All language subtitles for Holy.Marvels.with.Dennis.Quaid.S02E07.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

[mysterious music]

- Tonight, sacred sites so vast

they defy our understanding
of what's possible.

From a heavenly tower...

- The tower's three
times the height

of the world's tallest
modern-day skyscraper.

- For God, this is an
affront to his power.

- So God destroys the
partially built tower.

- To a mystifying statue...

- Part of the enduring mystery
of the Sphinx is that

there is no other colossal
statue like it in Egypt.

- To a hidden ancient city.

- It's still intact right
where the Inca left it.

Whoever built this truly wanted
to feel closer to heaven.

- What kinds of secrets
could these wonders contain?

- It's fresh proof
that a mega structure

did indeed once stand here.

- Now, the remarkable
stories behind

some of history's most
epic Holy Marvels.

[dramatic music]

The world's smallest
independent nation

takes up less space than
New York's Central Park,

but it's home to
Christianity's largest church.

- Vatican City is
the headquarters of

the Catholic church,

and the primary
residence of the Pope.

It's roughly 120 acres
that's completely surrounded

by the city of Rome, Italy.

And at the center
of this microstate

stands the majestic
St. Peter's Basilica.

- St. Peter's welcomes 10
million visitors per year.

The building literally
looms over Rome,

and you can see its iconic
dome from miles away,

in all directions.

- Its size is pretty impressive.

The dome is nearly
450 feet tall,

big enough to hold the
entire Statue of Liberty,

pedestal and all.

- Inside, the basilica is
over 163,000 square feet,

and it can hold upwards
of 60,000 worshipers.

- [Dennis] It's not just
the size of St. Peter's

that makes it so monumental.

- The finishes, objects,
and artwork inside

are without equal.

There are gold statues,
hand-carved wood.

There's exquisite
marble and tile work.

Every inch of this place is
a tribute to all things holy.

- The church also houses
alleged pieces of the true cross

and the Holy Lance as well as
body parts of various saints.

It's the largest collection
of holy relics in the world.

- [Dennis] Surprisingly,
the huge church is built in

what was once a
questionable place.

- St. Peter's sits on a
location known as Vatican Hill.

It's across the Tiber
River from the famed

seven original hills of Rome.

In the days before
the Roman Empire,

it was what we might
today call a slum.

According to one Roman
historian, it was unwholesome,

and frequented by the destitute.

- [Dennis] Why was such a
magnificent church built here,

in a Roman slum, and
not in Jerusalem?

- The church is positioned
in this exact spot

because it's said that
here lies the tomb of one

of the Bible's most iconic
and important figures,

St. Peter himself,

from whom the church
actually gets its name.

- [Dennis] According
to the gospels,

St. Peter's story
begins in Judea.

- Peter is a fisherman
from Galilee,

who is recruited by Jesus
to become an apostle,

and ultimately becomes a
leader among the group.

- According to the Bible,
after Jesus is crucified,

Peter travels around to spread
the teachings of Christ.

- It's believed that
Peter ends up in Rome

during the rule of Emperor Nero,

who reigns from 54 to 68 AD.

After Peter arrives,

he founds Rome's first
Christian church.

- Peter comes at a
particularly bad moment

to be a Christian in Rome.

Christians are regarded
with fear and suspicion.

Many see the rise of this new
religion as a threat to Rome,

including the emperor himself.

- [Dennis] It's no surprise
that when a devastating fire

engulfs this city in 64 AD,

Nero uses it as an opportunity
to attack Christians.

- The Great Fire of Rome
destroys over 70% of the city,

killing hundreds of citizens.

The Roman historian, Tacitus

writes that Nero blames the
Great Fire on the Christians,

and starts killing
them in creative ways,

like burning them, or making
them fight to the death.

It is believed that one of
these early Christian martyrs

is St. Peter.

- According to various Christian
accounts, Peter is captured

by Nero's army
and he's crucified

in front of a crowd
of spectators,

making his death
even more grisly.

His own wish is to be
crucified upside down,

because he's not
worthy to be compared

in any way to his Lord Jesus.

- The exact date and location
of Peter's death are unknown,

but it's said to
be on Vatican Hill,

in an arena called
the Circus of Nero.

The emperor holds
chariot races there,

along with executions.

- The site was marked
by an 83-foot tall

ancient Egyptian obelisk,

which was brought to Rome
by the Emperor Caligula

and the persecution of
Christians continues

in places like this,

and all across the
empire for centuries.

- [Dennis] Then, around 250
years after Peter's death,

Roman emperor Constantine
converts to Christianity,

and makes his new faith the
empire's official religion.

To celebrate, he decides
to build a church

dedicated to St. Peter.

- He wants to put his church
right where Peter was buried.

And we don't have any
written evidence that

Constantine actually locates
the remains of St. Peter,

but he does have a pretty good
landmark for where to build

because the obelisk
is still there,

along with the ruins
of the Circus of Nero.

- Constantine builds his church
right on top of these ruins,

and he keeps the obelisk as a
central feature of its design.

He names it St. Peter's,

and it takes about 40 years
to complete the project.

- But after centuries
of political

and religious upheaval,

including the
Barbarian Invasions,

St. Peter's falls
into disrepair.

- [Dennis] Around 1506,

Pope Julius II decides
to rebuild the Basilica,

and he stops at nothing
to express the power

and magnificence of the church.

- Construction takes
more than 120 years.

It's overseen by several
subsequent popes,

and multiple architects.

The final price tag, a
whopping 47 million ducats,

equal to over $7 billion today.

- The Egyptian obelisk is
moved into a vast public square

leading into the
imposing bronze doors.

But during construction, no
trace of Peter's actual remains

are found in the crypts
beneath the church.

- [Dennis] About
300 years later,

another project
reopens the mystery.

- In 1942, during excavations
for the burial of Pope Pius XI

who wants to be buried as
close as possible to St. Peter,

they find multiple
fragments of human bones

right underneath the
Basilica's altar.

- The new pope, Pius
XII, downplays the find.

He says the remains
can't be identified

with absolute certainty and he
places the bones in storage.

- It takes another 20 years

before the bones are finally
put under a microscope.

And a huge revelation comes
when they examine the feet.

It looks like the feet
were viciously cut,

which the Romans often did
after crucifying someone.

Because cutting
the feet is easier

than trying to
pull out the nails

that held victims to the cross.

- By now, Paul VI is pope,

and he decides that this
is all the proof he needs.

In 1968, he announces
to the world

that the remains of St.
Peter have been found,

miraculously preserved
under the sacred altar

for 1,900 years.

- Today, the bones are
protectively sealed

in plexiglass boxes under the
high altar of the Basilica.

It features a massive
four-pillared bronze canopy

that's 98 feet tall and
weighs over 100 tons,

adorned with shining gold leaf.

- So if these really
are St. Peter's remains,

it's a fitting tribute.

He rests beneath the
most majestic feature

of the largest church on Earth.

- And if you go to St. Peter's,

don't forget to stop by
one very important spot.

A lot of people just walk
by it without noticing it,

A lot of people just walk
by it without noticing it,

but it's the original obelisk,

still standing there
front and center,

where St. Peter was
said to be crucified.

Or as some popes like to say,

the last surviving
witness to his martyrdom.

- Centuries before St.
Peter's Basilica is dedicated,

another famous building
project begins.

This one becomes a metaphor

about the limits
of human ambition.

- In the Book of Genesis, 100
years after the Great Flood,

mankind has made a comeback.

Descendants of Noah, united
under a single language,

move eastward until they
reach the land of Shinar,

where they plan to
build a great city.

- According to the Bible,
the King James version,

it says, "And they
said to one another,

'Let us make brick and
burn them thoroughly.'

And they had brick for stone,
and slime they had for mortar.

And they said,

'Let us build a tower whose
top may reach on to heaven,

and let us make us a
name for ourselves.'"

- Well, for God, this is
too close for comfort,

and an affront to his power.

- So God decides
to bring the humans

back down to Earth, literally.

According to the best known
versions of the Bible story,

God destroys the city and
the partially built tower.

- [Dennis] The tale
of the Tower of Babel

captivates the world
and sparks intrigue

in theologians and
historians alike.

- At least as far back as 100
BC, we have people writing

and speculating about
the Tower of Babel.

An ancient Jewish text called
the Book of Jubilee says

that the tower's
height is 5,433 cubits.

That's about 8,150 feet,
or 1.5 miles tall,

which is three times the height

of the world's tallest
modern-day skyscraper,

Dubai's Burj Khalifa.

- [Dennis] While most scholars
are skeptical about the scale,

some think an actual
tower existed.

The problem is,

the Bible doesn't provide
an exact location.

- In Genesis, it's referred to
as the "city" and the "tower,"

which doesn't give us
very much to work with.

But there is one other clue.

- It says that the
city gets its name

because God "confuses the
language of the people."

In ancient Hebrew,

the word that they use
for confusion is "babel,"

so that's why it's become
known as the Tower of Babel.

- Babel is also the
Hebrew name for Babylon,

an infamous city located
in southern Mesopotamia.

It's along the Euphrates River,
in what's present day Iraq.

Babylon is all over
the Old Testament,

and it's also a real place.

- The city of
Babylon first appears

in the historical
record about 2200 BC.

And it eventually becomes
the seat of a mighty empire.

And according to the
writers of the time,

it was the largest city on
Earth for several centuries.

- Babylon has its ups and downs.

But it sort of slips into
historical obscurity.

By the 13th century AD,

it's referred to by one Arab
scholar named Al-Khasawneh

as nothing more
than a small village

that's only good for one thing.

- [Dennis] But that one
thing might be the key

to unlocking this mystery.

- Al-Khasawneh and other
medieval Arabic writers

describe Babylon as a major
source for ready-made,

baked bricks.

The area is littered with
them by the millions.

- Why is this important?

Well, remember that
the Biblical account

of the Tower of Babel describes
how the people made bricks

and burned them thoroughly.

It's an odd detail in a story

that has very few
details otherwise.

- Most places in the Middle
East use simple bricks

that are made out of
water and mud and straw,

and then they're
baked in the sun.

But this type of brick
crumbles really quickly.

- The ones made in
Babylon, on the other hand,

are held together with bitumen,

which acts as a kind
of oil-based glue.

These Babylonian bricks
can last centuries,

and become more
valuable than gold.

- [Dennis] That's all the proof

one German archeologist
needs to start digging.

- The first real major
archeological work at Babylon

starts in 1899,

and it's led by a German
named Robert Koldewey.

And as he and 200
workers begin excavating,

they quickly find evidence

of what these Middle Eastern
writers were talking about.

- In the first year,

the team unearthed
Babylon's central boulevard,

which is paved with
these prized bricks.

They also dig up the
remnants of a brick temple,

and a palace.

- [Dennis] While Koldewey
doesn't find a tower,

he does uncover something
else that's intriguing.

- In 1917, Robert
Koldewey's research

locates a royal inscription

from the time of King
Nebuchadnezzar II

in the 6th century BC.

And it says, "The Ziggurat
of Babylon, I made it.

The wonder of the
people of the world,

I raised its top to heaven,
made doors for the gates,

and I covered it with
bitumen and bricks."

- This inscription
is incredible.

A ziggurat is basically
a stepped tower,

and this tower is described
as reaching heaven,

using a lot of the exact same
words as the Book of Genesis.

- City records show
that in the 580s BC,

Nebuchadnezzar II is
actually rebuilding

and expanding this tower,

which existed there
long before his reign.

- [Dennis] But if it's not
the actual Tower of Babel,

could it have inspired the tale?

- Genesis is thought to have
been written by Jewish authors

around the 6th century BC.

