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ANNOUNCER:
The following program
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contains disturbing
subject matter and images.
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Viewer discretion is advised.
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WILLIAM SHATNER:
A pharaoh's tomb
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with a deadly curse.
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A dictator
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who gets younger with time.
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And life-sized dolls
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made from human remains.
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For thousands of years,
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people around the world
have practiced mummification
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in the belief that one day...
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...the dead will rise again.
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Today we consider such views
to be preposterous.
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Irrational. Unbelievable.
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But what if we're wrong?
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What if the ancient art
of mummification
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could somehow, someday...
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bring back the dead?
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Well...
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that is what
we'll try and find out.
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♪ ♪
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A young boy working for
a British excavation team
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led by archaeologist
Howard Carter
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is riding his donkey home
one night,
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when suddenly
the animal's hoof slips
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into a hole below the sand.
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Carter and his team
later excavate the site
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and discover
a mysterious chamber
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hidden deep beneath
the shifting sands.
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Peering inside,
they lay their eyes
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upon one of the most incredible
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archaeological finds in history.
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A massive treasure trove
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of gold and ebony artifacts,
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all laid out
before another chamber
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guarded by two imposing statues
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and sealed shut
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with an intricate combination
of rope knots and clay.
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The long-lost tomb
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of King Tutankhamen.
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It was absolutely
a magnificent discovery,
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made headline news
all over the world,
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and really sort of captured
public imagination
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at-at just the right time.
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Unlike most of the other tombs
that had been discovered
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of the ancient
Egyptian pharaohs,
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King Tut's tomb was untouched.
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It had not been plundered,
it had not been destroyed,
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and so there was a tremendous
wealth of archaeological data
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as well as just
a stunning display of artifacts.
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SHATNER:
After spending nearly three months cataloguing
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the more than 5,000 relics
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found within
the tomb's antechamber...
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...on February 16, 1923,
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at just after
2:00 in the afternoon,
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members of the press gathered
to watch Howard Carter
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finally break the seal
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protecting King Tut's
burial chamber,
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which had lain undisturbed
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for more than 3,000 years.
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NICHOLAS BROWN: Carter started
excavation of the burial chamber
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within Tutankhamen's tomb
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and he found the intact
burial of Tutankhamen,
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which was contained,
essentially,
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within nine protective layers.
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The sarcophagus
is very elaborate.
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It's got gold, it's inlaid
with precious stones,
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and there's
several layers of it
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before you get down
to the central layer,
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which is, of course, the mummy
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of King Tutankhamen himself.
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BROWN:
Once Carter began unwrapping the mummy of Tutankhamen
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and removed
the funerary death mask
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and made his way through
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the different mummy bandages
and the bundle itself,
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he was able to see
the face of Tutankhamen,
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which hadn't been seen
by any living person
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for nearly 3,500 years.
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So in a way, the opening
of the tomb of Tutankhamen
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is a kind of a resurrection.
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SHATNER:
The discovery of King Tut's mummy
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launched
an international media frenzy,
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making headlines in every major
newspaper around the world.
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But Howard Carter and his team
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had barely begun enjoying
their success
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when several strange things
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started happening to them.
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That evening Howard Carter
is having his dinner
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and hears a commotion
in the next room.
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Goes in, and his pet canary
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is being attacked
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inside its cage by a king cobra.
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Now, the king cobra
is a symbol for the pharaoh.
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And a canary, the symbolism.
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The canary is the first to go.
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The canary is
the weakest and a warning.
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After that, Lord Carnarvon,
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the financier
of the whole expedition,
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was there on site.
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And then, while they're
inventorying the treasures,
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he gets a mosquito bite.
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A few days later, accidentally
nicks the bump with his razor.
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The bump gets infected.
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It leads to blood poisoning,
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and he dies of it.
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A prominent British radiologist
came out to the site
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to X-ray King Tut,
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and shortly after
handling the mummy,
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he catches a mysterious disease
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that cannot be diagnosed,
cannot be treated,
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and it kills him.
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SHATNER:
All told, the deaths of no fewer
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than seven members
of Howard Carter's expedition
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took place shortly after
the reopening
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of Tutankhamen's burial chamber.
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While it was certainly possible
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their untimely deaths were
nothing more than coincidences,
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many believed that
by disturbing King Tut's mummy,
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the archaeologists
had somehow triggered
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a deadly curse.
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To the ancient Egyptians,
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death was not the end.
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But in order to guarantee
yourself eternal life,
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you actually had
to preserve your earthly body
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for the spirit to be able
to function properly.
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The idea of a mummy curse
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is to keep those people
out of the tombs.
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The Egyptians said
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if you bothered these mummies,
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you would have a problem.
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And people who have discovered
those tombs
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actually ended up
dying weird ways.
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If that's not a curse,
what would be?
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The ancient Egyptians prepared
the body for mummification by
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removing the internal organs.
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They would remove the brain
through the nose
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with a metal hook
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and clean out all of the organs
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and put them in jars,
except for the heart,
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because for them the heart
was the key to the afterlife.
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And then, at that point,
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they'd wrap the body in linen,
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and then they'd put them
in sarcophagi
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that looked like human beings
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and they were made
to resemble the deceased.
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The Egyptians thought
the soul had multiple parts.
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Upon death,
certain parts of the soul
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went down into the Earth,
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certain parts
went up into the sky,
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and then other parts remained
with the actual body.
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If you want that person
perpetuated for eternity,
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you need to maintain
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all aspects of the soul
together.
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That can happen
if the body is preserved.
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THOMPSON:
The idea was that at some point
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you will face the gods
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and those who are unworthy
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would be obliterated
for all time.
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So these tombs
were meant to be there
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until the day of judgment.
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You were not supposed
to open these.
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SHATERN:
Is it possible that the ancient Egyptians
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were able to preserve
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the soul of King Tut
within his mummified remains,
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effectively keeping his spirit
alive for thousands of years?
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And if so, could the pharaoh's
spirit have unleashed a curse
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upon the men
responsible for disturbing
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his sacred burial chamber?
Perhaps.
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But there are some researchers
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who claim that even before
King Tut's tomb was disturbed,
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there was already
a pharaoh's curse in place.
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A curse that was associated
not with King Tut
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but with his father, Akhenaten.
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YOUNG:
Akhenaten was controversial
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because he used his
considerable power as pharaoh
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to change the religious system.
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Ancient Egypt had
always been polytheistic,
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many gods,
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and then there is a new pharaoh
with a new idea.
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Akhenaten announces
there will be one god,
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they will be
a monotheistic people.
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Aten, the sun god,
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would be the one divinity
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they all worshipped.
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The sun disc.
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It shook the empire
in really terrible ways.
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BROWN:
Part of this religious revolution
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included purposely erasing
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the names of older gods,
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closing down their temples,
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erasing their names
from monuments,
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and trying to obliterate
these other deities
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that the Egyptians
used to worship.
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SHATNER:
Before the reign of Akhenaten,
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the most sacred deity
of the ancient Egyptians
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was known as Amun-Ra,
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the chief of all Egyptian gods.
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According to legend,
Amun-Ra was angered
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by Akhenaten's acts of heresy
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and took vengeance
upon the pharaoh.
