All language subtitles for The UnXplained S05E09 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A sprawling, ancient city

located entirely underground.

A giant, stone tomb
built to be a gateway

to the afterlife.

And 11 enormous churches
that were carved

out of solid rock.

Throughout the world,
there are ancient structures

that seem to defy explanation.

Monuments so massive

and so intricately constructed

that even
with today's technology,

they would be nearly impossible
to duplicate.

How were
ancient civilizations able

to build such
extraordinary structures?

And perhaps more importantly,

what purpose did they serve?

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

♪ ♪

High in the mountains
of northern Ethiopia,

a mile and a half
above sea level,

lies the city of Lalibela.

Each year, tens of thousands
of worshippers

make the arduous journey here,

despite its remote location,

to visit 11 of the strangest

holy places on Earth.

Lalibela is one of Africa's

most mysterious sites.

It's a complex of 11
monolithic churches that are

hewn right out of the bedrock.

Most churches are built
on the surface,

and they're built
from the bottom up.

Whereas in Lalibela,
they're built from the top down.

It's the only place on the Earth
that has cathedrals that are

built underground as opposed
to being built on the surface.

ANDREW COLLINS:
What makes the Lalibela
churches so unique

is not just
their building construction,

which is unlike
anything else in the world,

but also the otherworldly feel
of the complexes

where these different
monuments can be found.

Entering into
the complex of churches

was almost like
entering another realm.

Almost as if those
who constructed Lalibela

had a ritual function,

and that was to bring
themselves closer to God.

STEVE BURROWS:
It's an incredible piece
of engineering,

this idea that you build
11 churches below ground,

but it creates
its own unique problems.

How do people get down there?

How did they move all of the
rock out and where did it go?

Uh, those are the things that
start running through my mind.

SHATNER:
Dating back
to the 12th century A.D.,

each of Lalibela's 11 churches

was painstakingly carved
by hand,

and from the outside,
like enormous sculptures.

The complex also includes
an extensive system of tunnels

and catacombs, all carved
out of solid bedrock.

But why?

Why build a magnificent series
of structures

in the toughest way possible?

COLLINS:
The builder of Lalibela
was a king

by this very name, Lalibela.

And it is said that,
in the 12th century,

he was living in Jerusalem,
and decided to come back

into Ethiopia and create

these monolithic churches.

And it's very clear
that Lalibela,

in the design of these
different churches,

was trying
to replicate Jerusalem.

Indeed, he was trying
to create a new Jerusalem.

So, by entering into
this complex, it's almost like

you were entering
into Jerusalem itself,

which was considered
to be the most

holy shrine in the world.

MICHAEL GERVERS:
It is described
that Lalibela had a dream.

And in the dream he was
instructed by God to go back and

make a copy of Jerusalem
at the site.

And, in order to fulfill
God's request,

King Lalibela and others
who were involved

worked night and day
for 20 years.

So, in their minds,
right at the beginning,

they had a three-dimensional
structure in mind.

Because, when they started,
it was just a big piece of rock.

And how did they know that,
if they were going to go

150 feet down into the ground,

that everything was okay?

Because the worst possible thing

would be that you'd
almost finished, and then

you found that there was
a massive problem at the bottom.

SHATNER:
11 underground churches,

some over 100 feet deep,

each carved from a single block

of stone in only 20 years' time?

Archaeologists date the churches
back nearly a thousand years.

But even with today's
modern technology,

such an incredible
architectural feat

would be considered impossible.

So, how was it accomplished?

TRAVIS TAYLOR:
If we go and build a big
structure today, a skyscraper,

we have blueprints,
we have engineering,

design pathways,
and we have a construction plan.

It tells us how we will do
every step of the way,

where every screw, nut, bolt,
weld, poured concrete goes.

None of that exists for
these large, ancient structures.

So, we really got to think
outside the box

and try to find
how they were done,

why they were done,
and who built them.

WHITEHEAD:
A very curious thing at Lalibela
is that there are some

very unique carvings there,
some very interesting symbols

that are carved
into these churches.

Do they mean something
if you put them together?

