All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E04.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und]

[narrator] Abandoned,
but iconic.

Deserted, yet infamous.

Ruin sites
built in the pursuit

of fame and fortune.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] An island complex

that protected
General MacArthur

and a hoard the treasure.

There's a $4 million fortune

stashed somewhere
near this derelict place.

[narrator]
A skyscraper embroiled

in a murder mystery.

This place got all the fame
and attention

that its owner wanted,

but for all the wrong reasons.

[narrator] A grand palace
where a dictator

hoarded his wealth.

It was built to impress
and to intimidate.

[narrator] A site where
legends took center stage.

It's the space that was
once filled with glory.

It's the space that was
once filled with glory.

[narrator] And a relic
of old England

transformed into
a fantastical realm.

Nowadays, Cloister Walk
is world famous.

[narrator] This is
Mysteries of the Abandoned,

Fame and Fortune.

Decaying relics...

ruins of lost worlds...

sites haunted by the past...

their secrets
waiting to be revealed.

their secrets
waiting to be revealed.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] In Iraq,

between the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers,

history weighs heavy
on the land.

It is where
Nebuchadnezzar ruled,

where Abraham came from.

This place is the cradle
of civilization.

This place is the cradle
of civilization.

[narrator] Yet rising above
a scattering of ancient ruins,

perched on a hill
is something else entirely.

This place was one of mystery
and secrecy.

And people in the neighborhood

are scared of approaching.

Looking at the scale
of this place,

you can tell
that whoever built this

had a stupidly high opinion
of himself.

The man who built this
became the face

The man who built this
became the face

of lavish despotism
the world over.

He decided to build himself
a luxury palace

fit for an emperor.

The throne room is designed

to emphasize
the ruler's dominion

over little old you.

[narrator] The mark
of an infamous tyrant

can be found
throughout this site.

But as Saddam Hussein
amassed his vast fortune,

world leaders prepared
to bring him down.

world leaders prepared
to bring him down.

And this project
would find itself

right in the firing line.

[Prof. Geoff] It's been
thoroughly looted,

thoroughly vandalized.

And so you see
graffiti everywhere,

Iraqi graffiti,
but also American graffiti.

[narrator] What was
this building's purpose?

And how did American troops

come to occupy
this palatial ruin?

[suspenseful music playing]

[suspenseful music playing]

Everyone was scared
of coming nearby,

as the security forces
at that time

wouldn't allow anyone close.

[narrator]
Archeologist Hussein Falih

now knows this
site intimately,

but he remembers when access
was highly restricted.

[Hussein Falih] No one knew
what was being constructed.

Even the builders didn't know

what they were building
the palace for.

[narrator] This level
of secrecy and security

[narrator] This level
of secrecy and security

reflected the Iraqi leader
it was built for.

He came to power in 1979.

[suspenseful music playing]

When he seizes power,

he's intent
on instantly removing

any opposition whatsoever.

He soon becomes
one of the world's

most feared leaders.

He, you know,
kills off and overthrows

all of his opponents.

And thereafter, he embarks
on a cult of personality,

And thereafter, he embarks
on a cult of personality,

to make him the essential glue

holding Iraqi
society together.

[narrator] The dictator
immediately looked

to expand his territories,

fixing his attention
on the oil rich lands

on the border with Iran.

He thinks, "Hey, I'm gonna
just lurch across the border,

take those oil receipts
to kind of supercharge

my new Iraqi state,

and there'll be
no consequences."

[narrator] But his attempt
at a quick land grab

quickly descends
into a nightmare.

quickly descends
into a nightmare.

[Prof. Geoff]
It's trench warfare,

fighting back and forth
across this disputed area,

the Iranians using
their much bigger population

to launch human wave attacks.

[narrator] Despite receiving
support from the USA

and employing
chemical weapons,

Saddam Hussein's campaign
is a disaster.

And he failed for years
a bloody murderous war

between Iraq and Iran.

between Iraq and Iran.

[narrator] He turns
to grand building projects

to mask the failure

and tap into
Iraqi nationalism.

This project would be called
the Summer Palace.

While his country was in
a grinding war of attrition

with hundreds of thousands
of casualties,

he decided to build himself
a luxury palace

fit for an emperor.

fit for an emperor.

[narrator]
And for this megalomaniac,

the location of the palace
was highly significant.

The location is important
because it's near the river,

and overlooking the historical
site of Babylon.

[narrator] The Summer Palace
would be carefully positioned

within the outer walls
of the ancient city,

which Saddam wanted restored
to its former glory,

under the great warrior king,

Nebuchadnezzar II.

Nebuchadnezzar II.

[ominous music playing]

His influence was
immortalized in construction

when he ruled Babylon.

The Hanging Gardens,
Southern Palace,

Ishtar Gate,
Procession Street,

and the Babylonian seal.

And Saddam added
the phrase to the seals,

"From Nebuchadnezzar
to Saddam Hussein,

Babylon will rise again."

[narrator] The dictator wanted
to not only rebuild

[narrator] The dictator wanted
to not only rebuild

the ancient city,
but also overlook it.

A symbolic show
of strength and power,

and he would let nothing
stand in his way.

In this place before the
construction of the palace,

there was a small village

inhabited by poor
toiling families.

[Dr. Michele] In 1986,

Saddam orders the complete
destruction of this village

Saddam orders the complete
destruction of this village

and he has it blown up.

And in the place
of the village,

he builds an artificial hill.

[narrator]
Construction could now begin

with workers brought in
from North Africa,

supposedly blindfolded
to avoid a security risk

during the ongoing war.

The builders were driven here
in tinted cars.

Security was at a high level

because they didn't
want anyone to know

the location of this palace.

the location of this palace.

[narrator] The project
remained top secret,

but it was part
of a wider scheme

to build up
the family fortune.

This is only one of over
a hundred such palaces

scattered around Iraq,

and that in this
particular palace,

he has all kinds
of tributes to himself.

These seals on the walls are
initials of Saddam Hussein,

with the palm logo
symbolizing the period

with the palm logo
symbolizing the period

during which Saddam Hussein
ruled Iraq.

Archeologists told Saddam

that Nebuchadnezzar
had these bricks

with his name stamped in them.

Saddam decided that he wanted
to do the same thing.

Every brick used in the
restoration of Babylon,

in the construction
of his palace,

he has
uppercase S, lowercase D,

uppercase H
inscribed in the brick,

Saddam Hussein.

[narrator] While Saddam
tried to evoke

great glories of the past,

construction dragged on
into the mid-1990s,

and was only completed
after the Iran-Iraq War,

and the first Gulf War
had cost the country dearly.

Iraq was going through
a period of siege and wars,

and the Iraqi people
were in dire need

of basic living necessities.

And the construction was like
luxury and extravagance.

And the construction was like
luxury and extravagance.

It was indescribable,
like a fantasy,

in this building
and in all the other palaces.

[narrator] Yet little of this
fantasy world remains,

the inside of the palace
has been stripped bare.

The walls covered in graffiti.

It speaks to the arrival
of an outside force.

Well,
Saddam was a real Houdini,

he escaped being deposed
by the Americans,

uh, after the Persian
Gulf War in 1990, 1991,

goes on through the 1990s

pretending that he more
or less won the war in 1991.

But then after 9/11,

refuses to confirm or deny
his nuclear program,

and assure the United States

that he won't
sponsor terrorism.

[narrator] Time was up
for Iraq's Houdini.

Barely had the dust settled
after the shocking attack

on the Twin Towers
before George W. Bush

began plotting to succeed

where his father had failed
a decade earlier.