During this same time, we know

that the Jewish people
suffered a great tragedy.

And this starts with
the destruction of Jerusalem

in 586 BC by none other than

King Nebuchadnezzar II.

And in the years after
the Holy City falls,

many of the surviving Jews
are deported to Babylon

to live in exile.

- The Jewish people
are deeply affected

by what they see in Babylon.

They are disturbed by this
strange pagan kingdom,

full of massive
temples and towers.

- And right in the middle,
at the heart of this place,

Nebuchadnezzar is
currently reconstructing

the tallest tower
they've ever seen.

And he's brashly proclaiming
that it reaches heaven.

So what do the Jewish people do?

Some scholars believe
they write it down

into the story of
the Tower of Babel,

and they even use some of
Nebuchadnezzar's exact words.

- After watching their
own city and temple burn

at the hands of the Babylonians,

these exiled Jews are angry,

and they're offended
by this heathen tower.

They can't really fight back,
but they can write about it.

So they write about
a tower like this,

being destroyed by
the power of God.

And it's a thinly
veiled criticism

of the excesses of Babylon.

- [Dennis] Today, over 100 years

after Koldewey's
work first began,

others continue his
archeological research

in Babylon.

- Full-scale digs
aren't possible yet,

because Iraq has other
more urgent problems,

but for the first
time, cutting-edge,

non-invasive technology
is being used

to look for the Tower of Babel.

- Drone photography
and LiDAR scans

are being conducted by
the World Monument Fund,

working with the Iraqi
State Board of Antiquities,

and the US State government.

And amazingly, in 2015,

they reveal the foundations
of a huge tower.

It's still too early to know
if this is Nebuchadnezzar's,

or a different one,
but it's fresh proof

that a mega structure did
indeed once stand here.

- In a land long torn apart

by conflicts of
culture and religion,

wouldn't it be amazing
if an international team

speaking multiple
languages eventually proves

that the Tower of
Babel was a real thing?

[intense music]

- While we may never know

how high the Tower of
Babel actually got,

there's one sacred city that
still reaches into the skies.

At nearly 8,000 feet
above sea level,

this incredible feat
of ancient construction

continues to mystify us.

- Machu Picchu is
one of the world's

most popular tourist
destinations.

Millions of visitors
come every year,

as many as 4,500 a day.

- Machu Picchu lies
on a narrow ridge,

a mile and a half up
in the Peruvian Andes.

It is a spot that could not
be more rugged and remote,

and the views are stunning.

- When you're there,

you feel like you're
on top of the world,

walking amongst the clouds.

And you get the sense
that whoever built this

truly wanted to feel
closer to heaven.

- Equally amazing as the site
itself are the buildings.

They're very ancient, made
from polished granite stones

that can weigh as
much as 15 tons,

and the construction techniques
are incredibly precise.

They didn't use any mortar

and the blocks are
stacked so tightly

that not even a piece of
paper can fit between them.

- [Dennis] But as
incredible as this city is,

it was nearly lost to time.

- The first written reference
we have to Machu Picchu,

maybe, is in the 15th century,

from a Spanish conquistador
named Baltasar de Ocampo,

who's in Peru as
part of a campaign

to conquer the
indigenous Inca empire.

- Ocampo writes a letter
to his king back in Spain,

and describes a
mountain fortress

with elaborate stone carvings.

"In the center of
town," he writes,

"is a wide, level space
with huge buildings,

and door lintels
made of marble."

We don't 100% know that he
was referring to Machu Picchu,

but it sounds like
he might have been.

- Unfortunately, Ocampo never
explains the precise location

or the purpose of the
site, or who lives here.

And not long after
this passing reference,

the Inca Empire
meets a brutal end

at the hands of the Spanish.

- As a result, Machu Picchu

was slowly swallowed
up by the jungle.

Its thatched roofs
and bridges collapse,

and eventually its network
of trails disappear.

- [Dennis] For more
than 300 years,

the site sits
forgotten by everyone,

except for a few locals.

- Then in 1911,

American historian Hiram
Bingham arrives in Peru,

looking for lost
cities of the Inca.

He hires a local guide named
Melchor Arteaga to help him.

- Arteaga knows very
little about the Inca,

because its culture
had been largely erased

by the Spanish Catholic church.

But he does know
about an ancient town

high up on a mountaintop,

and he agrees to
take Bingham there.

- It's a difficult trek,
but it certainly pays off.

They reach an abandoned Incan
city called Machu Picchu,

which in the local Quechua
language means "old mountain."

And despite being overgrown,
it's largely intact.

The devastation of the
war never made it up here.

It's the quintessential
definition of a lost city.

- Bingham returns the following
year with an excavation team

and after they clear away
centuries of foliage,

he is finally able to grasp
the full scope of this place.

- There are about 200
buildings arranged around

an east, west, central square.

Past the buildings are 12
acres of terraced farmland.

- The city has a water
and drainage system

on par with anything
built today.

At least 130 pipes run
through the stairways

and building interiors,

all designed to keep the water
supply fresh and flowing.

- [Dennis] It's a stunning
feat of engineering.

But how did the Inca build it?

- Bingham is flummoxed. The
Inca didn't have steel tools.

They didn't even have the wheel.

Even today, no one really knows

how they could have
built Machu Picchu.

Scientists have
tested various levers

and ladder-like methods
to move the stones,

but few can agree on
a single solution.

- While we still don't
know how it was built,

thanks to years of
collective research,

we do know when it was built.

The most recent carbon-14
dating suggests the construction

likely started in the 1430s.

It would've been overseen
by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui,

the ninth Inca ruler,

and one of the empire's
greatest warriors.

- He leaves his empire to his
son, who finishes Machu Picchu

before the first Spanish
ships land on Peruvian shores.

Estimates on how long it
took to complete vary,

ranging from 30 to 90 years.

- [Dennis] Though its
construction is dazzling,

Machu Picchu's purpose
remains a mystery.

Until 2012, when a researcher
notices something unusual.

- American archeologist,
Bethany Turner

finds something strange.

Fewer than 200 skeletons
have ever been discovered

at Machu Picchu.

- The small numbers
of human remains,

combined with the
number of buildings

that seem to be
religious in nature,

have led some scholars to
argue that Machu Picchu

might have been built as
a special funerary site

for the elite, where only the
greatest members of society

were given last
rites and buried.

- But if it's an
elite place of burial,

it's odd that it didn't
include the two kings

who built the place.

Their mummies are
enshrined near Cusco,

and they're venerated
long after their deaths.

- [Dennis] In 2013, a Polish
team suggests this amazing city

could have served a
different function.

- They determined
that one building,

later dubbed the
Temple of the Sun,

could have been an observatory.

It features a set
of reflecting pools

that might act as
mirrors to view the sky,

and several of its windows align

with important constellations.

- Astronomy is very important
for the Inca civilization,

especially because
of agriculture.

It's able to help them
track dates and seasons,

and plan for their
crops and harvests.

Whatever the reason
behind its creation,

one thing is certain.

Machu Picchu meant a
great deal to the people

who went to all the trouble

to construct
something this large.

- Thousands of miles from
the high mountains of Peru,

the golden sands of Egypt are
home to an ancient monument,

the Great Sphinx.

And while millions
have paid it a visit,

we still don't fully understand
the many secrets it holds.

- The Great Sphinx is set among

what might be the world's most
famous archeological ruins.

Located five miles
west of the Nile River

on Egypt's Giza Plateau,

the Sphinx is part of
the Giza Necropolis,

a huge complex of
tombs and temples,

famous for their three
massive pyramids.

And the Sphinx is in front
of the whole complex,

almost like it's standing guard.

- The Great Sphinx is
a statue of a creature

that has the body of a lion
and the head of a human.

- The statue measures a
whopping 241 feet long,

66 feet tall, and 62 feet wide.

And it's believed to
weigh around 20,000 tons,

nearly twice as much as the
wrought-iron Eiffel Tower.

Its tail alone is 73 feet,

longer than a
typical bowling lane.

- Part of the enduring
mystery of the Sphinx

is that there is no
other colossal statue

like it in Egypt.

There are over 100 pyramids
that rise along the Nile,

from Giza to Sudan, but there
is only one Great Sphinx.

That not only makes it special,
it makes it an anomaly.

- Unlike the pyramids behind it,

the Sphinx is not built
boulder by boulder.

Instead, it's
painstakingly carved

out of the existing
limestone bedrock.

- This is a time before iron
tools and wheeled vehicles.

Some researchers have estimated

that it would've taken 100
workers wielding stone hammers

and copper chisels three
years to complete the statue.

- [Dennis] Since no
written records exist,

researchers speculate on
exactly who built it, and when.

- Because it sits in the
royal Necropolis of Giza,

most scholars believe
the Sphinx was carved

when the rest of the complex
was built around 2500 BC.

- The Sphinx is
connected to the pyramid

of the Pharaoh Khafre by a
long processional causeway.

So most assume that
it's Khafre's face

on top of the lion body.

- But these are assumptions.

Khafre's name never
appears on the Sphinx,

or any of the
surrounding structures.

Everything that we think we know

is based on centuries
of educated guesswork.

- [Dennis] In fact, the only
name written on the Sphinx

belongs to someone who
didn't actually build it.

- There's a stone slab
with writing carved into it

at the base of the Sphinx,
in between its two paws.

And its author was a
Pharaoh named Thutmose IV,

who wrote it around 1401 BC,

about 1,000 years after
the Sphinx was built.

- So it doesn't help to
explain the Sphinx's origin,

but it still tells
an interesting story.

- In the New Kingdom era,
which is when Thutmose lives,

the Egyptians move
their capital to Thebes,

400 miles south of Giza.

The complex in Giza, including
the Sphinx, is abandoned,

and it's basically
forgotten about.

The Sphinx is covered by
the natural shifting sands,

with only part of
its head poking out.

- One day, Thutmose
claims to have a dream.

The gods tell him that if
he frees the great Sphinx,

he will become pharaoh, even
though he's not next in line.

He has an older brother, who
should be pharaoh instead.

- According to the
ancient inscription,

Thutmose digs out the Sphinx,

and though we're not
exactly sure how,

he does indeed
become the pharaoh.

And during his reign,

the Sphinx surges in
popularity across the kingdom.

- Soon, mini Sphinxes start
popping up all over the place.

In Thebes, an entire
avenue of them,

a mile and a half long,
with 1,300 in total,

is built between
two sacred temples.

- But despite this new
wave of Sphinx mania,

there are no writings of Khafre,

or the statue's
original purpose.

The Sphinx is more
famous than ever,

but nobody seems to
know its backstory.

- [Dennis] Then in 1853,

a French archeologist
believes he's uncovered

another piece of the puzzle.

- Auguste Marriette
discovers a temple

adjacent to the Sphinx.

Inside, he unearths a life-sized
statue of Pharaoh Khafre,

who built the pyramid that's
right behind the Sphinx.

Mariette believes the
head of the statue

looks like the Sphinx's,

and this could finally prove

that the Sphinx
represents Khafre.

- Even if the Sphinx were
made to look like Khafre,

it might not have
been built by Khafre.

It could have been built long
after his death to honor him,

or it could have been
built long before,

and then just altered to
resemble him after the fact.

- We have evidence that
pharaohs did this all the time.

They would rework the
faces of existing statues

to make them look
like themselves,

or they would swap out
names on older temples,

then claim the credit.

- [Dennis] Finally,
in the early 2000s,

researchers use a
technique called sequencing

to further explore the link

between the Sphinx
and the temple.

- Sequencing analyzes
the relationship

between various
parts of a building.

The temple complex where
the Sphinx is located

includes a great many walls,
rooms, and other features,

and this new method
reveals the order

in which each of these
things was built.

- The sequencing
indicates that the temple

with the statue of
Khafre, and the Sphinx

were both built
at the same time.

And if that's the case, he
probably built both of them.

- [Dennis] One
question remains; why?

- In the early 2000s, new
technology seems to confirm

that the Great Sphinx was
built by the Pharaoh Khafre.

But there's another question

that has confounded
researchers for centuries;

why it was built.

- In 1925, an archeologist
named Emile Baraize

finds a second temple directly
in front of the statue,

and he calls it the Sphinx
Temple because of its location.

But it has a very strange
layout that puzzles Baraize.

- The temple is built on
a precise east-west axis

with a courtyard
surrounded by 24 pillars.

Baraize spends several
years clearing out the sand,

but he never decipher
the temple's meaning.

- Four decades
later, in the 1960s,

a Swiss archeologist
thinks he has the answer.

The complex is a
giant solar clock.

The east-west axis points
to where the sun rises

and sets twice a year
at the equinoxes.

And each pillar, he claims,

represents an hour in
the sun's daily circuit.

- [Dennis] 50 years after that,

two Egyptologists
have a different idea.

And this one's a doozy.

- In 2010, following
decades of field work,

Egyptologist Mark Lehner,

along with Egyptologist
Zahi Hawass,

gives a series of interviews

claiming to have made
a huge new discovery

in the study of the
Sphinx, partly by chance.

- One day, Lehner is
working in the Sphinx Temple

during an equinox, when
the day is at its longest,

and he witnesses a
remarkable event.

At the exact same instant,

the sun sets into both
the shoulder of the Sphinx

and the south side of
the Pyramid of Khafre.

- When this happens,

the two shadows of the
Sphinx and the pyramid,

both thought to be symbols
of the Pharaoh Khafre,

become one.

Lehner claims that this must
have been done on purpose

as a means of showing Khafre
as more than simply a pharaoh,

but the living embodiment
of the Sun God on Earth.

- To prove this idea,

they document the sun's
movements over Giza for a year.

And they find that during
the summer solstice,

the sun sets perfectly midway
between the silhouettes

of the Pyramids of
Khafre and Khufu.

- The event resembles
the hieroglyph Akhet,

which can be translated
as "horizon,"

and symbolizes the cycle
of life and rebirth.

- If Hawass and
Lehner are right,

then the locations of the
Sphinx and its temples

and the pyramids
are all connected.

Lehner describes the
complex as a cosmic engine

intended to harness
the power of the sun

as it moves very precisely
between these objects.

And this process was thought
to resurrect the soul of Khafre

as an everlasting god.

- [Dennis] While
we may never know

the true purpose of the Sphinx,

today, scientists have an
equally vital challenge:

preserving it.

- The water table is now just
15 feet under the Sphinx,

and rising.

Like a sponge, the
porous limestone statue

is soaking up a toxic blend
of groundwater and sewage.

- The Egyptian Ministry
of Tourism and Antiquities

has had pumps installed
to divert the water,

but this is only enough to slow
the damage, not to stop it.

- Hopefully the statue
can be preserved

to last another 4,500 years,

or at least long enough to
finally unlock the secrets

of this vast and
mysterious structure.

- Larger-than-life sacred
sites like the Sphinx,

Machu Picchu, and
St. Peter's Basilica

are on most travelers'
bucket lists.

But there's another place

holding a huge
collection of relics

that just might surprise you.

- Where would you expect to
find the largest collection

of religious relics
outside the Vatican?

Jerusalem, Notre Dame,
Westminster Abbey.

How about Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania?

Here, on an innocuous side
street off of Highway 28,

sits an incredible place
called St. Anthony's Chapel.

- St. Anthony's Chapel houses

nearly 5,000
religious artifacts.

It claims to have everything

from the partial remains
of all 12 apostles,

to 22 wood fragments
from the table

used during the Last Supper.