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For his offense, Akhenaten was
cursed by Amun-Ra,
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a curse unique
to religious views in Egypt.
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He would be cursed
after death to wander endlessly.
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His soul would never be reunited
with his body,
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which was the point of
all those funerary practices.
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He would be disconnected
and dislodged forever.
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SHATNER:
If Akhenaten's soul was doomed
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to never reach the afterlife,
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was King Tut's body mummified
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and placed within a sealed
burial chamber
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so that he could escape
the fate of his father?
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And is that why breaking the
seals on the tomb of King Tut
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brought a curse upon
Howard Carter and his team?
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If the ancient Egyptians were
right about the power
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of mummification,
then it might be possible.
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But the Egyptians weren't
the only ancient civilization
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that believed mummies held
the secret of eternal life.
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Some were so convinced
of the power of mummification,
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they didn't even bother
to wait...
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until death.
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SHATNER:
Every three years, the villagers
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in this mountainous region
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gather to celebrate
with members of their families.
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But what's odd about this party
is that the guests of honor
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are all dead.
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THOMPSON:
We look at these corpses and say that's a dead person.
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They look at that same corpse
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and say, "No, no,
that spirit's still there."
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And if the spirit's
still there, well, then that's
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the person, that--
the person is still there.
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SHATNER:
While the idea of having a get-together
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with your dead relatives
might sound unnerving,
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the truth is
ritual preservation and
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personification
of the dead is actually
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very common around the world.
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When we think of mummies,
we often go
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directly to ancient Egypt.
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But we find mummies
in other cultures
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around the world
in various forms.
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00:12:29,758 --> 00:12:32,896
So we find this sort of very
elaborate mummification
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00:12:32,965 --> 00:12:35,586
preparals in the Aztec Empire
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and the Incan Empire.
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And in Asia,
there is an interesting
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history of mummification.
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SHATNER:
But of all the forms of mummification
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that have been practiced,
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the one that is perhaps
the most extraordinary
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and the most unsettling
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involves turning people
into mummies
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while they're still alive.
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Just outside
the Tsuruoka City limits,
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sits Churen-ji Temple.
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Surrounded by 200-year-old
cherry blossom trees,
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Churen-ji
is similar to many other
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rural temples
throughout the region,
257
00:13:16,862 --> 00:13:19,482
with one notable exception.
258
00:13:19,586 --> 00:13:21,620
The monk who presides here
259
00:13:21,689 --> 00:13:23,862
has been seated
in meditative prayer
260
00:13:23,965 --> 00:13:27,379
for almost 200 years.
261
00:13:27,482 --> 00:13:29,206
JEREMIAH:
Among the mummified monks
262
00:13:29,275 --> 00:13:33,034
of Yamagata, Japan, Sunada Tetsu
is perhaps the most famous.
263
00:13:33,103 --> 00:13:37,034
And his body is currently
located at Churen Temple,
264
00:13:37,137 --> 00:13:39,655
in northern Yamagata prefecture.
265
00:13:39,724 --> 00:13:43,000
Sunada Tetsu is
an 18th-century Buddhist monk,
266
00:13:43,068 --> 00:13:45,551
who wasn't
a religious person at all.
267
00:13:45,655 --> 00:13:48,620
He didn't plan on
entering religion.
268
00:13:48,689 --> 00:13:51,172
However, he ended up
killing two samurai.
269
00:13:56,482 --> 00:13:58,586
And at the time,
270
00:13:58,689 --> 00:14:01,379
19th-century Japan,
if you kill two samurai
271
00:14:01,448 --> 00:14:05,344
and you're a commoner,
you're gonna be killed.
272
00:14:05,413 --> 00:14:08,689
But local temples were
exempt from that law.
273
00:14:08,793 --> 00:14:10,931
So he joined Churen Temple,
274
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:12,931
and over time became a believer
275
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,758
and one of the most holy people
276
00:14:15,827 --> 00:14:17,827
in Japan, traveling throughout
277
00:14:17,896 --> 00:14:20,241
the Japanese countryside,
repairing bridges,
278
00:14:20,310 --> 00:14:22,034
doing anything he could
to help people.
279
00:14:22,103 --> 00:14:24,379
SHATNER:
Sunada Tetsu
280
00:14:24,448 --> 00:14:27,034
was so dedicated
to serving the Japanese people
281
00:14:27,137 --> 00:14:29,448
that the onetime outlaw
earned a reputation
282
00:14:29,517 --> 00:14:30,896
as a miracle worker.
283
00:14:31,931 --> 00:14:34,034
But as old age
began approaching,
284
00:14:34,137 --> 00:14:36,896
Sunada Tetsu realized
there was only one way
285
00:14:36,965 --> 00:14:40,103
for him to continue his good
works well into the future.
286
00:14:40,172 --> 00:14:44,241
The ancient art
of self-mummification,
287
00:14:44,344 --> 00:14:46,862
known as Sokushinbutsu.
288
00:14:47,793 --> 00:14:49,827
In this particular tradition
289
00:14:49,896 --> 00:14:52,862
of, uh, Buddhism
that we find in Japan,
290
00:14:52,931 --> 00:14:55,862
there's this practice
of Sokushinbutsu,
291
00:14:55,965 --> 00:14:59,172
which is basically
a mummification practice
292
00:14:59,275 --> 00:15:02,482
the practitioner undertakes
when they're still alive.
293
00:15:04,034 --> 00:15:07,241
People who engaged in the
process of self-mummification,
294
00:15:07,310 --> 00:15:09,275
they wanted
to preserve the flesh
295
00:15:09,344 --> 00:15:11,586
because they thought
there was a divine merit
296
00:15:11,655 --> 00:15:15,034
that could be of use
of people who are still alive.
297
00:15:15,137 --> 00:15:18,206
SHATNER:
In order for a monk's soul to shed his body
298
00:15:18,275 --> 00:15:22,000
in the proper manner, the
practitioners of Sokushinbutsu
299
00:15:22,068 --> 00:15:24,931
were required to undergo
a very specific process.
300
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,275
A process which,
301
00:15:27,344 --> 00:15:28,931
as one can imagine,
302
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,034
isn't exactly pleasant.
303
00:15:33,379 --> 00:15:35,034
JEREMIAH:
The process of self-mummification
304
00:15:35,103 --> 00:15:37,965
is to gradually decrease
the amount of food
305
00:15:38,034 --> 00:15:40,551
you're ingesting, and in place,
306
00:15:40,655 --> 00:15:44,000
start ingesting things that
are preservative in nature.
307
00:15:44,068 --> 00:15:45,517
And in the case of
the self-mummified monks,
308
00:15:45,586 --> 00:15:46,931
they were pine bark,
309
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:48,655
pine resin...
310
00:15:48,724 --> 00:15:51,172
and urushi tea.
311
00:15:51,241 --> 00:15:53,862
Urushi tea, which comes
from the lacquer tree,
312
00:15:53,931 --> 00:15:56,655
is considered
to be extremely toxic,
313
00:15:56,724 --> 00:16:01,344
but it also lacquers the body
from inside out, and it removes
314
00:16:01,413 --> 00:16:03,931
moisture at the same time
from the organs
315
00:16:04,034 --> 00:16:06,827
and presents some kind
of embalming faculties.
