All language subtitles for The UnXplained S07E02 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

An ancient nuclear weapon

that turned a city to glass.

A pillar made of iron,

impervious to decay.

And a mystical chemical elixir
that turns lead

into gold.

Today, many of us believe
that we're living

in a civilization
that has reached the height

of technological innovation.

But all around us,

there are clues
that an ancient world

once existed which possessed

extraordinary feats
of engineering,

chemistry
and mechanical marvels.

What innovations can be found
in the legends of the past?

And who were the masterminds
behind what we might call

impossible ancient inventions?

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

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
This Mediterranean stronghold
was once the most beautiful

and powerful city
of ancient Greece.

But in 213 BC,

the Romans wanted to take it
for themselves

and began a siege,

deploying a formidable force

of over 60 warships

equipped with the latest devices

to support their assault.

Yet they would soon discover
that overpowering the defenses

at Syracuse
would be a terrifying task

as they faced
the ingenious inventions

of the great mathematician
Archimedes.

TOK THOMPSON:
Archimedes is a huge figure
in intellectual history,

and he was a-a scientist,

he was an inventor,
he was a philosopher.

He did many, many
important inventions,

such as the Archimedes' screw,

which was basically a screw

to draw water up from the
waterways so you can irrigate.

And he was located in Syracuse,

so when the Romans decided
to lay siege to the city,

we have Archimedes using
his considerable intellect

and his considerable
practical skills

and technological skills to try
to help save his home city.

LANCE GEIGER:
One of the things he did is
he built numerous kinds

of catapults and ballistae--

things that threw
bolts and rocks.

And so they could
never even get close

with their big siege towers.

He also used his knowledge
of levers.

You can, say,
lever out a huge rock

and drop it right on a ship.

JEFF HECHT:
Archimedes was a master
of tools of war.

He could try
the Claw of Archimedes,

and it was an iron claw
like my hand.

And it reached out from shore,

grabbed the ship,

pressed it down,
and caused it to sink.

But one of the things
that he may have had

was the idea of the death ray.

SHATNER:
In addition
to the monstrous claw,

the great thinker invented
a devastating new technology

that could attack ships

before they reached
the island fortress.

It's a weapon
shrouded in mystery and myth

that has come to be known
as Archimedes' death ray.

GEIGER:
Archimedes' death ray

had some beam
of magic electrical

or-or energy beam
that could reach out

and sink these Roman ships,

set them on fire
from a distance.

Of course,
fire is terrifying at sea

because the ship's
gonna burn to the waterline.

So you're either gonna burn
to death or you're gonna drown.

Neither one of those
are happy conclusions.

So, this idea
that ancient Greeks

in the third century BC

had some beam

that could reach out
and sink these Roman ships,

set them on fire
from a distance,

it just sparks the imagination.

SHATNER:
The ingenious inventions
of Archimedes

repelled Rome's nautical assault
for over a year.

Eventually, in 212 BC,
the Roman army

was able to breach the wall
of the outer city

and take control of Syracuse.

And at 78 years old,

Archimedes was mistakenly killed
by a Roman soldier.

Today, more than 2,200 years

after the siege of Syracuse,

the legend
of Archimedes' death ray

continues to mystify us.

One of the fun things about
thinking about ancient devices,

there are these ones
that have been a mystery.

We think of them
as impossible things

for ancients to have done.

And certainly,
for most of human history,

it's really fundamentally hard

to get a ray beam to be
really tight and energetic.

But we really don't know
how they did it.

SHATNER:
How did Archimedes invent

such an advanced
weapon technology

thousands of years ago?

Well, some experts theorize
that he devised

a surprisingly simple solution.

He harnessed the power
of the Sun.

On a crisp autumn day,
students from

the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology

align dozens of mirrors
throughout the campus

and wait for the Sun to shine.

GEIGER:
One of the most
interesting experiments

was with Archimedes' death ray.

They built a-a model
of a piece of the ship,

and they took about 40 mirrors,

and they held them
up to the Sun.

When they got them all focused

and got ten minutes of good sun,

they were able to catch
wood planking--

like just
chunks of wood-- on fire.

