1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:06,000 This is reportedly something that has great power. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,400 Legend was it was the skull of doom. 3 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:14,640 Look at that. 4 00:00:16,410 --> 00:00:20,010 Hedges found the magnificent city. 5 00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:23,880 They found many artifacts that were pre-mayan. 6 00:00:23,890 --> 00:00:25,220 Do you believe you can find this thing? 7 00:00:25,220 --> 00:00:27,350 I know it's there, and I'm going to find it. 8 00:00:34,860 --> 00:00:36,600 Gates: A perfect match. 9 00:00:39,540 --> 00:00:41,370 [bleep] oh. 10 00:00:41,370 --> 00:00:44,040 Bill! 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:45,770 Bill, I got a hit. 12 00:00:47,740 --> 00:00:49,040 That is it. 13 00:00:49,050 --> 00:00:50,140 Look at that. 14 00:00:50,150 --> 00:00:59,020 ♪ 15 00:00:59,020 --> 00:01:01,560 I used to have a poster in my bedroom that read, 16 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,690 "if adventure has a name, it must be indiana jones," 17 00:01:05,690 --> 00:01:08,000 but my childhood whip-cracking hero 18 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,500 was inspired by a daring real-world 19 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:14,200 archaeologist whose own search for fortune and glory 20 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,370 is more thrilling than any movie. 21 00:01:16,370 --> 00:01:21,610 It turns out adventure has another name, mitchell-hedges. 22 00:01:21,610 --> 00:01:23,040 In the early 20th century, 23 00:01:23,050 --> 00:01:24,780 frederick albert mitchell-hedges 24 00:01:24,780 --> 00:01:28,520 macheted his way through the jungles of central america. 25 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,150 If his weathered autobiography is to be believed, 26 00:01:31,150 --> 00:01:34,760 he evaded cannibal tribes, battled giant sea creatures, 27 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,730 and uncovered a lost city in the jungles of belize. 28 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:42,730 But one artifact from his travels 29 00:01:42,730 --> 00:01:46,500 has inspired more debate than any other, 30 00:01:46,500 --> 00:01:51,140 the contested 1924 discovery of the crystal skull of doom. 31 00:01:53,110 --> 00:01:56,510 To believers, the skull is a supernatural maya artifact 32 00:01:56,510 --> 00:01:58,550 capable of miraculous healing 33 00:01:58,550 --> 00:02:02,180 but also able to kill those who meddle with its powers. 34 00:02:03,750 --> 00:02:06,150 To many others, it was a self-promoting hoax, 35 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,820 the boldest of hedges' tall tales. 36 00:02:08,820 --> 00:02:11,990 Either way, the skull has become famous the world over, 37 00:02:11,990 --> 00:02:13,890 even serving as the inspiration for 38 00:02:13,900 --> 00:02:17,230 the fourth "indiana jones" film, the one we don't talk about. 39 00:02:20,340 --> 00:02:22,300 Today, a man named bill homann 40 00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:24,770 is the steward of the iconic skull. 41 00:02:24,770 --> 00:02:28,410 Several studies of the object have produced varying outcomes, 42 00:02:28,410 --> 00:02:30,740 but I'm hoping to convince him to submit it 43 00:02:30,750 --> 00:02:33,450 to a definitive scientific test. 44 00:02:33,450 --> 00:02:37,950 Can we settle the case of the crystal skull once and for all? 45 00:02:37,950 --> 00:02:41,360 We're about to find out as we separate man from myth 46 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:45,530 following in the footsteps of the real indiana jones. 47 00:02:45,530 --> 00:02:51,770 ♪ 48 00:02:51,770 --> 00:02:53,570 my name is josh gates... 49 00:02:53,570 --> 00:02:56,100 Look! [ laughs ] 50 00:02:56,110 --> 00:02:58,010 ...Explorer, adventurer... 51 00:02:58,010 --> 00:02:59,370 That is it! 52 00:02:59,380 --> 00:03:02,710 ...And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations. 53 00:03:02,710 --> 00:03:05,580 Ah, ah, aah, haa! 54 00:03:05,580 --> 00:03:07,010 With a degree in archaeology 55 00:03:07,020 --> 00:03:09,050 and a passion for the unexplained, 56 00:03:09,050 --> 00:03:11,150 I travel to the ends of the earth, 57 00:03:11,150 --> 00:03:14,090 investigating the greatest legends in history. 58 00:03:14,090 --> 00:03:15,690 Okay, let's punch it. 59 00:03:15,690 --> 00:03:17,790 This is "expedition unknown." 60 00:03:17,790 --> 00:03:20,790 -- captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com 61 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,800 captions paid for by discovery communications 62 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:32,970 ♪ 63 00:03:32,980 --> 00:03:36,180 welcome to belize and the rio grande river. 64 00:03:36,180 --> 00:03:38,210 These waters start up in the maya mountains, 65 00:03:38,210 --> 00:03:41,580 and they eventually cascade out into the caribbean sea. 66 00:03:41,580 --> 00:03:43,250 This is the exact same waterway 67 00:03:43,250 --> 00:03:45,790 that once ferried an enigmatic explorer 68 00:03:45,790 --> 00:03:48,390 on a quest to find a lost city. 69 00:03:48,390 --> 00:03:50,660 His own journey begins oceans away 70 00:03:50,660 --> 00:03:52,890 from the jungles of central america. 71 00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:56,630 Gates: Frederick albert mitchell-hedges 72 00:03:56,630 --> 00:04:00,800 was born into a wealthy family in london in 1882. 73 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,340 His father pushed him to become a stock broker, 74 00:04:03,340 --> 00:04:04,810 so at the age of 18, 75 00:04:04,810 --> 00:04:09,380 hedges left England to work for a large bank on wall street. 76 00:04:09,380 --> 00:04:13,280 But in the pages of the pulp magazines and novels of his day, 77 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,680 he developed an obsession with adventure 78 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,350 and finding lost civilizations. 79 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,820 So he used his salary and knack for gambling to save up 80 00:04:22,830 --> 00:04:25,690 for his own expedition into the heart of belize, 81 00:04:25,690 --> 00:04:28,600 which at the time was a barely-explored frontier 82 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,800 known as british honduras. 83 00:04:32,870 --> 00:04:35,900 But imagine being one of the first outsiders here. 84 00:04:35,900 --> 00:04:38,970 Imagine navigating this river with no map, 85 00:04:38,970 --> 00:04:42,310 not to mention unknown tribes and mosquitoes 86 00:04:42,310 --> 00:04:44,340 carrying tropical diseases. 87 00:04:44,350 --> 00:04:45,910 Say what you will about hedges. 88 00:04:45,910 --> 00:04:47,650 The man was fearless. 89 00:04:50,590 --> 00:04:52,590 Gates: With funding from a british aristocrat 90 00:04:52,590 --> 00:04:54,390 named lady richmond brown, 91 00:04:54,390 --> 00:04:56,990 hedges mounted an expedition into honduras 92 00:04:56,990 --> 00:05:00,830 where he'd heard about a lost maya city hidden in the jungle. 93 00:05:00,830 --> 00:05:02,960 He and a companion, thomas gann, 94 00:05:02,970 --> 00:05:05,670 took a canoe to find the unknown. 95 00:05:08,570 --> 00:05:11,040 Hedges and gann had heard vague rumors 96 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,410 about large stones and ancient structures 97 00:05:14,410 --> 00:05:16,880 buried deep in the jungle interior. 98 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,210 They struggled in the wilderness and eventually were lucky enough 99 00:05:20,220 --> 00:05:22,550 to encounter a tribe of maya kekchi, 100 00:05:22,550 --> 00:05:25,050 the descendants of the once great civilization 101 00:05:25,050 --> 00:05:27,390 that ruled this land. 102 00:05:27,390 --> 00:05:30,720 Gates: The ancient maya civilization had collapsed 1,000 years 103 00:05:30,730 --> 00:05:32,430 before hedges arrived, 104 00:05:32,430 --> 00:05:35,300 but the villagers had an idea of what he was seeking, 105 00:05:35,300 --> 00:05:37,560 and they agreed to ferry him through the jungle 106 00:05:37,570 --> 00:05:40,530 to look for the ruins. 107 00:05:40,540 --> 00:05:43,600 And this is what hedges discovered, 108 00:05:43,610 --> 00:05:46,010 a place later christened as lubaantun, 109 00:05:46,010 --> 00:05:48,640 or the city of fallen stones. 110 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,480 Gates: The site is monumental with countless abandoned 111 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,790 stone structures that rise up against the jungle canopy, 112 00:05:58,790 --> 00:06:00,520 but it's not truly empty. 