Saddam Hussein and his sons

must leave
Iraq within 48 hours.

Their refusal to do so
will result

in military conflict,

in military conflict,

commenced at a time
of our choosing.

In 2003, we invaded Iraq,

specifically
in order to depose

Saddam Hussein from power.

When the Americans
attacked Iraq,

they moved very quickly
the so-called Thunder Run

toward the capital.

They chased Saddam out
of the capital into hiding,

and then they fanned out
across the country

occupying key points,
like Babylon.

[narrator] April 8th, 2003,

the Thunderbolts and units

from the
101st Airborne Division

stormed across the Euphrates
and launched an attack.

As they approach,
they encounter gunfire.

Members of Saddam's
elite Republican Guard

are entrenched in the palace,

and put up fierce resistance.

After a few days of intense
close-quarter fighting,

After a few days of intense
close-quarter fighting,

Saddam's monument
to his new Iraqi Empire

is in American hands.

And US troops who went
into this palace

and the hundred others
that US forces "liberated"

in the course of the Iraq War

were just stunned
by the decadence,

the luxury,

the munificence
of the furnishings,

the chandeliers,
the furniture.

[narrator] But Saddam
was still on the loose,

[narrator] But Saddam
was still on the loose,

and he had just withdrawn
a fortune

from the Central Iraqi Bank,

a billion dollars
to fund his escape,

and the fight back.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] April 9th, 2003,

Baghdad falls to the
Coalition of the Willing

after the invasion of Iraq.

Dictator Saddam Hussein
has been chased into hiding,

but not before extracting
a billion dollars

from his central bank,

a quarter of the country's
currency reserves.

60 miles south,
the ancient city of Babylon

60 miles south,
the ancient city of Babylon

is secured, and the doors
of Saddam's Summer Palace

are blown wide open.

Archeologist Hussein Falih

is able to catch a glimpse
of Saddam's luxury lifestyle.

What I saw during the entry
of the American forces

were the luxurious
crystal chandeliers.

The water utilities
and door handles

all painted in gold
of the finest quality.

And we can still see the
expensive Italian alabaster.

[narrator] In the chaos that
followed the initial invasion,

the palace
was looted and vandalized,

until it was made
a US military base

later that month.

Two thousand troops
moved into Camp Babylon.

The coalition forces
do not always treat

The coalition forces
do not always treat

Saddam Hussein's palaces
with respect.

There is a bit of graffiti,
there are some fittings

that might have been detached,

and are now trophies
on somebody's desk.

[narrator] While his fortune
was being raided,

the net was closing in
on the infamous tyrant.

They find Saddam
in December of 2003,

hiding in a
hole in the ground,

and they turn him
over to the Iraqis

and they turn him
over to the Iraqis

who then executed him.

[Dr. Lynette]
It was a brief...

but unpleasant operation

to topple Saddam Hussein
from power.

The Iraq War started sharp,

and then ran on
for a very long time,

even after Saddam Hussein
was dead.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] The palace
was formally handed over

to the Iraqi Ministry
of Culture in 2005.

to the Iraqi Ministry
of Culture in 2005.

It looked set
for a brighter future.

The Iraqi government
made a big grant

to the local community
to fix up the palace

and use as a cultural center

but the money
was misspent or purloined,

and it was...
The work was never done,

so it remains as essentially
a neglected ruin.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Hussein Falih
still has hope

that rather
than being associated

with a ruthless dead spot,
it can complement

the World Heritage site
at its feet.

I hope that this place
will be a museum for Iraq

and the ancient
archeological city.

[narrator] Treasury
and Homeland Security agents

continue to chase down
Saddam's family fortune

and freeze his assets.

But the hunt goes on.

But the hunt goes on.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] In Byron, Georgia
are the remains

of a once iconic
sporting arena.

[Sascha] Some places are good
at concealing what they are.

This is not one
of those places.

This is obviously a racetrack.

And it's not just
a simple horse track

or a simple local track,
this is big.

or a simple local track,
this is big.

This is a half-mile circuit

that has these concrete stands

that is something permanent.

[Jaega] This place looks like
it belongs

in a post-apocalyptic movie.

This is a monument
to Americana,

but now it is
completely overgrown.

[narrator]
Graffiti-littered terraces

and smashed floodlights
overlook a track

that's clearly a long way
from its glory days.

You can see faded
the name of the racetrack

You can see faded
the name of the racetrack

there on the side and you know

that this has been
something special.

There's at least a dozen

hall of famers
that raced here.

It's at this raceway
that Richard Petty

is going to break
the speed record.

[narrator] But while famous
racers blessed this track,

others were chasing
their fortunes underground.

Just outside the track,
there are thick woodlands.

It's the perfect place
to hide something.

People are still talking
about it to this day,

People are still talking
about it to this day,

50 something years later.

This is going
to be a huge bust.

[narrator] It's still known

as the mystery
beneath turn three.

[suspenseful music playing]

[country music playing]

[narrator] Back in the 1960s,

Saturday nights at the
Middle Georgia Raceway

were a weekly highlight
for its current owner,

Tim Thornton.

As a high school kid,

it was very special
to come down here

and have what I call
the big boys of NASCAR

race on a Saturday night.

[narrator] It was
the golden age of NASCAR

and this was a regular venue
on the circuit.

Some of the biggest names
in stock car racing came here,

Richard Petty, The King,

the Allison brothers,

David Pearson.

I could go on and on.

That was
really special for us.

NASCAR, you know, started
in this part of the country.

[narrator] The atmosphere
on race night was electric.

At that time,
there was also grandstands

At that time,
there was also grandstands

across on the other side
of the track,

so it might be
10,000 people out here.

There is the
smell of gasoline,

the roar of the crowd,

the screaming of the engines,

it is excitement
piled on excitement,

turbocharged
with even more excitement.

You can smell the rubber,
and the gasoline,

and the cotton candy,
and the hotdogs.

And then, your hair blows
with the wind

as they go past.

It's just
an incredible feeling.

[suspenseful music playing]

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] Based on
a simple formula,

NASCAR is all about
maximizing speed.

But this is also
a contact sport.

This is the original
American Motorsport,

40 cars dueling it out
on a half mile or mile track.

Bumping other cars
is part of the game.

It's called trading paint.

[narrator] It's a more
complex sport

than it's often
given credit for.

It's a lot of science
and a lot of technology,

uh, that goes into that race,

really sophisticated.

[Sascha] It has an incredible
amount of skill,

dexterity,

and the margin of error
is really small.

You lose focus
for just a split second

and you can hit the wall
at over 200 miles per hour.

and you can hit the wall
at over 200 miles per hour.

[narrator] To ensure drivers
could maintain

such high speeds,

NASCAR developed
its distinctive feature,

the raised banks.

[Tim] This is about
a 18-degree bank.

For this size,
half mile track,

that's very steep.

[Sascha] The only way
to keep these cars

from literally going airborne
is to angle the turns.

So these cars are just
driving around curves.

They are just halfway
flying around them.

They are just halfway
flying around them.

[narrator] These steep banks
saw Richard Petty, The King,

make racing history.

He won an even 200 races

and he holds several records

including the Daytona 500
record.

He is a god among NASCAR fans.

It was here at Middle Georgia

that Richard Petty
sets the record

for the average speed
on the half-mile track,

over 82 miles per hour,

over 82 miles per hour,

and this is gonna put
the track on the map.

[narrator] But this wasn't
the only thing

that would bring fame
to Byron, Georgia

and make national headlines.

So the police learned

that there's something
afoot at the racetrack.

[narrator]
On September 23rd, 1967,

the FBI arrive to investigate.