So it does suggest that
the Archimedes' death ray

is not a crazy idea.

You know, we don't
really know what happened,

but this shows that something
sure could've happened

that made
the Archimedes' death ray

a totally interesting
and plausible story.

MICHIO KAKU:
We have to commend them
for trying

to duplicate the conditions

that existed 2,000 years ago
in building this device.

They were able
to set a small fire,

but a fire that could knock out
a fleet of enemy ships

probably was not done.

The distances are enormous.

So, it's possible
to focus the light,

it's possible to create a fire,

but not over the distances
involved and the number

of fleets of ships
that are coming at you.

SHATNER: The truth behind
Archimedes' death ray

is still shrouded in mystery.

Archeological evidence
of the invention

has never been found,

and there are no surviving
records from Archimedes himself.

In fact, the first known mention
of Archimedes using mirrors

appears 700 years
after the siege of Syracuse

in a work by Greek mathematician
Anthemius of Tralles.

It was pure speculation
that he had used some sort of

large mirror or focusing device.

But this idea of a directed
energy beam is a powerful idea.

And then that carries through
to the technologies of today.

Today, we use lasers.

We use them to shoot missiles
out of the sky from our ships.

Archimedes was talking
about death rays,

something that we wouldn't see
for a few more thousand years.

We're talking about laser beams.

Laser beams
that have enough power

to literally fry the enemy,

to punch a hole
in the hull of enemy ships.

Archimedes was onto something,
a new form of warfare,

but the state of the matter is,
we simply don't know.

SHATNER:
Whether Archimedes' death ray
existed or not,

the details of this
mythic invention suggests...

...that even our most advanced
modern technology

may have started
in the ancient world.

THOMPSON:
We like to think that science
is building steadily

on earlier achievements.

That it's sort of
a steady linear progression

of adding knowledge
and technology.

What we often find
is that civilizations

go in-in spurts,
and-and-and they can disappear,

and whole knowledge
can disappear.

Civilizations can get invaded.

Libraries can catch on fire.

And so, a lot of
our technological process

seem to be, every once in
a while, reinventing the wheel.

SHATNER:
Could some of today's

most cutting-edge advancements
actually be

reinventions
of ancient technology?

Perhaps further evidence
may be found by examining

an ancient Hindu text

said to describe
an atomic weapon.

SHATNER:
In the final days of
World War II--

the deadliest conflict
in human history--

the United States
sends a B-29 bomber

over the Japanese city
of Hiroshima

and drop an atomic bomb.

Three days later, another A-bomb
is dropped on Nagasaki.

Having witnessed
the devastating power

of atomic weaponry firsthand,

Emperor Hirohito announces
Japan's total surrender,

and the Second World War
comes to an end.

Before then, warfare was
always done on a small scale.

It was settled right there
on the battlefield.

But with nuclear weapons,

you could vaporize the enemy.

Never in the history
of Homo sapiens,

until the development
of the atomic bomb,

have we had the power
of total annihilation.

SHATNER:
According to most historians,

the bombings
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

mark the first and only time

that atomic bombs
were deployed in warfare.

But is it possible
that this technology

existed in the distant past?

There is a growing belief
that atomic weapons

were not only invented
thousands of years ago

but they were also
responsible for

wiping an ancient metropolis
off the map.

A team of researchers from
the Indian Archaeological Survey

excavate a mound on the banks
of the Indus River.

They find the remnants
of a vast city,

dating back
an astonishing 5,000 years,

called Mohenjo-Daro.

THOMPSON:
Mohenjo-Daro

is one of the first
real cities in the world.

It seems to have been
one of the great centers

of what is called
the Harappan civilization.

This was a very,
very well-planned,

very successful civilization.

It had several cities,
but Mohenjo-Daro is the largest,

stretching over 250 acres.

It had thousands
and thousands of people.

They had sewage systems.

They had bathing systems.

And then a very strange thing
about it is its rapid demise.

It seems to, uh, disappear
very, very quickly

from the archeological record.

SHIMKHADA:
Mohenjo-Daro was a vital,

thriving society civilization
for many thousands of years.

