All language subtitles for Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch S05 E04

Previously on
"Blind Frog Ranch."

Wild!

Woo!

The team discovered a flooded
cavern system...

OK, we're way back there,
all the way towards the ranch.

...leading to
the Keyhole Chamber,

where they believe
the Aztec gold is hidden.

But with the passageway
blocked,

Chad and Josh begin searching
for another entrance

into the flooded caverns below.

Limestone.

We absolutely could've
an entrance to a cave here.

Uncovering a series
of ancient trail markers,

pointing them
towards the treasure.

That looks exactly
like a turtle.

It really does.

Is this not a bear
guarding the cave?

And a mysterious
stone monument.

Look how that's stacked up.

I don't see
how it's lasted this long.

Surrounded by signs
of Aztec weaponry.

There's another one right here.
Look at this.

That's an arrowhead for sure.

Meanwhile...

That's the borehole
we want to offset.

Eric's plan to drill
around the meteorite

covering the keyhole chamber...

...hits a deadly problem.

Shut it down!

- Shut it down?
- Shut down that rig!

This whole place
is radioactive.

Oh

Denzel, shut it down!

Legends of ancient treasures...

This has to be hundreds
of years back.

...and unexplained phenomena.

What the hell is that?

Meet at a 160 acre property
in Northeast Utah,

known as Blind Frog Ranch,

where Duane Ollinger
and his team are

digging in search
of long lost Aztec gold

The Aztecs have discovered this?

But the closer they get...

I finally get to hold
gold in my hand.

...the more the land
fights back.

Go! [bleep] Go!

Now, Duane will move heaven...

There you go!

...and earth...

Fire in the hole.

...until he gets to the bottom
of this mystery...

We've started this whole deal,

and we're sure as hell
gonna finish it.

...and solves
what's lurking below...

Holy
There's something in there!

Guys!

...at Blind Frog Ranch.

This should be it,
right up here.

That's where we found
those artifacts.

Yeah, that's where that
big rock structure thing is,

right there.

Chad and Josh are heading back

to the Stone Monument
they discovered,

tracing the path
of the turtle's gaze--

a large rock formation
that is surrounded

with arrowheads
from an ancient civilization.

That's an arrowhead for sure.

- Oh, look at here.
- Another one?

Another arrowhead.
That's three.

The profusion of worked
arrowheads leads them

to believe Aztecs
and their descendants

were using this area
to make weapons.

This site was important.

It's not just a lone
arrowhead that got lost.

It could be, like, an armory.

There is stuff all through here.

I think we just need
to keep looking around.

I mean, there could be a cave.

Could be a sign of there being
an entrance underground here

or something like that.

It's just kind of a-- it's like
a big stone monument, right?

And it looks like
it's been manipulated.

And there was a lot
of rock here at one time.

You could tell it was there,
and yet, not all, it's gone.

But it's actually, totally gone.

There's no rock here below it.

So where did
all the rock fall go?

Where's the rubble at?

We're looking for an entrance

into this underground
cave system

that leads back to our ranch.

Right here,
there's another one, right here.

- You got something?
- There's another one.

Look at that.

Yep, that's one for sure.
Wow, look at that.

- I think it's obsidian.
- Really?

Holy

- That's wild, man.
- Absolutely.

I mean, obsidian's not found
here in the Uintas,

so I have no idea
where it came from.

Hey, right there.

That's definitely an arrowhead.

It's not a finished piece,
but it's--

it's part of
an arrowhead for sure.

It's like somebody was making it
and then it broke.

- Oh, it broke.
- So then they
just throw it.

They trash it, exactly.

Or unless they brought
them here.

But I wouldn't think it'd be,
like, the best hunting.

Right, like--

This hilltop isn't any
good for hunting.

There's no food.
There's no water.

What if they were
guarding something?

Guarding, yeah.
And what do they guard?

- That's the thing, too.
- Exactly.

Yeah.
What are they guarding?