113 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,890 There's at least one other person here. 114 00:06:02,890 --> 00:06:04,290 I'm meeting bill homann, 115 00:06:04,290 --> 00:06:07,190 current owner of the famed crystal skull of doom 116 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:11,160 which was supposedly found at these very ruins. 117 00:06:11,170 --> 00:06:13,630 This place, I take it, looks a lot different 118 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:15,500 from when mitchell-hedges was here. 119 00:06:15,500 --> 00:06:16,500 This was jungle. 120 00:06:16,510 --> 00:06:18,170 What they did is they cut and cut, 121 00:06:18,170 --> 00:06:19,910 and it took years of cutting... -Right. 122 00:06:19,910 --> 00:06:22,780 ...To finally open up the jungle a little bit. 123 00:06:22,780 --> 00:06:26,210 Then they lit the whole thing on fire. 124 00:06:26,220 --> 00:06:28,750 Gates: Hedges was bold, but he doesn't win many points 125 00:06:28,750 --> 00:06:30,820 with modern archaeologists. 126 00:06:30,820 --> 00:06:33,890 Basically, his team and the local maya chopped back 127 00:06:33,890 --> 00:06:36,920 as many vines as they could before standing back 128 00:06:36,930 --> 00:06:39,430 and lighting the whole site on fire. 129 00:06:43,570 --> 00:06:48,000 As the flames died down, 11 massive limestone pyramids, 130 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,040 vast plazas, and ancient ball courts were revealed. 131 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:54,470 This was a full-fledged maya city, 132 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,440 and the temple platforms suggest that it was also home 133 00:06:57,450 --> 00:06:59,810 to sacred religious ceremonies. 134 00:06:59,820 --> 00:07:02,020 Gates: Bill, I want to talk about the most famous relic 135 00:07:02,020 --> 00:07:05,050 that was supposedly found here, the crystal skull. 136 00:07:05,050 --> 00:07:07,450 Actually, we're standing very close 137 00:07:07,460 --> 00:07:08,990 to the spot where it was found. 138 00:07:08,990 --> 00:07:11,790 The skull was found by a girl named anna. 139 00:07:11,790 --> 00:07:15,160 Anna was the adopted daughter of f.A. Mitchell-hedges. 140 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,030 Gates: According to legend, anna was exploring the pyramids 141 00:07:18,030 --> 00:07:20,470 on one of hedges' later visits to the site 142 00:07:20,470 --> 00:07:24,000 when she saw something glimmering through the stone. 143 00:07:24,010 --> 00:07:26,940 Hedges had his crew move away the heavy rocks, 144 00:07:26,940 --> 00:07:31,710 and there atop an old altar was a breathtaking crystal skull. 145 00:07:34,550 --> 00:07:37,280 Legend says the skull was an ancient artifact 146 00:07:37,290 --> 00:07:41,490 used by maya priests to inflict death, 147 00:07:41,490 --> 00:07:44,060 but it has also been said that the skull has the ability 148 00:07:44,060 --> 00:07:46,860 to heal those who believe in its powers. 149 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,800 Mitchell-hedges lived to the ripe age of 76 150 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,370 and wrote very little about the skull's true origins. 151 00:07:55,370 --> 00:07:57,970 Rumors swirled that the skull was a fake. 152 00:07:57,970 --> 00:07:59,240 There are stories that hedges 153 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,170 had purchased the skull at auction 154 00:08:01,180 --> 00:08:04,610 from a london art dealer named sydney burney. 155 00:08:04,610 --> 00:08:07,280 Hedges insisted, though, that the skull was a product 156 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,450 of a highly advanced civilization 157 00:08:09,450 --> 00:08:13,420 that long predated the maya, never wavering until his death 158 00:08:13,420 --> 00:08:17,190 when he bequeathed the skull to his daughter, anna. 159 00:08:17,190 --> 00:08:19,230 And how did the skull come to be in your possession? 160 00:08:19,230 --> 00:08:22,630 The last 8 years of anna's life, we became really good friends, 161 00:08:22,630 --> 00:08:25,600 and when she passed away, she passed it on to me, 162 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,770 and I've been trying to take good care of it ever since. 163 00:08:28,770 --> 00:08:31,670 Many people have come forward and proclaimed the skull 164 00:08:31,670 --> 00:08:33,410 as a fake, so the skull has, 165 00:08:33,410 --> 00:08:35,540 though, been tested scientifically several times, 166 00:08:35,540 --> 00:08:37,440 once in the '70s by hewlett-packard 167 00:08:37,450 --> 00:08:39,310 and later by the smithsonian, right? 168 00:08:39,310 --> 00:08:40,550 That's correct. 169 00:08:40,550 --> 00:08:42,080 Gates: The testing by hewlett-packard 170 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,380 couldn't establish the skull's age, 171 00:08:44,390 --> 00:08:47,150 but the smithsonian determined that the skull was crafted 172 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:51,630 with modern, advanced tools to produce a machined polish. 173 00:08:51,630 --> 00:08:54,790 This would seem to debunk hedges except that hedges, 174 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,030 and now bill, believe the civilization 175 00:08:57,030 --> 00:08:59,970 that made the skull was centuries ahead of its time 176 00:08:59,970 --> 00:09:03,100 and possessed sophisticated carving techniques. 177 00:09:05,310 --> 00:09:06,510 Let me ask you this. 178 00:09:06,510 --> 00:09:08,280 If you're so confident that it's real, 179 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:11,110 and you don't believe in the veracity of the previous tests, 180 00:09:11,110 --> 00:09:13,950 why not subject it to a definitive scientific test? 181 00:09:13,950 --> 00:09:15,650 Have you ever considered that? 182 00:09:15,650 --> 00:09:18,890 If I twist your arm hard enough, maybe you'll test it. 183 00:09:18,890 --> 00:09:20,050 I would consider it. 184 00:09:20,060 --> 00:09:21,720 Yeah, maybe. -Okay. All right. 185 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,090 I'm going to keep working on this. 186 00:09:24,090 --> 00:09:27,990 Gates: Bill won't 100% agree to a definitive test just yet, 187 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,230 but he's betting he won't need one. 188 00:09:30,230 --> 00:09:31,770 He's come to central america 189 00:09:31,770 --> 00:09:35,170 because he's recently made a discovery in hedges' archives, 190 00:09:35,170 --> 00:09:38,440 a treasure trove of pictures and documents that could prove 191 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,910 that hedges was right, and the crystal skull is real. 192 00:09:41,910 --> 00:09:43,140 Look at this suitcase. 193 00:09:43,150 --> 00:09:44,880 What is this? 194 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,780 I came across mitchell-hedges' original... 195 00:09:47,780 --> 00:09:49,650 -This is his? -This is his, yeah. 196 00:09:49,650 --> 00:09:52,050 Get out of here. Can I open it? 197 00:09:52,050 --> 00:09:53,050 Is it possible? -You can open it. 198 00:09:53,060 --> 00:09:54,050 Sure. -Come on. 199 00:09:54,060 --> 00:09:57,320 This is like christmas morning. 200 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,110 Gates: I'm in lubaantun, a once lost maya city uncovered 201 00:10:12,110 --> 00:10:14,710 by the adventurer f.A. Mitchell-hedges 202 00:10:14,710 --> 00:10:16,710 who claimed to find the controversial 203 00:10:16,710 --> 00:10:19,680 crystal skull of doom amidst the ruins. 204 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:22,350 Now researcher bill homann has just revealed 205 00:10:22,350 --> 00:10:25,050 a cache of new material from the hedges' archive, 206 00:10:25,050 --> 00:10:28,660 which might prove the explorer's wildest claim -- 207 00:10:28,660 --> 00:10:30,760 that an advanced ancient civilization 208 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,590 crafted the crystal skull and more. 209 00:10:35,500 --> 00:10:37,400 Look at all this stuff. 210 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,670 So this is the man himself right here in his later years. 211 00:10:41,670 --> 00:10:42,740 Yep, with his pipe, yep. 212 00:10:42,740 --> 00:10:44,440 With his pipe, he always has this pipe. 213 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:45,840 -Yeah. -I love this. 214 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:47,510 Yeah, these are the original glass slides here. 215 00:10:47,510 --> 00:10:49,210 They're from the '20s and '30s. 216 00:10:49,210 --> 00:10:50,210 From his photographs. 217 00:10:50,210 --> 00:10:51,950 Right. 218 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:57,950 This looks like him here at lubaantun, 219 00:10:57,950 --> 00:11:01,420 overgrown ruins right where we're sitting basically. 