All language subtitles for Expedition.Files.S01E06.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY_track3_[eng]

Coming up on
Expedition Files.

A knight discovers
a sacred cloth

in the 14th century

that people believe
could be the burial
shroud of Jesus Christ.

Now, 600 years later,

recent scientific
analysis may tell us

if it's truly a relic
from a higher power.

In the 1800s, a photographer
rises to fame and fortune

because of his ability

to capture
pictures of ghosts.

Could new evidence suggest
it might actually be true?

And we investigate
a mysterious stone monument

erected in Elberton, Georgia,

to find out
who the mastermind

behind this explosive
structure could be.

In the corridors of time,

are mysteries
that defy explanation.

Now I'm traveling
through history itself.

On a search for the truth.

New evidence.

Shocking answers.

I'm Josh Gates

and these
are my...

[Josh reading]

My adventures have taken me

to over 100 countries,

And along the way
I've collected

an impressive assortment
of cultural objects.

And I'm not talking about
key chains or snow globes,

but my office trinkets
have nothing

on the three
extraordinary items

we're examining tonight.

Objects that have captivated

and confused
humanity for centuries.

From a controversial imprint
of a divine figure,

to photographs
said to capture ghosts

and a circle of stones

that were
mysteriously created

and then
mysteriously destroyed.

Each relic faces
the same question.

What is the true story
of this extraordinary object?

And we begin
in the year 1354.

Inside the awe
inspiring nave

of the Lirey Church
in France.

And I'm here because
legendary crusader

Geoffroi de Charnay
is returning
from the Middle East

with what will become
perhaps

the world's most famous

or infamous holy relic,

The Shroud of Turin

the cloth said
to wrap Jesus body
after he died,

capturing the imprint
of his face.

In the centuries
that follow

this discovery
by Geoffroi,

controversy will swirl
around the shroud.

Many will claim
it's fake

created to promote
Christianity.

Others aren't certain
it's real.

Offering irrefutable evidence
of Jesus and his resurrection.

So who's right?

Well, the latest
advances in technology

may finally
provide the answer.

[Josh] The first
recorded encounter

with the shroud
comes in the year...

[Josh reading]

It is believed
French knight

Geoffroi de Charnay
discovers the fabric.

When the Knights
Templar journey

through Constantinople,

during the
14th century crusades.

The night finds
a burial cloth

among the treasures
of a Byzantine emperor.

When de Charnay
looks closer,

he's overcome
with emotion

because the faint
image of the man

embedded in the fabric
looks like Jesus Christ.

De Charnay wonders,

"Is this the burial shroud
for the son of God?"

After Christ's death,

the Bible describes
how he is prepared for burial.

His body is first cleansed,

then anointed with aloe
and expensive perfumes.

He is then wrapped
in a white linen

that's covered with resin
to hold it close to the flesh.

Embalmed
in the burial shroud.

Jesus is laid
to rest in a tomb.

When de Charnay inspects
the shroud for more clues,

he spots blood stains
on the fabric,

like the wounds Jesus
allegedly suffered

during his crucifixion.

Holes in his wrists,

a lance wound to his side.

And puncture wounds
to his forehead.

To de Charnay this is more
than mere coincidence.

The knight is convinced
this is the burial shroud,

which enveloped the bloody,

crucified body
of Jesus Christ.

Geoffroi spirits the fabric
out of Constantinople,

to Lirey Church in France,

believing he has recovered
the holiest relic

in all of Christianity.

Despite doubts about
the fabric's authenticity,

thousands of Christians
make the pilgrimage to view

what they believe
is the image of Jesus.

But in 1532,
a fire nearly destroys it.

The flames
are so hot that it melts

part of the silver container
where the shroud is kept.

The sacred relic
is then moved to the safety

of the Catholic Church's
Turin Cathedral.

Where it becomes known
as the Turin Shroud.

For the next 400 years,

scholars around
the world

are captivated
by one question.