COLLINS:
In the church
of St. Mary at Lalibela,

there is the Star of David,

and this, along with
a number of other mementos

and designs,
are extremely indicative

of the presence
of the Knights Templar.

This has suggested to many

that they may well
have been present

during the construction

of the churches at Lalibela.

TOK THOMPSON:
Now, the Knights Templar
were a very interesting

religious order
that became very powerful

during the Middle Ages,

but what people
don't often realize is

they were very interested
in building,

in, uh, geometry,

in, uh, numerology,

uh, and so,
they're at once very practical

and pragmatic,
and on the other hand,

also very spiritual and mystic.

WHITEHEAD:
The Knights Templar had

a great amount of knowledge
in masonry

and architecture
and building structures.

Now, it's debated as to whether
or not the Knights Templar

would have been
in Ethiopia at this time.

But there's some
interesting evidence that

an Armenian geographer
at the time

documented seeing men
with red and white regalia,

blonde or reddish hair,
long hair,

which could indicate that
he's talking about Templars.

So, it could be that
the Templars themselves

were the ones
that built Lalibela

or that they helped
King Lalibela build the site.

SHATNER:
Could Templar stone masons
have influenced

the construction
of the churches at Lalibela?

And if so, for what purpose?

COLLINS:
If you look around Lalibela,
there are altars there

that have spaces in them
that would

precisely fit
the Ark of the Covenant,

which was approximately
four feet in length,

two feet wide,
and around two feet in height.

It has been suggested
that the rock-cut churches

at Lalibela were built to house
the Ark of the Covenant.

SHATNER:
The lost Ark of the Covenant--

the gold box which contained
the original Ten Commandments--

could it have been hidden
at Lalibela centuries ago?

During the Crusades,
we know that the Templars

occupied the Temple of Solomon.

And so,
it could be that they were

the keepers
of the Ark of the Covenant.

And the more you look
at Lalibela and given the fact

that we see
that it's built underground,

you start to think,
here we have these churches

that are hewn out of these
megalithic rocks.

They're built like
defensive structures.

They have all kinds
of interesting

symbolism there
that indicate Templars.

And you start getting
the impression that this is

actually some kind of defensive
fortress to protect something.

Was Lalibela originally
built to house and hide

the Ark of the Covenant?

Well, if that's true,
then it would certainly

explain why the churches
resemble fortresses.

There's another ancient
structure, located in Turkey,

that may also have
a connection to the divine.

It's an ancient temple that some
believe was built on the site

of the Garden of Eden.

SHATNER:
While plowing his field,
shepherd Safak Yildiz spots

a strangely-shaped stone
emerging from the parched earth.

When he brushes away the dirt,
he realizes the stone

may be part
of a much larger object.

After reporting his find,

he is visited by archaeologist
Klaus Schmidt

and a team from the
German Archaeological Institute.

Further excavation reveals
the stone is actually part

of a massive, elaborately carved

stone pillar, one

in what turns out to be dozens

that form an ancient
underground complex.

Göbekli Tepe
is arguably the most important

archaeological discovery
in recent years.

We're talking
about a whole series

of stone circles

built on the top of a mountain.

If you can imagine
Stonehenge in England,

but multiply it by 20 times

and have these stones in circles

facing towards two massive,
great monoliths,

as much as 18 and a half
feet tall,

weighing between 15 and 20 tons,

this is what we see
at Göbekli Tepe.

Göbekli Tepe could very well
be the first lost civilization.

We've only uncovered
a small percentage

of it, like ten or 15%.

We have no idea, really,
how much bigger this is

and what else
we're gonna find there.

We have to ask ourselves,
"Could Göbekli Tepe

been a place
of commerce and trade?"

And I think the answer
is an undoubted yes

because its construction
would have necessitated

the presence
of not just hundreds,

but many thousands of people

coming from across
the region who,

at the beginning,
were hunter-gatherers.

SHATNER:
While there are many theories,

the true purpose of Göbekli Tepe
remains shrouded in mystery.

But no less mysterious
than the stones themselves

is the lost civilization
that fashioned them.

Because when sediment layers
of the site

were carbon dated,
it was shockingly revealed

that Göbekli Tepe is more
than 12,000 years old.