And suddenly,
by around 1200 BCE,

the civilization vanished.

That's another baffling story.

Some kind of disaster

killed thousands
and thousands of people.

Mohenjo-Daro means
the "Mound of the Dead"

in Urdu language.

Something unspeakable
happened in the site.

Even though experts agree
that Mohenjo-Daro

had at least
40,000 people living,

we only found
43 skeletons so far.

Which is very strange,
because we are supposed to find

more human remains.

So, what happened
to the humans there?

One of the kind of
amazing features

is this scene of what appears
to be massive destruction.

They've discovered
over 40 bodies,

clearly wiped out together.

And researchers
have found evidence

of high levels of radioactivity
in these skeletons.

And I find this fascinating
because of a couple of things.

One is, you know, could this
have been a nuclear explosion?

ANDREW COLLINS:
The evidence on the ground

during excavations
seem to reveal

high levels of radioactivity.

And this started to suggest

that the ancient peoples

did indeed have what we might
describe as atomic bombs.

SHATNER:
Atomic bombs leave a clear

radioactive signature
after detonation.

And while these
radioactive skeletons

are certainly intriguing,

it's not the only evidence
of a nuclear event.

COLLINS:
One of the most mysterious
aspects of Mohenjo-Daro

was the discovery
of vitrified glass

and evidence of fusion.

It was found that stones
had quite literally melted,

and that this was
being found at Mohenjo-Daro.

Very similar to what happened
at Nagasaki and Hiroshima

in the 20th century.

SHATNER:
If one of
the oldest civilizations

really was destroyed
by atomic warfare,

would there be
a historical record

of such a monumental event?

Well, some believe there is,
in a 5,000-year-old Hindu text

that speaks of
weapons of mass destruction

deployed during
a great ancient war.

PRAVEEN MOHAN:
According to historical text

called Mahabharata,

there was an ancient world war
that happened in India,

very close to Mohenjo-Daro.

In the Mahabharata,
there are advanced weapons

very similar to nuclear weapons.

The classic example of this
is called the Brahmastra.

When you activate
the Brahmastra,

it creates a huge fireball

that can destroy an entire city.

They talk about how bright it is
and how hot it is.

So, it is quite possible

that there was
a nuclear explosion

in Mohenjo-Daro.

SHATNER:
Is the Mahabharata proof

that atomic weapons were
invented thousands of years ago?

While it's a matter of debate,

there is
a very strange coincidence

surrounding this text.

J. Robert Oppenheimer,
the father of the atomic bomb,

who led
the top-secret U.S. program

to develop the atomic bomb
during World War II,

was obsessed
with the Mahabharata.

And Oppenheimer developed
a particular affinity

to a portion of this text called
the "Bhagavad Gita."

In American Prometheus,
we write quite a bit about

Oppenheimer's fascination
with the "Gita."

We can quote from letters
that he wrote

to his brother Frank,
saying how excited he was

to have discovered
these Hindu scriptures.

And Oppenheimer repeatedly

quotes from the "Gita"
throughout his life.

It's a little curious in that
he's a boy from New York City,

he was a product
of Western culture,

not Indian civilization

that goes back
thousands of years,

and yet there was
some driving attraction

that Oppenheimer held
for the "Gita."

SHIMKHADA:
We know that Oppenheimer
read the "Bhagavad Gita,"

and it is all about
how the weapons were used,

how the weapons were
designed or manufactured.

So that might have
given him some idea

or some impetus
to design this atomic bomb.

Was the atomic bomb
a reinvention

of a devastating
ancient technology?

There are some who certainly
believe it to be true.

But there's another
legendary creation

whose purpose is
not to destroy worlds

but rather
to create true wonders.

It's a mystical elixir known as
the philosopher's stone.

SHATNER:
On the grounds
of this rural farmhouse

is an apple tree that represents

a legendary story
in the history of science.

It is said that here, in 1666,

a young Isaac Newton
was pondering

the mysteries of the universe,

when he saw an apple fall
straight down from the tree.

In a flash of inspiration,
the great scientist and inventor

formulated a theory
that would change the world,

known as the law of gravity.