Is the shroud
real or fake?

In the 1980s,

advances in
radiocarbon dating technology,

give Vatican officials
the opportunity to confirm

the shroud's authenticity
once and for all.

Scientists get permission
to remove a piece

of the shroud's fabric
for carbon 14 testing.

Will the ancient
mystery of the shroud
finally be solved.

On October 13th, 1988,

at a press conference
at the British Museum,

The world learns the truth.

Radiocarbon dating conducted
on the fabric sample

indicates the shroud
was created

between 1260-1390 AD.

That's over 1200 years
after the death of Jesus.

For the faithful,
the results call into question

the authenticity
of the artifact.

Yet for others, the findings
raise an intriguing question.

If it's not Jesus,

who is the mysterious figure
depicted on the shroud?

Some have argued
that the shroud, in fact,

captures a soldier
from the late Crusades.

Who was crucified
in the same manner

as Jesus centuries
after he died.

This was said
to have been done

to warn off
Christian invaders.

If you come
to the Holy Land,

you will suffer
the same fate
as your Lord Jesus.

And there were even more
sensational theories.

Some scholars
have proposed

that the shroud
was made by

artist and inventor
Leonardo da Vinci,

asserting the face
in the shroud

perfectly matches
the one depicted

in Da Vinci's
famous painting,

The Salvator Mundi.

But some experts who analyze
the ancient artifact

still see compelling signs
that the shroud is real.

They claim the evidence
can be found

in the fabrics markings.

Close inspection
of the shroud reveals

the image is embedded
in the fibers.

Not painted
on the surface.

Which would likely
appear in a forgery.

Some have argued
that the image

is impossible to replicate.

And was likely created
by a powerful burst

of ultraviolet light,
or electromagnetic radiation.

Beyond the capabilities
of any technology

at the time of Christ.

Experts demand new tests

to confirm or dispute
the 1988 radiocarbon dating.

Yet the Vatican
refuses to provide

any more access
to the shroud.

Could one of the most

powerful religious
organizations on earth,

be hiding something.

In 2022, archeologist
William Meacham

discovers five pieces
of fabric cut from the shroud

during the 1988 testing.

And submits the strands

to the stable
Isotopes laboratory.

At the University
of Hong Kong.

Testing the composition
of the strands

can uncover
their geographic origin,

determining exactly where

in the world
the shroud came from.

And when the results
are revealed,

they are stunning.

Historian Joe Marino,

one of the foremost
experts on the shroud,

has studied
the isotopic results.

[Joe] This test was one
of the most compelling

pieces of evidence I've seen,

especially for the 20th
and 21st century.

The reason is because
the Shroud of Turin

is made of flax fibers,

an isotope testing
can indicate

where the flax
had originally been grown.

And the results revealed

that it came
from Israel, Lebanon

and are the western
parts of Syria.

So when
I saw the results,

I was just
absolutely captivated.

[Josh] For believers,
this is the best
news possible.

The shroud comes
from the same place

that Jesus lived and died.

And groundbreaking
new findings
might finally provide

the identity of the image
on the shroud.

[Josh] For centuries,
The Shroud of Turin
has inspired millions,

while also inspiring
a tantalizing question.

Is it real?

New scientific findings

may confirm that the shroud

came from the same place
where Jesus was buried.

But even if the shroud
was made in the Holy Land,

carbon 14 testing indicates

the fabric was created
over a thousand years

after Christ's death.

However, Joe Marino,

believes there are
major flaws

with the 1988
radiocarbon test results.

I felt that something
had to be wrong

with that carbon 14 test
'cause it just did not match

the other data
it accumulated.

And in all
scientific experiments,

when a test is done,

labs are supposed to release
what's called the raw data,

meaning all the data
that they worked with

and what they used to come
to their conclusions.

People asked
the British Museum

for the raw data,
but they wouldn't
release it.