[Jaega] And it was no accident

that they decided
to raid the track

in the middle of a race
when the stands were packed.

The police were there
for maximum publicity.

They were there
to make a scene.

[Tim] So there's something
really amazing

that happened back here on
the back side of the track.

People are still talking
about it to this day,

50 something years later.

[narrator] With engines
roaring trackside,

federal agents begin
searching the nearby woods.

The only remaining clue

to the mystery
beneath turn three

to the mystery
beneath turn three

is a strange crater.

Behind me here
is the drivers and fronts,

kind of back and fronts
if you will.

The cars and the trailers
would come in and out here.

The builders,
when they designed the track,

were very forward-thinking
in a naughty way.

[Tim] They had a ticket booth
right back in here.

It had a false floor in it.

[Dr. Landdeck]
The police get there

and they find a trapdoor.

They opened it and realized
they've just stumbled upon

the largest illegal
distillery of moonshine

the largest illegal
distillery of moonshine

in the whole state of Georgia.

[narrator] Descending down
a 35-foot shaft,

they entered a tunnel system
that a federal agent described

as one of the most cleverly
run moonshine operations

he'd ever seen.

A long tunnel contained
a cooker tank,

gas and fermenting tanks

with electric lighting
and electric exhaust system.

An estimated 80 gallons
of moonshine whiskey

was produced here every day.

was produced here every day.

When the crowds had left,
jugs of the whiskey

were loaded
into the race car haulers

and smuggled away
in the dead of night.

Making moonshine
is a risky business.

It is very flammable

and you could potentially

make dangerous byproducts.

It can be done wrong
and kill you or blind you.

But there's all different
varieties of it.

[narrator] Discovering
a moonshine distillery

under a NASCAR track
is not as strange

under a NASCAR track
is not as strange

as it might initially seem.

[Sascha] During the era
of prohibition,

a thriving smuggling
business sprang up.

The police, of course,
are gonna try

to crack down on this.

So what happened
is the smugglers,

or bootleggers
as they were known,

would take
ordinary looking cars

and they would modify them.

[Dr. Landdeck]
And so you have this idea

of, you know,

the old Thunder Road, right?

Where they take
their stock cars,

Where they take
their stock cars,

their everyday cars,
they soup up the motors.

They build spaces in them
to carry

as much of this highly
flammable alcohol as they can

so that they can outrace
the sheriffs,

outrace the police,
the FBI, whoever.

[Sascha] They even developed
special moves

that they would use
to try to escape the police.

If you've ever seen a car
going down a straightaway

and then someone, uh,
pulls the emergency brake

to make the car
spin around on its axis

to make the car
spin around on its axis

a 180 degrees
so they can immediately start

going the opposite direction,

that's called
a bootlegger reverse.

Well, one day,
two of these bootleggers

put their modified cars down
side by side

to see which one
was the fastest and bam,

a new form of racing was born.

So this idea
of the moonshine distillery

being found under
a NASCAR track

really ties the past
to the present and the future

really ties the past
to the present and the future

of the motorsport.

[narrator] Yet evidence
of the moonshine still

is all but gone.

Traditionally, when the feds
would raid a still,

they would use dynamite
and blow up the still.

They didn't wanna blow it up

because they
would have damaged

or destroyed the racetrack.

So they took heavy equipment
and just totally crushed it

and buried it.

[Dr. Landdeck] The sheriffs
did a really thorough job

of destroying this.

of destroying this.

They just decimated it
completely

to the point that today,
all that you can find

is a hole on the ground
and the only thing

we really know about
it is old photographs.

The track owner was charged

with running the illegal
moonshine operation,

but small town, small county,

he was actually acquitted.

That was pretty controversial.

[narrator]
Despite the scandal,

the following season
kicked off at Middle Georgia.

the following season
kicked off at Middle Georgia.

But with NASCAR moving
to bigger stadiums,

the owners went looking
for new forms of revenue

and it would draw crowds
the size

of which Byron, Georgia
had never seen before.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] In Byron, Georgia
is a relic

of NASCAR's glory years.

That became the setting
for an altogether different

star-studded event.

The owners of the track
decided to do something big

to try to attract attention
to the area.

[narrator] On July 4th, 1970,

the racetrack was taken over

the racetrack was taken over

for the Atlanta International
Pop Festival.

[Tim] I worked
at the Pop Festival

when I was still
a high school kid

and they put me probably
300 feet from the stage.

I finally laid down
and went to sleep

beside my popsicle truck
and woke up,

there's Jimi Hendrix playing
"Star-Spangled Banner"

with fireworks going off
and here I am

just looking
straight up at it.

[Sascha] When Jimi Hendrix
played here,

he drew a crowd
of over 300,000.

he drew a crowd
of over 300,000.

It was probably the largest
audience in America

that Jimi Hendrix
ever played to.

[narrator] It became known
as the Woodstock of the South.

But Hendrix sadly died
of a suspected drug overdose

just 10 weeks later.

[Sascha] America is a place
that is in love

with the idea of cars

and it's also in love
with the idea of rebellion.

and it's also in love
with the idea of rebellion.

So, I don't think
we should be surprised

that all that, you know,

racing came out of bootlegging

and then Jimi Hendrix played
on a NASCAR racetrack,

in a funny way, they all
fit together really well.

[narrator] Amateur races
continued alongside

music events until a 1984
concert sealed its fate.

Great big brawl
and fight broke out,

lot of arrests.

At that point,
the county said,

no more and shut it down.

no more and shut it down.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator]
With no clear future,

this abandoned piece
of Americana

is cherished
for its unique past.

It means an awful lot
to people in the area

and race fans,
I suppose worldwide,

really a special place.

[suspenseful music playing]

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] In the center
of Bangkok,

Thailand's capital city,

punching out of the skyline

is an infamous Ghost Tower.

This is a site
that you can't miss,

a huge derelict skyscraper

leaning out over
a buzzing metropolis.

Even in its
state of disrepair,

you could see that this was

a pretty wild piece
of architecture.

a pretty wild piece
of architecture.

It looks grand,
but as you get closer,

you see that it's just
a skeleton

and there's this eerie,

haunted feeling about it.

Inside the building
is a minefield of hazards.

You have gaping holes
in some sections.

You've got windows
with no glass in them,

open stairwells.

[Rob] It's right in the heart

of this buzzing metropolis.

But when you're inside,

you feel incredibly alone.

you feel incredibly alone.

This is one of the tallest
buildings in the city

and the view from the top
where the balconies extend

is absolutely spectacular.

But without any railings,

venturing out there
would be foolhardy.

[narrator] Its continued
abandonment

with nothing but
vines and trees

occupying the vast shell
is baffling.

Here you have a luxury tower

Here you have a luxury tower

in the middle of a thriving
booming city,

the real estate it sits on
must be incredibly valuable.

Why in the world
has no one stepped in

either tear it down
or complete it?

Many of the local Thais
think it's cursed.

Now, superstition
and folklore is very popular

in Thai culture,

but not every story
about the Ghost Tower

is just myth and superstition.

is just myth and superstition.

This place got
all the fame and attention

that its owner wanted,

but for all the wrong reasons.

[tense music playing]

[narrator] In the 1990s,

Thailand was undergoing
economic growth

on an unprecedented scale,

nowhere more so
than in the capital Bangkok.

Its skyline was studded
with construction cranes

and its buildings
were surging skywards.

and its buildings
were surging skywards.

And this building was gonna be

at the gleaming center

of this incredible
economic surge.

This project was
the brainchild

of an architect and developer
named Rangsan Torsuwan,

who was this extravagant
famous designer.

His buildings were designed
to appeal

to Asia's richest people

who would want
a luxury apartment

at a prestige address.

[Rob] For Rangsan Torsuwan,

this was more than just
a design though.

this was more than just
a design though.

He owned the company
that was building it.

And the costs was staggering

with multiple big investors
putting up the money.

[narrator]
He named the building

the Sathorn Unique Tower

and what he had planned
was hugely ambitious.

When construction started
in 1990,

Sathorn Unique
was earmarked to be

one of the most luxurious
tower buildings

in all of Bangkok

and you're gonna have
some 659 luxury flats

and you're gonna have
some 659 luxury flats

and dozens of retail spaces.

[narrator] Pansit Torsuwan
is Rangsan's son.

He was just a teenager

when the work
on the tower began.

My father hoped
that this would be

the company's
flagship project.

He planned to get
the company listed

on the stock exchange
of Thailand.

[narrator]
To make it a success,

he had a very specific
architectural design in mind.

he had a very specific
architectural design in mind.

The design philosophy
of Sathorn Unique Tower

is actually
my father's philosophy

to let the building
be a language

that speak to the people.

That's why he chose
neoclassical architecture

as the language because
people think it's luxurious

and expensive
and that it will be

a good long-term investment.

[narrator] Hundreds
of families and investors

[narrator] Hundreds
of families and investors

bought into this dream.

We were able to presell
about 90% of the units,

leaving only penthouses
on the top floors

and retail units
on the lower floors.

The show went up quickly

and this building
was clearly going to be

everything it had promised.

But there was a twist
on the horizon

that was so farfetched
you could barely write it.

And at the heart of it all

was the founder,
Mr. Rangsan Torsuwan.

was the founder,
Mr. Rangsan Torsuwan.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] The Sathorn
Unique Tower was set to be

the most luxurious high-rise
in Thailand

when its owner
Rangsan Torsuwan was caught up

in a major scandal.

[Pansit]
What happened in 1993,

absolutely no one
saw it coming.

One day, out of nowhere,

I received a phone call
saying my father

had been arrested
for plotting to murder

had been arrested
for plotting to murder

the president
of the Supreme Court.

It was a dramatic moment

that sent shockwaves
rippling through the country.

[narrator] With his father
in prison,

Pansit made it his mission
to find out the truth.

But time wasn't on his side

nor with those in power.

Thailand politics at the time
were really byzantine

with all kinds of rivalries
and plots and accusations.

with all kinds of rivalries
and plots and accusations.

So, this was a case
where a prominent figure

was caught up,
whether truthfully or not,

in a giant political scandal.

When you're up against
the president

of the Supreme Court,

nothing goes your way
and that put my family

in an extremely
difficult situation.

Rumors were spreading
like wildfire.

Some said my father
would be killed.

[narrator] The longer
his father was locked up,

the worst the consequences
for the family

and their business.

[Jim] Some investors
started pulling out.

Banks stopped lending.

Who wants to risk
their money on a project

whose leader and designer
is in jail?

[Rob] The whole success
of this project

depended on what happened
to Mr. Rangsan.

And for months, the building
stood semi-complete.

Its future rested
on the fate of one man.

Its future rested
on the fate of one man.

[tense music playing]

We were trying to find a way
to get him out on bail,

but we couldn't
until six months later

when he was released
on the highest bail

ever set in Thai history.

[narrator] Even though
Rangsan was out,

the investigations
against him were ongoing.

[Sascha] This was
a real rocky time

for the funding
of Sathorn Unique,

for the funding
of Sathorn Unique,

but it didn't necessarily
kill the project.

He managed to scrape together
just enough funds

to keep it going

and they might have
weathered this crisis,

but there was another disaster
looming on the horizon.

[narrator] This disaster
was about to engulf

the whole of Thailand.

[Jim] In 1997, the economies
of Southeast Asia

went into a terrible
economic collapse.

went into a terrible
economic collapse.

Banks didn't have
money to lend,

stock markets collapsed,
unemployment shot up.

This was an enormous crisis
for the countries as a whole,

but especially for developers

who were overextended.

Many of the building projects
came to a crashing halt,

including this 49-story tower.

[Pansit] When construction
stopped in 1997,

I was in a state of shock

I was in a state of shock

because it was so close
to being finished.

My father couldn't understand
where all the debts went

after financial institutions
were shut down.

And he didn't know
what to do next,

who to talk to, or who else
could give us loans.

[narrator]
Rangsan desperately searched

for new investors.

But before long,

his past
came back to haunt him.

In 2008, he was
once again charged

In 2008, he was
once again charged

and this time convicted
of attempted murder.

That conviction
was actually overturned

by an appeals court
two years later in 2010,

but with Rangsan's
complicated personal history,

investors were
really reluctant

to sink their money
into one of his projects.

And this really
spelled the end

for any hopes of completion
of the Sathorn Unique Tower.

This wonderful dream
was going to die.

[narrator] Today,
the responsibility

of the tower
lies with his son,

but it seems the challenge
of completing this building

is just too big.

It's impossible
for our company

to continue construction

because the money needed
would now have to be

three times more than
it cost 20 years ago.

It took a fortune to build

and it will take a fortune
to finish it.

[Sascha] There's another
reason that this site

[Sascha] There's another
reason that this site

is unlikely
to ever get developed.

Many of the local Thais
think it's cursed.

There's even
a rumor going around

that the tower is built
on a former burial site.

[Pansit] What happened
with this project

has devastated my family's
financial status,

but it hasn't devastated
my soul.

I understand the world better

I understand the world better

and I learned it
from this building.

Nothing is definite
in this world.

If there's success,

there will always be failure
and vice versa.

[narrator] Today, the tower
stands as a dark shadow

on the increasingly
glittering skyline,

but it isn't as quiet here
as its owners would like.

It's now become somewhat
of a YouTube sensation,

It's now become somewhat
of a YouTube sensation,

attracting daredevil
urban explorers

from around the world.

The family tries
to keep people out,

but somehow
people keep managing

to break into this tower
and shoot their videos

for that moment of fame

and taking enormous risks
in the process.

And with neither development
nor demolition any closer,

the Sathorn Unique Tower
seems set to remain

as one of the world's
most prominent temples

to urban decay.

[narrator] Next up on
Mysteries of the Abandoned,

Fame and Fortune,

a fantastical world
where wizards roam,

a haunting shell
where General MacArthur

was holed up
with a treasure trove of gold,

and a feared facility

where a heavyweight champion
made his name.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] On Mysteries
of the Abandoned,

Fame and Fortune...

a stark facility
where a champion was forged,

an island of ruins

where American troops
smuggled out

a booty of gold,

and a technical breakthrough
at an English abbey

opens the door
to a world of wizardry.

opens the door
to a world of wizardry.

Nestled within the picturesque
English countryside

is a grand old structure
with a spellbinding past.

This is Wiltshire,
which is world famous

for its sweeping valleys

and of course Stonehenge
which everybody knows.

But only 30 miles away,

there's this gem
which is very unknown.

It has beautiful
gothic details

It has beautiful
gothic details

on all its exterior walls

but it also has
very strong looking gateways.

There are massive stone walls

and foliage climbing
all the way up the side.

As you get closer,

you can see that it's
really still quite intact.

There are courtyards
and hallways.

It's a very sophisticated
assembly of buildings.

[Rob] You can see
right across the site,

these very traditional
latticed windows.

And one of them in particular
plays a very important role

that cemented
its place in history.

that cemented
its place in history.

[narrator] A pioneering
photographic image

captured right here
would help open the door

to a magical new world

that would
one day be exploited

by the silver screen.

This place hides
a magical secret

that's been seen
the world over.

[narrator] Dotted throughout
this complex

are features
that Harry Potter lovers

around the globe
will instantly recognize.

around the globe
will instantly recognize.

In the middle of
one of the rooms,

you see this giant caldron
sat on a stone plinth.

Nowadays, Cloister Walk
is world famous

as a crowded school hallway

filled with wizards' hats
and wands.

[narrator] But this site
owes its existence

to a formidable woman
who lived 800 years

before J.K. Rowling's books

were turned into
one of the world's

most successful
film franchises.

most successful
film franchises.

So this place was founded
by a woman

who was a pioneer of her time.

[narrator] Emma Hitchings
is passionate

about the chronicles
of this site

and the legend of its founder
Ela of Salisbury.

Ela was a noblewoman.

She was born in 1187

and she was the only child
of the 2nd Earl of Salisbury.

And when he died
when she was nine years old,

she very unusually
not only inherited his title

she very unusually
not only inherited his title

but also all of his money.

[narrator] Now,
an immensely wealthy woman,

Ela's ward,

The Crusader King
Richard Lionheart

used her to benefit
his own family.

King Richard married Ela off
to William Longespee,

who was Richard's
illegitimate half-brother.

And so he got through Ela
his titles

because he had nothing
to stop him.

[narrator] Longespee was made
Sheriff of Wiltshire

[narrator] Longespee was made
Sheriff of Wiltshire

by Richard's heir, King John.

This connection
would soon bring

into Ela's custody an item
of profound importance,

when the infamous
Bad King John

signed a treaty.

In 1215, a band of rebellious
medieval barons

forced King John of England

to agree to a laundry
list of concessions.

It later became known
as the Great Charter

or in Latin, Magna Carta.

or in Latin, Magna Carta.

Magna Carta was one
of the most famous documents

of medieval England
signed by King John in 1215

with William Longespee
at his side.

[narrator] Magna Carta
was updated in 1225,

an early Bill of Rights

that would form the basis
of England's legal system

and the precursor
to the US constitution,

with clauses
on individual rights

and women's rights

which Ela would later use
to her own advantage.

which Ela would later use
to her own advantage.

Copy was sent
to every county in the country

and the copy
that went to Wiltshire

went to the
Sheriff of Wiltshire

who was William Longespee.

[narrator] But that same year,

Ela's husband went missing.

When William Longespee
was returning from war,

he was shipwrecked
and thought lost.

[narrator] Rumors spread
that he was dead

and men of influence
began circling,

eyeing Ela's wealth.

eyeing Ela's wealth.

A knight approached her

and attempted
to force a marriage.

Only by quoting a section
of Magna Carta itself

was she able
to refuse the offer.

[Rob] It's like something out

of a medieval courtroom drama.

Ela used her savvy
knowledge of this now

ancient legal document
to win her case.

[narrator]
Ela supposedly quoted

the eighth clause
of the 1215 charter

the eighth clause
of the 1215 charter

that stated,
"Women were no longer obliged

to remarry and reads."

"No widow is to be
distrained to marry

while she wishes
to live without a husband."

But in fact,
her husband was still alive

and did return
to English soil.

Remarkably,
Longespee made it back home

that he died shortly
after his return.

It was alleged
that he was poisoned,

although that
was never proved.

although that
was never proved.

[narrator] With his death,

Ela inherited the title
of Sheriff of Wiltshire

and unusually for the time,

chose to remain a widow
for the rest of her days.

Devoted to her husband,

the tragedy would prove
the inspiration

for Lacock Abbey.

Ela was devastated
and wanted to set up

two monastic institutions
in his memory,

so she set up one for monks

so she set up one for monks

and then this abbey,
Lacock, for the nuns.

On the 16th of April 1232,

Ela laid the foundation stone
of her abbey.

Partly, it's a tribute
to her husband

and partly as a place
to retire to later as a nun.

When Ela came to the abbey,

she brought all
her papers with her

including the Magna Carta

and it was kept here
in one of the safe rooms.

[narrator] The abbey
served as Ela's burial place

[narrator] The abbey
served as Ela's burial place

and her copy of Magna Carta
remained here

for centuries to come.

Handed over
to the British museum in 1945,

it is one of only
four known copies

of the original charters
still in existence.

The document like the abbey

found its way
to Ela's descendant,

William Henry Fox Talbot.

Although a man of science,

Although a man of science,

Talbot would invent a machine
within these walls

that would have consequences
of a magical nature.

[tense music playing]

[narrator] In the 1830s,

Fox Talbot was working on
an invention

at his home, Lacock Abbey.

His breakthrough was born
out of a love of painting

but also his lack of talent
as a painter.

Fox Talbot's
wife and daughters

were great watercolorists

capturing great landscapes
and life drawings.

And in fact,
some of their paintings

can still be found
at Lacock Abbey today.

can still be found
at Lacock Abbey today.

William wasn't so good
with pen and paper,

so he tried to find
a scientific way

to capture the scenes
before him.

[narrator]
At a time of great innovation

in the field of photography,

Talbot made
a stunning breakthrough.

There had been experiments

to capture images on paper
by others before him,

but Fox Talbot
went on to create

the three primary
elements of photography.

the three primary
elements of photography.

Developing, fixing,
and printing.

Talbot already knew
about the light sensitivity

of a compound
called silver chloride,

so he tried to use that

to capture
the world around him.

He took a piece of paper

and soaked it in
sodium chloride

or ordinary table salt.

He brushed one
side of the paper

with silver nitrate

and when that reacted
with the salt,

that produced silver chloride

which is a light
sensitive paper.

which is a light
sensitive paper.

He called it
his photogenic drawing

and using the sensitive paper
that he'd created

because he was still
seeing it in his mind

as a way of keeping up
with the watercolor abilities

of his wife and daughters.

[narrator] Fixing the paper
to the inside of small boxes,

he waited for the exposure
to light to take full effect.

These became known
as mousetrap cameras,

partly because they were
so small and partly

because his wife
kept finding them

because his wife
kept finding them

all over the place.

He invented that process here

and the first ever
photographic negative

was taken of the oriel
window upstairs

overlooking the south floor,

which really makes this abbey
the home of photography.

[Dominic] Talbot of course
died with no idea

of what his invention
would go on to become.

He could have
had no conception

of the popularity of cameras,
selfies, television,

of the popularity of cameras,
selfies, television,

and even of course
the big silver screen.

A hundred and seventy years

after that very
first photograph,

far more sophisticated cameras

that Talbot's came to Lacock

when the entire
Hollywood machinery

descended on the abbey.

In 2000,
J.K. Rowling's overnight hit

of the young
very famous wizard,

Harry Potter was adapted
for the big screen

and filming commenced
all across the UK.

and filming commenced
all across the UK.

However,
a very special location

was needed to lend face
for the main setting

of the Harry Potter movies,

the Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

and what better location
to stand in

for Hogwarts than
Lacock Abbey.

[narrator]
These rooms were transformed

into something else entirely.

Our warming room

Our warming room

became Professor
Quirrell's classroom.

Our chapterhouse
was used as the place

where Harry found
the Mirror of Erised.

Professor Snape's classroom
was in our sacristy.

The whole cast can be found
coming up and down

these corridors
when they're going
through the school.

[Jaega] By all accounts,
the film crew

had a great time on set

but the building
is over 700 years old,

but the building
is over 700 years old,

so they had to be careful.

You don't want props
or lighting falling down.

There is another story
from filming

which relates to Mrs. Norris,

the cat of the caretaker
of Hogwarts.

Now, in true diva style,

the cat got to sit
on a heated pillow

in between takes.

[narrator] Handed over
to the National Trust
in the 1940s,

the abbey is now a mecca

for Potter fans
the world over.

Walking around there
having the chance

as a true Harry Potter fan

to be able to get
your picture taken

in that famous hallway,
that would be fantastic.

[narrator] It's also a place

where tourists can learn
of other characters

that helped create
this atmospheric film set.

From Ela to Henry Talbot
to Harry Potter,

From Ela to Henry Talbot
to Harry Potter,

this place has
always been home

to extraordinary heroes.

[narrator] In Jefferson City

on the banks
of the Missouri River

is a relic of old America.

From the outside,
it looks kind of like

the gloomiest castle
you've ever seen.

Bars on the windows,
strong high walls,

Bars on the windows,
strong high walls,

and you know exactly
what you're looking at.

[narrator] Time Magazine
once described this prison

as the bloodiest
47 acres in America.

The state of the place

reflects its
tumultuous history.

[Jim]
Parts of it are boarded up.

In one section,
the entire roof has collapsed.

They burned all the buildings

and the impacts
were still being felt

when I came here in 1968.

when I came here in 1968.

[narrator] The inside
is as grim as the outside

and the cell blocks
evoke fear and trepidation.

Along with these
crumbling walls,

these spooky rooms,
there's even a gas chamber

thrown in for good measure,

you get the sense
of confinement

and claustrophobia.

You can only imagine
what it would have been like

to be a prisoner brought into

one of these cell blocks,

all the other prisoners
looking down to see

who the new person is.

[narrator]
Yet one of these young men

being looked down upon
would rise to the top.

He went from rock bottom

to a place of incredible fame.

When you hear
this person's story,

it really is a version
of the American dream.

[narrator]
A champion was forged

within these walls.

within these walls.

His life was blighted
by controversy

and links
to the criminal underworld,

but his legendary status
at this facility

is well and truly secure.

[tense music playing]

[narrator]
Former deputy warden,

Mark Schreiber,
has firsthand experience

of this compound's
bloody history.

I worked two officer
homicides in here

and I worked a lot
of inmate homicides,

and everything from escapes,

to narcotics, to assaults,
you name it.

[narrator] He began working
here in 1968.

[narrator] He began working
here in 1968.

That year, James Earl Ray

assassinated
Dr. Martin Luther King,

having broken out
of this very prison.

Escape attempts were common

as inmates desperately try
to flee a facility

that had forged
a fearsome reputation.

This is the Missouri
State Penitentiary.

The prison actually
was opened in 1836,

the very week
that the Alamo Battle

was going on in Texas.

was going on in Texas.

[narrator] Schreiber recalls
a recent discovery

that helped shed light
on those early years.

The prison administration
was under a court order

to put in an exercise yard
for the men on death row.

So,
when the contractor came in

and started the excavation,

the contractor hit
something very solid

and what it hit
was the buried cells.

[narrator] These buried cells
are relics from a time

[narrator] These buried cells
are relics from a time

when Missouri was virtually
Wild West territory.

[Jim] Missouri was almost
frontier land at that time.

As the state expanded,

the prisoner
population expanded,

the building
was also expanded.

And it housed
a lot of famous prisoners

over the years.

[Mark]
If anybody's claustrophobic

or you're scared of the dark,

we don't want you
coming in here.

J.B. "Firebug" Johnson
started a major riot

in the prison in the 1870s

in the prison in the 1870s

where they burnt down
a bunch of factories.

And you can see
where Firebug Johnson

was down here
in the dungeon cells,

and the story goes
that the whipping post

used to be
located in this area.

They would open up
the wooden door

and they would let
the inmates in

to see the guy
getting whipped.

To keep from going insane,

he'd take a button
off his uniform

and put it in the dark

and he'd spend all day
looking for the button.

And when he got out,
he wrote a book

And when he got out,
he wrote a book

called Buried Alive:

Eighteen Years
in the Missouri Penitentiary.

[narrator]
After Firebug Johnson

had departed in 1900,

the prison rapidly expanded.

A gas chamber was added
and by the 1930s,

the complex included
a five-story hospital,

a morgue,
and several factories.

And the prison was
the economic base

for the city of Jefferson
for many years.

for the city of Jefferson
for many years.

It was a huge operation

with two million square foot
of building space.

[narrator]
Despite its sheer scale,

it was still bursting
at the seams.

One time, they had almost
4000 some inmates in here

terribly crowded.

You can only imagine
the frustrations,

the humiliations
of being incarcerated,

and that makes every prison
a potential powder keg.

[narrator]
On September 22nd, 1954,

[narrator]
On September 22nd, 1954,

a spark ignited
the powder keg.

A couple of inmates
pretended to be sick,

they got the attention
of a guard,

some other inmates were able
to overpower the guards

and take their keys,

then they ran up and down
the cell block

unlocking as many cells
as they could.

Within hours,
thousands of prisoners

were roaming free
and fires were raging

in various
parts of the prison.

[narrator]
The burnt out buildings

still visible today

are testament to
the ferocity of those fires.

When the dust had settled,

50 inmates were injured,
four were dead.

Into this caldron of fire

arrived a young man
with a troubled past.

One day in June 1950,

a young Black man
who was around 20 years old

a young Black man
who was around 20 years old

walked into these walls.

He had been arrested
for armed robbery

and was sentenced
to a term of five years.

His name is Charles Liston,
everyone called him Sonny.

[narrator] The 24th of his
abusive father's 25 children,

Sonny had grown up surrounded
by poverty and violence.

Sonny as a child
is picking cotton

and when he's 16 years old,

he's already
a strapping young man.

he's already
a strapping young man.

He's over six feet tall.

He's over 200 pounds.

His strength is such that

he is used to help
break up strikes.

[narrator]
And it didn't take long

for Sonny to pick a fight
on the inside.

Reports are that
he mostly kept to himself,

but there's also reports
of him brawling

with other inmates,

and that's an activity
that could land you

in a lot of trouble

and maybe
solitary confinement.

and maybe
solitary confinement.

But in Sonny Liston's case,
it landed him somewhere else,

the boxing ring.

[narrator] The boxing club
within the prison

was holding
monthly exhibitions

and Sonny's standout talent
was quickly spotted.

The chaplain was also

the prison's
athletic director,

Reverend Schlichtmann
and he saw that Liston

had what it took.

And so this chaplain
takes Liston under his wing,

And so this chaplain
takes Liston under his wing,

mentors him, coaches him,

and turns Liston
into a really fine boxer.

The boxing ring
would've been down here

on the lower yard.

And hundreds of inmates
would've come

and watch Sonny box.

No one ever defeated
Sonny Liston.

[narrator] He dispatched the
prison heavyweight champion

in front of nearly
3,000 howling inmates.

You can imagine in a time

with very little entertainment
for the prisoners,

with very little entertainment
for the prisoners,

how exciting it was to see
some of these boxing matches.

They brought
what was supposedly

the best heavyweight boxer
in St. Louis, Missouri

to fight against him
and he only lasted two rounds.

[narrator] With the extent
of his potential

becoming clear,
a campaign began

for Sonny's release.

Two different chaplains
in the prison

helped develop his talent.

They advocated for his parole

and they arranged for him
to be supervised

and they arranged for him
to be supervised

and trained as a boxer
after his release.

[narrator]
The big day came in 1952

when Liston was paroled.

He took a job as a laborer
at a steel mill,

but it wouldn't take long
for him to make his mark.

Once he turned pro in 1953,

he reaches the heights
of his sport

really quickly,
has an amazing record.

[narrator] With the biggest
hands ever recorded

in boxing history,

Liston established himself

Liston established himself

as the knockout king.

In 1962, 10 years
after being released,

Liston went up
against Floyd Patterson

for the heavyweight
championship.

Wasn't much of a contest,
he knocked him out

in two minutes, six seconds.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Despite reaching
the pinnacle of his sport,

Sonny couldn't shake
his criminal past.

[Dr. Michele]
He assaulted a policeman,

he stole the policeman's gun,

he stole the policeman's gun,

but he also was reputedly
tied in with mob figures

who supported his career.

Two mafia figures

purchased majority shares
in his contract.

So he's literally associated
with figures
in the underworld.

[narrator] In April 1963,

he passed through
these gates once again.

But why was he back?

Had Sonny thrown his fame
and fortune away?

[dramatic music playing]

[bell rings]

[narrator] In 1963,

Sonny Liston, heavyweight
boxing champion of the world,

returned to his former home,

the
Missouri State Penitentiary.

Inmates are cheering,
they're excited,

he's going around
shaking hands.

It's a triumphant moment
for someone

who had been
incarcerated there.

[narrator]
The champ had returned

to show his gratitude
to the staff

to show his gratitude
to the staff

and visit the prisoners.

He ate with the inmates
in the general dining hall

and it was, by all accounts,
just a...

An incredibly powerful
meaningful experience

for the prisoners
to see this hero

who had been one of them
and then had become

this worldwide superstar.

[Sascha] One normally
doesn't think of prison

as a place that folks
get nostalgic about,

but Liston actually
returned here several times.

He'd become something
of a legend

not just to the inmates
but to the staff as well.

not just to the inmates
but to the staff as well.

And there's pictures of him
with the warden,

with the barber
in the old boxing ring

really getting in
amongst it all.

[narrator]
Back on the outside in 1965,

came the
career-defining moment,

a fight that everyone knows.

But only because
of the opponent

that he was hotly fancied

to dispatch with ease.

Sonny Liston's
achievements as a boxer

are nothing
short of miraculous.

But he was never the darling
of the press.

But he was never the darling
of the press.

Uh, and what
he's most famous for,

uh, is getting knocked out
by Ali in under two minutes

and essentially
becoming posterized

in that famous photo of Ali,

you know, looming
over his defeated foe.

[narrator] Yet even this fight
was cloaked in scandal

and mystery
with many claiming a fix.

To this day,
Ali's knockout blow

is sometimes referred to as
"The Phantom Punch."

is sometimes referred to as
"The Phantom Punch."

And sadly, controversy
would follow Sonny

even in death.

Found dead
at his Vegas home in 1971,

some suspected
a heroin overdose,

but others still believe
he was murdered.

There was a lot of talk about

Sonny Liston
later on when he...

When his life ended
about how tragic that was

because, uh,
a lot of the offenders felt

that-that, uh,
some of his managers

and people like that
had really taken
advantage of Sonny.

and people like that
had really taken
advantage of Sonny.

[narrator] His popularity
with the inmates

had secured him
legendary status here.

And a faded mural
on the prison wall

painted by an inmate
is testament

to Sonny Liston's
enduring legacy.

While the penitentiary
was advised to close

after the
notorious 1954 riots,

it continued to operate
into the 21st century.

It took 50 years
from the time
I was in the third grade

to the time that I was
a deputy warden in 2004,

it took that long before
it actually gets closed.

[narrator] In 2019,

the abandoned complex
was struck by a tornado

that ripped
the roof off A-block,

Liston's former home,

and tore down sections
of the prison wall.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator]
Mark now enjoys looking after

the prison's vast
historical archive

the prison's vast
historical archive

and leads tours
providing insight

into the institution's
168-year long life,

including its love affair
with The Big Bear.

Sonny Liston's story
is a story of rags to riches,

of success
against all the odds.

In some ways, it's the story
of the American dream.

But we should make no mistake,

a place like the Missouri
State Penitentiary

is a place where dreams
go to die.

And the chances
that another Sonny Liston

And the chances
that another Sonny Liston

are gonna emerge from this

sprawling privatized
for-profit prison system

seem vanishingly small.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] In the Philippines,

a neglected site in Manila Bay

once held the fortune
of a nation.

From above, this place looks
a bit like a tadpole.

From above, this place looks
a bit like a tadpole.

It has a bulbous head
and a long winding tail.

[narrator] A series
of mismatched structures

crowd the rocky island.

Big buildings,
either machine shops

or sleeping quarters
or office buildings,

all in a state of ruin.

[Alicia]
One seems to go on forever,

it could've housed
thousands of people.

[narrator] Scorched interiors
hint at a violent demise.

[narrator] Scorched interiors
hint at a violent demise.

And below ground,
the puzzle continues.

[Sascha] It could be
a railway tunnel,

but there are no tracks.

And inside is
a labyrinth of rooms.

[narrator] A small box
could be the key

to understanding
this sprawling site.

[Sascha] There's what
looks like an old oven.

It's known as "The Vault."

But who built it and why?

[narrator] The answer
could solve a mystery

that has shrouded this island
for decades.

Somewhere near this site

could be hundreds of tons
of silver

worth a reported $4,000,000.

[narrator] The economic
and strategic value of Manila,

capital of the Philippines,

meant the
Americans fought hard

to take possession of it
in 1898.

[Sascha]
The Americans built banks

[Sascha]
The Americans built banks

and a stock exchange,

so Manila had a lot of money
in it and moving through it.

[Armando] The economy
of the Philippines then
was very good.

The treasury vault had
$60,000,000 in gold bullion

and 23,000,000 pesos
in silver coins.

[narrator]
Local expert Armando Hildawa

knows just how
important Corregidor was

in protecting Manila.

The two square miles
of Corregidor Island

The two square miles
of Corregidor Island

were pivotal
to securing America's

foothold in Asia.

And so they decide the key
to holding the Philippines

is Manila Bay.

How do we hold Manila Bay?

The Island of Corregidor.

[narrator] So they built
a world-beating barracks

for their troops.

This is Topside Barracks.
Built in 1914,

this was then

the longest American
barracks in the world

the longest American
barracks in the world

to house a maximum
of 8,000 men

of the 59th Coast
Artillery Regiment.

It had the chapel,
it had the library,

a bowling alley,
indoor swimming pool,

washroom areas, mess hall.

[narrator] To defend Manila
from naval attack,

the Americans built five
gun batteries on Corregidor.

[Armando]
And these are what we call
12-inch disappearing guns.

When this gun will fire,
the tip of the gun

does not go up. No, sir.

The entire gun goes back
and up above the wall.

And after firing,
it will hide behind
the wall again.

[gun fires]

[Prof. Geoff] The Americans
essentially conceived

of Corregidor Island
as like a floating battery

that will bar
the approaches to Manila Bay

to any hostile fleet.

And they considered this to be

an almost impregnable
obstacle to any adversary.

[narrator] And with war
in the Pacific looming,

this mighty American fortress

was about to be
put to the test.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] At the start
of the Second World War,

the American gun batteries
on Corregidor Island

were ready for battle.

Traces on the ground suggest

the defending US troops

were in for the fight
of their lives.

[Armando] Every now and then,
you find some

World War II artifacts

like 50-caliber shells,
30-caliber bullets,

like 50-caliber shells,
30-caliber bullets,

fragmentation grenade,
sometimes a helmet

or part of a helmet.

[narrator] Back in 1941,

General MacArthur
led the US forces

defending the Philippines
from Japanese attack.

