All language subtitles for The UnXplained S01E14 Mysterious Stones 1080p HULU WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A miraculous meteorite

falling from the heavens.

A priceless gemstone

‐with a deadly curse.
‐(blades clanging)

And a chunk of sandstone
considered so sacred

‐that wars have been fought
‐(horse neighs)

‐to protect it.
‐(shouting)

Throughout history,

many have insisted
that simple stones

can do everything
from choosing a king

to causing death.

So, what is it
about rocks and stones

that inspires some people
to worship them?

Well,

that is what we'll try
and find out.

♪ ♪

Mecca.

It is home to one of the world's
largest religious structures,

the Grand Mosque.

In the center courtyard
of this immense edifice

stands a 43‐foot‐tall
granite cube known as the Kaaba,

the House of God.

Five times a day,
every day,

almost two billion Muslims
across the world

turn and pray towards
this striking black monument,

the holiest and most sacred site
in all of Islam.

Why?

Because embedded in the eastern
corner of this shrine

is perhaps the most sacred stone
in all the world,

the Black Stone of Mecca.

For the world's
1.8 billion Muslims,

this stone is crucial.

When Muslims face
in the direction of Mecca,

they face in the direction
of that stone.

ANDREW COLLINS:
This object,

as simple as it might be,

is of incredible significance
to the Muslim faith,

because it is said
to have fallen from heaven

at the commands of Allah

at the time of Adam and Eve.

And it was said to have marked
the position

of the first temple,

which obviously becomes
Mecca itself.

(thunder rumbling)

HUSSAIN:
Then the story is that stone
gets lost during the flood,

because Muslims have
the same flood story

that Jews do
from the Hebrew Bible.

Then that stone for Muslims
is rediscovered by Abraham.

So, Abraham,
with his son Ishmael,

build in Mecca

the first place of prayer.

That's why Mecca
is important to Muslims,

because this is the first place
of prayer to the one God.

Over time, it gets worn away.

The building gets rebuilt.

In 605,
the prophet Muhammad himself

is the one that places
that stone in its place.

That's part
of what gives it power.

SHATNER:
Each year,

millions of Muslims
make a pilgrimage,

or hajj, to the Kaaba.

Once there,

visitors take part in a series
of rituals called Tawaf,

which includes circling
the Kaaba seven times,

in the belief that it will bring
about true humility

by linking them with God.

The Black Stone

is therefore one
of the focal points

of the hajj ceremony

that every Muslim
certainly tries to achieve

during their lifetime.

And they will then enter
the central court of Mecca

and, if possible,
try to kiss the Black Stone

in emulation of Muhammad,

who was said to have set it up
in this position

in the year 605 AD.

This is
the most mystical encounter

with any material object that a
loyal Muslim can possibly have.

They're in such
a hypnotic state,

such a transcendent state,

and they use the corner
of the building to make sure

it's seven times,

to have the full effect
of the ritual activity.

With Muslims in Mecca,
the Black Stone has

the power to communicate
with people.

And I mean literally talk
with people.

There's two million people
nowadays

that make that pilgrimage.

You might get trampled,
and, unfortunately,

there have been people
who have been trampled to death.

But that's so important
that it connects you back

to the historic past.

TOK THOMPSON:
The Black Stone is

a major material focus,

the most sacred object

in one of the world's
most major religions,

and it also was sacred
to other people.

HUSSAIN:
So people who are outside
the Islamic tradition

may risk their lives
to travel to see this.

And if they're found out,
they may well be killed.

You have these accounts
of people

like Captain
Richard Francis Burton,

one of these famous explorers

who disguises himself
as a Muslim.

There's a power there
for him to see the ritual,

to see the stone,
to handle this thing.

Richard Francis Burton goes in,
sees this,

is able to come back out
and writes about this.

So you can see from him
the importance of this place

because of the connection
to the biblical prophets.

THOMPSON:
Certainly, the stories
that have been built around it

really pull people in.

