All language subtitles for The UnXplained Special Presentation S01E18 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

A forgotten city hidden
in the heart of South America.

Massive stone slabs

that may possess
incredible healing powers.

And a giant sculpture
that could rewrite history.

Scattered all over the world

lie a countless number
of ruins left behind

by ancient civilizations.

These impressive temples,
monuments and structures

are a testament to the ingenuity
of our ancestors

and raise
some fascinating questions.

How were these
remarkable sites constructed?

Why were they abandoned?

And perhaps most intriguingly,

could some of these
mysterious places have served

a secret purpose?

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

♪ ♪

While conducting research
high in the Andes Mountains,

archaeologist
Dr. Ruth Shady notices

a number of mounds and hills
in the landscape

that do not appear to have been
made by Mother Nature.

PAUL BAHN:
Most people had assumed that
these great mounds were natural.

But nevertheless,

when Ruth Shady arrived
at the site in 1994,

she realized
that there was something here

that was more
than just natural hills.

She had an instinct, really,
a gut feeling, I think,

which many
archaeologists acquire,

that this place
was worth exploring.

And, boy, she explored it
and hit the jackpot.

SHATNER:
As they began excavating,

Dr. Shady and her team
discovered the ruins

of a forgotten ancient city

that has become known as Caral.

FELICIA BEARDSLEY:
Ruth Shady has spent

years now working in Caral.

Caral has,
under her supervision,

become part of
the world heritage list now.

So, that says this is
one of those unique places

that tells a story about

civilization in the New World.

SHATNER:
According to experts,
what is remarkable about Caral

is that, unlike other
ancient ruins located in Peru,

such as Machu Picchu,

Sacsayhuamán

and Ollantaytambo,

Caral was not built
by the Incas.

It was built by a previously
unknown civilization

that remains
shrouded in mystery.

Caral is one of
the most impressive

and most important sites
in South America.

Certainly in terms of its size.

Excavations revealed that
it covers a huge area,

and was clearly
a great metropolis

for prehistoric South America.

You've got
this incredible complex

covering hundreds of acres,

with an amphitheater,

supplementary temples,

all kinds of artifacts

suggesting
a sophisticated civilization.

BEARDSLEY:
The greater pyramid in Caral--

this is the biggest
structure there is.

It dominates the landscape.

It is the center of the city.

It is nearly 500 feet long,

nearly 400 feet wide,

60 feet tall,

and on one side of it,

it has this
30-foot-wide staircase

that descends from the very top

down to a sunken,
circular plaza.

The whole structure itself

has a stepped profile,

which has a number
of very large terraces

built into the side.

There's a network
of ceremonial rooms,

some large rooms,
some smaller rooms,

built with stone and mortar.

It's a phenomenal structure.

BAHN:
This was a culture
with no wheels,

with no metal tools.

And so, the building

took an awful lot
of people carrying

earthen stones from
wherever they got them from.

You needed architects of
some kind, maybe engineers.

Probably thousands and thousands
of man hours to erect that.

BEARDSLEY:
The other thing that shows up

in the greater pyramid
that tells us

something about the nature of

Caral as a civilization

are symbols of monkeys.

So, in this part of Peru,

there are no monkeys.

Those actually come
from the Amazon basin.

Which means that
the people of Caral

had to, basically,

go over the Andes

and into another part

of South America altogether.

So, why is this significant?

It tells us that
they are a central point

for a vast trading network.

And not just goods but ideas.

SHATNER:
The discovery of Caral's ruins

challenged everything we knew

or thought we knew

about the history
of civilization

in Central and South America.

And not just because
of its elaborate design

but also because
of what experts learned

when they were able to begin
carbon dating its artifacts.

BAHN:
Towards the bottom
of the great mound,

they found remains
of what seemed to be

reed bags or baskets

in which the earthen stones
would have been carried

to make the mound.
These are called shicras.

Of course, you can date reeds
by the radiocarbon method.

And so, samples were
sent off to various labs,

and to everyone's surprise,
the answer was far earlier

than anybody had expected.

The dates came back

to approximately
2600 BC and earlier.

The same age
as the pyramids in Egypt,

much older than
other civilizations

that were known at the time
in the New World.

BAHN:
It's very likely

that Caral goes back at least

to that kind of period.

It is arguable that Caral

is the kind of mother culture

for what came later
in South America,

like the Inca civilization.

However, there are lower layers
at Caral, which have been dug.

They may well find

samples that can be dated

far earlier
than anybody expected.

Possibly at a period
even several centuries

before the pyramids of Giza,

which will alter
our view of the past.

SHATNER:
Is it possible

that the ruins of Caral
are actually older

than the Egyptian pyramids,

which were built
almost 5,000 years ago?

It's an extraordinary
possibility,

and the discoveries at Caral
are forcing archeologists

to redefine the time line
of human history.

BEARDSLEY:
What was the old definition
of civilization?

It was extracted
from the site of Mesopotamia,

which is in Iraq, basically.

Mesopotamia starts at 3500 BC.

and then the idea was
that all civilizations

used Mesopotamia as the model.

But looking at Caral,

we expect that Caral
is gonna reach back to 3200 BC,

which indicates
an incredible possibility

that faces the world
of archaeology.

So we have to start rethinking

what we mean by "civilization."

SHATNER:
It's astonishing
to realize that,

before uncovering Caral,

archaeologists were
completely oblivious

to the existence of this vast,
ancient civilization

in South America.

But even ruins
that are more familiar to us

can still offer
plenty of surprises.

For instance, archaeologists
have discovered that Stonehenge,

one of the most recognizable
ancient structures on Earth,

may have actually been
a place of healing.

SHATNER:
Experts working
in the Acoustics Research Centre

at the University of Salford

publish the results
of a groundbreaking study

on one of the most iconic
ancient monuments in the world:

Stonehenge.

In their experiment,
the scientists constructed

a scale model 1/12
the actual size of Stonehenge,

used speakers to shoot
sound waves throughout the model

and measured
how sounds reverberated

through the miniature structure.

Their conclusion?

The massive blocks
of Stonehenge were designed

to amplify sound.

COLLINS:
Everybody knows
about Stonehenge.

This is the most famous
megalithic monument

anywhere in the world.

But who created this?

Why would they have done it?

What research is now
beginning to suggest

is that one of the possibilities

is to enhance the generation
of sound used in ritual.

SHATNER:
The idea
that Stonehenge was used

to amplify sounds
made during rituals

is intriguing,
but it is just the latest

in a long line of theories
about this mysterious structure.

After centuries
of study and speculation,

Stonehenge continues
to inspire both fascination

and intense debate as to
how and why it was built.

HUGH NEWMAN:
Stonehenge is the most
magnificent stone circle

in the British Isles.

It's unique,
it's unlike any stone circle

anywhere on the planet.

It has lintels above it,
it's perfectly circular.

And it really stands out
as the kind of symbol

of ancient Britain.

People are
kind of obsessed by it because

it's the only way
they can get back

to have some contact
with their ancestors.

SHATNER:
Believed to be constructed
in 3000 BC,

Stonehenge has stood on the
plains of Wiltshire, England

for at least 5,000 years.

With an outer ring
of 30 four-ton stones

surrounding five huge arches

whose massive blocks
weigh 25 tons each,

Stonehenge's construction

defies explanation.

Such a project could not
have been achieved haphazardly.

LYNN PICKNETT:
We know that some of the stones

were actually imported
from South Wales

which was something
like 120 miles away.

A bit tricky

when you don't have
flatbed trucks

or decent roads.

NEWMAN: Some of the stones
at Stonehenge weigh

between 50 and 70 tons.

So how could you have
moved them from Wales

to construct Stonehenge?

These are answers that have

not been properly dealt with.

PICKNETT:
For part of the journey,
it's been worked out

that they would have
floated them on boats.

But then there would be
quite a bit of land

to drag them across.

And presumably they used

greased rollers and
an awful lot of manpower.

But, again, we don't know.

Once people have actually
got the stones to the site

at Stonehenge,
the next major problem

is how do you lift them up
in the air?

And the only way I can think
that you would do that

is that you would make
a ramp and you would

drag them up the ramp,

and then tip them off the end.

That's a massive undertaking,
so we're talking about

thousands of people
involved creating Stonehenge.

And these people are working
a 150 miles apart.

Just imagine how complex
those logistics are.

We may never really know
how they did it.

SHATNER:
As if transporting, hoisting

and precisely balancing
those giant stones

wasn't incredible enough,

scholars have observed
that Stonehenge's

entrance aligns perfectly

with the rising sun
on the summer solstice.

The longest day of the year.

COLLINS:
It was almost like a marriage

of heaven and Earth together

to get closer to heaven.

And this seemed
to be bringing down

the influence of the sky world

on Earth itself.

NEWMAN: It does seem
that they wanted to influence

and integrate the natural
energies of the Earth.

And these massive,
megalithic boulders

with cosmic energies from above

to create this enchanted space

where people could have
ceremony.

SHATNER: Were Stonehenge's
megalithic boulders

intended to be
energetically linked

to the power of the sun
in some way?

It's a certainly
a thought-provoking question.

And it might help to explain
yet another mystery.

The burial sites
that are all around Stonehenge--

you can see hundreds
of burial mounds.

The kind of people
that are buried there

come from all over Europe.

In other words,
they were visitors there.

It was a site that people were
coming to from all over Europe.

Now, why were they coming there?

What's strange is that
the archaeology suggests

that many of these people

had some long-term illness
or disability

suggesting that they were going

to Stonehenge
in the hope of a cure.

SHATNER:
Stonehenge, a healing sanctuary?

But why would people
struggling with illness

think that this stone circle
could cure them?

PHILLIPS:
Some of the stones at Stonehenge
are called bluestones.

There's only one place
that bluestone

can be got
in the British Isles,

and that's the Preseli Hills
in South Wales.

We know that they moved
those stones all the way

from South Wales to Stonehenge.

But why would they do this?

Why would they need those
very specific kind of stones?

In ancient traditions
of the Preseli Mountains

where the blue stones of
Stonehenge originally came from,

it states that if you poured
water over the stones

and then you drank the water,
it would have healing effects.

And the idea was people
would come from all over Europe

and actually come
to Stonehenge to be healed,

not just using the energy of
the stones, but also the water

that was poured over
the stones and then drunk.

SHATNER:
Is it possible that the blue
stones that make up Stonehenge

actually have
healing properties?

For some, that sounds rather
fantastical and hard to believe.

But for others, it's one
of the many intriguing theories

that makes Stonehenge
so fascinating.

PHILLIPS:
We may never know why
they brought the bluestones

from 150 miles away.

We may never know why
they built Stonehenge,

because they left
no writing behind.

But we do know that Stonehenge

attracts over
a million visitors every year.

It attracts new-age travelers.

It attracts occultists.

It attracts ordinary,
everyday people.

There is something
about Stonehenge

that seems to act as a magnet.

SHATNER:
If Stonehenge

really did possess
mystical healing powers,

then might it suggest
that ancient people

were far more sophisticated
than we commonly think?

Perhaps further clues
can be found by examining

a massive sculpture located

in Egypt,
and more importantly...

...what lies beneath it.

Sitting atop a plateau
just a few miles west

of the Nile River
is the Giza Necropolis.

Perhaps the most famous
collection

of ruins in the entire world.

Believed to be
constructed during

Ancient Egypt's Fourth Dynasty,

around 2550 BC,

these limestone monuments
attract

thousands of tourists every day,

who come to marvel
at the immense pyramids,

forbidding tombs,

and a mysterious stone sentinel

known as the Sphinx.

I think you can argue
that the Sphinx

is the most recognizable statue
anywhere in the world.

Its scale is immense.

It's one single piece of stone.

It is cut from the natural
rock of the Giza Plateau.

SHATNER:
The Sphinx stands 240 feet long,

66 feet tall,

and 62 feet wide.

For thousands of years,
this massive statue

has been an object of both
fascination and wonder.

But even
after centuries of study,

the Sphinx holds many secrets

that archaeologists are still
trying to unravel.

The Sphinx that we know today--

the Sphinx from
the Great Pyramids of Giza--

is the most famous
of all sphinxes.

But there are sphinxes
all over ancient Egypt.

There are smaller sphinxes.

There's an avenue
full of sphinxes

between the temples.

NAUNTON:
But the Great Sphinx at Giza
is something very different.

It's a single sculpture.

It sits in
a very particular place.

It doesn't
seem to have preformed

the same function at all.

What was it for?

This is what
we really want to know.

No one has understood
exactly what it means.

Because, for literally
thousands of years,

the Sphinx was buried
up to its neck in sand.

So, it's only a head
sticking out of the sand

for much of its history.

NAUNTON:
There is a very famous painting
of Emperor Napoleon

standing in front of the Sphinx,

buried still at this point
up to its shoulders.

You might think,
"What has Napoleon

got to do with Egypt
and the Sphinx?" Well, in fact,

Napoleon led an invasion
of Egypt in 1798,

which had a big impact
back in Europe

in raising awareness and
interest in ancient Egypt sites.

SHATNER:
It wasn't until the 1920s
that a team of archaeologists,

led by engineer Émile Baraize,

succeeded in unearthing the
Sphinx from the desert sands.

They were able to expose it
and to reveal,

for the first time in centuries,

that this was not just a head,
a disembodied head,

but a full Sphinx sculpture.

And this is a watershed moment

for our understanding
of the Sphinx.

Archeologists and Egyptologists
like myself believe that

the Sphinx was sculpted
around 2500 BC

by King Khephren,

as a part
of his funerary complex.

But a lot of scholars
disagree about the Sphinx,

and there's a lot
of mystery surrounding

when was the Sphinx
actually sculpted.

One of the most important
documents we have

to do with the dating
of the Sphinx

is the Inventory Stela.

This is a commemorative stone
that actually records

details of how the Pharaoh Khufu

repaired the Sphinx after
it was struck by lightning.

The significance of this
is that Khufu

came before Khafre,
the pharaoh who is

conventionally said to have
constructed the Sphinx.

SCHOCH:
The Inventory Stela
has an inscription

that goes back to about

4,600 years ago.

And that inscription says

that the Sphinx

is a much older structure

that the Egyptians adopted

and repaired and venerated.

SHATNER:
Based on the inscriptions
on the Inventory Stela,

there are some archaeologists
who believe

that the Sphinx is so ancient

that it could
predate any records

in human history
that are known to exist.

And some researchers
are convinced

that physical evidence
of the Sphinx's true age

can be found
on the structure itself.

SCHOCH:
The first time
I visited the Sphinx

was in the summer of 1990.

My early studies of the Sphinx
looked at the erosional features

on the body of the Sphinx

and comparing that
to other erosional features

right on the Giza Plateau.

And what I found
was the body of the Sphinx

and the walls
of the Sphinx enclosure

are weathered differently
than everything else

on the Giza Plateau.

The rest of the plateau

shows classic wind erosion,

but what is on the Sphinx
is water weathering.

It's rainfall, precipitation,

and this makes no sense

when the Sphinx
is sitting on the edge

of the Sahara Desert
that has been a bone-dry desert

for literally
thousands of years.

So, what I concluded
is that the body of the Sphinx

and, therefore,
the original statue

had to go back
to pre-Sahara times,

when there was a much more
temperate climate,

much more moisture,
much more rainfall.

I now think that it goes back

to the end of the last ice age,

circa 10,000 BC.

I am convinced that it is a ruin

from Predynastic Egypt.

SHATNER:
Is it possible
that the Sphinx was constructed

more than 12,000 years ago?

Centuries before the ancient
Egyptian civilization

even existed?

If so, who carved it?
And for what purpose?

Some researchers believe
the answers to these questions

will be found in a secret room

hidden beneath the Sphinx.

NAUNTON:
Something that there's been
a lot of speculation about,

regarding the Sphinx is that
there is some kind of chamber

hidden underneath it.

A psychic named Edgar Cayce,

in the first half
of the 20th century,

asserted that there would be
such a chamber,

and that this was
the legendary Hall of Records,

which would reveal
very great secrets

relating to an
ancient civilization

responsible
for creating the Sphinx

and all these great wonders.

He also suggested that
this would be discovered

by the end of the 20th century.

It was only confirmed
relatively recently

that excavations discovered

a passageway in the Sphinx.

ROMANY:
There is a tunnel

that was found
under the paw of the Sphinx.

A tunnel that people believe
connects to another structure.

We have not discovered

what happens
at the end of that tunnel.

Where does this tunnel lead to?

Someday in the future,
we might find a room

that we've never heard of.

So, the more we dig,
the more we find

about the secrets
of Ancient Egypt.

What lies at the end
of the tunnel under the Sphinx?

Could there be proof
that this ancient structure

is more than 10,000 years old?

For now, the answers remain
buried beneath the sand.

But there's another ancient ruin

located in northwestern France
that is no less fascinating.

It's a site where
thousands of massive stones

were placed using an advanced
mathematical principle

that was centuries
ahead of its time.

SHATNER:
This peaceful countryside,

located in the northwest
part of France,

is known for its rustic farms
and wide fields.

But jutting out
from the green hills

is something rather striking.

It's a formation

of more than 3,000
stone monoliths

that stretches
across the landscape

for an astonishing two miles.

These monoliths
are collectively known as

the Carnac stones.

Carnac is like enormous,
stationary giants or needles

plugged into the earth

stretching as far
as the eye can see.

It's a unique phenomenon

from any of the ancient sites
because none of the others

have these marching
processions of stones

in pretty straight lines
running on for miles.

There's no other place
in Europe or the UK

that we see
this kind of arrangement.

Within Carnac is Europe's

largest single megalith.

It was called
the Menhir of Er-Grah.

Now it's fallen over, broken,
and it's in four pieces.

But it was originally
60 feet tall

and over 300 tons.

At Carnac, there are thousands
and thousands of stones.

But the real draw
are these alignments,

with neat rows
of megalithic stones

going in a single direction.

ERIN KAVANAGH:
Carnac has three
main alignments,

one of which
is particularly interesting.

It consists of 1,050 stones

across ten different rows,

and these are aligned
east to west,

and they decrease in size
towards the east.

So, there was definitely
some sort of plan

going on with the alignments.

But what that plan is
remains a mystery.

SHATNER:
According to archaeologists,

the Carnac stones
were positioned

in approximately 4000 BC,

making them older than
the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

But who constructed
this extraordinary array

of monoliths and aligned them

with such incredible precision

remains a mystery.

There's a huge amount
of folklore about Carnac.

The monoliths
are often seen as sinners

who are turned to stone
by the Almighty

for breaching a whole range
of, uh, religious rules.

Some see them as an army
of the dead that rose up

and began marching
and then got turned into stone

as death reclaimed them.

KAVANAGH:
There's also a theory
that involves Merlin

the wise man,

and that there was
an invading Roman army,

and to protect
the local peoples,

Merlin cast a spell
upon the Roman soldiers

and turned them all into stone.

And that's why
you have nice, neat alignments.

SHATNER:
The fantastic legends
surrounding the Carnac stones

may suggest that
they had a mystical origin.

But many historians believe
the ancient monoliths

are so perfectly aligned
not because of magic

but rather mathematics.

The alignments in Carnac
are spectacular and elaborate.

The scope of them
is astonishing.

But also, the alignments
are geometrically perfect

in that there are
Pythagorean theorems

built within
the stone alignments.

SHATNER:
For decades, some archaeologists

have argued that
there appears to be

precise triangles

within the monolithic structure.

Historians find this
extraordinary because

the Greek philosopher Pythagoras
developed this geometric concept

in the sixth century BC,

more than 3,000 years after
the Carnac stones were erected.

MICHIO KAKU:
When you take a look
at the location of the stones,

you could say, "Well, yeah,

there's a Pythagorean
triangle there."

And just remember,

these monoliths
date back 6,000 years.

So, the ancients
were much more advanced

than we give them credit for.

SHATNER:
If the builders
of the Carnac stones

used the Pythagorean theorem
thousands of years

before it was first defined,

then how did they obtain such
advanced mathematical knowledge?

It's a profound mystery,

one that Alexander Thom,

a professor of engineering
at Oxford University,

tried to answer in the 1950s.

BARNHART:
Alexander Thom really

was on the quest to show us
just how sophisticated

these megalithic engineers
and builders were.

And he determined that
by measuring

about 600 different stones,

that there was basically
a megalithic yard,

and by yard, he meant yardstick.

It was basically 2.7 feet,
is what he thought

was the unit of measure
used to create these stones.

KAVANAGH:
According to Alexander Thom,

the megalithic yard
was precise to the millimeter,

and that this was used to make
the mathematical judgements

inherent within
these stone configurations.

And he considered it to be
a very serious scholarly idea.

Alexander Thom
believed that people across

time and distance--

such as between
Stonehenge and Carnac--

were using this megalithic yard.

And we can see this
in the evidence

that they leave behind

with the alignments
and enormous monoliths.

McGOWAN:
There's certainly a connection
between the standing stones

in Britain and
the alignments in Carnac.

However, that is just
scratching the surface.

I don't think we even have
the first idea

of how extraordinary
the intelligence was

that created
these alignments in Carnac.

And Carnac needs and deserves
so much more study

to understand how exceptional

these ancient monoliths
actually are.

SHATNER:
Do the incredible Carnac stones
hold further secrets

that we have yet to uncover?

Only time will tell.

But there's another
ancient wonder,

located on the other side
of the world in Southeast Asia,

that might be just as impressive

and even more mysterious.

SHATNER:
Perched on a cliff
3,600 feet above sea level

is something that,
at first glance,

appears to be
an impossible sight.

It's an enormous boulder
that is covered in gold leaf

and hangs precariously
over the edge of a cliff.

This giant rock is the size
of a two-car garage

and looks like it's about to
fall off the precipice,

but, incredibly, it never has.

This extraordinary stone
is known as the Golden Rock.

NEWMAN:
The Golden Rock in Myanmar

is one of the most important
sites in the Buddhist world.

It's a 600-ton granite boulder.

And the way it sits on the side
of this kind of cliff,

this mountaintop
is absolutely amazing.

You can actually
almost get underneath it.

And if you sneeze the wrong way
at the wrong angle,

it feels like
it would just knock it off.

But it's been there
for thousands of years.

DAVID MIANO:
Everybody wonders
how this rock doesn't fall.

It's 50 feet high
and 25 feet in diameter.

How it doesn't fall?

It seems to defy
the laws of physics.

It's a Buddhist holy site,

and so, on top of it

sits a pagoda 24 feet tall.

And yet we still can't
figure out how it's not falling.

DOMINIC STEAVU:
This is the holiest of objects
for Buddhist people,

and it has indeed
become a site of pilgrimage, um,

that is active
throughout the year.

Pilgrims make offerings
by applying

little squares of gold leaf,

and over time,
this-this gold leaf has accrued

all over the rock to the extent
that it is now covered in gold.

The earliest reliable documents

attesting to the Golden Rock
being a site of pilgrimage

go back about 500 years
to the late 15th century,

and these documents are tied

to the Kingdom of Thay Taung

and, um, their official
stately documents.

However,
there is reason to believe

that the Golden Rock
goes much further back

in history as a sacred site tied
to the Buddha and that, in fact,

it might go back all the way
to the time of the Buddha

in the fifth century BCE,
so roughly 2,500 years ago.

SHATNER:
Was the Golden Rock
erected thousands of years ago?

And if so,
how did this giant boulder

come to be positioned
in such a precarious way?

Perhaps the answer
can be found by examining

why Buddhists consider it
to be such a holy site.

COLLINS:
At some point
in the distant past,

it is said that the Buddha

gave a monk
a single piece of hair.

And the monk

accepted this and handed it over

to the ruling king.

And the king said that he would
find a suitable shrine

so that it could be placed
on top of that hair.