316
00:16:06,896 --> 00:16:10,931
When the monks have completed
their pre-mummification diet,
317
00:16:11,034 --> 00:16:15,137
they would be placed
into a box made of pinewood
318
00:16:15,206 --> 00:16:17,586
and buried underground
319
00:16:17,655 --> 00:16:19,965
with a little bell.
320
00:16:21,689 --> 00:16:23,517
Once the bell stopped ringing,
321
00:16:23,586 --> 00:16:27,275
the other monks would know
that the self-mummifying
322
00:16:27,379 --> 00:16:30,896
practitioner had, uh,
deceased inside the box.
323
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,689
SHATNER:
According to historical accounts,
324
00:16:33,793 --> 00:16:36,931
Sunada Tetsu spent 3,000 days,
325
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,034
which is more than eight years,
326
00:16:39,103 --> 00:16:42,344
starving himself in preparation
for his living burial.
327
00:16:42,413 --> 00:16:45,689
After his body was
eventually unearthed,
328
00:16:45,793 --> 00:16:48,896
it showed no decay whatsoever,
329
00:16:48,965 --> 00:16:51,551
signifying that his spirit
was indeed pure.
330
00:16:51,655 --> 00:16:55,241
But as morbid
as Sunada Tetsu's tale may be,
331
00:16:55,344 --> 00:16:57,758
he was not the first to attempt
332
00:16:57,827 --> 00:17:00,344
the extreme ritual
of Sokushinbutsu.
333
00:17:00,413 --> 00:17:02,586
Nor the last.
334
00:17:02,655 --> 00:17:04,931
The founder of esoteric
Buddhism in Japan
335
00:17:05,034 --> 00:17:07,344
was believed to have,
uh, studied in China,
336
00:17:07,448 --> 00:17:10,137
and, uh, learned about
this practice there.
337
00:17:10,206 --> 00:17:13,275
And subsequently
brought it to Japan,
338
00:17:13,379 --> 00:17:15,896
upon which some Japanese monks,
the most intrepid amongst them,
339
00:17:15,965 --> 00:17:18,896
would have picked it up
and applied it.
340
00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,241
But the self-mummification
practice
341
00:17:21,310 --> 00:17:23,172
was outlawed in the 19th century
342
00:17:23,275 --> 00:17:25,793
because it was
rarely successful.
343
00:17:25,896 --> 00:17:29,931
SHATNER:
Today, the mummies of only 24 monks who underwent
344
00:17:30,034 --> 00:17:33,586
the ritual of Sokushinbutsu
remain known,
345
00:17:33,655 --> 00:17:36,620
although historians estimate
that hundreds
346
00:17:36,724 --> 00:17:40,137
underwent the journey
before it was declared illegal.
347
00:17:40,241 --> 00:17:45,034
But why would so many willingly
attempt what was essentially
348
00:17:45,137 --> 00:17:47,586
a slow and agonizing suicide?
349
00:17:47,655 --> 00:17:50,655
As it turns out,
there was a very good reason.
350
00:17:50,758 --> 00:17:54,862
They wanted to become
what are referred to as...
351
00:17:54,931 --> 00:17:57,551
"living Buddhas."
352
00:17:57,620 --> 00:18:00,034
JEREMIAH:
They actually wanted to cause their own death
353
00:18:00,103 --> 00:18:02,655
so they could be
in meditative posture
354
00:18:02,724 --> 00:18:04,103
so they could direct their soul
355
00:18:04,172 --> 00:18:05,620
where they wanted it
to go afterwards.
356
00:18:05,689 --> 00:18:08,379
That's why they're considered
living Buddha.
357
00:18:08,448 --> 00:18:11,413
These mummies
are still alive because
358
00:18:11,482 --> 00:18:14,241
they are in between
the realm of life and death
359
00:18:14,310 --> 00:18:16,379
and perhaps they can
influence the two of them.
360
00:18:17,724 --> 00:18:21,068
SHATNER:
Could dying by self-mummification
361
00:18:21,137 --> 00:18:24,862
actually be the secret
to living forever?
362
00:18:24,965 --> 00:18:27,172
Gauging by the number
of visitors who come
363
00:18:27,241 --> 00:18:29,517
to seek his blessing every year,
364
00:18:29,586 --> 00:18:31,931
it would appear Sunada Tetsu
certainly has achieved
365
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,310
a form of eternal life.
366
00:18:34,413 --> 00:18:37,862
Just like another mummy who
was also put on display.
367
00:18:37,931 --> 00:18:40,655
One who achieved immortality
368
00:18:40,758 --> 00:18:43,000
not by ending his own life,
369
00:18:43,068 --> 00:18:45,344
but someone else's.
370
00:18:56,655 --> 00:19:01,000
SHATNER:
The St. Louis World's Fair opens to packed crowds.
371
00:19:01,068 --> 00:19:03,275
Over the course
of the next six months,
372
00:19:03,344 --> 00:19:06,103
more than 19 million people
stroll down
373
00:19:06,172 --> 00:19:09,448
a mile-long midway
lined with exhibitions
374
00:19:09,551 --> 00:19:12,517
showcasing the world's
most advanced science,
375
00:19:12,620 --> 00:19:14,137
technology, art...
376
00:19:14,241 --> 00:19:17,655
and one rather
bizarre attraction:
377
00:19:17,724 --> 00:19:21,793
the alleged mummy
of John Wilkes Booth,
378
00:19:21,862 --> 00:19:25,413
the man who assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln.
379
00:19:26,586 --> 00:19:28,827
NATE ORLOWEK: Encountering
a mummy that is being
380
00:19:28,931 --> 00:19:30,310
claimed to be John Wilkes Booth,
381
00:19:30,413 --> 00:19:33,620
the man who killed
who I think most people think
382
00:19:33,724 --> 00:19:36,862
was our greatest president,
would be pretty mind-boggling.
383
00:19:36,931 --> 00:19:41,413
YOUNG:
So it was a high point of many people's lives to see
384
00:19:41,482 --> 00:19:44,793
the mummy of the dark figure
of American history,
385
00:19:44,896 --> 00:19:47,068
John Wilkes Booth.
386
00:19:47,137 --> 00:19:49,896
To see some part of that story,
387
00:19:49,965 --> 00:19:51,793
even the horrific part of it,
388
00:19:51,862 --> 00:19:54,103
is still an expression of grief
389
00:19:54,206 --> 00:19:56,517
and attachment
to Abraham Lincoln.
390
00:19:56,620 --> 00:20:01,310
SHATNER:
For nearly three decades, the mummy of John Wilkes Booth,
391
00:20:01,379 --> 00:20:04,344
America's most infamous
assassin,
392
00:20:04,413 --> 00:20:07,172
drew eager crowds
around the world.
393
00:20:07,241 --> 00:20:09,965
Which was extraordinary,
394
00:20:10,034 --> 00:20:12,172
because according
to the United States government,
395
00:20:12,241 --> 00:20:14,000
the body of John Wilkes Booth
396
00:20:14,103 --> 00:20:16,103
had been buried in
a Baltimore cemetery
397
00:20:16,172 --> 00:20:18,241
since 1865.