Even more intriguing,
recent analysis of bacteria

found on the shroud
may raise further questions

about the accuracy
of the carbon-14 dating

[Joe] If the shroud
is authentic

it's been in the open
for approximately

2000 years
and obviously would

accumulate a lot
of debris on it

and environmental factors.

Mold, mildew, skin cells

so it's not really
well suited for carbon 14.

And the dating
of the linen could be

a thousand years off.

[Josh] And photographic
analysis

of the shroud
dating back to 1978

provides even more
possible evidence
of its authenticity.

[Joe] When the scientists
put the picture

of the face
and the image analyzer,

they saw over both eyes
what appeared to be

buttons or possible coins.

And the coins were used
in Jewish burial customs

of that period
in which Jesus lived

and they would
put coins on the eyes,

so they keep them
from seeing

the afterlife
until they got there.

[Josh] Further analysis
of the shroud images

reveals the coins
placed over the eyes

are pilate leptons.

Small bronze coins minted
only between 29 and 32 AD,

linking the artifacts
to the era

in which Jesus is believed
to have lived and died.

Jesus was believed
to be by most scholars,

to have been crucified
in either 30 or 33.

So the fact that this coin
is actually there

and it was in use
at the time.

That's I mean, that's
about as much evidence
as you could get

that the shroud
could be authentic.

You know, if I were
a betting man,

I'd bet every dollar
I ever had and ever will have
that it's authentic.

After all this new evidence,
many feel validated

that the shroud
is the real deal.

Has science really come
to the rescue of belief?

Well, not so fast.

Critics would argue
that the radiocarbon dating

undertaken in the 80s

was comprehensive
and accurate.

And even if the shroud
is genuine,

it raises
another question.

Is this what Jesus
even looked like?

Historical and archeological
evidence.

suggests that someone
from that region

at that time may
have looked
very different

from the image we've come
to associate with Christ.

After almost
a thousand years
of controversy,

perhaps the only thing
we can truly be certain of

is that the debate
between Holy Relic

or holy hoax,
is sure to continue.

Welcome to the trial
of the century.

The 19th century, that is.

It is 1969,

and that man on the stand
is fighting for his life.

Or actually, maybe afterlife
would be more appropriate.

He is William Mumler,

a photographer,
and his pictures
have captivated America

because he swears he's able
to photograph ghosts.

Today, the state of New York
is prosecuting him as a fraud.

But Mumler will vow
to the very end

that his photos are real.

So could he really
have been

the paparazzi
of the paranormal?

Well, in the 150 years since,

many have struggled

to replicate
his remarkable images.

Now, we can reveal
new insights

that explain
the true story

of William Mumler and his
photographic phantoms.

Our story really begins.
eight years earlier.

It's 1861,

and Mumler the owner
of a Boston based

engraving studio,

has dipped his toe
into family portraiture.

Taking pictures is not
the take it for granted.

Pull out
your smartphone

to capture every
moment that it is today.

In 1861,

photography is still
in its infancy.

The process of taking
a single photograph

is labor intensive,

often requiring the subject
to sit for several minutes.

While the plate or film
is exposed to light.

And in this case,
the subject
is Mumler himself.

Mumler poses
for a self-portrait.

And, as the story goes,

after developing
the plate,

he notices something
very strange.

Having been
all alone in the studio,

Mumler is amazed
to see there

sitting in a chair
next to him,

a young girl.

The chair visible

through her almost
transparent body.

According to Mumler,
he's confused.

He thinks he must have
made a mistake somehow.

He's just started
photography after all.

This isn't even
his studio.

It's his girlfriend's
Hannah Stuart.

But Hannah isn't confused.

She's fascinated
because Hannah deals
in the dead.

She's involved in a new
religious movement
called spiritualism

that believes the living
can interact with the dead.

So when Hannah sees
Mumler's photo,

She immediately knows
what she's looking at.

The girl in the chair
is a spirit.

