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Tom ward (narrates): A
decaying facility in america,
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first designed to
tame the wild west.
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00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,400
There are a lot of strange
contraptions in here.
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00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,080
I've seen prisons, I've
seen torture chambers,
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00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:14,680
and this reminds
me a little bit of both.
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00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:20,400
A stately home in Scotland once
embroiled in an audacious plot.
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Just kind of walking around
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you are always in danger of
stepping on a rotted plank or something
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and plunging to your death.
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A subterranean maze in liverpool
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with mysterious origins.
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00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,160
It really feels like a labyrinth
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you know like one of those dreams
that you just keep running down,
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there is another corridor
and another corridor
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and you never
get to the end of it.
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And a resort on the
shores of the dead sea
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collapsing into the abyss.
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When it opened up it just
caved in, we have got many more,
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they are all over the place.
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Decaying relics.
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Ruins of lost worlds.
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Sites haunted by the past.
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Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.
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Near loch lomond is the setting
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for one of the strangest
stories of world war ii.
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What makes this
castle so bewitching
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is how it is almost merged
with nature over the years.
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It's been basically encroached
upon by the surrounding woods.
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Just to get to it,
you've got to climb
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over a barbed wire fence
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and fight your way
through thorny bushes.
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Trespassers have been
beguiled by the castle ruin
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00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:08,960
but it's a place of
hidden dangers.
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This is a grand place
and it's been consumed
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by this jungle of a forest,
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it's a bit like a
fairy tale in there,
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it's all rather beautiful.
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But don't let that
beauty fool you,
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this is place is derelict
and seriously dangerous.
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There is falling stone
from walls in all directions
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and that's just the
danger that is above you.
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Below you can see
these holes in the floor
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and in some parts its
caved in completely.
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Elsewhere layers of dirt
obscure lethal cassems
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a side effect of being
opened to the elements.
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Most places you
stand in the building,
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you can see the sky,
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there are three or
four floors above you,
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but they are just gone.
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00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:01,576
And one of the
most striking features
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00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:02,720
is as you walk in there
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is this massive beam
presumably from the roof,
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00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,640
that has just toppled
down into the interior,
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into the keep of this castle
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and it's just kind of
stuck in the ground.
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An historic castle on
the edge of collapse,
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00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,560
still standing
to tell its story.
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00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,920
Today access to the castle
ruin is strictly forbidden.
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00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,920
But 80 years ago it was a safe
haven for hundreds of people.
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00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:37,840
During the second world war
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this was used as
a military hospital
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00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:41,800
but the building is
much older than that.
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00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:45,880
John carruthers preserves
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the history of the
loch lomond region.
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With special permission
this is the first time
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he has been allowed
inside the grounds.
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One fireplace, two fire places,
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looks like a spiral stair
a door come in up there.
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00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,200
It must have been a
grand place in its day.
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00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:07,520
Such a shambles now.
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00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,400
It has these beautiful
almost gothic stone walls
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00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:13,840
and spiral staircases...
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00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:16,440
And scattered on the floor
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00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:18,960
are these victorian
looking metal brackets
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00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,960
that were once used
for holding up the ceiling.
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00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:24,400
Just looking at
the cast iron beams
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which have not yet broken
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00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,760
obviously supported
the upper floors.
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00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,840
Imagine getting these
heavy beams into this place.
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Quite immense.
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00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,680
Then we find the
old entrance room,
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it's a huge space
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with a beautiful
grand fireplace,
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this wasn't only built as
a place for sick people.
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This is Buchanan castle.
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It's a name that
reverberates in local folk lore
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because Buchanan is the name
of one of Scotland's proud clans.
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The clans were very important,
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north of the central belt
they really ruled the roost.
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00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,720
Clans themselves
were more like tribes
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00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,400
and to be a member of a
clan like the Buchanan clan
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you could be buchannan by blood
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or you could be Buchanan
by alliance and affiliation.
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The clan chiefs were
defector kings of their lands.
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And they built these
castles to rule from.
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Here we have basements
or cellars I'm not sure.
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Massive, massive under building.
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Maybe that's where
they kept their wine.
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00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:54,120
The buchannan's have a
very active history in Scotland
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dating back to the 1400s
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when they make a very
risky move to ally the French
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against the English,
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00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:03,000
which you know
was fraught with peril
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00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,720
because the English
were closer to hand,
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they had bigger armies
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00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,120
they were always
agitating on the frontier
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00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,200
so this could have meant
disaster for the Buchanan clan.
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But it wasn't the English
who left this place in ruin.
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00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,520
Well, buchannan's had
been the dominant family,
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ruled the roost round
here for oh what 700 years?
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00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:31,480
And in the early 1600s,
they fell upon hard times.
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But in addition to
that the 22nd laird
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failed to produce a male heir,
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and the combination
of these effects
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was that the estate
was put on the market.
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The Buchanan dynasty was over,
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and their family home
would share its fate.
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A neighbouring clan
purchased the land
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and built the castle that
barely stands to this day.
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00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,040
It must have been a
wonderful place in its day,
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I'm sure the grace
and the good use of...