PAUL BAHN:
Göbekli Tepe really did
send shockwaves

through the whole world
of early pre-history

because we'd never before
known or imagined, even,

that simple hunter-gatherers

could produce such
spectacular monumental

structures as are found
at Göbekli Tepe.

Now, many of these pillars
also have remarkable carvings

on them, wonderful carvings

and bas-reliefs of animals,

birds, insects,
all kinds of things.

So, to fashion those and carve
them and set them up in these

structures was just
absolutely amazing.

SHATNER:
More than one-third of
Göbekli Tepe's stone pillars

contain elaborate bas-relief
carvings of various animals.

But what has many archaeologists
and historians puzzled

is that many of the species
depicted-- like geese

and armadillos and wild boar--

are not indigenous to the area.

That location just happens
to be near where

Noah and the animals and the ark

ended the long journey
through the flood.

And these giant pillars
in Göbekli Tepe

have carvings of animals,
many different kinds of animals.

Are these the animals
from the ark?

Did the stories
about those animals

end up being depicted in stone?

SHATNER:
Could there really be
a connection

between Göbekli Tepe
and the great flood?

Perhaps.

But according to
another audacious theory,

the animal carvings
at Göbekli Tepe may have been

inspired by another,
even older, Biblical story.

COLLINS:
Göbekli Tepe
is located in the very area

that the Bible tells us
the Garden of Eden was located.

It is said that Eden
was where the four rivers

of paradise took their rise.

Two of those rivers
were the Euphrates

and the Tigris
that flowed through Mesopotamia.

And these both rose in
the same area as Göbekli Tepe.

Professor Klaus Schmidt,
the German archeologist,

even suggested himself

that this could be
the area of Eden

and the point of foundation
of civilization.

SHATNER:
The Garden of Eden?

It's a fascinating theory,

but one that is not
without its problems.

Because archeological evidence
shows that Göbekli Tepe

was not only later abandoned,

but also backfilled
and deliberately buried.

Why would anyone
want to leave and bury

paradise?

COLLINS:
Around 8,000 B.C.,

the people of Göbekli Tepe
just vanish.

They just disappear.

So, we have to ask ourself,
where did they go?

Did they just vanish
into oblivion?

What we know is that, recently,
archeologists discovered

a number of human skulls
that had been modified.

And what this means is that
they had been sculpted

or that they had been pierced,

uh, so that they
could be hung up,

perhaps on some kind
of frame or platform.

WHITEHEAD:
They found skulls
that are smashed in,

they've found remains
that look as if there's been

some kind of mass ritual
or murder or sacrifice going on.

There may have actually been
a skull cult there.

Do we know what these people
were doing? Of course not

because they were
doing this thousands

of years
before writing took place.

We can try and guess.

We-we know important rituals
took place there.

Klaus Schmidt would
talk about this as Eden.

I think what he meant was this
is an Edenic society because

if you look at the story of
the Garden of Eden in the Bible,

that's a
hunter-gatherer society,

that's before
we discover agriculture.

And so, the fact that here's
this place, Göbekli Tepe,

it's really challenging
our understandings

of our own origins,
our own religious origins.

And you start thinking about
what else we're gonna find.

BAHN:
It remains to be seen
what will be found

in the rest of the site.

But certainly,
I'm sure Göbekli Tepe

has plenty
more surprises for us.

Every new enclosure excavated,
every new piece of evidence

puts another piece
in the jigsaw,

but also at the same time
raises new questions

that we find
very difficult to answer.

Whether or not Göbekli Tepe
has a connection to stories

from the Bible,
one thing appears to be certain:

it was built
for a profound purpose.

Which is also the case with
another massive stone structure.

One that can be found
in the Irish countryside,

and may have served
as a bridge between the living

and the dead.

SHATNER:
Rising above
this region's lush fields,

not far from the banks
of the River Boyne,

is one of the most mysterious
ancient tombs in the world.

Newgrange.

This massive stone structure

has a diameter of 87 yards,

or nearly the size
of a football field.

Newgrange is the envy of
monuments all around the planet.