And some people suggest
that maybe it's something

in the stone itself,
uh, that pulls people in.

SHATNER:
The stone itself
pulling people in?

But how?

For the millions,
if not billions, of Muslims

who have made their pilgrimage
to the Kaaba,

there's no doubt that the Black
Stone has an inexorable power

that seems to draw them
into its orbit.

And according to some experts,

that's because the Black Stone
is not of this world.

Muslims believe that this was
sent down by God to Earth.

If we're scientific,
we may call that a meteorite.

If we're not scientific,
we may call that miraculous.

Here's this stone
that comes from the heavens.

AARON CELESTIAN:
When a meteorite hits the Earth
and somebody witnessed it fall,

and‐and they were
to go to that location,

there's a variety of things
that they might be able to find.

If the stone falls
in a sandy area, for example,

there might be a lot of heat
associated with the meteorite

as it falls,
and that could cause a fusion

of the sand to cause
some kind of glass to form.

And so, when you walk up
onto it, you might find

some interesting new features
that you probably wouldn't

have seen in that particular
part of the‐the world before.

Meteorites arrive
from outer space.

Being exposed to cosmic rays,
they're slightly radioactive.

To people not exposed
to electromagnetic radiation,

they would‐‐ might have been
able to even feel that buzz

from this rock,
from the radiation,

the beta particles especially.

You know, whether you believe
it was sent by God

or whether you believe
it was a random act,

it has literally
extraterrestrial origins.

And so, that creates
a real power there.

SHATNER:
Could the Black Stone of Mecca
really have the power

to physically affect people
who come near it?

Well, the truth is,
we may never know for sure,

because no one has ever been
officially allowed

to inspect or analyze it.

So, there are a lot of exciting
and interesting questions

about the Black Stone.

I think the first initial one
is, is it actually a meteorite?

A lot of people propose that,
and there's some evidence,

particularly from a local impact
crater, that it came from there.

And is there some sort of
radiation energy that it emits

or is coming from it that
we just don't understand yet?

So it would be really amazing
to have the opportunity

to analyze the Black Stone.

There are obviously challenges,

both sort of social
as well as scientific.

It's in the Muslim world,
it's in a very sacred place,

it's a very sacred stone.

So, bringing in scientists
and doing careful analyses

have those social challenges
and would be difficult.

HUSSAIN:
Even if you don't believe,
uh, as a Muslim,

that this, you know,
comes from God,

and has this religious
significance,

you understand the power
of this object,

that for at least 1,400 years,

Muslims have been circling,
as they do their prayers.

There's a tremendous power
there, we want to touch that.

SHATNER:
Millions of people,

drawn to a mysterious stone,

imbued with strange physical
powers, from another world?

A far‐fetched notion, perhaps.

But one that many people
have believed in for centuries.

Not unlike the belief
in another sacred object,

one that may have the ability
to bring people back

from the brink of death.

SHATNER:
While exploring the remains
of an ancient Maya ruin,

English adventurer
Frederick Albert Mitchell‐Hedges

and his daughter Anna find

a human skull
carved out of pure quartz.

BILL HOMANN:
It was high noon and she was
at the top of the pyramid.

And the way the sun came in, the
way the rocks had moved on that,

there was just a small opening,
and the light from the sun

went through and it hit
the top of the skull.

And, uh, she ran down
and she's all excited.

So they got a small hole
big enough, and Anna was chosen,

and they tied a rope to her
and put her down into the hole.

And she came up
with the top of the skull.

When the natives saw it, it was
like their god had returned.

They all started crying

and kissing the earth
and everything.

They were just so excited.

Mitchell‐Hedges seeing this, he
presented it to the high priest.

And they put it in an altar,
and for 24 hours a day,

they burned flames around
the‐the crystal skull.

SHATNER:
But even more extraordinary
than the skull itself

was the fact
that a legend came with it,

one so amazing
that Frederick Mitchell‐Hedges

and his daughter Anna

didn't know whether they should
rejoice in their discovery

or be intimidated
by the burden of it.