Isaac Newton was
one of the foremost

individuals in the so-called
Scientific Revolution.

He had his hand in everything.

He co-invented calculus.

He formulated laws of motion.

He did important
optical experiments,

which explained
the nature of light.

He was the first
to really theorize

and mathematize gravity.

Newton was a genius.

But in addition to that,
there is a Newton

that most people don't know,

which is that
he was also an alchemist.

SHATNER:
Sir Isaac Newton's
towering intellect

helped lay the foundation
for modern science.

But many are surprised to learn
that he was also obsessed

with a mystical practice
that stretches back

over 4,000 years
to ancient Egypt

called alchemy.

The ancient practice of alchemy

is really an art
of transformation.

Taking substances apart,

breaking them down
to their essences,

and then recombining
those essences

in the hope of getting
something that is

more pure, more useful.

It does sound like magic,
but it's actually

the precursor
to modern chemistry.

THOMPSON:
The idea is that it's sort of

science working
in a framework of magic.

These are basically scientists
trying to figure out

how to change
one thing into another.

On the one hand, it's sort of
a scientific endeavor.

On the other hand,
it's a mystical endeavor.

KAKU:
Today, when we look back
at alchemists,

we laugh, we realize

there's so much black arts
involved with that.

But realize that, for its time,
it was legitimate.

You could do chemical reactions
and mix potions

and sometimes come up
with interesting results.

Isaac Newton was
fascinated by alchemy

because alchemy, back then,
was fair game.

It was a tremendous mystery.

SHATNER:
Alchemists sought to unlock

the mysteries of
the physical world.

And by the seventh century,

references to
a legendary substance

began appearing
throughout alchemical texts.

It was a concoction
so shrouded in secrecy,

it was often
represented by symbols

and in coded language.

Every master alchemist,
including Sir Isaac Newton,

yearned to crack the code
to creating what is called

the philosopher's stone.

The first use of the term
"philosopher's stone"

stretches back
to Arabic alchemy.

Really... Probably around
the seventh century

of the Common Era.

And then it becomes commonplace

in both medieval alchemy
and early modern alchemy.

The philosopher's stone
is really

the most important substance
in alchemical literature.

The philosopher's stone
was a substance

that alchemists believe
would give you the ability

to transmute base metals,

like lead or tin,
into gold or silver.

And Isaac Newton
was interested in the process

of making
the philosopher's stone.

SHATNER:
Sir Isaac Newton was trying
to create something capable

of transforming a worthless
metal into gold or silver.

And while
the philosopher's stone

sounds like the name
of a magical rock,

according to
most alchemical texts,

this enigmatic substance has
more in common with fairy dust.

Philosopher's stone
kind of evokes, like,

a stone, a precious stone.

But in actuality,
usually the philosopher's stone

appears in writings
as types of powders

or elixirs that can be added
in the course of the experiment.

Theoretically, if you can create
the philosopher's stone,

if you can go through all
the steps and stages correctly,

once you have the philosopher's
stone in your hand--

and again, not a stone,
but a powder--

you can actually change
a base metal into gold.

THOMPSON:
The philosopher's stone is just
viewed as the ultimate element.

So, to achieve the
philosopher's stone is sort of

unlocking the secrets
of the universe

and being able to control
the secrets of the universe.

And so, we can look at concepts
like the philosopher's stone now

and say, "Oh, this is just-just,
you know, a legendary thing."

And yet,
we know Sir Isaac Newton

was absolutely fascinated
in the quest

for the philosopher's stone.

DRAGO:
Newton was fascinated
by the idea that

there could be transformative
substance out there

that can change
one thing to another.

We can see through Newton's
manuscripts that he devotes

an enormous part of his life
and his research

to the making
of the philosopher's stone.

SHATNER:
On his quest to invent
the philosopher's stone,

Sir Isaac Newton
studied the works

of the great alchemists
in history

and pored over strange texts

said to reveal
its secret recipe.

KLEIN:
One of Newton's
favorite individuals

for studying alchemy
was an English alchemist

in the late Middle Ages
named George Ripley.

