All language subtitles for America Unearthed S01E11 Tracking the Templars

Hey, Paul, how's life in Rhode Island?

Not good.

An arcanza runestone, the one with the
hook decks, it's gone.

Gone? What do you mean it's gone?

It's not there. I think somebody stole
it.

Stole the runestone?

I mean, it's a huge boulder. How does
somebody get that out of the water? Are

you sure?

I'm sure. I went down there at low tide.

There's no stone.

Oh, my God.

Well, this is a problem.

We've got to handle this right now.

I'm going to change my ticket. I'm
heading your way, Paul.

The history that we were all taught
growing up is wrong.

My name is Scott Wolker, and I'm a
forensic geologist.

There's a hidden history in this country
that nobody knows about.

There are pyramids here, chambers,
tombs, inscriptions.

They're all over this country.

We're going to investigate these
artifacts and sites, and we're going to

the truth.

Sometimes history.

Isn't what we've been told.

I'm a forensic geologist. I make my
living studying rocks.

One stone has always fascinated me. The
Narragansett Stone.

A three -ton boulder that once sat about
60 feet offshore in Rhode Island's

Narragansett Bay.

What interests me about it is a
mysterious symbol etched on the rock's

Some academics dismiss it as nothing
more than modern graffiti, but I'm

convinced there's something more.

The symbol is an X with a notch carved
in the top right arm. I call it the

Hooked X.

I've seen it on five stones in the
entire world, including the one that

mysteriously disappeared from
Narragansett Bay.

That's where I'm headed.

I want to find out how an enormous
boulder the size of a pool table just

vanished into thin air.

I want to know who took it and why.

My gut tells me it has everything to do
with that symbol.

I can't believe it's gone.

What the hell?

I know.

I mean, I've lived here all my life.

A rock of that size being removed from
the bay, I was stuck.

I knew you weren't lying to me, but I
had to see it myself.

How did you first find out that it was
missing? Well, I had heard that a

kayaker, an amateur archaeologist, was
looking to observe the stone.

You came out and you couldn't find it.

And I came out to help locate it. And I
came down here. The stone was gone.

It's gone.

Is there any evidence? I mean, has
anybody found anything that might tell

something? Well, you know, the stone was
a giant stone.

I know. I've been out here many times.
It would require a professional

to remove it.

By sea, you would need a barge and a
crane nearby here. No, somebody would

seen that. My conclusion is that it was
taken by land.

This picture shows looking toward that
shoreline and that tree, you can see the

deep rut here and the movement of all
the stones and the dirt as if a sled or

big tire tracks, bobcat, I don't know
what it was, but you can clearly see it

that direction.

Well, we're talking about a rock that's
about eight feet long. It's about four

feet wide, probably weighs at least two,
three tons.

And so it probably was dragged along
here. Something had that access at this

point. There's one question I want to
ask you, Paul, I want to be very clear

Okay. High tide, it's underwater.

Who owns this stone? Is it private land
or is it state land? In Rhode Island, it

is state land. So it belongs to the
state. Okay. I just want to be clear on

that. Yes.

So what happened then? Well, I called my
colleagues at the attorney general's

office and alerted them that the stone
was missing and that time was of the

essence. So they're on it. They are
taking it seriously.

Good. Why do you think someone would
take this stone?

I think it has to be because of the
hooked X, that rare symbol carved on the

stone. It connects the boulder and this
place to one of the most secretive

organizations of all time.

People whom I believe discovered America
long before Columbus, the ninth

Templar.

I've been tracking them through this
symbol for years.

This stone is one of very few artifacts
that proves the Templars came to

America. And I want to know who the hell
took it.

I'm investigating the disappearance of
the Narragansett Stone. It sat about 60

feet offshore in Rhode Island's
Narragansett Bay.

It's huge. It would have cost a small
fortune to move and been hard to do

without someone seeing something.

What sets it apart from other stones is
a mysterious symbol etched on its

surface. A hooked X, which I've seen on
other artifacts.

