All language subtitles for The UnXplained S05E01 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A Utopian kingdom

hidden in the Himalayas...

A city of gold,
concealed in South America...

And a massive metropolis

that was found
in the middle of the desert.

For centuries, archaeologists
and explorers have been obsessed

with locating ancient cities
that have been lost to time.

Some of these places are
recorded in historical texts,

while others are simply part
of oral traditions and folklore.

How does a once-thriving
community become a lost city?

And if their ruins are found,

what secrets about our past
might be revealed?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

In Central Asia,
along the southern border

of Tibet and China,
lie the Himalayas.

The Himalayas are
approximately 1,500 miles long,

and include Mount Everest,

the highest peak on Earth.

According to Buddhist
spiritual beliefs

that go back thousands of years,

this vast mountain range
conceals a hidden valley,

within which there is
a sacred city

known as
the Kingdom of Shambhala.

Shambhala has occupied
people's thoughts

and dreams for centuries.

Supposedly, there is
a lotus-shaped city

somewhere in
the Himalayas in Tibet...

...which is Shambhala,
where people live for centuries.

Where everyone is noble,
everyone is good,

and everyone lives
a perfect life.

Buddhism arose,
roughly speaking,

about 2,500 years ago.

And there's this belief that has
a long history in Buddhism

that Shambala is an almost
magical hidden city

tucked away in the recesses
of the mountain,

in which you have beings
of incredible spiritual power

and accomplishment
that reside there.

♪ ♪

CLEMENTS: If you are
a citizen of Shambhala,

you are likely to end your life
by achieving Buddhahood.

And you will elevate yourself

along the cycle
of reincarnation.

And so Shambhala has
this kind of mystic,

uh... allure attached to it.

The fact that it's perfect,

the fact that if you live there,
you will elevate yourself,

has meant that many
Tibetan Buddhists

are desperate to find it.

SHATNER:
For more than 2,000 years,
Buddhists have believed

that the Kingdom of Shambhala
is a true utopia on Earth.

And then,
in the early 20th century,

Shambhala was introduced
to the wider world

in a book that fictionalized
but also popularized the city

by giving it a new name--

Shangri-La.

PETER ATHANS:
The Legend of Shangri-La

as we know it in the West

is from the book

called Lost Horizon
by James Hilton...

...written in 1933.

It largely refers to a sacred

and a hidden or concealed
landscape or city.

To Western audiences,

Lost Horizon was
a media phenomenon.

There was a film that was
released in 1937, from his book.

It really captured
the imagination

to the point where

our presidential retreat
that's now known as Camp David

was at one time
known as Shangri-La.

CLEMENTS: The legend of
Shangri-La is itself a myth.

There was no legend
of Shangri-La

until 1933 when James Hilton
invented it in his book.

So Shangri-La never existed.

But the inspiration
to Shangri-La, Shambhala,

there's no proof that
that didn't exist.

SHATNER:
For centuries,

historians and religious
scholars have wondered

whether Shambhala was
just a myth,

or whether this lost
paradise actually existed.

In modern times,

some of the first clues were
documented by an explorer

named Joseph Rock,

who led a series of
famous expeditions

throughout the Himalayas
in the 1920s and 1930s.

Joseph Rock, in 1920,
started traveling

to these tribal areas
of Eastern Tibet,

the Tibetan borderlands
and Western China.

And Joseph Rock,
in traveling in some of

the Buddhist spiritual areas,

believed he had
located something

like Shambhala

in the kingdom of
what they called Muli.

There was a peak that was
called Mount Yangjiang,

and Yangjiang means
"wisdom" in Tibetan.

The travels Joseph Rock did
in the Tibetan borderlands

and Western China
really captured the imagination

of people in the West,

because there's this
enchantment of humanity

for finding these

utopian, spiritual,
perfect places.

SHATNER: Ultimately,
Joseph Rock was not able

to find the actual
ruins of Shambhala.

But in the decades since
his groundbreaking expedition,

archaeologists
have been inspired

to continue to search
the Himalayas

for clues that
this hidden utopia was,

in fact, a real place.

The Mustang Valley, Nepal.

At an elevation of
more than 13,000 feet,

this green valley

that is tucked away
in the Himalayas stands

in stark contrast

to the mountain peaks
that surround it.

ATHANS:
The Mustang Valley

runs north and south
with the Himalaya

on either sides of it,

a beautiful landscape.

And for many
people's appreciation,

it could resemble
something like Shambala,

which might have existed
millennia before.

There's an ancient
walled city of Lo Manthang

in the valley,

one of the most beautiful

surviving walled cities
that still exist,

and there is
so much mystery about it,

so little that's
really understood

because the people
who currently reside there

don't have real origin stories.

SHATNER: Given the fact
that Lo Manthang is

an ancient city located
in a remote valley

high in the Himalayas,

some archaeologists
have suggested that this area

matches the historical
description of Shambhala.

And for further evidence

that this site is
linked to Shambhala,

they point to
a series of nearby caves

carved into the mountainside,
that are referred to

as the Sky Caves.

ATHANS:
Mustang's chief mystery
is the Sky Caves

because there are
thousands of these hand-carved

cave edifices that are
in this place.

Some of them are

hundreds of feet
above the ground

with no easy access apparent to
anyone looking from the ground.

SHATNER:
In 2008,

mountaineer Peter Athans led
a team of archaeologists

on an unprecedented
investigation

to explore how the Sky Caves

may be connected to Shambhala.

I was very excited about
getting into some of the caves

that were higher up
and more difficult to access.

We had to work with
the local people

to be able to explore them.

In some cases,
we found remarkable artwork.

In other cases,
we found human remains.

We also found
Buddhist materials,

sculptures...

...writings that indicated
that some of these

early cave uses were
upwards of 1000 BC.

It's a very,
very deep antiquity.

The great lamas
or clerics of Mustang,

all believe that it's like

a sanctuary for people to go

to gain access to the spiritual
power of this environment.

So, could Mustang be
something like a Shangri-La?

Could it be
the mythical Shambala?

Mustang might be part of
that origin story.

SHATNER:
Is it possible that
the ruins of Shambhala

have been found
in the Mustang Valley?

And if so, was it truly
an earthly kingdom,

whose inhabitants lived
in paradise?

Questions like these are why
Shambhala continues to

inspire fascination
and wonder to this day.

If Shambala is indeed
found one day,

it would open up an exciting
world of possibilities

because the discovery of
such a wonderous ancient city

would certainly support
the possibility that others

actually exist, as well.

Including one of the most
storied locations in history.

A place rumored to be
filled with gold--

the lost city of El Dorado.

SHATNER:
Spanish conquistadors
led by Francisco Pizarro

capture
the Incan Emperor Atahualpa,

and kill 5,000 of his men
in the course of just one hour.

Pizarro is on a quest to both

conquer the New World

and plunder as much gold
as he can find.

Pizarro starts to take
these gold and riches

from the kingdoms of the Andes.

And this really starts
a precedent for conquistadors

trying to take riches
and send them back to Europe.

This quest for gold is
what drives them.

BELLINGER:
From the European point of view,

once there was the hint of gold

up in the hills
of South America,

it was an absolute frenzy.

The Indigenous people
all around them were

literally draped in gold,

the likes of which Europeans
never would see back at home.

SHATNER:
As the Spanish
conquistadors encountered

Indigenous people
throughout South America,

they heard stories of
a vast city made entirely

out of gold.

In fact, the Spanish came up
with a name for the golden city.

They called it El Dorado.

The name El Dorado
comes from the words,

the golden.

That's literally
what it translates to.

The Spanish trekked
through rain forests,

and across swollen rivers
and up icy mountains

in search of what
they assumed had to be

a hidden city of gold.

A place of untold riches
just waiting to be plundered.

There were similarities
to all of these stories

and that kept
the Spaniards thinking,

"Well, maybe there's
something to this.

Maybe it's not a myth."