Why here?

I think this was
a defensive position.

It's up high.
It has weapons all over.

I mean, they were guarding
something here, for sure.

Well, we can get these dated
to see how long ago

they were here.
- Yes.

And then figure out
why they're here.

The wind's kicking up, man.

This is, like, any time
we get close to anything,

weather happens.

Let's keep looking around
and see if we can find them.

Oh, absolutely.

So I spent some time
last week reviewing

all the core samples that
we took from the Energy Zone.

There's some good news,
and bad news.

The bad news is
we pulled the core,

and it had this distinct
yellowish sort of stain to it.

So I got out my Geiger counter
and checked it,

and sure enough,
it was uranium,

and it's emitting radioactivity.

While Chad and Josh were
scouring for an entrance

into the underground,

Eric has been trying to breach
the Keyhole Chamber from above.

- What do we got, guys?
- 195 to 200 plus.

All right, good.

Attempting to size up
the meteorite

and drill into the chamber,

Eric extracted a core sample

containing a distinctive
yellow material

that proved to be highly
radioactive uranium.

- Shut it down!
- Shut it down?

Shut down that rig.

After investigating
the core sample,

Eric has assembled the team
to review his findings.

So this is really dangerous.

Going in through that uranium,

I mean, it's gonna
kick up uranium dust.

You're gonna inhale it.

The good news is,
with some really serious

mitigative efforts
and testing, uh, ventilation--

ventilation shafts,
things like that,

we can make a plan
to safely drill through that.

Uranium is a naturally
occurring radioactive metal

that is used to generate
nuclear energy

and power atomic weapons.

The element was used
to create the Little Boy,

the bomb
that destroyed Hiroshima.

Prolonged exposure to uranium
can cause sickness

and even death.

I think this uranium may very
well be the reason

for the Aztec being attracted

to the Energy Zone
to begin with.

Did they carve this keyhole
cavern because of the energy

that was being emitted?

It almost seems like
it was the reason

that they came there.

Yeah, I mean, what I see here
is you guys have discovered

two resources that are very
rare in any culture.

Meteorite and uranium,
ancient culture sees those.

They're gonna look unique,

and they're gonna be
attracted to them.

I mean, uranium is yellow.

Just that alone,

they're gonna go,
"What is this?"

This doesn't look like
everything else.

And meteorites,
I mean, that's iron,

and that's the only way,
really, in nature

that the ancient people were
able to obtain actual iron.

They didn't know
how to smelt back then.

So, I mean, it just makes sense

that of course, people were
attracted to this place.

Absolutely.

Many of the great
ancient civilizations,

such as the Egyptian Empire
and the Shang Dynasty,

were built around
impacted meteorites.

Meteorites also marked
central sites of worship

for the Roman
and Greek empires,

most notably being
the Omphalo stone

at the Temple of Apollo
in Delphi, Greece.

But what were
they doing with it,

and what did it mean to them,
that I don't know.

Well, throughout history,
the most important artifacts

have been made from meteorites.

I mean, it's the most prized
possession of any culture

or civilization that we know of.

King Tut's knife was made
of a meteorite.

Meteorites have high iron
content and were one of the few

sources of iron available
to ancient cultures,

making them highly prized
and vital in the creation

of ancient deadly weapons.

The sword of Tutankhamun,
discovered in King Tut's tomb,

was carved from meteoritic iron

and decorated
with a gold handle.

While in China, hammers were
crafted from meteorites

during the invention
of Kung Fu

over 4,000 years ago.

And ancient Indonesians
fashioned crisp daggers

from meteorites,

which they believed
possessed magical properties.

So why was the uranium
with the meteorite?

The yellow is mineral
called Carnotite,

which is uranium bearing ore.

So wherever that meteor
created fractures,

water washed in and left
the uranium deposit behind.

I wouldn't think everything
under Blind frog Ranch

is gonna have this big
concentrated zone of uranium.

That spot happened to.