398
00:20:20,448 --> 00:20:23,965
According to most
historical accounts,
399
00:20:24,068 --> 00:20:26,620
after John Wilkes Booth shot
400
00:20:26,689 --> 00:20:28,965
President Lincoln during
a performance at Ford's Theatre
401
00:20:29,034 --> 00:20:33,482
in Washington, D.C.
on April 14, 1865...
402
00:20:33,586 --> 00:20:35,344
[gunshot]
403
00:20:35,413 --> 00:20:38,172
...Booth fled on horseback
to Virginia,
404
00:20:38,241 --> 00:20:40,793
eluding Union soldiers
that were stationed
405
00:20:40,862 --> 00:20:43,724
at the city exits by
Vice President Andrew Johnson
406
00:20:43,827 --> 00:20:46,482
with orders to kill anyone
attempting to leave.
407
00:20:46,551 --> 00:20:49,344
Booth was eventually cornered
inside a barn
408
00:20:49,413 --> 00:20:52,344
just south of
Port Royal, Virginia,
409
00:20:52,413 --> 00:20:54,965
where-- after he
refused to surrender--
410
00:20:55,034 --> 00:20:59,793
Union troops shot and killed him
on April 26, 1865.
411
00:21:02,965 --> 00:21:04,379
ORLOWEK:
The barn was set on fire.
412
00:21:04,482 --> 00:21:08,758
The traditional version is that
the body was identified
413
00:21:08,827 --> 00:21:11,068
and eventually the government
released the body
414
00:21:11,137 --> 00:21:12,724
to the Booth family.
415
00:21:12,827 --> 00:21:14,896
SHATNER:
After receiving the body,
416
00:21:14,965 --> 00:21:18,965
Booth's family supposedly
buried him in the family plot
417
00:21:19,034 --> 00:21:21,379
at a Baltimore cemetery.
418
00:21:21,448 --> 00:21:23,344
But if that's the case,
419
00:21:23,448 --> 00:21:25,827
how did his preserved remains
end up
420
00:21:25,896 --> 00:21:28,379
as a traveling
sideshow attraction?
421
00:21:28,482 --> 00:21:30,827
According to some researchers,
it was all due
422
00:21:30,931 --> 00:21:35,793
to a chance encounter involving
a man named Finis L. Bates
423
00:21:35,862 --> 00:21:39,655
that occurred 12 years
after Booth's supposed death
424
00:21:39,758 --> 00:21:42,241
in 1865.
425
00:21:42,310 --> 00:21:46,620
MARK EBNER:
Bates was this lawyer slash carney barker,
426
00:21:46,689 --> 00:21:49,724
slash showman.
427
00:21:49,793 --> 00:21:53,379
He was living in a town called
Granbury, Texas,
428
00:21:53,448 --> 00:21:56,931
and befriended a guy named
John St. Helen.
429
00:21:57,034 --> 00:22:01,758
ORLOWEK:
One night, St. Helen became very ill
430
00:22:01,827 --> 00:22:03,379
and called Bates to his bedside.
431
00:22:03,448 --> 00:22:07,310
And he gasped out to Bates
that in fact,
432
00:22:07,379 --> 00:22:09,827
he was really John Wilkes Booth.
433
00:22:09,931 --> 00:22:12,827
Bates, of course, thought
the man was hallucinating,
434
00:22:12,896 --> 00:22:14,620
because everybody had been told
that John Wilkes Booth
435
00:22:14,689 --> 00:22:17,310
had been killed
12 years earlier.
436
00:22:17,413 --> 00:22:19,827
Booth slash St. Helens,
437
00:22:19,896 --> 00:22:23,379
he recovers from this illness
and he skips town.
438
00:22:23,482 --> 00:22:27,965
Years later, in Enid, Oklahoma,
439
00:22:28,068 --> 00:22:30,517
there is a guy, David George.
440
00:22:30,586 --> 00:22:34,448
George had enough of this world
and he killed himself.
441
00:22:34,517 --> 00:22:36,931
And there was no next of kin,
442
00:22:37,034 --> 00:22:38,586
but he did leave word,
443
00:22:38,689 --> 00:22:43,206
"Please call Finis L. Bates,"
and that they did.
444
00:22:44,931 --> 00:22:46,517
SHATNER:
As the story goes,
445
00:22:46,586 --> 00:22:49,620
when Finis L. Bates arrived
in Enid, Oklahoma
446
00:22:49,689 --> 00:22:52,275
and viewed the dead body
of David George,
447
00:22:52,379 --> 00:22:55,206
he made two startling
observations.
448
00:22:55,275 --> 00:22:57,655
The first was that
David George's appearance
449
00:22:57,758 --> 00:23:00,517
closely matched that
of John St. Helen's,
450
00:23:00,586 --> 00:23:04,620
the man who had claimed
to be John Wilkes Booth.
451
00:23:04,724 --> 00:23:07,517
And the second was
that George's body
452
00:23:07,586 --> 00:23:10,862
had been strangely preserved.
453
00:23:13,586 --> 00:23:15,965
YOUNG:
The undertaker,
454
00:23:16,034 --> 00:23:18,379
having no money for a burial,
455
00:23:18,482 --> 00:23:21,344
puts arsenic in the veins
to preserve the body,
456
00:23:21,413 --> 00:23:23,068
mummified the body,
457
00:23:23,172 --> 00:23:25,655
and then puts it
in a store window as a gag
458
00:23:25,724 --> 00:23:26,896
holding a newspaper.
459
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,827
So they get ahold of Bates,
460
00:23:28,896 --> 00:23:30,551
who puts two and two together,
461
00:23:30,655 --> 00:23:35,000
realizes it's the man who
claimed to be John Wilkes Booth,
462
00:23:35,068 --> 00:23:37,724
takes possession of this mummy,
463
00:23:37,827 --> 00:23:40,965
he goes into
the sideshow business
464
00:23:41,034 --> 00:23:42,724
and for a small price,
465
00:23:42,793 --> 00:23:47,586
you could see the mummy
of John Wilkes Booth.
466
00:23:47,655 --> 00:23:52,068
SHATNER:
If Finis L. Bates's story is true,
467
00:23:52,172 --> 00:23:54,724
and John Wilkes Booth
lived under
468
00:23:54,793 --> 00:23:57,517
at least two other identities
before dying
469
00:23:57,586 --> 00:24:00,724
in Enid, Oklahoma in 1903,
470
00:24:00,793 --> 00:24:04,862
the question is:
how did Booth escape the barn
471
00:24:04,965 --> 00:24:08,862
where he was supposedly killed
by Union troops?
472
00:24:08,965 --> 00:24:11,862
ORLOWEK:
In 1919, the granddaughter of one of the soldiers
473
00:24:11,931 --> 00:24:13,413
who was at the barn
474
00:24:13,482 --> 00:24:15,275
gave a sworn affidavit
475
00:24:15,379 --> 00:24:17,068
saying that man was not
John Wilkes Booth
476
00:24:17,172 --> 00:24:18,379
who was killed in the barn.
477
00:24:18,448 --> 00:24:19,896
That man had red hair
and ruddy features.
478
00:24:19,965 --> 00:24:21,275
John Wilkes Booth had black hair
479
00:24:21,344 --> 00:24:23,034
and smooth features.
480
00:24:23,103 --> 00:24:24,551
EBNER:
If revisionist history
481
00:24:24,655 --> 00:24:28,344
is to be believed,
John Wilkes Booth
482
00:24:28,413 --> 00:24:32,931
was given a password to freedom
483
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,931
and this was done
by the original conspirator
484
00:24:38,034 --> 00:24:40,344
in Abraham Lincoln's death,
485
00:24:40,413 --> 00:24:42,896
supposedly...
486
00:24:42,965 --> 00:24:46,689
Vice President Andrew Johnson.
487
00:24:46,793 --> 00:24:49,000
YOUNG:
John St. Helen is apparently
488
00:24:49,068 --> 00:24:52,862
on his deathbed and he made
kind of a deathbed confession.
489
00:24:52,931 --> 00:24:54,413
He tells the whole story
490
00:24:54,517 --> 00:24:56,896
of how it was plotted
not by himself,
491
00:24:56,965 --> 00:24:59,620
but by the vice president,
Andrew Johnson,
492
00:24:59,689 --> 00:25:01,448
who was, of course,
the beneficiary,
493
00:25:01,517 --> 00:25:02,931
became president
because of the death.
494
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,068
SHATNER:
Is it possible John Wilkes Booth
495
00:25:06,137 --> 00:25:08,310
lived as John St. Helen
496
00:25:08,413 --> 00:25:12,275
before dying
as David George in 1903,
497
00:25:12,344 --> 00:25:15,965
only to be reborn
as a mummified curiosity?
498
00:25:16,034 --> 00:25:19,724
While this may seem
like a far-fetched notion,
499
00:25:19,827 --> 00:25:22,862
according to researchers,
we may never know
500
00:25:22,965 --> 00:25:24,758
what really happened,
501
00:25:24,862 --> 00:25:27,344
because authorities
are preventing anyone
502
00:25:27,413 --> 00:25:30,241
from finding out the truth.
503
00:25:30,310 --> 00:25:33,689
In the 1990s,
the Booth family was
504
00:25:33,758 --> 00:25:36,482
convinced that John Wilkes Booth
really got away
505
00:25:36,551 --> 00:25:40,103
and they agreed to authorize
the excavation of the body.
506
00:25:40,172 --> 00:25:42,448
There are all sorts of tests
that would compare it
507
00:25:42,517 --> 00:25:45,137
with DNA from anyone
of John Wilkes Booth's
508
00:25:45,206 --> 00:25:46,413
immediate family members.
509
00:25:46,482 --> 00:25:49,379
Unfortunately,
the cemetery fought it
510
00:25:49,448 --> 00:25:51,482
and the Booth family
was denied permission.
511
00:25:51,586 --> 00:25:54,137
SHATNER:
Now you might be thinking,
512
00:25:54,206 --> 00:25:57,000
if officials at the cemetery
are preventing Booth's grave
513
00:25:57,103 --> 00:25:59,517
from being exhumed,
514
00:25:59,586 --> 00:26:03,137
why not simply do a DNA test
on his supposed mummy?
515
00:26:03,206 --> 00:26:07,172
Not surprisingly, researchers
agree that a DNA test
516
00:26:07,241 --> 00:26:09,275
would solve the mystery,
517
00:26:09,379 --> 00:26:14,137
if only they knew where
to find the mummy.
518
00:26:14,206 --> 00:26:16,517
ORLOWEK:
So unfortunately, it's uncertain where it is.
519
00:26:16,586 --> 00:26:19,206
So unless we can either
find the mummy
520
00:26:19,275 --> 00:26:22,517
or dig up the body
in the Booth plot,
521
00:26:22,620 --> 00:26:25,517
this will forever be a mystery.
522
00:26:25,586 --> 00:26:28,586
Does John Wilkes Booth
really lie buried
523
00:26:28,689 --> 00:26:31,137
in a Baltimore cemetery?
524
00:26:31,206 --> 00:26:35,517
Or did he somehow escape death
at the hands of Union soldiers
525
00:26:35,586 --> 00:26:39,862
and his mummified remains
are out there somewhere,
526
00:26:39,931 --> 00:26:42,931
collecting dust
in someone's attic?
527
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:47,137
Either way, it seems that
mummies do, in a sense,
528
00:26:47,241 --> 00:26:50,172
keep the memory
of the dead alive.
529
00:26:50,241 --> 00:26:54,206
But there are some mummies
whose place in history
530
00:26:54,275 --> 00:26:57,448
is preserved,
not just in our minds,
531
00:26:57,517 --> 00:27:01,586
but right before our eyes.
532
00:27:12,551 --> 00:27:15,034
SHATNER:
Near the center of this ancient city
533
00:27:15,137 --> 00:27:18,793
rise the soaring twin spires
of the Cologne Cathedral.
534
00:27:18,896 --> 00:27:21,448
Every day,
more than 20,000 people
535
00:27:21,517 --> 00:27:23,586
flock through its arched doors
536
00:27:23,689 --> 00:27:27,413
to visit one of Catholicism's
most important sites,
537
00:27:27,482 --> 00:27:29,862
the Tomb of the Three Kings.
538
00:27:29,931 --> 00:27:32,000
Those who pray
at this ancient shrine
539
00:27:32,068 --> 00:27:34,344
believe that they
will be divinely favored,
540
00:27:34,413 --> 00:27:38,793
because it contains the bones
of the three biblical Wise Men
541
00:27:38,862 --> 00:27:42,068
who visited Jesus shortly
after his birth,
542
00:27:42,137 --> 00:27:46,068
and whom the Catholic Church
considers to be saints.
543
00:27:48,551 --> 00:27:51,689
JEREMIAH: After death,
a lot of the so-called
544
00:27:51,758 --> 00:27:54,482
saints in Catholic Christianity,
545
00:27:54,586 --> 00:27:57,965
their body parts
were distributed.
546
00:27:58,068 --> 00:27:59,965
And the reason for that was
547
00:28:00,068 --> 00:28:02,517
there was this idea
that they were a source
548
00:28:02,586 --> 00:28:04,827
of divine power
549
00:28:04,931 --> 00:28:08,275
that could affect people,
that could affect miracles.
550
00:28:08,344 --> 00:28:11,724
SHATNER:
For the faithful, being in the presence
551
00:28:11,793 --> 00:28:15,551
of even a tiny portion
of a holy figure's body
552
00:28:15,620 --> 00:28:18,172
is a powerful reminder
of God's promise
553
00:28:18,241 --> 00:28:20,000
of eternal life in heaven.
554
00:28:20,103 --> 00:28:23,448
So imagine how they must feel
when in the presence
555
00:28:23,517 --> 00:28:26,689
of not merely the body parts
of a saint,
556
00:28:26,793 --> 00:28:29,310
but the entire body of one,
557
00:28:29,379 --> 00:28:33,517
like in the case of the remains
of St. Bernadette of Lourdes,
558
00:28:33,620 --> 00:28:37,482
which lie perfectly preserved
in a chapel in France,
559
00:28:37,586 --> 00:28:41,034
more than a century
after her death.
560
00:28:41,103 --> 00:28:46,068
St. Bernadette
was born in France in 1844,
561
00:28:46,172 --> 00:28:52,793
and she saw an apparition
of the Virgin Mary 18 times.
562
00:28:52,862 --> 00:28:55,689
And it started when she was 14.
563
00:28:57,034 --> 00:29:00,689
The spring that St. Bernadette
saw the Virgin Mary in
564
00:29:00,758 --> 00:29:03,965
is now a point of healing
for many people,
565
00:29:04,034 --> 00:29:08,413
and many people go to Lourdes
just to obtain the water.
566
00:29:08,482 --> 00:29:11,793
JEREMIAH:
St. Bernadette ended up dying
567
00:29:11,862 --> 00:29:14,310
in 1879 of tuberculosis
568
00:29:14,379 --> 00:29:16,551
and the Church decided
569
00:29:16,620 --> 00:29:19,448
that her claim that she visited
with the Virgin Mary
570
00:29:19,517 --> 00:29:22,689
in Lourdes, France
was trustworthy
571
00:29:22,758 --> 00:29:25,448
and decided to make her a saint.
572
00:29:25,551 --> 00:29:30,655
And as such, they had to remove
her body from the current tomb,
573
00:29:30,758 --> 00:29:33,448
identify it,
and then relocate it
574
00:29:33,517 --> 00:29:34,827
closer to the Church.
575
00:29:34,896 --> 00:29:37,206
And when they were doing that,
576
00:29:37,275 --> 00:29:40,137
they found out that she was in
a perfect state of preservation.
577
00:29:40,206 --> 00:29:42,620
She looked as though
she was still alive.
578
00:29:42,689 --> 00:29:45,068
SHATNER:
To this day, St. Bernadette
579
00:29:45,137 --> 00:29:49,413
appears as youthful in death
as she did in life.
580
00:29:49,517 --> 00:29:53,586
Could it be possible that
St. Bernadette's lack of decay
581
00:29:53,689 --> 00:29:57,310
is actually the result
of divine intervention?
582
00:29:57,379 --> 00:30:00,206
An incorruptible saint
583
00:30:00,275 --> 00:30:05,931
symbolizes that God has blessed
that particular saintly person
584
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,827
so that their body that so many
people have loved in life
585
00:30:09,896 --> 00:30:15,482
is still recognizable and
becomes a focus for devotion.
586
00:30:15,551 --> 00:30:17,758
SHATNER:
Despite the symbolic miracle
587
00:30:17,862 --> 00:30:20,206
such incorruptible bodies
represent
588
00:30:20,275 --> 00:30:23,655
for the faithful,
according to many researchers,
589
00:30:23,724 --> 00:30:26,793
there's nothing miraculous
about them.
590
00:30:26,862 --> 00:30:30,172
JEREMIAH: A lot of
the so-called incorruptibles
591
00:30:30,241 --> 00:30:33,586
were blatantly mummified.
592
00:30:33,655 --> 00:30:36,517
St. Bernadette
was enclosed in two
593
00:30:36,620 --> 00:30:38,689
hermetically sealed caskets.
594
00:30:38,793 --> 00:30:42,793
Once exposed to air,
she started to decay,
595
00:30:42,862 --> 00:30:45,137
so they covered her face
and hands with wax.
596
00:30:45,206 --> 00:30:49,758
SHATNER:
To the millions of faithful who visit the small chapel
597
00:30:49,827 --> 00:30:52,137
where St. Bernadette's body
now lies,
598
00:30:52,206 --> 00:30:56,586
her uncanny appearance remains
proof of the power of faith.
599
00:30:56,655 --> 00:30:59,689
Unlike another
incorruptible mummy
600
00:30:59,793 --> 00:31:01,793
which many consider
to be evidence
601
00:31:01,896 --> 00:31:03,517
of a much different power,
602
00:31:03,586 --> 00:31:07,000
the power of the state.
603
00:31:16,034 --> 00:31:18,241
More than one million mourners
stand for hours
604
00:31:18,310 --> 00:31:19,965
in below-freezing temperatures
605
00:31:20,034 --> 00:31:23,034
to pay their final respects
to Vladimir Lenin,
606
00:31:23,103 --> 00:31:27,068
the Bolshevik leader who ushered
in the Communist revolution.
607
00:31:27,137 --> 00:31:29,689
ALEXEI YURCHAK:
When Lenin died in 1924,
608
00:31:29,793 --> 00:31:32,896
he was associated in the minds
of millions of people--
609
00:31:32,965 --> 00:31:35,103
not everyone, but the majority--
610
00:31:35,172 --> 00:31:38,344
with a radical transformation
of human history.
611
00:31:40,620 --> 00:31:43,758
Lenin and, uh,
especially his family,
612
00:31:43,827 --> 00:31:45,586
wanted him to be buried,
613
00:31:45,689 --> 00:31:49,241
but Stalin decided
to create a symbolism
614
00:31:49,310 --> 00:31:53,482
of an utopia that was created.
615
00:31:53,586 --> 00:31:56,241
So the idea
was to keep him preserved
616
00:31:56,344 --> 00:31:58,689
for future generations.
617
00:31:58,793 --> 00:32:02,482
SHATNER:
According to reports, Soviet scientists devised
618
00:32:02,551 --> 00:32:05,931
an entirely new method
for creating Lenin's mummy,
619
00:32:06,034 --> 00:32:09,379
one intended to preserve
his body for eternity,
620
00:32:09,448 --> 00:32:13,034
as though he were
frozen in time.
621
00:32:13,137 --> 00:32:15,896
It had to be the exact
likeness of Lenin.
622
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,068
It also had to feel like Lenin.
623
00:32:18,172 --> 00:32:20,068
The so-called presence
had to be there.
624
00:32:20,137 --> 00:32:22,482
SHATNER:
Almost 100 years later,
625
00:32:22,551 --> 00:32:25,896
Lenin's mummy still remains
on display in his mausoleum
626
00:32:25,965 --> 00:32:28,310
near Red Square in Moscow,
627
00:32:28,379 --> 00:32:30,689
and it appears as though
his body hasn't decayed
628
00:32:30,793 --> 00:32:34,000
in the slightest.
629
00:32:34,068 --> 00:32:37,310
Every few months, they give him
a recharge, you know,
630
00:32:37,379 --> 00:32:39,000
they hydrate him a little bit.
631
00:32:39,068 --> 00:32:41,965
They put fake eyelashes on him.
632
00:32:42,034 --> 00:32:48,586
As the art of mummification
advances, so, too, does Lenin.
633
00:32:48,655 --> 00:32:51,344
He's looking better every year.
634
00:32:51,448 --> 00:32:53,000
STONEHILL:
For many people,
635
00:32:53,068 --> 00:32:55,965
it was more than just a mere
body that was being preserved,
636
00:32:56,034 --> 00:32:57,793
it was the spirit of the era.
637
00:32:57,862 --> 00:33:00,206
And Stalin was gone,
638
00:33:00,275 --> 00:33:03,103
Khrushchev was gone,
but Lenin was always there.
639
00:33:03,172 --> 00:33:06,689
Is it really possible
for a dead body
640
00:33:06,793 --> 00:33:08,758
to remain perfectly preserved,
641
00:33:08,862 --> 00:33:13,103
untouched by decay,
ageless for all eternity?
642
00:33:13,172 --> 00:33:17,275
In any case, the very
public fate of some corpses
643
00:33:17,344 --> 00:33:21,931
reminds us that, regardless
of what arrangements we make,
644
00:33:22,034 --> 00:33:26,172
the fate of our remains
is no longer ours to control.
645
00:33:26,241 --> 00:33:28,000
There's even a chance
we could end up becoming
646
00:33:28,103 --> 00:33:33,275
unwitting participants
in someone's bizarre attempt
647
00:33:33,344 --> 00:33:35,965
to bring us back to life.
648
00:33:47,241 --> 00:33:50,758
SHATNER:
Police investigating a series of grave desecrations
649
00:33:50,827 --> 00:33:53,793
trace them back to the home
of local history professor
650
00:33:53,862 --> 00:33:58,793
Anatoly Moskvin, where they make
a gruesome discovery.
651
00:34:00,655 --> 00:34:03,724
A collection of eerie,
life-sized dolls
652
00:34:03,827 --> 00:34:06,931
that upon closer examination
turn out to be
653
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,310
the mummified remains
of young girls.
654
00:34:13,689 --> 00:34:17,448
Moskvin was
a very intelligent person
655
00:34:17,551 --> 00:34:23,689
who had phenomenal memory,
who could speak 13 languages.
656
00:34:23,758 --> 00:34:26,241
His colleagues said
he was mild-mannered,
657
00:34:26,310 --> 00:34:31,931
kind and loved cemeteries
and anything related to death.
658
00:34:32,034 --> 00:34:33,965
He was commissioned,
at some point,
659
00:34:34,034 --> 00:34:36,586
to research, uh, cemeteries
660
00:34:36,655 --> 00:34:41,000
in a very large area
of Nizhny Novgorod,
661
00:34:41,068 --> 00:34:44,965
when he started digging up
the graves of young girls.
662
00:34:45,034 --> 00:34:47,068
EBNER:
His poor parents,
663
00:34:47,137 --> 00:34:49,103
they thought he was
a little craftsman
664
00:34:49,206 --> 00:34:51,517
sewing together
these little dolls.
665
00:34:51,586 --> 00:34:55,172
They honestly had no idea
666
00:34:55,275 --> 00:34:59,172
what was going on behind the
closed door of this guy's room.
667
00:35:02,275 --> 00:35:04,931
HICKEY:
He spent some serious time
668
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,620
in mummification
of these corpses.
669
00:35:07,724 --> 00:35:10,793
To preserve them,
he used fragrances
670
00:35:10,862 --> 00:35:12,344
to make them smell better.
671
00:35:12,448 --> 00:35:14,413
He clothed them.
672
00:35:14,482 --> 00:35:18,034
He inserted things inside them
so they wouldn't shrink.
673
00:35:18,137 --> 00:35:20,068
And he took
very good care of them.
674
00:35:20,172 --> 00:35:22,862
SHATNER:
All in all, Moskvin collected the bodies
675
00:35:22,931 --> 00:35:25,172
of 29 young girls,
676
00:35:25,275 --> 00:35:29,000
earning him the nickname
"Lord of the Mummies."
677
00:35:29,103 --> 00:35:31,965
But when authorities
asked Moskvin
678
00:35:32,034 --> 00:35:35,000
why he assembled
his ghoulish collection,
679
00:35:35,103 --> 00:35:38,413
his motive was more disturbing
than they ever imagined.
680
00:35:40,448 --> 00:35:43,034
Moskvin was a firm believer
that he actually was able
681
00:35:43,137 --> 00:35:44,896
to speak to the dead
and that the dead
682
00:35:44,965 --> 00:35:46,413
were able to speak back.
683
00:35:48,206 --> 00:35:50,758
PICKNETT:
He claimed that he only ever dug them up
684
00:35:50,827 --> 00:35:56,931
when they'd given him permission
to do so, in some spiritual way.
685
00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,310
And some of them were crying
out, he said, to be rescued.
686
00:36:02,034 --> 00:36:04,206
EBNER:
So at one point, he said to himself,
687
00:36:04,275 --> 00:36:06,724
"Well, it's cold out here
in these cemeteries.
688
00:36:06,793 --> 00:36:09,241
"Why don't I take
these kids home
689
00:36:09,310 --> 00:36:15,241
and they can keep me company
in the comfort of my own home?"
690
00:36:15,310 --> 00:36:18,793
He actually treated them like
they were living human beings.
691
00:36:18,896 --> 00:36:21,172
Uh, he would have parties
for them.
692
00:36:22,172 --> 00:36:23,724
He had birthday parties.
693
00:36:23,793 --> 00:36:25,517
He watched television with them.
694
00:36:25,586 --> 00:36:27,482
He talked to them.
695
00:36:27,551 --> 00:36:30,137
He interacted with them
like they were alive.
696
00:36:30,241 --> 00:36:32,896
And to anybody else,
that would be crazy, but to him,
697
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:34,448
it made perfect sense.
698
00:36:34,551 --> 00:36:35,862
[bell tolls]
699
00:36:35,931 --> 00:36:38,103
So Moskvin has indicated
700
00:36:38,206 --> 00:36:39,827
if he's ever released
from prison,
701
00:36:39,896 --> 00:36:41,310
he's going to go back to
those specific corpses
702
00:36:41,379 --> 00:36:44,793
and dig them up again,
because he truly believes
703
00:36:44,862 --> 00:36:46,586
that these girls
can be brought back to life.
704
00:36:48,034 --> 00:36:49,896
SHATNER:
Anatoly Moskvin's belief
705
00:36:49,965 --> 00:36:52,379
that he can bring dead people
back to life
706
00:36:52,482 --> 00:36:55,241
certainly seems
like a misguided fantasy.
707
00:36:55,310 --> 00:36:59,551
But on the other hand, who knows
what might happen in the future?
708
00:36:59,655 --> 00:37:03,103
What if scientific breakthroughs
actually make it possible
709
00:37:03,206 --> 00:37:07,931
for us to resurrect dead bodies
that have been preserved?
710
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:10,034
So, you don't believe
in miracles,
711
00:37:10,137 --> 00:37:12,103
uh, but what you can,
uh, hope for
712
00:37:12,172 --> 00:37:14,275
is a scientific breakthrough,
a scientific miracle.
713
00:37:15,275 --> 00:37:17,068
Like, the idea of cryogenics.
714
00:37:17,137 --> 00:37:19,275
You can freeze yourself
and maybe someday
715
00:37:19,344 --> 00:37:22,551
science will be able
to get you back alive.
716
00:37:22,620 --> 00:37:24,482
PICKNETT:
A lot of people have had the idea
717
00:37:24,551 --> 00:37:28,000
that one day advanced science
can reanimate them.