I first saw it on the Kensington
Runestone.

an artifact I was hired to examine 12
years ago.

Since then, the hooked axe has been a
personal passion of mine.

I believe the hooked axes on both of
these stones were carved by the same

the Knight Templar.

The Templars were a wealthy and powerful
medieval military order that I think

came to America more than a century
before Columbus.

Why do you think anyone would take this
stone?

Well, there's a couple of reasons I can
think of, but probably the main reason

is because there are a lot of people out
there that don't want to believe that

the Knights Templar came to America
prior to Columbus.

So that could easily be one reason that
this stone was taken, because this is

one of the very few rune stones that we
have in this country with inscriptions

that contain a symbol called the hooked
X, which absolutely ties it to the

Knights Templar. What's the connection
between the hooked X and the Templars? I

tell you what, let's go back to your
place, get out of these waiters, and

tell you about it.

Come on in.

Hey, you a rock hunt?

Yeah, I've been a lifelong rock
collector.

Well, I recognize this one, Petrified
Woods. Is this from Arizona?

That's right. Oh, that's beautiful.

Hey, wait a minute. That's magnetic.

Is that Cumberlandite? That's
Cumberlandite. No way.

Yep, that is the state rock of Rhode
Island.

Wow, that's cool.

Have a seat. I know you're disappointed.

Beyond disappointing, it's a criminal
act as far as I'm concerned.

The size of that stone, I never thought
somebody would be able to take it out of

the bay.

If you had the right equipment, it
really wouldn't be that difficult.

What is it that's so significant about
this rune stone?

There's a symbol on the stone called the
hooked axe. And it's the chief piece of

evidence that proves to me without a
doubt that this is a medieval artifact.

it may not look like much, but it's
critically important.

I first came across this thing when I
did work on the Kensington Runestone,

which is another runestone that was
found in Minnesota in 1898. It

the experts.

They could decipher some of it, but they
couldn't get it all.

Nobody could figure out the hooked X. I
was hired in 2000 to do a forensic study

on that artifact, and I concluded it has
to be genuine.

What exactly did the Kensington Stone
say?

Basically, what it details is a trip by
30 people coming from Europe on a land

acquisition journey. And it's David
1362.

So that much we know. But being a
forensic geologist, I knew that if this

is genuine, there has to be an
explanation for this symbol.

There are five total rune stones that
have been found in North America. They

have the hook decks, the Kensington
Stone, three stones found up at Spirit

Maine, and the Narragansett Stone.

We also found the hook decks associated
with the Knights Templar and Freemasons

in a place that's well known to
everybody from the Da Vinci Code movie

Roslyn Chapel.

Roslyn Chapel in Scotland was built by
William Sinclair in 1446.

The Sinclairs were a powerful family
with strong ties to the Knights Templar.

That may be why the hooked X was found
inside the chapel. To me, there's no

doubt the hooked X is a Templar symbol.
The other place that the hooked X has

been found is also associated with
Templars, but most people don't realize

In Christopher Columbus's Sigla, he
started using the hooked X symbol after

came back from the New World that first
time.

Columbus was a member of the Knights of
Christ.

That's what the Knights Templar in
Portugal were called.

All three of his ships, the Nina, the
Pinta, and the Santa Maria, flew flags

showing the Templar cross.

Columbus also married into the Sinclair
family, who built Roslyn Chapel, the

same chapel where I spotted the hooked
ex.

You know, Paul, there's a lot of people
that don't want to believe that the

Knights Templar came to America before
Columbus.

But I know they did.

And the Kensington Runestone, the Spirit
Pod Runestones, and the Narragansett

Runestone prove that they did.

But why would the Templars come to
America?

Well, I think you have to go back to
Europe and take a look at the

first. The Cistercians founded the
Knights Templar, who were the guys with

swords. They were the fighting force for
not just...

the Cistercians, but for the church. But
ultimately, the Templars became too

powerful. And the church and the King of
France became concerned that they might

take over. And in fact, I think that's
what they were trying to do.

And they also believed in things that
the church didn't.