The thing that people say
when they come here is

they're surprised how big it is.

It is huge.
It takes up over an acre

of ground,
and there is an estimated

200,000 tons of stone
in the monument.

SHATNER:
According to
archaeological findings,

Newgrange was built
around the year 3200 BC,

making it centuries older
than both Stonehenge

and the Great Pyramid in Egypt.

Because Newgrange is so ancient,

there's still much that
we don't know about the people

who built
this extraordinary tomb.

MURPHY:
Probably one
of the most fascinating

things about Newgrange
is the fact that it was built

in pre-metal days,

just as the Stone Age was kind
of sort of coming to a close.

And it's difficult to imagine
how ancient people were able to

assemble this massive monument,
but they managed to do so.

TUFFY:
A lot of work went into
the building of this monument,

and it was all done
with extreme precision.

Inside, there are carved stones.

And then you come into
a chamber, which is quite roomy.

So, you have this cathedral-like
feeling when you walk inside.

MURPHY:
Newgrange is what archaeologists
refer to as a passage tomb.

It has a passage leading
into the interior.

And in that interior,
human bones have generally

been found,
in different quantities.

THOMPSON:
There are human remains
in these places,

but the most common, um,
burial practice

around this time was cremation.

So, we find most people would be
cremated and then interred.

In the traditional
Irish folklore

that dates way, way back,

the other world of the dead--

it sort of overlapped
with our own.

So, the idea is that
these sites would sort of allow

for this passage
between the realm of the dead

and the realm of the living.

TUFFY:
On the back recess of the inner
chamber there is a tri-spiral.

The most common
interpretation that people

come up with
is that it represents

this constant cycle
of renewal and regeneration.

On a spiritual level,
it may promise rebirth

for the spirits of the dead.

The tri-spiral
is unique to Newgrange.

And it's also found
on the entrance stone

and throughout the tomb.

SHATNER:
Archeologists
who have studied Newgrange

have theorized
that this ancient tomb

was intended to serve
a profound and mystical purpose.

And as evidence, they point to
a curious element of its design

that is visible
only one day a year.

Newgrange is unusual
in that it has

a very special aperture,

or opening, above the entrance.

On the day of winter solstice,

this glimmering golden beam
of sunlight enters there

and pierces the darkness.

TUFFY:
When the sun rises
at winter solstice,

the light hits the chamber

for precisely 17 minutes.

And some even speculate
that the spirits

would have used the light
to leave the burial chamber

and go and join the deities.

SHATNER:
Did the builders
of Newgrange specifically

design it to be a gateway
into the afterlife?

Some archaeologists believe
that the answer is yes.

And they also claim
that Newgrange was built

to allow those who stood
within its inner chamber

to communicate directly
with the dead.

MURPHY:
In the case of Newgrange,

the notion of the sunbeam
drawing out

the souls of the deceased
and-and leading them

to that other world,
is not just a one-way ticket.

It was a portal between worlds.

Were the people inside there--
the priests,

for instance, the druids--
were they in contact

with the ancestors
who'd gone before?

TUFFY:
The builders of the monument

have created a space
which is separate,

which is a world for the dead.

There is always a feeling that
this is a house for the spirits.

Where consulting
with the ancestors,

asking advice
from the ancestors,

would have happened
5,000 years ago,

which is extraordinary.

SHATNER:
Was Newgrange constructed
to be not only a tomb

but also a place
where the living

communicated with the dead?

It's an intriguing theory,

which is why archaeologists
continue to study Newgrange

in the hope of one day
unraveling all of its mysteries.

THOMPSON:
How people choose
to handle their remains

always tells you
a lot about what people

think about the afterlife.

Where are they going?

What is the relationship
between the soul and the body?

And in Newgrange,
this had a lot to do

with this notion that the dead
are still around

and perhaps can see you
even if you can't see them.

So, in a sense, with Newgrange,

we might even say that the dead
did achieve immortality.

The theory that Newgrange was
built to be not just a tomb

but also a gateway

between our world
and the afterlife

suggests that some ancient
structures may have served

a higher purpose than
we might have once believed.

