come out of their boxes.

[Tseng] The popular belief is

there's a set of the real three,

and then
there are also replicas.

So why do the replicas exist?

That's something that also
cannot quite be explained.

But the three
sacred treasures of Japan

aren't ordinary objects.

These are the three objects
that the sun goddess handed

to her divine grandson, Ninigi.

And she told him
to take these three objects

and go down to the islands
of Japan and become its ruler.

And so, these are the objects

that legitimize the person
who is the ruler.

It's a perfect combination

of a person
in the legitimate line

who's in possession
of those three objects

for that power
to be, um, ignited.

[Shatner] Japan's
sacred treasures

are easily the most mysterious
royal regalia in the world.

But why are mere mortals
still forbidden to see them?

Are they really objects
gifted by a goddess?

And if so,
what powers could they possess?

[Clements] The sword has
a big historical provenance.

Today we call it Kusanagi,

but its original name was
Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi,

which means "the sword that
gathers the clouds together."

The sword has
magical properties.

The one time
on the historical record

that someone opened the box with
the sword in it, everybody died.

Maybe the sword is made
of some kind of substance

that is dangerous, or maybe
that's just wishful thinking.

The mirror of Yata,

the mirror of the eight
directions, is a bronze mirror,

and supposedly, it has a power

of communicating
to the sun goddess.

And then there's
the magatama jewel,

presumably a comma-shaped
precious stone.

Nobody really knows
what that does.

There are stories
in Japanese mythology

about jewels that can control
the tides and the sea,

but these are all questions
that remain unanswered.

[Shatner] Could
the ceremonial boxes

that contain Japan's
royal regalia

house supernatural objects?

While the mystery endures,
it is rather curious

that so much effort is spent
keeping these fabled treasures

completely hidden from us.

In fact, other than the rare
coronation of a new emperor,

no one can say for sure
exactly where they are kept.

[Tseng] Interestingly,
the three treasures--

we don't quite know
where they are.

The Imperial House Agency
will not confirm or deny,

but there's a lot of conjecture.

The popular belief is

the treasures are in three
separate places right now.

So, the mirror would be
at the Ise Shrine

in Mie Prefecture.

The sword is in Atsuta Shrine,
which is in Aichi Prefecture.

And the jewel is the only one

that's supposed to be already
inside the Imperial Palace.

But at the same time,
since no one will confirm it,

we don't know for sure.

So, when so much belief
is concentrated

in this set of regalia,

they definitely become
more than simply objects.

You know, a mirror,
a sword and a jewel.

These are objects that are not
just more than 2,000 years old.

They came straight
from the hands of divinity,

and so that definitely
makes them objects of power.

[Phillips] These items are
considered so, so sacred

because they held the essence
of the goddess.

because they held the essence
of the goddess.

Now, the fact
that they're all kept separate,

no one ever gets to see them,

only makes them more mysterious.

[Shatner] In Christianity,
devoted followers

have painstakingly protected
sacred artifacts associated

with the life and death
of Jesus Christ.

Objects like the True Cross,
on which Jesus was crucified.

The Spear of Longinus
that pierced his side.

And the Shroud of Turin,

a burial cloth
allegedly imprinted

with Christ's likeness.

These holy relics are revered

not only for
their historical importance

but also for the energetic power

they are believed to possess.

[Fisher] When you link
a physical object

to a particularly holy
or powerful person,

that object can absorb
energy and power.

That's how the thinking
behind relics goes.

A relic is a physical object

that came in contact

with a holy person
or a holy thing.

These are known magical objects.

And like so many holy relics,
there are

purportedly pieces
all over the world.

Being encased in glass.

Being held in a cup.

Being put in a special box

and held for people
to be used as a holy relic.

[Shatner] One of the most
sought-after religious relics

that has been lost or hidden

over the past 2,000 years
is a simple chalice,

said to possess the ability
to provide sustenance,

heal the sick
and even grant eternal life.

It is called the Holy Grail.

[Fisher] The legend
of the Holy Grail,

this luminous vessel

is understood to be the chalice

that Jesus used
at the Last Supper.

But also,
it's a cup that was used

to catch the blood of Jesus
at the crucifixion.