In 1307, both the King of France
combining with the Pope in Rome

outlawed the Knights Templar. And so
they were disbanded. They were arrested,

they were tortured, and they were
burned.

Within a day after that, the King of
France went to the port of La Rochelle,

where the Templar fleet was anchored.

And those ships were gone.

So the question is, what happened to
those ships? I think they came over here

North America. And I think they came
over here for two reasons.

The number one reason they came here, so
they could practice their religious

faith without persecution.

And I think they also came here to
protect a secret.

What secret?

The secret of the Holy Grail. You mean
the cup of Christ from Jesus' Last

Supper? That's what a lot of people
think, that the Holy Grail is a cup. But

don't think it's a cup. I believe and
I'm firmly convinced that the Holy Grail

is actually the bloodline that dates
back to Jesus and Mary Magdalene. That

union produced offspring and ancestors.

In fact, I believe the leadership of the
Knights Templar are the descendants of

Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

And once the church realized this, the
war was on. So they had to leave and

over here.

If he's a human being and if he had
children, he and his wife, Mary

had children.

What would that do to the Roman church?

It would destroy their very foundation.

So they had to put that down.

That's the real reason that they
arrested, tortured and burned the

Templar.

Remember that hook deck? Yeah. All
right.

Here's the symbolism that it represents.

If we take the X and we chop it in half,
okay, you end up with a V and a peak,

right? Well, the V is a symbol for the
feminine. It represents the vessel, the

chalice, the womb, the symbol for the
female.

When you invert that 180 degrees, you
end up with the sword, the phallic, the

penis, the symbol for the male. When you
combine them together to make an X, You

have the allegorical union of male and
female, heaven and earth, good, bad,

light, dark. This whole concept of
dualism. OK, we understand what this

symbolism is with the X.

But what's the hook?

That's the key question.

A child.

That's exactly what you see.

You know, a lot of people say that this
symbol also represents the Holy Trinity,

the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. In the case of the hooked axe,

what I think the Holy Trinity is. Jesus,
Mary Magdalene, and their child.

Say what? Let me show you something
else.

This was given to me by a Masonic
Knights Templar. This is a photograph.

of a life -size sculpture that was
commissioned back in 1531 this

property where this sculpture was made
was a former templar commandery okay

is jesus this is mary magdalene now what
do you see here she looks pregnant

i think that this represents the hook
deck's ideology right here this is jesus

here the male mary magdalene the female
and right there is the child That's what

the hooked X means.

So what we see depicted here is the Holy
Bloodline, and I think the Holy

Bloodline is the Holy Grail.

So how does this all connect to the
Narragansett Stone? Because the hooked X

on there, and the hooked X represents
the Holy Grail. And I think that the

Narragansett Runestone was a signpost
that was supposed to be left for the

followers to lead them to the Holy
Grail.

The missing Narragansett Stone isn't the
only place I've seen the Hooked X

symbol. I've seen it on other stones, in
documents, and in structures connected

to the Knights Templar and Freemasons.

I think the Hooked X symbolizes the
belief that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had

child. Following the Hooked X may lead
us to the Holy Grail. People disagree

about what exactly the Holy Grail is.
The cup Jesus drank from at the Last

Supper? Knowledge?

Treasure? Maybe something else. But I
think part of the grail is proof of

bloodline. I can't believe it. The
Narragansett room stone is gone.

We've lost a critical piece of evidence
that proves that the Templars came to

America before Columbus.

I mean, we've got to figure out a way to
get it back.

I'm astounded that the rock is missing.
I never thought it was possible.

We saw those marks, and I'm convinced it
was taken by the shore, not out to sea.

You know, I've been trying to get that
stone protected for years.

To get it preserved, to get it to a
place where it can be properly studied

out of the weather, out of the water.
We've got to find that stone.

It's unfortunate because now that
critical information is missing, they

us solve this mystery. We have to figure
out a way to get that stone back.

Well, Paul, I've got another interesting
thing I'm going to be investigating.