In fact, there's a vast
underground city

that was constructed
more than 2,000 years ago

that some believe
was designed to ensure

the survival of the human race.

SHATNER:
Bordered by the Black Sea
to the north

and by the Taurus Mountains
to the south

lies the craggy regions
of Cappadocia.

Here, wind, water, and time

have sculpted the volcanic rocks
into bizarre

and almost surreal shapes.

But, believe it or not,
the most unusual thing

that was ever discovered
in this otherworldly landscape

was found not above ground
but far below.

In 1963,
during a simple home renovation

in the town of Derinkuyu,

a cave wall was punctured,
revealing a passageway

to what appeared to be
an intricate underground city

thousands of years old
and more than 280 feet deep.

Derinkuyu is a pretty
amazing story 'cause,

just imagine that you're working
in your basement one day,

you knock a hole in the wall,

and what you find is a-a city
that is sort of the size

of a-a really large castle,
but it's actually underground,

uh, and it was done
in a time before there was

really any mechanical means
to provide

water or ventilation
or any of those things.

COLLINS:
The only thing on the surface
that you can see

are what appear to be wells.

As you approach Derinkuyu,

you would certainly not be aware

that you were walking over

the position
of an underground city.

It would have been the home for
thousands of people at a time

at some point
in the distant past.

SHATNER:
Experts believe that Derinkuyu
housed an estimated

20,000 men, women,
and children, and included

religious centers,
storerooms, and living rooms.

Many archaeologists and scholars
propose that Derinkuyu

was most likely built around
800 B.C. by the Phrygians,

a Bronze Age people
related to the Trojans,

and was intended to serve as a
temporary shelter from invasion.

But others believe
it was built by the Hittites,

a warrior people
mentioned in the Bible

who flourished a few
hundred years before that.

BURROWS:
It's in a place
that's had multiple wars.

There's conflict
taking place all the time.

And when you're above ground,
people can see you for miles.

You know, each night,
you're lighting fires

to get some light
inside the space.

And so that can be seen
from 20 miles or more.

Once they go below ground,
they're invisible.

JOHN BRANDENBERG:
It has massive stones
that can be lowered to block

passageways that human beings
can only go through

in single file,
making it very easy to defend.

There are also rumors
that it is connected by a vast

tunnel system going many,
many kilometers to other

underground cities
in the neighborhood.

So, it had
emergency escape routes.

So, the whole thing
was a quite remarkable

subterranean fortress.

SHATNER:
While there is evidence
to suggest

that several different
cultures have used Derinkuyu

as a fortified sanctuary,

in the centuries that have
passed since its initial

construction, some researchers

have theorized that
it is much, much older

than mainstream
archaeologists think.

And that its original architects
had an even bigger threat

in mind when they built it.

COLLINS:
The curator of Derinkuyu
in Cappadocia,

Ömer Demir,
had found the evidence

suggesting that each
of the different stories

or levels would seem
to have been constructed

by different cultures
at different times.

And what he found
was incredible.

For he discovered
that there were tools,

stone tools, here, that dated
back to paleolithic times.

The implications of this
are enormous

because what
this suggests is that

Derinkuyu goes back
at least 12,000 years

and was present at the end
of the last ice age

and may well have been

a place where
our ancestors sought refuge

at the time of a cataclysm,

a cataclysm that may well
have devastated

large parts of the Earth

at the very end
of the paleolithic era.

SHATNER:
A cataclysm?

Could it be that the original
inhabitants of Derinkuyu

built it as a shelter
to protect them

during the Earth's
last great ice age?

A time when the Earth's climate
was estimated to be more than

ten degrees colder
than it is now?

So cold
that hardly anything could

grow or even survive
above ground.

MICHAEL DENNIN:
When you build
your city underground,

you get two major
off-the-top advantages,

one sort of environmental.

You're gonna have
great thermal properties.

It's gonna be cool
when you need it to be cool,

but it won't get too cold,
so it'll be kind of warm enough

when you need it to be warm.

Thinking about when
this was built and inhabited

really remains this exciting,
mysterious, open question.

Even this idea of other
cities underground,

like, how common was that
for humans to build their homes

underground versus
on the surface of the ground?