And because they don't
know exactly where it is,

it starts to be thought of
as a lost city.

SHATNER:
The Spanish belief
that El Dorado was

a real lost city of gold

was reinforced when
they came into contact

with a mysterious
civilization known

as the Muisca people.

The Muisca were the
Indigenous people who occupied

this particular
highland area of the Andes,

which is today Colombia.

And they occupied this area
for about a thousand years,

beginning in 600 AD,
and in fact,

they were so sophisticated

that they really take
their place alongside

better known empires in
the region, such as the Inca.

LEVY:
The Muisca were
incredible goldsmiths.

They were really skilled

craftsmen at goldwork,
finely wrought,

thinly pounded gold.

They made animals.

They made gold that was
depictions of their deities.

SHATNER:
Spanish conquistadors
searching for El Dorado

came to believe that
it was built by the Muisca,

because of a curious ritual
they supposedly performed

high in the mountains,
at a body of water known

as Lake Guatavita.

When the Muisca
initiated a new leader,

there was a very specific
ceremony that they performed...

...on Lake Guatavita.

The leader would plaster
his body in gold dust.

He would climb into a raft
surrounded by priests.

At his feet was a pile
of offerings, gold and jewels.

Once they had paddled out
to the middle of the lake,

he would make
his offering to the god.

And that involved dropping
all of the valuables

off the raft into the water,

and then diving in himself,
so that the gold dust

would be washed from his body.

LEVY:
When the conquistadors begin to
hear about these rituals

that involve gold
and a golden man,

it stood to reason
that this place,

El Dorado,

a lost city, is going to be
somewhere out there.

SHATNER:
The Spanish heard rumors
that the Muisca had performed

this golden ceremony
at Lake Guatavita

for a thousand years,

since the beginning of
their civilization.

The conquistadors believed that
El Dorado must be an ancient,

hidden city
where centuries earlier

the ancestors of the Muisca had
stockpiled vast amounts of gold

to be used in the sacred ritual.

LEVY:
As conquistadores kept
trying to find El Dorado,

they found a lot of gold,

they found goldwork
made by the Muisca

that was really,
really elaborate.

And they kept
getting just enough

to sort of tantalize them

to know or believe
that there would be more,

but... they never quite found

the El Dorado that
they had been looking for.

SHATNER:
Although the Spanish failed in
their quest to find El Dorado,

for centuries, treasure hunters
from around the world

journeyed to South America
in search of the lost city.

And then, in 1912,
an incredible discovery was made

at the bottom of Lake Guatavita.

LEVY: Hartley Knowles,
a British engineer, came

to Lake Guatavita
and with a mining company

was able to completely drain
the lake to the bottom.

He found gold rumored to be
about $20,000 worth,

but what happened was
as the lake went down,

all the silt and mud
at the bottom

hardened in the sun
until it was like concrete,

and they couldn't get
any more gold out of the bottom.

COOPER:
They cut a notch
out of the side of the hill

and drained the lake.

But it only remained drained
for about 24 hours

before the lake refilled.

But what they found
were some objects

that sort of showed that
this idea of offerings

being thrown
into the lake was true.

SHATNER:
Even more incredible evidence
of the Muisca rituals

was found later in 1969,
in a nearby cave.

BELLINGER: In 1969,
some villagers stumbled upon

an absolutely spectacular find,

in a ceramic jar.

They found an exquisite raft,

crafted all out of gold.

The workmanship was incredible.

But even more exciting,

is that it corroborated

everything that
had been written down

about the Muisca rituals
in Lake Guatavita,

when they were
initiating a new ruler.

SHATNER:
Since the story of
the ritual performed

by the Muisca chief
was proven to be true,

does that suggest that
the tales of El Dorado,

the lost city of gold,
could also be true?

And if so,
where might it be hidden?

LEVY:
Cities in the Amazonian region
over time have a tendency

to become absorbed
and enveloped by the jungle.

If you think about
the discovery of Machu Picchu,

which had lain covered in vine

and undetectable even by air,

you've got this city
that's complex and tiered

and so, why would that be
the only one?

