All language subtitles for The UnXplained S07E05 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
An indestructible cloak

imprinted with a divine image.

Small fragments of wood

believed to possess
sacred energy.

And an ancient Egyptian staff

imbued with the power of God.

Throughout the world,
there are objects in museums,

churches and private collections

that are said
to come from biblical times

and the saints and martyrs
whose lives

were devoted to God.

Many believe
that these priceless items

not only prove that the stories

from the Old and New Testaments
are true

but that the artifacts also

have the power
to perform miracles.

Could the objects
we know as biblical relics

really be authentic?

And might they actually
possess divine energy?

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

♪ ♪

While tending his flock of goats
in the rocky hills

just northwest of the Dead Sea,

Bedouin shepherd Muhammed ed-Dib

spies the entrance
to a long-forgotten cave.

Inside, he finds an assortment
of dusty clay jars

containing fragments
of parchment and papyrus

with writing in Hebrew,
Aramaic and Greek.

They are the ancient
Jewish manuscripts

we now call
the Dead Sea Scrolls.

ROBERT CARGILL:
The Dead Sea Scrolls
are the oldest copies

of the Hebrew Bible that we have

by a thousand years.

Prior to their discovery,

the oldest copies
of the Bible that we had

were from about 1100 AD.

So, these scrolls were arguably

the greatest discovery
of the 20th century.

SHATNER:
Over the course of
the ten-year excavation project,

archeologists recovered more
than 15,000 scroll fragments

from 12 separate caves.

And as scholars painstakingly
pieced the writings together,

what they deciphered

was a lost history
of biblical proportions.

AMIR HUSSAIN:
The Dead Sea Scrolls
are really fascinating

because some of them
are books that didn't make it

into the Bible,

like the Book of Tobit,
the Book of Jubilees,

the Book of Enoch.

So, this is a brand-new set

of other information
about the Bible.

CARGILL:
The Dead Sea Scrolls
fundamentally changed the way

we read the Bible
because it shows us

that there was another group
of sectarian Jews

who had books in their Bible

that didn't end up making it
into the Hebrew Bible.

And so now we ask the questions:

Well, why do these guys believe
something that's so different?

And so, we probably have
just as many new questions

now that we've discovered them
than we had before.

SHATNER:
The creation
of the biblical canons,

along with their
carefully chosen hiding places,

seems like a clear indication

that these manuscripts
were considered very important,

at least for as long as time

and the fragile parchment
would allow.

But perhaps the most intriguing
discovery in the Qumran desert

was an extraordinarily
well-preserved scroll

created to endure
the test of time,

because this document

was intentionally
made of copper.

The Copper Scroll is
one of the Dead Sea Scrolls,

but it's unlike all the others.

It was actually discovered
in what's called Cave Three,

the third cave around Qumran.

This scroll is entirely written

on a sheet of copper alloy.

It's about
eight and a half feet long.

And it had been rolled up after
it was engraved in antiquity

and set into the caves.

So this is really
an astonishing find.

Obviously, there was
a lot of thought into making

this particular scroll
out of copper.

They wanted something
that could go through

all kinds of catastrophes
and still be able to convey

the information
that it has inside it.

SHATNER:
When it was first discovered,
the Copper Scroll

was sealed shut by
thousands of years of corrosion,

preventing scholars
from unraveling

the secrets it held inside.

But in 1955,

English archaeologist
John Allegro

and engineers at
the University of Manchester

were able to carefully cut
the scroll into sections

and reveal its ancient
Hebrew inscriptions.

What Allegro discovered

was nothing short
of astonishing.

His translations revealed
that the Copper Scroll

is actually a treasure map.

CARGILL:
The Copper Scroll is
an inventory of treasure,

63 locations
of a massive amount of treasure.

We're talking like $300 billion

worth of treasure
in today's money.

ROY FISHER:
The Copper Scroll is
a list of locations

where one can expect to find
all sorts of riches.

Gold, coins, artifacts.

So, many people have viewed it

as kind of
an ancient treasure map.

Unfortunately, we've not found

any treasure associated
with the Copper Scroll

because a lot
of the vocabulary is strange

and the geographical places
are unknown to us.

SHATNER:
Instead of ancient scripture,

the Copper Scroll lists
63 different treasure locations

in the Judean Desert.

But as with
any great treasure hunt,

there's a hook.

The locations
listed on the scroll

either no longer exist,

are completely unknown
to scholars

or just too vague to figure out.

CARGILL:
This is the big mystery
about the Copper Scroll.

It's very nondescript.
It'll give a location,

and then it'll tell you
how far down to dig.

For instance,
it'll say something like...

And it does this 63 times.

So, the question is:
Where is this place?

But we just don't know.

SHATNER:
Could the Copper Scroll
lead to a massive fortune

buried throughout
the Judean Desert?

It's an incredible notion.

But if it is true,

then where did
this treasure come from?

When you look at the treasure
inventory in the Copper Scroll,

and it describes like
160 tons of gold and silver,

you have to be thinking about,
well, who would have

160 tons of gold and silver?

The only place that would
have that is Solomon's Temple.

And so the idea is that:

Is this a list
of the treasure of the temple?

Because the temple,
of course, has gold and silver.

What about the things
in the temple?

Including
the most sacred object,

the Ark of the Covenant.

Is potentially
the Ark of the Covenant

one of the things that is hidden

in this, uh,
location of treasures?

SHATNER:
According to the Hebrew Bible,

the sacred chest said to hold

the Ten Commandments'
stone tablets

was once kept
in a secret chamber

beneath King Solomon's Temple
in Jerusalem.

But at some point,
the Ark disappeared,

and nobody has seen it
for thousands of years.

Could the Copper Scrolls
reveal its hidden location?

The idea that the Copper Scroll

could lead us to, say,
the Ark of the Covenant

is a tantalizing,
maybe even a seductive idea.

The Ark of God is probably
the most powerful relic

in ancient Israel.

And it's reported to have
tremendous power.

I guess if somebody
finds treasure,

then the mystery will be solved.

But until then, it's still
in that mysterious realm.

Is the Ark of the Covenant

hidden somewhere
in the Judean wilderness?

We don't know.

SHATNER:
If the Copper Scroll
really does lead

to the Ark of the Covenant,
what happens if it's found?

How will believers react?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining another relic,

in Mexico City,

a cloak imbued with divine power
by the Virgin Mary

that is believed
to be indestructible.

SHATNER:
In a busy plaza
just north of downtown

sits the Basilica of
Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Every day,
thousands of worshippers

crowd inside to pray
and to show their devotion

to a beautifully
illustrated garment

that hangs above
the church altar.

It's a miraculous cloak

known as the Tilma of Guadalupe.

LEWIS:
The Tilma of Guadalupe
shows the image

of a beautiful woman

with her head inclined downwards
and her eyes half-closed.

And she is wearing
a gorgeous blue flowing dress.

It's all sort of
celestial imagery of

gold and stars
and, kind of, rays

shooting off of her.
It's very, very beautiful.

SHATNER:
Like the Shroud of Turin,

the burial cloth laid over Jesus
after the crucifixion,

this cloak is an object

revered by Christians
around the world.

In fact, every year,
more than 20 million people

arrive to worship
the Tilma of Guadalupe.

This astonishing figure
makes it the single

most popular holy relic
in the Catholic faith,

which naturally
begs the question:

Just what is it about the tilma

that makes it
so important to believers?

LEWIS:
The Tilma of Guadalupe
is a sacred image

that is thought to be
miraculously produced.

The image originates from

a series of apparitions
of the Virgin Mary

that appeared
to a Mexican peasant

by the name
of Juan Diego in 1531.

So, the story is
Juan Diego is hurrying off

to see his friend
Juan Bernardino,

who's very, very ill.

As he's going off
to see Juan Bernardino,

he has an apparition.

And the Virgin tells him
to go to a certain hill

and to pick the roses there.

This is a strange thing.
It's actually in December.

There are not really
roses around.

But he goes, and there's
a beautiful field of roses,

and these roses
aren't even native to Mexico.

And he gathers them up
in his cloak

and goes and he talks
to the archbishop

about this apparition.

He opens up his cloak
and all the roses fall out,

and what's left is
this beautiful image

of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

SHATNER:
Is it possible that
the image of the Virgin Mary

on the Tilma of Guadalupe

was miraculously
imprinted on the cloak

of a Mexican peasant?

And could it possess
divine healing power,

curing everything from cancer
to infertility to paralysis,

as millions of devoted followers
believe it does?

Part of the mystery around this
is the fact that this cloak,

which is made of cactus fibers

and is now almost 500 years old,

remains in remarkable condition.

And we have
numerous accounts of people

who attest to its power
to transform their life,

to bring prosperity,
to heal from sicknesses.

