All language subtitles for Secrets.Unlocked.Series.1.Part.5.The.Copper.Scroll.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: Hidden in a cave for
almost 2,000 years,

A copper scroll,

A treasure map from
the time of jesus.

Could these brittle
fragments of corroded metal

Hold the clues to finding
ancient buried gold and silver

That today would be worth
millions of dollars?

But who wrote the
mystifying text?

Is the scroll genuine?

If it is, where did these
vast treasures come from

And why were they buried?

And most intriguingly of all,
could they still be out there?

For centuries, the
mysteries of the past

Have kept their secrets.

But there are
clues: Cast in gold;

Etched in stone;

Written in blood.

We can unlock them.

Okay.

So, metal engraving
isn't my strong suit.

But there is a point to this.

This is a copper scroll.

And this, with a little
luck, is the first character

In the hebrew word
for gold, "zahab".

And, yep, I'm starting all
the way over to the right

Because, in hebrew, we read
and write from right to left.

So, why the lesson in
2,000-year old hebrew?

And why the replica
copper scroll?

Because this is the
story of one of the most

Extraordinary
documents ever found,

A document whose author
wanted it to last.

Think about it like this:
About 2,000 years ago,

Someone feared their world
was about to go up in flames

And wanted the words on
this scroll to survive.

Jerusalem, home to the israel
museum's shrine of the book.

An extraordinary collection

Of nearly 1,000
ancient manuscripts.

First discovered in 1947
by a tribe of bedouins

Exploring caves
overlooking the dead sea.

These are the oldest
biblical texts ever found.

We now know them as
the dead sea scrolls.

(speaking in foreign language)

Archaeologist danny herman
has been studying the scrolls

For nearly two decades.

Herman: The dead sea
scrolls are by far

The most important discovery
ever made in this land.

These are the oldest copies

Of the old testament
that we have.

They were written
somewhere between

The second century b.C.
And the first century c.E.

Mastrelli: The dead sea scrolls
predate every other manuscript

Of the hebrew bible
by a thousand years.

They provide us with
a unique insight

Into a way of life before
and during the time of jesus.

Herman: Codes of behavior,
hymns, prayers,

A whole library 2,000 years old.

It's an amazing, it's
truly an amazing discovery.

Mastrelli: But there is
one dead sea scroll

That isn't held here.

This is the jordan
museum in amman.

It's a showcase for 1.5 million
years of jordanian history.

And its star attraction:

23 pieces of heavily
oxidized metal.

But joined together, they
form a single copper scroll.

It is the only dead sea
scroll made of metal,

And its message has been proven
to be even more remarkable

Than the material
it's made from.

Situated between jordan
and israel is the dead sea.

With its northwestern shores
just 40 miles from jerusalem.

In 1952, five years
after the discovery

Of the first dead sea scrolls,

A team of archaeologists
began an official exploration

Of the caves where
they were found.

On a shelf, carved
into the cave wall,

A french archaeologist,
henri de contenson,

Spotted something unusual.

This was no ordinary scroll.

Unlike every other dead
sea scroll found before,

This one wasn't made from
leather or parchment.

It was made from metal.

The scroll was so
incredibly brittle

That it took four years
of careful preparation

And conservation before
it could be translated.

But in 1956, the copper scroll

Was finally ready to
reveal its secrets.

Schiffman: This scroll
is written

In what we call mishnaic hebrew,

Which is a dialect
a little bit later

Than the dead sea scrolls,

And so this helps us to
understand that this scroll

Was written around
the year 70 c.E.,

Whereas the rest of
the dead sea scrolls

Were written a
little bit earlier.

Mastrelli: If it was
created in 70 c.E.,

Then the scroll was written
around the same time

As the gospel according to mark.

But, as soon as
scholars set to work

Decoding the ancient hebrew,
it became clear that,

Unlike the other scrolls,
this was not a biblical text.

It was a treasure map.

Schiffman: The scroll
lists 60 places

In which specific buried
treasures are found,

And it tells you the
specifics of how to get

To those treasures when
you're at those places.

It starts off by telling
you the name of the place,

Like b'harayva and where
that is, and amek b'achor.

And then it goes on and
it tells you specifically

That there is so much silver
and so many vessels, et cetera.

And that's what the scroll is.

Mastrelli: When scholars
finally revealed the contents

Of the copper
scroll in June 1956,

It caused excitement
around the globe.

Schiffman: When they found
out what it was,

The newspapers carried
it all over the world.

This was this
tremendous discovery

Of this map of buried treasure.

Herman: 60 hiding locations
of treasures.