One of my favorite
alchemical documents

at the Huntington
is our Ripley Scroll.

It's a 16th century
ten-foot-long scroll,

and it tells the story of how
to make the philosopher's stone.

And it just has the most
wild imagery you've ever seen.

There's this
bleeding serpent-like toad.

There's a bird with the head
of a human being.

Green lions
and things like that.

So, this imagery
isn't just there

in order to be interesting
to look at.

It holds keys to what alchemists
were doing in the laboratory.

SHATNER:
Was Isaac Newton
able to decode the secrets

of the Ripley Scroll

and ultimately create
the philosopher's stone?

The answer's unclear.

Many of the great thinker's
personal manuscripts

were destroyed after a fire
broke out in his laboratory.

But in 2016,
a rare Newton document

on the philosopher's stone
was unearthed

that may hold some clues
to how successful the genius was

at changing metal to gold.

The manuscript that we have
at the Science History Institute

is, uh, an alchemical recipe for
the making of sophic mercury.

It's part of the process for
making the philosopher's stone.

Now, we don't have any record
of Isaac Newton

actually transmuting
lead to gold,

but did he make
the philosopher's stone?

That's an open question.

KLEIN:
We don't know exactly
if Newton thought he had

discovered
the philosopher's stone.

This manuscript helps us
understand that Newton believed

it's entirely possible.

But no, I think
it remains to be revealed.

Did Sir Isaac Newton actually
create the philosopher's stone,

a substance that could

miraculously
turn lead into gold?

(chuckles)

It's a tantalizing thought

and a possibility

when you consider evidence
of what some believe

is ancient alchemy

that's standing
right in front of us.

SHATNER:
Built in 1889 as an homage

to the industrial strength
of France,

this striking achievement
in metalworks

has held its iconic stance

in the City of Light
for nearly 150 years.

Once the tallest structure
in the world,

the Eiffel Tower
has endured, in part,

due to a fresh coat of paint
that's applied every seven years

to protect the structure
from rust and corrosion.

And 4,000 miles away in India,

on the southern fringe
of New Delhi,

stands another
tall iron monument.

But this soaring column

presents one of the greatest
mysteries in ancient metallurgy.

It's called
the iron pillar of Delhi.

COLLINS:
The iron pillar of Delhi
is located

within a religious complex

that was originally constructed

as a Hindu temple
to the god Vishnu.

It's obviously made of iron,

but it has not corroded
in any way,

and yet it has stood
in its current position

for at least 800 years,
and before that,

elsewhere for another
several hundred years.

Where it had originally stood

in the Madre Pradesh
region of India,

it would almost seem as if
a new technique was invented

to preserve it from corrosion
for thousands of years.

And so far, it has
quite literally done that job.

So what is the secret?

Why has this iron
not corroded in a way

which iron normally does?

So, this would seem
to be a technology

that was completely lost,
because if it wasn't lost,

we'd have been using it today.

SHATNER:
So how did ancient people
invent iron that doesn't rust?

India's humid climate
is supposed to accelerate

the process of corrosion.

And the iron pillar's
cryptic ancient origins

only make
this miraculous invention

even more confounding.

What we have here is a pillar

that was originally created
to be special.

It was put there
in pride of place,

very close to this
huge minaret tower.

The minaret tower
is 238 feet tall,

and the iron pillar

is 23 feet, eight inches,

which is exactly one-tenth
of the tower,

showing that there is some kind
of relationship between the two.

But what it is
remains a true mystery.

We really do not know who this

iron pillar belongs to
or who built it.

There are inscriptions
on the pillar itself.

It is attributed
to King Chandragupta,

and he ruled around
fourth to fifth century CE,

but there is also controversy
about that name

because there is only a name
"Chandra" on the pillar.

It does not say "Chandragupta."

So, it could also mean
another king

called Rama-chandra,
which is a legendary king.

And if it is true,
then that goes back

to some 12,000 BCE.

SHATNER:
The true age of the iron pillar
is a matter of debate.

But if it really does
date back to 12,000 BC,

that would mean
it was forged 10,000 years

before iron was even discovered.