It does feel like
we've just really

scratched the surface
of what could be below us.

There could be much more.
There could be many more

of these cave systems in Turkey.

So, there's mystery
still to be found

deep within the Earth.

SHATNER:
The truth is we may
never know for sure why

or even how these ancient
underground cities were built.

And that's especially true
in the case of Derinkuyu,

because the secrets
of its construction techniques

seem to have disappeared

along with whoever built it.

BURROWS:
Even today, with all
of the modern technology

that we have, it would be
incredibly complicated and

a massive undertaking
to do something like that.

And sometimes we look
at these ancient marvels

and we try and figure out
could we build that today

to that level of accuracy,
that sort of quality

of construction
in that amount of time?

And the answer's no,
which is pretty amazing that,

several thousand years later,

they're better than us.

It's humbling to think that
more than 2,000 years ago

the builders
of Derinkuyu possessed

engineering knowledge
that exceeds our own.

And it's also a reminder
that our ancestors

were far more ingenious
than we often realize.

For instance,
the ancient Greeks constructed

a temple that is
so brilliantly designed

that it's actually able

to deceive your eyes.

SHATNER: High atop the Acropolis
in Athens, Greece

stands one
of the most magnificent

and most aesthetically pleasing
structures in the world:

the Parthenon.

This 23,000 square foot
temple was

constructed using 100,000 tons
of radiant white marble.

The exterior
of the Parthenon is lined

with 46 colossal columns,

which strikingly appear
to be laid out

in the shape
of an exact rectangle.

And what's
more astonishing is that

the more than
13,000 stone blocks

used to assemble the Parthenon

were precisely fitted together

without the use of mortar.

Which begs the question:
how were the ancient Greeks

able to build something
that looks so perfect?

YOUNG:
The Parthenon is an amazingly
beautiful structure.

The design,
the spacing of each stone

is so perfect that it inspires
just to look at.

The proportions are so exact
for a large building

it is an amazing thing,
and it lifts the spirit upward.

SHATNER:
Built beginning in 447 B.C.
on the orders of the famed

statesman and general Pericles,

the Parthenon celebrates
the Athenians' victory

over Persian invaders

who had tried to conquer
the city for 50 years.

DORAN:
Athens during the time of
the building of the Parthenon is

an incredible cosmopolitan,
vibrant city.

It's producing art, literature,

sculpture, architecture.

It's the Manhattan
of the fifth century B.C.

And I think if you're
an Athenian citizen walking,

doing your everyday work,
and then you see the Acropolis

in the center of the city,
this incredible shining hill,

and then you see the Parthenon,
the gleaming marble,

the biggest and most
beautiful Greek temple

that existed, at least in
mainland Greece at this point,

you'd be filled
with a sense of wonder.

SHATNER:
Although most of the interior
of the Parthenon has decayed

due to the ravages of time,

the rectangular symmetry
of its exterior

looks flawless to this day.

But strangely, for a temple
that was clearly built

with perfection in mind,

what makes the Parthenon
so fascinating

is actually its imperfections.

Not only were the Greeks
masters of geometry,

they were also masters
of optical illusions.

They knew the fact that your eye
plays tricks on you.

Therefore they built
the Parthenon

"slightly incorrectly"
to compensate for this,

so that the net result
is perfection.

DORAN:
The Parthenon is a rectangle,

but there are no right angles
in the entire building.

Everything is slightly off.

The columns
look straight from below,

but they are slightly tilted
toward each other.

So, if you were standing
at the base of the Parthenon

and if the columns didn't stop
after a certain number of feet,

but they kept on going
all the way up into the sky,

you would see
the columns meeting

if they were long enough
to actually meet.

This is a very curious thing
that the builders did.

KAKU:
It turns out that
the Parthenon does not

have straight
parallel lines at all.

The columns are not
vertically cylindrical at all.

They bulge by about an inch
at the center of the cylinder.

So, for example, the human brain
looking at a column

will actually think
that the waist is pinched.

Your eye thinks that the center
of the cylinder is shrunk.

To compensate for that,

the columns
at the Parthenon bulge.