220 00:11:01,420 --> 00:11:02,720 Is that pretty wild, yeah? 221 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,860 This is a treasure trove of materials, 222 00:11:05,860 --> 00:11:07,460 and along with the slides here at lubaantun, 223 00:11:07,460 --> 00:11:10,760 there seems to be another location somewhere on the coast. 224 00:11:10,770 --> 00:11:12,130 That's the bay islands. 225 00:11:12,130 --> 00:11:13,670 That's off of honduras. 226 00:11:13,670 --> 00:11:15,740 -The bay islands... -Yeah, and that's where 227 00:11:15,740 --> 00:11:17,040 mitchell-hedges spent a lot of time, 228 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,970 and he found a lot of the old artifacts there. 229 00:11:19,980 --> 00:11:22,340 That's where the ones that were pre-mayan. 230 00:11:22,340 --> 00:11:24,540 So some sort of ancient civilization. 231 00:11:24,550 --> 00:11:27,510 Gates: Pre-maya civilizations were hedges' obsession, 232 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,050 and the bay islands were where he was convinced 233 00:11:30,050 --> 00:11:31,180 that he would find evidence 234 00:11:31,190 --> 00:11:33,690 that they were a highly advanced culture. 235 00:11:33,690 --> 00:11:38,890 In the process, he did discover hundreds of pre-maya relics. 236 00:11:38,890 --> 00:11:40,460 One letter from the smithsonian 237 00:11:40,460 --> 00:11:43,530 verifies the value of the artifacts. 238 00:11:43,530 --> 00:11:45,130 "'this find,' said george c. Heye, 239 00:11:45,130 --> 00:11:46,900 director of the museum of the american indian, 240 00:11:46,900 --> 00:11:48,540 heye foundation, 241 00:11:48,540 --> 00:11:51,470 'is one of the most important in a decade in central america.'" 242 00:11:51,470 --> 00:11:54,070 hundreds of hedges' finds from the pre-maya people 243 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,210 are still held and displayed by the smithsonian, 244 00:11:57,210 --> 00:11:58,550 but there was one thing hedges 245 00:11:58,550 --> 00:12:00,350 claimed to find in the bay islands 246 00:12:00,350 --> 00:12:02,720 that never made it to any museum, 247 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,190 a secret he almost took with him to his grave. 248 00:12:06,190 --> 00:12:08,290 When anna was getting ready to pass away, 249 00:12:08,290 --> 00:12:11,930 she revealed to me that her and mitchell-hedges 250 00:12:11,930 --> 00:12:13,960 had found this crystal deity. 251 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,460 Crystal deity. 252 00:12:16,470 --> 00:12:18,930 Gates: According to anna who only told the story to bill 253 00:12:18,930 --> 00:12:20,930 on her death bed, when she and hedges 254 00:12:20,940 --> 00:12:22,770 were exploring the bay islands, 255 00:12:22,770 --> 00:12:25,610 they discovered another crystal artifact, 256 00:12:25,610 --> 00:12:28,610 this one the statue of what they thought was a god. 257 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,610 But unlike the skull, the so-called crystal deity 258 00:12:33,620 --> 00:12:36,280 never made it back from central america. 259 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,020 Hedges was worried authorities would confiscate his find 260 00:12:39,020 --> 00:12:40,920 if he tried to leave the country, 261 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,460 so he and anna buried the crystal deity 262 00:12:43,460 --> 00:12:46,990 either in or around the cave where they found it. 263 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,530 Their plan was to return later to retrieve it, 264 00:12:49,530 --> 00:12:51,160 but the expedition never happened, 265 00:12:51,170 --> 00:12:55,570 and its exact location has never been rediscovered. 266 00:12:55,570 --> 00:12:57,900 Is there evidence aside from anna's story 267 00:12:57,910 --> 00:12:59,470 that this thing is really down there? 268 00:12:59,470 --> 00:13:01,310 Well, I have all these papers here. 269 00:13:01,310 --> 00:13:03,380 Each one of them is like a piece of a puzzle, 270 00:13:03,380 --> 00:13:05,880 so you look at this one, and you learn something, 271 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,050 and when you put them together, 272 00:13:07,050 --> 00:13:09,380 the story is right in front of your face. 273 00:13:12,150 --> 00:13:14,850 "she is planning an expedition to find. 274 00:13:14,860 --> 00:13:17,360 She even believes she knows where it is." 275 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,260 clearly he was finding something out on these islands. 276 00:13:20,260 --> 00:13:22,800 "there are other facts in connection with this 277 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,470 that I have never made public to the world." 278 00:13:26,470 --> 00:13:29,140 gates: I quickly find that the stories in hedges' books 279 00:13:29,140 --> 00:13:31,370 were only the beginning. 280 00:13:31,370 --> 00:13:33,240 So there's a lot of really compelling stuff in here. 281 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,110 I mean, there's no question that they were finding 282 00:13:35,110 --> 00:13:36,410 things out in these bay islands, 283 00:13:36,410 --> 00:13:38,880 and it does appear that they found something, 284 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,550 so do you think with the clues contained here, 285 00:13:41,550 --> 00:13:42,980 you could find this place? 286 00:13:42,980 --> 00:13:45,020 I know I could find it, and I'm ready to go, 287 00:13:45,020 --> 00:13:47,220 and I'm getting a 4x4 tonight. 288 00:13:47,220 --> 00:13:48,450 -You're going. -I'm going. 289 00:13:48,460 --> 00:13:50,160 Yeah, I'm ready. You want to go? 290 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:51,660 Hell yeah, I want to go. 291 00:13:51,660 --> 00:13:52,760 Let's have an adventure. 292 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:53,990 Let's have an adventure. 293 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,830 Let's have an adventure. 294 00:13:56,830 --> 00:13:58,600 Gates: We're about to follow in the footsteps 295 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,940 of f.A. Mitchell-hedges traveling from lubaantun 296 00:14:01,940 --> 00:14:06,040 to the bay islands in honduras to locate the mysterious island 297 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,940 where the crystal deity was supposedly discovered, 298 00:14:08,940 --> 00:14:12,280 and what we find there may define his legacy. 299 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:16,950 My vintage off-roader may be a little out-of-date, 300 00:14:16,950 --> 00:14:18,620 but it's my kind of ride. 301 00:14:18,620 --> 00:14:19,950 Indy has his whip. 302 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,020 I have mine. 303 00:14:22,020 --> 00:14:23,320 I don't know what we're going to find, bill, 304 00:14:23,330 --> 00:14:25,430 but we got the right hats on. 305 00:14:25,430 --> 00:14:27,160 Yeah. 306 00:14:29,260 --> 00:14:31,100 Gates: Our journey following hedges' path 307 00:14:31,100 --> 00:14:33,470 will take us through three countries. 308 00:14:33,470 --> 00:14:34,770 We drive from lubaantun 309 00:14:34,770 --> 00:14:37,240 to the belize port of punta gorda 310 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,940 to take a boat, which will sail to guatemala. 311 00:14:41,340 --> 00:14:42,710 This guy is hauling. 312 00:14:42,710 --> 00:14:43,880 They don't like to slow down. 313 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:45,210 You know why? -Why? 314 00:14:45,210 --> 00:14:46,710 Because there's pirates in this area. 315 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:48,950 -I'm sorry, pirates? -Pirates, yeah. 316 00:14:48,950 --> 00:14:53,920 You can go faster if you want, fast as you can. 317 00:14:58,360 --> 00:14:59,760 Gates: After crossing the border, 318 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,630 another 4x4 is waiting for our trip to honduras. 319 00:15:03,630 --> 00:15:11,670 ♪ 320 00:15:11,670 --> 00:15:19,680 ♪ 321 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,220 at the end of a brutal day, we crash. 322 00:15:22,220 --> 00:15:24,650 Well, not literally... We go to sleep. 323 00:15:29,290 --> 00:15:32,490 The next day, bill brings me to a nearby archaeological site 324 00:15:32,490 --> 00:15:34,660 that hedges himself once visited 325 00:15:34,660 --> 00:15:36,960 where there may be clues about the society 326 00:15:36,970 --> 00:15:39,500 that he thinks created the crystal skull, 327 00:15:39,500 --> 00:15:42,700 a place where the maya once reigned supreme. 