Yeah, I mean, I haven't seen
that distinctive yellow color

anywhere on the ranch before.

I think it would be smart
to just go back

and look at our samples
that we've taken, um,

at the ranch over the years

just to see if there's any
uranium in them.

For all we know, there could be
radioactive material

all over the ranch.

Yeah.

Still good information, though.
I mean, it really is.

Everything is.

I've worked
on long term projects,

and if you hit a roadblock,
you don't get to quit.

If you do, you don't have
a job anymore.

And so you just figure it out
and keep moving forward.

So hitting that uranium is
a blessing to me.

It's a good thing.
It's all information.

You can use it for your benefit

or you can ball about it
and go home.

I have never in my life seen
a thing that looks like it's bad

that didn't turn into
an opportunity for me.

It might kick your ass
a little bit,

but I guarantee the blessings
are so much bigger.

We did get boned
at the Energy Zone

when we were drilling
with the radiation,

but we can't forget about
the armory site right here.

So this is where we found
all of the arrowheads

and the spearheads right here.

And there could be
another entrance,

or something that
they were protecting.

I agree, man.
That armory is a huge deal.

We go there, we found not
just several arrowheads,

but an obsidian arrowhead.

So we've gotta get an expert
in here to check this out.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, I know Chris Bartell's
an expert on projectile points,

and he can give you guys
some really good information.

So I would definitely like
to go dig deeper

into that location.
- Yeah, we ought to look at that.

It's very critical that we look
forward on every lead we can.

So now Chad's gonna find a way
into those underwater tunnels,

what they call an armory.

And Eric is gonna start
running tests on our samples

and see if there is uranium.

There's no stopping here, fellas.

We're nowhere close to stopping.

- Good, deal.
- I like it.

Yeah, grab you a seat, Chris.

All right.

Wow.

So today we have Chris Bartel
coming out to the ranch.

We've been finding
a lot of arrowheads,

and he has a lot of experience

on different arrowheads
that he's found here

and all over the world.

Wow, that is
an incredible piece.

Yeah.

Chris Bartel is a high ranking
private contractor

who oversaw security
at Skinwalker Ranch.

He is also an expert in ancient
artifacts and weaponry.

The team is seeking his insight
on identifying the arrowhead

they recovered
from the suspected armory.

That is beautiful.
This is obsidian.

Obsidian is a volcanic glass
that has been shaped

into tools and weapons
for thousands of years.

Its unique molecular properties
allow it to be honed down

to an edge 500 times sharper
than a steel blade,

making it a deadly
weapon in battle

for ancient civilizations.

This is a museum quality piece.

That tells me that something's
trying to tell a story here.

Obsidian comes
from volcanic activity.

This is not from around here.

This area right here doesn't
have that volcanic rock.

I have not seen
obsidian out here at all.

Yeah, I haven't either, actually.

But the Aztecs definitely used
obsidian, for sure.

So this either--
this either--

you know, may have been
traded back in the day

or brought in by somebody else,
but you're right,

I haven't found any
raw obsidian out here.

Obsidian comes
from volcanic activity,

and there's hardly
any volcanoes here in Utah.

So that means that someone had
to bring this material here.

But what we do know is the
Aztecs extensively used obsidian

in their weapons.

And this was, like,
you know, deadly weapons.

It cuts like glass.

The richest deposits
of obsidian in the world

happen to be in Mexico,

where the Aztecs
built their empire.

Would obsidian been held in
a higher regard as a material,

so that would have been more
for ceremonial purposes?

Correct.

I've seen large obsidian blades

that were specifically used
for ceremonial purposes.

Obsidian held immense
significance in Aztec culture,

not only serving as a sharp
and durable material

for tools and weapons,

but it was also
crafted into mirrors

and used by sorcerers to seek
visions of the future.

From what I understand, you did
the arrowhead based on

the bottom half of it.
- Right.

So how old do you think this is?

This is probably
the Archaic period.

