All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S04E05.Tunnel.To.The.Underworld.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

(Theme music)

Tom ward (narrates): An
elaborate complex in Italy

that continues to mystify us.

This tunnel entrance
looks like something straight

out of 'lord of the rings'.

It takes you deep
under a mountain,

and it looks like
you're entering mordor.

A colossal structure on
the American west coast.

There's a real spooky feeling,

especially when the
mist is just hanging over it.

It's almost like a ghost
workforce has vanished from sight.

An island paradise
masking a history of violence.

Some of these drawings
are made in blood,

hinting at the
island's dark past.

And a ghostly town that fell
victim to the pace of change.

They look like something
out of a horror movie.

(Theme music)

Some are engineering marvels
now abandoned or ruins shrouded

in mystery,

but within each of
these decaying structures

are the echoes of history.

While some are
associated with dark times,

they are all reminders of
human ingenuity and endeavour.

Each haunting shell is
now ready to be unmasked

to tell its own unique story.

(Theme music)

At the base of a rugged
steep-sided gorge

in the mountain
state of West Virginia

is a strange eerie sight.

(Instrumental music)

The town itself is set, sort,
of deep within a, sort of,

risen gorge, and
so, in some ways,

it's kind of almost protected
by the rocks around it

and quite hidden.

Despite being so isolated, the
town has an oddly familiar feel.

You kind of feel like you're
walking into a movie set

from a late 19th century
early 20th century scene,

where maybe there should
be some poker dealers,

maybe a few
ladies of ill repute.

It really is as though
people were there yesterday

and now things have
stopped and they've moved on.

(Instrumental music)

A strip full of stores
flanking a railway line

seem almost completely intact.

At the base of
this narrow gorge,

you come across a strange sight,
a row of shops and businesses.

It has all the markings of a
town, but then it dawns on you,

"this place has been
completely deserted."

It's not like your
typical ghost town

where everything's
falling down or in ruins,

the buildings look like
someone could move in

and fix them up and
turn the lights back on.

(Eerie music)

Spooky interiors
reveal gold-lined walls,

elaborate flooring,

and there's a big hefty
safe with its doors open

as if it was raided
only yesterday.

Other buildings though
have fared less well.

When you go up on the hills,
you see these ruined old houses.

They look like something
out of a horror movie.

Yet the occasional
train still flashes past

and the clues suggest that
this was once a bustling town.

In the distance,
through the mist,

you can just about make
out a strange structure

protruding above the trees,

and that gives you a clue
as to why this town is here.

(Instrumental music)

Over 100 years ago,
this was a thriving town...

As Leah perkowski
of the new river gorge

national park explains.

The overwhelming
feeling for many is that

it is the end of nowhere,

when in truth, in
the early 1900s,

it was the beginning
of everywhere.

The chesapeake and
Ohio railway company

built a depot here in 1904.

The railway was the
only way to get in or out,

and just 2 years later,

there were 36 stops over 53
miles of track through the gorge.

And the busiest of them
was here, thurmond.

Thurmond was really
a transportation centre

as well as a social centre
for the new river gorge.

You know, there
were multiple stores,

avenues for entertainment,
and transportation.

It's hard to imagine now
but up to 20 passenger trains

once stopped here every day.

Their engines fuelled
by the mighty coal station

that still dominates
the town today.

In 1910 alone, the depot
served 76,000 passengers.

Local newspapers referred
to it as the biggest little town.

The boom years were
driven by black gold.

From the mid 19th century
to the mid 20th century,

the American economy
really ran on coal,

you had the steel industry,

you had coal-powered
trains travelling all over,

all that coal had to be mined,

and the new river gorge was
one of the best places to mine it.

Through the gorge,

seams of coal have been
exposed in the mountainside,

but this isn't just
any ordinary coal,

this is top quality
smokeless coal.

(Instrumental music)

Thurmond's trains enabled
this precious resource

to be swiftly moved
from the local mines

to customers across america.

The money began to pour in.

Once you built up a
lot of infrastructure,

then come the banks,
then come the people,

then come the hotels.

The banks here became
the wealthiest in the state.

Yet this was very
much a railway town

with a transient workforce,

which had a very specific
set of requirements.