328 00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:48,310 ♪ 329 00:15:48,310 --> 00:15:53,910 ♪ 330 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:57,150 copan was occupied for over 2,000 years 331 00:15:57,150 --> 00:16:00,490 until the 9th century a.D. In the 20th century, 332 00:16:00,490 --> 00:16:03,690 the discovery of copan inspired f.A. Mitchell-hedges 333 00:16:03,690 --> 00:16:07,760 to go trekking in search of other lost maya cities. 334 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,700 At the top of a structure here called temple 22, 335 00:16:10,700 --> 00:16:12,570 the maya used skull imagery 336 00:16:12,570 --> 00:16:16,870 to express their obsession with death. 337 00:16:16,870 --> 00:16:20,810 Hedges, though, believed his skull long predated these maya. 338 00:16:20,810 --> 00:16:22,680 Could this earlier civilization 339 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,140 have influenced the builders of copan, 340 00:16:25,150 --> 00:16:27,180 and were any of the ancient cultures here 341 00:16:27,180 --> 00:16:30,920 even capable of crafting a crystal skull? 342 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:32,250 To find out, we're meeting 343 00:16:32,250 --> 00:16:36,060 one of the site's head archaeologists, jorge ramos. 344 00:16:36,060 --> 00:16:37,990 -It's an incredible site. -I know. 345 00:16:37,990 --> 00:16:40,690 When was it first founded? 346 00:16:40,700 --> 00:16:41,760 426. 347 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,260 -426 a.D. -A.D., yes. 348 00:16:43,260 --> 00:16:45,570 Hedges was kind of obsessed with this idea 349 00:16:45,570 --> 00:16:48,330 that there must have been significant cultures 350 00:16:48,340 --> 00:16:49,700 here before the maya. 351 00:16:49,700 --> 00:16:51,470 -Mm-hmm. -Was he on to something? 352 00:16:58,450 --> 00:17:00,180 -So before this was all built... -Yeah. 353 00:17:00,180 --> 00:17:01,650 ...There was something else here. 354 00:17:06,420 --> 00:17:09,520 Gates: These pre-maya groups are some of the least well-studied 355 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,030 in pre-colombian american archaeology. 356 00:17:12,030 --> 00:17:14,690 Hedges may have been more adventurer than scientist, 357 00:17:14,700 --> 00:17:16,830 but his many finds were among the earliest 358 00:17:16,830 --> 00:17:20,030 to shed light on this very real civilization. 359 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:21,630 So let's talk about the crystal skull for a moment. 360 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:23,300 This is the crystal skull's owner here. 361 00:17:23,300 --> 00:17:25,300 And look, one of the big questions about the skull 362 00:17:25,310 --> 00:17:27,470 is, this is quartz crystal, 363 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:29,740 so first of all, did any of these ancient cultures 364 00:17:29,740 --> 00:17:32,750 ever carve out of this type of material? 365 00:17:37,950 --> 00:17:40,820 Gates: The aztecs, who reigned in what is now mexico, 366 00:17:40,820 --> 00:17:44,220 did use quartz like this to carve skull imagery, 367 00:17:44,230 --> 00:17:46,360 so could they have inherited the tradition 368 00:17:46,360 --> 00:17:50,430 from an earlier civilization as hedges and bill believe? 369 00:17:50,430 --> 00:17:52,070 They are the ones that could have carved 370 00:17:52,070 --> 00:17:53,300 a lot of these stones. 371 00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:55,130 There's possibility they could be the ones 372 00:17:55,140 --> 00:17:56,500 that have carved the crystal skull 373 00:17:56,500 --> 00:17:58,540 or other objects like that. 374 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,320 Gates: Jorge has confirmed that it is possible 375 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,020 that some of the ancient civilizations in this region 376 00:18:15,020 --> 00:18:18,120 had the skills to build the crystal skull, 377 00:18:18,130 --> 00:18:21,030 but what we still don't know is if they did. 378 00:18:23,060 --> 00:18:25,470 The best way to confirm that the crystal skull 379 00:18:25,470 --> 00:18:27,700 and the culture that created it are real 380 00:18:27,700 --> 00:18:30,170 is to find more evidence. 381 00:18:30,170 --> 00:18:33,770 We need to find the crystal deity in the bay islands. 382 00:18:35,910 --> 00:18:37,040 Okay, bill, what's the plan? 383 00:18:37,050 --> 00:18:38,340 I made a few phone calls, 384 00:18:38,350 --> 00:18:42,520 and I found some guys that are going to give us a lift. 385 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:44,280 Is that a military plane? 386 00:18:44,290 --> 00:18:45,950 Gates: The hedges name and legend 387 00:18:45,950 --> 00:18:48,190 still carry a lot of weight in this area, 388 00:18:48,190 --> 00:18:51,260 so bill was able to arrange some impressive transport 389 00:18:51,260 --> 00:18:53,230 to bring us to the bay islands -- 390 00:18:53,230 --> 00:18:57,660 an aging c-23 sherpa now serving in the honduran military. 391 00:18:57,670 --> 00:18:59,400 Hola. 392 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,770 [ speaking spanish ] 393 00:19:02,770 --> 00:19:03,870 nice to meet you, gentlemen. 394 00:19:03,870 --> 00:19:05,640 We are ready to go to the bay islands. 395 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:06,810 We're all ready to go to the bay islands. 396 00:19:06,810 --> 00:19:07,810 -Let's go. -We're ready, too. 397 00:19:07,810 --> 00:19:09,340 Let's do it. Come on. 398 00:19:11,110 --> 00:19:12,310 In we go. 399 00:19:12,310 --> 00:19:18,750 ♪ 400 00:19:30,970 --> 00:19:36,640 ♪ 401 00:19:45,780 --> 00:19:49,020 gates: In a honduran military plane over the caribbean sea, 402 00:19:49,020 --> 00:19:50,620 researcher bill homann and I 403 00:19:50,620 --> 00:19:52,650 are on our way to the bay islands 404 00:19:52,650 --> 00:19:55,220 where famed explorer f.A. Mitchell-hedges 405 00:19:55,220 --> 00:19:57,690 and his daughter anna claimed to have found 406 00:19:57,690 --> 00:20:01,760 and buried a priceless relic known as the crystal deity. 407 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:08,870 ♪ 408 00:20:11,770 --> 00:20:15,680 we land on the island of roatan, but we're only halfway there. 409 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,110 We charter a boat and make our way out to sea. 410 00:20:19,110 --> 00:20:20,810 Okay, here we go. 411 00:20:20,820 --> 00:20:27,420 ♪ 412 00:20:27,420 --> 00:20:30,290 -waited a long time for this. -Well, today is the day. 413 00:20:30,290 --> 00:20:32,120 Homann: Today is the day. Let's do it. 414 00:20:32,130 --> 00:20:33,960 Let's do it. 415 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,500 Gates: The island with the cave can only be located 416 00:20:36,500 --> 00:20:39,270 using the nearby islands as landmarks, 417 00:20:39,270 --> 00:20:40,630 then following the directions 418 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,370 that anna mitchell-hedges gave to bill. 419 00:20:43,370 --> 00:20:46,140 We're headed to an island known as morgan's cay 420 00:20:46,140 --> 00:20:49,280 which should point us to our next target. 421 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,710 We know that if you go one island over, 422 00:20:51,710 --> 00:20:53,210 that should be cay comfort. 423 00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:55,010 So that little island right there. 424 00:20:55,020 --> 00:20:57,050 That should be cay comfort, yes. 425 00:20:57,050 --> 00:20:58,420 Gates: Cay comfort is where 426 00:20:58,420 --> 00:21:02,150 hedges built an island compound long since destroyed. 427 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:03,920 We're navigating along the same route 428 00:21:03,930 --> 00:21:07,360 hedges himself took over 80 years ago. 429 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:08,930 And you got the old photos of it, right? 430 00:21:08,930 --> 00:21:10,230 -I do here, right here. -Let's take a look. 431 00:21:10,230 --> 00:21:16,540 ♪ 432 00:21:16,540 --> 00:21:19,910 -a perfect match, -that's cay comfort. 433 00:21:19,910 --> 00:21:22,240 Anna told me that, before she passed, 434 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,140 that there's a narrow channel. 435 00:21:24,150 --> 00:21:27,780 If you go through that channel, you'll see some mangrove swamps, 436 00:21:27,780 --> 00:21:29,580 and the island should be on your right. 437 00:21:29,580 --> 00:21:31,280 Okay. Here we go. 438 00:21:33,350 --> 00:21:35,020 Gates: We motor around the island. 439 00:21:35,020 --> 00:21:38,520 Before long, we see just what anna described. 440 00:21:38,530 --> 00:21:40,530 This must be the channel. 441 00:21:40,530 --> 00:21:42,800 Yeah. Travis, take us in right here. 442 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:44,030 Travis: You got it. 443 00:21:46,170 --> 00:21:49,740 Gates: We're about to find out if we're chasing an adventurous fantasy 444 00:21:49,740 --> 00:21:52,570 or one of the greatest archaeological finds 445 00:21:52,570 --> 00:21:54,440 of the 20th century. 446 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,280 Homann: I think some of the mitchell-hedges' photos 447 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,110 show these mangroves. 448 00:21:59,910 --> 00:22:01,480 Look at that. 449 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:02,780 I'd say that's a pretty good match, wouldn't you? 450 00:22:02,780 --> 00:22:04,520 I think that's it. I think we're there. 451 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,150 I mean, it certainly looks like the exact same type of landscape 452 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,460 we're seeing here. I mean, look at that. 453 00:22:09,460 --> 00:22:11,790 Does that look like this channel, or what? 454 00:22:11,790 --> 00:22:13,790 -We're right there, yep. -It's amazing. 455 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:14,990 Okay. We're in the right spot. 456 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,430 Now we just got to get on this island. 457 00:22:16,430 --> 00:22:22,200 ♪ 458 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:23,240 what about here? 459 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:24,900 Do you want to try to get in here? 460 00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:26,540 Yep. 461 00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:28,340 Gates: We find a place to beach the boat 462 00:22:28,340 --> 00:22:30,410 and climb out into the swamps. 463 00:22:30,410 --> 00:22:37,350 ♪ 464 00:22:37,350 --> 00:22:39,450 real slippery, bill. Be careful. 465 00:22:39,450 --> 00:22:41,590 Gates: This is some of the most impenetrable land 466 00:22:41,590 --> 00:22:43,220 I've ever had to hike through. 467 00:22:43,220 --> 00:22:45,060 We're not even walking on the ground. 468 00:22:45,060 --> 00:22:47,930 We're walking on roots above the ground. 469 00:22:47,930 --> 00:22:49,630 Homann: Try to stay on the wood if you can, right? 470 00:22:49,630 --> 00:22:51,360 Yeah. 471 00:22:54,170 --> 00:22:55,630 You've heard of quicksand. 472 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,210 This is quick mud. 473 00:22:59,210 --> 00:23:01,210 One false move in here, 474 00:23:01,210 --> 00:23:03,140 you could be up to your waist in this. 475 00:23:05,180 --> 00:23:07,910 Luckily, I was raised in the circus. 476 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,350 Oh, this is nasty. 477 00:23:11,350 --> 00:23:12,620 Damn it. Bill. 478 00:23:12,620 --> 00:23:14,120 -Yeah. Here you go. -Give me a hand. 479 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:15,120 Yeah. Okay. 480 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:18,090 I'm going to lose my boot. 481 00:23:18,090 --> 00:23:19,190 -Got it? -Hold it. 482 00:23:19,190 --> 00:23:20,360 -Nope, not yet. -Okay, take your time. 483 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:22,090 Take your time. I got you. 484 00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:27,570 Ugh. Oh, that was almost it. 485 00:23:27,570 --> 00:23:29,840 -Do not step here. -Do not step on that. 486 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:34,340 Do not step here or here or basically anywhere. 487 00:23:34,340 --> 00:23:37,010 Okay. 488 00:23:37,010 --> 00:23:39,180 Gates: Eventually, we make it through the swamps 489 00:23:39,180 --> 00:23:41,750 and on to something resembling solid ground, 490 00:23:41,750 --> 00:23:44,720 which means we might be one step closer to finding 491 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,220 hedges' crystal deity. 492 00:23:47,220 --> 00:23:48,220 Made it through the mud. 493 00:23:48,220 --> 00:23:50,020 Now we just got to find this cave, 494 00:23:50,020 --> 00:23:52,660 so the best photo of it is really from 495 00:23:52,660 --> 00:23:56,000 hedges' book which is here, right? 496 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,200 So a cave where sammy or anna found a rock crystal figure 497 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:01,830 of an anthropomorphic deity, 498 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,140 so it doesn't tell us where, but we think it's this island, 499 00:24:05,140 --> 00:24:06,610 so we're looking for this general formation. 500 00:24:06,610 --> 00:24:08,670 We got palms in front of it here, 501 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,410 and I mean, that's really all we have to go on. 502 00:24:11,410 --> 00:24:13,280 I think what we're seeing here is limestone, 503 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,310 so I think we need to find some limestone 504 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:16,850 formations on the island, 505 00:24:16,850 --> 00:24:18,320 and hopefully we'll find the cave. 506 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:19,320 All right. Let's do it. 507 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:20,350 You ready? -Yep. 508 00:24:20,350 --> 00:24:21,590 All right. Let's get in to it. Come on. 509 00:24:21,590 --> 00:24:29,360 ♪ 510 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:32,060 gates: If hedges was trying to hide something on this island, 511 00:24:32,070 --> 00:24:34,570 it's easy to see why it stayed hidden. 512 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:39,040 The mud may be far behind us, 513 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,010 but that doesn't mean we can take our footing for granted. 514 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,680 -Bill! You okay? -Okay, just a second, 515 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:48,710 just a second. -You okay? 516 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:49,780 -Yeah, I'm fine. -Up, you want to come up? 517 00:24:49,780 --> 00:24:51,650 Yeah. Yeah, get me up. Okay. Hold it. 518 00:24:51,650 --> 00:24:52,850 Okay. Hold it just a second. 519 00:24:52,850 --> 00:24:54,550 -You okay? -Yeah. 520 00:24:55,890 --> 00:24:57,360 You scared [bleep] out of me. Here, let me get your hat. 521 00:24:57,360 --> 00:24:58,490 Hold on a second. -Okay. 522 00:24:58,490 --> 00:25:00,490 -Okay. Here you go. -Okay. 523 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:02,630 -You all right? -Let's do that again. 524 00:25:02,630 --> 00:25:05,130 Okay, come on. Geez, don't do that to me, bill. 525 00:25:07,870 --> 00:25:09,900 Gates: Bill might have taken a nasty fall, 526 00:25:09,900 --> 00:25:11,940 but he's as tough as hedges, 527 00:25:11,940 --> 00:25:14,840 and nothing is going to stop him from the mission at hand. 528 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:21,750 ♪ 529 00:25:21,750 --> 00:25:23,450 we keep hiking until bill spots 530 00:25:23,450 --> 00:25:25,950 something important between the trees. 531 00:25:28,220 --> 00:25:30,690 Hey, josh, look at that. 532 00:25:30,690 --> 00:25:34,960 Limestone, we got limestone. Come on. 533 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:37,700 Let's see if we can find a cave. 534 00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:39,470 Gates: We follow the wall of limestone 535 00:25:39,470 --> 00:25:42,840 through the jungle interior for mile after mile. 536 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:50,680 ♪ 537 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:52,040 bill, stop. 538 00:25:52,050 --> 00:25:54,150 That's a cave, right? 539 00:25:54,150 --> 00:25:55,580 -I see it, yeah. -Hold on a second. 540 00:25:55,580 --> 00:25:58,850 Yeah, hold on a second. I think that could be it. 541 00:25:58,850 --> 00:26:00,050 Right there. -Yep. 542 00:26:00,050 --> 00:26:03,160 Lookit. That looks stalagmite and stalactite 543 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:04,290 there that are connected. -Right. 544 00:26:04,290 --> 00:26:05,620 And then you look a little further in. 545 00:26:05,630 --> 00:26:07,030 You see that piece hanging down 546 00:26:07,030 --> 00:26:09,660 and how it's all raised up like that? 547 00:26:09,660 --> 00:26:10,960 -That's it right there. -I mean, that's it. 548 00:26:10,970 --> 00:26:14,630 -That's it right there. -That's it. Hey, good job. 549 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:16,140 That is it. 550 00:26:16,140 --> 00:26:19,770 Look at that! 551 00:26:30,450 --> 00:26:33,120 Gates: On a deserted island off the coast of honduras, 552 00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:36,560 bill homann is attempting to locate a crystal statue 553 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,290 discovered by the late explorer 554 00:26:38,290 --> 00:26:41,760 f.A. Mitchell-hedges that could prove the existence 555 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,830 of an advanced pre-maya civilization. 556 00:26:44,830 --> 00:26:47,670 Now we're at the mouth of what may be the cave 557 00:26:47,670 --> 00:26:51,540 where hedges originally found the deity. 558 00:26:51,540 --> 00:26:52,840 -That's it right there. -I mean, that's it. 559 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:56,510 -That's it right there. -That's it. Hey, good job. 560 00:26:56,510 --> 00:26:57,980 That is it. 561 00:26:57,980 --> 00:26:59,910 Look at that! 562 00:26:59,910 --> 00:27:01,810 Okay. Let's get inside of it. 563 00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:03,020 -Let's go. -Come on. 564 00:27:03,020 --> 00:27:05,580 Holy [bleep]. 565 00:27:05,590 --> 00:27:07,450 Gates: We rush to the cave. 566 00:27:07,460 --> 00:27:09,790 While the exterior seems largely unchanged 567 00:27:09,790 --> 00:27:13,290 since hedges' time, the interior quickly narrows. 568 00:27:13,290 --> 00:27:16,260 Definitely goes back, I can't tell how far. 569 00:27:16,260 --> 00:27:19,030 -You need a light? -Yeah, give me a light. 570 00:27:19,030 --> 00:27:21,830 Thanks. 571 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,740 Gates: Infill and collapses through the past 80 years 572 00:27:24,740 --> 00:27:27,510 have filled the entrance with sand and debris. 573 00:27:27,510 --> 00:27:32,510 If the deity is in this section of the cave, we can't get to it. 574 00:27:32,510 --> 00:27:33,880 According to anna, 575 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,350 hedges buried the deity near or in the mouth of the cave, 576 00:27:37,350 --> 00:27:40,220 so bill and I begin by breaking out metal detectors 577 00:27:40,220 --> 00:27:41,990 to sweep the exterior. 578 00:27:41,990 --> 00:27:49,060 ♪ 579 00:27:49,060 --> 00:27:56,140 ♪ 580 00:27:56,140 --> 00:27:57,500 gates: Bill, I got a hit, hit right here. 581 00:27:57,510 --> 00:27:59,070 Come here. -Let me try it. 582 00:27:59,070 --> 00:28:00,170 [ beeping ] 583 00:28:00,170 --> 00:28:01,970 yeah, very strong right here. 584 00:28:01,980 --> 00:28:03,810 -Right in front of the cave. -Right. 585 00:28:03,810 --> 00:28:05,210 Literally in front of the cave. All right. 586 00:28:05,210 --> 00:28:07,350 Let me get the shovel and see what's down here. 587 00:28:07,350 --> 00:28:09,820 We got a hit. We got a hit. 588 00:28:09,820 --> 00:28:15,250 ♪ 589 00:28:15,260 --> 00:28:20,760 ♪ 590 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:23,930 bingo. 591 00:28:23,930 --> 00:28:28,000 Nail, old, really old. 592 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,770 I mean, this could easily be from the '20s or '30s, 593 00:28:30,770 --> 00:28:33,210 looks like it might have been handmade here on the ends. 594 00:28:33,210 --> 00:28:35,710 What do you think? Could this be from an old box? 595 00:28:35,710 --> 00:28:37,910 Absolutely, got to be something here, so... 596 00:28:37,910 --> 00:28:39,450 -Totally, let's keep searching. -Let's keep searching. 597 00:28:39,450 --> 00:28:42,450 Yeah, come on. Let's do it. 598 00:28:42,450 --> 00:28:44,420 Gates: We scan the rest of the clearing, 599 00:28:44,420 --> 00:28:48,190 but after looking for hours, we still haven't found it, 600 00:28:48,190 --> 00:28:50,160 but what if hedges buried the artifact 601 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,020 inside the blocked cave? 602 00:28:52,030 --> 00:28:59,700 ♪ 603 00:28:59,700 --> 00:29:01,670 gates: Let's see if we can go up and over, 604 00:29:01,670 --> 00:29:03,640 maybe find another way to punch in up here. 605 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:04,670 Come down through the top. 606 00:29:04,670 --> 00:29:06,310 Yeah. 607 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:10,280 Gates: Our only hope now is that the cave system 608 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:13,750 has another opening nearby. 609 00:29:13,750 --> 00:29:18,250 We scramble up the mountain of limestone until... 610 00:29:18,250 --> 00:29:19,720 Gates: Bill, we got an entrance. 611 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:20,720 -All right. -Look at this. 612 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,090 We got an entrance. All right. 613 00:29:23,090 --> 00:29:24,620 Now we just got to get down inside it. 614 00:29:24,630 --> 00:29:25,720 -Right. -All right. 615 00:29:25,730 --> 00:29:29,160 Here we go. Let's grab some rope. 616 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,860 Gates: To get into the cave, we need to do a short rappel 617 00:29:31,870 --> 00:29:33,770 through the vertical entrance. 618 00:29:36,140 --> 00:29:38,500 Good news is this limestone is real sharp, 619 00:29:38,510 --> 00:29:41,010 so lots of good footholds, but be real careful. 620 00:29:41,010 --> 00:29:43,880 You fall here, bill, it's going to be bad news. 621 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:45,440 Okay, you ready? -Let's go. 622 00:29:45,450 --> 00:29:48,550 Gates: We anchor a rope and prepare to head down. 623 00:29:48,550 --> 00:29:54,220 ♪ 624 00:29:54,220 --> 00:29:55,950 come down. 625 00:30:00,730 --> 00:30:01,730 All right. Good. 626 00:30:01,730 --> 00:30:03,260 -I'm down. -Good, man. 627 00:30:03,260 --> 00:30:04,960 Okay. Let's see what's in here. 628 00:30:04,970 --> 00:30:06,630 -Whoa. -Oh, my word. 629 00:30:06,630 --> 00:30:08,330 Look at this place. 630 00:30:08,340 --> 00:30:16,340 ♪ 631 00:30:16,340 --> 00:30:17,940 first of all, look at this. 632 00:30:17,950 --> 00:30:20,180 Some of the pieces have broken off. 633 00:30:20,180 --> 00:30:22,480 Bill, look what's inside of them, pure crystal. 634 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,220 -Pure crystal, wow. -Look at that. 635 00:30:25,220 --> 00:30:26,550 So the idea of something being down here 636 00:30:26,550 --> 00:30:28,190 carved of crystal, totally possible. 637 00:30:28,190 --> 00:30:30,960 The source material is right here. 638 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:32,220 Okay. 639 00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:33,960 Let's see where it leads. 640 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,330 Oh, my god. It just keeps going and going. 641 00:30:39,330 --> 00:30:42,700 This is extraordinary. 642 00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:45,400 Okay. 643 00:30:45,410 --> 00:30:48,140 Yeah, tarantulas. 644 00:30:48,140 --> 00:30:50,410 Sammy said that where the crystal deity was, 645 00:30:50,410 --> 00:30:53,210 it was full of tarantulas. 646 00:30:53,210 --> 00:30:56,350 Gates: In case you're wondering if the honduran curlyhair tarantula 647 00:30:56,350 --> 00:30:57,750 is poisonous... 648 00:30:57,750 --> 00:30:59,820 Yes, yes, it is. 649 00:30:59,820 --> 00:31:02,050 I wish you told me that part of the story earlier, bill. 650 00:31:02,060 --> 00:31:11,630 ♪ 651 00:31:11,630 --> 00:31:13,700 this place is huge, keeps going. 652 00:31:13,700 --> 00:31:15,600 I got another chamber over here, bill. 653 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:24,140 ♪ 654 00:31:24,140 --> 00:31:25,640 oh, my god. Get a camera down here. 655 00:31:25,650 --> 00:31:28,750 Come here. Look at this. 656 00:31:28,750 --> 00:31:31,720 I mean, unbelievable, just a beautiful 657 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:37,260 almost intact piece of pottery. And look at it, bill. 658 00:31:37,260 --> 00:31:38,690 Look what this is. -Yeah. 659 00:31:38,690 --> 00:31:40,660 Look at this little stippling here, these little indentations. 660 00:31:40,660 --> 00:31:42,430 You can see it was all hand painted. 661 00:31:42,430 --> 00:31:44,400 This is history right here. 662 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:47,670 Look at that in place right where somebody left it. 663 00:31:47,670 --> 00:31:50,500 I mean, this is a ritual offering of some kind 664 00:31:50,500 --> 00:31:52,100 that has been down here for hundreds 665 00:31:52,110 --> 00:31:53,870 and hundreds of years undisturbed. 666 00:31:53,870 --> 00:31:56,140 The first people to see this, us, you, 667 00:31:56,140 --> 00:31:58,580 to lay eyes on this thing since it was set here. 668 00:31:58,580 --> 00:32:00,910 This right here, this is discovery, bill. 669 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:02,610 Nice work. 670 00:32:02,620 --> 00:32:05,220 Gates: This pottery is a remarkable find 671 00:32:05,220 --> 00:32:07,920 and likely predates the maya culture, 672 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,460 making it thousands of years old. 673 00:32:10,460 --> 00:32:14,790 In short, this is evidence of that lost pre-maya civilization 674 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:16,600 that hedges was pursuing. 675 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,160 So now I know what hedges felt like when he came down here, 676 00:32:19,170 --> 00:32:20,370 and he was finding things. 677 00:32:20,370 --> 00:32:21,570 Oh. Absolutely. 678 00:32:21,570 --> 00:32:23,340 Seeing stuff like this out in the bay islands 679 00:32:23,340 --> 00:32:25,100 for the first time must have been incredible. 680 00:32:25,110 --> 00:32:28,240 Yeah, before him, no one knew about any culture out here. 681 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:29,710 Yeah, look at this. 682 00:32:29,710 --> 00:32:32,510 Still things to be found today. 683 00:32:32,510 --> 00:32:34,010 This goes to show you 684 00:32:34,010 --> 00:32:37,350 how much work there is left to be done out here. 685 00:32:37,350 --> 00:32:39,120 We have astounding artifacts down here. 686 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:40,490 Right. 687 00:32:40,490 --> 00:32:42,550 And we've got crystal, but no crystal artifacts. 688 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:43,920 Not yet, no. 689 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,430 Haven't found the crystal deity, but the crystal skull, 690 00:32:46,430 --> 00:32:49,260 on the other hand, we know where that is. 691 00:32:49,260 --> 00:32:50,800 It's in your possession, 692 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,370 so I'm going to bug you about this again. 693 00:32:53,370 --> 00:32:55,500 Would you consider submitting that 694 00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:58,540 to a definitive scientific test so we can understand it? 695 00:32:58,540 --> 00:33:00,840 Well, you've been bugging me and bugging me and bugging me, josh. 696 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:02,170 Every chance I get. 697 00:33:02,180 --> 00:33:04,340 Every chance you get is right, so, but you know what? 698 00:33:04,350 --> 00:33:05,640 I'll do it. -You will. 699 00:33:05,650 --> 00:33:07,210 -I'll do it. -I got your word. 700 00:33:07,210 --> 00:33:08,310 You got my word. 701 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:09,480 All right. Good. 702 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:11,720 Bill, thank you for bringing me out here, man. 703 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:12,850 Was this an adventure? 704 00:33:12,850 --> 00:33:15,290 Oh, one for the books, one for the books. 705 00:33:15,290 --> 00:33:17,690 All right. 706 00:33:17,690 --> 00:33:19,090 Gates: Bill and I return to the surface 707 00:33:19,090 --> 00:33:21,960 where we do what indiana jones would have wanted. 708 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:25,600 We alert the local museum to the cave's location. 709 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,270 In the weeks that follow, the governor of the bay islands 710 00:33:28,270 --> 00:33:30,670 confirms the importance of the find 711 00:33:30,670 --> 00:33:33,040 and that a full-scale excavation of the cave 712 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:34,940 will commence in the future, 713 00:33:34,940 --> 00:33:37,240 and I also acquired something else important 714 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,710 in the bay islands, a promise from bill homann 715 00:33:40,710 --> 00:33:44,820 to definitively test the crystal skull. 716 00:33:44,820 --> 00:33:47,450 Bill flies to his vault to retrieve the skull 717 00:33:47,450 --> 00:33:49,090 while I leave honduras and travel 718 00:33:49,090 --> 00:33:52,660 2,300 miles away to los angeles. 719 00:33:55,630 --> 00:33:58,300 And where better to meet back up than the mineral room 720 00:33:58,300 --> 00:34:01,770 of the famed museum of natural history? 721 00:34:01,770 --> 00:34:03,540 -So today is the day. -Today is the day. 722 00:34:03,540 --> 00:34:06,710 We talked about this, and I want to show you something. 723 00:34:06,710 --> 00:34:07,840 This is the mitchell-hedges skull. 724 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:09,370 Are you ready for this? -I'm ready. 725 00:34:09,380 --> 00:34:10,440 That is it right under here. 726 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:11,740 -Right here. -Okay. 727 00:34:11,750 --> 00:34:12,810 Here we go. -Okay? 728 00:34:12,810 --> 00:34:13,950 Yeah, I'm ready. 729 00:34:16,420 --> 00:34:18,120 Wow. 730 00:34:21,660 --> 00:34:23,390 Look at that. 731 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,730 Gates: The name f.A. Mitchell-hedges is synonymous with adventure, 732 00:34:35,740 --> 00:34:39,870 but were his swashbuckling expeditions epic or exaggerated? 733 00:34:39,870 --> 00:34:43,710 Take for example his journey to the maya city of lubaantun. 734 00:34:43,710 --> 00:34:46,080 There are basically two versions of this story, 735 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,980 and they're both told by mitchell-hedges. 736 00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:51,350 Hedges wrote two autobiographies, 737 00:34:51,350 --> 00:34:53,820 the first a book called the "land of wonder and fear" 738 00:34:53,820 --> 00:34:57,660 which he published in 1931 just after his time here, 739 00:34:57,660 --> 00:35:00,030 the other toward the end of his life in the 1950s, 740 00:35:00,030 --> 00:35:02,430 the much more famous "danger, my ally." 741 00:35:02,430 --> 00:35:06,730 and in each book, he describes this event. 742 00:35:06,730 --> 00:35:07,770 Gates: In the earlier book, 743 00:35:07,770 --> 00:35:10,140 hedges is led to the lost city by natives 744 00:35:10,140 --> 00:35:14,040 who basically present it to him on a silver platter. 745 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:16,740 Twenty years later, though, the story changes, 746 00:35:16,740 --> 00:35:18,380 and he is the one who discovers 747 00:35:18,380 --> 00:35:21,780 lubaantun using his wits and a machete. 748 00:35:21,780 --> 00:35:24,520 In the first version, hedges is a traveler. 749 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:26,820 In the second, he's the hero. 750 00:35:26,820 --> 00:35:28,750 Gates: Two versions of one adventure, 751 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,390 and like all things associated with mitchell-hedges, 752 00:35:31,390 --> 00:35:34,360 the truth lies somewhere in the unknown. 753 00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:48,070 Gates: I'm in the los angeles county museum of natural history 754 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,640 with bill homann who has agreed to submit 755 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:55,350 the infamous crystal skull of doom to rigorous testing. 756 00:35:55,350 --> 00:35:56,520 This is the mitchell-hedges skull. 757 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:57,580 Are you ready for this? 758 00:35:57,580 --> 00:35:59,280 Yeah, I'm ready. 759 00:36:01,990 --> 00:36:03,720 Wow. 760 00:36:06,890 --> 00:36:08,230 Look at that. 761 00:36:12,170 --> 00:36:14,930 It really does feel like it pulls you inside. 762 00:36:14,940 --> 00:36:16,900 You can see a photo of it, and that's one thing, 763 00:36:16,900 --> 00:36:18,200 but when you see it in person, 764 00:36:18,210 --> 00:36:19,470 it's a whole different thing, isn't it? 765 00:36:19,470 --> 00:36:22,910 It really is, and the way the light refracts in it 766 00:36:22,910 --> 00:36:24,940 is kind of dizzying. 767 00:36:24,950 --> 00:36:27,680 Gates: Bill and I take the skull in to the museum's lab 768 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:29,550 where mineralogist and geochemist 769 00:36:29,550 --> 00:36:32,550 dr. Aaron celestian is waiting to receive us. 770 00:36:32,550 --> 00:36:33,590 This is bill homann. 771 00:36:33,590 --> 00:36:34,790 Bill, this is dr. Aaron celestian. 772 00:36:34,790 --> 00:36:35,950 He's going to be helping us out today. 773 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:37,360 -Definitely. -Where do we start? 774 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:38,820 We start right over here with that microscope. 775 00:36:38,830 --> 00:36:40,490 Please, lead the way. 776 00:36:40,490 --> 00:36:41,590 Mm-hmm. 777 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:45,960 If you can, can you slide that underneath the microscope? 778 00:36:45,970 --> 00:36:47,700 Sure. 779 00:36:52,140 --> 00:36:54,470 Okay, one of the things I was looking to find out about -- 780 00:36:54,470 --> 00:36:56,880 is it made from a single piece of crystal? 781 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:59,910 I would say yes, it is made from a single piece of crystal. 782 00:36:59,910 --> 00:37:02,910 If I just shine the laser at this piece of paper or this box, 783 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:04,520 I just see a single spot. -Right. 784 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:06,320 But when the laser interacts with the crystal, 785 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:10,290 especially a crystal of quartz, that spot should split into two. 786 00:37:14,660 --> 00:37:16,830 This is telling me that this is a single block of crystal. 787 00:37:16,830 --> 00:37:19,660 If it was multiple crystal, you would not see 788 00:37:19,670 --> 00:37:21,430 the splaying of light in this direction. 789 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:22,870 So this was made from a single piece. 790 00:37:22,870 --> 00:37:25,200 Yes. 791 00:37:25,210 --> 00:37:27,910 Gates: So far, hedges' story that the skull was forged 792 00:37:27,910 --> 00:37:30,640 from a single piece of crystal stands up, 793 00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:32,910 but to find out when the skull was made, 794 00:37:32,910 --> 00:37:36,650 dr. Celestian wants to dig deeper. 795 00:37:36,650 --> 00:37:39,650 If this was made by the maya or pre-maya, 796 00:37:39,650 --> 00:37:43,390 we would expect that it was made using stone tools. 797 00:37:43,390 --> 00:37:45,190 If it was made in the early 20th century, 798 00:37:45,190 --> 00:37:49,030 as some people have suggested, we might find modern toolmarks 799 00:37:49,030 --> 00:37:51,200 or evidence of modern abrasives, right? 800 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:52,930 It is possible, yes. 801 00:37:55,900 --> 00:37:57,800 Gates: We take the crystal mandible and bring it 802 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,270 to an x-ray fluorescence microscope 803 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:02,810 while the rest of the skull is run 804 00:38:02,810 --> 00:38:04,780 through a spectroscopy machine. 805 00:38:04,780 --> 00:38:07,610 The results should tell us every element present 806 00:38:07,610 --> 00:38:09,480 in and on the crystal. 807 00:38:14,020 --> 00:38:17,790 Vast majority of what is present is silicon. 808 00:38:17,790 --> 00:38:21,360 We're also seeing traces of other elements like calcium. 809 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,730 Calcium is coming from probably from the teeth, strong teeth. 810 00:38:24,730 --> 00:38:26,860 We're not on the teeth right now, but... 811 00:38:26,870 --> 00:38:30,340 That was my attempt at a mineral joke, aaron. 812 00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:31,600 That's all I had. 813 00:38:33,140 --> 00:38:36,680 Gates: The elements in the scan show that the skull's origins may be 814 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:40,650 in central or south america which may fit hedges' claims, 815 00:38:40,650 --> 00:38:43,580 but there's nothing on here to definitively date it. 816 00:38:43,580 --> 00:38:45,020 The only thing left to do 817 00:38:45,020 --> 00:38:49,790 is look at the markings on the skull itself. 818 00:38:49,790 --> 00:38:53,290 What jumps out at me is that the striations 819 00:38:53,290 --> 00:38:58,100 and the scratching are all unbelievably parallel. 820 00:38:58,100 --> 00:39:00,170 They're all going in the same direction. 821 00:39:00,170 --> 00:39:02,800 This is telling me that it wasn't a rag or something 822 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:06,170 that somebody was just polishing like you polish a car. 823 00:39:06,170 --> 00:39:09,640 Here, they're always going in one direction. 824 00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:14,680 My analysis of the marks means that it was polished 825 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:17,420 using a unidirectional technique 826 00:39:17,420 --> 00:39:20,120 like a polishing wheel of some kind 827 00:39:22,220 --> 00:39:24,560 and also machine polished by humans. 828 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:25,960 So in your mind, no doubt, 829 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:27,390 there's a machine polish happening here. 830 00:39:27,390 --> 00:39:29,190 There's some sort of uniform polishing. 831 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:30,600 -That's correct. -Right. 832 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:31,660 If it was hand polished, 833 00:39:31,670 --> 00:39:32,860 it would have a different signature. 834 00:39:32,870 --> 00:39:34,770 That's right. 835 00:39:34,770 --> 00:39:37,440 Gates: Since the maya and other pre-colombian civilizations 836 00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:39,370 before them lacked the wheel, 837 00:39:39,370 --> 00:39:41,640 uniform polishing marks like this 838 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,580 would seem to be direct evidence that the skull was made 839 00:39:44,580 --> 00:39:47,710 in modern times by a high-speed machine, 840 00:39:47,710 --> 00:39:51,050 likely one with high-grade diamond-coated bits, 841 00:39:51,050 --> 00:39:53,990 but whether this scientific evidence convinces bill 842 00:39:53,990 --> 00:39:55,290 is less certain. 843 00:39:55,290 --> 00:39:57,360 Does seeing this sway you at all to believe 844 00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,220 it was made in the 20th century? 845 00:39:59,230 --> 00:40:00,530 -No. -It doesn't. 846 00:40:00,530 --> 00:40:02,060 Not even one bit, no. 847 00:40:02,060 --> 00:40:03,930 I believe it was made by someone 848 00:40:03,930 --> 00:40:06,130 that had a higher level of technology 849 00:40:06,130 --> 00:40:07,470 than we have today, yes. 850 00:40:07,470 --> 00:40:09,100 Which is a great idea, 851 00:40:09,100 --> 00:40:10,600 but the problem, of course, with that 852 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:12,740 is we don't really have evidence of that technology. 853 00:40:12,740 --> 00:40:15,070 Yeah, well, the thing is it doesn't really matter 854 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:17,340 because one person has their opinion, 855 00:40:17,340 --> 00:40:18,640 and this one has that one. 856 00:40:18,650 --> 00:40:19,940 Sometimes with science, though, 857 00:40:19,950 --> 00:40:21,410 you have to listen to the monitor 858 00:40:21,420 --> 00:40:23,580 over there that's hooked up to the laser, don't you? 859 00:40:23,580 --> 00:40:25,980 Well, it's telling me exactly what I believe. 860 00:40:25,990 --> 00:40:29,290 I believe that it wasn't some mayan 861 00:40:29,290 --> 00:40:31,720 sitting there polishing by hand. 862 00:40:31,730 --> 00:40:35,860 It had to be brought there by a civilization 863 00:40:35,860 --> 00:40:37,800 that had advanced technology. 864 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:39,660 Even though we have no evidence for that technology... 865 00:40:39,670 --> 00:40:42,370 A lot of it's being hidden, but yes. 866 00:40:42,370 --> 00:40:44,700 When you see the skull, and you're with the skull, 867 00:40:44,700 --> 00:40:47,740 and you feel that energy, it's a gift. 868 00:40:47,740 --> 00:40:50,180 It's a blessing. It's a wonderful thing. 869 00:40:50,180 --> 00:40:51,510 That's what matters. 870 00:40:51,510 --> 00:40:53,040 Gates: I admire bill's spirit, 871 00:40:53,050 --> 00:40:55,080 but I also believe his unwavering focus 872 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:58,720 on the more fantastic parts of hedges' journey overshadows, 873 00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:01,220 I believe, hedges' true legacy. 874 00:41:01,220 --> 00:41:04,560 He bravely traveled deep into the jungles of honduras, 875 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:06,860 exposing vast maya ruins 876 00:41:06,860 --> 00:41:09,630 and sailed into the uncharted bay islands, 877 00:41:09,630 --> 00:41:12,360 uncovering exquisite pottery and relics 878 00:41:12,370 --> 00:41:15,300 that alerted the world to a barely known culture 879 00:41:15,300 --> 00:41:17,300 that predated the maya. 880 00:41:17,300 --> 00:41:19,070 In our own journey, we, too, 881 00:41:19,070 --> 00:41:21,640 uncovered evidence that this ancient culture 882 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,640 is still largely forgotten with a treasure trove of history 883 00:41:25,650 --> 00:41:28,780 waiting to be shared with the modern world. 884 00:41:28,780 --> 00:41:31,620 But hedges became obsessed that this civilization 885 00:41:31,620 --> 00:41:33,620 was advanced beyond reason, 886 00:41:33,620 --> 00:41:37,220 and the skull has become the embodiment of that idea. 887 00:41:37,220 --> 00:41:39,620 Like that old poster in my bedroom read, 888 00:41:39,630 --> 00:41:43,330 "if adventure has a name, it must be indiana jones," 889 00:41:43,330 --> 00:41:47,530 or f.A. Mitchell-hedges, a man of daring adventure 890 00:41:47,530 --> 00:41:49,800 and, yes, tall tales. 891 00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:51,370 As for the skull of doom, 892 00:41:51,370 --> 00:41:55,440 bill says one look into its eyes will reveal its true power. 893 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,680 Care to give it a try?