HOMANN:
The legend of
the crystal skulls.

This was given
to F. A. Mitchell‐Hedges

by a medicine woman
back in Lubaantun.

Mayans say there are 13 skulls.

And 13 skulls have been placed

in various parts of the world

but possibly on
the different energy centers.

And when they're all activated,

all 13 of them,
then they say that it's a time

of peace and harmony
in the world.

What I think is,
all those crystal skulls

have a unique purpose.

So I'm not exactly sure
where all the 13 skulls are.

You have to see it
to really appreciate

the Mitchell‐Hedges skull.

It's, it's a pretty amazing
piece of crystal just in itself,

and then the‐the workmanship
that went into it.

How it was made
is really a mystery.

SHATNER:
Weighing approximately
12 pounds,

the crystal skull
is remarkably accurate

in its anatomical detail.

CLIFF DUNNING:
They've tried to analyze
how it was cut,

but they do not know,
to this day.

The technology
is so sophisticated,

it's almost like
from another world.

MARTIN ETTINGTON:
A lot of crystal skulls
are actually known as fakes,

because they were produced
in the 19th century

using modern machinery,

and microscopes were able
to show tool marks.

But the skull in question
that we're talking about

is one that they can't find
tool marks on it.

So, if any of the crystal skulls
are actual pre‐Mayan artifacts,

then the Mitchell‐Hedges skull
probably is the one.

SHATNER:
If modern technology
is unable to replicate

the Mitchell‐Hedges skull,
then how was it created?

To find out, teams of scientists
were brought in

to conduct a number of tests.

DUNNING:
At one point in the 1960s,
a IBM engineer

named Marcel Vogel
began testing this skull.

What he believed
was that it is filled,

uh, like a microchip,

with the history of the world
at that time.

So, it's a very old,
rough computer, basically.

SHATNER:
A quartz crystal computer?

Storing history
like a hard drive?

It seems impossible.

But in 2016, researchers
at the University of Southampton

were able to use a piece
of quartz,

similar to that found
in the skull,

to perform just such a function.

CELESTIAN:
What they did is,
they used lasers to form dots

with, inside
of a quartz crystal,

at different levels within it.

And the pattern that they print
is the data,

you know, like zeros and ones

that we use for computers
right now.

You could store about
360 terabytes of information.

Even if humanity were to go
completely extinct,

this data and this information
would last

as long as the Earth would last.

SHATNER:
If it's true that
the Mitchell‐Hedges skull

could be storing vast amounts
of information,

what secrets might it divulge
if, or when,

someone figures out
how to decrypt it?

As the caretaker of the
Mitchell‐Hedges crystal skull,

it's my job
carrying on the tradition,

to let it out for people to see
and be around and experience it.

Some people, uh, claim
the crystal skull

has given them premonitions
or visions of the future.

But there are many people
who believe

that the Mitchell‐Hedges
crystal skull

was actually made
in ancient times,

originally as a healing device.

SHATNER:
A healing device?

Is it possible
that the Skull of Doom

can actually have the power
to save lives?

According to one woman,
the answer is yes.

A local singer
and costume designer

named Phoenix Rising
is going about her work day

when, out of the blue,

she's struck with
an intense migraine headache.

And although she has a lifelong
history of migraines,

for some reason
this one feels different.

RISING:
I went to the emergency room,

I said to the nurse,
"Something is going on."

She put me in for a scan,
and when she came out,

her face was white as a ghost.

And literally it was
three, two, one, and...

paramedics, everybody, boom‐‐

IVs, the whole thing‐‐

and I was having
a brain hemorrhage.

So I spent the next two weeks
in ICU.

They were trying to figure out
how in the world I was alive,

breathing, being able to see,
being able to walk.