Mumler looks
at it in shock.

Then realizes
something remarkable.

The girl does look a lot
like his long dead cousin

Through Hannah's contacts,

Mumler's photo
gets reprinted

in the popular spiritualist
publication Banner of Light.

And the community
embraces Mumler's photo

as the first picture
of a ghost ever captured.

Mumler vows that he can't
explain what's happening

and that he's
just as astonished
as everyone else

by this haunting photo.

Keep in mind
that in 1861,

the Civil War is in its
bloody beginnings.

Thousands of men
are dying,

which means many
passionately believe

there are thousands
of ghosts

that need contacting.

But can Mumler
capture additional spirits
in his photos?

And will these
same ghosts

end up haunting him
In the end.

[Josh] In 1861,

as the nation mourns
its losses in the Civil War.

Photographer
William Mumler

seems to capture
the ghost

of a deceased girl
with his camera.

He soon discovers
that this is a recurring
phenomenon,

and after sessions
with other customers,

the resulting photos,

continue to reveal
the spirit images,

of people's
dead relations.

Word of Mumler's
amazing ability

to connect with the dead
spreads like wildfire.

Suddenly there are lines
out the door

at Hannah Stuart's
little photography shop.

Mumler is able to replicate
his process again and again,

capturing so called spirits
for customer after customer.

With business booming,
Mumler charges

an outrageous
$10 per photo,

or about $350 today.

Mumler is becoming rich.

And as the most
famous spirit

photographer in the world,

it starts putting him
in touch

with higher
class customers.

As William Mumler's
business grows,

so does spiritualism,

the movement
that embraces him.

But spiritualism
does have its detractors.

Particularly Christianity.

Many Christians
are horrified

by who they view
as godless spiritualists.

And are determined
to prove

that men like Mumler
are frauds.

One person that tries
to debunk Mumler

is expert photographer
James Wallace Black.

But when Black arrives
at the studio to investigate,

Mumler is all too happy

to allow Black
to observe his process.

He has nothing to hide.

As he takes
Black's photograph,

he shows him
the plate.

And includes him
in every step
of the process.

[Black] So you're
using mercury

in your
development process?

[Mumler] Helps develop
the highlights.

And that's where
I find the ghosts.

[Josh] Upon developing
the photograph,

Mumler lets Black watch

as a translucent
figure appears
in all its ghostly glory.

Next to the
bewildered expert.

Even the people
trying to discredit him

be grudgingly
begin to admit

that he may be
the real deal.

All the while,
Mumler swears

that he has
nothing to hide.

He claims to simply
remove the lens cap

and expose the photo.

Having no other insight
into the miraculous results,

that appear on his
photographic plate.

But then Mumler starts
to take things further.

A visit to his studio
is no longer
just point and shoot.

It now also includes a seance
to summon the spirits.

At an extra cost
to his customers.

If a ghost shows up,
it may announce its presence

by rapping on a table,
wall or floor.

Sometimes the camera
levitates.

Or a table tips over
the customers
completely buy into it.

But the spiritualists
who supported him
start to turn on him.

Smelling a possible huckster.

Who makes their
whole movement seem fake.

Mumler doesn't care
if he's lost

the support
of the spiritualists.

Everyone's efforts
to prove that he's a fraud
has so far failed.

Plus, he's made
a pile of money.

But there is one problem.

Mumler is running out
of customers in Boston.

All the bad publicity
is taking its toll.

So William and his now
wife, Hannah Stuart Mumler,

leave Boston behind
and set up shop
in New York City.

And are immediately
the toast of the town.

[Stuart] Thank you so much
for coming, right this way.

[Josh] The hoi polloi
flood to the new studio,

and Mumler churns out
one ghost photograph
after another.

[Stuart] Okay. This could
take some time.

So you want to sit
very still and sit up?

[Josh] But Mumler's
prolific output attracts

the ire of New York's
mayor, Abraham Oakey.

whose political opponents
are mostly spiritualists.