And apparently,
they searched everywhere.

And at the bottom of the ocean
found this huge, great boulder,

and it was then carried
to the top of this mountain

and placed in this
incredibly precarious manner.

And underneath it, apparently,

is the actual hair
of the Buddha.

SHATNER:
The notion that a single hair--

even one from
the Buddha himself--

is preventing a 600-ton boulder
from succumbing to gravity

does seem a bit far-fetched.

So, why doesn't it fall?

Well, according to some experts,
it's likely due

to an incredible feat
of ancient engineering.

The word "engineer"
means ingenious.

And if you look at
the relationship between

the Golden Rock
and the edge of the cliff,

what we see is
perfect balance, if you like.

The center of the weight
of that piece of rock

is going through the point
that it's connected

to the stone below.

It must be, otherwise, it would
be falling off the edge.

I would say
that's nearly impossible,

but the thing to remember
about the ancient people

who created these marvels
that we see around the world

is that they
understood mathematics

and they understood physics.

SHATNER:
Is it possible
that the Golden Rock

is simply an ingenious feat
of ancient engineering?

Perhaps.

But for the faithful,

the mere existence

of such a wondrous sight
is more important

than how it was achieved.

What the Golden Rock says

about humanity

is that people

need to feel in contact
with the divine.

For the pilgrims
who go to this sacred site,

it can be an incredibly powerful
and moving experience

to be in contact with something

that is most sacred
and most holy in your tradition.

And this is no different
from the motivations

and what drove people
to visit this site

for the last thousand,
2,000, 3,000 years.

SHATNER:
The Golden Rock is proof that,
despite our best efforts,

some ancient wonders
still simply defy understanding.

Another example can be found
in the jungles of Costa Rica,

where archaeologists
have uncovered a number

of curious stone spheres,

and no one knows for certain

why they were carved.

SHATNER:
Not all ancient ruins
are as massive

as the sprawling
lost city of Caral

or the majestic Sphinx in Egypt.

Some are much smaller
and appear at first glance

to be rather simple.

That is, until you look closely

and realize that, sometimes,

the simplest structures can be
among the most astounding.

In the Diquís Delta
of Costa Rica,

there are over 300 stone spheres
of various sizes

scattered across
25 acres of jungle.

Archaeological evidence
dates the earliest

to approximately 200 BC.

But why they were made
and who made them

remains a mystery.

NEWMAN:
All of the spheres in Costa Rica

are carved and shaped, uh,

created from
different types of rock.

Over 300 have been discovered.

These range from the size
of a tennis ball

all the way up
to nine feet in diameter.

They're very precise.
They're very abstract.

They're bizarre
in their own right.

The spheres in Costa Rica
are, um, fabulous

and fabulously interesting.

They almost sort of
demand a story.

There has to be
a story behind it.

And so, this, of course
has caused people

to wonder a great deal
about where these come from.

Are they man-made
or natural-made?

NEWMAN:
Some people believe that the
ancient spheres of Costa Rica

are from Atlantis or
from other lost civilizations.

Different people say
they are navigational tools.

Some people suggest

they're even mapping the stars
on the ground.

As the stars and the planets
moved around,

you'd move the spheres
around to match it.

One of the traditions
that goes way, way back

with the Costa Rica
stone spheres

is the idea that,
at the center of the spheres,

there's a black stone.

Many of the stones
got cracked open

to find that there
was nothing in them,

but some of them
actually did have

a black stone in the center.

How they would know that,

how they would know, indeed,

that there was a black stone
in the center

is another mystery in itself.

SHATNER:
Just what are
the Costa Rican spheres?

Even with all our knowledge
of the past,

all our modern technology,

we still don't know
why they were carved

so perfectly in stone.

Despite everything we've
learned about ancient ruins,

the ingenuity of our ancestors

continues to mystify us.

While the remarkable feats
of engineering

that have already
been discovered

offer some clues
as to how mankind

once survived and thrived,

there's no doubt that,
buried under the desert sands

or hidden in dense jungles,
is an enormous amount

of human history that,
for now, remains

unexplained.

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