So this is a couple
thousand years old, most likely.

Spanning from 8,000
to 1,000 BC,

the Archaic period
in North America

was characterized by a shift
toward a wider range

of food sources

and advanced
tool technologies used

by the indigenous cultures.

It was people here
on this ranch 3,000 years ago.

- Yep.
- It's amazing.

We're talking early hunter
gatherers that were out here.

You know, I mean,
it's an incredible history.

And this is, like,
you know, this is the truth.

This is undeniable.

You can't just
make this stuff up.

I mean, to find them like
they were made yesterday

out here means that
there's way more stuff

to be discovered out here.

- Take a look at this.
- Oh, wow.

It's a northern side notch
bird point.

Nice!
Look at this thing.

Bird points, like this,
were used typically

to hunt small game,
like birds or even rabbits.

They're razor sharp.

Actually, let me see that
obsidian point you found.

Ain't that something?

- That almost matches--
- Oh, look at that.

Yeah, that is something.
Look at that.

I wonder if it's the same maker.

Although the arrowheads are
made of different materials,

their identical design
indicates

a similar time period,

likely 3,000
to 7,000 years ago.

Amazing that
you found that out here.

The other interesting thing
about this arrowhead

is that the style of it matches
an arrowhead made out

of a different material,
but the shape

is exactly the same.

It makes me wonder if both
of these points were made

by the ancestors of the Aztecs
that lived in these caverns.

So it's almost like
some of this area,

they're protecting it.
- It could very well be.

I mean, these lands are
protected for a reason,

maybe for the cultural reasons,

but maybe there's also hidden
gold caches out here.

It's evidence of occupation, so

I'm interested to see
what else you find there,

especially if you get
inside the caves.

Chris, man, thank you
for coming out, brother.

Thanks.
Thanks, man.

Thank you.
Thank you, absolutely.

This was where
most of the arrowheads

were coming out of, right here.

It'll probably be good
for you to go through

with the metal detectors first.

See if there's anything
out of the ordinary here.

Let me go ahead
and set this up for you first.

Yeah, let's hammer it out.

This site we're
calling the armory,

there could be
an entrance to a cave here,

but we're finding
all these artifacts,

so we're gonna do this
by the book.

So James is gonna set up
a search grid,

and we're gonna go
through this area

with a fine tooth comb.

All right.

- OK, that's the last one?
- Yep.

We know that this underwater
cavern system is running

right below the armory.

There has to be
an entrance very close by

to the armory here.

All these artifacts,
all these projectile points,

may lead us to that entrance.

All right, so I'm gonna
grab my detector,

and I'm gonna get
that thing fired up.

All right, so we'll set up
the provenience screen.

While Josh scans the area
with his metal detector,

James will start excavating
the area by hand,

using a wire grid called
a provenience screen

to chart the discoveries.

Yeah, I wanna
work this hillside.

Oh, this detector will cover
some ground,

which is really nice.
- Good.

We'll sniff it out.

Boy, nothing.

This area is clean right here.

No metal.

Nothing there.

Oh, there we go.

There's a signal.

Let's see if I can get
that to repeat.

Yeah, yeah.

That's a target right there.

Here we go.

What the hell is that?

I got something in the hole
right here, James.

Really?

Holy crap!

I think we got something.

Come take a look at this, James.

This looks like lead.

At the armory, the team
has been successful uncovering

numerous projectile points.

But Josh has just unearthed
a mysterious piece of metal.

What do you think?
It does look like a--

that looks, it's lead, right?
- Yeah, I've seen these before.

Yeah.

This looks like
it could be a fired round.

That's interesting.

Yeah, it obviously
hit something, too.

If we're talking
a musket ball, Josh,

we're talking
the earliest settlers here.

Muskets were commonly
used on battlefields

in the 16th century.

Crafted from soft lead,

the musket balls
would often deform

as they collided with their
target's flesh and bone.

Look at that, I mean, it--

it was fired up here
at something.

