All language subtitles for The Proof Is Out There UnXplained Edition S01E06 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

- [Tony] The remnants
of ancient civilizations

hold secrets that are
still left unexplained.

- Then I realized this is
beyond my understanding.

- [Andrew] We don't
know why they built this

and what they mean.

- [Tony] From sunken
cities, to lost tombs,

and cryptic carvings,
they could hold the key

to unlocking some of the
world's greatest mysteries.

- This is definitely one

of the greatest archeological
discoveries in the world.

- [Tony] Do these
stones contain clues

to a treasure map?

- We believe they lead to some

of the greatest treasures
this world has ever known.

- [Tony] Is there
an ancient pyramid

off the coast of Louisiana?

- The only architectural form

that can create an
electromagnetic anomaly

is a pyramidal structure.

- [Tony] And what could
explain the pristine condition

of this 2,000-year-old mummy?

- [Ken] Ancient Chinese
perhaps employed

a form of cryogenics in order
to preserve living beings.

- [Tony] On this special episode

of The Proof is Out There:
Unexplained Edition,

our team of top experts
will investigate some

of the most mysterious
ancient ruins

and relics from
around the world.

And then, we'll pass a verdict.

- [Ed] These are all still
unanswered questions.

- The proof starts now.

[dramatic music]

Good evening and welcome
to The Proof Is Out There.

We've all heard the
legend of Atlantis,

the supposed lost island
paradise, first mentioned

by the Greek philosopher, Plato.

But what if there's actually
a sunken civilization

that most people
have never heard of

right off the Gulf
Coast of the US?

- [Tony] It's May 2011
on the Chandeleur Islands,

50 miles offshore from
southeastern Louisiana.

Architect and
amateur archeologist,

George Gele, has
received permission

to do exploration
dives in the area

with a remote operated vehicle.

What his underwater videos
reveal is astonishing.

Scattered on the sea
floor are what appear

to be large granite blocks.

The cubic stones don't seem

to be at all natural
since they all

have 90-degrees squared edges

and some have carvings and cuts.

Check out what they look like

after he's brought them
up and cleaned them off.

Could they once have been
part of a larger structure?

George says he's
certain this is the site

of an ancient lost city that
he has named Crescentis.

- I'm an architect
and a contractor,

so I do know what
buildings look like

even if they're underwater

and covered up a lot
somewhat with sand,

and that's what we have here.

An ancient culture that
nobody knew that was there.

- [Tony] George
says the location

of this submerged
civilization first came

to him while sleeping
one night in the 1960s.

- I had a incredibly
vivid dream.

I got up and I sketched it,

and the dream was what I call
the Star of David diagram,

and it showed in
that diagram that

if you start off at Giza
at the Great Pyramid,

there were six cities at
the same latitude as Giza,

and one of them
was in Louisiana.

- [Tony] Erin McCarthy says

George believes the block
scene in this video could be

at least 12,000 years
old, predating the Incan,

Mayan, and Aztec civilizations.

- Granite is not
natural to the area.

His theory is that
they were brought

from somewhere
that's not Louisiana

and floated down the
Mississippi at some point

before the last Ice
Age, when this area

of Louisiana would've
been above water.

- [Tony] And wait, there's more.

George believes that
just as we see in Giza,

there was a 280-foot-tall
pyramid here

that is now buried in silt.

- He claims that
it produces a ton

of electromagnetic activity,

and fishermen who fish
out near that area say

that it actually affects
their compasses.

- [Tony] George says
this buildup of energy

gives more credence to
his pyramid theory.

- I know that having
done 50 years of research

in how they produce energy,
the only architectural form

that I'm aware of that can do
that is a pyramidal structure.

- It seems clear these
huge blocks replaced here

by someone or something.

As glacial ice melted at
the end of the Ice Age,

it flowed down the
Mississippi River

into the Gulf of Mexico,
submerging the coastline

and moving it 60 miles inland.

So could these blocks have been
deposited here by the river

or could a lost Louisiana City,

which George calls Crescentis,

have been the Ice Age's
greatest casualty?

[pensive music]

If this site is really
12,000 years old,

it would be from around
the time of the emergence

of the Clovis culture,

thought by some to be the first
inhabitants of the Americas.

- Clovis was not a
culture that gathered

in large groups of people
or in sedentary ways.

They were hunter-gatherers.

They traveled, and that's
how they survived.

- [Tony] So if it's
unlikely the nomadic Clovis

would build a permanent
site like Crescentis,

what about the
humdrum explanation

that this is just
an artificial reef

from more modern times, built
as a habitat for marine life?

- Typically, when we make reefs,

we don't make them out of stone.

We use things like tires

and other lighter material
that works just as well

for creating natural reefs.

- [Tony] So what
about the theory

that the electromagnetic
energy detected here

is evidence of a lost pyramid?

- If you take a rock that
has a magnetic field in it

and you take it outta
place and drop it,

it still has the
magnetic field in it.

That magnetic field is
frozen in those crystals.

So it would not surprise me

that if somebody took a
magnetometer down there

and looked at these rocks,

that they would have a very
localized magnetic field

from somewhere else where
the magnetic field is strong.

- [Tony] Then could this
actually be lost city?

- Sea level can
change over time,

and so, I think it makes
sense that you may have a city

that's farther than where
the coast currently ends.

[pensive music]

- Our verdict? These are
possible city ruins.

We know these rocks
don't belong there,

and we don't think it's
an artificial reef.

And as Professor Szydagis said,

sea levels have risen in
the gulf dramatically

over the millennia,

but we also need to be cautious.

More research needs to be done

before we know for sure
what we're looking at.

There is very little known

about the lost
Olmec civilization,

though it's considered
the mother culture

of Central America, but
a massive new discovery

could change everything we know,

or it might just
deepen the mystery.

Summer 2020, in the
state of Tobasco

in southern Mexico,

archeologists are surveying
the land from above,

armed with a new
technology called LIDAR.

It stands for Light Image
Detection and Ranging.

Laser beams are sent to
the ground and bounce back,

creating a digital
map of areas hidden

for centuries by thick
dense vegetation.

The team is working
in the remote jungles

when their LIDAR
detectors uncovered this.

It's a series of
images which appear

to be a city containing
rectangular plazas

and platforms with
distinct lines and edges.

So remember, this isn't a photo,

it's a laser image of the
jungle from above enabling us

to see what's covered by
the canopy and underbrush.

So take a look at
these rectangles,

here, here, and then we've
got a large one here.

Some of them are nearly
a half-mile long,

and then take a look
at these lines here.

I'm just wondering, I
could be wrong about this.

Could they be roads?

Dr. Takeshi Inomata led the
team that made the discovery.

- It was really great,

particularly, those perfect
rectangular-shaped site.

That's something we
were not expecting.

- These structures and the
mysteries surrounding them

really harken back
to some older legends

of lost cities, of the
idea of El Dorado.

- [Tony] El Dorado was a
legendary city filled with gold

that the Spanish conquistadors
heard rumors about

while exploring The
New World in the 1500s.

Many died in their
unending quest to find it,

including the English
courtier, Sir Walter Raleigh,

who was beheaded for
battling the Spaniards

during the fruitless search.

Yet another theory about this
site is that it's evidence

of the oldest civilization
known to Mesoamerica.

- These structures could
possibly have been created

by the Olmec civilization.

There were only two
other major sites

where we know the
Olmec to have lived.

- [Tony] The Olmec date
between 1600 and 350 BC,

hundreds of years before the
more well-documented Inca,

Mayan, and Aztec empires.

It's still unclear how and why
their civilization vanished.

- [Takeshi] We thought
we already knew

about many of those big sites.

Some of them are
almost kilometer long

and then they have
perfect rectangular shape,

which was surprising.

- [Tony] So who really made
this large site and why?

Based on the images in
Olmec-style rock carvings

found recently in
Morelos, Mexico,

some speculate this
could have been used

for religious rituals
like human sacrifice.

These and similar artworks
suggest Olmec leaders

ritually killed captives of war

and other elites to gain
the favor of the gods.

Although the fate of
the Olmec is unknown,

one thing is definitely clear,

LIDAR is the future
of archeology.

In fact, another recent
LIDAR find uncovered this

1500-year-old urban settlement
in the Bolivian Amazon.

More evidence that
cultures we've always

thought of as undeveloped,

were actually more sophisticated
than we ever imagined,

but are these ruins
in Mexico the remains

of the Olmec civilization
or something else?

Let's see what our
experts can dig up.

[pensive music]

It's unlikely this could be the
ancient lost city of El Dorado

as some have speculated,
since the Mexican state

of Tobasco where it's
located is not known

for gold deposits,

but maybe instead it
has something to do

with the search for liquid gold.

- Mexico's national
oil company, Pemex,

has been intensively
working in there,

so it's possible that
some of those things

that look ancient might be
overgrown Pemex platforms,

- [Tony] But as he
looks more closely,

Barnhart recognizes the
pattern of these structures

as something familiar
to archeologists.

- This entire thing was once
a big platform with buildings

and probably big
sculptures as well,

and we're talking
about huge areas

upon which the Olmec
put their cities.

- It looks like mounds
that we already know about

that are at the
two other complexes

that we know are
associated with Olmec.

The Mayans came along later,

and they occupied a different
place in that jungle,

and so, we know this
was exclusively Olmec

because of where it's located.

- [Tony] Now, of course,
it's long been suggested

that various Mesoamerican
sites like the Nazca lines

in Peru were designed
to communicate with

or even guide
extraterrestrial visitors.

Mainstream archeologists
usually dismiss these theories,

but even they remain mystified
about this latest find.

- Honestly, we don't
know what they are.

We don't know why they built
this and what they mean.

[pensive music]

- Our verdict? Olmec
archeological site.

But what it's for and why
this civilization collapsed

is still unknown.

We do know that the
Olmec invented calendars,

created the system
of mathematics,

and they even had toothpaste,
but the exact extent

of their sophistication remains

a secret covered by the jungle.

- Everyone loves a
good treasure hunt,

and some believe the mysterious
stones in this next story

could unlock the secret
location of untold riches.

Do we have your attention?

It's 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona,

third-generation treasure
hunter, Dan Dillman,

third-generation treasure
hunter, Dan Dillman,

is at the Arizona Mining
and Mineral Museum

where he's been
granted special access

to view some artifacts

that have long been
a family obsession.

These photos show
replicas of a set

of rectangular slabs known
as the Peralta Stones.

They're each 18 inches
wide and 12 inches tall.

One is known as the horse
stone, or the priest stone,

and features a horse on one
side and a priest on the back.

A second, the trail
map stone features

what looks like a pictorial map.

The third has a recessed
heart that's filled

with a separate
heart-shaped stone.

This heart tablet seems to
connect with the trail map.

- I first heard about
the Peralta Stone Tablets

from my grandfather and uncles

when I was just a
little kid sitting

at the kitchen table talking
about treasure stories,

and my grandfather and
uncles truly believed

that these were real stone
maps that led to some place.

- [Tony] The story goes
that the original tablets

were found in the
1940s in Arizona.

- Police officer
Travis Tumlinson

was near Apache
Junction, Arizona,

and he just stepped
out of the car

to stretch his legs, and
he found these stones

buried in the dirt next
to where he was parked.

- [Tony] This
heart-shaped insert

was apparently found later

by someone who went
back to search the area.

- [Kathy] The
prevailing theory is

that these stones
will tell the way

to get to the Lost
Dutchman Mine.

The Lost Dutchman
Mine is believed

to be on some land in the
Superstition Mountains.

In 1748, the land was granted

to a Mexican cattle bearer
named Don Miguel Peralta.

It is said that there was a
gold mine on that property,

but he rarely ever went to it.

- [Tony] In the 1870s,
German immigrant

Jacob Waltz supposedly found
the location of the mine

and spent years filling
his saddlebacks with gold.

Dutchman was a
common American term

for a German in the 1800s,
from the anglicized version

of the German word, Deutsche.

- [Kathy] It's possible
that these stones

led him to find the mine,

but it's also possible that
he's the one that authored these

to help him remember
where the mine was.

- [Tony] A number of searchers
have mysteriously died

or gone missing while
hunting for this goal,

and that only adds
to the superstition

that surrounds these peaks.

- We continue following
the information

that we've gleaned from
the Peralta Stone maps,

and we believe they lead to some

of the greatest treasures
this world has ever known.

- The superstition
mountains are renowned

for more than just a legend
of The Lost Dutchman Mine.

Some Apaches believe
a hole leading

to the underworld
is located there.

What can our experts discover

about this legendary
search for treasure?

Let's put them on the hunt.

[pensive music]

- One of the tablets has a
text that in Spanish says,

"Look for the map,"
which strikes me

as a little odd, considering

these tablets are
supposed to be the map.

On the flip side, we have
what's called The Horse Tablet,

and then there's text
again in Spanish saying,

"The horse of Santa Fe.

I graze north of the river,"
which people have taken

to be some sort of cryptic
directions to the mine.

One of the troubles I have with
that particular text though

is that horse, "caballo,"
is misspelled.

- [Tony] Barnhart adds
that on The Heart Stone,

there appears to
be a date, 1847,

the last year Arizona
was a part of Mexico.

But what about the symbols
on the other tablets

like the so-called,
Trail Map Stone?

- The trail map itself seems

to be kind of squiggly lines.

There's no place where
it begins or ends,

so it's very difficult

to discern how you
would use it as a map.

- [Tony] So who
carved these stones?

Barnhart says it's unlikely
the German prospector,

Waltz, would've been
literate in the 1800s,

much less have the
education to be able

to write words in
other languages.

And more importantly, he
says the stones reveal

two completely different
levels of carving skill.

- [Ed] The stones
appear to be carved

by two different authors.

One is a much better
artist than the other.

- The carvings that you see
on the two sandstone ones,

which is the map,
are pretty legitimate

of what you would find
in the 1840s and 1850s.

These rocks are scattered
all over Arizona,

and they were used as
markers to show people

where you want 'em to go.

The horse, on the other hand,

and the heart appear to
be totally different.

That heart symbol is
probably much more recent,

I would say, probably
in the 1940s or 1950s.

These two rocks that are
carved later do not belong

to the same puzzle
that the first two do.

[pensive music]

- So, we're left a bit
puzzled by these stones.

Our verdict?

The trail map stone
and the heart stone

might be legitimate,
19th-century marker stones,

but the heart-shaped insert
and double-sided horse

or priest stone are likely
fakes from the 20th century.

And since they're not
part of the same set,

it's unlikely they reveal

the hidden spot of
our treasure trove.

- We haven't talked much
about mummies on this show,

and now, it's time
to right that wrong,

thanks to the discovery
of a mysterious mummy

from before the time of Christ.

It is so perfectly preserved,
some are wondering

if something supernatural
might be the reason.

1968, Changsha, China.

Construction workers
digging an air raid shelter

Construction workers
digging an air raid shelter

unsuspectingly stumble across

what appears to
be a massive tomb.

Archeologists discover over
1,000 noteworthy artifacts,

including toiletries,
carved wooden figures,

and this, a perfectly
preserved mummy

of a woman with a
full head of hair

and skin that is still
soft to the touch.

All of her organs still intact,

the corpse was found inside
three nesting coffins

wrapped with layer upon
layer of silk fabric

and submerged in
a strange liquid.

And get this, experts
believe this body

is more than 2,000 years old.

Researchers have determined
that this corpse belongs

to a Chinese noble woman

from the Han Dynasty
known as Lady Dai.

Historian, Gary Todd
has been studying

this confounding find
for almost 20 years.

- Lady Dai left behind a body
that's unique in the world.

And this is definitely one

of the greatest archeological
discoveries in the world.

- [Tony] That still doesn't
explain the mysterious,

pristine condition of
this ancient cadaver.

Ken Gerhard wonders if Lady
Dai could be the product

of an ancient preliminary
version of cryogenic freezing.

- There are some
scientists who think that

by freezing living organisms
at very low temperatures

that they could be suspended
indefinitely and reanimated

and brought back to
life at a later time.