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00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:09,720
Buchanan castle
from time to time,
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00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:11,760
weekend parties
and all the rest of it.
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00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,560
The new castle became
a house of leisure
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00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:18,600
but when the second
world war broke out,
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it was repurposed
as a military hospital.
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And on one evening in 1941,
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a doctor serving there
received an unusual patient.
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On may 12th, doctor j
Gibson Graham was stationed
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00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:35,720
at Buchanan castle
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00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,560
now called the
drymen military hospital.
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A pilot was brought to him
going by the name of Alfred horne
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who had injured himself
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when bailing out of his
aircraft over a wheat field.
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00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,320
The doctor noted in his memoir
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that his patient was a
sallow man of good physique
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and he spoke good English.
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He had a commanding presence,
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00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:02,880
and clearly regarded
himself is an important person
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00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:07,080
and expected to
be treated likewise.
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00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,080
But something about this
German pilot didn't add up.
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00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,640
In the course of his early time
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in the military
hospital in the ward,
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there were suspicions
amongst his fellow patients,
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that he wasn't just a simple...
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00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:28,040
There was more to
this than met the eye.
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After his injuries were seen to
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horne was taken for questioning
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there he revealed
his true identity...
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00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:43,600
His name was Rudolph
Walter Richard hess,
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once second in
command of the third reich.
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Hess joined the Nazi
party very early on
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and formed a close friendship
with a young Adolf Hitler.
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Some people have called
him Hitlers most loyal follower.
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00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,720
But after the Nazis
came to power,
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hess' influence on the
fuhrer had diminished.
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00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:13,000
He was a very weak man
and he was being pushed out
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00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,160
by more aggressive
Nazis like gehring
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like himmler like boorman
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and so it's been speculated
that he flew to Scotland
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basically to try to
win favour with Hitler.
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Hess' plan was to meet
someone who had influence
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over the British prime minster
and broker a peace deal.
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He was looking for
the Duke of Hamilton.
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He's met the Duke of Hamilton
in receptions in the past,
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but as it turns out
the Duke of Hamilton
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has no interest in
helping Rudolph hess,
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when informed of this plan
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he doesn't want to
get his hands dirty,
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refuses to be helpful.
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This was a huge blow to hess,
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he had come all this
way, risked his life,
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disobeyed his fuhrer
only to be given
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the cold shoulder by the Duke.
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00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,160
With or without
the help of the Duke
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word reached Churchill
that hess was in britain
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but his offer for
peace was ignored.
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Churchill says
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I don't want to hear
from Rudolph hess
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00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:14,760
that would look bad,
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I have committed to
fighting these people
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on the beaches on
the landing grounds
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never surrendering,
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why do I want to negotiate
with this sort of fallen Nazi.
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Hess' plan had failed.
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00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:29,920
At the end of the
day the doctor thought
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00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:34,120
that hess was not
a military prisoner
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he was a man with
medical problems,
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he certainly had a
distorted image of reality
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thinking that he
could bring britain
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to the negotiating
table with himself
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just on his own
without any back up.
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When the mission
is revealed to Hitler
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he is aghast, ashamed, baffled,
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and tries to cover it
up as long as possible
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00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:00,080
but the British
advertise the news
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00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:01,520
and so predictably
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00:11:01,560 --> 00:11:03,480
doctor Joseph girbals
the head of Nazi
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00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:04,560
propaganda comes out
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00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,760
and totally disowns
hess, says he's crazy,
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00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:09,560
says we have no idea
how this happened.
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00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,600
With his mission of failure
and his career in ruin,
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00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:19,560
the disgraced Rudolf hess
could only confide in one friend.
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00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,360
Hess told the doctor
a fair bit about his life,
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00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,640
his private life, his
upbringing etcetera,
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00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:30,040
I think that the doctor
began to become
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00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,480
sympathetic perhaps,
not quite the right word,
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00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,080
but at least
understanding of hess
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00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,720
and a reasonably close
relationship was actually formed.
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00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,280
So, on may 17th, hess
and doctor Gibson Graham
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00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:45,640
left Buchanan house
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00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:49,200
and started a new journey
to the tower of London.
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00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:57,160
Rudolf hess spent the
rest of his life in prison,
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00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,240
after the war drymen
military hospital
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00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:05,160
was decommissioned and
the castle fell into disrepair.
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00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:08,440
It was abandoned after the war,
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00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:12,680
well the war office
had it till 1948
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00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,360
and then it was in limbo
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00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:20,880
and 1954 they took the roof
off to avoid paying property tax.
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00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,240
Now, all that's left
of Buchanan castle
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00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,280
is an empty shell
waiting to collapse.
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00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:39,320
Set back from the
shores of the dead sea,
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00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,720
decaying structures
create a chilling scene.
224
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,640
This place looks like
the set of disaster movie.
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00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:52,760
The roads and
Bridges are falling down,
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00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:57,600
you see the carcasses of buildings,
dead trees, empty swimming pools.