SHATNER:
After hearing about
Phoenix's condition,

a Native American Pueblo elder,

who claimed to have
once been a keeper

of the Mitchell‐Hedges skull,

offered to send her
a piece of quartz

that had been kept
in close proximity

to the crystal skull
for some time.

RISING:
He got me on the phone.
His name is John Francis,

and he said, "I'm gonna send you
a quartz crystal

"that's been charged from
this Mitchell‐Hedges skull.

"I want you to put it in water

"and in the morning
I want you to drink it,

"and you're gonna drink it
every morning,

and I want you to see
what's gonna happen."

At this point
I'm trying to recover,

so I'm willing absolutely
to do anything.

SHATNER:
Although skeptical, Phoenix felt
she had nothing to lose

by trying the bizarre remedy.

For two days she followed
the medicine man's instructions,

seemingly without results.

And then, on the third day,

something unexpected happened.

RISING:
I drank the water
in the morning,

and probably about five,
six‐ish minutes later,

I literally hear

a sound inside that went...

(makes vrooming sound)

...like a vibration.

This quartz was healing me
and repairing my body,

my cells, my water, my DNA.

And when I went back
to the hospital,

the doctors were absolutely,
yes, 100% shocked

that I was able
to drain the blood out

and that I was healing.

SHATNER:
Whether Phoenix's
shocking recovery

made sense
to the doctors or not,

it appeared undeniable

that her condition had improved
due to the unique properties

of the crystal skull.

RISING:
For me, I definitely know
that it unlocked something

in my brain that healed me

from a life‐threatening
condition that then allowed me

to move into success
in my life, to be here.

Could the crystal which forms
the Mitchell‐Hedges skull

really possess
healing properties?

Or are the skull's
mystic powers,

uh, only in the mind?

Perhaps the answer can be found

by examining one of
the most valuable gemstones

in the world,
and which many believe

is cursed by a kind
of dark energy.

SHATNER:
Over one million people turn out
for the funeral procession

of Elizabeth Bowes‐Lyon,
otherwise known

as the Queen Mother
of Great Britain's

Queen Elizabeth II.

Atop her casket, in addition

to ceremonial flowers
and her coat of arms,

is the crown she wore

at her husband King George VI's
coronation in 1937.

Although it is adorned with
an estimated 2,800 diamonds,

one in particular attracts
more awe and fascination

from the crowd than the rest.

The diamond known
as the Koh‐i‐Noor.

NEWSMAN:
That, an imperial crown,

and at its center, in the front,

the most famous diamond
in the world,

the Koh‐i‐Noor diamond.

The name means
"mountain of light."

Since 1895, it has only been
worn by a woman‐‐

by Queen Mary,

the Queen Mother's
mother‐in‐law,

and then
by the Queen Mother herself.

SHATNER:
Measuring a massive 105 karats

and estimated to be worth
over $1 billion,

the Koh‐i‐Noor is one of
the largest cut diamonds

in the world.

And according to historians,

it is also
one of the most feared.

The Koh‐i‐Noor diamond,

uh, is one of the, uh,
more impressive diamonds

that have ever been unearthed
in the history of humankind.

It was unearthed
somewhere in India,

which was the main spot
that diamonds were unearthed.

But this particular diamond,

it has a very, very long

and sort of tragic
and bloody history.

And there are legends
attached to this,

where it is held to be accursed,

and bring curses to especially
any man who touches this.

Uh, which is why,
even in the British royalty,

it remains a part
of the, um, crown jewels,

uh, for women only.

SHATNER:
A curse on any man
who touches it?

But what could give
a beautiful stone

such a dark power?

Many believe the answer
can be found

by examining the Koh‐i‐Noor's
storied history,

which, according to records,

dates all the way back
to 14th century India.

The Koh‐i‐Noor really
catches your eye.

It's, it's like
a hundred‐karat stone.

But what really catches your eye
is the history.

The diamond was really
first identified

after Mogul Empire invaded
what's now northern India.

They settled in Delhi
after their conquest

and started
collecting gemstones.

Shah Jahan became the ruler
in 1626.

He designed this throne called
the Peacock Throne

that was in the tradition
of biblical throne,

like King Solomon.

It took seven years and cost
three to four times more

than it cost
to build the Taj Mahal.

And you can understand
the immense expense

that this took to create.

And then,
at the centerpiece of this,

was the Koh‐i‐Noor
at the very top.

SHATNER:
In 1739,

after 100 years of peace,

a merciless Persian ruler
named Nader Shah invaded India.

Tens of thousands died in
his relentless quest for power.

Following his savage victory,
Nader Shah seized the Koh‐i‐Noor

and had it placed
on his personal armband

as a symbol of his might.

SHOR:
Nader Shah wasn't going

to keep it in the chair.

It was going to be
with him at all times.

Now, Nader Shah became
a very, very repressive ruler.

And even his allies
began to hate him.

And they poisoned him.

After Nader Shah's death,
the diamond passed

through various rulers who‐who
died in very violent ways.

SHATNER:
In the years after,
the Koh‐i‐Noor would pass

from one ruler to another,

almost always drenched
in the blood of its prior owner,

as if the diamond itself
demanded a mortal sacrifice

in order to possess it.

Because of battles, um, it fell
from one person to a next,

and started to build up
this, uh, legend

that it had some kind of a curse
associated with it.

Because as soon as it was
in the hands of one ruler,

they would be killed
or their kingdom would be lost

and it would be passed on
to another.

SHOR:
Now, these rulers were wearing
the Koh‐i‐Noor as the armband

to be a protector.

And this is probably
where the curse legend came in,

because the diamond certainly
wasn't protecting them.

COLLINS:
And then, in the 19th century,
when the British were in India,

it fell into the hands
of the British Army,

and it was said
that from that point onwards,

that no male should
ever wear this diamond.

SHATNER:
But is it actually possible
for an inanimate object

to be imbued
with so‐called dark energy?

Human beings are unique in that
we imbue objects with meaning,

and so if we're bringing
a darkness from within ourselves

and projecting it
onto that object,

then that's what results in this
thing that we call a curse.

SHATNER:
Is the Koh‐i‐Noor's ability
to make men kill

in order to possess it
all just a legend?

Or is there
any scientific evidence

to prove that its deadly
reputation is justified?

So, diamonds are really good at
taking heat away from a source

and transmitting it elsewhere.

If you've never held
a large diamond in your life,

and if you first encountered
the stone

and you're putting it
on your chest or on a necklace,

it would feel much colder
than anything that you'd have,

because the heat is being
sucked out of your skin

and transmitted
through this diamond.

It could be one reason
why somebody might feel like

the stone has got
some magical properties

or why it might be cursed.

COLLINS:
As long as we believe
that something bad will happen

if a male heir actually uses
this or wears it,

then I think that it needs
to be taken seriously.

So, very clearly, no British
king will ever wear it.

SHATNER:
It has been said
that a diamond is forever.

If that's true, could the
Koh‐i‐Noor's supposed curse

also be eternal?

Either way, it's doubtful
we're going to see a king

wearing the Koh‐i‐Noor
any time soon.

Luckily, the British
have another method

of coronating their monarchs.

One that also involves
a mysterious, sacred stone.

Only, this one doesn't
kill kings, it creates them.

SHATNER:
Here on St. Andrew's Day,

Scotland's official
national holiday,

a long‐awaited ceremony
is finally taking place.

The occasion will
finally see the return,

after more than 700 years,

of one of Scotland's
most important artifacts:

a roughly two‐by‐one‐foot
sandstone block,

weighing 335 pounds,
called the Stone of Scone.

Or as it's known according
to legend, the Stone of Destiny.

THOMPSON: The stone itself
is just a stone,

uh, somewhat
unremarkable‐looking,

and yet the stories of that
stone have been so powerful,

uh, reflecting so many wars

and‐and contests between nations
for hundreds of years.