There is no way this
could have been an accident.

SHATNER:
But is that all the Greeks
were trying to achieve--

an optical illusion?

Or could they have had
another purpose in mind

when they built the Parthenon?

COLLINS:
Why do we create monuments
like the Parthenon?

And the answer is

we want to try
and imitate the divine.

The divine was seen
as perfection.

The gods are seen as perfection.

And so, sacred geometry

has been incorporated
into the Parthenon

in the belief that
it was now endowed

with some kind of divine power.

And this was done
very specifically

to connect the mundane
with the divine,

to create the connection
between this world and the next.

It's hard to look
at the Parthenon

and other marvelous structures

from the ancient world
and not feel a sense of awe

at what our ancestors
accomplished.

But in the early 20th century,
one man attempted

to unravel
the engineering secrets

of the ancients by creating
his own monuments

built entirely
out of giant stones.

SHATNER: In this small town,
tucked away between

Miami and
Everglades National Park,

stands an elaborate
stone edifice.

The locals call it Coral Castle.

Sculpted from
massive blocks of coral,

this incredible structure
features a five-ton,

heart-shaped table,

a 28-ton obelisk,

and a perfectly balanced
nine-ton door

that opens with
the touch of a finger.

And even more incredible
than this marvel of design and

engineering is the fact that
it was built by just one man,

and nobody knows how he did it.

R.L. POOLE:
Ed Leedskalnin was
an immigrant from Latvia

who immigrated
to the United States, and

he built the only modern
megalithic structure ever known.

The Coral Castle
is 1,100 tons of coral bedrock

that he dug out of the property
on which it rests.

He was only about
five feet tall,

but he managed to move
hundreds of tons of coral rock

into this
megalithic modern temple.

He had no technology there
that could have

lifted these stones
or cut the stones

and yet it's there to this day.

And the story goes that
Ed Leedskalnin built this

incredible megalithic site
using only a few pulleys,

a tripod,
he did it all by himself,

and he worked at night,
and he was very secretive.

SHATNER:
From 1923 until 1951,

Leedskalnin perfectly
shaped, lifted, fitted,

and stacked over two million
pounds of limestone.

For decades,
hundreds of the world's

top architects and engineers
have come to this place

to solve the mystery
of its construction.

The tripods, for instance, were
three pieces of Florida pine,

about the same size
as a telephone pole.

He used five-ton chains,
he used a ten-ton chain hoist,

yet, somehow,
was able to impossibly

lift stones that were wider
than the tripods' diameter,

that were taller
than the tripods stood,

that weighed more than
the chains were rated for.

TAYLOR:
There has to be some other

technology being used here,

or this is one
of the best magic tricks

ever pulled over on mankind.

So, what could it have been?

Did he learn some
unique mechanical trick?

Or did he learn
some new physics?

POOLE:
He was found often
at the public library

studying the Egyptians,

studying ancient
megalithic structures.

Ed said he knew
the secrets of the pyramids.

I believe this to be accurate.

He was able to replicate
their accomplishments,

which enabled him to be able
to create something

which, by any other standard,
you cannot do.

TAYLOR:
Ed claims in his notes

that he used reverse energy
or antigravity.

The question is
what did he mean by this?

The device that Ed used,
or allegedly used,

to move these rocks
were an old-school tripod

that had a large black box
on top of it.

We don't know
what was in that box,

and Ed never says
what was in that box.

We could speculate
that it's some device

that he's created that enables
him to lift more weight

than he should be able
to lift with this

rudimentary tripod
fulcrum and lever system,

but we have no idea
what it was he did.

What makes the Coral Castle
so unique and mysterious

is that no one
has ever been able

to replicate his results
using his methods.

What this means is that he knew
something that we do not know.

Did Edward Leedskalnin
rediscover building techniques

used by our ancestors?

Well, if he did, he took
their secrets to the grave.

So, for now,
we'll continue to try

to understand just how
ancient temples, churches

and tombs were constructed
thousands of years ago.

And perhaps one day
we too will unlock

the secrets of these
extraordinary structures

that, for now, remain...

unexplained.

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS