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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:05,931 --> 00:00:07,517 WILLIAM SHATNER: Hidden churches... 2 00:00:07,620 --> 00:00:10,344 cut from the depths of the earth. 3 00:00:10,448 --> 00:00:14,586 Staircases that defy the laws of physics. 4 00:00:14,689 --> 00:00:17,724 And mansions where visitors become lost 5 00:00:17,827 --> 00:00:23,137 in an endless maze. 6 00:00:23,241 --> 00:00:26,310 Mysterious structures fascinate us because 7 00:00:26,413 --> 00:00:28,275 they're like puzzles... 8 00:00:28,379 --> 00:00:31,344 waiting to be solved. 9 00:00:31,448 --> 00:00:33,862 What appears on the surface to be... 10 00:00:33,965 --> 00:00:36,896 a church... 11 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,620 or a mansion... 12 00:00:41,724 --> 00:00:43,965 ...can actually be more than that. 13 00:00:44,068 --> 00:00:48,034 Could a pyramid have been a power plant, for example? 14 00:00:48,137 --> 00:00:50,344 [chuckling]: Well... 15 00:00:50,448 --> 00:00:53,275 that is what we'll try and find out. 16 00:01:07,344 --> 00:01:08,620 [wind whistling] 17 00:01:08,724 --> 00:01:11,655 SHATNER: High in the mountains of Northern Ethiopia, 18 00:01:11,758 --> 00:01:13,793 a mile and a half above sea level, 19 00:01:13,896 --> 00:01:17,241 lies the city of Lalibela. 20 00:01:17,344 --> 00:01:20,620 Each year, tens of thousands of worshippers 21 00:01:20,724 --> 00:01:22,724 make the arduous journey here, 22 00:01:22,827 --> 00:01:25,586 despite its remote location, 23 00:01:25,689 --> 00:01:33,137 to visit 11 of the strangest holy places on Earth. 24 00:01:33,241 --> 00:01:39,655 Lalibela is one of Africa's most mysterious sites. 25 00:01:39,758 --> 00:01:43,172 It's a complex of 11 monolithic churches 26 00:01:43,275 --> 00:01:45,931 that are hewn right out of the bedrock. 27 00:01:46,034 --> 00:01:48,379 Most churches are built on the surface 28 00:01:48,482 --> 00:01:51,310 and they're built from the bottom up. 29 00:01:51,413 --> 00:01:54,655 Whereas, in Lalibela, they're built from the top down. 30 00:01:54,758 --> 00:01:58,413 It's the only place on the Earth that has cathedrals 31 00:01:58,517 --> 00:02:00,275 that are built underground as opposed to being 32 00:02:00,379 --> 00:02:05,448 built on the surface. 33 00:02:05,551 --> 00:02:08,034 ANDREW COLLINS: What makes the Lalibela churches 34 00:02:08,137 --> 00:02:09,310 so unique... 35 00:02:09,413 --> 00:02:14,413 is not just their building construction, 36 00:02:14,517 --> 00:02:17,241 which is unlike anything else in the world. 37 00:02:17,344 --> 00:02:22,379 But also the otherworldly feel of the complexes 38 00:02:22,482 --> 00:02:27,241 where these different monuments can be found. 39 00:02:27,344 --> 00:02:32,206 Entering into the complex of churches 40 00:02:32,310 --> 00:02:36,034 was almost like entering another realm. 41 00:02:39,310 --> 00:02:43,172 Almost as if those who constructed Lalibela 42 00:02:43,275 --> 00:02:46,931 had a ritual function. 43 00:02:47,034 --> 00:02:54,103 And that was to bring themselves closer to God. 44 00:02:54,206 --> 00:02:56,137 STEVE BURROWS: It's an incredible piece of engineering-- 45 00:02:56,241 --> 00:02:59,793 this idea that you build 11 churches below ground. 46 00:02:59,896 --> 00:03:02,931 But it creates its own unique problems. 47 00:03:03,034 --> 00:03:05,172 How do people get down there? 48 00:03:05,275 --> 00:03:08,620 Uh, how did they move all of the rock out and where did it go? 49 00:03:08,724 --> 00:03:13,034 Uh, those are the things that start running through my mind. 50 00:03:13,137 --> 00:03:16,068 SHATNER: Dating back to the 12th century AD, 51 00:03:16,172 --> 00:03:19,034 each of Lalibela's 11 churches was painstakingly 52 00:03:19,137 --> 00:03:21,241 carved by hand-- 53 00:03:21,344 --> 00:03:23,379 and from the outside-- 54 00:03:23,482 --> 00:03:26,689 like enormous sculptures. 55 00:03:26,793 --> 00:03:30,793 The complex also includes an extensive system of tunnels, 56 00:03:30,896 --> 00:03:34,379 catacombs all carved out of solid bedrock. 57 00:03:34,482 --> 00:03:36,413 But why? 58 00:03:36,517 --> 00:03:40,931 Why build a magnificent series of structures 59 00:03:41,034 --> 00:03:44,586 in the toughest way possible? 60 00:03:44,689 --> 00:03:47,137 COLLINS: The builder of Lalibela 61 00:03:47,241 --> 00:03:51,931 was a king by this very name, Lalibela. 62 00:03:52,034 --> 00:03:55,034 And it is said that in the 12th century, 63 00:03:55,137 --> 00:03:59,068 he was living in Jerusalem 64 00:03:59,172 --> 00:04:02,379 and decided to come back into Ethiopia 65 00:04:02,482 --> 00:04:06,793 and create these monolithic churches. 66 00:04:06,896 --> 00:04:09,586 And it's very clear 67 00:04:09,689 --> 00:04:12,724 that Lalibela, uh, in the design 68 00:04:12,827 --> 00:04:15,551 of these different churches, 69 00:04:15,655 --> 00:04:18,827 was trying to replicate Jerusalem. 70 00:04:18,931 --> 00:04:22,758 Indeed, he was trying to create a new Jerusalem. 71 00:04:22,862 --> 00:04:26,482 So by entering into this complex, 72 00:04:26,586 --> 00:04:30,586 it's almost like you were entering into Jerusalem itself, 73 00:04:30,689 --> 00:04:35,137 which was considered to be the most holy shrine in the world. 74 00:04:35,241 --> 00:04:37,827 MICHAEL GERVERS: It is described that 75 00:04:37,931 --> 00:04:40,827 Lalibela had a dream 76 00:04:40,931 --> 00:04:42,896 and in the dream, he was instructed by God 77 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,758 to go back and make a copy of Jerusalem... 78 00:04:46,862 --> 00:04:49,241 at the site. 79 00:04:49,344 --> 00:04:53,000 And in order to fulfill God's request, 80 00:04:53,103 --> 00:04:55,551 King Lalibela and others who were involved 81 00:04:55,655 --> 00:04:58,379 worked night and day for 20 years. 82 00:04:58,482 --> 00:05:02,172 So in their minds, right at the beginning, 83 00:05:02,275 --> 00:05:05,137 they had a three-dimensional structure in mind. 84 00:05:05,241 --> 00:05:08,827 'Cause when they started, it was just a big piece of rock. 85 00:05:08,931 --> 00:05:11,172 And how did they know that if they were going 86 00:05:11,275 --> 00:05:13,310 to go 150 feet down into the ground, 87 00:05:13,413 --> 00:05:15,103 that everything was okay? 88 00:05:15,206 --> 00:05:17,344 Because the worst possible thing would be 89 00:05:17,448 --> 00:05:19,172 that you'd almost finished and then you found 90 00:05:19,275 --> 00:05:22,586 that there was a massive problem at the bottom. 91 00:05:22,689 --> 00:05:25,379 SHATNER: 11 underground churches. 92 00:05:25,482 --> 00:05:29,068 Some over 100 feet deep. 93 00:05:29,172 --> 00:05:31,758 Each carved from a single block of stone 94 00:05:31,862 --> 00:05:36,862 in only 20 years' time. 95 00:05:36,965 --> 00:05:40,034 Archeologists date the churches back nearly a thousand years. 96 00:05:40,137 --> 00:05:43,689 But even with today's modern technology, 97 00:05:43,793 --> 00:05:45,896 such an incredible architectural feat 98 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,034 would be considered impossible. 99 00:05:48,137 --> 00:05:51,068 So how was it accomplished? 100 00:05:51,172 --> 00:05:52,793 TRAVIS TAYLOR: If we go and build 101 00:05:52,896 --> 00:05:55,482 a big structure today, a skyscraper, 102 00:05:55,586 --> 00:05:56,620 we have blueprints, we have engineering 103 00:05:56,724 --> 00:06:00,344 design pathways and we have a construction plan. 104 00:06:00,448 --> 00:06:02,551 It tells us how we would do every step 105 00:06:02,655 --> 00:06:04,862 of the way; where every screw, nut, bolt, 106 00:06:04,965 --> 00:06:07,862 weld, poured concrete goes. 107 00:06:07,965 --> 00:06:11,068 None of that exists for these large, ancient structures. 108 00:06:11,172 --> 00:06:13,724 So we really got to think outside the box 109 00:06:13,827 --> 00:06:16,896 and try to find how they were done, 110 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,689 why they were done 111 00:06:18,793 --> 00:06:20,827 and who built them. 112 00:06:23,206 --> 00:06:25,068 WHITEHEAD: A very curious thing 113 00:06:25,172 --> 00:06:27,896 at Lalibela is that there are some very unique carvings there. 114 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:29,413 There's very interesting symbols 115 00:06:29,517 --> 00:06:31,275 that are carved into these churches. 116 00:06:31,379 --> 00:06:33,931 Do they mean something if you put them together? 117 00:06:34,034 --> 00:06:37,103 COLLINS: In the church of St. Mary at Lalibela, 118 00:06:37,206 --> 00:06:40,931 there is the Star of David. 119 00:06:41,034 --> 00:06:44,827 And this, along with a number of other mementos 120 00:06:44,931 --> 00:06:47,896 and designs are extremely indicative 121 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,620 of the presence of the Knights Templar. 122 00:06:50,724 --> 00:06:54,689 This has suggested to many 123 00:06:54,793 --> 00:06:58,172 that they may well have been present 124 00:06:58,275 --> 00:07:00,241 during the construction 125 00:07:00,344 --> 00:07:04,482 of the churches at Lalibela. 126 00:07:04,586 --> 00:07:06,206 TOK THOMPSON: Now the Knights Templar were a very interesting 127 00:07:06,310 --> 00:07:08,827 religious order that became 128 00:07:08,931 --> 00:07:10,827 very powerful during the Middle Ages. 129 00:07:10,931 --> 00:07:12,965 But what people don't often realize is 130 00:07:13,068 --> 00:07:15,172 they were very interested in building, 131 00:07:15,275 --> 00:07:19,482 in, uh, geometry, in, uh, numerology. 132 00:07:19,586 --> 00:07:22,172 Uh, and so they were at once very practical 133 00:07:22,275 --> 00:07:25,137 and pragmatic and then also very spiritual and mystic. 134 00:07:25,241 --> 00:07:27,655 WHITEHEAD: The Knights Templar had 135 00:07:27,758 --> 00:07:29,793 a great amount of knowledge in masonry 136 00:07:29,896 --> 00:07:32,620 and architecture and building structures. 137 00:07:32,724 --> 00:07:34,965 Now, it's debated as to whether or not 138 00:07:35,068 --> 00:07:37,862 the Knights Templar would have been in Ethiopia at this time. 139 00:07:37,965 --> 00:07:39,482 But there's some interesting evidence 140 00:07:39,586 --> 00:07:42,379 that an Armenian geographer at the time 141 00:07:42,482 --> 00:07:46,379 documented seeing men with red and white regalia, 142 00:07:46,482 --> 00:07:49,344 blond or reddish hair, long hair, 143 00:07:49,448 --> 00:07:53,068 which could indicate that he's talking about Templars. 144 00:07:53,172 --> 00:07:55,758 So, it could be that the Templars themselves 145 00:07:55,862 --> 00:07:57,413 were the ones that built Lalibela, 146 00:07:57,517 --> 00:08:01,344 or that they helped King Lalibela build the site. 147 00:08:03,758 --> 00:08:05,827 SHATNER: Could Templar stonemasons have 148 00:08:05,931 --> 00:08:09,103 influenced the construction of the churches at Lalibela? 149 00:08:09,206 --> 00:08:13,000 And if so, for what purpose? 150 00:08:13,103 --> 00:08:14,034 COLLINS: If you look around Lalibela, 151 00:08:14,137 --> 00:08:16,379 there are altars there 152 00:08:16,482 --> 00:08:20,310 that have spaces in them that would 153 00:08:20,413 --> 00:08:24,724 precisely fit the Ark of the Covenant, 154 00:08:24,827 --> 00:08:28,758 which was approximately four feet in length, 155 00:08:28,862 --> 00:08:33,275 two feet wide and around two feet in height. 156 00:08:33,379 --> 00:08:37,448 It has been suggested that the rock-cut churches 157 00:08:37,551 --> 00:08:43,379 at Lalibela were built to house the Ark of the Covenant. 158 00:08:43,482 --> 00:08:45,448 SHATNER: The lost Ark of the Covenant, 159 00:08:45,551 --> 00:08:49,241 the gold box which contained the original Ten Commandments-- 160 00:08:49,344 --> 00:08:54,310 could it have been hidden at Lalibela centuries ago? 161 00:08:54,413 --> 00:08:56,586 During the Crusades, we know that the Templars 162 00:08:56,689 --> 00:08:58,724 occupied the Temple of Solomon. 163 00:08:58,827 --> 00:09:00,965 And so, it could be that they were 164 00:09:01,068 --> 00:09:04,034 the keepers of the Ark of the Covenant. 165 00:09:04,137 --> 00:09:06,586 And the more you look at Lalibela, and given the fact 166 00:09:06,689 --> 00:09:09,103 that we see that it's built underground, 167 00:09:09,206 --> 00:09:11,551 you start to think, here we have these churches 168 00:09:11,655 --> 00:09:14,034 that are hewn out of these megalithic rocks. 169 00:09:14,137 --> 00:09:17,206 They're built like defensive structures. 170 00:09:17,310 --> 00:09:20,241 They have all kinds of interesting symbolism there 171 00:09:20,344 --> 00:09:22,689 that indicate Templars. 172 00:09:22,793 --> 00:09:24,655 And you start getting the impression that this is actually 173 00:09:24,758 --> 00:09:26,793 some kind of defensive fortress 174 00:09:26,896 --> 00:09:29,758 to protect... something. 175 00:09:29,862 --> 00:09:33,000 SHATNER: Was Lalibela originally built 176 00:09:33,103 --> 00:09:36,379 to house and hide the Ark of the Covenant? 177 00:09:36,482 --> 00:09:39,931 And if so, why only 11 churches? 178 00:09:40,034 --> 00:09:41,413 Jesus had 12 apostles. 179 00:09:41,517 --> 00:09:45,000 So wouldn't it seem likely that there were 180 00:09:45,103 --> 00:09:47,000 12 churches built, one for each of them? 181 00:09:47,103 --> 00:09:50,551 There are many who believe 182 00:09:50,655 --> 00:09:53,482 the answer to that question is yes, 183 00:09:53,586 --> 00:09:57,137 and that the Ark is still hidden in an undiscovered church. 184 00:09:57,241 --> 00:09:59,827 Incredible, you say? 185 00:09:59,931 --> 00:10:04,482 Perhaps not as incredible as a stairway in New Mexico 186 00:10:04,586 --> 00:10:07,586 whose builder wasn't only divinely inspired 187 00:10:07,689 --> 00:10:09,379 but may have actually been sent... 188 00:10:09,482 --> 00:10:11,586 directly from heaven. 189 00:10:17,172 --> 00:10:20,137 SHATNER: February 11, 2019. 190 00:10:20,241 --> 00:10:23,103 Investigative journalist and radio host 191 00:10:23,206 --> 00:10:25,206 David Whitehead travels to the Loretto Chapel 192 00:10:25,310 --> 00:10:28,068 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 193 00:10:28,172 --> 00:10:30,344 WHITEHEAD: I'm here to investigate a really mysterious structure, 194 00:10:30,448 --> 00:10:34,172 the famous Loretto staircase. 195 00:10:34,275 --> 00:10:36,172 We don't know who built it, we don't understand 196 00:10:36,275 --> 00:10:38,793 the physics behind it and we don't even have 197 00:10:38,896 --> 00:10:40,965 a good indication as to what it's made of. 198 00:10:41,068 --> 00:10:45,206 [door creaks open] 199 00:10:45,310 --> 00:10:48,413 Oh, wow. 200 00:10:48,517 --> 00:10:52,965 This place is beautiful. 201 00:10:53,068 --> 00:10:56,551 SHATNER: Meeting with David is chapel curator Richard Lindsley. 202 00:10:56,655 --> 00:11:00,689 - WHITEHEAD: So this is it. - LINDSLEY: Absolutely. 203 00:11:00,793 --> 00:11:02,862 Our miraculous staircase. 204 00:11:02,965 --> 00:11:04,344 I've heard so much about it. 205 00:11:04,448 --> 00:11:06,965 I've read so many theories about it, 206 00:11:07,068 --> 00:11:09,896 and it's amazing to actually be here to see it. 207 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,068 SHATNER: In 1873, the Sisters of Loretto 208 00:11:13,172 --> 00:11:15,793 commissioned the construction of the chapel 209 00:11:15,896 --> 00:11:18,241 for their new girls school. 210 00:11:18,344 --> 00:11:20,931 Officially consecrated five years later, 211 00:11:21,034 --> 00:11:24,862 the Loretto Chapel is a triumph of Gothic Revival design, 212 00:11:24,965 --> 00:11:28,551 with its high spires, soaring buttresses 213 00:11:28,655 --> 00:11:32,620 and enormous stained glass windows. 214 00:11:32,724 --> 00:11:34,862 But as construction was nearing completion, 215 00:11:34,965 --> 00:11:37,931 the project's architect suddenly died, 216 00:11:38,034 --> 00:11:40,413 before he could build what was considered 217 00:11:40,517 --> 00:11:42,862 the most ambitious part of the job: 218 00:11:42,965 --> 00:11:46,689 the staircase leading up to the choir loft. 219 00:11:50,586 --> 00:11:53,448 The mystery of the staircase actually begins 220 00:11:53,551 --> 00:11:55,931 with this mysterious carpenter. 221 00:11:56,034 --> 00:11:59,965 The sisters asked the local carpenters to build one, 222 00:12:00,068 --> 00:12:02,896 but they failed; they didn't know how to do it. 223 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,965 The sisters, they decided to turn to prayer, 224 00:12:06,068 --> 00:12:08,965 and said a nine-day novena, asking St. Joseph, 225 00:12:09,068 --> 00:12:11,379 the patron of carpenters, 226 00:12:11,482 --> 00:12:13,620 to help them with their problem. 227 00:12:13,724 --> 00:12:16,000 At the last day of their prayer, 228 00:12:16,103 --> 00:12:18,068 it's said that a knock came at these doors. 229 00:12:18,172 --> 00:12:20,379 This elderly man was standing there with a donkey 230 00:12:20,482 --> 00:12:23,137 by his side, 231 00:12:23,241 --> 00:12:25,793 and he told the sister that he had come 232 00:12:25,896 --> 00:12:28,206 to build their staircase. 233 00:12:28,310 --> 00:12:31,172 Was it St. Joseph, like the sisters believed? 234 00:12:31,275 --> 00:12:33,827 Some pious people think it was an angel. 235 00:12:33,931 --> 00:12:37,758 But he was very reclusive, and insisted upon 236 00:12:37,862 --> 00:12:40,931 working inside this chapel by himself, 237 00:12:41,034 --> 00:12:44,586 never allowing anyone to see him work on the staircase. 238 00:12:44,689 --> 00:12:47,793 Throughout the, uh, Christian and Catholic world, 239 00:12:47,896 --> 00:12:49,517 we have a tremendous amount of these stories 240 00:12:49,620 --> 00:12:52,241 of miraculous help from saints. 241 00:12:52,344 --> 00:12:54,413 And this is a part of the Catholic belief system. 242 00:12:54,517 --> 00:12:56,206 You can pray to saints, and they're supposed to, 243 00:12:56,310 --> 00:12:58,655 uh, try to help. 244 00:12:58,758 --> 00:13:00,275 So it's a built-in part of the package, 245 00:13:00,379 --> 00:13:02,965 this idea of an intercessory, 246 00:13:03,068 --> 00:13:09,000 closer to people, and yet closer to God. 247 00:13:09,103 --> 00:13:10,586 After three months, the sisters came into the chapel, 248 00:13:10,689 --> 00:13:14,068 and the man was gone. 249 00:13:14,172 --> 00:13:17,448 And when they could not find him to even pay him for his labor, 250 00:13:17,551 --> 00:13:20,379 they went to the only lumber yard in town 251 00:13:20,482 --> 00:13:23,689 and asked them how much they owed for the materials. 252 00:13:23,793 --> 00:13:27,068 And the lumber yard told the sisters that the man 253 00:13:27,172 --> 00:13:33,310 never got any materials from them at all. 254 00:13:33,413 --> 00:13:35,793 So, what material is this staircase made of? 255 00:13:35,896 --> 00:13:39,413 I gave a core sample of the wood 256 00:13:39,517 --> 00:13:42,551 from the inner stringer to a U.S. Naval scientist, 257 00:13:42,655 --> 00:13:44,758 and he determined right away 258 00:13:44,862 --> 00:13:48,206 that it was a form of Picea spruce. 259 00:13:48,310 --> 00:13:51,724 WHITEHEAD: Is this form of spruce local to Santa Fe? 260 00:13:51,827 --> 00:13:54,448 LINDSLEY: The wood in the staircase did not match up 261 00:13:54,551 --> 00:13:57,827 with any other Picea spruce known to science. 262 00:13:57,931 --> 00:13:59,689 This wood does not match up 263 00:13:59,793 --> 00:14:03,931 with any other quite like it on Earth. 264 00:14:04,034 --> 00:14:05,724 The staircase at Loretto Chapel is-is amazing. 265 00:14:05,827 --> 00:14:08,827 It's a double spiral system. 266 00:14:08,931 --> 00:14:10,068 There's no glue, there's no nails, there's no screws. 267 00:14:10,172 --> 00:14:14,758 It's put together in a way that how it's just 268 00:14:14,862 --> 00:14:18,310 sitting on itself is holding it together. 269 00:14:18,413 --> 00:14:20,068 WHITEHEAD: So, Richard, an interesting thing about this design 270 00:14:20,172 --> 00:14:23,862 - is the double helix. - Mm-hmm. 271 00:14:23,965 --> 00:14:26,413 The double helix-- or the double spiral-- 272 00:14:26,517 --> 00:14:29,517 is that it's an incredibly unique design. 273 00:14:29,620 --> 00:14:33,000 LINDSLEY: Well, we had a world-renowned physicist come visit us, 274 00:14:33,103 --> 00:14:36,413 and he was convinced that the double helix design 275 00:14:36,517 --> 00:14:39,034 was integral to its inner strength. 276 00:14:39,137 --> 00:14:40,793 - Mind if I go up? - Please. 277 00:14:40,896 --> 00:14:41,758 Be my guest. 278 00:14:41,862 --> 00:14:44,862 This is a very special privilege. 279 00:14:44,965 --> 00:14:46,724 WHITEHEAD: I definitely feel very privileged. 280 00:14:46,827 --> 00:14:54,689 I've waited for this moment for so long. 281 00:14:54,793 --> 00:14:57,068 Oh, wow, yeah. 282 00:14:57,172 --> 00:15:01,275 It's a unique feeling, just right on that first step. 283 00:15:01,379 --> 00:15:05,586 I almost feel, like, a vibration. 284 00:15:05,689 --> 00:15:09,689 [stairs creaking softly] 285 00:15:09,793 --> 00:15:13,827 Feeling like... I'm floating. 286 00:15:13,931 --> 00:15:15,689 Like there's nothing underneath my feet. 287 00:15:15,793 --> 00:15:19,103 It's truly a remarkable feeling. 288 00:15:19,206 --> 00:15:21,000 Now, how many stairs have we got here? 289 00:15:21,103 --> 00:15:24,758 LINDSLEY: There are 33 steps to the staircase, 290 00:15:24,862 --> 00:15:26,862 which reminded the sisters of our Lord, 291 00:15:26,965 --> 00:15:29,172 because he lived 33 years. 292 00:15:29,275 --> 00:15:31,896 WHITEHEAD: Well, I find it very interesting 293 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,965 that, here we are in this chapel in Santa Fe, 294 00:15:36,068 --> 00:15:38,896 and we're seeing the motif of a sacred number: 33. 295 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,103 And this number is important to the Templars. 296 00:15:43,206 --> 00:15:46,000 SHATNER: 33 steps? 297 00:15:46,103 --> 00:15:48,034 One of the most sacred numbers to the fraternal order 298 00:15:48,137 --> 00:15:50,413 of builders known as Freemasons, 299 00:15:50,517 --> 00:15:53,448 who, in turn, are thought to be the spiritual descendants 300 00:15:53,551 --> 00:15:56,655 of the Knights Templar. 301 00:15:56,758 --> 00:15:59,793 Could this number of steps really provide an important clue 302 00:15:59,896 --> 00:16:05,413 as to who built the stairway, and how? 303 00:16:05,517 --> 00:16:08,896 So the number 33 is a sacred number in Templarism. 304 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,310 So, they would have encoded that number, 305 00:16:12,413 --> 00:16:13,965 whether it be in staircases, 306 00:16:14,068 --> 00:16:16,827 or artwork in the stained glass windows, 307 00:16:16,931 --> 00:16:19,517 or even the mathematical dimensions 308 00:16:19,620 --> 00:16:21,103 of some of these structures. 309 00:16:21,206 --> 00:16:25,068 To the Templars, they don't just see a staircase 310 00:16:25,172 --> 00:16:28,137 or a stained glass window or a layout of a church design. 311 00:16:28,241 --> 00:16:31,068 They see an esoteric number, 312 00:16:31,172 --> 00:16:33,724 the number of a master builder, 313 00:16:33,827 --> 00:16:36,758 the manifestation of the divine on Earth, 314 00:16:36,862 --> 00:16:40,551 and it's very deeply rooted in the entire Templar tradition. 315 00:16:40,655 --> 00:16:43,137 BURROWS: I think the quality of construction and detailing 316 00:16:43,241 --> 00:16:46,172 show that somebody who did it was highly skilled. 317 00:16:46,275 --> 00:16:48,000 And they must have learned that. 318 00:16:48,103 --> 00:16:50,310 So the person who built that staircase 319 00:16:50,413 --> 00:16:52,103 apprenticed with somebody. 320 00:16:52,206 --> 00:16:53,655 They learned some things. 321 00:16:53,758 --> 00:16:56,310 They applied those things later in Santa Fe. 322 00:16:56,413 --> 00:16:58,551 So there's no doubt they could have been working 323 00:16:58,655 --> 00:17:01,586 with a mason, but they were way too skilled 324 00:17:01,689 --> 00:17:07,068 to have been the first time they did something like that. 325 00:17:07,172 --> 00:17:09,620 The construction of the staircase 326 00:17:09,724 --> 00:17:13,000 defies all conventional construction practices-- 327 00:17:13,103 --> 00:17:16,379 any kind of rational, conventional explanation. 328 00:17:16,482 --> 00:17:17,241 Where did the materials come from? 329 00:17:17,344 --> 00:17:20,482 Who built it? 330 00:17:20,586 --> 00:17:23,068 It seems like we just have more questions 331 00:17:23,172 --> 00:17:24,448 than we do answers. 332 00:17:24,551 --> 00:17:25,793 - Yes. - But we do know that 333 00:17:25,896 --> 00:17:27,758 it's a mystery, and... 334 00:17:27,862 --> 00:17:32,034 hopefully one day we'll be able to solve it. 335 00:17:32,137 --> 00:17:34,482 SHATNER: Could the stairway of the Loretto Chapel 336 00:17:34,586 --> 00:17:37,241 really be the product of a miracle... 337 00:17:37,344 --> 00:17:39,965 or is it just the work of a gifted builder 338 00:17:40,068 --> 00:17:42,758 who preferred to keep his identity and his methods 339 00:17:42,862 --> 00:17:45,034 a well-guarded secret? 340 00:17:45,137 --> 00:17:51,206 To millions of the faithful, the answer is clear. 341 00:17:51,310 --> 00:17:54,241 Which is more than can be said for an architectural curiosity 342 00:17:54,344 --> 00:17:57,103 located some 1,000 miles from Loretto Chapel. 343 00:17:57,206 --> 00:18:03,689 One that many believe was not inspired by heaven... 344 00:18:03,793 --> 00:18:06,000 ...but by the fires of hell. 345 00:18:11,379 --> 00:18:14,000 SHATNER: Strange. 346 00:18:14,103 --> 00:18:17,206 Macabre. 347 00:18:17,310 --> 00:18:22,551 Disturbing. 348 00:18:22,655 --> 00:18:25,379 In San Jose, California, stands one of the largest 349 00:18:25,482 --> 00:18:28,344 and most bizarre private residences 350 00:18:28,448 --> 00:18:30,413 in the United States. 351 00:18:30,517 --> 00:18:32,655 Known as the Winchester Mystery House, 352 00:18:32,758 --> 00:18:37,344 this 24,000 square foot Victorian-style mansion 353 00:18:37,448 --> 00:18:41,241 contains an astonishing 160 rooms, 354 00:18:41,344 --> 00:18:44,620 17 chimneys, 355 00:18:44,724 --> 00:18:46,344 47 fireplaces, 356 00:18:46,448 --> 00:18:48,103 two basements, 357 00:18:48,206 --> 00:18:51,413 three elevators, 358 00:18:51,517 --> 00:18:54,551 and more than 10,000 panes of glass. 359 00:18:54,655 --> 00:18:56,896 And those are just the ones we know about. 360 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,448 But why? 361 00:19:00,551 --> 00:19:03,206 MAGNUSON: The Winchester Mystery House is a very special place 362 00:19:03,310 --> 00:19:06,068 that was built with no master plan. 363 00:19:06,172 --> 00:19:07,655 But there are a lot of architectural oddities 364 00:19:07,758 --> 00:19:10,551 that remain a mystery as to why they're here. 365 00:19:10,655 --> 00:19:13,103 BURROWS: Most buildings start with 366 00:19:13,206 --> 00:19:15,862 some drawings, some blueprints, 367 00:19:15,965 --> 00:19:18,206 some documents that say "this is what it's gonna look like" 368 00:19:18,310 --> 00:19:20,482 when it was finished. 369 00:19:20,586 --> 00:19:22,724 That building looks like they made it up as they went. 370 00:19:22,827 --> 00:19:24,172 BOEHME: There are doors that open to 371 00:19:24,275 --> 00:19:27,827 12-foot drops outside. 372 00:19:27,931 --> 00:19:29,000 There's doors that, you step through them, 373 00:19:29,103 --> 00:19:32,137 you'll land in a kitchen sink on the first floor. 374 00:19:32,241 --> 00:19:35,551 It's almost like an Escher picture in some ways. 375 00:19:35,655 --> 00:19:38,206 SHATNER: The mastermind behind this architectural jigsaw puzzle 376 00:19:38,310 --> 00:19:41,689 was Sarah Winchester, 377 00:19:41,793 --> 00:19:43,344 the widow of the man who manufactured 378 00:19:43,448 --> 00:19:45,551 the Winchester repeating rifle. 379 00:19:45,655 --> 00:19:46,793 [gunshot] 380 00:19:46,896 --> 00:19:48,551 It was famously known as 381 00:19:48,655 --> 00:19:50,517 "the gun that won the West" 382 00:19:50,620 --> 00:19:54,206 because it could kill more people faster 383 00:19:54,310 --> 00:19:58,379 than any gun previously invented. 384 00:19:58,482 --> 00:20:01,206 BOEHME: The Winchester rifle was special because it could fire 385 00:20:01,310 --> 00:20:04,137 up to 15 rounds without being reloaded, 386 00:20:04,241 --> 00:20:07,275 which was very different from most of the smooth bores used 387 00:20:07,379 --> 00:20:09,206 in the Civil War, say, which were-- 388 00:20:09,310 --> 00:20:12,551 y-you loaded it, you fired one shot and that was it. 389 00:20:12,655 --> 00:20:14,379 So you can imagine the advantage that you would have 390 00:20:14,482 --> 00:20:16,310 being able to shoot round after round after round 391 00:20:16,413 --> 00:20:18,241 without reloading. 392 00:20:18,344 --> 00:20:22,448 SHATNER: When Sarah's husband died in 1881, 393 00:20:22,551 --> 00:20:25,655 she became the heir to his massive fortune. 394 00:20:25,758 --> 00:20:29,310 Three years later, she began construction on a mansion 395 00:20:29,413 --> 00:20:33,655 that would take 38 years to complete. 396 00:20:33,758 --> 00:20:36,620 She just added things on as she had a great idea. 397 00:20:36,724 --> 00:20:39,758 So everybody had to listen and say, "Oh, okay. 398 00:20:39,862 --> 00:20:41,931 You want a large ballroom up there?" 399 00:20:42,034 --> 00:20:44,068 And then they'd figure it out as they went. 400 00:20:44,172 --> 00:20:46,931 WHITEHEAD: Even to this day, they're still finding 401 00:20:47,034 --> 00:20:49,931 new rooms and new features to this house. 402 00:20:50,034 --> 00:20:52,413 Was Sarah just working off of her whims? 403 00:20:52,517 --> 00:20:55,241 Was she just an eccentric crazy lady? 404 00:20:55,344 --> 00:20:57,655 Or is there some other unknown explanation 405 00:20:57,758 --> 00:21:01,482 that we have yet to understand? 406 00:21:01,586 --> 00:21:03,413 SHATNER: It is suspected that one reason 407 00:21:03,517 --> 00:21:05,827 Sarah kept building and building 408 00:21:05,931 --> 00:21:08,758 around the clock for 38 years 409 00:21:08,862 --> 00:21:11,034 is that she was trying to protect herself 410 00:21:11,137 --> 00:21:14,344 from all the dead souls the Winchester rifles had killed. 411 00:21:14,448 --> 00:21:18,000 Perhaps, it was thought, 412 00:21:18,103 --> 00:21:21,103 if the house was built as a giant maze, 413 00:21:21,206 --> 00:21:25,482 the ghosts would never be able to find her. 414 00:21:25,586 --> 00:21:28,172 MAGNUSON: The story is that Sarah Winchester 415 00:21:28,275 --> 00:21:31,310 went through a long period of grief. 416 00:21:31,413 --> 00:21:35,068 She, unfortunately, lost a child, uh, only weeks old, 417 00:21:35,172 --> 00:21:37,379 and she lost her husband to tuberculosis. 418 00:21:37,482 --> 00:21:39,517 And she started wondering, 419 00:21:39,620 --> 00:21:41,793 "Why are all these terrible things happening to me?" 420 00:21:41,896 --> 00:21:44,413 And, uh, what was common at the time 421 00:21:44,517 --> 00:21:46,551 was to seek out a medium or spiritualist for guidance. 422 00:21:46,655 --> 00:21:52,000 And that person said that the karma of this, 423 00:21:52,103 --> 00:21:53,689 the gun that won the West, and all of these terrible things 424 00:21:53,793 --> 00:21:56,068 associated with this firearm, is kind of haunting you. 425 00:21:56,172 --> 00:21:58,862 [gunshot] 426 00:21:58,965 --> 00:22:01,586 BOEHME: This spiritualist medium told her 427 00:22:01,689 --> 00:22:03,379 that in order to pacify these spirits, 428 00:22:03,482 --> 00:22:05,172 who were very offended 429 00:22:05,275 --> 00:22:07,034 at having been killed by Winchester rifles, 430 00:22:07,137 --> 00:22:09,275 she needed to build a house. 431 00:22:09,379 --> 00:22:12,586 And she should never stop building, and the idea also 432 00:22:12,689 --> 00:22:14,482 was that the constant sound of the saws and hammers 433 00:22:14,586 --> 00:22:17,827 would drive the bad spirits away. 434 00:22:17,931 --> 00:22:21,310 MAGNUSON: Some of the design features were specifically built 435 00:22:21,413 --> 00:22:24,586 to confuse evil or malicious spirits. 436 00:22:24,689 --> 00:22:25,931 So if the stairs led to the ceiling, 437 00:22:26,034 --> 00:22:28,206 or if a door led to the outside, 438 00:22:28,310 --> 00:22:31,517 possibly they would be confused and-and leave the property. 439 00:22:35,965 --> 00:22:38,689 SHATNER: Did Sarah Winchester spend nearly 40 years 440 00:22:38,793 --> 00:22:42,551 and the equivalent of more than $60 million 441 00:22:42,655 --> 00:22:45,724 constructing a bizarre labyrinth of stairs, 442 00:22:45,827 --> 00:22:49,103 halls and doors 443 00:22:49,206 --> 00:22:52,172 in order to keep the vengeful dead at bay? 444 00:22:52,275 --> 00:22:53,586 Perhaps. 445 00:22:53,689 --> 00:22:57,275 But some have suggested that she built the house 446 00:22:57,379 --> 00:23:00,896 not to guard against the dead, 447 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,172 but to fool the living. 448 00:23:05,275 --> 00:23:07,586 There's an even deeper mystery in the house, 449 00:23:07,689 --> 00:23:11,655 and that is the numerology. 450 00:23:11,758 --> 00:23:13,655 BURROWS: In the Winchester Mystery House, 451 00:23:13,758 --> 00:23:15,206 there is a number that appears everywhere-- 452 00:23:15,310 --> 00:23:17,655 in, you know, light fittings, in mirrors, 453 00:23:17,758 --> 00:23:20,827 in all sorts of things. And it's the number 13. 454 00:23:20,931 --> 00:23:24,793 WHITEHEAD: We have the number 13 encoded all over the place, 455 00:23:24,896 --> 00:23:29,172 in the walls, in the flooring, in the stairways. 456 00:23:29,275 --> 00:23:33,551 We've got 13 bedrooms. We've got 13 bathrooms. 457 00:23:33,655 --> 00:23:36,068 There are 13 wall panels in some of the rooms; 458 00:23:36,172 --> 00:23:38,206 and on and on we could go. 459 00:23:38,310 --> 00:23:40,413 So there may have been another motive here 460 00:23:40,517 --> 00:23:42,724 for why Sarah built this house this way. 461 00:23:42,827 --> 00:23:46,931 BOEHME: A lot of people have put forth theories 462 00:23:47,034 --> 00:23:48,655 that there was some sort of complex puzzle 463 00:23:48,758 --> 00:23:51,758 going on here, that she was leaving clues. 464 00:23:51,862 --> 00:23:55,413 MAGNUSON: It's possible that the number 13 could be a puzzle 465 00:23:55,517 --> 00:23:58,896 that could possibly unlock some secret as to 466 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,551 why it was so prominently featured 467 00:24:00,655 --> 00:24:05,241 as a design element in the house. 468 00:24:05,344 --> 00:24:07,172 WHITEHEAD: An interesting symbol that you see 469 00:24:07,275 --> 00:24:09,931 all throughout the house is the symbol of the sun. 470 00:24:10,034 --> 00:24:12,758 In astrology and astrotheology, 471 00:24:12,862 --> 00:24:14,793 you have the idea of the zodiac, 472 00:24:14,896 --> 00:24:16,827 which is, you have the 12 houses of the zodiac, 473 00:24:16,931 --> 00:24:19,827 and the number 13 is the sun. 474 00:24:19,931 --> 00:24:21,862 At the front gates of the house, and on each gate, 475 00:24:21,965 --> 00:24:24,103 you have a symbol of the sun. 476 00:24:24,206 --> 00:24:27,517 And the rays of the sun add up to 16 on each sun. 477 00:24:27,620 --> 00:24:31,000 So when you put the 16 and the 16 together, 478 00:24:31,103 --> 00:24:33,862 you have the date that William Shakespeare died. 479 00:24:33,965 --> 00:24:37,310 BOEHME: Two most cryptic windows, stained glass windows 480 00:24:37,413 --> 00:24:39,758 in the house are Sarah's ballroom windows. 481 00:24:39,862 --> 00:24:42,896 They're the only ones that have any text in them, 482 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,068 and they're two quotes from different Shakespearean plays. 483 00:24:47,172 --> 00:24:50,827 And they read, "Wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts." 484 00:24:50,931 --> 00:24:52,413 And then the other one says, "These same thoughts 485 00:24:52,517 --> 00:24:55,344 people this little world." 486 00:24:55,448 --> 00:24:57,310 We don't know exactly what that meant to Sarah. 487 00:24:57,413 --> 00:25:00,034 She took that secret with her to her grave. 488 00:25:00,137 --> 00:25:04,448 MAGNUSON: Sarah Winchester passed away September 1922. 489 00:25:04,551 --> 00:25:07,206 As you can imagine, there was great excitement 490 00:25:07,310 --> 00:25:09,862 to see this incredible home that everyone in the town 491 00:25:09,965 --> 00:25:12,206 had seen being built up over so many years. 492 00:25:12,310 --> 00:25:15,034 All the furnishings were sold anonymously at auction, 493 00:25:15,137 --> 00:25:17,413 but what was left was one large safe 494 00:25:17,517 --> 00:25:19,413 in the grand ballroom. 495 00:25:19,517 --> 00:25:22,758 WHITEHEAD: Sarah put a safe in the grand ballroom, 496 00:25:22,862 --> 00:25:24,551 which is an odd place to put a safe. 497 00:25:24,655 --> 00:25:27,586 And the safe itself is very odd. 498 00:25:27,689 --> 00:25:29,000 It's basically, you open up the safe, 499 00:25:29,103 --> 00:25:31,827 and then you find another safe, 500 00:25:31,931 --> 00:25:33,689 and you have to open up another safe, 501 00:25:33,793 --> 00:25:36,172 and it's a safe within a safe within a safe. 502 00:25:36,275 --> 00:25:38,827 BOEHME: People were kind of just mystified, 503 00:25:38,931 --> 00:25:40,586 like, "What's in the safe?" And they were hoping 504 00:25:40,689 --> 00:25:42,758 for maybe treasure, gold bars or jewelry. 505 00:25:42,862 --> 00:25:46,379 MAGNUSON: After they finally got inside, they found 506 00:25:46,482 --> 00:25:48,413 just two things. No gold, no silver, no diamonds. 507 00:25:48,517 --> 00:25:51,931 A lock of hair from her baby Annie, 508 00:25:52,034 --> 00:25:53,517 who passed away at just a few weeks old, 509 00:25:53,620 --> 00:25:56,000 and the obituary of her husband, 510 00:25:56,103 --> 00:25:59,551 who passed away to tuberculosis very young. 511 00:25:59,655 --> 00:26:02,551 SHATNER: A lock of hair and an obituary? 512 00:26:02,655 --> 00:26:06,448 Are we really to believe that Sarah Winchester 513 00:26:06,551 --> 00:26:08,689 had nothing of value 514 00:26:08,793 --> 00:26:13,517 safely hidden somewhere in the house? 515 00:26:13,620 --> 00:26:17,896 What if it was built as a giant puzzle, 516 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,517 one that protects a vast treasure 517 00:26:20,620 --> 00:26:23,206 that still lies hidden behind one of the house's 518 00:26:23,310 --> 00:26:27,034 hundreds of walls? Something to ponder 519 00:26:27,137 --> 00:26:31,551 while we investigate yet another architectural mystery-- 520 00:26:31,655 --> 00:26:34,448 one whose building method has baffled everyone, 521 00:26:34,551 --> 00:26:38,310 who has not only wondered why, but how. 522 00:26:43,034 --> 00:26:45,965 SHATNER: Homestead, Florida. 523 00:26:46,068 --> 00:26:48,793 In this small town, tucked away between Miami 524 00:26:48,896 --> 00:26:51,103 and Everglades National Park, 525 00:26:51,206 --> 00:26:56,655 stands an elaborate stone edifice. 526 00:26:56,758 --> 00:27:00,517 The locals call it "Coral Castle." 527 00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:03,827 Sculpted from massive blocks of coral, 528 00:27:03,931 --> 00:27:06,448 this incredible structure features a five-ton, 529 00:27:06,551 --> 00:27:08,379 heart-shaped table, 530 00:27:08,482 --> 00:27:11,000 a 28-ton obelisk, 531 00:27:11,103 --> 00:27:15,586 and a perfectly balanced nine-ton door 532 00:27:15,689 --> 00:27:18,413 that opens with the touch of a finger. 533 00:27:18,517 --> 00:27:21,068 And even more incredible than this marvel 534 00:27:21,172 --> 00:27:23,448 of design and engineering, 535 00:27:23,551 --> 00:27:27,896 is the fact that it was built by just one man. 536 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,931 And nobody knows how he did it. 537 00:27:32,034 --> 00:27:35,034 R.L. POOLE: Ed Leedskalnin was an immigrant from Latvia 538 00:27:35,137 --> 00:27:38,344 who immigrated to the United States, 539 00:27:38,448 --> 00:27:43,206 and he built the only modern megalithic structure ever known. 540 00:27:43,310 --> 00:27:47,620 The Coral Castle is 1,100 tons of coral bedrock 541 00:27:47,724 --> 00:27:50,758 that he dug out of the property on which it rests. 542 00:27:50,862 --> 00:27:52,758 He was only about five feet tall, but he managed to move 543 00:27:52,862 --> 00:27:55,965 hundreds of tons of coral rock 544 00:27:56,068 --> 00:28:00,275 into this megalithic modern temple. 545 00:28:00,379 --> 00:28:01,931 He had no technology there that could have lifted 546 00:28:02,034 --> 00:28:04,862 these stones or cut the stones. 547 00:28:04,965 --> 00:28:08,689 And yet, it's there to this day. 548 00:28:08,793 --> 00:28:10,172 WHITEHEAD: The story goes that Ed Leedskalnin 549 00:28:10,275 --> 00:28:13,275 built this incredible megalithic site 550 00:28:13,379 --> 00:28:18,000 using only a few pulleys, a tripod; uh, he did it 551 00:28:18,103 --> 00:28:19,965 all by himself, and he worked at night, 552 00:28:20,068 --> 00:28:22,344 and he was very secretive. 553 00:28:22,448 --> 00:28:26,103 GEORGE NOORY: The blocks of stone used to build Coral Castle 554 00:28:26,206 --> 00:28:29,241 are tons and tons, 555 00:28:29,344 --> 00:28:34,000 yet this guy was able to construct this place by himself 556 00:28:34,103 --> 00:28:37,103 without any heavy equipment. 557 00:28:37,206 --> 00:28:41,758 Some kids, years later, watched Edward Leedskalnin 558 00:28:41,862 --> 00:28:43,068 constructing and moving the blocks. 559 00:28:43,172 --> 00:28:46,482 They kind of peaked over and watched him. 560 00:28:46,586 --> 00:28:48,793 He spotted them and chased them away. 561 00:28:48,896 --> 00:28:51,517 But they said he was working all by himself. 562 00:28:51,620 --> 00:28:55,827 SHATNER: From 1923 until 1951, 563 00:28:55,931 --> 00:29:00,896 Leedskalnin perfectly shaped, lifted, fitted, 564 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,310 and stacked over two million pounds of limestone. 565 00:29:04,413 --> 00:29:08,620 For decades, hundreds of the world's top architects 566 00:29:08,724 --> 00:29:10,965 and engineers have come to this place 567 00:29:11,068 --> 00:29:13,551 to solve the mystery of its construction. 568 00:29:13,655 --> 00:29:15,586 The tripods, for instance, 569 00:29:15,689 --> 00:29:17,862 were three pieces of Florida pine, 570 00:29:17,965 --> 00:29:20,689 about the same size as a telephone pole. 571 00:29:20,793 --> 00:29:25,137 He used five-ton chains, he used a-a ten-ton chain hoist, 572 00:29:25,241 --> 00:29:29,517 yet somehow was able to impossibly lift stones 573 00:29:29,620 --> 00:29:32,793 that were wider than the tripod's diameter, 574 00:29:32,896 --> 00:29:35,137 that were taller than the tripod stood, 575 00:29:35,241 --> 00:29:38,793 that weighed more than the chains were rated for. 576 00:29:38,896 --> 00:29:41,000 Well, he didn't lift a, a 20-ton stone 577 00:29:41,103 --> 00:29:43,758 with a five-ton, uh, block and tackle, 578 00:29:43,862 --> 00:29:47,793 but he definitely found a way to lever the stone up. 579 00:29:47,896 --> 00:29:49,517 TAYLOR: There has to be some other technology 580 00:29:49,620 --> 00:29:52,586 being used here, or this is one of the best magic tricks 581 00:29:52,689 --> 00:29:54,482 ever pulled over on mankind. 582 00:29:54,586 --> 00:29:57,620 So, what could it have been? 583 00:29:57,724 --> 00:30:01,586 Did he learn some unique mechanical trick, 584 00:30:01,689 --> 00:30:03,793 or did he learn some new physics? 585 00:30:03,896 --> 00:30:07,275 POOLE: He was found often at the public library, 586 00:30:07,379 --> 00:30:09,413 studying the Egyptians, 587 00:30:09,517 --> 00:30:12,724 studying ancient megalithic structures. 588 00:30:12,827 --> 00:30:15,068 Ed said he knew the secrets of the pyramids. 589 00:30:15,172 --> 00:30:17,931 I believe this to be accurate. 590 00:30:18,034 --> 00:30:21,241 He was able to replicate their accomplishments, 591 00:30:21,344 --> 00:30:23,379 which enabled him to be able to create something 592 00:30:23,482 --> 00:30:26,793 which, by any other standard, you cannot do. 593 00:30:26,896 --> 00:30:30,655 SHATNER: Did Edward Leedskalnin actually crack 594 00:30:30,758 --> 00:30:33,241 the engineering secrets of the Great Pyramids? 595 00:30:33,344 --> 00:30:37,655 There are those who believe the answer is yes, 596 00:30:37,758 --> 00:30:42,586 and that one of the secrets involves magnetism. 597 00:30:42,689 --> 00:30:44,655 One of the most curious things that Ed designed 598 00:30:44,758 --> 00:30:46,586 was called a perpetual motion holder. 599 00:30:46,689 --> 00:30:48,275 You could find a drawing of it 600 00:30:48,379 --> 00:30:51,000 on the cover of his booklet, Magnetic Current. 601 00:30:51,103 --> 00:30:52,793 He created something that is made from 602 00:30:52,896 --> 00:30:55,655 a 1inch-thick steel bar, 603 00:30:55,758 --> 00:31:00,275 a mile of coil of copper wire with a bar on top, 604 00:31:00,379 --> 00:31:04,862 and if you lock these coils together with current, 605 00:31:04,965 --> 00:31:06,344 this current will run through this device forever 606 00:31:06,448 --> 00:31:08,862 and never leave it. 607 00:31:08,965 --> 00:31:12,448 MICHIO KAKU: Magnetism can in fact levitate very large objects, 608 00:31:12,551 --> 00:31:14,379 but you have to have what is called 609 00:31:14,482 --> 00:31:16,931 superconducting technology. 610 00:31:17,034 --> 00:31:20,586 You have to cool down, cool down helium, 611 00:31:20,689 --> 00:31:23,103 for example, to near, near absolute zero 612 00:31:23,206 --> 00:31:27,000 before you get superconducting magnets. 613 00:31:27,103 --> 00:31:29,586 TAYLOR: Ed claims in his notes that he used reverse energy, 614 00:31:29,689 --> 00:31:32,103 or antigravity. 615 00:31:32,206 --> 00:31:35,103 The question is, what did he mean by this? 616 00:31:35,206 --> 00:31:38,000 The device that Ed used or allegedly used 617 00:31:38,103 --> 00:31:40,793 to move these rocks were an old-school tripod 618 00:31:40,896 --> 00:31:43,206 that had a large black box on top of it. 619 00:31:43,310 --> 00:31:45,758 We don't know what was in that box 620 00:31:45,862 --> 00:31:47,586 and Ed never says what was in that box. 621 00:31:47,689 --> 00:31:50,103 We could speculate that it's some device 622 00:31:50,206 --> 00:31:52,172 that he's created that enables him to lift 623 00:31:52,275 --> 00:31:53,862 more weight than he should be able to lift 624 00:31:53,965 --> 00:31:57,793 with this rudimentary tripod fulcrum and lever system. 625 00:31:57,896 --> 00:32:03,034 But we have no idea what it was he did. 626 00:32:03,137 --> 00:32:04,931 What makes the Coral Castle so unique and mysterious 627 00:32:05,034 --> 00:32:07,172 is that no one has ever been able 628 00:32:07,275 --> 00:32:11,517 to replicate his results using his methods. 629 00:32:11,620 --> 00:32:15,379 What this means is that he knew something that we do not know. 630 00:32:19,103 --> 00:32:21,103 SHATNER: Whatever secrets 631 00:32:21,206 --> 00:32:23,448 Edward Leedskalnin used to build Coral Castle, 632 00:32:23,551 --> 00:32:26,586 he took to his grave. But why? 633 00:32:26,689 --> 00:32:30,482 Perhaps the answer can be found 6,500 miles away, 634 00:32:30,586 --> 00:32:34,724 inside the ultimate engineering marvel of all time: 635 00:32:34,827 --> 00:32:37,896 the Great Pyramid at Giza. 636 00:32:43,551 --> 00:32:46,862 SHATNER: Just outside of Cairo, Egypt 637 00:32:46,965 --> 00:32:50,137 stands what is arguably the most famous structure on Earth: 638 00:32:50,241 --> 00:32:53,344 the Great Pyramid of Giza. 639 00:32:53,448 --> 00:32:56,482 481 feet high. 640 00:32:56,586 --> 00:32:59,965 756 feet long on each side. 641 00:33:00,068 --> 00:33:03,344 2.3 million blocks of limestone 642 00:33:03,448 --> 00:33:08,586 and granite weighing 6.5 million tons. 643 00:33:08,689 --> 00:33:12,206 But incredibly, thousands of years after 644 00:33:12,310 --> 00:33:13,965 its first stones were laid, 645 00:33:14,068 --> 00:33:16,827 there's still three important questions 646 00:33:16,931 --> 00:33:19,655 that have yet to be answered: 647 00:33:19,758 --> 00:33:22,206 What was its purpose? 648 00:33:22,310 --> 00:33:24,241 Who built it? 649 00:33:24,344 --> 00:33:27,862 And how? 650 00:33:27,965 --> 00:33:31,275 BURROWS: The Great Pyramid is completely bizarre. 651 00:33:31,379 --> 00:33:34,517 Hundreds and hundreds of brilliant engineers 652 00:33:34,620 --> 00:33:37,172 have made many various attempts with different technologies 653 00:33:37,275 --> 00:33:40,034 to actually uncover its secrets. 654 00:33:40,137 --> 00:33:42,344 And yet, so far, we've been unable to. 655 00:33:42,448 --> 00:33:45,241 SHATNER: Mainstream archeologists have 656 00:33:45,344 --> 00:33:47,724 long maintained that the Great Pyramid was built 657 00:33:47,827 --> 00:33:52,379 some 4,500 years ago as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu. 658 00:33:52,482 --> 00:33:56,344 But that assertion has come under scrutiny in recent years, 659 00:33:56,448 --> 00:33:58,965 owing largely to the fact that no mummy 660 00:33:59,068 --> 00:34:01,068 was ever found in its chambers. 661 00:34:01,172 --> 00:34:04,620 And there are no hieroglyphics to be found 662 00:34:04,724 --> 00:34:07,793 on its massive granite walls. 663 00:34:07,896 --> 00:34:10,448 COLLINS: This extraordinary monument 664 00:34:10,551 --> 00:34:14,827 contains the most profound mathematics and geometry. 665 00:34:14,931 --> 00:34:17,862 Now, why would this be incorporated 666 00:34:17,965 --> 00:34:21,241 in such a structure if it was simply a tomb? 667 00:34:21,344 --> 00:34:27,413 There's obviously more to this story than meets the eye. 668 00:34:27,517 --> 00:34:29,827 NEWMAN: The Great Pyramid on the Giza Plateau 669 00:34:29,931 --> 00:34:32,793 in Egypt is one of the most magnificent sites on the planet. 670 00:34:32,896 --> 00:34:35,068 One of the seven wonders of the world 671 00:34:35,172 --> 00:34:37,655 and I don't believe it's a tomb. 672 00:34:37,758 --> 00:34:41,827 I think it's much more than that. 673 00:34:41,931 --> 00:34:44,068 SHATNER: So could the Great Pyramid 674 00:34:44,172 --> 00:34:47,689 have been built for another, arguably more useful, purpose? 675 00:34:47,793 --> 00:34:50,413 One that would make more sense, 676 00:34:50,517 --> 00:34:54,965 given the size and complexity of its construction? 677 00:34:55,068 --> 00:34:58,482 In a paper published by the Journal of Applied Physics 678 00:34:58,586 --> 00:35:00,586 in 2018, a team of scientists 679 00:35:00,689 --> 00:35:05,275 did some research on the Great Pyramid 680 00:35:05,379 --> 00:35:08,206 and found that electromagnetic energy 681 00:35:08,310 --> 00:35:12,551 was present in some of the chambers when stimulated. 682 00:35:12,655 --> 00:35:14,620 TAYLOR: This experiment used very long wavelength radio waves 683 00:35:14,724 --> 00:35:16,655 and it actually caused these waves 684 00:35:16,758 --> 00:35:19,344 to be focused into certain regions. 685 00:35:19,448 --> 00:35:22,655 They realized that the pyramid's shape 686 00:35:22,758 --> 00:35:26,551 might actually act as a lens or a focusing mechanism 687 00:35:26,655 --> 00:35:29,827 for radio frequency energy. 688 00:35:29,931 --> 00:35:31,620 MICHAEL DENNIN: One of the things that's interesting, 689 00:35:31,724 --> 00:35:34,206 of course, when looking at the Great Pyramid 690 00:35:34,310 --> 00:35:36,724 as a possible coupling to energy sources is to ask, 691 00:35:36,827 --> 00:35:39,068 "Could it have been coupling somehow 692 00:35:39,172 --> 00:35:41,482 to seismic or sound vibrations in the earth?" 693 00:35:41,586 --> 00:35:43,448 I think the real question would be, 694 00:35:43,551 --> 00:35:45,137 what type of energy were they trying to focus 695 00:35:45,241 --> 00:35:48,655 or how would they leverage it? 696 00:35:48,758 --> 00:35:50,137 NEWMAN: The Great Pyramid sits 697 00:35:50,241 --> 00:35:51,931 very close to a fault line. 698 00:35:52,034 --> 00:35:54,758 So almost like it absorbs seismic energy 699 00:35:54,862 --> 00:35:57,103 and then gives it back out again. 700 00:35:57,206 --> 00:36:00,931 So it could have been a generator of Earth energies 701 00:36:01,034 --> 00:36:04,448 that then would spread out through the landscape. 702 00:36:04,551 --> 00:36:06,275 SHATNER: Was the Great Pyramid 703 00:36:06,379 --> 00:36:08,931 constructed to channel power from the Earth? 704 00:36:09,034 --> 00:36:11,551 While the idea may sound fantastic, 705 00:36:11,655 --> 00:36:15,517 it is one that was pursued by a man who is credited 706 00:36:15,620 --> 00:36:17,517 as one of the inventors of modern electricity, 707 00:36:17,620 --> 00:36:20,965 Nikola Tesla. 708 00:36:21,068 --> 00:36:22,793 KAKU: Nikola Tesla is one of the great 709 00:36:22,896 --> 00:36:25,482 geniuses of the last century. 710 00:36:25,586 --> 00:36:28,379 He wanted to create wireless technology. 711 00:36:28,482 --> 00:36:31,310 Not with radio, but through the planet Earth. 712 00:36:31,413 --> 00:36:35,000 And that's why he built this gigantic tower 713 00:36:35,103 --> 00:36:37,172 in Shoreham, Long Island. 