South America is
an incredible place

to keep secrets

and for a lost city
like El Dorado to dwell.

There's no doubt that fame
and perhaps fortune awaits

anyone who's able to uncover
the city of El Dorado.

But there's another
mysterious place

that has captivated scholars
and explorers since 300 BC--

a land of fire and ice
that is said to be located

beyond the borders of
the known world.

SHATNER: This historic
port city has been

a capital of culture
and commerce

since it was founded by
the ancient Greeks in 600 BC.

Standing high above one of
Marseille's main streets

is a statue

of an influential Greek
geographer known as Pytheas.

Pytheas lived in Marseille
in about 320s BC.

And he was an explorer,
he was a writer,

and a scientist,

and all of these things
show in his writing.

He was a brilliant man
of his time.

He really had this urge to know
and to travel, to find out.

SHATNER:
In ancient times,

explorers like Pytheas went
on long, dangerous voyages

to the edge of the known world,

that could last for
several months,

or sometimes even years.

Of all the travels of Pytheas,
perhaps the most fascinating

is a journey he made to
the North Atlantic Ocean.

CUNLIFFE:
What Pytheas did

was to make
a remarkable journey.

He set off from Marseille...

...and then he made this trip

all along
the northwest of Europe,

traveling up around Brittany,

around Britain,

possibly going
further north to Iceland,

and then having done this,
successfully,

and observed a huge amount,
he came back and wrote a book

called On the Ocean,
and that book was absolutely

central to the development
of knowledge in the Greek world.

SHATNER:
According to Pytheas,
when he got to the far reaches

of the North Atlantic,

he discovered
a mysterious island

that was unlike
any other on Earth.

He called it Thule,

or as it's more
commonly known today, Thule.

Pytheas wrote about Thule, and
he said it is north of Britain,

six days by sea,
north of Britain.

The most northern part
of the known world,

and it was a land where
there was congealed ice

around part of it,

and where the sun
barely never set.

It was the edge of the world.

Pytheas gives us this
really strange account of

his approach to this
mysterious island called Thule.

It's said that
neither by foot...

...or by ship
could you pass through

this realm that he refers
to as the "sea-lung."

So, what could this
refer to, a sea-lung?

Well, he was encountering
these thick, frozen fogs,

where the ground, the sea,

and the air
all became one together.

SHATNER:
For centuries,
Pytheas' description of

the strange fog surrounding
Thule has intrigued historians.

But was this unusual island
actually inhabited by people?

Well, unfortunately,
many of Pytheas' writings

were destroyed in a fire
in the year 48 BC,

and crucial portions of
his original account were lost.

However, some of
his descriptions of Thule

were recorded
by other Greek scholars,

and they wrote that
the island was home

to a mysterious civilization.

We have the accounts
of several other

classical writers
that talk about Thule,

and all sorts of stories

start building this incredible
picture of what Thule is,

almost to the point
that it becomes

this incredible place
of as many as 25 tribes,

making it into this realm,

similar to that of
the mythical island Atlantis.

But the big difference
between Atlantis and Thule

is that Atlantis is said
to have sank beneath the waves,

whereas Thule did not.

They were different places,

and because of that,

it's almost like the influence
of it is still upon us today.

Who lives there?

What is its mysterious society?

SHATNER:
Ever since Pytheas
first wrote about Thule,

historians have wondered where
this lost island is located,

and what happened
to the civilization

that was said to live there.

In modern times,
archaeologists have proposed

numerous potential locations
that may be Thule

and some of these places

are known today
by different names.

The big question
that's always been asked

of this journey of Pytheas

is where really was Thule.

There have been many theories.

Iceland is one
of the obvious places,

but people have argued that
it was the coast of Norway

or possibly in the Baltics.

So we have various views.

SHATNER:
Curiously, in 2010,

researchers at the Technical
University of Berlin

used a combination of
ancient and modern techniques

to pinpoint what they believe
is the actual island

that Pytheas called Thule.

