All language subtitles for D.b.D.S01E03.1080p.WEB.h264-BAWD_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: An ancient
volcanic eruption in Italy

provides an unprecedented revelation

of the brutality of Roman life.

- These were unbelievably
violent affairs,

with limbs, blood and guts
flying all over the place.

NARRATOR: A devastating tsunami
in India reveals a long-lost legend.

- The disaster
removed six feet of sand,

exposing some massive
rock sculptures.

NARRATOR:
A horrific earthquake in Mexico

opens a door to a secret chamber
in an Aztec temple.

- They also discovered a pit of
human bones - adults and children.

NARRATOR: All over the world,
incredible discoveries

are being revealed
by devastating events.

Floods, earthquakes, droughts.

Hurricanes, volcanic eruptions.

Trails of destruction
expose long-lost mysteries.

This is Discovered by Disaster.

NARRATOR: On August 24th, 79 CE,

after lying dormant for centuries...

..Italy's 4,000ft Mount Vesuvius
erupted.

The enormous explosion
took many of the citizens

living around the volcano
by complete surprise.

(screams echo)

- In the initial stages
of the eruption

fine ash followed by pumice,
a porous volcanic rock,

began raining down
on the people of Pompeii,

a town about five miles
from Vesuvius.

MAN: An ominous ten-mile
mushroom cloud appeared in the sky.

And then the eruption
took a turn for the worse.

Avalanches of superheated rock
began cascading down the volcano

while toxic ash and gases

spewed from Vesuvius's mouth
and covered the entire countryside.

NARRATOR: While the vast majority
of Pompeii fled...

..those who remained were subjected

to a deadly concoction
of toxic gases

and hot rock and ash

that buried the entire town
in up to 23ft of volcanic debris.

- It's estimated that 2,000 men,
women and children of Pompeii

died in this disaster -

some of them asphyxiated
as a result of the volcanic gases,

while others died from
being blasted by extreme heat.

(screams echo)

NARDI: Following this, a tsunami of
hot rock and ash covered them all.

It's almost unimaginable.

- That's the thing though.
It's almost unimaginable

because we can imagine it.

And that's because
of the dozens of feet of ash

covering the town where everything
has been perfectly preserved

since that fateful day
over 2,000 years ago.

LEONARD: The victims
were initially covered in ash.

But over time this ash hardened,

preserving the position
and outline of their bodies,

leaving behind what are essentially
human plaster moulds.

- The disaster created
an archaeological marvel

that we're still exploring
and studying today.

Although Pompeii was
first discovered by a grape farmer

in the 18th century, it has been
continuously excavated ever since.

The 2,000-year-old tragedy provides
an endless amount of insight

into the life and times
of ancient Romans.

NARRATOR:
In 2024, archaeologists excavating

a section of central Pompeii

were stunned when they came across
the remains of a man and a woman.

- It's not like finding remains
is entirely unexpected

but, as an archaeologist,
when you do find human remains,

you always take some time
to think about the individual.

Who were they?
And, in this case, it appears to be

an elderly man and woman
seeking shelter in an alleyway.

- They're lying in the alley of what
the Romans called an insula,

which essentially meant
an entire city block.

In this insula, there appears
to have been a bakery

as well as several family homes.

And these remains
were found in front of a doorway

leading into one of these houses.

- The space where they died
is actually free from the debris

that fell during the first phase
of the eruption.

But the bodies are covered
in a grey lapilli

that fell during the second phase.

Lapilli are molten
or semi-molten pieces of lava.

So you can only imagine the kind of
damage they would do to your skin.

- So they probably found this place

and, seeing that it was
relatively free of volcanic debris,

they hoped in vain that it would
provide some form of protection.

NARRATOR: In a room adjacent to
where the elderly couple was found,

archaeologists have previously
found cups filled with pigment.

NARDI: The pigment was probably
being applied to the walls.

The Romans
were very fond of frescoes,

which is a method of applying paint
onto fresh plaster,

often with elaborate images
or scenes.

In Pompeii, there are hundreds,
if not thousands,

of gorgeous frescoes in people's
homes, including this one.

- What's interesting here
is that there are drawings

that haven't been filled in
with colour yet.

The outlines have been drawn,
but the fresco isn't painted.

There is also old scaffolding
lying about the place,

the kind you see workers use
for construction.

- So my guess
is that when Vesuvius erupted,

there were painters here
hard at work.

We do know that an earthquake
had occurred

in the days
preceding the eruption.

So it could be that handymen
and painters

were already repairing damaged walls
and repainting frescoes.

Maybe they were about to apply the
pigment when the disaster struck.

CANTOR: It isn't just beautiful
frescoes that were being created.

There are funny-looking
stick figures drawn on the wall.

What are these things?

NARRATOR: On the wall are images
of two people playing with a ball

as well as two boxers

with one seemingly knocked out

prostrate on the ground.

- These are funny little sketches.

They seem pretty innocent,
as if they were drawn quite quickly

and different
from the frescoes that we see

everywhere else in ancient Rome.

- Frescoes were made
not just for their beauty,

but also because, in a society
where most were illiterate,

it was through images
that information,

myths and stories could be told.

But these little triangular
stick figures

were obviously not drawn
as decoration.

What we're looking at here
is graffiti.

- Today, you see graffiti tagged
all over the place.

It depicts everything from political
opinions to art, humour and sadness.

It often reflects
the spirit or problems of a time

as well as the values of a society.

And just like in today's cities,
ancient Rome was no different.

People were active graffiti artists.

NARRATOR: All over Pompei
are 11,000 pieces of graffiti,

covering a wide variety of topics.

Political candidates and messages,

results from gladiatorial battles,

personal insults,
declarations of love,

and even just simple jokes
adorn the city's walls.

CANTOR: One joke reads,
"I'm amazed, oh, wall,

that you haven't fallen into ruins

since you hold the boring scribbles
of so many writers".

Or take this
rather heartwarming one:

"We two dear men,
friends forever, were here.

If you want to know our names,
they are Gaius and Aulus."

But it's not all love and humour.

There are also
intricate descriptions

of battle between gladiators

seen on a wall
in the great theatre of Pompeii.

NARDI: Just like today,
people felt the need

to share a rather wide variety
of feelings and thoughts.

But these little
stick figure graffitis

are quite different
from all the other ones.

So what's going on?

NARRATOR:
Archaeologists also discover

three small hands
next to the two boxers.

- The graffiti
on this section of the wall

is only about 1.5ft
above the ground.

And these drawings
are very simplistic -

different from
the detailed, impressive images

depicting gladiatorial combat.

Also, considering
how small these hands are,

I think it's safe to say
that whoever drew on this wall

was a child.

NARRATOR: In a nearby courtyard
of the same insula,

more charcoal graffiti is found.

However, the art has taken on
a less playful theme

with what looks like
hunters spearing animals

and two men engaging in combat.

- The animals
have bristles drawn on them,

which makes me think
they're wild boars.

And, when also considering the
two men squaring up to each other,

I'm not so sure those two stick men
with spears are hunters at all.

- We know
that one of the principal forms

of mass entertainment
in ancient Rome

was for people to head down
to the local amphitheatre

for some good old
gladiatorial combat.

These were
unbelievably violent affairs

with limbs, blood and guts
flying all over the place.

- But what's lesser known
is that citizens of Rome

also had a special place
in their hearts

for pitting man against beast.

Fighters specifically trained for
the task of taking on a wild animal,

like a lion or bear, to the death.

NARRATOR: Venationes were events
of such immense popularity

that the entire Roman empire

was scoured for crocodiles,
hippopotamuses, panthers

and other ferocious beasts.

- The fighters entering the ring
with lions and tigers

were known as bestiarii and were in
a category separate from gladiators.

Regardless, they certainly
made quite the impression

because this child of Pompeii

decided to tag a wall
with a scene from a venatio.

NARDI: The child was likely
doing so from memory

and not from his imagination.

Children, after all,
did attend these events.

The fact that they were
drawing gladiators

confronting each other in the arena
and bestiarii taking on wild boars

gives us a lot of insight into
the mentality of ancient Romans.

- In ancient Rome, violence was
a popular source of entertainment

and children would have witnessed
an immense amount

of bloodshed and brutality.

They would have seen
gladiatorial combat, animal combat,

but also the public executions of
criminals of Christians of slaves.

You have to wonder what
that would do to a child's mind.

- Well, it did enough for this child

to want to immortalise the fighting
on a wall.

But, more importantly,
it both normalises violence

and encourages children
to look up to those

who are in the position
to carry out that violence.

NARRATOR: Rome was reliant on force

as a means to acquire
new resources and territory,

as well as to enforce
the payment of tribute

on those living
in the conquered provinces.

- How do you get people willing to
kill and maim in the name of empire?

You need to familiarise them
with brutality, romanticise it,

and glorify forces of virtue when
applied in the right situations.

- At its peak, the Roman military
numbered almost half a million men.

Think about what's needed

to maintain a fighting force
of that size.

Not just the logistical
sophistication required

to arm, feed and transport
those men,

but the culture required
to keep them fighting.

NARRATOR: Next to the bestiarii

the child has drawn
a simple eagle's head.

- The eagle is probably the symbol
most associated with ancient Rome.

It was the emblem of imperial power

and represented courage, strength
and immortality to the Romans.

- What this graffiti shows us
is not just that this kid

was caught up
in the propaganda of the empire.

This was
an intensely militarised society

and children were naturally
very much a part of it.

NARRATOR: Today,
this is the most densely populated

volcanic region on the planet.

Around three million people live
close enough to Mount Vesuvius

to be impacted by an eruption.

And, of them, upwards of 700,000

live in what is known as
the death zones.

It last erupted in 1944,

but the last major eruption
occurred in 1631.

So it is due for another big one.

When that will happen...
only Vesuvius knows.

NARRATOR: December 26th, 2004.

Along the coast of Tamil Nadu
in southern India,

people go about their morning under
clear blue skies and little wind.

- What they didn't know
was that at 6:29,

an enormous undersea
earthquake, magnitude 9.1,

struck just off the coast
of Sumatra.

It was one of the five largest
earthquakes ever recorded

since the invention
of the seismograph.

Enormous waves
travelling at around 500mph

began spreading out
from the epicentre

and across the Indian Ocean.

When they eventually reached
shorelines thousands of miles away,

the devastation was total.

Some coastal communities
as far as East Africa

were hit by massive tsunamis
of up to 30ft.

225,000 people across South
and Southeast Asia lost their lives.

The tsunami
destroyed fishing grounds

and poisoned valuable farmland
with saltwater.

In south India,
over 10,000 people perished,

mostly in and around the city
of Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

This area was devastated.

NARRATOR: Just under 40 miles
south of Chennai, India,

in the town of Mahabalipuram,

the force of the tsunami had
uncovered several massive boulders

that had been buried under the sand
for years.

- The disaster had,

in effect, removed six feet of sand
from the beach,

exposing some very big boulders.

But these were no ordinary boulders.

These were massive rock sculptures.

NARDI: One boulder,
about the size of a man,

was carved into the shape
and face of a lion.

And on the back side are images
of an elephant and a horse.

The elephant is carrying
what's called a howdah

which, in Hindi,
means a carriage or seat

that would be used
for riding an elephant.

- Where the writer should be sitting
is instead a little space,

a small hole carved into the rock.

My guess is that this nook
is an altar

where you can place a statue
of a deity.

In Hindu mythology, the god Indra,
the king of all gods,

is often depicted atop an elephant.

So this boulder probably functioned,

at least partially,
as a shrine to him.

NARRATOR:
On the other side of the boulder,

there was a similar hollow
carved out of the lion's chest.

- Again,
this would have been a mount

for a god or goddess -
in this case Durga,

the protective mother
of the universe.

She's often depicted riding a lion,

so this was likely a shrine
where they can worship her.

But the craftsmanship here
is incredible.

Who created
these magnificent altars?

NARRATOR:
Mahabalipuram is an ancient city

that began rising to prominence
around the 1st century CE.

- As a testament
to how old this place is,

ancient Chinese, Persian and even
Roman coins have been found here.

But what this also means
is that it was a great maritime city

engaged in trade with cultures
from all over the world.

NARDI: Mahabalipuram was
and remains a Tamil city.

The Tamil people trace their
ancestry back thousands of years

and continue to inhabit large parts
of southern India and Sri Lanka.

NARRATOR: Other boulders unearthed
by the tsunami reveal carvings

with inscriptions depicting animals
and gods, some written in Tamil.

NARDI: One of them speaks to the
existence of a Subramanya temple

located in a little hamlet nearby.

NARRATOR:
Inspired by the ancient text,

archaeologists arrive at the hamlet

and begin excavating a mound
that has remained undisturbed,

likely for centuries.

- They find what looks like a fairly
large wall constructed out of stone.

And then,
on the other side of that wall,

they find a rectangular building

that was built using
two different kinds of bricks.

- The lower part of the foundation
is made of large bricks,

while the upper part is made
of narrower, smaller ones.

This probably means
that whoever built this

did so at two different times.

- And given the inscription
on the rock,

I'm going to assume
this foundation is a plinth,

which is another word for a
square slab at the base of a column.

And, in this case, at the base
of what might be a temple.

NARRATOR:
While continuing to excavate,

the archaeologists find
what appears to be a six-foot spear

carved entirely out of granite,
placed on a row of lotuses.

- The spear and lotuses are
associated with Lord Subramanya,

the Hindu god of war.

Considering all these discoveries,
there seems to be several sites

with a clear and pretty heavy
religious significance.

Did the tsunami uncover
some sort of religious centre?

- According to a famous legend,

when approaching Mahabalipuram,

sailors could see what was known
as the Seven Pagodas.

A pagoda is a tall, tiered temple,

the kind that you see
all over South and East Asia.

When the seamen saw them
appear on the horizon,

they knew they were about to arrive
at the famous port.

- The legend continues on
to say that one day

the god Indra grew jealous
of Mahabalipuram's beauty.

And so he destroyed the pagodas
with a powerful storm.

This was always considered a myth.

But could there be more to this
story than previously thought?

NARRATOR: The archaeologists
are called back to the beach

to investigate a square shape

revealed by the impact
of the tsunami,

similar to the one
excavated at Saluvankuppam.

- The excavations reveal
an 82ft long by 65ft wide rectangle

built entirely out of granite.

There's also an inscription in Tamil
reading "cika malla eti"

engraved in the stone.

The terms "malla" and "eti"
were titles used by Pallava kings.

RISKIN: Pallava refers to
an old south Indian dynasty

that ruled much of this region
from the 3rd to the 9th century.

They were incredibly powerful
and had a huge influence

an the cultural and historical
dynamics of India in that time.

- There is also a sculpture
of a sitting lion

coated with lime and painted
in the same style

we have seen
in other Pallava temples.

But the way this lion is sculpted,
sitting down,

indicates that it's from
a specific period

of the 600-year rule
of the Pallava -

the famous king, Narasimhavarman I,
who ruled during the 7th century.

NARRATOR:
Reports begin filtering through

that just before the tsunami hit,

when the water
was sucked out to sea,

fishermen saw what they thought
was a row of sculptures

on the ocean floor.

- The fishermen saw stone remains
and what looked like big blocks

that made up a complex of sorts.

But then,
as quickly as they appeared,

they vanished
under an endless amount of water.

Could this be what remains
of the actual seven pagodas?

NARRATOR: Diving underwater,
archaeologists find a stone complex

that covers a significant area lying
perpendicular to the shoreline.

- Similar to the temple
that was found on the shore,

there is the foundation of a wall
running for about 20ft

with shorter walls
perpendicular to it.

They also find several large stone
blocks scattered across a wide area

that appear to have formed
a large structure that collapsed.

NARRATOR: This complex
is constructed in a very similar way

to a famous ancient temple in
Mahabalipuram, the Shore Temple.

They are both built using large
granite blocks that are interlocking

without mortar
binding them together.

- So, the construction styles
are similar

and we know the Shore Temple
is a site of worship.

So, could this complex under the
water have had the same function?

- There are no remains of pottery
at the bottom of the sea -

vital evidence that could indicate

that the space was used
as a residence.

Nor are there any old anchors
or maritime artefacts

that could indicate that it was
part of the old seaport or harbour.

So, considering all this,

it's safe to say that
it was definitely a site of worship.

This now underwater complex

may have been
one of the Seven Pagodas.

- But what's weird is we know
that, for the last 5,000 years,

there have only been
minor fluctuations

in sea level all around here.

So, how did this place
get so submerged?

NARRATOR: Archaeologists
begin conducting analysis

of the layers of soil
making up the coastline.

- The area has an average
yearly coastal erosion rate

of around 1.8ft a year.

That's not very much but
if you multiply it by 1300 years

which have passed
since the Pallava dynasty happened

and since these temples
were created,

that's more than 2,000ft
of coastline eroded into the sea.

NARDI: So the complex was located
well onshore back then.

The Pallava kings
couldn't have foreseen

that the natural process of erosion

would one day put their
magnificent temples under the ocean.

But what about the temple
that was excavated on land?

It collapsed and was covered
by sand. What explains that?

NARRATOR: Archaeologists
begin looking at the sediments

surrounding
the Saluvankuppam temple site.

The analysis reveals sand deposits

containing a large amount
of single-celled organisms

with a relatively hard shell.

These are foraminiferans -
or forams, for short -

tiny little organisms found
throughout the earth's oceans.

They're basically like these cute,
teeny-tiny amoebas with shells.

But what's important
about their presence here

is that forams don't just end up
on the beach willy-nilly.

- This foraminifera,
found at the site,

doesn't live on the seafloor
but drifts around the ocean

at depths of roughly 130-160ft.

If a storm destroyed these temples,

could that same storm have churned
the sea up to such an extent

that they were transported from
their habitat and deposited here?

- Although cyclones in this area are
a serious force to be reckoned with,

waves only reach
a maximum height of about 20ft,

which is not powerful enough
to bring up organisms

inhabiting depths below 65ft.

- This means there must have been
a really big wave

that churned the sea enough to
bring those things onto shore,

something like a tsunami.

So, it's not outlandish to suggest
that a tsunami or multiple tsunamis,

similar in size
to the one from 2004,

destroyed the magnificent
temples of Mahabalipuram.

NARRATOR: The destruction
of the Pallava temples

and the subsequent loss
of the Seven Pagodas

was the result
of a series of natural disasters

and the inevitable impact of time.

Until now, the Seven Pagodas
have been the stuff of legend,

only for a discovery
made possible by disaster

to turn that myth into reality.

NARRATOR: On September 19th, 2017,

Mexico carried out
an earthquake-preparedness drill

commemorating a devastating quake
that struck on the same day in 1985.

Barely two hours later, the earth
shook for a terrifying 20 seconds.

- This was known
as the Puebla earthquake.

On the Mercalli scale,
which measures the actual

real-world effects of a quake -
it registered an 8 or "severe".

RISKIN: 370 people died.

More than 6,000 people were injured.

More than 150 churches
were damaged or destroyed,

as well as several significant
historical and cultural sites.

But here's the thing
about that earthquake.

It was made way more traumatising

because it happened
on exactly the same day of the year

as the infamous 1985 earthquake
before it.

Sometimes coincidences happen
but, for a lot of Mexicans,

it was hard to believe
that this was just random chance.

NARRATOR:
35 miles south of Mexico City

and less than 60 miles
from the epicentre

archaeologists in the town of
Cuernavaca

are dismayed to discover
serious structural damage

to the Aztec pyramid at Teopanzolco.

The Aztecs were a people
indigenous to Mexico

that consisted
of several ethnic subgroups

that spoke the same language
and shared certain cultural traits.