I mean, it probably just hit
the dirt or a rock or whatever.

That's amazing.

Hey, fellas.
Any luck?

Check this out.
Projectile

- Another one?
- Yeah.

You gotta go
check out what Josh found.

Check this out.

Is this metal,
or what'd you find?

That's lead.

Found that with the detector,
just right here.

- It's half of a sphere.
- Yeah, a musket ball.

- Like old school?
- Yeah, it is.

You see that?

- Hell, yeah!
- Yeah!

It sure is, isn't it?

How old do you think it is?

I mean, it has to be
Pre-Civil War, but it can be--

it can go back from there,
I mean, hundreds of years.

You know, I think
what's most important,

everything we found here
is Native American,

but this musket ball
is European.

I'm just wondering if somebody
fired that at this site

or at someone.

Exactly.
It definitely hit something.

Look at that

It's definitely a musket ball.

Yeah, could've been a battle.

Yeah, some kind of battle.

That means there's something
of value here.

I mean, something
worth protecting.

- Something worth dying over.
- Definitely.

Hey, I'm getting
a signal here, guys.

Really?

Yeah, it's the same
signature as the last one.

Let me just-- let me just
kind of, narrow it down.

See where
the signal's strongest.

Right there?

You see that line
I drew in the sand?

- Yeah, yeah.
- That's our midpoint.

I'm getting the best signal,

and I'm getting another
one going this way.

- Anything?
- Nothing.

Let's keep going.

Let me see if
it's still in the hole, hang on.

Oh, yeah, it's still there.

- It's still in the hole.
- Yeah.

Hey, wait, wait, wait.

Right there, right there.

- Yeah, look at this.
- Look, it's intact.

- Oh, wow!
- Look at that

- Look at that.
- Amazing.

Look at that.

Josh has uncovered
another musket ball,

but surprisingly,
this one is unfired.

That's identical.

If you fired this and it hit
somebody or something,

it's gonna look just like that.

- Wow.
- Look at that.

Nice find, man.

I just wonder what they were
defending right here, you know?

That's a good question.

So we're seeing
these projectile points,

and we're seeing
these musket balls.

One of the musket balls
crushed on one side,

that tells us that
this thing was fired

and came into contact
with something,

and it's all telling a story.

I think there very well
could've been a battle here,

but what were
they fighting over?

The bigger the battle,
the bigger the treasure.

Exactly right.

All right, fellas,
let's keep going.

This is great news.
Let's find some more

I'm gonna get
some gloves to crush that rock.

Eric is inspecting dozens
of samples he's been collecting

from across Blind Frog Ranch,
attempting to determine

the extent of the uranium
deposit's reach,

fearing they may extend
beyond the Energy Zone.

I took a bunch of samples
from all over the ranch.

And I want to crush it and look
at it under the microscope

and see if there's any
uranium in it.

I'll check the sample
for radiation

with the Geiger Counter,

but I'll need to do
a visual inspection first.

This isn't exactly high tech,

but when you're out
in the field,

you have to be
ready to improvise.

So I've fabricated
a rock crusher here.

And so I'm crushing it down.

As much as possible,
to try to liberate

anything that's in there.

I'll look at it under
the microscope

and see what we've got.

So we'll see.

This is a sample
from the South Cave.

I'm seeing some hematite,
malachite in there.

There's nothing there.
So far, eh.

Well, I haven't seen
anything in it.

Well, let me take a look
at the next one here.

I'm seeing small flakes of gold.

There's one, two, three,
four, five.

I mean, too many to count.

It's a decent looking sample,

but so far I'm not seeing
any uranium.

This is sample number one
from the open pit.

What the hell is this?

I'm seeing a couple
small fragments.

It's really hard
to mistake that color.

Oh, yeah.

It's uranium.

Or at least that's
what I think it is.

But I'm gonna go ahead
and check it

with the Geiger counter.

Yeah, it's uranium.