- It also displays
what's said to be a scrap

of the Virgin Mary's veil,

and a priceless piece
of the true cross

which Jesus was crucified on.

- [Dennis] If these
objects are the real deal,

how did they end
up in Pittsburgh?

- This extraordinary collection
and the church that houses it

is the life's work of a man
named Father Suitbert Mollinger.

Born into a wealthy
family in Belgium in 1828,

Mollinger spends his
youth traveling Europe,

seeking a spiritual purpose.

- He first studies
medicine in Naples, Rome,

and Genoa, Italy.

Then at the age of 24,

he enters the seminary in
Ghent to become a priest.

- In 1854, he moves to
Pittsburgh, and is ordained.

What drives Father
Mollinger is the belief

that miracles can occur,
not just in Jesus's time,

but in our own modern day.

And all you need
are holy relics.

- He gets this idea from
passages in the New Testament.

One from Matthew 9:20
tells how a woman,

who had been bleeding for 12
years, touches Jesus's cloak,

hoping it will cure her.

Jesus turns and says,

"Take heart, daughter,
your faith has healed you."

- For Mollinger, he's not
collecting these Biblical relics

to draw pilgrims to his church.

He believes that these
objects are still charged

with God's power,

and he can use them for a
holy mission to cure the sick.

- In addition to
his pastoral duties,

Mollinger tends to
the physical ailments

of as many as 100
or 150 people a day.

He's combining his love
of medicine, religion,

and community service,
and in so doing,

he finds his true calling.

- [Dennis] Mollinger
is convinced

that the more
relics he can find,

the more people he can heal,
but it's no small task.

- During the 1860s and '70s,

European leaders like
Italy's Giuseppe Garibaldi,

and German Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck,

are leading violent
anti-Catholic campaigns.

Relics are being confiscated.

Some are sold to
the highest bidder,

others are simply destroyed.

- Mollinger sends a network of
trusted agents across Europe.

Their mission is to find, to
authenticate, to purchase,

and to ship relics
back to Pittsburgh,

where they'll be
safe and secure.

- As his collection grows,

Mollinger needs a
place to display them.

In 1880, he spends over
$300,000 of his own money

to build a church,
sparing no expense.

Remember, he comes
from a wealthy family.

- The holy artifacts are
placed in golden reliquaries,

which are ornate
containers designed

to showcase and preserve them.

European-made stained
glass graces every window,

and daily mass is to be
performed at an altar

made of pure Roman marble.

- Mollinger's shrine is
dedicated three years later

on June 13, 1883.

Now, this date is
no coincidence.

It's also the feast day
of his favorite saint,

St. Anthony of Padua, who's
known for his undying devotion

to the poor and the sick.

- As soon as the shrine opens,
thousands of people visit.

For many, it isn't the relics
that are drawing them there,

but Father Mollinger himself.

He uses the artifacts
as a direct link to God.

He bestows blessings and
writes prescriptions.

He even hires a
druggist to fill them.

- Newspaper articles
written at that time,

all relay accounts of miraculous
cures at St. Anthony's.

Healing the blind,
paralyzed persons,

even removing demons
from the possessed.

- When he's not trying
to heal the sick,

Mollinger continues to save
relics from destruction.

Eventually, the
collection grows so large

that a bigger church is needed.

- Sadly, just two days
after the new church opens

on June 13, 1892, following
surgery for a ruptured stomach,

Father Mollinger dies with
a crucifix in his hand.

- Today, the 5,000
relics at St. Anthony's

are carefully displayed and
curated in 800 reliquaries,

and open to the public
by advanced booking.

- It may not see the
millions of pilgrims

that other more
famous holy sites do,

but for those who make the trek,

the experience is just
as epic, and divine.

- These sacred giants of the
world still hold many secrets.

Secrets that will continue
to inspire awe and wonder

for generations to come.

I'm Dennis Quaid, and thanks
for watching Holy Marvels.