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00:12:57,640 --> 00:12:59,720
There's empty abandoned shops,
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00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,280
roads with holes in
them that look like craters
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00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:04,320
from ids or bombs,
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00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,320
everything is just
falling apart here.
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00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:11,120
There are security
fences warning signs,
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00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,960
whole areas of the
town which are off limits.
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00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:17,680
Has this site
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00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,800
in the famously troubled
occupied west bank
235
00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:22,560
been caught up in conflict?
236
00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,440
It becomes apparent the craters
extend well beyond the roadside.
237
00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:33,560
There are huge
craters in the ground,
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00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,640
some of them even in
the middle of the beach.
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00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:40,040
Your first instinct is to think
these must be manmade,
240
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:41,440
they are so regular.
241
00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:45,240
But the warning signs and fences
242
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,240
clearly indicate that
the danger isn't over.
243
00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:55,480
To go beyond those fences
would be like entering a mine field,
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00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:58,320
you just don't know what
you will be stepping onto.
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00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,560
This whole area is in the
grip of some powerful forces
246
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:04,080
but what are they?
247
00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,920
Despite the obvious dangers
248
00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:18,880
and eerie quiet these empty
remains were built for crowds of people.
249
00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,160
You can clearly see
the logistics of this place
250
00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:25,400
were set up for tourism.
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00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,640
There's restaurants,
pools, bars,
252
00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,120
everything you would want
at a nice seaside resort.
253
00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,800
We have no electricity today
so the fences are closed,
254
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,440
and we will have to go
around the reception area
255
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,600
to go into the
beach and pool area,
256
00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,480
so why don't you follow
me and we will go in.
257
00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,960
Dr Arthur trotsky is part owner
of the mineral beach resort
258
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:50,800
in the occupied west bank.
259
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,280
This is what's
left of the office.
260
00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:58,800
This used to be a beautiful
modern air conditioned office.
261
00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,400
Ok, let's take a look over
here you will see the restaurant.
262
00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,040
This was an amphitheatre,
263
00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,800
and we used to have musical
performances on the stage,
264
00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,240
they would actually have
the whole theatre filled up
265
00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:20,680
and chairs and way up there,
266
00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,400
it was quite beautiful
in the evenings,
267
00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:28,200
dead sea, stars, the
wind, breeze, beautiful.
268
00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,120
But the empty and
disintegrating structures
269
00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,160
aren't the only thing
that is wrong here
270
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,160
they appear to be set back
hundreds of metres from the beach.
271
00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,520
Ok this was the water line,
272
00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,600
right under this bridge here
this was the lifeguard tower,
273
00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:53,600
and these umbrellas
right on the beach
274
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,320
that's how high the water was.
275
00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,680
The water line has
dropped so much
276
00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:03,000
that some resort owners
physically moved infrastructure
277
00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:04,960
to try and stay
close to the water.
278
00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,800
These drop in water levels
kicked off a chain reaction.
279
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,320
Nobody saw coming.
280
00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,040
December 29th, 2014.
281
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,520
Arthur was relaxing
at mineral beach
282
00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:25,800
when the peace was
suddenly shattered.
283
00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,880
I was sitting in the cafe,
I head this loud crash,
284
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,440
so I ran out here and I
saw this huge sink hole.
285
00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,400
Faced with the drop in
water level for many years
286
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,960
now this new phenomenon
was threatening the resort.
287
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:50,240
You see this in the
middle of the parking lot
288
00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,520
and we've got many
more over there
289
00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,480
the massage rooms
went down into sink holes,
290
00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,360
the beach had sink holes,
they are all over the place.
291
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:03,960
The receding water line
and sink holes are connected
292
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,720
but the root cause of both phenomena
is neither simple nor obvious.
293
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,120
The fast drop in
water level alone
294
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,960
isn't why these
places are abandoned,
295
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,520
but it is part of the story.
296
00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:22,120
South of mineral
beach in Israel,
297
00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:27,160
this entire area is out of
bounds to all but a few experts.
298
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,640
From here on you
must follow me exactly
299
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,640
to walk on my footprints, ok.
300
00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:35,880
Because there are
a lot of hazards here.
301
00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,600
And that's why you
must follow me ok?
302
00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,080
Around 400 new sink holes
appear along the shores
303
00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,000
of the dead sea each year.
304
00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:55,000
It's happened to me
305
00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:57,880
to find myself in the
bottom of a sink hole
306
00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:01,560
covered by a pile of
avalanche above me.
307
00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,200
Eli raz is a geologist
308
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:06,320
and has spent decades
309
00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:08,800
studying the causes
of these collapses.
310
00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,920
In the variation for the
sink holes appearance
311
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,120
the drop in the
level of the dead sea,
312
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,520
which was a made man problem,
313
00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:23,720
now beneath there is a
subterranean salt layer.
314
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,960
The problem here lies
with this layer of salt
315
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,360
and it's a bi-product
316
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,720
of the dead sea's
remarkable geology.
317
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,480
This is a rift valley similar
to death valley in the us
318
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:38,640
or the great rift
valley in Africa.
319
00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,640
It's a place where tectonic
plates are pulling apart
320
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:46,280
and the earth is dropping away, in
some cases even below sea level.