They used a map

that was created
by the geographer Ptolemy

in the 2nd century AD,

to try and project outwards,

the different
distances and latitudes

that had been used to
create this famous world map.

And they were able to determine

to their own satisfaction,
that Thule corresponded with

the Norwegian island of Smola.

And they also point out that

you can see
the midnight sun from there,

which is what Pytheas
described seeing from Thule.

CUNLIFFE:
German scientists came up with
a possibility that it was Smola

and it certainly could be.

But unless one found
an inscription saying,

"I was here. Signed, Pytheas,"
which is so unlikely,

the evidence
just wouldn't be there.

It's very difficult to know

how you could go out and prove
where Thule is located.

When you stop
and think about it,

it's really quite incredible
that the search for Thule

has been going on
for more than 2,000 years,

and continues to this very day.

But as daunting
as that quest has been,

perhaps not all
lost cities are so elusive.

In fact, archaeologists believe

they've uncovered the ruins of
temples and palaces built by

an infamous Mongolian warlord,

in a city known as Xanadu.

SHATNER:
Three merchants depart
from the city

and embark on an incredible trek
along the Silk Road,

a 4,000-mile trade route
that links Europe and Asia.

The purpose of their historic
journey is to explore

the Far East, and establish
trade relations with China.

The youngest member
of this traveling party

is none other than Marco Polo,

whose chronicles
of their travels shed new light

on the mysteries of Asia.

Marco Polo's accounts
are absolutely invaluable

because he reportedly spent

17 years on the Asian continent,
and he wrote in his travelogues

about their traditional
practices and economic systems,

and it did, at its time,

open Western eyes to
the Far East for the first time.

SHATNER:
Marco Polo's writings
offered European readers

vivid descriptions of the
geography and people of Asia.

He also introduced the Western
world to gunpowder, paper money,

porcelain, and other modern
inventions of the Far East.

But the most dazzling story
from the travels of Marco Polo

is his encounter
with Kublai Khan

the ruler of an immense empire
that was centered in China.

Kublai Khan was
the grandson of Genghis Khan.

And he became the Great Khan,
the Khan of Khans,

when he was 35 years old.

He ruled over a vast
Mongol Empire, which stretched

all the way to Europe on
one side and China on the other.

BELLINGER:
In 1275, word of
Marco Polo's expedition

had reached the Khan,

and he sent his envoys out to
meet Marco Polo to escort them

the remainder of the way
to his summer capital at Xanadu,

a place of lavish luxury

and splendor and easy living.

SHATNER:
Xanadu.

According to Marco Polo,
this city was more than

just a summer retreat
for Kublai Khan.

Reportedly,
the opulence of Xanadu

surpassed anything the world had
ever seen before, or since.

Within Xanadu's
extravagant palaces,

Kublai Khan
and his subjects were said

to have enjoyed
a level of luxury

that was almost unimaginable.

♪ ♪

Marco Polo describes this
absolutely astonishing scenario

in which the Khan would host
parties of 40,000 guests,

and one in which he was
presented with the gift of

100,000 beautiful white horses.

He also had exotic cats
wandering the grounds,

5,000 elephants dressed
in beautiful clothing,

and a dining area alone
that could seat 6,000 people

surrounded by a four-mile fence.

Marco Polo's fantastic stories

of larger-than-life
entertainment

just fuel the imagination.

SHATNER:
For centuries, people have
wondered whether Marco Polo's

incredible tales of Xanadu
were actually true.

Xanadu is an Eden-like city
of the past.

The reason why
Xanadu has remained

one of the most enigmatic

cities of the world is because

it was eventually
abandoned by the Mongols.

Kublai Khan himself died,

and it then fades
from history completely.

SHATNER:
While other explorers were
unable to locate the ruins

of the lost city,

thanks to the writings
of Marco Polo,

Xanadu continued for centuries

to be a place of intrigue
and speculation.

Part of what makes
Xanadu of interest

is this report from Marco Polo.

He was a reliable witness

and he said the place
existed and described

an emperor's resort with
the most elegant buildings.