And another fascinating aspect
of this is that we know

that this stone
was religiously important.

The Stone of Scone has really
interesting religious roots.

And this goes back
to the biblical tradition.

The patriarch Jacob in the Book
of Genesis has this dream

at this place called Beit El,
literally the "House of God."

He's sleeping, and he uses
stones to rest his head on.

There's a tradition that says
Jeremiah, a later prophet,

takes this stone to Ireland.

The stone then finds
its way to Scotland.

SHATNER:
In 840 AD, a nobleman
named Kenneth MacAlpin

brought the sandstone slab
to the medieval town of Scone.

According to Scottish legend,
it was the stone itself

that proclaimed him Kenneth I,
the original king of Scotland.

According to the stories, uh,
when the rightful ruler

would place their foot on the
stone, the stone would speak out

and proclaim them as
the rightful ruler of the land.

HUSSAIN:
It's used in Scottish rituals
as a way of coronation.

It's this stone that
is really key, and the idea here

is that the monarch isn't
just selected by the people;

God has chosen the monarch.

SHATNER:
For centuries, the Stone
of Destiny was considered

not only one of the greatest
treasures in all of Scotland

but also a legitimate means

by which someone
could rule the country.

Which is why, in 1296,

the English monarch Edward I
wanted it,

and the Scottish throne,
for himself.

In the 13th century
the English come in and conquer.

We always talk about conquerors
taking out valuable objects,

and we think of gold,
diamonds, jewels.

We don't think about stones.

But what's one of the first
things that they take?

Well, they take this stone,
the Stone of Destiny.

YOUNG:
The reason Edward I
took the stone

was to demoralize the Scots.

This was the treasure
of Scotland,

this was the center
of their power system.

And now he controlled it and had
himself crowned on this stone,

and then could declare
that he was not only the king

of the English but the king
of the Scots as well.

COLLINS:
It was placed
in Westminster Abbey

beneath a Coronation Chair
known as Edward's Seat.

And thereafter,

it was used in the coronations
of all English rulers.

HUSSAIN:
Edward basically builds it
into a chair,

covers it over with‐with wood,

and it becomes a throne,
essentially,

but the idea is that the power
comes from this stone,

the Stone of Destiny.

SHATNER:
Destiny,

the idea that the course
of one's entire life

has been predetermined by a
power beyond our understanding.

Back in the Middle Ages,
it might make sense

that people would think
that greatness

could be bestowed upon someone
by a divine force.

But what is it about this
unremarkable slab of rock

that still holds
such importance today?

We tend to think of these
rituals as somehow going back

to older, superstitious people,

but the fact that the British
in the 21st century

still will proclaim the monarch
on the throne of this stone,

that becomes really important.

Th‐These are not ancient,
archaic people

who don't know anything
about the world.

These are modern 21st century
Brits who are still saying,

you know, that‐that we still
need to be able to show

that our queen or our king
comes from this divine‐‐

that God has chosen this person.

SHATNER:
Nearly every British king
or queen since the 14th century

has been coronated
on the Stone of Destiny.

It was last used in 1953,
during the coronation ceremony

of the current monarch
Queen Elizabeth II.

But as a growing number
of Scottish people

have begun to speculate,

was Elizabeth's coronation
legitimate?

Because, as many have
come to believe,

the Stone of Destiny
may not be the real thing.

NEWSMAN: A Christmas Day
sensation at Westminster Abbey.

The Stone of Destiny, which had
been there for some 600 years,

was stolen
from the Coronation Chair.

COLLINS:
In 1950,

a group of Scottish students
actually got into

Westminster Abbey
and stole the Stone of Scone

and took it back to the altar

of Arbroath Abbey in Scotland,

and thus giving it into the
hands of the Church of Scotland.

The Church of Scotland then gave
the stone back to England.

However, there is a strong rumor
that the original stone

never reached Westminster,

a‐and that the one
that is there was a fake.

However, whether this story is
true or not, we may never know.

SHATNER:
A fake Stone of Destiny?

It's an interesting claim,

but one that is not
without its problems.

Because when the English
returned the Stone of Destiny

to the Scots,
they did so on one condition.

HUSSAIN:
In 1996, when the stone
is returned back to Scotland,

there's an agreement that,
"Okay, you have it,

but we'll use it the next time
we coronate a monarch."

COLLINS:
The point is that
we believe in its power.

We believe in its potency.

And I'm sure
that when Charles or Wills

are themselves crowned
kings of Britain,

that they will themselves use
that coronation stone,

and they will believe wholly
in its potency.

Could the Stone of Scone
really possess a mystic power?

Or is its power merely
based on a legend?

A fairy tale meant
to inspire awe

in the weak‐minded.

Well, believe it or not,
some ancient legends

are based on fact,
much like the stone

located in an Italian chapel
that some believe

contains a power from heaven.

SHATNER:
Near the rustic town
of Chiusdino

stands the haunting ruins
of San Galgano Abbey.

Constructed around 1220 AD
to memorialize

the Catholic saint
Galgano Guidotti,

the abbey's once proud roof
has decayed,

leaving its soaring cathedral
exposed to the ravages of time.

But nearby,
inside a round mausoleum,

originally built to entomb
St. Galgano,

is a sacred artifact
so remarkable

that it has been encased
beneath a protective shell:

the sword in the stone.

So, many people are aware
of the Arthurian legend,

you know, the sword
in the stone.

But this is a story
that comes much earlier.

You can go to this chapel
in Italy

and see this sword that's stuck
in the middle of this stone.

And you're thinking
how did that sword get there?

SHATNER:
For centuries,
visitors have struggled

with the same question:

how did a medieval sword,

which were known to be brittle
and often break easily

on the battlefield,

come to be driven
nearly up to its hilt

in solid rock?

According to local legends,

St. Galgano had
some divine help.

COLLINS:
Galgano was said to have been
a ruthless character.

He started receiving visions
of the archangel Michael,

and these visions told him
to change his ways,

become a more pious character,

and he ignored them until he was
passing this local landmark

known as Montesiepi.

HUSSAIN:
In the story,
Galgano is on his horse,

and the horse takes him
up to the top of this hill.

And the horse refuses
to go any further.

Michael appears to him
and tells him

that he is to serve the church
and to renounce his wealth.

Galgano basically says,
"It's just as easy for me

"to renounce my wealth
as it is for my sword

to go into this stone."

COLLINS:
At this point,
he got out his sword...

and stuck it down into the rock.

And it penetrated through
the rock, it was said,

like a knife going
through butter.

And thereafter it remained
stuck within the rock,

like King Arthur's Excalibur.

SHATNER:
Legends of both King Arthur
and St. Galgano

have long been considered myths
illustrating the power

of the divine, rather than
actual historical accounts.

But unlike Excalibur,
this sword in the stone

is one that can be seen.

In fact, it's been
scientifically proven

to be an authentic
medieval blade.

HUSSAIN:
What's interesting is that,
in the 21st century,

they did some testing
on the sword

and realized that, no,
this is actually a sword

from the 12th century,

that the material is
actually 12th century.

So whether the thing
actually happened or not,

it's certainly‐‐
the‐the pieces are of the time.

SHATNER:
Even though it appears
the San Galgano sword

is indeed authentic,

there's one question
that remains unanswered.

Because, despite our advanced
technology and understanding,

we still don't know how
this simple metal blade

was able to be driven
so perfectly into stone.

It's pretty hard to believe
that this piece of metal

could be driven into a stone.

When I'm out mineral collecting,
I commonly take my rock spike,

I'll take a hammer, and I will
drive that spike into stone.

When I'm hammering, I'm pounding
and pounding and pounding,

and the metal is deforming

every time I strike it
with the hammer.