321
00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:49,680
This is the lowest place
you can stand on earth
322
00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:54,280
and yet under water it goes
down another thousand feet.
323
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,720
Gravity then does the rest.
324
00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,080
All the water that flows in here
325
00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:02,560
carries with it some
minerals and salts
326
00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,040
that its picked up as its tricked
through the rocks and deserts.
327
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,240
But then the sun beats
down on the water,
328
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:13,320
the water starts to evaporate,
the minerals and salts stay behind.
329
00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:15,720
That's the reason
the ocean is salty,
330
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,120
things flow into it
but they can't flow out,
331
00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,720
but this dead sea is ten
times as salty as the oceans.
332
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,760
But the sink holes are a
relatively new phenomenon
333
00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,400
so why is this high salt
content and dropping water level
334
00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,080
only recently become
so dangerous?
335
00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,480
As long as the dead sea
water was high enough
336
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:44,200
they penetrated to the area
and protected the salt layer.
337
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:47,360
The problem for the dead sea
338
00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:50,240
is it that it depends
on a source of water
339
00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,560
and that main source of
water is the river Jordan.
340
00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,600
All along the way water
is being taken out for,
341
00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:58,800
for drinking water, for farming,
342
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,640
farms in Jordan, farms in Israel
and the occupied west bank.
343
00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,800
The Jordan river is blocked now
there are dams on the Jordan river
344
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:08,760
and other tributaries
345
00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,400
and water continuously
evaporating
346
00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,880
but there is no water
coming anymore.
347
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,440
So, now instead of having the
water in some kind of balance,
348
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,480
we have more water
evaporating every year
349
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:26,040
than is coming in and
the difference is dramatic.
350
00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:30,000
The dead sea is sinking at a
rate of almost a metre a year.
351
00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,880
As the sea water disappears
ground water takes its place,
352
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:38,760
this has a devastating impact
353
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:41,000
on the layer of salt
under the ground.
354
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:44,880
When the dead sea level is high
355
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,680
that stops fresh ground water
getting to this layer of salt,
356
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,520
but when the levels of
the dead sea receded
357
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,680
this fresh water could
now get to the salt
358
00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:58,720
and cause it to dissolve
359
00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:02,600
as it dissolved it left
huge hollows in the ground
360
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,560
and it was only a matter of time
361
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,720
before the ground
above would collapse.
362
00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:12,200
The first sink hole
363
00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:17,520
that I saw appear in 1981.
364
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:22,200
But since then the rate
of sink holes appearance
365
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,080
accelerated very much
366
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:27,440
there is no other
place upon the earth
367
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:31,400
where this formation
of sink holes is so rapid.
368
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,800
They have almost
cost Eli his life.
369
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,840
But the real cost has
come to the tourist industry.
370
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:46,320
The most remarkable damage
is the damage to tourism.
371
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,120
The dead sea brought
here a lot of tourists
372
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:56,320
and now they are prevented,
they cannot access the seashore.
373
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:05,880
Ironically it is the very salt that
causes sink holes to open up
374
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,520
that will also save the dead
sea from drying up entirely.
375
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:13,200
What's interesting here
376
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,960
is the dead sea won't
ever disappear completely
377
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:22,640
because as the level gets lower
the salt concentration gets higher
378
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:26,320
and so the water becomes
less likely to evaporate.
379
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:33,560
But the damage has already been
done to people's homes and livelihoods.
380
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:44,640
Hidden in the city of liverpool
is a true engineering mystery.
381
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,560
This is one of the iconic
cities of the world, liverpool.
382
00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,960
A completely
urbanised built up area,
383
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,680
it would be really surprised
at what you can find
384
00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:02,800
under your seat.
385
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,880
Just off the centre of
liverpool is this facade
386
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:09,336
that is still standing
that is missing
387
00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:10,480
the rest of its building.
388
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,280
This facade is the gateway
to an underground maze
389
00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:17,640
where things don't
seem to add up.
390
00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,480
These are very complex
convoluted passages,
391
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,280
it really feels like a labyrinth
you know like one of those dreams
392
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:28,576
that you just keep running down,
393
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:30,176
there is another corridor
and another corridor
394
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,040
and you never
get to the end of it.
395
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,280
When you look up and you
see these ornate structures,
396
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,040
there's brickwork that
has been finely designed,
397
00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:40,200
there's arches,
398
00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:43,800
there is something quite
grandiose about these,
399
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,640
even though it seems
dark and dingy at first look.
400
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,120
The dirt and rubble
lays in contrast
401
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,480
to the elaborate architecture,
402
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:54,360
but artefacts uncovered here
403
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:58,160
begin to reveal the
tunnels surprising past.
404
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:00,040
There is a whole
collection of trinkets
405
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,320
that have been found down here
that date back over a hundred years.
406
00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,120
Bits of China, bottles,
407
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,480
all these signs of a
life that was once lived.
408
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:13,000
A subterranean network
undisturbed for over a century,
409
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,440
a time capsule on a grand scale.