- [Tony] Just recently,
scientists were able

to resurrect a worm

that had been frozen in
the Siberian permafrost

for more than 46,000 years.

- [Ken] There is a
substantial amount of evidence

that the ancient Chinese
were very familiar

with the benefits of ice

and low temperatures
in preserving food

and perhaps, employed a
form of cryogenics in order

to preserve living
beings like Lady Dai.

- [Tony] One final
theory suggests

that perhaps Lady
Dai is simply proof

the ancient Chinese perfected
the art of mummification.

- Lady Dai's remains
have been found

in this very strange,
mysterious liquid,

and it's believed that the
acidic nature actually helped

to preserve her by killing
bacteria and other organisms.

If so, this was an
exceptional mastery

of mummification skills.

- Fun fact, the ancient
Chinese believe that jade

has protective qualities
to prevent a body's decay

and keep away bad spirits.

Royalty were buried
in special suits cut

from the precious stone.

However, when these sarcophagi

were discovered centuries later,

all that was left
inside were dust

and the ashes of
crumbled skeletons.

Let's see why our experts think

this unique noble woman
could have lasted so long.

[pensive music]

So could Lady Dai's
corpse be the result

of some primitive
form of cryogenics?

- This environment, it's
cold, but it's also humid.

Cryogenics takes
much more in the way

of constant temperature
and very low freezing

at the initial
cryogenic freezing part.

- [Tony] In fact,
when modern bodies

are cryogenically frozen,

they are initially frozen
in temperatures as low

as 238 degrees Fahrenheit
to limit molecular motion

and to preserve
the body's tissue

in a state of
suspended animation.

Barnhart also points
out that even today,

despite reviving
those amazing worms

with their relatively
simple physiology,

a more complex organism like
a person is still not able

to survive long periods
of suspended animation,

at least not yet.

- [Ed] As of today,

the technology to
actually revive someone

has yet to be created.

- [Tony] So how did the
mummification process

keep Lady Dai so well-preserved?

- We know she was wrapped
in 20 layers of silk.

That silk will deprive
any oxygen to the bacteria

that may be breaking
the body parts down.

The burial chamber was
underground 12 meters,

and this would also
help preserve the body.

- And as for that strange liquid
Lady Dai was submerged in?

- There's some evidence
that this liquid does help

because around about
300 kilometers away,

we found another mummy.

- [Tony] In 1974, the
2,200-year-old remains

of Xui Shao Yuan were
found in a similar state

of preservation floating
in a similar liquid.

- There's no conclusive evidence

of how this liquid
got into the coffin

or what it's comprised of,

but it's very likely

that it's slowing the
decomposition process

and keeping it well-preserved.

[pensive music]

- Our verdict?
Unidentified liquid.

While we know that the key

to Lady Dai's preservation was
the liquid she was found in,

where it came from and what
it is remains a mystery.

One thing, however, is certain.

The Lady Dai doesn't look
a day over 2,000 years old.

- Ancient China
may be best known

for the 13,000-mile-long
Great Wall,

but some of the country's
greatest treasures,

like the Terracotta
Warriors were long hidden

from view under the earth,

and one of these amazing
subterranean sites

seems to defy all explanation.

It's March 2018 in
Longyou, China,

about 200 miles
southwest of Shanghai.

Researcher, Andrew Kuznetzov
is visiting the area

to see what some call

the Ninth Wonder of
The Ancient World.

His footage reveals
a gigantic cavern

with huge pillars supporting

a 60-to-100-foot-high,
sloped ceiling.

The walls are covered in
a series of paralleled,

chiseled lines and symbols,

including stone
carvings of animals.

- [Tony] Erin McCarthy
says the caves

were only recently discovered

in 1992 when four farmers
were trying to drain

what legend said was

a bottomless lake
gifted from the gods.

- When they drained
the first pond,

they discovered a huge cavern.

They ended up draining
a bunch more ponds

and in all, they
discovered 24 caverns.

But the average size of the
caverns is 11,000 square feet,

which is seven times bigger
than the average American house.

- [Tony] Archeologists believe
these underground grottos

were carved by hand more
than 2,000 years ago

during the Han Dynasty,

and what's even more
remarkable is that the walls

and columns supporting the
caves are relatively thin,

yet, they have remained intact

for millennia despite
seismic activity in the area.

Still, though this is considered
a wonder of the world,

unlike the Pyramids
and the Colosseum,

there's no universally
accepted idea

of what it was used for,
which is rather bizarre.

- Some have speculated
that perhaps

this is some kind of
underground palace

or a tomb for an emperor,
the first emperor of China.

He was buried with 8,000
Terracotta soldiers.

Another theory is that
this was always meant

to be a reservoir.

- [Tony] Whatever its purpose,

the network of
caves is so massive

and detailed that it seems
it would be nearly impossible

to construct with
only the hand tools

available back in ancient China.

- Experts have estimated
that it would've taken

1,000 people working
24 hours a day

for six years to carve
out all of these caverns.

Workers would've had to remove

nearly a million
cubic meters of rock.

- Some questions that
add to the mystery:

If workers excavated all that
rock, then where did it go?

And why were no tools found
in or near the caverns?

There's also no mention of the
caves in any written records,

so no one even knew they
existed until 30 years ago.

Let's see what our
experts can unearth.

[pensive music]

Could this cave system
be an ancient palace?

- The palace has a number
of different functions

and individual
rooms for privacy.

The kind of individual
spaces that a palace needs

to function are not
indicated in these caverns.

- [Tony] Others have
wondered if the caves

were used by miners to
extract some valuable mineral,

but no trace of mining
equipment has ever been found.

And since these spaces seem
to fill naturally with water,

they could have been originally
created as reservoirs.

- They were precisely built so

that water coming down from rain

or a monsoon would get
captured into these caverns

and that it'd be used
by the local people

for a water source.

It's like a big gutter,

and it's all focused
to go into the caverns.

- If these were reservoirs,

why would they bother
carving the walls

in these nice linear formations?

- [Tony] Barnhart thinks there
might be another explanation

for why water was
welcomed in this space.

- The very few objects
that we have found

in these caverns are
from the Han Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty was famous
for its silk technology.

The weaving of silk is best done
in a very humid environment.

With those parallel lines that
are really kind of overhangs,

each one of them,
creating places

where the condensation
would rise the humidity

within this environment.

- [Tony] For six weeks
after they hatch,

silk worms eat mulberry leaves

and then start spinning
their silk cocoons.

Scientists have found
around 75% humidity

is ideal for silkworm growth.

It helps keep the
leaves from withering.

Once the cocoons are ready,

they are boiled to
soften them into threads.

The threads are dyed, spun,

and woven into
fabric with humid air

keeping the natural
fibers more pliable.

keeping the natural
fibers more pliable.

[pensive music]

Our verdict? The
true purpose behind

these mysterious
caves remains unknown.

Barnhart's theory
about them being used

for silk making is intriguing,
but there's no smoking gun.

Archeologists haven't found
any artifacts like looms,

silkworm cocoons, or minerals
for dyes in or near the caves.

- Since the days of King Arthur

and the Knights of
the Round Table,

treasure hunters
have been on a quest

to find the long
lost Holy Grail.

But could a mysterious structure
in England hold the secrets

to its hiding place?

See if you can crack this code.

2020, Staffordshire, England.

Historical researcher,
Andrew Baker is visiting

Historical researcher,
Andrew Baker is visiting

Shugborough Hall,
a centuries-old,

country house with numerous
neo-classical monuments.

But he's here to see just one.

Framed by a pair of columns

sits an enigma carved in
stone, The Shepherd's Monument,

- The monument
stands by the river.

It's surrounded by trees
and by dark shrubs,

so it's eerie and mysterious.

- [Tony] Footage of
the marble relief

shows four people gathered

around a tomb that reads,
"Et In Arcadia Ego."

Below the carved scene
is a stone plaque

bearing only the
cryptic letters,

O-U-O-S-V-A-V-V,
flanked by a D and an M.

Andrew says its meaning is one

of the most enduring
puzzles in England.

- The idea that there
was something in England

that had this coded message
on it might be to do

with secret societies,
treasure, who knows what.

It's as if it's been planted
there for us to read today.

- [Tony] Historians believe
The Shepherd's Monument

was commissioned by the
estate's owner, Thomas Anson,

and that it was built
sometime around the 1750s.

Beyond that, the
details get murky.

- The theory goes that
Thomas Anson's brother,

Royal Navy Admiral
George Anson,

circumnavigated the
globe collecting treasure

that was hidden away somewhere

and that the Shugborough
Hall inscription

leads to the location
of that lost treasure.

- [Tony] Yet, some believe
the inscription leads

to treasure even more
precious than gold.

- Another theory goes that
the Anson family were members

of an organization known
as the Priory of Sion,

descendants of the Knights
Templar, who were rumored

to originally be charged with
protecting the Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail is said to
be the cup that was used

to serve wine at The Last Supper

and collected blood from
Jesus during the crucifixion.

- [Tony] Or could the Holy
Grail be something else?

According to legend,
the Priory of Sion

claimed that Jesus
Christ was an earthly,

not a heavenly king, whose
bloodline traced itself

to ancient France's
Merovingian Dynasty.

So some believe the Holy
Grail is not actually

a physical cup, but rather,
the Priory's secret knowledge

that Jesus married
Mary Magdalene

and had children with her.

One code breaker has suggested
the Shugborough inscription

stands for "Jesus
as deity, divine,"

which has been linked to
these controversial beliefs.

Many of these theories
laid the groundwork

for Dan Brown's wildly popular
"Da Vinci Code" franchise.

Professional scholars
have dismissed many

of those claims
as pseudo history,

but the idea of a secret
society protecting

a holy bloodline retains
a grip on popular culture.

So it's time to
see if our experts

can chisel out the truth.

[pensive music]

Dr. Ed Barnhart
begins with the theory

that George Anson collected
treasures from around the world

and that the code is
a way to find them.

- What George Anson
collected in today's money

would be millions of
dollars of wealth.

But if we look at the
Shugborough Hall property

and all of these
amazing monuments,

it would appear that
most of George's wealth

went into the estate itself.

- [Tony] If Anson spent the
lion's share of his fortune,

which seems to be the case
since his family fell out

of prominence, then maybe this
isn't a literal treasure map,

but rather, a clue to
how the Anson's hid

the truth about the Holy Grail

as members of the
Priory of Sion.

Michael O'Neill says the main
problem with that theory

is this supposed secret
society didn't actually exist.

- In the 1950s, a French
man named Pierre Plantard

started this Priory of Sion,

and he attempted to
draw a connection

between that secret society
and the Knights Templar.

Unfortunately, there
was no such connection.

And then in 1993, we see a raid
of the apartment of Plantard

where they find all
these documentation

and letters between Plantard

and his friends talking
about their intentions

to perpetrate this great hoax,

so the proof is in the pudding.

- [Tony] So, if
the Priory of Sion

and its connection to the Holy
Grail is completely made up,

then what does this
inscription mean?

Barnhart thinks
he's found a clue.

- The inscription itself
is clearly the initials,

the first letters of
a longer statement.

This D and this M are
typically on Roman tombs,

and it means, Dis Manibus,

which means, dedicated
to the venerated dead.

So this may be some sort
of monument dedicated

to someone who's passed away.

[pensive music]

- For us, many
unanswered questions

about this inscription remain.

Our verdict is that it's a
memorial dedication to someone,

though we're still
not really sure who.

We may have to accept
that the message

was meant to be kept private,
and may stay that way forever.

- India is a land
of ancient wonders,

but sadly, many of its
architectural marvels

were either damaged or destroyed
by invading barbarians.

The structure in our next
video survived the acts,

perhaps not because
of what it looks like,

but what it sounds like.

It's November 2016

and Sunil Krishnan
has made a pilgrimage

and Sunil Krishnan
has made a pilgrimage

to the ancient village of Hampi.

He is there to
explore the beauty

and antiquity of
the Vittala Temple.

The temple's biggest attractions

are these mysterious 56
pillars made of solid granite

that somehow produce
musical notes when struck.

[pillar clanging]

- So I went there.