So, by connecting this object

to the life
and the blood of Jesus,

it has long thought

to bring healing
to those who drink from it.

[Lewis] There have been
many, many contenders

for the actual Holy Grail.

Even in Europe,
we know about 200 objects

that are said
to be the Holy Grail.

And in fact, the cup's ability

to heal people
is really the test

that these many, many chalices

across Europe have really
kind of put to.

And there are accounts

of these various Holy Grails
being able to heal people.

Does that mean
that these chalices are

actually the Holy Grail?

The reality of it is
we don't really know.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

[Shatner] Established in 1907,

this esteemed institution holds
more than seven million books

and other Welsh treasures,

some of which date back
almost 2,000 years.

And the most legendary artifact
on display is the remains

of a humble wooden vessel
known as the Nanteos Cup.

[Lewis] The Nanteos Cup

is a wooden bowl, really,
more than a cup.

It's made out of
kind of elmwood.

It's now quite fragmentary.

It's fallen apart.

It was originally whole,
of course.

And we first really hear
about it in the 19th century

associated with a place
called the Nanteos Mansion,

where it was given over
to a family for safekeeping.

[Wood] The records
of the Nanteos Cup

are very, very interesting.

They're mostly 19th century.

The earliest ones
are about 1820.

You actually have people saying,
"I borrowed the cup,"

and it was returned,

and whoever borrowed the cup
was cured.

So, it acquired a reputation
as a healing vessel.

[Shatner] Beginning
in the late 19th century,

the Nanteos Cup--

sometimes referred to
as the Tregaron Cup--

became famous among the Welsh
for its alleged healing powers.

So, where did this mysterious
cup originally come from?

Well, according to folklore,

400 years ago, the cup's home

was Glastonbury Abbey
in Somerset, England,

a site long associated
with the Holy Grail.

[Phillips] The monks
of Glastonbury Abbey claim

to have this Grail cup,

and they claim to have had it
all the way through

until the 1500s,

when King Henry VIII broke away
from the Catholic Church

and decided to close
and sack the monasteries.

And so, what happened is
that the monks of Glastonbury,

with this cup,
wanted to keep it safe.

It was their most
sacred possession.

Took it
to another abbey in Wales.

Seven monks escaped with the cup

over the Welsh mountains,

ending up in Strata Florida,

a very important
Cistercian monastery

in central Wales,

where they stayed.

And as each monk died,

he handed it on
to the next monk.

When the last monk died,

the people who bought the land
were gifted or sold this cup,

which is going
to become the Nanteos Cup.

And there were people
who felt it was a healing cup.

So, as it spreads out,
there are people who think,

"No, this is
the real Holy Grail."

[Shatner] Could the Nanteos Cup
be the actual vessel used

at the Last Supper?

It's an intriguing question

that gained
international attention

after a recent criminal caper.

[Lewis] In July of 2014,

burglars break
into the house of a woman

who had been loaned
the Nanteos Cup.

The cup is there at her house.

She's not present at the time.

The burglars get in,
and they take this cup.

After about 11 months
of publicity,

the police are involved.

Strangely,
just over a year later,

someone returns it anonymously.

Was it too powerful
for them to hold on to?

We'll never know.

But now it's safely
in the museum there in Wales.

[Shatner] Since its return,
the public's fascination

with the Nanteos Cup
has only grown.

It has become so famous,
in fact, that in 2017,

King Charles,
then the prince of Wales,

paid a visit to the fabled bowl.

While the cup's true origin
remains a mystery,

its ability
to provide healing powers

is considered nothing short
of miraculous.

Not everyone can accept it,

but people
who've experienced this healing

really feel
that it has happened,

and I think we wouldn't
dismiss their experience,

even if we don't agree with it.

For a lot of people,
it's a very sincere belief.

People believe it's real.

A wooden cup that can heal the
sick sounds, well, miraculous.

But there's another object

that's also said to possess
powers of biblical proportions.

It's a decorative item
with extraordinary abilities

that's as small

as the ring on your finger.

[Shatner] People have been
adorning their bodies

with jewelry of all types
for thousands of years.

Yet, rings have held a special
place of great meaning,

like the promise
of eternal love,

the authority
of a spiritual leader,

or even the victory
of an athletic championship.

In many ways,

rings have become the most
symbolic object we can wear.

[Ocker] We've been wearing rings
as long as we've had fingers.

They don't have
the violent symbolism

of a sword or a weapon.

They have kind of
a quiet presence

for the bearer.

It's on a finger.

It's just unobtrusive.

And yet, they can be lost.

They can be given as gifts.

They are valuable.

So, all these things kind of
work together to make rings

a very specific type
of object of power.

[Shatner] How did rings
become such powerful symbols?

For centuries,
tales of magic rings

imbued with mystical powers
have been the center

of spellbinding stories.

Even the ancient
Greek philosopher, Plato,

wrote about a powerful
adornment known as

the Ring of Gyges.

[Thompson] Plato gives a great

allegory
about the Ring of Gyges.

This is a well-known story.

Uh, supposedly, a-a shepherd

found a tomb of an old warrior,
an old king.

He had this massive
gold ring on.

He finds out
that the gold ring is magical.

It can make him turn invisible.

And then he uses this,
uh, to abuse his power.

He seduces the queen,

kills the king

and establishes himself
as the new ruler.

So, Plato was trying
to point this out, like,

people get corrupted by power.

Like many rings in myths
and legends through history,

it comes
with a warning attached.

By becoming invisible,
he attracted all sorts

of negative influences,

and ultimately,

everything he was able to do
was destroyed.

[Shatner] While the Ring of
Gyges remains a cautionary tale

about the price of power,

could such a mighty, magical
ring have any basis in reality?

Remarkably, some believe
that such a ring did exist

around 3,000 years ago,
and it belonged to one

of ancient Israel's
greatest rulers.

[Phillips] King Solomon
was the king

of the ancient Israelites.

He lived around
about 3,000 years ago

and is recorded in the Bible
as being the wisest

and most powerful king
in the world.

He was able
to gain so much power

because of his being blessed
by God,

and in order
that he should be so successful,

it is said he was given a ring

that had once belonged
to the Archangel Michael,

and that ring is known
as the Seal of Solomon.

The ring had a seal on it.

And the seal is basically what
we now call the Star of David.

The triangle pointing upwards
represents the power of heaven

that will protect you,

and the triangle
pointing downwards

represents your ability
to summon

the powers of heaven
to do your bidding.

But in addition to that, it is
said to have been inscribed

with the secret,
true name of God

to give the ring more power than
any other amulet or talisman.

[Shatner] According
to various legends,

when Solomon died in 931 BC,

his famous ring was lost.

And while we can only guess
what it really looked like,

depictions exist
of the ancient symbols

believed to have adorned it.

Sacred symbols
that may have imbued the object

with strange,
supernatural powers.

Solomon's
historical significance

is that he is a builder.

He constructs the very first
Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

And this is historical fact.

What's really interesting is

there grows up a kind of
a set of myths or legends

about how he did this building.

He didn't do it
on his own power.

He did it with the power
of his magical ring.

[Phillips] According
to ancient Judaic tradition,

the Ring of Solomon was supposed
to have such great power

because of the symbol
inscribed upon it.

And with this ring, he was said
to be able to command demons,

summon angels

and have great wisdom.

This made Solomon's ring
particularly powerful.

The Ring of Solomon was meant
to give power

over creatures,
both natural and unnatural.

So, the ring was said to give
the ability to speak to animals.

And it was also said to give
the ability to control the jinn,

the supernatural spirits

who were believed to exist
and-and interact with humankind.

[Shatner] Did King Solomon
truly wield a heavenly ring

that could build great temples,

control beasts

and even harness the power
of angels and demons?

No one can say for sure,
but like with many tales,

there was
a terrible price to pay

when dealing with a ring
of incredible power.

One story tells of a demon

by the name of Asmodeus.

And Asmodeus steals
Solomon's ring

and uses it to assume the throne
and to rule for 40 days.

And I think
the story is fascinating

because it really shows
that all Solomon's power

comes from this ring.

It comes from this object
that he's wearing.

It's not anything inherent
to himself.

[Thompson] As far as we know,

the Ring of Solomon seems
to have existed.

We have several different
attestations talking about it.

But like many things
from the distant past,

we don't know
what happened to it.

So, this is a lost,
magical, missing ring.

If King Solomon's ring
really did exist,

it's likely been lost
to the sands of time.

But that's not the case
for an ancient artifact

with legendary powers

that has mysteriously survived

for 2,500 years

without aging a day.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

[Shatner] In local lore,
it is said

that this small natural lake
is associated

with a magical weapon
from Arthurian legend.

Allegedly, it's where
a powerful enchantress,

known as the Lady of the Lake,

gifted King Arthur
the mighty sword Excalibur.

[Thompson] Excalibur

is probably
the most famous magical sword

in folklore throughout history.

This comes from the
Arthurian tradition, of course.

King Arthur was given Excalibur

by the Lady in the Lake,

and Excalibur is said to have
all sorts of magical properties.

Of course, it was something
he would wield in battle.

Arthur seemed to be invincible

and terribly powerful,
and so Excalibur

really establishes
his right to rule.

[Shatner] There are many myths
and legends

of magical swords
like Excalibur.

Like the blade known as Gram,

used by the Norse hero Sigurd
to slay a dragon,

and Chandrahasa, a divine sword
from Hindu mythology,

or Durendal, the French
equivalent of Excalibur.

But could a real
magical sword actually exist?

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

[Shatner] Over five million
people visit

this famed
cultural institution every year.

And many come
to see the miraculous,

2,500-year-old bronze sword

that once belonged to an
ancient king known as Goujian.

Because today,
it appears to be as perfect

as the day it was forged.

[Collins] The Sword of Goujian

was found in China
during the 1960s.

It's many thousands of years old

and considered to be the most
perfect sword in the world.

It's also known
as the Excalibur of the East.

And it was actually buried
inside a tomb, inside a sheath,

and this tomb

actually was then flooded
with water.

Now, normally, the water would
actually create oxidization,

but the sword did not rust
whatsoever,

and was absolutely

perfect when discovered.

[Ric Furrer] So,
this sword blade was rumored

to be razor-sharp
when pulled from the scabbard,

and there are gold inlays on it

in what's called
"the bird and worm script."

The translation states
that this blade

was not only owned

but manufactured
by the king of Yue at the time,

who was Goujian.

So the Sword of Goujian is

literally the story of legends.

And that blade is special
for several reasons.

It's extremely hard
for what it is.

And one hardness test I saw
that came out

of a Chinese scholarship
claimed it was 650 Vickers.

Vickers is a hardness scale
used for metals,

and that sword is harder

than I know any bronze
to be able to support.

So even within modern testing
of these blades,

there are more things
we don't understand.

[McNeill] The Sword of Goujian
dates back to the late 400s BCE.

But what's astonishing is
that given its age,

it appears brand-new.

And we can attribute that

to the quality of the metal
out of which it's made.

But we get immediately the sense

that, whoa,
this isn't a normal sword.

And we can see this idea

that a magic sword
does not feel far-fetched.

[Shatner] How does
a 2,500-year-old sword,

buried in water, survive

in such pristine condition?

Was it due to the masterful
metallurgy of its maker

or something
much more mysterious?

Perhaps the answer can be found

in another remarkable tale
of survival

surrounding
King Goujian himself.

[Clements] King Goujian was
a very young king

of the state of Yue.

Yue and Wu were always
fighting each other.

And Goujian attacked

their mortal enemies in Wu
and failed.

He was defeated in battle,
he was captured

by Fuchai, the king of Wu.

And Goujian had to serve
for three years as his slave.

He dressed as a servant,

and he did everything
that Fuchai wanted

to make himself seem
completely harmless

and get himself released.

[Furrer] Goujian bided his time.

And because he did good work
for that three years

when he was a slave
in the royal household,

they allowed him to leave.

And he returned
to the state of Yue.

And as a king,
he increased his military.

He kept himself in a state
of training, of discomfort,

for over a decade

until he was able
to wage war again and won.

So the idea is
that if you train,

if you're single-minded,

you can accomplish
something great.

And that was already
in Chinese culture

prior to finding this extremely,
remarkably well-preserved sword.

[Shatner] There are many tales
in Chinese folklore

where a person's soul or spirit
became attached to their sword.

So, some have wondered,
is it possible

that the unbreakable spirit
of King Goujian

somehow passed
into his miraculous weapon,

preserving it
for thousands of years?

[Clements] There's this idea
in Chinese folklore

that a weapon might be
directly tied to a...

a ruler's mandate and fate.

And people start to associate
the power of the leader

with the power
of the weapon that he wields.

Their power is passed on
through it to later generations.

And so,

the Sword of Goujian
isn't just a weapon.

It has a story attached to it.

The sword has its own power
for that.

Can the Sword of Goujian's
longevity be attributed

to extraordinary craftsmanship,

or is there something
supernatural at work?

or is there something
supernatural at work?

Such is the case of a
16th-century musical instrument

that's said to summon the spirit

of a legendary hero.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

[Shatner] This museum contains
a vast collection

of about two million objects.

And among them, housed safely
behind protective glass,

is a legendary
16th-century instrument,

the fabled drum

of one of England's
most celebrated heroes

of the high seas,

Sir Francis Drake.

[Geiger] Sir Francis Drake

was the second person
to circumnavigate the globe,

and probably the first
to really go do it deliberately.

He was also a privateer for
the British against the Spanish.

He's the admiral that defeated
the Spanish armada.

In England, he has generally
been considered

to be a great hero.

And on the ship with him
was a drum.

You would use a drum on a ship.

That's part of how
you call the crew together.

You can still go see the drum.

It's about two feet tall,

and it has his coat of arms
on it.

According to legend,
before he died,

Sir Francis Drake put
a condition on the drum.

He said that if England
was ever in grave danger...

[drum beating]

...the drum would sound,
and he would return from death

to help England back
to its victory.

From that moment on,
this drum wasn't just

some sort of national treasure.

It became a rallying
call to arms very symbolically.

[Ocker] It has become an object
of immense power.

It represents
the power of England,

wrapped into the drum
of a naval commander.

But you can't have a story
like this without it paying off.

According to legend,
during times of national crisis,

the drum has mysteriously
started to play on its own.

[Shatner] Sir Francis Drake
was buried at sea

on January 28, 1596.

And his famous drum was sent
to Buckland Abbey,

his family home
in Devon, England.

And according to legend,
the first time

its supernatural beat
was heard was in 1620...

...when the Mayflower set sail

for the dangerous passage
from Plymouth, England,

to the New World
across the Atlantic.

And that was only the beginning.

[Simon] It's been

reported that Sir Francis
Drake's drum has been heard

when Napoléon was brought
to England as a prisoner.

[drum beating]

It was heard during World War I
during major battles.

[drum beating]

And it was supposedly heard
during the evacuation

of English soldiers at Dunkirk,
France, during World War II.

[drum beating]

[Lynne Picknett] The drum
sounded in the Second World War

at the Battle of Britain,

with RAF fighting off
the Luftwaffe

over the English countryside.

Which was very dramatic
and actually

did set the scene on...

on certain successes in the war.

But Drake's drum
has sounded by itself.

It's been beaten
by invisible forces,

and it alerted people to great

existential crisis
in the nation.

[Geiger] Whether people are
actually hearing the drum

or whether they're imagining
hearing the drum,

all it is, is here to say,
this island,

this realm is perpetually
protected by Sir Francis Drake.

It is him coming back
to defend the kingdom.

And so, I think people

like to believe these legends.

I think people like to believe

that their kingdom is defended

by things like the-the...
the magic drum.

[Shatner] It's also said
that Drake's drum

was heard on July 7, 2005,
when terrorists

coordinated a series
of deadly bombings

in London's
underground railway system.

So, what is
really happening here?

Is this a magical instrument,

somehow linked to the heroic
spirit of Sir Francis Drake?

Surprisingly, it's not
the only instrument believed

to be imbued with the might
of its former owner.

There are some objects
that can even cause destruction.

Like the trumpets
that were found

in Tutankhamen's tomb.

It was believed
that when they were blown

they could release
the dogs of war.

And in 1939, when they were
played for the first time live

on BBC and listened to
by 150 million people,

not long after, the greatest war
in history began.