410
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,360
This is one of the
best kept secrets
411
00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:19,520
in britain really,
412
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,560
I actually studied in this
town and knew nothing about it
413
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:23,920
in the late '90s,
414
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,320
it's a secret that was kept
for over a hundred years.
415
00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:35,920
By the 1800s,
416
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,320
international trade had
put liverpool on the map.
417
00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:41,520
But not everyone
here was prospering.
418
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,160
Liverpool is rapidly expanding
419
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,160
and is one of england's
largest port cities.
420
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:50,360
It's very bourgeois,
business is booming,
421
00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:52,680
and the population is expanding.
422
00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,880
Edgehill was one of the
poorest of these areas
423
00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,800
but it had at least one resident
424
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:00,640
that was doing well for himself
425
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:02,440
and his name was
Joseph Williamson.
426
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,040
Joseph Williamson
came to liverpool
427
00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,360
when he was 11
to make his fortune.
428
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,360
Joseph Williamson had worked
his way up the business ladder,
429
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,720
largely to the tobacco trade
430
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,560
and by 1803 he was
a very wealthy man.
431
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,080
He saw the poverty
and suffering of edgehill
432
00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:28,240
and he decided to
do something about it.
433
00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:35,720
Tom stapleton is part of a group
434
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,120
who have been unravelling
the history of these tunnels
435
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:39,800
for over 20 years.
436
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,960
Williamson appears to have
437
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,400
perhaps become a
philanthropist by default,
438
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,160
he was always happy
to give a man a day's pay
439
00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:53,520
after they had done a day's work
440
00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,360
but he would not give handouts,
441
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,320
he was not in the business
of hand outs to charity.
442
00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,016
So, one of the early theories
443
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:02,600
about how these
tunnels came to be
444
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:05,800
was that he wanted to give
people the chance to work
445
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,320
for that money not a freebie.
446
00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:11,280
And so he paid
people hands on labour
447
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:12,960
to come and make these tunnels.
448
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:18,360
Stories of Williamson's
philanthropy
449
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:19,440
are legendary.
450
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:23,240
But some think this was a
cover to hide the real purpose
451
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:24,960
of his underground chambers.
452
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,280
During Williamson's time,
453
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,040
liverpool was a hot bed
of Christian sectarianism
454
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:34,360
and even extremism.
455
00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,840
While religious unrest
swept liverpool's streets,
456
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,720
Williamson himself a
protestant continued digging.
457
00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,600
What's strange about
these excavations though
458
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,320
is that they are not in
some remote location,
459
00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:54,080
the tunnels all lead directly
to Williamson's house.
460
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,920
We are now in
what we are calling
461
00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:04,120
a sunken back yard at the
back of Williamson's house
462
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,160
and through this bay
window here we are looking
463
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:12,720
into a very large kitchen
area in the basement
464
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,560
of what was his three storey
Georgian house above here.
465
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:19,880
He lived alone with his wife
466
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,760
so why would you
need to have such a...
467
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,240
A big kitchen area
just beneath your house
468
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:27,680
what was the need for that?
469
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:31,760
It's quite an enormous
space really for a kitchen
470
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,520
and it contains this wonderful
array of four cooking ranges
471
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:39,600
which really was I suppose I
have to say a complete mystery
472
00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,120
and a surprise to us
when we uncovered it.
473
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,480
It became a bit
of a local legend
474
00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:49,080
that Williamson had
475
00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:52,800
some type of end
of days cult going
476
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,160
that he and his
followers were seeking
477
00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,400
to prepare themselves
for armageddon
478
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,280
and the story ran
479
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:02,880
that all this
underground construction
480
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:04,880
was that so they
would have a refuge.
481
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:10,360
Williamson's secrecy
invited speculation.
482
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,720
But rumours of the
occult were never proven...
483
00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:17,560
And Joseph Williamson
took the secret of his tunnels
484
00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:18,680
to the grave.
485
00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:24,640
Williamson was
busy beavering away
486
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:26,840
with these tunnels
until his wife died
487
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:29,400
and then he started to do
less and less and then himself
488
00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:31,160
he died in 1840
489
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,600
and that's when the
tunnelling stopped.
490
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:35,096
And so it was from
that point onwards
491
00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:37,960
that the tunnels sort of
disappeared into folklore.
492
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:40,760
For a hundred and fifty years
493
00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,760
the tunnels lay forgotten
under the streets of liverpool.
494
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:47,600
But in 1999,
495
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,960
workers on a building site
discovered a hole in the ground.
496
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:53,960
Under this car park,
497
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,600
that area under
these two parking bays
498
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:58,160
14 and 15,
499
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,320
is roughly where this big
hole in the ground was.
500
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,680
It was just big enough
to drop a ladder through
501
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:10,080
and a fairly slim man
to squeeze his way
502
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,160
through the hole and realise
503
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:13,920
that he was into
something important.
504
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,200
So, when they actually
found the tunnels
505
00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,240
it was like stumbling
across Atlantis.
506
00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:23,480
It opened up a whole
underground world
507
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,320
and that was just
the tip of the iceberg.