Then I realized this is
beyond my understanding.

You heard about this
pillar all your life.

Finally, you get
to play with it.

That is an amazing experience.

[pillar clanging]

- The musical pillars
of Hampi consist

of 56 granite pillars
sometimes referred

to as the Sa, Re,
Ga, Ma Pillars.

Sa, Re, Ga, Ma being
the Indian version

of the tonal scale equivalent
to a Do, Re, Mi, Fa.

So the sounds
emitted will change

depending on which
pillar you are tapping.

[pillar clanging]

According to legend,
the musical pillars

may have been created
for the God, Vishnu,

to celebrate his return,

and the reincarnation
written of Vishnu

will destroy the
wicked and the unjust

in this dawning of a new age.

- [Tony] Grundhauser
says foreign invaders

have long obsessed
over the mystery

of how these stone columns

could produce such
soothing music.

- The Mughals are said to
have charred the pillars

for three months trying
to unlock the secrets

of their musical notes.

The English ended up carving
out two of the pillars

just to see inside, discovering

that they are just
granite pillars.

Many visitors to the site
still have trouble explaining

how the pillars could
have been created

to emit such unique
musical tones.

[pillar clanging]

- Although we have
examples of resonant stones

in other parts of the world,

there's nothing quite
like Hampi's pillars

in terms of historical
significance.

For decades, they
have been the subject

of numerous scientific studies,

and yet, they still
remain an enigma.

So let's see if our experts
can solve this ancient riddle.

[pensive music]

[pillar clanging]

- The mechanics of
this particular rock

and the diameter
of the the pillars

are that it's a
flexural vibration,

meaning the whole pillar itself

is wiggling side to side
almost like a string.

And so, that's the thing
that is allowing it

to vibrate at a
particular frequency.

- [Tony] Sound crazy?

Well, you see examples of
flexural vibration all the time,

like on a guitar string
or a coiled doorstopper.

To test his theory, Maher
creates a synthetic version

of a flexural vibration sound

and compares it to the columns.

- So I'll play the
synthesized first.

[clanging synthesized music]

[clanging pillar music]

So it has the same
characteristic pitch

and the general quality to it.

And so, what we're hearing
when the structure is struck

is just these
flexural vibrations,

but the understanding of how
they work is still emerging.

[pillar clanging]

- [Tony] So, how could
a giant piece of stone

be made to produce a sound the
same way as a guitar string?

- Some theories have
said that it may be

that the pillars are
reconstituted granite

and each one of the pillars
were purpose-made for the tones.

Perhaps there's inclusions
in the granite stones

that subtly produce these
differences in tone,

but exactly what that
inclusion would be

and how Hindus of the
1500s figured that out,

these are all still
unanswered questions.

- [Tony] Barnhart
also points out

that even if it was
possible for artisans

from over 500 years ago to
wield the technology needed,

the surrounding evidence does
not support that conclusion.

- The creation of a
cement that would be made

of granite would
involve heating up

that granite to
thousands of degrees,

and there is no
evidence of any kilns

of that nature being able to get

that hot anywhere
near the temple.

- [Tony] And even then, the
musical mystery remains.

- The kind of trial and error
it would take to make each one

of them consistently
make a different tone,

it boggles the modern mind

how we would go
about this process.

So the idea that scientists
of the 1500s did this,

not once, but 56 times, is
really kind of amazing.

[pillar clanging]

[pensive music]

- Okay, people, we
are genuinely stumped.

We don't know how
these things were made.

So we have to conclude,

the musical pillars of
Hampi are the product

of a lost technology,
forgotten over time.

Today, the pillars
are cordoned off

to prevent further damage
to the stone instruments.

So if you go, look,
but don't touch.

From sunken ruins in the Gulf
to vast underground chambers

in China and singing
temples in India,

we've explored enduring
mysteries of the ancient world.

Some can be solved by science,
others remain unexplained.

As long as these relics endure,

perhaps, so will the
questions they raise.

Thank you for watching
this special edition

of The Proof is Out There.

Please send us any
videos, images,

or sound, that you think
we should investigate

and remember to keep
those cameras rolling.

[dramatic music]