And while many believe
the structure's more likely

1,600 years old,

what can explain the lack
of corrosion and rust?

How was this achieved?

In 2003,

scientists from the
Indian Institute of Technology

performed an analysis
on the iron pillar

in an attempt
to find some answers.

SHIMKHADA:
Scientists have analyzed
all the elements

that went into building
this iron pillar.

They found it is 98% iron
and one part is phosphorus.

That has produced
what they call "misawite."

And the misawite
is a kind of film

that is coated the pillar,

that is what protects
from corrosion

and rust.

The Delhi iron pillar

is the evidence
of lost technology.

No one has been able to
replicate the same iron pillar.

MOHAN: Rust slowly starts
eating into iron,

and it can destroy anything.

This is how iron and moisture
are normally supposed to behave,

but the iron pillar of India

does something
very, very different.

When moisture comes into contact
with the iron pillar,

it basically converts
that moisture

into a very unique compound,
forming a protective coating,

making it even more resistant
to rusting.

SHATNER:
The remarkable theory

that the ancient column
creates its own protective layer

to shield it from the elements
begs the question:

How did
the ancient inventors do it?

SHIMKHADA:
Iron is a major

element for bridges
and buildings.

And eventually, you know,
they catch a corrosion,

and they rust,
and eventually they collapse.

And we have seen
a lot of examples,

you know, around the world.

The builders
who built the iron pillar

did not leave
the knowledge behind,

other than the example,
which is still standing,

but it has not been replicated
by anyone else.

The builder knew
the secret formula

to make it corrosion-free,

but the knowledge is
lost forever.

It's fascinating to think about

where modern metallurgy
might be today

if the true secrets
of the iron pillar

had not disappeared
from history.

And the same can be said
for another ancient invention

created by a man so powerful,

he was called
"The King of Poison."

SHATNER:
For over 6,500 years,

humans have used
a combination of minerals,

vegetables and herbs

to concoct toxic potions
we know as poison.

History is filled with stories
of how poison was used

to change the course of events

for the likes of emperors,
queens and philosophers.

But perhaps most intriguing

is a remarkable invention
created in the first century BC

by a ruler named
Mithridates the Great,

also known as "The Poison King."

Mithridates was the king
of poison in numerous ways.

And one of them being,

he was truly using poison
as-as a tool of war.

But he was said to have come up
with either a powder or a pill

that he took every day

that would make you immune
to poison,

the universal antidote

that would keep you so that
you couldn't die from poison.

COLLINS:
The story goes
that when he was young,

Mithridates found out
or realized

that his mother
had killed his own father

by poisoning him.

And knowing that he was
in line for the throne,

he started to realize

that his mother was also
trying to poison him.

He realized this because,
as he was having his meals,

he would feel
incredibly sick afterwards.

And he thought,
almost certainly correctly,

that she was putting small
amounts of poison in his food.

So, he went into hiding,

and he started working
with poisons and toxins.

And Mithridates,
over a period of years,

was able to create
this antidote,

a cure-all for everything.

And this is something
that Mithridates is famous for,

even referred to as "The
Poison King" for this reason.

SHATNER:
Mithridates' invention
of a universal antidote

to all poisons--
known as "mithridate"--

made him a legend
of the ancient world.

But is it possible

that such a miraculous invention
really worked?

Some say the most compelling
evidence can be found

by examining
this great king's own death.

TOTELIN:
King Mithridates was vanquished

by the Romans at the end
of three bloody wars.

And he did what most kings
who had been vanquished did,

and that was to kill himself,
to die by suicide.

So, he decided to kill himself
by taking a poison.

But he couldn't die
because he had become immune.

And the idea is
that he was immune

to the most poisonous of poisons

because he had taken an antidote
for a very long time.

So instead, he asked
to be killed by the sword.

So, the story of the death
is actually the best proof

that his antidote worked.

SHATNER:
Is it possible

that King Mithridates invented
a universal antidote

capable of
counteracting any poison?

And if so, why hasn't anyone

been able
to duplicate his formula?

King Mithridates' formula
was sought after,

and the Romans went
to great length

to get the formula

and then translate it
into Latin.