They dominated Central Mexico
from the 13th century

until the arrival of the Spanish
in the 1500s.

- Teopanzolco is an extremely
important Aztec site,

one of only a few surviving examples
of the twin-temple design.

Its main structure,
the pyramidal Great Platform,

is estimated to have been built
around 1200,

and was active for a century or more
before it was eventually abandoned.

AGBEDOR: The Pueblo quake
put Teopanzolco's future in doubt.

Some of the most serious damage

was to the upper part of the
platform within the twin temples.

The floors of both of them were
dangerously destabilised and bent.

NARRATOR: Structural engineers and
archaeologists, working together,

hurry to cut two wells,
large vertical holes,

straight down into the corridor
that's between the two temples.

- This was a kind of
exploratory surgery.

They knew these temporary wells
would further weaken the structure

for as long as they were open.

The plan was to get in, assess the
damage, do the necessary repairs,

and get out as quickly as possible.

NARRATOR: But when archaeologists
descend into the wells,

they come across something
completely unexpected.

It's a structure, a rectangular box,
about 20 by 13ft.

Its walls are covered in these
elongated stone slabs

which were encased in stucco, an
ancient sand-based cement plaster.

This is all inside the Great
Platform. What on earth is this?

- Around 1200 CE, the Tlahuica,

a previously-nomadic Aztec subgroup,

moved into the Valley of Mexico
and built Teopanzolco.

- Soon after they had built the
Great Platform that we see today

and had started building
the twin temples on top of it,

they suddenly, inexplicably
abandoned the site.

Why? No-one knows.

- The design is made up
of a pyramidal base

with a pair of steep staircases.

Atop the platform, there's a temple
to Tlaloc, the god of rain,

and one to Huitzilopochtli,

the Aztec god of war and the sun.

NARRATOR:
Hundreds of pottery shards are found

in and around
the newly-discovered structure,

as well as one
clearly identifiable artefact.

- This is a censer,
a ceremonial incense burner.

The Aztec people believed
that their four primordial gods

had been transformed into
giant trees that upheld the stars.

They considered resin and sap
to be the blood of trees,

so they collected and dried them
to make sacred incense.

- A censer like this
would have been used

to spread the smoke and aroma
of the incense

throughout a space
during ceremonies.

So the mere presence of it
tells us that this concealed room

is a place of worship -
a temple or a shrine.

RISKIN: Its design and shape
are similar

to the temple Tlaloc directly above,
even if there is a size difference.

So, based on all that, this was
probably also a shrine to Tlaloc.

But why would it be
hidden away down here?

NARRATOR: Experts
in ancient Aztec building techniques

examine the physical interface
between this hidden shrine

and the surrounding structure
of the Great Platform.

- They determined that portions
of the walls of the Great Platform

that surround
this newly-discovered shrine

were connected to it or, in some
cases, partially supported by it.

- This means that those outer walls

are newer
than this inner, hidden shrine.

The shrine wasn't hidden at all
when it was built.

It was built in plain view,
was used for some time

and then, at some point,

the rest of the structure was built
around and on top of it.

- This is exciting news because it
means the entire site at Teopanzolco

is older than anyone
had previously thought.

We had just been looking
at the newest part of it

until the earthquake happened.

So how old is this place?

NARRATOR:
The architectural characteristics

of the shrine's structure
and analysis of the ceramic shards

date to around 1150 CE.

- The Aztecs believed that 52 years
was one lifecycle -

for the gods and also on Earth.

So it was their practice
that every 52 years

their religious buildings
should be reborn.

They would build a new temple
around and on top of an older one.

- The math works out perfectly.
The buildings at Teopanzolco

were previously believed to go back
as far as about 1200 CE

and this newly-discovered shrine

is estimated to be
from around 1150 CE,

about 50 years older.

- So that would mean
that the Tlahuica settled

and built a platform with the shrine
by at least around 1150

and then, 52 years later,
around the year 1200,

they built the larger Great Platform
over and around it.

Then they started building
the twin temples:

the one to Tlaloc
and the other to Huitzilopochtli.

- Huitzilopochtli, the god of
war and the sun, was significant.

The Aztecs considered themselves
to be people of the sun

and believed Huitzilopochtli,
as the sun god,

required nourishment
in the form of human sacrifice

to maintain the strength
to rise into the sky every day.

NARRATOR:
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish,

the Aztec had begun documenting
their history and cultural practices

in manuscripts now known
as the Aztec codices.

Here they described many instances

of ritual human sacrifices
being carried out at Templo Mayor,

which was the main temple
of the Mexica people,

another Aztec subgroup
in what is now Mexico City.

- It was common for
the Mexica people at Templo Mayor

to drag a captured warrior,
or whomever they chose,

up the steps by the hair,
pin them down,

cut out their heart and burn it
to send it to the gods as a gift.

- That was a major difference
between the Mexica and the Tlahuica

according to the Tlahuica.

After the Spanish conquered
the Aztecs in 1521,

Tlahuican informants
told the Spanish

that the Tlahuica did not take
part in human sacrifices

until the Mexica had conquered them

and forced them to do sacrifices

which would have been
around the year 1430.

But was that true or is that just
Tlahuican revisionist history?

NARRATOR: When Teopanzolco was
originally unearthed in the 1920s,

archaeologists found no evidence
of human sacrifice.

But during the 1960s,
they unearthed a series

of seven curious stone platforms...

..five with sharp corners and edges
and two that were rounded.

- One of those two round stone
platforms had human skulls in it.

And it's known that the Aztecs
used round altars

when making sacrifices
to the god of the wind.

- They also discovered
a pit of human bones -

the remains of 92 people,

of adults and children
of both genders.

Also mixed in with the remains
were ceramic offerings -

a flute and obsidian blades.

Obsidian, being volcanic glass,

naturally produces
extremely sharp edges,

making it ideal for cutting into
bodies, flaying skin

and scraping flesh off bones.

- So when the Tlahuica
told the inquisitors

that they didn't practise
human sacrifice

until the Mexica forced them to,

that might not have been
the whole truth.

The discovery of these bones and the
fact the artefacts buried with them

date from around 1300 CE

is positive proof that human
sacrifices occurred at Teopanzolco

prior to it being abandoned.

- As for the older, inner shrine,

there's no hard evidence
one way or the other

as to whether or not sacrifices
were ever performed there.

NARRATOR: After carrying out
the urgent refortification

of the Great Platform,

and taking as many recordings
and samples as possible

in the short time they have,

archaeologists once again seal up
all access to the inner shrine.

- Those wells had to be closed up.

Preserving the structural integrity

of a historical and cultural site
like this

tops all other considerations.

- For whatever reason,
when the Aztecs

built over the original shrine,

they purposely sealed off
all access to it.

And it seems they planned their work
very effectively

as it took a powerful earthquake
to bring it to light,

even if only for a short time.

NARRATOR: The shrine and whatever
other mysteries lie within it

are hidden once again.

For how long this time
is anybody's guess.

NARRATOR: The Great Salt Lake, Utah.

A megadrought affecting the
entire southwest of North America

means the largest lake west
of the Mississippi is drying up.

- Since 2000, the water level
of the Great Salt Lake

has been steadily decreasing.

There's less water flowing in

and, as temperatures rise,

much more is being lost
through evaporation.

And because the lake
is unusually shallow,

when the water level drops,
the shoreline retreats rapidly.

- This is the largest saltwater lake
in the Western Hemisphere,

so the name Great Salt Lake
has been fitting,

but it's now
a third of the size it was

when the first Europeans
arrived here.

NARRATOR: On May 22, 2020,

a windstorm of uncommon power
rose unexpectedly

and tore through the
Great Salt Lake's southern shores.

- Windstorms in this area are rare,
but they do happen

and they can appear suddenly
with little to no warning.

And when those winds
come through the mountains,

they can act like a funnel and
accelerate airflow substantially.