Nothing would make
Oakey happier

than to reveal
the spiritualist community

as charlatans.

[Stuart] Sir,
we're ready for you.

[Josh] It's not long before
a sting is set up.

An NYPD Officer
J.H. Tooker

drops by Mumler's
studio undercover.

Mumler photographs
Tooker and claims

that the ghost
appearing next to him

is the policeman's
father in law.

Not recognizing
the apparition
as his father in law,

Tooker arrests
Mumler on the spot,

charging him with fraud.

Suddenly, Mumler's
entire life is at stake.

He's now accused
of being a fake

by the legal system
and facing prison.

Which brings us
to April 21st, 1869

when the trial begins.

The prosecution needs
to prove that the ghosts
in Mumler's photos

are entirely created
by the photographer.

But when Tooker
takes the stand,

he is forced to admit

that he never met
his father in law.

And so there is a possibility
that it's him.

The trial is a circus

and becomes more so
when the renowned
promoter of hoaxes,

P. T. Barnum,
testifies against Mumler.

But Barnum's
testimony falls apart

when he can't
definitively confirm
that Mumler's ghosts

are made using
fraudulent techniques.

Others testify against Mumler
also saying that he's a fraud,

but no one can prove
how he did it.

So the jury
finds him not guilty.

On May 5th, 1869

William Mumler walks free.

The city of New York
has not been able
to disprove

that he is a bona fide
photographer of ghosts.

But it isn't a complete
victory for Mumler,

as the trial has left him
in financial ruin

and his reputation
is destroyed.

He's forced to close up
his shop and return to Boston.

By 1879, Mumler stops taking
spirit photographs altogether.

Not long after
his wife leaves him,

and he dies in 1884,
destitute and alone.

So what's the truth
behind Mumler's methods?

Did he perpetrate
a massive fraud?

Or can the impossible
really be true?

Were the ghosts real?

Now some picture perfect
insights may explain it all.

[Josh] At the dawn
of photography,

William Mumler becomes
instantly famous

for photographing ghosts,

but no one was able
to explain how he did it.

Now, 150 years later,

historian Brandon Hodge,
who has studied

the spiritual
movement extensively,

believes he can explain
how Mumler

was able to pull this off
with his clients,

both emotionally
and practically.

[Brandon] Mumler was able
to fool the nation

because he engaged
in some subtle
sleight of hand.

And this was in a day and age
when communion with spirits

was thought to be
not only possible

but practical through
the spiritualist movement.

Mumler's photography
comes at a crucial time

when spiritualists
are seeking to claim

a sort of scientific
legitimacy.

And Mumler's results
are able to provide

what they think is
tangible evidence of that.

At a time when the nation
is already in deep

mourning with
the American Civil War,

And so this was just seen
as yet further proof

of the validity
of the spiritualist claims.

But even if Mumler
was fraudulently
taking advantage

of people's desperation
to believe,

It doesn't explain
how he tricked the masses,

including leading
photography experts.

James Wallace Black,
himself a famous photographer
in his own right.

He was unable
at the end to explain

how the image
had appeared on film.

While Mumler's
exact methods were never
conclusively proven.

During these long
exposure times,

one of Mumler's methods

may have been
pre exposure of the plate.

Where only brief
exposure of a subject,

possibly dressed
in a shroud or as a ghost

would be exposed
to the plate.

That plate would
then be set aside,

and when the next
subject arrived,

it would be inserted

And once the subjects sat

for several minutes
for their own exposure,

the end result
would show them

fully formed as well as
this ghostly image.

It's incredible
to think Mumler's talents

may have been less
spiritual, medium

and more street magician.

A street magician
taking advantage
of a grieving nation,

But is it fair to write off
Mumler so completely.

For instance,

consider this photograph,
which William Mumler
took in 1872.