718
00:37:28,103 --> 00:37:30,551
But that presupposes
many things.
719
00:37:30,620 --> 00:37:32,413
It presupposes that there
isn't an afterlife
720
00:37:32,517 --> 00:37:34,344
that you don't
automatically go to.
721
00:37:34,448 --> 00:37:38,000
Or they could bring you back,
but you could have lost
722
00:37:38,103 --> 00:37:40,000
everything that made you you.
723
00:37:41,206 --> 00:37:42,931
So it's the idea
of-of preserving the body
724
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,275
for reanimation through science.
725
00:37:46,344 --> 00:37:49,172
It still gets us right back
to that elemental question
726
00:37:49,241 --> 00:37:50,793
that so many people have:
727
00:37:50,896 --> 00:37:52,965
if there is a soul,
if there is an afterlife,
728
00:37:53,034 --> 00:37:55,068
what is the relationship
between that soul
729
00:37:55,137 --> 00:37:56,931
and the physical body?
730
00:37:57,034 --> 00:38:01,275
If the body is still
somehow connected to the soul,
731
00:38:01,344 --> 00:38:05,034
maybe someday science
will be able to save all of us.
732
00:38:06,793 --> 00:38:10,103
SHATNER:
Could new technology offer us the ability
733
00:38:10,206 --> 00:38:13,724
to revive our bodies
after we die?
734
00:38:13,793 --> 00:38:16,068
It's a fascinating notion.
735
00:38:16,137 --> 00:38:18,931
One that raises an even more
profound question:
736
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,827
if science can bring
a recently mummified body
737
00:38:21,896 --> 00:38:23,551
back from the dead,
738
00:38:23,655 --> 00:38:26,241
might there also be a way
for modern technology
739
00:38:26,344 --> 00:38:30,068
to bring ancient mummies
back to life as well?
740
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,517
SHATNER:
Scientists publish the results of an extraordinary study.
741
00:38:47,620 --> 00:38:51,931
By CT-scanning the mummy
of an ancient Egyptian priest
742
00:38:52,034 --> 00:38:54,931
known as Nesyamun,
and using this information
743
00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:59,482
to recreate his vocal tract
using a 3D printer,
744
00:38:59,586 --> 00:39:02,793
the scientists were able
to engineer an approximation
745
00:39:02,862 --> 00:39:05,068
of the dead priest's voice
746
00:39:05,137 --> 00:39:08,448
which hadn't been heard
for 3,000 years.
747
00:39:08,517 --> 00:39:11,793
[low groaning]
748
00:39:11,896 --> 00:39:13,586
MICHIO KAKU:
"Hear dead people speak."
749
00:39:13,655 --> 00:39:15,965
That was the headline.
750
00:39:16,068 --> 00:39:18,034
Because it was such
an interesting concept,
751
00:39:18,103 --> 00:39:20,517
using modern technology
to understand
752
00:39:20,620 --> 00:39:22,379
what the person
may have sounded like.
753
00:39:22,448 --> 00:39:24,344
[low groaning]
754
00:39:26,448 --> 00:39:31,103
As a priest of Amun,
Nesyamun was responsible
755
00:39:31,172 --> 00:39:34,034
for guiding the mummy
from the realm of the living
756
00:39:34,137 --> 00:39:35,689
into the realm of the dead.
757
00:39:35,793 --> 00:39:37,620
[low groaning]
758
00:39:37,689 --> 00:39:41,103
And the very fact that his voice
seems to echo
759
00:39:41,206 --> 00:39:43,827
through the centuries
perhaps is proof
760
00:39:43,896 --> 00:39:46,103
of the Egyptian belief
761
00:39:46,206 --> 00:39:49,862
that the soul remains
connected to the body
762
00:39:49,931 --> 00:39:52,827
for eternity
through the afterlife.
763
00:39:52,896 --> 00:39:56,413
SHATNER:
Thus far, the team working to restore Nesyamun's voice
764
00:39:56,517 --> 00:39:59,413
has only managed
to reproduce a single sound.
765
00:39:59,517 --> 00:40:02,344
[low groaning]
766
00:40:02,413 --> 00:40:04,551
In time, it is believed
they may be able
767
00:40:04,655 --> 00:40:08,172
to make him speak words,
or even entire sentences.
768
00:40:08,241 --> 00:40:10,862
And if some researchers
are correct,
769
00:40:10,931 --> 00:40:13,931
scientists may even
soon be able to recreate
770
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:16,310
his entire body.
771
00:40:16,379 --> 00:40:18,965
STEAVU:
We could technically
772
00:40:19,068 --> 00:40:21,931
extract DNA from a mummy
and then clone it,
773
00:40:22,034 --> 00:40:25,896
and reanimate
the deceased person.
774
00:40:25,965 --> 00:40:29,620
So we could grow
King Tut once more.
775
00:40:30,827 --> 00:40:33,310
SHATNER:
Regrow King Tut?
776
00:40:33,379 --> 00:40:36,724
While the possibility of
reviving 3,000-year-old mummies
777
00:40:36,793 --> 00:40:38,586
may in fact be within our reach,
778
00:40:38,655 --> 00:40:42,137
there are those who believe
that just because we can
779
00:40:42,206 --> 00:40:46,655
doesn't necessarily mean
we should.
780
00:40:46,724 --> 00:40:49,275
The ancient Egyptians,
it was really important for them
781
00:40:49,379 --> 00:40:52,758
to have a peaceful, uh, burial
and existence.
782
00:40:52,827 --> 00:40:56,517
So they might perceive
these scientific investigations
783
00:40:56,586 --> 00:41:00,620
to try to clone a mummy or try
to recreate a mummy's voice
784
00:41:00,689 --> 00:41:02,655
as perhaps invasive, uh,
785
00:41:02,724 --> 00:41:05,689
to their actual
religious afterlife beliefs.
786
00:41:05,758 --> 00:41:09,172
JEREMIAH:
We have two major mysteries in life,
787
00:41:09,241 --> 00:41:11,793
and one is the nature of
life itself, the other is death.
788
00:41:11,896 --> 00:41:16,620
And mummified bodies serve kind
of as a conduit between the two.
789
00:41:16,689 --> 00:41:21,551
And the truth is maybe they
still are influencing reality.
790
00:41:22,862 --> 00:41:26,034
So, uh, what do you think?
791
00:41:26,103 --> 00:41:28,137
Would you like to try getting
yourself mummified
792
00:41:28,206 --> 00:41:31,034
after you die, and then
be brought back to life?
793
00:41:31,103 --> 00:41:32,965
It's a tantalizing concept.
794
00:41:33,034 --> 00:41:36,034
But then again,
maybe we should heed
795
00:41:36,137 --> 00:41:39,137
the lesson of King Tut's tomb,
and remember
796
00:41:39,206 --> 00:41:43,655
that it might be better
to let mummies rest in peace,
797
00:41:43,758 --> 00:41:47,103
leaving the question of whether
they will ever rise again
798
00:41:47,172 --> 00:41:53,068
to remain,
at least for now... unexplained.
799
00:41:53,137 --> 00:41:56,379
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