And then they developed
all sorts of formulas

that were based on
the formula of Mithridates.

One recipe is very short.

It's four ingredients.

And then we have another recipe
has around 50 ingredients.

But we have many different
mithridatic antidotes

in our sources.

They're always different,
the ingredients,

but they have things in common.

Which one is the real antidote?
We don't know.

I like to call it
"a pharmacological ghost,"

because it's always--
you know, it's around.

We know it's there,
but we can't quite capture it.

THOMPSON:
These legends about Mithridates

and his universal antidote
traveled through history.

Poisonings continued
to be very popular

throughout the Roman Empire,
throughout medieval Europe,

even throughout the Renaissance.

So, people were always looking
for that universal antidote.

Uh, we don't know
if anyone has ever found it.

SHATNER:
The Poison King's
miraculous invention

is lost to history,

but if we ever do
unlock this secret recipe

to neutralize any poison,

it would not only
save countless lives,

it could also change
modern medicine as we know it.

I think an antidote
is certainly an area

where mystery and medicine
certainly collide.

This quest for an antidote
or a universal medicine,

it certainly says something
interesting about humanity

and our desire
to find, uh, cure-alls

and things
that will improve life

and make our existence better.

SHATNER:
The year 2000.

Archaeologists unearth
the mummified remains

of a Roman noblewoman
and her 18-year-old son.

There on the woman's hand
is a 2,000-year-old ring

with a remarkably
lifelike portrait

of her beloved son.

GEIGER:
This very unique ring,
it's set in gold,

and it's got a crystal.

It's a cabochon crystal,
which means that

instead of being faceted
like you might see

with a gemstone,
it's been polished smooth.

And it has inside
a likeness of her son

that is remarkably like
a modern hologram.

And it really gives that feeling
that this ring is-is magic.

SHATNER:
Modern holograms are advanced

three-dimensional images
created by projecting light,

often by laser beams.

Rudimentary hologram technology
wasn't invented

until 1948 by the Hungarian
physicist Dennis Gabor.

So how was
this holographic ring created

almost 2,000 years ago?

THOMPSON:
It's often called
a "hologram ring."

It's not a hologram, of course,
but it follows the same idea

that you're actually seeing
a 3D image.

Crystals refract light
in interesting ways,

and the artisanship behind this
was really fabulous,

to be able to put
a reflective face in the back.

This is what gives it
its kind of eerie 3D effect.

And this is the only example
of this that we currently have.

GEIGER:
The ring certainly
leads you to wonder:

Was this just
one technology, one person,

and then it was lost?

Someone could probably try
to duplicate it today.

But maybe this was this piece
of technology from someone

who was very special
in their art

and who-who's gone.

SHATNER:
We may never know
who created the holographic ring

or how exactly they created
this intricate relic,

but its mere existence is proof

that the inventors
of the ancient world

were capable of far more than
we give them credit for.

THOMPSON:
It's always a fascinating moment

in archeology when we realize

how advanced
some of the techniques

and the knowledge were from some
of these ancient civilizations.

I think a big part
of the puzzle is,

we understand
where we get our knowledge from,

but we look back at some of
these amazing inventions,

these displays of knowledge,

and we have
a hard time imagining,

before science,
before universities:

How did these societies build
all of this body of knowledge?

KAKU:
When you think of modern
technology, we say to ourselves,

"Yeah, we invented that.

"Yeah, we're the ones
who pioneered

this breakthrough
in technology."

And then we realized
there were antecedents.

There were other versions
of this very same technology

that the ancients
were toying with.

When you begin to understand
the technology of the ancients,

begin to realize the ancients
had their own wisdom,

a wisdom that is parallel
to the wisdom of today.

Whether it's something
as monumental

as a death ray
or an atomic bomb,

or as mystical as an elixir
or secret antidote,

history is filled
with fascinating stories

of ancient inventions

that challenge our notion
of human innovation.

Could these
incredible technologies

really have been
achieved hundreds

or even thousands of years ago?

It's an intriguing possibility

that, for now, will remain...

unexplained.

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