You got uranium
at the Energy Zone?

You got uranium at the open pit?

What the hell's going on here?

Oh, boy.
I think we've got our match.

It's uranium.

Eric is inspecting dozens
of samples he's been collecting

from across Blind Frog Ranch.

Within the samples,
Eric has uncovered uranium

in an unexpected location,
the open pit mine,

a series of large
mine entrances

which lied north
of the Keyhole Chamber.

We've got uranium
at the Energy Zone.

We've got uranium
at the open pit.

So it's connected somehow.

I gotta think it's connected.

The uranium could've been
naturally deposited

in two different places,

but I've got a hypothesis
I'd like to test.

What if the uranium settled
in both places

because they both had
meteorite impacts?

We have a meteor impact site
here at the Energy Zone.

We have found uranium here.

We have a fault here,

and we have uranium
at the open pit mine, too.

So there's a connection there.

We know that meteor impacts
can create faults, actually.

They can create zones
of weakness.

So, did this uranium
collect in the fault

created by the meteorite?

Is it possible that multiple
fragments of this meteorite

hit along that flight path?

Each impact
could've created faults

that later developed
into caverns.

So that would increase the odds
of us finding an entrance

that could lead us back
to the Keyhole cavern.

With uranium detected
at both the Energy Zone

and the open pit mine,

Eric believes several
large fragments broke off

the incoming meteorite,

creating fault lines
upon impact,

stretching between
the two locations.

Over millions of years,

water seeping down through
these fissures in the earth,

could've carved massive caves,

leading all the way
to the Keyhole Chamber.

I mean, finding this
both here on the ranch

and at the open pit mine means

there's continuity
between the two.

What I'd like to do is go back
to that fault line

that runs through
Blind Frog Ranch

north towards
that open pit mine

and take a look around
for any other signs

of meteorite impact.

It's really cool.

So I'm digging it, man.

What are we looking for
down here, though?

Well, what I'm looking for here
is fragments of meteorites

made out of iron and nickel.

To validate his theory,

that meteorite fragments
created openings

into the Keyhole Chamber,

Eric has asked Chad
to help him search

for evidence of the impacts.

See how the creek bed,
it's kinda deep there,

and then it shallows out here?
- Right.

As the soil erodes,

any heavy material is gonna get
washed down into that creek bed,

just like a funnel.

There's, like, nothing here.

Let's look over here
by this outcrop.

The reason Chad
and I are exploring down

in this creek bottom is--

everything that's in the rock,
around it,

eventually makes its way down
into that creek bottom.

I'm just picking up,
like, noise here.

- Yeah.
- Nothing here.

That's some, huh?

Yeah, there's
something right in here.

- Hear that?
- I heard it go off.

- Hear that?
- Yeah, yeah.

The signal on here is
telling me it's iron.

Let's take a scoop.

I start shallow and then get
deeper and deeper.

And then I'll run the scoop
over the detector.

Yeah, there's nothing
in that one.

Oh, nothing there.

Maybe a little deeper.

- There it is.
- Oh, there it is.

Yeah, yeah.
This is dark right here.

- Yeah, yeah.
- See that?

Yeah.

- That's it.
- Oh, yeah.

Yeah.
Run it over it again.

Does it show what metal it is?

It's iron.

- Iron? So this could be--
- Yeah.

- This could be a fragment?
- Yeah, it could be.

Right off the bat,
it has kind of a look

of a meteorite fragment.

See how it's kind of
shiny, like that?

And it doesn't really look like
anything else around here.

- It's showing iron, so that's--
- It's showing iron, yeah.

probably that's
some kind of meteorite?

Yeah, and we can do
a final test with an XRF gun.

- OK.
- If it shows nickel,

then we know
definitively that it is.

That means that a-- a meteorite
could've came in here

and it just split up.

Small fragments of it
should be, you know,

placed here and there, basically.

Oh, this is a good sign.

Everything down in the bottom
of the swash has been eroded

from the slopes here, basically.
- Right.