That's gone.

Not a trace.

Is it just a story?
Or did we really have something?

Where did the city go?

SHATNER:
Over time, the extravagant
depictions of Xanadu led some

to believe that the opulent city
should be relegated to myth.

But then, in the early 1990s,
archaeologists investigating

ruins located in Inner Mongolia
were able to confirm

that the lost city of Xanadu
had, in fact, been found.

BELLINGER:
The physical remains were lost
for a time under grasslands,

but archaeologists
excavating the site of Xanadu

have found over a thousand
building sites,

about 700 building foundations
and at least 29 major roads.

The place was astonishing in
its scope and it was massive.

SHATNER:
While it's extraordinary
that the size

and sophistication of Xanadu

have been confirmed,

an important question
still remains.

What about the extravagant
opulence of Xanadu?

Is there any evidence to suggest
that Kublai Khan actually

received a gift of
100,000 horses,

as Marco Polo reported?

It's a significant find

to explore the actual ruins

of Xanadu
for the priceless information

it can give us about this place.

Because we just want to know,
are these fabulous stories true?

Will further excavations
of Xanadu prove

that it was indeed
a vast paradise,

as the fantastic accounts
from history suggest?

Well, there's
another ancient city

archaeologists are searching for

that is perhaps
even more intriguing.

Because there's evidence to
suggest that it was not lost

but rather intentionally hidden.

SHATNER:
Swiss explorer and geographer
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

sets off on an incredible
journey across the desert,

to uncover the secrets
of the Middle East.

COLLINS:
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

was quite
an extraordinary character.

He traveled throughout

Syria, Jordan, Palestine,
and eventually into Egypt.

He also practiced
the Islamic faith.

And the reason for this was that

he didn't want to be seen
as a Western treasure hunter.

SHATNER:
During his travels,
Burckhardt heard rumors

of a mysterious ancient city
known as Petra

that was hidden somewhere
in the deserts of Jordan.

For centuries,
the exact location of Petra

was kept secret from foreigners.

But Johann Burckhardt
was determined to see Petra

with his own eyes,
and so he hatched a wild plan.

PARADISE:
The area had always
shown conflict,

it had always shown
a certain amount of hostility

to European visitors.

And so Burckhardt spent months
in the region,

learning the local dialect
of Arabic.

And then perfected
a Bedouin outfit

to look like a local

or something close.

The disguise was needed
to get him in the door.

SHATNER:
After spending months following
clues in search of the city,

Burckhardt traveled through
a dark, narrow desert canyon,

and to his astonishment,

stumbled upon
the stunning ruins of Petra,

which were even more impressive
than he had imagined.

Burckhardt was the first
European to lay eyes on Petra

in more than 500 years,

and his vivid
account of the city

made headlines around the world.

Suddenly,
the world reads about Petra.

The entrance into Petra
is this magnificent

carved structure
about 140 feet high.

And it was carved, it was hewn
directly out of the rock.

And that's the beginning.

Petra was a large, large city
of 30,000 to 50,000 people,

that was thriving between about

500 BC and about 500 AD.

It had a city center,
it had a main street,

it had everything
you would think of,

even to this day,
that a large city would have.

The builders of Petra
were the Nabataeans.

They were a culture in
their own right, who adopted

the art and architecture
of the Greek Hellenic world...

the Greco-Roman world,

but also had
influences from Syria

in what is today Iraq.

And they blended
all of this together

to create the incredible

carved architecture
that you see at Petra.

SHATNER:
The more than 800 carved
structures at Petra

are so iconic,

that in 2007, the site was named

one of the New Seven Wonders
of the World.

Ever since Petra was
revealed in 1812,

historians have wondered

what could have
caused the collapse

of such a prosperous city.

For decades, it was thought

that shifting trade routes
were responsible,

but research conducted
by archaeologist Thomas Paradise

has revealed new information
regarding the downfall of Petra.

PARADISE:
We're really fortunate

that we keep putting pieces
of the puzzle together.