Now, to get a sword
into the stone,

but on one motion
without any other deformation

of the sword taking place,
without any deformation

of the rock taking place...

that would be
absolutely miraculous.

HUSSAIN:
To become a saint,
you have to have

miracles that are tested.

In Galgano's case,

this is the, the miracle.

The rock opens,
it accepts this sword.

And so you have the sword
in this stone.

Galgano, just a few years
after his death,

is made a saint.

I think, for religious people,
miracles precisely are that.

They're miraculous.
There is no explanation for this

that's scientific,
that's rational.

You can say that if you take
this sword and hit this rock

a million times,
on one of those tries

you might go through.

From the point of view
of the religious,

that's not the argument.

The argument is that
this is miraculous.

This is completely outside
our understanding

of how the world normally is.

This is an item of faith.

And items of faith
are something

that affects us deeply,

affects us within
our human consciousness.

It's something that we either
believe in or we don't.

And if we do believe it,
it gives it power,

it gives it energy, and that's
what's important here.

And around this strange monument

was built a round church
and a chapel.

And even today, this is the site
of pilgrimages.

People come from all over Italy,
you know, to pay their respects

to this saint, and obviously
to God as well.

SHATNER:
Whether or not the Sword
of San Galgano

found its way into the stone
through divine intervention

or something more mundane,

to millions of faithful
it remains an enduring symbol

of the power of miracles.

But it's one thing to see
a symbol of miracles...

(thunder cracks)

...it's quite another
when you're actually able

to witness one firsthand.

SHATNER:
Crowds gather as workers
prepare to transport

one of the largest monolithic
statues in the world.

23 feet tall
and weighing 160 tons,

the massive idol dates back
over a thousand years.

And although workers are
extremely careful

with their preparations
as they load it onto the trucks

that will carry it, there's
palpable tension in the air.

Because this is
no ordinary statue

but one of the mighty
Aztec god Tlaloc.

The Aztec religious system had
a vast number of gods.

There were water gods
and goddesses.

There were sky gods
and goddesses.

Fire divinities
and earth divinities.

One particularly important
sacred god was Tlaloc,

a fertility divinity
associated with weather...

(thunder cracks)

...and thunder and lightning.

So it is feared,
but it is also greatly revered

because life comes from this.

The life‐giving waters
of the rain come from Tlaloc.

SHATNER:
More than 25,000 people
eagerly wait into the night

to welcome Tlaloc to his
new home in Mexico City

after his long journey.

But as the trucks carrying the
hulking statue finally arrive,

the crowd isn't expecting what
would arrive along with him.

COLLINS:
As this statue was erected...

(thunder cracks)

...suddenly the heavens
opened up,

and for several days
there was intense rain

and thunderstorms.

(thunder rumbling)

Now, this was done
in the summer months when,

in theory, there should be
very little rain at all.

This was so uncharacteristic
for this time of year.

SHATNER:
Rain during the dry season?

Most people would see
such an occurrence

as nothing more
than a coincidence.

But some believe the rain was
actually a good omen

sent by Tlaloc in response
to the warm welcome he received

from the Mexican people.

THOMPSON:
Certainly a lot of people
believe that these events‐‐

for example, the downpour

following the arrival
of Tlaloc‐‐

are connected.

And perhaps they're connected
because of the divine force.

Or perhaps it's actually
the believers' belief

and their faith that is helping
to shape these events.

(thunder cracks)

So, certainly faith is powerful.

The fact is that
it doesn't really matter,

because it's about belief.

If people believe
strongly enough in an object,

that can create a reality.

An ancient god of rain that
triggers a massive thunderstorm?

Just a coincidence, right?

Or was there something
more mysterious at work?

Well, how about
the Koh‐i‐Noor diamond?

Would you wear it? Huh?

Or are you among those who
believe that stones really can

possess special powers?

Powers that for now
keep them very much among

the unexplained.