508
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,280
I remember when I arrived here
509
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,080
before any excavation started
510
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,320
I could say there
was a pile of rubble
511
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,840
from there to there you
could sort of clamber
512
00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,080
over the top of it
for a few yards here
513
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,560
and then beyond
that to the far end
514
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,080
it was literally up to there,
515
00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:46,440
you could look along it
516
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:48,720
and maybe see the
end but you couldn't,
517
00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:50,880
you couldn't get over it.
518
00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,040
The team of amateur
archaeologists
519
00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,920
began removing hundreds
of tons of dirt by hand.
520
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,160
After chipping away they
finally found the tunnel floor
521
00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,480
but that was just the first
level they found another,
522
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,440
this was a multi-levelled
tunnelling system.
523
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,960
At that time it was
absolutely impossible
524
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,080
for anybody to judge just
how deep this cellar system
525
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,000
might end up being and it
was years and years later
526
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,040
before we finally emptied it out
527
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:24,360
and realised the full depth
of what we had discovered.
528
00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:28,600
As the team dug deeper
529
00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:32,400
the true origin story of these
tunnels was becoming clear.
530
00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,720
As we lowered the
soil level bit by bit
531
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,880
in this chamber it
became apparent
532
00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:43,600
for the very first time
to us what he was doing,
533
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,120
he was going to vault over
here in his brick arches.
534
00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:49,880
And had put two layers
of working cellars above
535
00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,280
and then four storey
buildings on top of that.
536
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,640
They discovered stone
buttresses strong enough
537
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:00,600
to stop the roof from caving in.
538
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:03,680
But that didn't explain
539
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,080
why the tunnels were
dug in the first place.
540
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:13,160
However the team still
hadn't reached the bottom,
541
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:16,320
its only when they
went a bit deeper
542
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,440
that the purpose
was finally revealed.
543
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,440
We discovered this floor here
544
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,520
which consists of
three large blocks
545
00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:28,840
of stone over there,
546
00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,880
the one we are standing
on and the one behind.
547
00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:33,560
They are not real
rock formations
548
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:35,480
they have clearly been
carved out of the rock.
549
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:39,960
Beneath edgehill
is a material prized
550
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,720
for its utility, sandstone.
551
00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:49,000
It appears that Williamson
was extracting the stone
552
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:50,440
to extend his own stakes,
553
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,560
not only for himself but
for the whole community.
554
00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:55,296
We don't know how
much of this went on
555
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:59,320
but we do know for sure
that he donated all of the stone
556
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,040
that was needed to build
one of the local churches,
557
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,840
that's st Jude's church which
was just a few hundred yards
558
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:06,920
down the road.
559
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:10,440
The secret of the
Williamson's tunnels
560
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:12,440
appeared to be solved
561
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:16,120
but some mysteries about this
place might never be explained.
562
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:19,600
One thing that
really intrigues me
563
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,280
is this appeared to be a process
564
00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:24,440
that was going on in full swing,
565
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,840
they were obviously working
on three blocks of stone
566
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:30,400
or four blocks of stone all at
once and then suddenly stopped
567
00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,040
and I find that a very
intriguing question,
568
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:34,840
we would love to know answers.
569
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:36,280
I'm afraid we never will.
570
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,880
Nearly two centuries after
Joseph Williamson's death
571
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,080
the legend of his tunnels
still captures the imagination
572
00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:50,720
of liverpudlians
573
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,480
and the search for
the truth continues.
574
00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,080
We believe that
there are other spaces
575
00:32:57,120 --> 00:32:59,280
which are a lot bigger,
576
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:02,800
there is a great tunnel
which we know of
577
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,000
and we hope it still exists
and are having great trouble
578
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:08,120
trying to find it and we
haven't been able to find
579
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,800
a way into it yet, but we
are determined to find it.
580
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,600
On the southern
plains of Wyoming usa
581
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,600
lies a sinister building
designed to tame the untameable.
582
00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:32,240
We are really out in
the middle of nowhere,
583
00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:34,840
it's a beautiful
country the wild west.
584
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,920
But here in the midst
of all this natural beauty
585
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:44,000
we also see an outpost of
barbed wire and guard towers.
586
00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:47,216
We are looking at
a building that sticks
587
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:49,600
out of the prairie
like a sore thumb.
588
00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:53,920
The walls of this place
are built of stone slabs
589
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:56,880
that were quarried
from the local bedrock.
590
00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,120
Very strong almost impenetrable.
591
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:02,400
You can imagine
cattle and cowboys
592
00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:05,080
roaming around on these plains,
593
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,080
but this building tells
us a whole other story.
594
00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:12,280
How dark that story is,
595
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,200
starts to become clear
once you walk inside.
596
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,040
There is a chamber
that looks like
597
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:21,520
some kind of human
sized pressure cooker,
598
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,680
and there are all these other
strange sorts of contraptions.
599
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:28,760
One room is particularly creepy,
600
00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:30,280
there is not much left in it,
601
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,160
there's kind of an ominous
hook hanging from the ceiling
602
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:34,880
and a square on the floor
603
00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:38,320
and then a window looking out
across the beautiful countryside.