Using archaeological excavation,

using GIS and laser technology,

we're starting to put
these pieces together

to understand Petra.

New research is indicating
that a large flood hit

in the 5th century,
that wiped out the downtown

for at least a year or so.

The city rebuilds
after that flood,

but it marks the beginning of
the decline from its golden age.

SHATNER:
The rediscovery of Petra

has revealed that
the city was important,

not just historically,
but also spiritually.

Because as it turns out,

this ancient city has
a connection to the Bible.

PARADISE:
Up above Petra,

and it's visible
from most parts of Petra,

is a mountain called
Jebel Haroun.

Jebel Haroun means
the Mountain of Aaron.

And we do know legend says

that's where Moses' brother,
Aaron, is buried

below a large tomb
on the top of the mountain.

The keeper of
the holy site at Jebel Haroun,

over the years,
I came to know his family.

So he invited us up there

to go into the building itself

and then the climb
into the tomb.

That gets you excited
'cause you realize

you're part of a tradition
from 3,000 years

of pilgrimage.

Petra's been called
the Lost City of Stone because

here we see a city of
30,000 to 50,000 people

that slowly fades from
the history books over time.

And what we're going to find out
about Petra in the future

is probably more incredible

than what we already
have uncovered.

The discovery of Petra is
an extraordinary find

of both spiritual and
archaeological significance,

and one that rewrites
the history books.

And that was also the case

with some massive ruins
that were found

at the bottom of
the Mediterranean Sea.

SHATNER:
Just off the coast of
Alexandria,

in the Abu Qir Bay...

...a team of underwater
archaeologists

begin the hunt for a lost
Egyptian city known as Thonis.

CHRIS NAUNTON:
Thonis was known,

in only the sort of sparsest
detail thanks to a few

ancient sources
in which it's mentioned,

but it had for a very long time

not been identified
archaeologically.

So we knew it must have
existed because

text told us so,
just had no idea where it was.

SHATNER:
Then, in the year 2000,

at a depth of some 30 feet,

divers found ancient
Egyptian statues,

hoards of gold coins
and jewelry,

and even the ruins
of buildings and roads--

all part of
the massive city of Thonis,

that was rediscovered at last.

One of the most amazing
discoveries made

was the Temple of Amun.

And this temple
was absolutely vast,

constructed of these
incredibly big stone blocks.

So we have a really
visceral idea

of the size and the
monumentality of this temple.

We also have
an enormous colossal statue

of the god Hapi...

...who's a kind of
personification of the Nile.

It's appropriate that you would
have a god like this present

at the-- sort of entrance,
if you'd like--

the Mediterranean entrance
to the Nile delta region

and the Nile River itself.

SHATNER:
Thousands of artifacts
have been recovered from Thonis,

and archaeologists estimate

that it was three times the size

of the ancient
Roman city of Pompeii.

But how did this vast,
remarkable city

sink beneath the waves?

BRADSHAW:
What we think
happened with Thonis is,

an earthquake in around
the 2nd century BC,

caused the city to
sink into the water.

And Thonis was lost to history.

But we've really
only scratched the surface

in terms of what
we know about this city.

A huge mystery still remains
and in large part,

that's because 95% of the city

remains underwater and remains
in need of investigation.

Only five percent
seems to have been discovered.

So the questions remain.

While the full excavation
of Thonis will take decades...

...archaeologists and explorers
continue to scour the globe

in search of other lost cities

that capture
people's imaginations.

The reason why people look for
lost cities like

Xanadu,

or Petra or anywhere else
is because we want to be

the next discoverers of
this incredible lost realm

that nobody has set
their eyes on

perhaps for thousands of years.

Because you just don't know

exactly what you're
gonna discover.

♪ ♪

Imagine how many
lost cities there must be

hidden all around the world.

It's a mystery
as old as mankind.

Epic legends, myths and folklore
compel us to search

for the truth behind
these fantastic stories.

Because discovering
a long-forgotten ancient city

could rewrite our human history
and answer important questions

that, for the moment, remain...

unexplained.

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