The Kensington Runestone has a dot code
embedded within it.

I believe the Kensington runestone was a
Templar artifact, a coded clue hinting

to the location of the Holy Grail. What
the carver did is he made punch marks on

certain characters within the
inscription.

The first four letters that are singled
out by punch marks are G -R -A -L, which

spells graal. In medieval old Swedish,
it spells grail. That grail.

And many people have said, oh, that's
crap. We don't believe that. The

think these are incidental marks.

They don't believe that they're man
-made. So what I'm going to do is

study with a 3D digital microscope to
try to make the determination once and

all if they're man -made and if they
were intentional. If the word grail was

intentionally carved on this stone here
in America, I think it's a clue that the

grail itself is here in America too.

Well, Garland, it's great to see you
again.

Well, Scott, it's great to see you. And
exactly what are you up to today? We

brought some new technology here to look
at the Kensington Runestone. This is

the Keynes 3D digital microscope, and
it's the latest technology that...

really takes us to the next level as far
as examining the stone. And you've

probably heard about the grail code and
the punch marks that make that. Some of

the skeptics have suggested there is no
such thing. So what we're going to do

today is try to make a determination if
the punch marks that spell out grail,

whether or not they're man -made or
accidental or natural.

On the Kensington Runestone, punch marks
are part of four separate runes.

Those letters spell G -R -A -L.

That's how grail is spelled in the
language used on the stone.

If I can prove those dots were at and
after the runes were made, it means they

were marked for a reason. Maybe as a
secret way for the Templars to

they brought Jesus' bloodline to
America.

These are definitely man -made. The
punch mark is very circular, it's larger

than the line, and it's much deeper than
the line.

So, no question that it's man -made. It
was clearly made after the original line

or groove was made, and then the punch
was added. This confirms that the Grail

code was done after the inscription was
carved. This is really important.

That's awesome, Scott.

And the fact that we have Grail...

on the kensington runestone now allows
me to investigate the next clue in this

whole hook decks mystery amazingly
enough i believe that i found another

of the hook deck inside the alleged tomb
of jesus himself

My research into the runestone and the
hooked axe led me to something called

Telpiat tomb, which was discovered in
Jerusalem in 1980.

There's a version of a hooked axe inside
the tomb on a stone box marked Jesus,

son of Joseph.

This could be the first place the hooked
axe was used to acknowledge the

controversial theory that Jesus had a
child.

Hey, Jerry. Hi, Scott. Hey, grab a
chair.

Glad to.

I wanted to meet with you because I have
a discovery that I made that I think

you're going to find very interesting.

I know you'll recognize this picture on
the Tel Piak tomb in Jerusalem.

Yes, I am part of a team of researchers
who have been looking into this tomb.

This tomb was uncovered in 1980, and
when the tomb was opened, it was

there were 10 ossuaries inside this
tomb. Now, an ossuary is a bone box.

When Jews at this time were buried,
their bones were placed inside these

boxes and then placed inside of these
tombs.

in burial niches or small tunnels you
said there were 10 ossuaries found in

yes and what's remarkable about these 10
ossuaries is that there were names

inscribed on these ossuaries these are
names that you'll recognize from your

testament readings as associated with
the family of jesus what are those names

well the big one of course is jesus son
of joseph we have a mary potentially the

mother of jesus we have a jose some
people think of as the brother of jesus

We have a Mary Ameneh, who people
associate with Mary Magdalene.

We actually have a Yehudah, a Judah son
of Jesus. Of course, that's a big deal.

Son of Jesus.

Yehudah son of Jesus.

What are the odds of that? I mean, how
do you quantify those names all

It's about 175 to 1 in favor of the idea
that this would be Jesus' family tomb.

That's a big number, 175 to 1. You can't
get those at the race track. I'll take

those odds any day. Those are excellent
odds. We're talking about bone boxes.

And, of course, the first thing that
comes to my mind is DNA testing. Has

anything been done to test the bones to
see who these people might be?

We were able to recover.