[Dr. Alicia]
On December 8th, 1941,

the Japanese
began their invasion

of the Philippines.

General MacArthur actually
declared Manila an open city.

And as an open city,

it meant that it would be
surrendered without a fight.

it meant that it would be
surrendered without a fight.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] The US troops
retreated to Corregidor,

but they were determined
to cheat the Japanese

of Manila's wealth.

MacArthur emptied the banks
in Manila of all their money

and especially their precious
metal, gold and silver,

to deny it
to the invading Japanese.

On December 27th, 1941,

a flotilla of small ships
and tugboats

a flotilla of small ships
and tugboats

brought this huge
mother lode of
gold and silver

across the bay
to store it in Corregidor.

[narrator] No less vital were
wartime papers brought here

to Corregidor's military HQ.

[Armando]
This is an original vault.

Not a treasury vault.

It's more for confidential,

top-secret documents and maps.

[narrator]
Along with US troops

[narrator]
Along with US troops

from all over the Philippines,

MacArthur retreated
to the bastion of Corregidor.

But its military installations

were no match
for the Japanese bombers.

When the first Japanese
air raid was conducted,

all of these buildings
were evacuated.

As you can see,
this was very much

exposed from airplanes.

[narrator] The onslaught
forced the Americans

[narrator] The onslaught
forced the Americans

to retreat even further.

The Malinta Tunnel
was an underground
storage facility

for supplies, food, water,
medicine, and gasoline.

End to end in a straight line
two miles long.

Once we enter on top of us,

300 feet of solid rock.

There are no dead ends.

All the laterals
and sub-laterals

are connected at the far ends.

This is a feat of engineering.

This is a feat of engineering.

You can fit 8,000 men
inside the tunnel.

[narrator]
General MacArthur moved his HQ

into the Malinta Tunnels.

[Armando]
This was then the office
of General MacArthur

when he was inside
Malinta Tunnel.

Now eventually
the gold bullion,

the silver coins
from the treasury vault

were transferred here.

[narrator]
Meanwhile above ground,

the battle raged on.

And another of Corregidor's

And another of Corregidor's

military assets crumbled.

[Armando] This was then
the post hospital building.

This would've been
the surgery room,

an operating table here,

scrubbing area
for the doctors.

This had the capacity
of 1,000 beds.

[narrator]
But in the face of Japanese
aerial bombardment,

the injured also crowded
into the tunnels.

the injured also crowded
into the tunnels.

[Armando]
This is the underground
hospital section

of Malinta Tunnel.

It was only to
accommodate 300 beds.

But when the Japanese bombed
the hospital building

on topside, all patients
transferred here

bringing the figure to 1,000.

One of the nurses
was quoted as saying,

"The blood almost
dried up here.

It was about one inch thick."

In the Malinta Tunnel,

life descended into bedlam

for the men
that were sheltering there.

for the men
that were sheltering there.

[narrator] Thousands
of US and Filipino troops

sat trapped
in the tunnels for months

as the Japanese continued
their relentless
aerial assault.

The island bastion
of Corregidor

was the last
remaining obstacle

to the Japanese expansion
across the Pacific.

[narrator]
And having heard the rumor

that billions of dollars
of gold

and silver were stashed
on Corregidor,

and silver were stashed
on Corregidor,

the Japanese had
no intention of giving up.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator]
On Corregidor Island in 1942,

General MacArthur
and 10,000 US troops

were holed up
in a series of tunnels

alongside millions of dollars'

worth of gold
and silver bullion.

Given the blow the Japanese
administered at Pearl Harbor,

no fleet's gonna come
and rescue these guys.

[narrator]
The island's defenses

were strug
gling to hold.

The ammunition that
the antiaircraft
artillery had

was only effective
up to about 24,000 feet.

Once the Japanese pilots
realized this,

they simply flew above
that level

and continued to drop

their deadly cargo
onto Corregidor.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator]
The officer-in-charge

sent out a desperate plea
for supplies

sent out a desperate plea
for supplies

to help them
reach the bombers.

The US submarine Trout
was dispatched

to send 3,500
antiaircraft ordinance

to Americans who were
trapped at Corregidor.

And it had a very perilous
mission ahead of it.

[narrator] The submarine
had to dodge

both the
Japanese naval blockade

and the US defensive mines
below Manila Bay

to reach Corregidor.

But it manages to make
it all the way to Corregidor

But it manages to make
it all the way to Corregidor

and deliver its cargo.

But now there's a problem.

As it gets back in the water,

it's riding too high,
it needs ballasts.

So they actually requested
25 tons of sandbags

but Corregidor had no sandbags

that they were able to spare.

And so somebody
has the bright idea,

"Why don't we use bars
of gold as ballast

and get them out of here
and get them safely

back to the United States?"

[narrator] With enemy bombs
raining down on them,

[narrator] With enemy bombs
raining down on them,

the US servicemen
had to get the bullion

out of the safety
of the tunnels.

You have to transfer
from the tunnel

to the south dock 20
tons of gold and silver,

so you can't just
carry it in one truck.

It has to be several trips
of several trucks.

So eventually the gold
were brought out

to the south dock
to board the USS Trout.

So this
stuff is literally used

as the equivalent
of scrap metal

as the equivalent
of scrap metal

to weigh down the submarine

so it can make its escape.

The USS Trout
left here February 4,

2:30 in the morning,
early morning.

But it stayed submerged
under the water

in Manila Bay until evening.

The next day,
it had to float out.

[narrator] But the Americans
still had to deal with

more than 400 tons

of silver pesos.

of silver pesos.

And as the Japanese
tightened the siege

of Corregidor Island,

the US forces on the island

decided to try to hide

all the bags of silver coins

they had taken out
of the banks in Manila

to deny them to the Japanese.

They literally went out to sea

from Corregidor Island

with 45 tons of silver coins

and they sank them
in Caballo Bay

with no great precision.

[narrator] The US finally
surrendered to the enemy

[narrator] The US finally
surrendered to the enemy

two months later.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Now, the Japanese

sent American
prisoners of war down

to search for the treasure
they themselves had dumped.

But the POW divers

sabotaged the rescue efforts.

When they got
to the wooden crates,

they, uh, cracked it open
with the crowbars,

and when the Japanese were
lifting the silver coins,

the crates popped open
and scattered

all of the coins
in the sandy bottom.

all of the coins
in the sandy bottom.

[narrator] While some coins
were retrieved,

most of the silver treasure
lay on the seabed

until the end of the war

when the US took
Corregidor back.

By now,
the Japanese themselves

were holed up
in the Malinta tunnels

where scorch marks reveal
what happened next.

[Armando] The Americans poured
in gasoline mixed with napalm.

The Japanese knew
what was going to happen next.

[narrator] The Japanese knew
there was no escape,

and for them,
honor lay in suicide.

[Armando] They blew themselves
inside the tunnel

using dynamites,
bombs, and grenades,

which ignited the gasoline
at the same time.

Wham, this entire
tunnel system collapsed,

flames shot out
from all the openings.

flames shot out
from all the openings.

[narrator]
More than 2,000 Japanese

committed mass suicide.

When the war was finally over,

shrines were built
to commemorate the American,

Japanese, and Filipino lives
that were lost here.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Treasure hunters
still search the water

surrounding Corregidor
for the missing silver pesos.

[Armando] So this is what
our money look like

during the American period.

You can see on the reverse
here is a very small S,

coins minted in San Francisco

for use in the Philippines.

More than half the silver
was never recovered

and is still lying somewhere

in the waters around the site.

And this is why coins
still occasionally

wash up on the beach
to this day.