Where are they?

Mastrelli: But many
scholars raised doubts

About the treasure map.

The huge quantity
of treasure listed

Was just too vast
to be credible.

Schiffman: The numbers and the
amounts are so great

That some people have
said that actually,

If this text were literally true

The way they were
translating it then,

They would have 25% of the
gold that existed in the world

At that time held
in this collection.

Mastrelli: At first, scholars
assumed that the treasure

Was measured by an ancient
weight called a talent,

And one talent was
equal to 70 pounds.

But with nearly 5,000 talents
of gold and silver listed,

That meant the total
hoard would have weighed

Close to 100 tons.

Today, its value would
have exceeded $3 billion.

Schiffman: According
to the text,

Whoever owned the treasure
described would have

A tremendously astronomical
amount of gold and silver.

Mastrelli: But on re
-examining the text,

Scholars noticed something.

The jewish symbol for a talent
was actually very similar

To the shorthand
of another standard

Unit of measure, the karsch.

And the karsch is 300 times
lighter than a talent.

Suddenly, $3 billion
became several million.

Schiffman: It certainly starts
to become something

That could be
realistic as opposed

To these crazy
exaggerated amounts,

And it solves the
problem of the treasure

Being an impossible one
in terms of its size.

Mastrelli: And it was clear that
whoever buried the treasure

Wanted to make sure that
it could be found again,

Choosing to list its
value and location

On the most enduring
material available.

Schiffman: Normally scrolls or
texts in ancient times

Are not written on metal;
they're written on skin.

The fact that this text
was written on copper,

Apparently to preserve it,

Shows that it was
something very special.

(dramatic music)

Mastrelli: Scholars believe
the copper scroll

Lists ancient treasures from
jerusalem's second temple.

It was likely
engraved at the time

Of the temple's
destruction in 70 a.D.

When the army of the future
emperor titus of rome

Cleaned out its treasury
and razed it to the ground.

Exactly how much treasure
the romans looted is unknown,

But a clue can be found 1,500
miles away in rome, Italy.

The astonishing copper scroll.

A treasure map written
at the time of jesus

Divided the academic world.

While some believed
it to be genuine,

Others were still
convinced it must be fake.

The skeptics pointed to the
numerous spelling mistakes,

A rarity in the other
dead sea scrolls,

And not something you'd
expect on a document

Of such apparent importance.

Schiffman: Right here we have
an example of the fact

That the people who were
asked to chisel this text,

Presumably based
on a written copy,

Sometimes made mistakes.

And here you have
a word which means

"normally at the bottom of
something" and they've added

A letter that doesn't
belong in the word.

Mastrelli: Professor schiffman
believes the mistakes

Are not due to clumsy
forgers but are the result

Of transcribing
information onto a material

That's notoriously
difficult to work with.

Schiffman: One of the problems
they faced was

That they were
taking letter shapes

Which were designed
to be written on skin

With a stylus or something
like that, or a pen,

And they were putting them
into metal with a chisel.

Because of the chiseling,
which is sort of

The wrong technology for
writing this alphabet,

A lot of letters
came out inexact.

And as a result of that, we
can't tell which letter it is.

Mastrelli: Most experts now
agree that the mistakes

Are simply the inevitable
consequence of writing

A complex text using
a hammer and chisel.

They conclude the
scroll is genuine.

And that means the
treasure must be real.

Schiffman: It's very
unlikely that anybody

Would go to this whole trouble

If they were just writing down

Some kind of a dream
about treasures

That they wished they
owned but didn't own.

Mastrelli: Turning to the text,
scholars started to see clues

That might reveal where
the treasure came from.

Schiffman: It's pretty clear
that this text

In some way is connected
to the priests,

Because you have mention
of priestly vessels

As well as garments
that the priests wore.

So, it's pretty clear that
we're talking about something

That relates to priesthood
and religious worship.

Mastrelli: In 70 c.E.,
when the copper scroll

Is thought to have been written,

Great wealth and religion
can point to just one place.

Jerusalem.

This is the temple mount,

A focus for religious worship
for almost 3,000 years.

Around the time the
copper scroll was created,

This vast walled
platform was dominated

By one giant structure:
The second temple.

It was the centerpiece
of a kingdom

Ruled by herod the
great, a jewish king,

But under the rule of rome.

Herman: The jewish temple
in jerusalem,

In the first century, was
a magnificent complex.

It was the biggest shrine
built in the whole roman empire

At the time it was standing.

Mastrelli: Rising from
the rubble

Of solomon's first temple,

Once home to the ark of the
covenant, herod's second temple

Attracted millions of
worshipers every year.

Herman: The main activity
was in front of it

Where all the jewish
pilgrims would be sacrificing

The animals with the
assistance of the priests,

An ongoing sacrificial
activity or, in my terms,

The biggest barbecue in
the mediterranean ever.

Mastrelli: And every single
visitor was required

To leave a donation in silver.

Herman: Each one of them had
to give a half a shekel,

Which is about seven
grams of silver,

To the temple, and
many gave a lot more.

Mastrelli: In a little less
than a century, herod's temple

Accumulated a huge collection
of gold and silver.

Known as the temple treasures,

Many scholars now believe that
these were the same treasures

That were listed on
the copper scroll.

Literary evidence suggests
the scroll was written

During the time of
the jewish revolt

Against the roman empire.

If there was ever a time to hide

The temple treasures,
this was it.

Indeed, in 70 c.E., the
army of the future emperor

Titus of rome cleaned
out the treasury

And razed the temple
to the ground.

Just how much treasure the
romans looted is unknown,

But a clue can be
found, 1,500 miles away

In rome, Italy.

This is the arch of titus.

Built in 82 a.D., it
commemorates the roman army's

Triumphant return from
the siege of jerusalem.

It features an inscribed relief

Illustrating the
army's spoils of war.

Crucially, it depicts
the golden menorah,

The seven-branched candelabrum

Carried by mosses
into the wilderness.

It was the single
most prized item

Of all the temple treasures.

But were all its treasures lost?

Or did the temple priests
anticipate the siege

And smuggle out some
of its treasures

Before the romans arrived?

If so, could the copper
scroll still preserve

The exact location of
over 60 separate hordes?

Schiffman: As far as we can
judge, these priests created

A sort of treasure
map so that eventually

It would be possible to
recover these treasures.

Mastrelli: To date, no genuine
copper scroll treasures

Have ever been discovered.

Their absence is puzzling,
but a solution to the mystery

May have been found...

In the form of a
ghost inscription.

(dramatic music)

Today, scholars agree
that the copper scroll,

A treasure map from the
time of jesus, is genuine.

And, most likely, that it points

To multiple burial
sites of treasures,

Taken from the second temple
in jerusalem by its priests,

And then hidden
from the roman army.

But of all the locations
deciphered so far,

No trace of the
treasure has been found.

Why?

The arch of titus reveals the
roman army returning to rome

With the temple treasures, but
did they really get it all?

Experts now believe
this marble plaque

Could hold the answer.

Once part of the colosseum,
it holds an inscription

That was written in
the fifth century c.E.

But does it hide clues
to an even earlier text?

Not carved into the stone
but hammered onto it.

Mastrelli: These
holes once held pegs

Carrying bronze letters
in front of the marble.

The challenge for scholars
was to precisely match

The correct letters to
the corresponding holes

And reconstruct the
ghost inscription.

Mastrelli: In 1995, experts
finally cracked the code.

They read the ghost inscription

For the first time in
close to 1,500 years.

Mastrelli: The inscription
was shocking.

It revealed for the first time

The sheer scale of
the temple treasures.

The wealth was so great
the roman emperors

Could fund the construction

Of the greatest
amphitheater ever built.

The colosseum.

The most impressive building
in the entire roman empire.

Mastrelli: The colosseum
was just one part

Of a massive building program
that took place in rome

After the siege of jerusalem.

Some consider this
evidence that the romans

Must have discovered
the hidden fortunes

Listed in the copper scroll.

But there are many who
are equally convinced

That some of the treasure
is still out there.

Could it be waiting to be found?

Herman: I do truly believe this
is a depiction of real treasures

And they were hidden, and
maybe, maybe some of it,

One of those treasures
are still hidden

And waiting to be exposed.

Mastrelli: If he is right,
then the treasures listed

In the copper scroll
evaded the marauding romans

And the scroll succeeded
in the very job

It was designed to do.

Schiffman: There was a very
quick economic

And social recovery
after the war with rome.

My assumption is, if
these treasures were real,

They may have been
recovered by the people

Who hid them and used
for good purposes

For the recovery of
the jewish people.

Mastrelli: So, some think rome
got all the hidden treasure,

Others are convinced
they got just part of it,

And still others believe the
whole copper scroll enterprise

Went off without a hitch
and that its treasures

Never once left israel, but
were, instead, quietly reclaimed

By the jewish people and
used to rebuild their lives.

Ask me what I believe, and
I'll give it to you straight.

I prefer my mysteries
to be like my martinis,

Stirred, not shaken,
and always unsolved.