A few bone fragments from two of the
ossuaries, the Mary Omne Ossuary and the

Jesus Son of Joseph Ossuary.

What we've been able to show from those
tests is that this Jesus and this Mary

Omne are not of the same family. So it
preserves the possibility that she could

be the wife. They could have been
married.

The DNA revelation is compelling.

But the fact that there were bones in
Jesus' ossuary at all is even more

shocking. The Bible says Jesus' body and
soul.

both ascended into heaven. So if his
bones were in the tomb, that would call

into question the story of Christ's
physical remains.

I've been doing work on something called
the hooked axe, a mysterious symbol

that I believe might be connected to
your tomb.

If you take a close look at this Jesus
sanctuary, I believe this is an early

version of the hooked axe symbol. This
apparently says Jesus, son of Joseph,

starting right here.

What I'm interested in, and I think
you've probably seen it already, is this

symbol right here. And I have a
highlighted version of the same photo

the inscription more clearly.

But that is an X that has a little hook
on it.

So we have my hooked X right here that's
very reminiscent.

Now, that's not part of his name. It's a
standalone symbol. It is clearly not

part of the inscription.

Now, to me, it means something that I
believe represents the fact that he and

his wife, who I believe was Mary
Magdalene and many others do, that they

had children. We know that the bloodline
of Jesus carried out into the future.

We have a fairly reliable historical
source.

That tells us that the descendants of
Judah were actually once brought before

the Roman emperor out of concerns that
perhaps the family of Jesus was still a

potential trouble spot for the Roman
empire.

And they were threatened with execution.

And they only saved themselves by
demonstrating that they were simple

And how did they do that? They showed
their bodies and showed their hands. And

the Roman emperor dismissed them as
worthless peasants.

Everything that you've said so far is
not inconsistent with my belief that the

bloodline was indeed intact and still
alive to this day.

The Templars were in a perfect spot to
have seen this early version of the

hooked X at the Kelpiot tomb.

The tomb was in Jerusalem, and so were
the Templars.

In 1099, they were there protecting
Catholics on pilgrimages to the Holy

They were headquartered in a royal
palace.

where legend says the secrets of the
Holy Grail were kept.

So, Scott, what other evidence do you
have that connects the Templars to the

Piattu? Well, Jerry, I'm glad you asked
me that because I've been dying to show

you this picture. This coin dates to
either the late 12th century, early 13th

century. It's minted by the Templars.
And, Jerry, look at the center of that

coin. That looks like the Tel Piattu.

I've spent years studying the hooked
axe, a mysterious symbol I first spotted

the Kensington Runestone, an artifact
that details a pre -Columbian voyage to

America in 1362.

Since then, I've seen it in other
places, including the Narragansett Stone

Rhode Island, which authorities say was
stolen from Narragansett Bay.

Both of these artifacts are associated
with the Knights Templar.

I believe the hooked X symbol stands for
Jesus' bloodline, the belief that he

and Mary Magdalene had a child. In fact,
I just spotted an early version of the

hooked X at the Telpeat Tomb, where
Jesus' bones may have been buried.

Even stranger, there appears to be a
connection between that gravesite and a

coin minted by the Knights Templar in
the early 13th century.

It's definitely a crusader coin minted
by the Templars. And if you look at the

top here, you'll see we have a Templar
cross.

But I want you to take a look at that in
the center.

That looks like the Tel Piak tomb.

We have the upward chevron with the
circle.

The exact same architecture of the Tel
Piak tomb. And what I think is Jesus'

face.

Very intriguing.

This is a really kind of a remarkable
coin. I've really never seen a coin that

shows the Chevron circle quite so
plainly. This would actually be a

representation of a first century Jewish
tomb. I don't know if I agree with the

face idea.