714 00:36:37,275 --> 00:36:41,034 Some people think that maybe he got inspiration 715 00:36:41,137 --> 00:36:46,655 for his gigantic antenna from the pyramids of Giza. 716 00:36:46,758 --> 00:36:48,344 There are a lot of parallels between what Nikola Tesla 717 00:36:48,448 --> 00:36:50,862 was doing, uh, at Wardenclyffe 718 00:36:50,965 --> 00:36:52,758 and the Great Pyramids. 719 00:36:52,862 --> 00:36:56,620 The pyramids don't look today the way they did 720 00:36:56,724 --> 00:36:58,724 thousands of years ago when they were first built. 721 00:36:58,827 --> 00:37:02,344 But they had, on the top of the pyramid, 722 00:37:02,448 --> 00:37:07,172 some conductive material that made it shiny on the top. 723 00:37:07,275 --> 00:37:10,724 And that's very much like the Wardenclyffe Tower transmitters, 724 00:37:10,827 --> 00:37:13,965 that you had a conductive surface on the top of the tower. 725 00:37:14,068 --> 00:37:15,758 And it's really interesting that the height 726 00:37:15,862 --> 00:37:18,172 of the pyramid to the base of the pyramid 727 00:37:18,275 --> 00:37:22,862 is the height that Tesla wanted to build his Wardenclyffe Tower. 728 00:37:22,965 --> 00:37:25,206 Well, due to monetary reasons, 729 00:37:25,310 --> 00:37:27,586 he built a scale version of it and he didn't build it as, 730 00:37:27,689 --> 00:37:30,586 as high as he wanted it to and as large as he wanted to. 731 00:37:30,689 --> 00:37:34,241 Tesla wanted it built over a flowing aquifer 732 00:37:34,344 --> 00:37:36,241 and he said this allowed him 733 00:37:36,344 --> 00:37:38,896 to grip the earth in order to transmit 734 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,275 this power from one location to another. 735 00:37:41,379 --> 00:37:44,827 I find it intriguing that the pyramids are very similar. 736 00:37:44,931 --> 00:37:49,965 So it's very likely that if the pyramids were built 737 00:37:50,068 --> 00:37:52,275 for some purpose of absorbing and capturing 738 00:37:52,379 --> 00:37:54,620 and harnessing energy from the Earth, 739 00:37:54,724 --> 00:37:56,517 that that's what Tesla was trying to reproduce. 740 00:37:56,620 --> 00:37:58,827 [electricity crackling] 741 00:37:58,931 --> 00:38:01,517 NOORY: Sometimes we have to look beyond 742 00:38:01,620 --> 00:38:05,620 what might seem like logical and think illogically. 743 00:38:05,724 --> 00:38:08,862 The question is, did Tesla get knowledge 744 00:38:08,965 --> 00:38:11,241 from the pyramids or are the pyramids there 745 00:38:11,344 --> 00:38:15,689 for other purposes? 746 00:38:15,793 --> 00:38:19,206 SHATNER: Ancient Egyptian pyramids 747 00:38:19,310 --> 00:38:21,137 with the ability to harness the raw power 748 00:38:21,241 --> 00:38:22,344 of the Earth itself. 749 00:38:22,448 --> 00:38:23,965 Preposterous? 750 00:38:24,068 --> 00:38:27,344 Perhaps. 751 00:38:27,448 --> 00:38:31,413 But there are other structures whose purpose is so baffling, 752 00:38:31,517 --> 00:38:35,344 we have no idea why they were constructed. 753 00:38:40,482 --> 00:38:42,310 SHATNER: Not all mysterious structures 754 00:38:42,413 --> 00:38:45,827 are as vast as a mansion... 755 00:38:45,931 --> 00:38:48,379 ...or as ingeniously constructed as a pyramid. 756 00:38:48,482 --> 00:38:51,655 Some are much smaller and appear at first glance 757 00:38:51,758 --> 00:38:53,551 to be rather simple. 758 00:38:53,655 --> 00:38:55,793 That is, until you look closely 759 00:38:55,896 --> 00:38:59,379 and realize that sometimes, 760 00:38:59,482 --> 00:39:05,241 the simplest structures can be among the most astounding. 761 00:39:05,344 --> 00:39:08,862 In the Diquís Delta of Costa Rica, 762 00:39:08,965 --> 00:39:12,517 there are over 300 stone spheres of various sizes 763 00:39:12,620 --> 00:39:16,379 scattered across 25 acres of jungle. 764 00:39:16,482 --> 00:39:18,586 Archeological evidence dates the earliest 765 00:39:18,689 --> 00:39:21,931 to approximately 200 BC. 766 00:39:22,034 --> 00:39:24,827 But why they were made and who made them 767 00:39:24,931 --> 00:39:30,206 remains a mystery. 768 00:39:30,310 --> 00:39:32,482 NEWMAN: All of the spheres in Costa Rica 769 00:39:32,586 --> 00:39:34,724 are carved and shaped, um, 770 00:39:34,827 --> 00:39:38,620 created from different types of rock. 771 00:39:38,724 --> 00:39:41,482 Over 300 have been discovered. 772 00:39:41,586 --> 00:39:43,655 These range from the size of a tennis ball 773 00:39:43,758 --> 00:39:49,517 all the way up to nine feet in diameter. 774 00:39:49,620 --> 00:39:52,793 They're very precise, they're very abstract. 775 00:39:52,896 --> 00:39:58,068 They're bizarre in their own right. 776 00:39:58,172 --> 00:40:01,000 The spheres in Costa Rica are, um, fabulous 777 00:40:01,103 --> 00:40:02,586 and fabulously interesting. 778 00:40:02,689 --> 00:40:05,206 They almost sort of demand a-a story. 779 00:40:05,310 --> 00:40:08,000 There-there has to be a story behind it. 780 00:40:08,103 --> 00:40:10,551 And so this of course has caused people 781 00:40:10,655 --> 00:40:13,000 to wonder a great deal about where these come from. 782 00:40:13,103 --> 00:40:17,034 Are they man-made or natural-made? 783 00:40:17,137 --> 00:40:19,931 NEWMAN Some people believe that 784 00:40:20,034 --> 00:40:22,000 the ancient spheres of Costa Rica 785 00:40:22,103 --> 00:40:26,379 are from Atlantis or from other lost civilizations. 786 00:40:26,482 --> 00:40:31,655 Different people say they are navigational tools. 787 00:40:31,758 --> 00:40:36,241 Some people suggest they're even mapping the stars on the ground. 788 00:40:36,344 --> 00:40:38,413 As the stars and the planets moved around, 789 00:40:38,517 --> 00:40:41,448 you'd move the spheres around to match it. 790 00:40:41,551 --> 00:40:44,931 One of the traditions, uh, that goes way, way back 791 00:40:45,034 --> 00:40:47,448 with the Costa Rica stone spheres is the idea that 792 00:40:47,551 --> 00:40:51,620 at the center of the spheres, there's a black stone. 793 00:40:51,724 --> 00:40:55,413 Many of the stones got cracked open to find 794 00:40:55,517 --> 00:40:57,241 that there was nothing in them, but some of them 795 00:40:57,344 --> 00:41:01,517 actually did have a black stone in the center. 796 00:41:01,620 --> 00:41:03,724 How they would know that, how they would know, 797 00:41:03,827 --> 00:41:05,655 indeed, there was a black stone in the center 798 00:41:05,758 --> 00:41:10,862 is another mystery in itself. 799 00:41:10,965 --> 00:41:16,689 SHATNER: Just what are the Costa Rican spheres? 800 00:41:16,793 --> 00:41:19,482 Even with all our knowledge of the past, 801 00:41:19,586 --> 00:41:22,862 all our modern technology... 802 00:41:22,965 --> 00:41:24,931 we still don't know why they were carved 803 00:41:25,034 --> 00:41:28,827 so perfectly in stone. 804 00:41:32,482 --> 00:41:37,620 Were the Costa Rican spheres intended as weapons? 805 00:41:37,724 --> 00:41:42,241 Were the churches at Lalibela carved deep underground 806 00:41:42,344 --> 00:41:45,000 because there were no other building materials available? 807 00:41:45,103 --> 00:41:48,620 And what about the Winchester Mystery House? 808 00:41:48,724 --> 00:41:51,241 Perhaps like the Great Pyramid, they were built in such a way 809 00:41:51,344 --> 00:41:56,034 that their very construction would be considered a miracle. 810 00:41:56,137 --> 00:42:00,793 Bait for mankind's insatiable curiosity. 811 00:42:00,896 --> 00:42:04,793 Something deliberately wondrous and intended to be among... 812 00:42:04,896 --> 00:42:06,965 [whispers]: The UnXplained. 65089

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