You had all these
workers moving through,

you had all the support
staff for the mines,

so the town needed everything
that a major city would have,

it needed butchers shops
and stores and shoemakers

and they even had
a red-light district.

Wd thurmond, the
founder of the town,

ran most of it according
to his strict baptist beliefs,

which meant alcohol was banned.

Yet, to his dismay,

the hotels in the wider
community became famous

for drinking and
much more besides.

The most notorious of these
was located just across the river.

The dunglen hotel was
kind of the hub of everything.

And it was pretty
extravagant for the time period,

there were 3 stories, 100 rooms,
a lot of businessmen stayed there.

This was the social
core of the town,

where coal barons and
labourers alike partied hard.

A red-light district soon
developed round this colourful place.

Mining towns tend to
be pretty rough places.

You usually have
overwhelmingly male population,

and with the male population,

you have certain
needs and desires

that a separate underground
economy might grow up to satisfy.

The dunglen hotel developed
a notorious reputation.

Prostitution, gambling,
and supposedly,

it hosted the longest
poker game ever in history.

That was rumoured
to have lasted 14 years.

As the dunglen became
a nationally famous resort,

it flaunted the prohibition laws,
so police raids were common.

But in July 1930,
everything came to an end,

when the entire building
was burnt to a cinder.

The circumstances
were very suspicious.

In court, it was alleged
that the owner of a rival hotel

had plotted to burn
down the dunglen.

There's several theories
of why the hotel burned,

but really and
truly, it is a mystery.

In truth, thurmond had
been in decline long

before the infamous
hotel burnt to the ground.

It fell victim to a
combination of prohibition,

the rise of the automobile, and
the relentless pace of change.

Gradually, technology changed,

there were other
ways to mine coal,

strip mining began to replace the
kind of deep underground mining

that was done in
the new river gorge.

So, over time, the mines
began to shut down,

the economic high tide of
that era began to recede,

and with it, went the
fortunes of the town.

The railroad kept thurmond
alive into the 1950s,

before it suffered another blow.

This one was final.

What truly sealed the fate
for thurmond was the arrival

of the diesel engine.

Diesel engines didn't
need as much maintenance.

Thurmond was home

to a major repair
shop for the rail line.

When the steam engines went,

there was much less
reason for the railroads

to require service in
the town of thurmond.

This was a town built
around the steam engine,

but now, its many rail
yards and repair shops

were rendered obsolete.

With little of the
town left around them,

the railroad offices
finally closed in 1984.

Today, trains still rumble through
thurmond's haunting remains,

a poignant reminder
of its once bustling past.

Thurmond rode the boom

and bust of coal in
the United States,

the reasons that a
thriving town grew up

in this particular
time and place,

those change and,
with it, go the people.

On the west coast
of the United States,

just north of the city
of San Francisco,

lies a colossal structure
carved into the ground.

It's a long stadium like
structure sitting right next

to the water, and it is
enormous, this vast empty pit.

The entire structure slopes
away from you and steps,

like an inverted Mayan pyramid.

Whatever this was built for,
this was a serious operation.

The base of this vast place
offers us some possible clues.

It's clearly designed
to be a strong structure

but sort of towards the bottom,

it appears to be made out
of something quite different.

The last few steps,
they are crumbling away,

and it's just confusing
that they've changed

the materials in this way.

Why?

Why would you do that?

Why was this place abandoned?

Do those clues suggest
that it all eventually collapsed

under its own weight?

(Dramatic music)

The story of the site goes
back to the 19th century,

while the east coast of the usa
was well developed and defended,

the younger, newer west coast
cities were still vulnerable to attack.

As gold is discovered
in California,

it becomes more and more important
to project power to the west coast

in order to make sure

that nobody comes
along and takes it.

It must be defended.

Battles were being fought
against native Americans

in the north and
there were other wars

in Central America to the south.

Mare island was the obvious
site for the first naval station

on the west coast.

It was the completion of
this particular facility in 1891

that would power the
us into the next century,

as retired engineer
Bruce christensen explains.

This was definitely
the dawn of a new era

of the United States
Navy in the defence

of the United States of America.

It measured over 400 feet in length
and took almost 20 years to build.

This is mare island's
dry dock number one.

The construction of this huge
dry dock resulted in a new era

to allow ships larger than
had ever been allowed

before to dock and be
repaired and overhauled.

The dry dock immediately
proved its worth,

greatly enhancing the
defences of the us west coast.

But an unexpected event
soon threatened its future.

The main parts of the structure,

these big steps are made
of massive blocks of granite,

and all of that granite had
to be brought in by ship.

So, you can imagine,
this is a major undertaking.

Granite is heavy.

Whoever built this,

they weren't thinking
about saving money,

they were thinking about
building a structure that would last.

But the bottom few
steps tell a different story.

When you look at this
crumbling of the lowest levels,

you wonder, "was
it this disintegration

"that caused this place
to be abandoned?"

Two very different types
of building materials,

both of which are a big
part of the dry dock story.

In 1898, the mare
island dry dock

was given a severe
test by mother nature.

Testament to how good
and strong the structure

is that there was a big
earthquake that struck that island.

All the buildings
in the vicinity,

so around it, they collapsed.

But the structure itself
remained pretty much intact

with very little
damage whatsoever.

The fractured
lower steps, in fact,

reveal a later attempt
to adapt the site.

Other shipyards were
built that took the defences

on the west coast
to a whole new level.

But mare island was
in a class of its own,

something it proved during
world war I with the construction

of the USS 'ward'.

The USS 'ward' was a
wickes-class destroyer

named after James ward,

the first us Navy
officer to be killed

during the American civil war.

The urgent need for
destroyers during world war I

saw the 'ward' built in a
scarcely believable 17 days.

She was commissioned
on the 24 July, 1918.

This place set a
record in shipbuilding,

just 17 days to
construct a battleship.

That's just phenomenal.

After sliding down a
neighbouring shipbuilding ramp,

the USS 'ward' entered the
dry dock for some essential

finishing touches before
joining active service.

However, it was during world
war ii that both USS 'ward'

and the mare island dry dock

really wrote their names
into military folklore.

The 'ward' had been decommissioned
in 1921 but was recommissioned

and upgraded, ready
for battle, in 1941.

Both the dry dock and that
ship would soon make history.

The pacific starts to be a
place of danger for the us,

and in order to ensure that
the United States can defend

its pacific coast,

it needs facilities to support
a Navy on the pacific coast.

Tension between the usa
and Japan had been growing

for years and the diplomatic
efforts to ease them

had borne little fruit.

In December 1941,
after months of planning,

the Japanese made a
surprise pre-emptive attack,

aimed at destroying the
us fleet as part of their plans

for the conquest
of Southeast Asia.

There had been no
formal declaration of war.

The target for the
attack was Pearl harbour.

As Japanese forces
were preparing to attack,

the USS 'ward' identified
and hunted down

a lone two-man midget submarine.

USS 'ward' fired the first shots
for the Americans in world war ii.

She saw a Japanese
submarine in her sights

and ceased the opportunity.

And it's significant
that the first ship

to cause Japanese
casualties is a ship that's built

on the California coast in
mare island's own facility.

In terms of us history,

the attack on Pearl harbour was
one of the country's gravest moments,

but that first retaliation by
USS 'ward' would set the tone.

The Americans were gonna
come right back at the enemy.

The world war ii saw dry
dock number one really

come into its own.

Its ingenious design made light
work of getting damaged ships

in and ready for repair.

Well, firstly, we take
this dry dock and

we fill it with water through
the pumps at the far end.

Next, we bring it to the
level of the street out here.

With the water now
level on both sides

and the pressure balanced,

this end gate called a
Casen was moved out

to allow the damaged ship in.

Then the dry dock was
sealed back up and drained.

The ship was now ready to
be worked on and repaired.

In order for the
United States to keep

its Navy fighting in
the pacific theatre,

it had to be able
to rebuild warships,

and American ships that had been
chewed up by the Japanese Navy

needed to be brought
back to america and refitted

and sent back out to
fight the Japanese again.

It was all about
speed and efficiency.

It was vital.

This dock probably was key
in being able to keep the fleet

as operational as it was for
as long as it was during the war.

Having played a vital
role during two world wars,

mare island would next
play its part in the cold war.

And it's that which explains
those cracked bottom steps.

Mare island adapted
from being a place

where you would build or
repair surface ships into a place

where you would repair
submarines that would be shadowing

the Soviet Navy in the pacific.

To allow larger ships to dock,

the steps and the
long concrete section

at the end were added
to the original structure

in the late 1970s.

So, those layers that you see
and those bottom few steps,

those ones that
are now crumbling,

they were the tagged
on extension, so to speak.

Despite its crucial role
in the us cold war effort,

the site was finally deemed
surplus to requirements in 1993.

And from that moment,
while the granite stood strong,

the lower levels
began to crumble.

It's funny when you
look at the structure

that the most modern parts,
those concrete step extensions,

they're the ones that are
in the worst state of repair.

Ultimately, this dry
dock had been a vital part

of the defence of the west
coast for over a century.

Without this place,

the history books might
tell a very different story.

In the so-called fire fields
of Italy, on the bay of Naples,

is a site with a
supernatural feeling.

(Dramatic music)

In the shadow of mount
vesuvius, the destroyer of Pompeii,

a labyrinth of underground
tunnels continues to mystify.

This tunnel entrance
looks like something

straight out of
'lord of the rings'.

It takes you deep
under a mountain,

and it looks like
you're entering mordor.

A location like this
was surrounded

by a lot of myth and mystery.

Symbolically, it
certainly seems like

an entrance to the underworld.

The evidence suggests
that this tunnel complex

was deliberately filled in
and its secrets left buried

for thousands of years.

But new investigations
are unearthing clues

suggesting this was
some kind of ritual centre.

There's a kind of
feeling of showmanship,

this is not just an
access a to b tunnel.

This complex network
of caverns and tunnels

was so extensive that clearly

some incredible
engineering happened here.

This subterranean network
is somehow connected

to a grand complex
of ruins above.

(Birds chirp)

It was meticulously built
with a massive amount

of difficult engineering
of tunnels and waterways,

columns, frescos, mosaics.

Above ground, it
looks so palatial

that you couldn't help but wonder
what this was for or who it was for.

The site is associated with
some of the most famous names

in human history.

But why did they come here?

And what secrets are
held beneath the mountain?

Descending from the sister
volcano of mount vesuvius

is a strange tunnel.

The secrets contained
within the base

of the mountain remained
buried and hidden

for thousands of years
until a dramatic discovery

was made in the 1960s, as
caver graziano Ferrari explains.

In the 1960s,

you've got big local NATO base

and all sorts of people
are working there,

including a chap whose
hobby was archaeology,

and he found this site.

That amateur archaeologist
was Robert paget,

and he soon realised he'd
stumbled on to something

of real significance.

He read up about it and
then the next ten years

spent digging out these tunnels.

And in that ten years,

he came up with the
most incredible theories.

Paget became convinced
that the passage was part

of an elaborate ceremonial site.

Today, explorers are once
again delving into the mystery

and asking,

"could this be the site

"of the famed
oracle of the dead?"

Graziano Ferrari is descending
into an elaborate tunnel,

equipped with analysers to
monitor potentially lethal gases.

It looks ancient and
other worldly and at times

is extremely narrow,
barely shoulder width.

And you have to descend down
these ladders with gas analysers.

It's actually
really frightening.

Someone's put a
lot of work into this.

There are niches for
candles as you go down.

Not just enough to light the way but
enough to make a massive impact,

there's some serious
illumination going on here.

Paget now passionately believed
the tunnel's design confirmed

his theory that it was built
for the purposes of ritual.

It's also not straight forward.

As you go down into
this tunnel, very narrow,

you have to turn your shoulders,

it doesn't actually
lead you straight

to where you're
going, it's curved,

it snakes around a little bit.

As the tunnel enters
steeper gradients and curves,

there is a sense of the
theatrical to the journey.

The point of the journey is
partly in this kind of curve,

in this showmanship.

And then it's getting
hotter in there,

you can kind of feel
the volcanic activity,

you can feel that this is getting
into the depths of the earth,

and the smell is kind of
sulphurous but exciting.

The question is, where
does the tunnel lead?

The tunnel comes across
this small underground stream.

It's really a hot spring.

But in the mythology,

perhaps it was a representation
of the famous river styx

that the dead would have
to be transported across

on their way to the underworld.

This pool of hot water
was once a flowing river,

believed by some
to be the river styx.

In Greek mythology,

this was the border
between the world of the living

and the underworld
known as Hades.

Robert paget believed that
there was a landing stage

where boats pulled up to take
people across to the other side.

Above the pool however
is a filled in chamber,

a kind of hidden sanctuary.

This led paget to conclude
that the whole design

of this cavernous system
was supposed to mimic

a visit to the underworld.

(Eerie music)

He was convinced
that he'd stumbled upon

the so-called
oracle of the dead.

In both the Greek
and the Roman eras,

people believed that in
certain locations like this,

there was a special type
of a priestess, an oracle,

who could tell your future.

People would descend
to the sweltering depths

to hear prophecies
and have their futures

told by the priestess.

Historians believe that
they may have solved

some of the mysteries
surrounding the oracles.

Today, there is a theory
that many of these oracles

were actually in
locations where, in fact,

there were fumes coming
out of the earth that would lead

any person to begin to hallucinate
or have out-of-body experiences.

And the priestesses of the
area kind of played on that.

And if they were using
the sulphurous fumes

and the sheer theatre
of the experience,

then perhaps I
would fall for it today,

just as people did
2000 years ago.

Some of the tunnels and huge
rooms still remain a mystery to this day.

But others provide some
clues about the connection

with the ruined site above.

But for current
investigator, graziano,

the subterranean tunnel served
a purely functional purpose.

This was, in modern
terms, a steam room,

part of a wider complex
designed to exploit the geology

of the region.

The whole complex was
engineered to let visitors

take advantage of
all this volcanic heat

and hot water.

There were steam
rooms, there were hot tubs,

there were also cold
pools, all of them connected,

all of them clearly part of
some kind of health-giving ritual.

This is baia archaeological
park, once a Roman spa town.

(Instrumental music)

The whole complex
was a luxurious resort

for the Roman elite.

You had beautiful mosaics
along the walkways,

frescos painted on the walls.

An enormous amount
of work and artistry

went into building this complex.

Chambers and tanks
interconnected with tunnels

and underground steam channels
complete with waterproof lining

created a complex
hydraulic system.

Domes such as
the temple of Diana,

which is older than
the pantheon in Rome,

functioned as cold baths.

Other features include sunning rooms
and swimming pools on the terraces,

complete with dramatic
views across the bay.

Baia became notorious
for that hedonistic lifestyle.

It really became an area
of scandalous immorality.

We know from the
records that Caesar

and Cicero frequently
visited there.

I mean, it was a playground
for the rich and famous.

So, how and why
did this extraordinary

and famous resort
come to be abandoned?

Ultimately, it was
all down to geology.

The reason this site is here

is because of the
thermal seismic activity.

That was a big
part of its downfall.

One day, it all went
too far and parts

of the resort started
to slip underwater.

And when that happened,
the writing was on the wall.

Today, this remarkable
site is open to the public,

yet it remains largely
unknown to tourists.

Meanwhile, investigators,
such as graziano,

continue to delve into
the mysteries still held

in this unique complex.

This is over 2000 years
old and yet you can imagine

people coming here for
that luxury experience.

The joy of the archaeology
here is immense and the stories

behind it, well, they could
have happened yesterday.

In the Gulf of nicoya,

off Costa Rica's pacific coast

is what appears to be
an isolated paradise.

It's an island encircled by
palm trees and Sandy beaches.

This island is
full of natural life

and surrounded
by tropical waters.

At first glance, it looks
like some kind of paradise,

but it hides a dark
and cruel history.

Today, Costa Rica is a
popular holiday destination

for Americans.

This place, however, couldn't
be further from that image.

It has a haunted
and desolate feel to it.

(Instrumental music)

On the approach to the island,

a rickety old pier leads
into a maze of structures,

roots and vines wrap
themselves around

ruin remains,

plants and trees emerge
from roofless buildings.

The walls of these structures
are covered in writing and graffiti,

but it's not your typical
drawings and graffiti.

These paintings depict life

and tell stories of
severe pain and anger.

On closer inspection,

it appears that some
of these drawings

have been written in blood.

So, why is there
blood on the walls?

What darkness fell over
this apparent paradise?

(Birds chirp)

The island has been
used for centuries,

going back to a
time when Costa Rica

was part of the Spanish empire.

Isla San Lucas is
an infamous island.