So this represents
thousands and thousands

of years of material.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Chad, I got something here.

- Holy!
- What is it?

Look at this!

It looks like a shatter cone.

You see how it's sort of,

it's small here and it's like
a cone-shaped thing?

This is the result
of a meteorite

impacting this bedrock.

The shock waves go through it
and it just forms these cones.

And that's the same
as the Energy Zone?

Yeah.
It's like we have a meteor.

We found this shatter cone,
and that definitely tells us

that there was some type
of big explosion here.

Most likely from a meteor
that impacted the Energy Zone.

The presence of a shatter cone,

half a mile north
of the Energy Zone

is startling proof
that Eric is correct.

There are now signs of multiple
cavern entrances

that exist along
the meteorite fault line,

leading to the keyhole chamber
they've been trying to access.

We don't have time
to hike it today,

but we've gotta go back
to that open pit line.

Each one of these impacts

could be a way into
that cavern system.

This is a great
defensive site right here.

There was a skirmish
taking place here
for good reason.

This area was being
heavily defended.

Throughout human history,

every culture has
sought advantages

against their enemies.

Defending the high ground is
a strategic tactic

that forces intruders
to fight uphill

and provides an advantage
when firing projectiles.

While excavating
the underground city

of Derinkuyu,

archaeologists uncovered
innovative defense mechanisms,

such as rolling stone doors

used to seal
the entrances and exits,

as well as small,
hatch-like openings

used to ambush
intruders from below.

The Aztecs themselves were
famous for using the waters

of Lake Texcoco as one
of the world's most massive

defense systems.

So, if this was
a defensive position,

there's gotta be an opening to
the underground treasure chamber

where soldiers or warriors could
come up to fight off invaders.

- Roger, how are you, sir?
- Good, how are you doing?

- Welcome.
- Thank you.

- Good to see you.
- Good to see you.

With the discovery of
the musket balls at the armory,

Chad has invited historian
Roger Blomquist to the ranch.

Check this out.

He's hoping Roger can determine
their origin to decipher

what took place at the armory.

How old do you think it is?

I mean, it has to be
Pre-Civil War, but it can be--

it can go back from there,
I mean, hundreds of years.

So, what have we got today?

Yeah, Roger,
why we had you come out is

to check out some
of these weapons

that we found at our armory.

And we call it an armory
'cause we found a lot

of arrowheads,
plus musket balls.

We think there could've been
some kind of war,

or maybe they were protecting
something in that area,

something worth a lot of value.

OK, now, an armory,
is that a hole in the ground?

Or is that a cave, or...?

So, they have
a flat rock platform

that they actually looked
like they were tooling at,

and then we found
this ordinance along with it.

What's interesting is
the lead that you found.

This hasn't been fired.

You still have the sprue mark
in it, from when it was cast.

Sprue marks are small
protrusions left behind

after the casting process.

In order to improve accuracy,

sprue marks were
removed before firing.

The fact that it was
dropped and not fired,

it speaks to urgency.

If you're in a battle,
there's more of a chance

that you drop it
and not retrieve it,

than if you were hunting.
- Gotcha.

If you were hunting,
you'd have more time to go,

"Oh, I dropped a ball,
and they're so hard to get

that I'm gonna stop
and pick it up

and take it with me."

They appear to be
the same caliber,

so it could've been
the same hunter or soldier.

What I'm looking for here is
rifling marks to decide

whether it came out of a musket
or out of a rifle.

Rifles, as we know,
are more accurate

because it spins the ball,

it's like John Elway
with the football.
- OK.

As opposed to a musket,
that it just lobs it out there.

So the fact that I can't see
riflings on here,

it could predate rifling
and be from a smoothbore musket.

Muskets were muzzle loaded guns
used by infantry troops

from the 16th
to 19th centuries.

Muskets were so inaccurate
that the guns were equipped

with bayonets to allow soldiers

to engage in close
quarter combat.