[Shatner] Did the horns
of Tutankhamen

usher in World War II?

Or can an Aboriginal didgeridoo
invoke ancestral spirits,

as some believe?

Much like Drake's
legendary drum,

the truth behind the power

associated
with these instruments

remains a mystery
that seems impossible to verify.

[Simon] We don't
really know where

these rumors come from.

Is it because
someone heard drums elsewhere

and maybe reported
that it could've been the sound

of Sir Francis Drake's drums?

Could it be born
from just the anxieties

people were having from wartime
or threats of invasion

that they heard the sound
of Sir Francis Drake's drum?

Or is this actually
a supernatural object meant

Or is this actually
a supernatural object meant

to bring help to England
in times of need?

We're not sure, and so it still
remains a mystery

and a huge source
of fascination.

[Shatner reads on-screen text]

[Shatner] Soon after the Louvre

opens for the day,
a group of thieves

disguised as
construction workers

carry out
a brazen daylight robbery,

targeting some of the most
prized royal treasures

in all of France.

[Lewis] They took

objects which were a part

of the French crown jewels.

So, they had gorgeous pieces
of jewelry.

They had sapphire
and emerald earrings.

They had tiaras and crowns.

The thieves managed to make off

with about $102 million
worth of loot.

-[siren blaring]
-[Shatner] Yet, amid

the shattered cases
and broken glass,

the thieves
inexplicably left behind

one of the most valuable
jewels in French history,

the Regent Diamond.

[Joanna Hardy] The Regent
Diamond

is 140-odd carats.

It's a cushion-shaped diamond

from the Golconda mines
in India,

and it is just over
an inch wide.

Miraculously,

that didn't get taken.

[Ocker] This gem is worth
about $60 million.

So, it is extremely valuable.

So, the fact that
these thieves didn't bother

to take it in their just

random smash-and-grab
seems to be significant.

[Shatner] Why would
a well-planned heist

leave behind
such a valuable treasure?

Was it merely an oversight?

Perhaps.

But some believe the answer lies

in the Regent Diamond's
sinister reputation

as a cursed object
said to bring ruin

to those who possess it.

The first person
to wear the Regent Diamond

was King Louis XVI,

who had it put in his crown
for his coronation,

and his queen, Marie Antoinette,

had it later put
into a headdress.

Well, we know what happened
to both of them.

They had their heads
lopped off horribly

by the guillotine
in the French Revolution.

Even Napoléon wasn't immune
to this curse.

He'd done pretty well.
He'd conquered most of Europe.

He decided to put this diamond
in the hilt of his sword.

And the later part of his reign
just went downhill and downhill,

and he ended up exiled
in the middle of the Atlantic.

Ultimately,
the French royal family decided

they didn't want anything
to do with this diamond,

and they sold it to the Louvre,
where it still is now.

So, I would say
there's good reason

why the thieves decided
to leave it be.

[Shatner] Were the robbers
who ransacked the Louvre aware

that the Regent Diamond
carried a curse

and deliberately chose
to leave it behind?

It's a compelling theory

and one that suggests

that the perceived power
of certain objects

doesn't simply vanish
with the passage of time

as long as there are those
who continue to believe.

[Ocker] Objects get
their power from us.

We're the ones with the belief.
We're the ones with the faith.

We're the ones with the idea,

and we imbue those objects
with all of that.

So, without people,
objects are just objects.

So we are the ones that really
give it the meaning, the power,

the stories around it

that make it become
an object of power.

[Fisher] Throughout
human history,

across the millennia,
civilizations that,

as far as we know, never
came in contact with each other,

all share this belief

that material things
can be imbued with power.

This connection

between tangible objects

and unseen realities...

...is still a part of
the mystery of human existence.

So, what do you think?

Can certain objects possess
supernatural abilities,

or is it human nature
to be fascinated with the idea

that an ordinary item
could transform

into something extraordinary?

Perhaps we're intrigued
by the mystery itself.

Tales of a ring
that grants special powers

or a cup that heals the sick

can transport us
to a magical time and place.

Whatever the case may be,

it's fun to imagine a past

filled with objects of power

that, for now,

remain... unexplained.

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