604
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:41,800
As a soldier in the
invasion of Iraq,
605
00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:44,160
I saw a lot of prisons
and torture chambers
606
00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:46,640
and this place reminds
me a little bit of both,
607
00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:48,640
I would hate to
be inside this cell.
608
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:52,760
So, who was locked up here
609
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,680
and what horror did these
walls bear witness to?
610
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,000
In the middle of
the 19th century,
611
00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,240
the northern frontier of america
was a land of opportunity.
612
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:10,240
But it wasn't for
the faint hearted.
613
00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:14,600
When the frontier was open
614
00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,680
and the only people
that would go out there
615
00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:18,600
were the people
who were foolhardy,
616
00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:22,200
brave or trying to
escape from something.
617
00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:24,680
The criminals were going out
there because there was no law.
618
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,520
It was these people that
gave the wild west its name.
619
00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:32,960
They are used to taking
the law into their own hands
620
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:34,120
with quick draws,
621
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:37,760
lynching's and cash
rewards for killings,
622
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:39,680
but there is change
on the horizon.
623
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,600
As the 20th century approached
the territories government
624
00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:46,440
hoped to join the union
625
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,880
and the population was growing
weary of Wyoming's wild side.
626
00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:55,200
The problem was that you
still had your criminal element
627
00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:56,840
and these people
didn't want to live
628
00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:00,640
amongst a bunch
of lawless criminals.
629
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:02,080
This is a turning
point in history,
630
00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:03,600
we are at a crossroads,
631
00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,720
the west was known for
being wild for a reason,
632
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:07,360
but it needed to be tamed.
633
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:13,360
For their plan to work, something
dramatic had to be done,
634
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,400
and this site was
at the heart of it all.
635
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,840
The Wyoming state penitentiary.
636
00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:24,440
Tina hill is an expert on
the history of the building.
637
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:27,880
Now, we are in cell block
a, it is our original cell block,
638
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,880
all of our cells could be
locked and unlocked by the bar
639
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:32,920
called the Johnson bar,
640
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:35,800
when the bar is up
all the cells are locked,
641
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:39,000
pull the bar down, all
the cells are unlocked.
642
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,120
These cells are 5 by 7.
643
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,000
We would have two to a cell,
644
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:48,720
we did not have hot water
it was very cold in a block.
645
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:54,400
We are the only state penitentiary
in Wyoming so we had everyone,
646
00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:57,680
this is a minimum, medium,
Max security penitentiary,
647
00:36:57,720 --> 00:36:59,160
we had people here for forgery,
648
00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,160
we had people here
for first degree murder.
649
00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:05,960
And mixed in amongst these ranks
were some colourful characters.
650
00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:10,360
One of our most infamous
inmates was bill Carlo,
651
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:11,720
he was a train robber,
652
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,560
he robbed the indo pacific
railroad four different times,
653
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:18,840
he wound up escaping from
here, got put in a shirt crate,
654
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,240
they put the crate on the train,
which is right down the street,
655
00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:25,040
he popped out of the crate,
robbed the train and escaped.
656
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,080
Trying to civilise
Wyoming's wild element
657
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,480
was never going to be easy,
escape attempts were common.
658
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:39,360
We had a mass escape in 1912,
659
00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:43,000
at the time our penitentiary was
surrounded by a wooden stockade,
660
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,440
20 inmates escaped through a
hole that they had broken through
661
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:48,240
on the stockade,
662
00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,600
people were out on the
streets shooting at anyone
663
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:51,640
they didn't recognise
664
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:53,960
because they just assumed
they are escaped inmates.
665
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,160
Most of the inmates
were soon captured,
666
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,880
but a few managed to flee the
town after a violent encounter.
667
00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:06,120
One resident was shot
and killed by the inmates,
668
00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:09,920
four inmates escaped, two
of them came back deceased,
669
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:11,480
the other two they
never found again.
670
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:18,760
A stone wall was soon built to
replace the old wooden stockade,
671
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:21,760
but for some it was clear
that simply locking up
672
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,960
violent criminals wasn't enough.
673
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:27,960
So, the prison
needed something else
674
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:29,720
to deal with these cowboys,
675
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,880
and why not turn something
from the past into the future.
676
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,840
Torture and execution
were about to become
677
00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:41,920
this prisons calling card.
678
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:48,400
In 1916 the prison expanded
they added a death house
679
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:50,800
where they could house
the worst prisoners,
680
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,200
those with death sentences and
they could carry out executions.
681
00:38:55,400 --> 00:39:00,680
It was a time in us history
when executions were on the rise.
682
00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:03,280
While execution was
an accepted punishment,
683
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:06,440
the method of killing
was open to interpretation.
684
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:10,720
One of the stranger ways
of executing somebody
685
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:13,160
in the American west
was the Julian gallows,
686
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:15,080
it was basically a
sort of mouse trap
687
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:16,720
self-execution platform.
688
00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:20,680
Designed so that the
condemned inmate
689
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:24,000
would start their own
execution process,
690
00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:26,920
only a few features of the
elaborate system remain.