That's something that I guess I'm going
to remain skeptical about. Okay, well,

if this is, let's say, a cryptic
depiction of the Tel Piat tomb, it would

absolute conclusive evidence in my mind
that the Templars were in this.

tomb back at the time of the first
crusade and the timing of the minting of

coin is perfect very late 12th century
early 13th century the templars

reportedly dug under king solomon's
temple in jerusalem whatever they found

took back to the new world i think one
of the things they took was the grail

this bloodline secret i also think they
might have taken treasure maybe the cup

jesus drank from at the last supper
gold, or even the Ark of the Covenant.

grail could also be a combination of
these things, or maybe something else

entirely.

Very interesting hypothesis.

I believe the Templars eventually
evolved into what is now modern -day

Freemasonry, and that a very small sect
within Freemasonry guards that secret

and the bloodline to this day.

So what proof do you have connecting the
Freemasons and the Templars?

Well, one of the most powerful pieces is
the hooked axe symbol itself that's

found both with the Templars and in
Freemasonry. The hooked axe is found on

stones in America, including the stolen
Narragansett stone.

And the Kensington Stone, which I think
could have been a Templar land claim.

It's found in Roslyn Chapel, built as a
shrine to an alleged Templar prince

named Henry Sinclair.

It's found in the Larson Papers,
Freemasonic documents that, to me, help

the link between the Templars and the
modern -day Freemasons. This is really

interesting stuff, Scott. I have myself
thought along these lines, coming at it

from a different angle, and I really
think you're onto something important

Stick with me on this, okay? Have you
ever seen this before?

No, I don't know what that is.

This is how Freemasons today pray.

Now, they don't all...

Do it this way with the hook. But I've
had masons tell me that they do put the

thumb out to make the hook decks.

If this isn't a tie between the medieval
Templars and the hook decks on the

documents they created and modern
Freemasons, I don't know what is.

Beyond all of this, have you ever heard
of the Copiel Cipher?

I've only heard a little bit. The Copiel
Cipher is one of the most cryptic codes

ever cracked.

And a local guy found a connection in
the document to modern Freemasonry.

There's a hooked X in it, and the hooked
X's in that document provide a critical

clue to what it is and how the Templars
and Freemasonry are connected.

This investigation started with the
disappearance of the Narragansett Stone.

While Rhode Island authorities search
for it, I'll continue digging into the

hooked X and what it means.

My hunt for examples of this mysterious
symbol is producing more and more

evidence of Templar connections here in
America.

I think I know what the hooked X stands
for. The Holy Grail.

I think the Templars used the symbol to
acknowledge the Grail secret long ago.

And that they passed the hooked X and
the Grail onto the Freemasons.

There's new proof the Freemasons used
the hooked X symbol. Well, Joe, you know

I've been doing a lot of work with the
hooked X.

And recently, a document came forward
that I know you know a lot about called

the Copiel Cipher.

There's a hooked X in it, which of
course got me really excited. I know

done a lot of work on this document, so
tell me a little bit about it. The

Copiel Cipher is one of the most cryptic
ciphers ever cracked.

It dates back to 1730.

This was first decoded by a cryptologist
and computer scientist in California

and a team of language specialists.

and they decoded the whole thing, but
they left a few characters undecoded,

including that symbol. So they didn't
know what it meant?

I can't say if they did or not. So you
think they may have, but you think they

intentionally didn't tell people?

I'm not saying that either, but, I mean,
they left a few characters undecoded.

That was one of them.

Look at these hooked Xs all through
here.

This is how it looked.

It's no wonder it took almost 300 years
to decipher that. This is some 43 ,000

single characters that were all
handwritten.

Well, this form of the hooked X in the
Copial cipher means Freemasonry or

Masonic or Masonry itself. This is how
it looks decoded.

It's actually a secret manual for a
group who call themselves the Oculists.

They were Masonic -like, but they did
some things that would have been

controversial for the day, like they
wanted to include women.

Included women. Interesting.

These guys were serious about what they
were doing, and they thought they were

better than other Freemasons.

So the Copiel Cipher is a secret
codebook for secret society?

Absolutely. Yep.

I see all these symbols and signs, of
course, the hooked X on this page. But,

mean, give me an example. What does some
of these lines say?

Let's go to my decoded version there.

Okay. You know, we have sections in here
that are talking about their rituals

and their beliefs.