It's been used as a
prison for centuries,

going right back to the
Spanish conquistadors

who used it as a
detention centre

for local tribes in
the 16th century.

But the remnants of metal
bars and the thick security doors

suggest this site has
been used more recently.

In 1871, president Tomas
guardia created a constitution

for the newly independent
nation of Costa Rica.

While he abolished
the death penalty,

he also chose this location
for a new penitentiary.

And for prisoners here,
life was very grim indeed.

This is Isla San Lucas prison.

This became a prison
for some of Costa Rica's

most notorious criminals,
thieves, murderers, hit men,

you name it, they were here.

(Instrumental music)

It was certainly not a
place for the faint-hearted.

Prisoners fought
amongst themselves,

not just with their fists but
with self-made machetes.

As former inmate
eloy solorzano recalls.

I was in a machete fight
with some prison inmates.

Thank god I'm
alive to tell this story.

These things I experienced, I
hope to god never to live again.

Atrocities were
common place here,

and overcrowding was rife.

You had as many as 70
prisoners kept in a single cell.

Adolescents as young as
14 years old were incarcerated

and placed in this environment
of disease and murder.

And to be sentenced here
was considered by many

to be a death sentence.

Inside the crumbling cells,
graffiti covers every wall.

The art and graffiti
on the cell walls

give a fascinating insight

to what the prisoners
were going through.

They clearly depict the
life of suffering, pain, hatred,

and loneliness, as well
as highly sexual content.

A horrific rumour
has recently surfaced

about the suspicious
fading red colour

of some of the graffiti.

Some were allegedly painted
with the blood of a nurse

who was murdered
inside the prison.

It wasn't just the inmates
who made the prison notorious.

The brutal prison
guards too were infamous.

Barbarous methods including torture
were used to control the inmates.

One punishment
was particularly cruel.

Here in San Lucas, before
human rights came in,

you, for any reason,
could be put in la plancher.

One common punishment was
placing prisoners in a dungeon

full of raw sewage

and leaving them
there for days on end.

It was a penitence to be there.

There were bugs.

It was something subhuman.

I wouldn't wish
this for anybody.

Atrocities here
were commonplace.

You had up to 70 prisoners
kept in a single cell.

You had adolescents as young
as 14 sent into this environment

full of violence and disease.

These ruthless methods were used

by a particularly notorious
police squad based at the prison.

There was a police squad
here called los cocobolos.

Now, if you were a prisoner,

these were guys you wanted
to keep on the right side of.

They were good at
hitting us with sticks.

That was a really bad part.

You try to get along with them
to have a better coexistence.

Little wonder that
escape was never far

from the minds of inmates.

Some inmates would
throw themselves

into the water trying to escape.

But was it possible to
escape from Isla San Lucas?

And what was it that
finally led to its closure?

To escape from
here was no easy feat.

Even if you could get out of
the complex into the water,

you were gonna find sharks
and a long dangerous swim.

Isolated on this
tropical island,

they'd never have
stood a chance.

Many didn't even
make it to the water.

And from where they were caught

within the perimeter of the island,
they were brought to the dungeons,

hitting them without stopping.

There was never any chance
of the perpetrators facing justice.

Here on this island,

there are bodies buried

and no-one knows
who killed that person.

However, there are
prisoners buried here,

and their bodies never
appeared drowned or anything.

Shocking institutional torture,
bodies disappearing without trace,

surely enough on their
own to close the prison down.

But perhaps they
weren't the only reasons.

A lot of people were saying
that San Lucas was shut

because of inhumane treatment.

This is not necessarily true.

Some claim the island was set
to be turned into a tourist resort,

complete with hotels,
casinos, and an airstrip.

If true, that plan has
never materialised,

but the prison has been
closed and abandoned.

And the future for Isla San
Lucas looks altogether brighter.

(Instrumental music)

Today, the island is part of
the national wildlife preserve,

with tourists visiting
the island daily to enjoy

both the ruins and
the stunning nature.

And now, it feels much more like

the Costa Rica that holidaymakers
have come to know and love.

(Dramatic music)

Now, they lie abandoned,

but once they were the
cutting-edge of engineering.

There are echoes of history
within these decaying structures

that remind us of terror and
war but also of great innovation

and human endeavour.

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