691
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,216
They would slip a
noose around their neck
692
00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:32,680
and step onto a
trap door knowing
693
00:39:32,720 --> 00:39:34,440
that they would fall
through that door,
694
00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:36,560
and hopefully snap their neck.
695
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:40,280
By stepping on the platform
a chain reaction was started
696
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,280
in the room below.
697
00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:44,880
Using water, weights and pulleys
698
00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,880
ultimately would end in the
collapse of the support structure
699
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:49,280
beneath the trap door.
700
00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:53,600
His weight would start a
bucket of water underneath
701
00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:55,040
to start draining out,
702
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:57,016
it would take about a
minute to a minute and a half
703
00:39:57,040 --> 00:39:58,416
for the bucket of
water to empty out,
704
00:39:58,440 --> 00:39:59,920
the trap door would spring open,
705
00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:02,280
the man would fall through
and down he would go.
706
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:06,120
The Julian gallows that
they installed in the prison
707
00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:07,680
was poorly designed,
708
00:40:07,720 --> 00:40:10,840
there wasn't much distance
for the prisoners to drop,
709
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:12,840
more than once prisoners
experienced the hell
710
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:14,640
of not having their neck broken
711
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,200
and slowly strangling
at the end of the noose.
712
00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:22,800
In total nine men were
killed using this device,
713
00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:25,120
but soon deemed too inhumane,
714
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:27,080
a unique contraption nearby
715
00:40:27,120 --> 00:40:30,560
shows how the business of
execution was being modernised.
716
00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:34,480
Just at the foundations of
the prison are being laid down,
717
00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:36,560
eugenics are
starting to catch on,
718
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,680
this is the idea that
we should select
719
00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,360
who is genetically
superior and inferior
720
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:45,360
and eliminate the undesirables
to improve the human race.
721
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:48,440
Unfortunately that
dangerous idea coincided
722
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:50,320
with the development
of chemical warfare
723
00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:52,680
in the first world war...
724
00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:54,160
All of this set the context
725
00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:56,360
for the development
of the gas chamber.
726
00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:01,160
It was an attempt
to be more scientific,
727
00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:05,120
more clinical if anything it
was worse than hanging.
728
00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:09,800
Installed in the 1930s,
729
00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:13,680
this gas chamber was meant to
provide a more humane system.
730
00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:20,160
The inmates were brought in,
strapped down by their chest,
731
00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:22,800
arms and legs underneath
the chair was a pen...
732
00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:25,400
A sulphuric acid
mixed with water,
733
00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:28,200
when it was time the
warden was pull this lever
734
00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:30,440
and a cheesecloth
sack of cyanide towels
735
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:32,320
would drop down into the acid,
736
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,080
hydro cyanic acid gas
would then be formed.
737
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:38,560
In about 30 seconds the
man was unconscious,
738
00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:40,520
two and a half to three
minutes he was dead.
739
00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:48,920
Use of the gas chamber
continued until 1965.
740
00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:50,480
And all those encountering
741
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:53,560
that fate spent
their final days here.
742
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,200
Right now we are in the
bull pen for death row,
743
00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:02,600
this is where you would be
waiting for your execution.
744
00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:05,560
You are in your
cell, 24 hours a day,
745
00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:06,920
if you were behaving,
746
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:08,520
they would allow
you to come out here
747
00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:11,840
to the bull pen to
exercise for an hour,
748
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:13,160
inmates were up here
749
00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:15,440
between three months
and a year and a half
750
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:16,960
waiting for their execution.
751
00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:20,296
Imagine living in that
psychological burden
752
00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:22,040
of knowing your
death is on the horizon
753
00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:23,080
the exact date
754
00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:24,800
and there is nothing
you can do about it.
755
00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:29,600
In 1981 the frontier prison
was deemed outdated
756
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:32,040
and its doors were
closed for the final time.
757
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:38,000
Throughout its life thousands
had been incarcerated here
758
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:41,600
and an unlucky few had
paid the ultimate price.
759
00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:51,160
While the prison
story ended years ago,
760
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,880
the death penalty
here still remains.
761
00:42:55,560 --> 00:42:59,480
As long as Wyoming
has been able to decide
762
00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:03,040
whether or not we were going
to have capital punishment,
763
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:06,840
the state of Wyoming has
always had capital punishment.
764
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,240
Wyoming is now in the minority.
765
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:13,640
Death sentences are
decided on state by state
766
00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:16,040
and most of the United
States have abolished them.
767
00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:20,600
As a result they have fallen
85% over the last 25 years.
768
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,920
We still have so far to go.
769
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:27,720
Liberty and justice for all
its an aspiration it's an ideal,
770
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:29,600
what's so frightening for me
771
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:31,840
is that what horrifies us today,
772
00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:35,960
was seen as perfectly acceptable
even progressive in the past,
773
00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:37,680
but what progress have we made?
774
00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:39,080
Wouldn't we give anyone
775
00:43:39,120 --> 00:43:42,160
the legal right to take
the life of another?
776
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:50,400
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