All language subtitles for The UnXplained Special Presentation s01e01 Mystical Structures

Massive stone heads with mysterious
magnetic properties.

A miraculous staircase designed by a
divine architect.

And a subterranean chamber where ancient
priests could speak with the dead.

Since the dawn of civilization, mankind
has built countless structures for a

myriad of different purposes.

But there are some that, for one reason
or another, are considered to be special

and may be imbued with mystical powers.

For instance, can a formation of
standing stones really harness the

the earth?

Or can a magnificent cathedral actually
bring people in touch with

God?

Well, that's what we'll try and find
out.

Cornwall, England.

Here, sitting atop a grassy clearing in
the English countryside, about 80 miles

west of the city of Plymouth, is a set
of three monoliths that stand out from

the natural landscape.

In the language of ancient Britain, the
site was named Menato, which translates

to the Stone of the Hole.

There's nothing else on Earth quite like
the Menantol.

It consists of a big round stone with a
big round hole in the middle of it.

It's a couple of feet across. You can
crawl through it quite comfortably.

And there's a straight stone on either
side.

It's highly visible in the landscape and
bafflingly mysterious.

Archaeologists believe that Menatol was
constructed around the year 2000 BC.

It is also thought that there were once
additional models that encircled the

centre stone, which had been lost to
time.

There's something very melodramatic
about the Menatol.

There has to be a reason why ancient
people have put up a big stone with a

hole in it.

And the real thing to do with a stone
with a hole is crawl through it.

But there must be a good reason for
that.

Local folklore says that crawling
through the centre of the Menantol is

good for you. Disease children can get
better, especially if they've got

rickets.

And if you put a couple of brass pins on
the top of the whole stone, the way in

which they fall off can predict your
future.

When it comes to Menantol in Cornwall,
we have to question what is going on

here.

Is this really a magical place? Is it
just ancient traditions? Or is there

reality to the power of these ancient
stones?

Manitoul is just one of approximately 1
,300 ancient monoliths that are

scattered throughout the British Isles.

It may sound outlandish to think that
Manitoul and other standing stone sites

can have a mystical effect on people,
but...

Who can say for sure that they don't?

Because even after centuries of study,
these remarkable structures remain

shrouded in mystery.

Stonehenge gets all the fame and the
recognition, but there are thousands and

thousands of other prehistoric monuments
that are worth attention up and down

the British Isles.

For example...

Avebury is absolutely stunning because
it's a very big place. What you're

looking at there is an enormous bank
with a ditch inside it. And

inside this enormous circular enclosure
was originally a hundred stones

in a circle.

And inside this enormous circle of
stones are the remnants of two other

enormous stone circles.

The place was so big that about half of
the village was built inside it.

It was an entire community.

The largest standing stone in Britain is
known as the Rudston Monolith.

It's around 25 to 26 feet in height.

But there is just as much of it under
the ground, creating this

huge... great monolith almost 60 feet in
length

the significant thing about this is that
the type of stone that it's made from

can only be sourced about 30 miles to
the north that meant that

it was dragged in some way to its
position in the village of rudston

and we have to ask ourselves Is there a
greater purpose behind all of this?

And if so, what is that greater purpose?

In the UK, right now, we have thousands
of known monuments.

But there were probably thousands more
originally.

We do know that the people who built the
megalith in the UK were

early farmers. They were from 4 ,000 to
about 2 ,000 BCE.

But we really don't know what language
they spoke. We don't really know how

socially organized themselves or their
politics.

So it's still very much a question
exactly why they built them.

Why would prehistoric people go to the
trouble of erecting heavy standing

that weighed, in some cases, as much as
40 tons?

Well, one theory suggests that these
monoliths served as a connection.

to a higher plane of existence in many
cases the standing stars

seem to be orientated towards celestial
events such as

the rising and setting of the sun at the
equinoxes and solstices and

so these monoliths are very clearly a
reflection of this belief of contact

with higher forces

that would have taken place through the
ceremonies and the rituals that would go

on once, maybe twice a year.

Were these monolithic sites built for
ceremonial purposes?

It's an intriguing theory.

And some researchers suggest that
England's standing stones were also

to each other.

Because...

As it turns out, many of these monoliths
appear to be geographically aligned on

what are commonly referred to as ley
lines.

Ley lines, or leys, were first
visualized by a thinker and

visionary called Alfred Watkins in the
1920s.

He wrote a book called The Old Straight
Track, which said that a whole range of

prehistoric monuments are connected by
extremely long lines, even

corridors, that stretch across the
length and breadth of Britain.

Alfred Watkins theorized that the
straight lines which connect Britain's

monoliths were ancient trade routes.

But some researchers disagree.

and claim that the massive stones were
placed along ley lines to serve a more

energetic purpose.

It would seem that the whole long lines
of monuments are connected with the

geomagnetic fields of the earth and that
the peoples of

Britain

created the stone circles and standing
stones to enhance this natural

energy of the landscape.

Is it possible that ancient people, who
did not even have written language,

figured out how to use monoliths to
harness the energy of the earth? And if

so, for what purpose?

If prehistoric people believed that
There were currents of earth

energy. Then prehistoric monuments may
have been put where they were in the

landscape because they would have
amplified prayers, invocations, chants,

drumming, singing, and that would have
considerably enhanced ceremonies.

It's going to create a very impressive
effect for religious purposes.

Although numerous intriguing theories
have been put forward, ultimately, no

has been able to explain the purpose,
placement, and construction of Britain's

remarkable monoliths.

There's a lot of things we don't know
about these megalithic structures. We

really don't know how they did it, why
they did it. These are important

questions.

And we have certain hints.

But most of it is still pretty much a
mystery.

What we can say is that there was a
unified effort around building these

monoliths, and that they are certainly
cornerstone and symbolic of

ancient Britain's culture.

Archaeologist Matthew Sterling is
excavating an ancient site once occupied

the Olmec people, a lost Mesoamerican
civilization dating as far back as

1200 BC.

As Sterling's team unearths and catalogs
numerous artifacts, they notice a

number of unusually large, rounded
boulders buried nearby.

What emerges from the ground are, quite
literally, some of the largest

archaeological finds of the 20th
century.

Over the next several decades, 17
colossal heads carved from solid

basalt were ultimately discovered in the
area, the largest measuring a

staggering 11 feet tall and weighing 50
tons.

When you walk up to these imposing stone
monuments, You see, these things are

huge with these just amazing lifelike
features.

It would have taken thousands of people
to drag these stones through the

rainforest, through mud and swamps, onto
the tops of their sites.

But perhaps what's most striking about
these giant heads is not their size or

how they were brought to the middle of
the jungle, but rather who they seem to

be depicting.

The colossal heads have an African
appearance.

But also, equally, they've been seen to
have a Polynesian appearance as

well. Is it possible that the Olmec were
the result of trans -Pacific or

even trans -Atlantic migrations of
peoples from other continents?

Although mainstream historians dismiss
the notion that the Olmec originated in

Asia or Africa, the appearance of the
Olmec heads suggests that it is

But not only do we not know where the
Olmec came from, we also don't know

they went.

One of the real frustrations to
archaeologists who study the Olmec is

don't have a single Olmec skeleton.

that we can look at and analyze.

For over a thousand years, the Olmec
were the culture in the middle of

Mesoamerica. But then they faded away.

And why exactly they stopped is
something we're not sure of.

The Olmec disappeared so completely, all
that's left of them are scattered

remains.

Some sculptures and figurines, which
means if we're to answer the riddle of

Olmec's disappearance, there's only one
place to look.

Those huge imposing stone heads staring
back at us through time with

their odd sphinx -like gazes.

One of the most remarkable discoveries
in connection with the art of the

Olmec is the presence of magnetism in a
number of different

statues. When a compass is brought up to
them, the needles move.

Archaeologists in the late 1960s and
early 1970s used magnetometers to find

of the most remarkable colossal heads.

The Olmec heads probably gave off
magnetic signatures because they're made

basalt.

a dense volcanic rock that becomes
magnetic as it cools.

So by making these heads of basalt that
came from the volcano itself,

that same energy was inherited by those
colossal heads.

What all of this suggests is that the
Olmecs went out and deliberately chose

rocks that had this magnetic effect.

Magnetic stones.

If the Olmec were harnessing magnetism,
what were they using it for?

There are many theories about how the
Olmecs may have used magnetism.

One interesting speculation is whether
they could have moved some of the large

stones using magnetic levitation.

It's very simple to get magnets to
either attract or repel each other if

poles are opposing.

Difficult to imagine even using modern
moving technology to move very large

stones, yet they were moved.

Levitation? It's a fascinating theory,
although one that's hard to prove.

Not unlike another theory that suggests
that the Olmec may have been using the

magnetic properties in their giant stone
heads for healing purposes.

Clothelhead 10 from San Lorenzo has what
appears to be...

These little multi -perforated beads all
over all of the head in this headdress.

In a recent excavation, the lead
archaeologist found thousands, 144 ,000

these little magnetic cubes.

And they could have been then strung
together in mats and possibly, in this

case, the headdress.

And he needed some archaeologists to
say, well, what about the magnetic

qualities that might have been used in
possible healing?

We know the importance of magnets used
in certain therapies.

And did the Olmec, did they already
discover the important health benefits

magnetic therapy?

If the Olmec leaders were using the
power of magnetism for some type of

it may have had the opposite effect.

Magnetic fields can be healing or
harmful.

In some cases, people who have been
exposed to very strong magnetic fields

lapsed into coma, had seizures.

Some people have even died after being
exposed to very strong magnetic fields.

So could the presence of magnetism in
the art objects that were fashioned by

old men have had something to do with
why they deliberately buried many of

their statues and figurines?

We do not have any definitive answers.

But what we do know is that the Olmec
culture dissolved.

It disappeared almost into oblivion.

February 11th, 2019.

Investigative journalist and radio host
David Whitehead travels to the Loreto

Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I'm here to investigate a really
mysterious structure, the famous Loretto

Staircase. We don't know who built it,
we don't understand the physics behind

it, and we don't even have a good
indication as to what it's made of.

Oh, wow.

This place is beautiful.

Meeting with David is chapel curator
Richard Lindsley.

So this is it.

Absolutely.

A miraculous staircase.

I've heard so much about it. I've read
so many theories about it. And it's

amazing to actually be here to see it.

In 1873, the Sisters of Loretto
commissioned the construction of the

their new girls' school.

Officially consecrated five years later,
the Loretto Chapel is a triumph of

Gothic revival design.

with its high spires, soaring
buttresses, and enormous stained -glass

But as construction was nearing
completion, the project's architect

died before he could build what was
considered the most ambitious part of

job, the staircase leading up to the
choir loft.

The mystery of the staircase actually
begins with this mysterious carpenter.

sisters asked the local carpenters to
build one, but they failed. They didn't

know how to do it.

The sisters decided to turn to prayer
and set a nine -day novena asking St.

Joseph, the patron of carpenters, to
help them with their problem.

At the last day of their prayer, it said
that a knock came at these doors.

This elderly man was standing there with
a donkey by his side, and he told the

sister that he had come to build their
staircases. Was it St. Joseph, like the

sisters believed?

Some pious people think it was an angel.

But he was very reclusive and insisted
upon working inside this chapel by

himself, never allowing anyone to see
him work on the staircase.

Throughout the Christian and Catholic
world, we have a tremendous amount of

these stories of miraculous help from
saints.

And this is a part of the Catholic
belief system. You can pray to saints,

they're supposed to try to help.

So it's a built -in part of the package,
this idea of an intercessuary, closer

to people and yet closer to God.

After three months, the sisters came
into the chapel and the man was gone.

And when they could not find him to even
pay him for his labor, they went to the

only lumberyard in town and asked them
how much they owed for the materials.

And the lumberyard told the sisters that
the man never got any materials from

them at all.

So what material is this staircase made
of? I gave a core sample of the wood

from the inner stringer to a U .S. naval
scientist.

And he determined right away that it was
a form of Pisces spruce.

Is this form of spruce local to Santa
Fe? The wood in this staircase did not

match up with any other Pisces spruce
known to science. This wood does not

up with any other quite like it on
Earth.

The staircase at Loretto Chapel is
amazing.

It's a double spiral system. There's no
glue. There's no nails. There's no

screws.

put together in a way that how it's just
sitting on itself is holding it

together.

So Richard, an interesting thing about
this design is the double helix.

The double helix, or the double spiral,
is that it's an incredibly unique

design.

Well, we had a world -renowned physicist
come visit us, and he was convinced

that the double helix design was
integral to its inner strength.

Mind if I go up?

Please be my guest.

This is a very special privilege.

I definitely feel very privileged. I've
waited for this moment for so long.

Oh, wow. Yeah, it's a unique feeling
just right on that first step.

I almost feel like a vibration.

feeling like I'm floating, like there's
nothing underneath my feet. It's truly a

remarkable feeling.

Now, how many stairs have we got here?

There are 33 steps to the staircase,
which reminded the sisters of our Lord

because he lived 33 years.

I find it very interesting that here we
are in this chapel in Santa Fe and we're

seeing the motif of the sacred number
33.

And this number is important to the
Templar.

Thirty -three steps?

One of the most secret numbers to the
fraternal order of builders known as

Freemasons, who in turn are thought to
be the spiritual descendants of the

Knights Templar.

Could this number of steps really
provide an important clue as to who

stairway and how?

So the number 33 is a sacred number in
Templarism.

So they would have encoded that number,
whether it be in staircases or artwork

in the stained glass windows or even the
mathematical dimensions of some of

these structures.

To the Templars, they don't just see a
staircase or a stained glass window or a

layout of a church design.

They see an esoteric number.

the number of a master builder, the
manifestation of the divine on earth,

it's very deeply rooted in the entire
Templar tradition.

I think the quality of construction and
detailing show that somebody who did it

was highly skilled, and they must have
learned that.

So the person who built that staircase
apprenticed with somebody. They learned

some things. They applied those things
later in Santa Fe. So there's no doubt

they could have been working with a
mason.

But they were way too skilled to have
been the first time they did something

like that.

The construction of the staircase defies
all conventional construction

practices. Any kind of rational,
conventional explanation.

Where did the materials come from?

Who built it?

It seems like we just have more
questions than we do answers. But we do

that it's a mystery.

And hopefully one day we'll be able to
solve it.

Is the stairway of the Loretta Chapel
merely the work of a gifted builder?

Or was its construction a miracle
performed by the hand of God?

Perhaps further clues about the power of
religious structures can be found by

exploring the mystical nature of one of
the most famous cathedrals in the world.

Paris, France.

For centuries, many have remarked on the
strange power that Notre Dame, the

historic cathedral that sits at the
center of Paris, has on people.

But what exactly is this power?

And could it actually be the presence of
God?

What's extraordinary to me is that
you've got a building that has been

almost a thousand years.

in one form or another.

And even though it's important from an
architectural historian's point of view

in various ways, it also has this life
in popular culture, which many buildings

don't. Its role in the public view has
to do with its subsequent reputation.

You walk into Notre Dame.

And all of a sudden you realize the one
human being is very small and you're

literally humbled by this, almost
falling to the ground because it's such

impressive sort of structure there.

The light coming through the windows,
especially the rose windows, has an

on our consciousness.

This is something beyond words.

This is the power of ritual and
aesthetics to touch us on a spiritual

can't entirely be explained.

It's like there is a presence there.

People go silent, you know, talking
whispers.

And you say, well, of course there would
be. It's a Christian cathedral.

So that's what Christians take from it.
It reinforces their belief.

But millions upon millions of visitors
have felt it, whether they have any

religion or not.

In 1163 AD, Bishop Maurice de Soult...

authorized the construction of Notre
Dame Cathedral.

The bishop wanted the majesty and
splendor of Notre Dame to show France's

devotion to God.

The massive building took over 180 years
to complete and features a 115 -foot

-high roof and two towers that stand 223
feet tall.

The value system of a collective is
reflected in the shrines and monuments

build.

Notre Dame was the tallest building in
Paris for a very long time. The common

people on the street would look up and
see the cathedral towering above all

other human activity.

That was the message.

A thousand years ago, when architects
were building bigger and bigger stone

cathedrals, the problem was sometimes
they would collapse.

So before they had steel, they had to
use stone with weight on the outside

called the flying buttress to support
the roof.

That's the reason why Notre Dame, built
a thousand years ago, can have thin

walls and stained glass.

Notre Dame's builders wanted to inspire
awe when people came and looked at the

cathedral. So how did they do that?

One of the main tricks is to allow light
into the space.

so that you get this huge sense of
height.

You don't see the massive walls, and the
building seems to be floating on air.

Historians and architects have also
suggested that the power of Notre Dame

come not just from how it looks, but
also how it sounds.

So one of the amazing things about Notre
Dame Cathedral is the sound, the

acoustical properties, and the acoustics
in there are just marvelous.

And that affects us. It physically,
literally affects us. Our heart beats in

different kind of way. You know, we can
feel it in our bodies.

The great acoustics of Notre Dame
Cathedral came from practice and

geometry. So the people who did that,
they understood that if you emit noise,

like singing at one location, through
the shape of the ceiling, you can bounce

that noise down to another location,
like a congregation inside the

The medieval builders of Notre Dame
clearly understood how to create a

or holy experience in the cathedral.

And a recent catastrophic event proves
that this thousand -year -old sacred

structure continues to hold immense
power.

April 15th, 2019.

A fire.

Breaks out at Notre Dame.

400 firefighters launch a valiant effort
to fight the blaze.

Using water pumped directly from the
Seine River.

Parisians watch in horror as the flames
and smoke envelop the upper reaches of

the cathedral and its 315 foot tall
spire.

Collapses.

fire began in its timber roof that
spread quickly causing the collapse

of its spire and hundreds of tons of
lead melted and

poured down into the interior of the
structure and as much as a tragedy

as this actually was the response to it
across the globe was remarkable

The reaction to the disastrous fire
transcended national borders and faiths.

only two days, people around the world
contributed nearly a billion dollars to

rebuild and restore this beloved
landmark.

The outpouring of donations from within
France and from all over the world tells

us what a cathedral means is not just a
tourist spot.

If you enter a cathedral, something
happens to you. People know they felt

something. They are attached to that
building.

So when he had the fire in Notre Dame
Cathedral and the rebuilding of that,

was extraordinary.

The rebuilding of Notre Dame Cathedral
shows the attachment that people have to

the divine is infinite, and I think
there's a power there.

Paula Malta, 1902.

While excavating an area for a new
housing development just off the eastern

coast of this tiny Mediterranean island,
construction workers encounter

something unexpected and quite unusual
beneath their work site.

A prehistoric structure, hewn from solid
limestone, dating back more than 5

,000 years.

Upon further inspection...

Archaeologists soon realized that what
the unwitting workers have unearthed

isn't merely a lost underground temple
or ancient sanctuary, but a massive

subterranean necropolis.

The Hypogeum of Hal Saflini.

The Malta Hypogeum is an architectural
wonder of the ancient world.

It was carved using primarily stone and
bone tools.

by an ancient population that lived on
Malta thousands of years ago.

So it's actually older than the Pyramids
of Egypt or Stonehenge.

Hypogeum is basically a word that comes
from the Greek term for cavity or space

underground. It extends on three
different stories about seven point some

below ground. It covers an area of about
5 ,400 square feet.

Malta's hypogeum is... You know, one of
those great examples of beautiful

geometry underground.

So the geometry isn't by accident.

It was done by somebody who knows what
they were doing.

And it looks to me like, you know, this
was done for a purpose.

A purpose?

Although no one knows for certain who
originally built the Malta Hypogeum or

why.

The bones of more than 7 ,000 souls.

lined its intricate labyrinth of
corridors and alcoves.

So, according to logic, it is exactly
what it appears to be, an ancient burial

site.

But logic alone may not be at play here.

There is a very intriguing room in the
hypogeum, which is in the middle level,

that is called the Oracle Room.

And this Oracle Room is basically a
residence chamber.

And it's designed, it would seem, to
amplify any acoustic sound waves. So

even by whispering, for example, the
design of the room amplifies it and

it into a very loud baritone sound.

In 2014, while conducting a series of
experiments in an attempt to understand

the design elements behind the
hypogeum's unusual acoustics,

scientists discovered an unexpected and
hair -raising phenomenon.

We set up microphones and we used
recording devices that were very

we carried out experiments using the
human voice in that 110 to 112 hertz

So these are very low guttural bass
sounds and they reverberate in a very

way within these temples.

It's extraordinary.

It's like being inside of a bell. Those
vibrations are felt inside your body.

You feel it in your tissue. You feel it
in your bones. You can raise the hair

off the back of your neck.

Imagine going there to this dark and
spooky underground place 5 ,000 years

with this weird eerie sound going on
around you and knowing that there are

bones. The whole thing is creepy now.

It clearly was some sort of ritual
activity went on there.

There is a niche in the oracle room that
if you spoke into it, it could resonate

throughout the whole structure.

So some thought it was significant that
a priest might have intoned into it. The

voice that was a booming voice would go
through the whole hypogeum.

Like a god.

The voice of a god.

Those who have visited the Malta
Hypogeum describe it as feeling like a

into the underworld.

As a result, some experts believe this
subterranean nightmare was intentionally

constructed to enable its visitors to
speak with the dead.

Overtone chanting is a common practice
in many cultures in East Asia.

and North Asia and South Asia as well.
You do have a strong connection between

chanting and communication with the
divine or with the deceased.

And I believe at the hypogeum we may
have a similar situation in which there

seems to have been an active ritual
function of not only placing the

remains there, but where people would
attempt to establish communication with

the dead.

So it sends the reason that potentially

people could attain a different level of
consciousness in which they would be

susceptible to have experiences with
people who had passed away.

Was the Malta Hypogeum designed to be
not just a subterranean necropolis, but

also a place where the living could
connect with the deceased?

Perhaps further investigation of this
mysterious site will one day reveal the

answer.

But there's a structure located in
Mexico that reportedly possessed an even

dramatic kind of mystical power.

It's a 160 -ton statue that was built to
honor a god of

thunder and lightning.

Cuadalinchon, Mexico, April 16, 1964.

Crowd. gather as workers prepare to
transport one of the largest monolithic

statues in the world.

Twenty -three feet tall and weighing 160
tons, the massive idol dates back over

a thousand years.

And although workers are extremely
careful with their preparations as they

it onto the trucks that will carry it,
there is palpable tension in the air.

Because this is no ordinary statue, but
one of the mighty Aztec god.

Tlaloc.

The Aztec religious system had a vast
number of gods.

There were water gods and goddesses.

There were sky gods and goddesses, fire
divinities and earth divinities.

One particularly important sacred god
was Tlaloc, a fertility divinity

associated with weather.

and thunder and lightning. So it is
feared, but it is also greatly revered

because life comes from this. The life
-giving waters of the rain come from

Tlaloc.

More than 25 ,000 people eagerly wait
into the night to welcome Tlaloc to his

new home in Mexico City after his long
journey.

But as the trucks carrying the hulking
statue finally arrive, the crowd isn't

expecting what would arrive along with
him.

As this statue was erected, suddenly

the heavens opened up, and for several
days there was intense rain and

thunderstorms.

Now this was done in the summer month,
when in theory there should be very

little rain at all.

This was so uncharacteristic of this
time of year.

Rain during the dry season?

Most people would see such an occurrence
as nothing more than a coincidence.

But some believe the rain was actually a
good omen, sent by Tlaloc in

response to the warm welcome he received
from the Mexican people.

Certainly a lot of people believe that
these events, for example, the downpour

following the arrival of Tleilach, are
connected. And perhaps they're connected

because of the divine force, or perhaps
it's actually the believer's belief and

their faith that is helping to shape
these events.

So certainly faith is powerful.

They're coming in contact with the
divine, perhaps.

The fact is that it doesn't really
matter.

because it's about belief.

If people believe strongly enough in an
object, that can create a reality.

Was the torrential downpour that took
place in Mexico just a coincidence, or

there a more mysterious force at play?

Well, I guess the answer depends on
whether you believe that a massive stone

statue can possess extraordinary powers.
In any case, it's clear that there are

mystical structures around the globe
which hold secrets, whether they're

in stone or carved in wood, that will
remain

unexplained.