Eventually, they were
replaced by the rifle,

which had deep grooves
cut into the barrel,

which created spin
and increased the accuracy

of the bullet.

So early Spanish coming over
would've had smoothbore barrels.

But then again, so did some of
the Mormon battalion members

in the mid 1800s,

because the Mormons were
looking to take over Utah.

In 1857,

as the Mormons expanded
their presence in Utah,

President James Buchanan
launched the Utah Expedition,

Ordering US Troops
into the territory

to police Mormon activities
and enforce federal law.

Fearing persecution,

the Mormons,
led by Brigham Young,

started to stockpile muskets

to fend off
the advancing US Soldiers.

Before 1800s,
it would've been pure lead,

and then after the 1800s,

they started putting in
other things,

tins and things like that to--
to strengthen it.

But by the feel of it,

this musket ball feels
like it's pure lead.

Because of the difficulty
procuring lead,

this was almost as valuable
up here as gold was.

But just like
with modern warfare,

that if you're leaving
a battlefield,

you don't wanna leave
your ammunition behind

because you need
to cover your retreat.

So it's not likely that they
would've left this behind

if they could've helped it.
- Ah...

So the fact that
you're finding this up by

where there could've been
a settlement

is very likely a sign
of a hasty retreat.

- Interesting.
- OK.

So that'd been like
the first wave of the Spanish

coming in following the Aztecs?

So you know exactly
what I'm talking about.

The Aztecs brought the gold
back up to Utah.

There's no reason why
the Spanish wouldn't follow 'em,

and they wouldn't mount
multiple expeditions

to come up and get that gold.

Earlier this year,
James's visit to Mexico City

yielded several maps outlining
the Spanish conquistadors'

pursuit of the Aztec gold
from Mexico...

to Utah.

This Spanish musket ball is
evidence they made it

to Blind Frog Ranch,

and possibly,
fire upon the Armory.

I wonder if
the Spanish were chased off

by whatever Native Americans
were here,

protecting whatever gold
was brought up

by their Aztec brothers.

With all of the conflicts

between the Native Americans
and the Spanish,

the Native Americans did
what they could

to sabotage the Spanish efforts.

So between killing them,
collapsing mine, hiding caches,

burying the gold under
the surface of the earth

where the Native Americans
could find it,

but the Spanish couldn't.

That happened
all over the place.

Do you think the Spanish
found the Aztec gold?

A treasure that big
would not have gone

unnoticed or unrecorded.

It would've been
worldwide news.

So, do you think
they could've been protecting

the entrance to the keyhole
chamber here?

Well, that's the question now,
isn't it?

It's entirely possible that
that's what they were there for,

was to guard that entrance.

So Roger's confirming
what we suspected.

There was a battle here.

Our best guess is that
the Native Americans fought off

the Spaniards that were looking
for Montezuma's gold.

The fact that people may have
died to protect this area,

it makes me think
there has to be a tunnel

that connects the armory
to the Aztec Keyhole Chamber.

These warriors would've
rushed to this point

to protect their gold,

so there has to be an entrance
around this monument.

We are close
to finding that gold.

The armory may be the most
important discovery yet.

There is something worth
defending and dying over, here.

Well, that tells us
one thing for sure.

That gold is still here.

Next time on Blind Frog Ranch.

Holy

An old friend...

This is another
entrance, right here.

This is another
entrance, brother.

...shows them a path
into the underground...

Hey, whoa, whoa!

...with explosive results...

Shut it, shut it, shut it!

- What the
- Whoa, whoa, whoa!

...and the stakes rise...

If we drain the pond,

we'll be able to get
an entrance into there.

...as Duane starts the biggest,
most daring project ever

at Blind Frog Ranch.

We'll put that dam right
across there to the other, boy.

Hoping they can access
a tunnel to the treasure.

You're right on the edge
over here, buddy.

Duane, the boat's coming down!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa!
- Stop!