Nobody outside of it should know
anything about the secret institution of

order. So he made it not only a real
secret group that nobody knew about, but

made sure that every single one of the
members would never tell anybody about

it.

This is like an 18th century James Bond
movie.

It certainly has those flavors, doesn't
it? Wow.

You've got to remember, this order, this
group, they thought that they were

better than everybody else in all of the
Masonic world. And they taught their

people all of the passwords for all
Freemasonry.

the door password to get into the lodge,
and all of the ritual of that lodge. So

as a member of the Oculus Order, you can
waltz into any secret lodge anywhere

and gain access without having been
initiated into it.

So if you were ever invited in one of
these orders, would you tell me?

Probably not.

I knew the answer to that question
before I asked it.

I also noticed another symbol that's
very interesting here, this double

cross of Lorraine. Yep.

When I was investigating some mysterious
artifacts in Tucson, which I attribute

to a precursor group to the Knights
Templar, I found the Cross of Lorraine

relic that was part of the collection.
It provides strong evidence that the

symbols and codes were used by both
Templars and Freemasons to acknowledge

secrets.

Well, you know, if you're into cracking
codes, there's one you really have to

check out. It's at Chugborough Hall in
England. Okay. It's on a monument, and

it's rumored to be connected to really
all of this Freemasonry, the Knights

Templar, and it's also rumored to tell
the location of something I think you'd

be very interested in.

What is that? The Holy Grail.

This investigation began in Narragansett
Bay in Rhode Island. That's where I

went to look into the disappearance of a
huge boulder, an artifact with the

mysterious hook deck symbol used by the
Knights Templar.

But my search has gone beyond that stone
and that symbol to a secret code

connected to the Templars.

I'm meeting my friend Alan Butler, a
Templar historian at Shugborough Hall in

England to look at one of the most
mysterious uncracked codes in existence.

According to legend, it has something to
do with the Holy Grail. And that's what

I think the Hooked X stands for.

Alan, how you doing? Hi, mate. I'm well,
and you?

Good to see you again. So where's this
monument? I'm dying to see it. Let's go

and find it. Okay, this way, huh?

Oh.

Oh, that's cool.

Recognize it?

You know, I do recognize it.

This looks like the Poussin painting.

Nicholas Poussin's famous painting,
Shepherds of Arcadia, shows shepherds

gathered around a tomb.

Some people think there's a hidden
message in it, just like some people

there's a hidden message in da Vinci's
The Last Supper.

Something in Shepherds of Arcadia may be
connected to a rumored high -level

Templar group called the Priory of Sion.

Some have also theorized the painting
could point the way to the Holy Grail.

That is the Poussin painting, except
it's reversed. That's right.

In many respects, it's identical to
Nicolas Poussin's painting, which was

in the 17th century in France.

But Poussin didn't make the Shepherd's
Monument. It was created by Flemish

sculptor Peter Schemacher.

There are a few differences between this
and the original picture, apart from

the reversal.

For example, there is another
sarcophagus over the top of the

Yeah, that's right. It doesn't appear on
the original painting.

It seems to have been put here to
emphasize that what the shepherds are

at is actually a tomb.

We also have the words et in Arcadia
ego, which are the same as on the

This is Latin. It means I also in
Arcadia, Arcadia being the heaven of the

And a lot of people think that it's full
of uncracked codes, very similar to Da

Vinci's Last Supper.

People have suggested that it may have
something to do with the grail, the

bloodline of Jesus, if you like.

You've got to take a step back, first of
all, and ask the question, what is the

grail? Exactly. That's the age -old
question.

Is it a physical object?

Is it treasure?

Is it gold?

Is it a concept?

Is it knowledge?

Is it all of the above?

Yeah.

Now, let me ask you about something. I'm
seeing some letters down here. What is

this all about with dots in between
them? These particular letters, O -U -O

-V -A -V -V, with the D at one side and
the M at the other, those don't appear

on the original painting.