For someone who gave
the name Mrs. Lindahl,

Mumler took her picture,

and it was only
after developing it.

That he realized
she had given a fake name.

Mrs. Lindahl was in fact,
Mary Todd Lincoln.

And if Mumler
really didn't know that,

how did this very
familiar figure

appear behind
the former first lady.

Chills anyone?

Whatever you may think
about Mumler's methods,

his work really
is haunting.

From photographs
from the beyond.

Our next case
file takes us

to a monument
that is beyond belief.

It is June 1979,

and I'm standing on five acres
of empty farmland.

outside of Elberton, Georgia.

A mystery man has just
bought this land for $5000.

He goes by
Robert C. Christian,

but that is not
his real name.

And he's not a farmer
or a rancher,
as you might expect,

No, he has much bigger

and stranger plans
for this land.

R.C. Christian
wants to build

America's Stonehenge,
right here.

A huge the granite monument,
with ten principles

for the future of humanity
carved into it.

The monument
will be built

and mystery and controversy
will surround it for decades.

And now
for the very first time,

we can reveal the secrets

of perhaps America's
strangest object,

the unsettling monument known
as The Georgia Guidestones.

On a late afternoon
in June 1979,

a well dressed
middle aged man

walks into the Elberton
granite finishing company.

With a strange request
for the company President

Joe Findlay.

He wants to build
a monument,

one that will
rival Stonehenge

but with significant
differences.

R.C. Christian
shows Findley

a scale model
of his monument.

He wants it to have messages
etched into the stones

to guide humanity
on everything
from human population

to government,
to the use of language.

The messages need
to be written in English,
Spanish, Russian, Chinese,

Arabic, Hebrew,
Hindi and Swahili.

The world's eight most
popular languages,

plus four dead ones.

Babylonian cuneiform,
Sanskrit,

classic Greek
and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

And like Stonehenge,
he also wants the monument

to be an astrological
calendar,

tracking the winter
and summer solstices

as well as marking
the equinoxes

and phases of the moon.

Findley, whose company deals
with wholesale orders

of granite for buildings
and tombstones,

has never had
a request like this,

and he never will again.

After listening
to R.C. Christian's plans,

he's convinced
the man is crazy.

So to get rid of him,
Findley quotes a price

of several hundred
thousand dollars.

Christian doesn't
bat an eye.

He just pulls out
his checkbook

and asks "Who do I
make it out to?"

But a check won't do,

and Christian
needs to set up

an escrow account
at the local bank.

But in order to do this,
the Granite City
Bank president, Wyatt Martin,

needs R.C. Christian
to give him his real name.

Christian agrees after he gets
a promise from Wyatt

to never reveal his identity.

Wyatt says
he'll take Christian's secret
to the grave.

Christian is now ready
to build his monument.

This structure will consist
of six huge pyramid blue
granite stones,

and will weigh 120 tons,

about the same
as 20 African elephants.

[elephants trumpeting]

R.C. Christian
has one last ominous request
for the builders.

The monument
needs to withstand
a cataclysmic event,

like a nuclear explosion.

[objects shattering]

After months of construction,
the guide stones are unveiled

to a crowd
of hundreds of people
and dozens of journalists.

But there is one person
that's noticeably missing.

The creator, R.C. Christian,
who seems to disappear
for good.

But this only adds
to the mystery
of the Guidestones.

What kind of man
spends hundreds

of thousands of dollars
building a monument

and then doesn't attend
its unveiling?

And while the huge stone
structure is impressive,

it's the ten guidelines
carved into the granite

that capture
the public's attention.

[man] "Maintain humanity
under 500,000,000 in perpetual
balance with nature.

Guide reproduction
wisely improving fitness
and diversity.

Be not a cancer on the earth.

Leave room for nature.

Leave room for nature."

A strange stone monument
covered with cryptic messages

written in 12 languages
standing in the middle
of nowhere.

I don't know about you,
but I have a few questions.

Like what is the purpose
of the Guidestones?

What exactly
do their messages mean?

And why were they erected here
of all places?

The one man with the answers
is nowhere to be found.

So it's up to investigators,
journalists and the public

to interpret the message
and find the meaning,

and they argue over it
for the next 40 years.

There are several
different interpretations

for the principles
carved in stone.

Some believe
the Guidestones are a plan
for rebuilding civilization

after a catastrophic event,
like nuclear war.

Or perhaps the ten principles
are a manifesto

to usher in
a new age of reason.

But some believe
that the stones showcase
a more sinister purpose.

The total control
of the world's population
by a select few.

The first line
of the Guidestones
makes a shocking decree.

"Maintain humanity
under 500,000,000

in perpetual balance
with nature."

In 1980,
the world's population

is already
around $4.5 billion.

To achieve the goal
of keeping humanity
under 500,000,000,

almost 90%
of the world's population
needs to disappear.

In other words,
a mass genocide
or extinction event.

The very next line,

"Guide reproduction wisely,

improving fitness
and diversity"
is equally troubling.

This sounds like an idea
known as eugenics.

A favorite of the Nazis

and considered
highly unethical
by modern society.

And there's
the sinister lines,

"Unite humanity
with a living new language,"

and "Let all nations
rule internally,

resolving external disputes
in a world court.

Avoid petty laws
and useless officials."

These seem to be promoting
some kind of unified
one-world government.

And this, if you believe
the conspiracy theorists,

is the very same goal
as fabled sinister
organizations

like the Illuminati.

For the conspiracy inclined,

the Guidestones aren't a plan
for a better life on Earth.

Its ten messages
are instructions

for instituting a terrifying
New World Order.

One that includes
eugenics, depopulation,

and a one-world government,

all in service
of a mysterious elite.

It's a decree
about the total domination
of humanity as we know it.

And it's right there,
chiseled in granite
for all to see.

And the messages
written on the Guidestones

seem to have
a literary source.

In 1986, a book titled
Common Sense Renewed

is sent to every member
of Congress.

It expounds on the evils
of overpopulation

and suggests that having
more than one child

should be a punishable crime.

The author
listed on the book...

You guessed it,
Robert Christian.

With such
a controversial creed,

it's not surprising
that the monument

becomes a magnet
for vandalism.

In 2008, someone spray paints

"Death to the New World Order"
on the granite stones.

And in 2014,
the FBI is even called in,

to look
at incomprehensible markings

scrawled on the monument.

On July 6, 2022,
just after 4:00 a.m.,

security cameras pick up
a shadowy figure
carrying a package

as they run
towards the monument.

[explosion]

Seconds later, an explosion
rocks the Guidestones,

The Shroud of Turin
may have been the first item

to bear the image
of a holy face,

but it certainly
wasn't the last.

Whether it's the "Nun Bun,"

a cinnamon roll
with an uncanny resemblance
to Mother Teresa,

or "Cheesus,"
a snack-sized Cheeto

that looks
like the son of God,

the Divine seems
to have a penchant
for unconventional canvases.

And while the legitimacy
of these objects is certainly
up for debate,

one thing is for sure,
they can be quite lucrative.

In 2004, a 10-year-old
frozen grilled cheese sandwich

that seemed to bear
the image of the Virgin Mary,

sold for a whopping
$28,000 on eBay.

-[gospel music playing]
-Whether these images
are divine intervention

or just wishful thinking,
remains to be seen.

But the next time
you're brunching at IHOP,

you might want
to take a good look
at those pancakes.

February, 2024...

The enigmatic monument known
as the Georgia Guidestones

is destroyed by an explosion.

And then,
hours after the explosion,

claiming the structure
is unstable,

authorities knock down
the Guidestones

and cart the remains away
to an undisclosed location.

It is a quick and violent end

for the granite structure
that stood for 42 years.

While the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation,

the ATF, and local police
all investigate the bombing,

no arrests are made,
and they won't be made.

Today, there are still
no suspects

in the
Guidestones' destruction.

But while
the destroyer of the stones
may remain a mystery,

it seems its creator
won't be much longer.

[explosion]

After the Georgia Guidestones
is destroyed by an explosion,

investigative journalist,
Van Smith,

publishes a story
on the Internet.

As I spent a lot of time, uh,

researching the monument,

I began to realize that
it was a much more serious

and, uh, troubling,
um, monument

than I had
originally expected.

[Gates] In his search
to find answers about
the Guidestone bomber,

he comes across
an obscure documentary film

on the history
of the Guidestones

called Dark Clouds
Over Elberton.

In this documentary,
they interview banker
Wyatt Martin,

the one man that knows
R.C. Christian's true identity

but refuses to reveal it.

But Van Smith
realizes something shocking
in the video.

The banker accidentally
gives a visual clue

that will lead
to the unmasking
of the monuments builder.

During the filming,
Wyatt shows the filmmakers

some corresponding
business letters

between himself
and R.C. Christian.

And on one of those letters,
there's a return address.

According to Lake,

the filmmakers,
armed with the address,

are able to track down
R.C. Christian

and reveal his identity.

So we discover
that the address

belongs to a medical doctor,
Herbert H. Kersten.

The doctor died in 2005,

which, uh,
corresponds to the last letter

that, uh,
Wyatt Martin received.

He was also
a compulsive writer of letters
to the editor,

and his writing style

and, uh, subjects
that he would write on,

were very similar
to what we see in
Common Sense Renewed.

[man] "America should now
begin to direct

the attention
of the world to solving
the fundamental problem

which threatens
to engulf all humanity.

The uncontrolled reproduction
of our species.

Rational planning
of human reproduction

is becoming
increasingly essential.

Contrary to
widespread opinion,

our nation
is now overpopulated."

Those editorials
hardly seem shocking

for someone
who seemingly chiseled

"Maintain humanity
under $500,000,000

in perpetual balance
with nature" into granite.

But if Dr. Kersten's views
were extreme,

just wait till you hear
those of some of his
so-called friends.

Herbert Kersten frequently
bragged about his friendship

with physicist
William Shockley,

who won the Nobel Prize
in 1956

for being one
of the co-inventors
of the transistors.

But Shockley went on
to infamy in the '70s

when he started endorsing
eugenics plans.

For instance,
one of the things
he wanted to do,

uh, was to pay people
who had IQ's under 100
to get sterilized.

If Kersten's friendship
with Shockley wasn't
bad enough,

we uncovered
a letter that he wrote
to a South Florida newspaper

where he was endorsing the,
uh, former, uh,

KKK grand wizard, David Duke,

considered America's
most well-known racist

and anti-Semite, according
to the Anti-Defamation League.

Dr. Kersten's friendship
with Shockley,

and his support of David Duke

is troubling.

Especially when you consider
what was written

on the face
of the Georgia Guidestones

and in the book
Common Sense Renewed.

These messages
of the Georgia Guidestones

about maintaining
global population
of under 500,000,000

and guiding
reproduction wisely...

That it's actually
a much more sinister message

and deciding
actually who will live
and who will die.

Were the Georgia Guidestones
some vast conspiracy?

Probably not.

They were likely just
one man's pet project.

Some build model railways,

others build
America's Stonehenge.

But if Dr. Herbert Kersten

was the creator
of the Georgia Guidestones,

then the stones themselves
are tainted

by some very disturbing ideas.

You could say they were
much more dangerous
than divine.

And let's not forget
our remaining mystery.

While we now
may know who created
the Georgia Guidestones,

we aren't any closer
to knowing who destroyed them.

[explosion]

But I guess they weren't made
to withstand nuclear war
after all.

I'm Josh Gates.
Until next time...

Travel adventurously.