AGBEDOR:
The storm produced waves so powerful

that they damaged the lakebed
and washed away quantities of sand.

And because the lake
has a very shallow profile,

the shore gets unstable
when it gets choppy.

NARRATOR: The day after the storm,

the state's park service was out
assessing any potential damage,

when they made
a remarkable discovery.

- Jutting up out of the water
along the shoreline

are the ribs
of a severely corroded ship.

It's between 30 and 40 feet long
and the main structure is steel,

but there's some wood planking
present.

So what ship is this?

- The Great Salt Lake is more than
five times as salty as any ocean,

so all identifying markings
on the vessel

have been eaten away
by the lake's corrosive waters.

AGBEDOR: Most lakes
ultimately have some sort of stream

or river outlet to the sea.

Not Great Salt Lake.
It's what's called a terminal lake.

It sits on the Great Basin

which is like
a big, shallow rock dish

that holds all the water in.

- Since the last ice age, as water
has been flowing into this lake,

the only way any of that water
has ever left the lake,

for the most part, is evaporation.
Here's the thing with evaporation.

It's just the H2O that goes out.
So all this salt and water comes in,

only water goes out
and you just get more and more salt

and the salinity just keeps getting
higher and higher and higher.

NARRATOR: Initial examination
of the wreck site

reveals no artefacts
or personal possessions

that can help identify it.

LEONARD: For millennia, of course,

it was only the native Americans
who lived on the lake -

the Shoshone,
the Fremont people and others.

It wasn't until the mid-1800s

that boats of European design
made their first appearance here.

- The fact that this
newly-discovered vessel

was primarily made of steel

immediately excludes
many of the other ships

known to have sailed
on the Great Salt Lake,

which were primarily made of wood
- like the Cambria II,

a popular tourist vessel.

NARRATOR: Probing the wreck further,

something unusual about the ship
catches the eye of observers.

- It has a flat bottom,
unlike most vessels,

which have a V-shaped hull.

Because the Great Salt Lake
has a shallow profile,

some working boats
that had to carry heavy loads

were designed with a flat bottom
to prevent grounding.

- Intriguingly, there's a rail line
that cuts directly across the middle

of the Great Salt Lake and
it's currently run by Union Pacific.

- Could it have something to do
with this wreck?

NARRATOR:
What's known as the Lucin Cutoff

lies about 50 miles north
of the wreck site.

Now just a gravel-filled causeway,

the cutoff has a much more
grand history.

- When the transcontinental railway
was first built,

trains had to take the long,
mountainous way around the lake,

between Lucin and Ogden.

That section of line
was 146 miles long.

And going through the mountains

meant trains had to climb
a steep grade, 700 feet up...

..only to go down again.

- After decades of having trains
slogging through the mountain pass,

the Central Pacific Railway
put an audacious plan into action.

They just kind of bypass
right across the lake...

..including a section of wooden
trestles that's 12 miles long.

- A trestle bridge design

is a large number of triangles
all connected together.

This gives
incredible strength and stability

enough that even a structure of wood
can support a whole train.

But building one of these would take
thousands of pieces of heavy timber.

And to get all of that wood
out to the site

they use steel boats
with flat hulls,

similar in size and design
to the wreck.

NARRATOR: After the Lucin Cutoff
was completed in 1904,

the supply boats
weren't needed any more

and a lot of the fleet
was sold off to various buyers.

- In 2014, one of the boats
was found completely by accident.

And it happened when someone
was using side-scan sonar

to search for
a dropped piece of equipment.

That boat turned out to be
the WE Marsh No.4,

which had been donated
to the Sea Scouts in 1936

and was probably a sister boat
to the wreck.

- We don't know exactly when or how
this wreck met its demise,

but all signs point to it being
a work boat

that's likely more than
125 years old.

And that played a vital role

in building an iconic
American railroad trestle.

NARRATOR:
The ship is a piece of history,

brought to light by a horrible
drought and freak windstorm.

Ironically, a storm like the one
that uncovered the wreck

may be what sank it
in the first place.

Subtitles by Sky Access Services