They're a completely separate thing, and
they're the cause of one of the

greatest puzzles in English artistic
history.

All sorts of people throughout the ages
have tried to decipher what this might

mean.

Charles Darwin, the guy who wrote about
the origin of the species, was one of

them. And another one was Charles
Dickens, you know, just about the most

novelist in the English language.

Dickens loved a puzzle. He spent months
of his life trying to work out what this

might mean.

He couldn't crack it? He couldn't crack
it. So it's still uncracked? Absolutely.

As to the interpretation of it, there
are lots and lots of different ideas, as

you can imagine.

It has been suggested, and I know you've
dealt with this yourself, that the

Grail itself may at one time have been
in Oak Island in Nova Scotia.

If you take each letter and it's placed
in the Latin alphabet and appointing it

a number, you can arrive at the number 2
,810, which is the

number of miles between Shubra here and
Oak Island in Nova Scotia. Oak Island.

I've been to Oak Island. And this is
supposedly where the grail treasure is

buried in what they call the money pit.

This particular monument and the
painting of which is a part has

for probably over 20 years now.

And the one thing that connects both of
these together is Poussin himself, the

man who painted the original picture.
Because Poussin is supposed to have been

one of the grandmasters of the Priory de
Sion.

And the Priory is rumoured to be a top
-level Templar organisation that knew

location of the Grail.

But what really jumps out to me right
away is I look at Poussin's painting

everybody is pictured this way.

And on the carving we just looked at,
it's reversed.

And one of the things that it could
symbolize, or at least to me, is that if

this is a discussion about the grail,
here maybe it indicates that it was in

Europe at one time. And here it
indicates that it's on the other side of

Atlantic. Yeah, absolutely.

I think that this code, even though it
hasn't been deciphered, is a critical

clue to figuring out the mystery behind
the grail and the hooked X. Yeah.

The hooked X is the key to this whole
mystery. We've got it on the Kensington

Runestone, which I've spent a dozen
years studying. And I just completed a

study of the Kensington Runestone to
confirm that there are mysterious punch

marks in four of the letters. And they
spell G -R -A -L.

In medieval old Swedish, it spells
grail.

And we have the Narragansett rune stone.
And unfortunately, that stone, which

also has the hooked X, was recently
stolen. What? It was stolen. We're

with local authorities. We're going to
find it. But there's one more piece to

this puzzle. It's a two -story round
stone and mortar structure in Newport,

Rhode Island, called the Newport Tower.

The Newport Tower is a medieval -looking
structure just 20 miles away from

Narragansett Bay.

It could provide more clues to this
mystery.

So we've got the hooked X. We've got the
rune stones. We've got the Newport

Tower. They're all keys to the mystery
of the grail.

And it's the Newport Tower. We're on
head and neck.

Okay.

When I was hired to conduct a forensic
study of the Kensington rune stone 12

years ago, it was a typical job for me.

But that ordinary assignment turned into
a passion.

From it, I concluded that the Kensington
Stone was a land claim placed by the

Knights Templar. The stone had a symbol
nobody could identify, a hooked X.

I've now seen it on Freemasonic
documents, at Jesus' alleged gravesite,

Telpeat Tomb, and on a handful of stones
across the country, one of which was

stolen and is still missing.

I believe the hooked X is a symbol for
the Holy Grail, part of a Templar

treasure that includes proof that Jesus
and Mary Magdalene had a child.

It's a controversial secret, one the
Templars were determined to protect.

But where did the Templars hide the Holy
Grail?

The answer may be hidden inside the
Newport Tower.

Located in Rhode Island, this structure
may be the biggest and best proof yet

that Templars made it to America long
before Columbus.

I'm not certain, but I'm not about to
stop looking.

Next time on America Unearthed. I'm
absolutely convinced that the Knights

Templar built this tower.

You still into that Templar thing? We
have to find a way to prove this. I just

noticed something. I think we have a
final piece of evidence. Jim, there it

I see it.

If you have a mysterious artifact or
site I need to see, I want to know about

it. Go to history .com slash unearthed.