HUSSAIN:
There are literally
thousands of people

that are coming off the bus
on their knees,

and they're walking
on their knees

to get into the cathedral.

Because if you're there
to petition

Our Lady 'cause you're sick,
'cause your child is sick,

'cause you want a blessing

for your daughter
who's getting married,

because you want
your son to get a job,

you don't come standing
in a position of arrogance.

You come on your knees
in a position of humility.

SHATNER:
Could the Tilma of Guadalupe
actually have the power

to bestow people
with miraculous blessings?

Perhaps.

But what may be
even more remarkable

is that the tilma
appears to be indestructible.

HUSSAIN:
In November of 1921,

you had a disgruntled man
who put a bomb

in a vase of flowers
very close to the tilma,

to the image
of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

He wanted to blow up the church.

When this bomb goes off in 1921,

it causes destruction.

It damaged the altar.

It bends a crucifix.

It blows out windows
in neighboring homes.

But it doesn't damage
a cloth object.

For the devout, this is a sign

that this is something
very special.

This is something
that will be protected.

SHATNER:
How can one explain
the otherworldly attributes

of the Tilma of Guadalupe?

Even scientists are bewildered
by the durability

and the detail
of the sacred garment,

because when viewed
in the infrared spectrum,

the painting of the Virgin Mary
imprinted on the cloak

does not appear
to show any brushstrokes.

And even more baffling

is the discovery
of a hidden image

inside the Virgin Mary's eyes.

Using cutting-edge
computer software,

Dr. José Tonsmann

enlarges a photograph of
the Virgin Mary's eyes

more than 2,500 times,

revealing a microscopic image

reflected in her pupils.

People have claimed
that they can see

reflections of Juan Diego

in the eyes of the Virgin

on the cloak.

And so, the idea is that,

not only is this an image

but it's almost like
a photographic image

of the Virgin Mary

that has been
imprinted upon this cloak,

such that whatever she was
seeing when she appeared

was actually captured
in the image.

It's a very mysterious,
very interesting claim.

SHATNER:
Is the hidden image
inside the Virgin Mary's pupils

a reflection
of what she was seeing

the moment her likeness
was imprinted on the tilma?

It's a fascinating notion.

And for the faithful,
it's yet further evidence

of the tilma's divine origins.

Whether the Tilma of Guadalupe

is imbued with the power
of the Virgin Mary or not,

there's no denying it is
a truly remarkable artifact.

But as revered as it is,

there are other
extraordinary objects

said to possess
the almighty power of God,

like the Staff of Moses

that was used
to part the Red Sea.

SHATNER:
Among the gilded daggers

and precious jewels
on display here,

there are a number of objects

that allegedly date
to biblical times.

These include a sword
supposedly used by King David

to kill the giant Goliath,

hairs from the beard
of the Prophet Muhammad,

and a wooden rod

which is claimed
to be the actual

Staff of Moses.

LEWIS:
This palace used to be

the residence of
an Ottoman sultan.

And he was given many
precious gifts over the years,

and one of the things
that evidently he was given

was the Staff of Moses.

The Staff of Moses is mentioned
in association with Moses

in the Book of Exodus.

And the first time
that we hear about it,

it seems to just be
a walking stick.

But as time goes by
in the story of Exodus,

it really seems
kind of like a magic wand.

SHATNER:
Could the wooden rod
on display in the Topkapi Museum

be the actual Staff of Moses?

As incredible as it sounds,

many people believe
the answer is yes.

Which makes the claim
even more extraordinary

because, according
to biblical tradition,

the Staff of Moses was imbued
with miraculous powers.

The Staff of Moses first is used
in Exodus chapter seven,

when Moses confronts Pharaoh
about letting the Israelites go.

He casts down his staff.
It turns into a serpent.

(snake hisses)

The second instance it's used
is when we have the ten plagues.

And in the first
of these plagues,

Moses uses the tip of his staff
dipped into the Nile

and turns the Nile
into a red color like blood.

SHATNER:
But perhaps
the most awesome display

of the staff's divine force
occurs in Exodus 14,

when Moses raises the rod
above his head

and parts the Red Sea.

HUSSAIN:
In the Exodus narrative,
the Israelites

are there at the Red Sea.

They're being chased
by the Egyptians,

and God basically says,
"Moses, take your staff,

hold it over the waters,
and the waters will part."

And the minute that
the Israelites start walking,

the waters of the Red Sea part.

The minute the Egyptians
come after them,

the waters of the Red Sea
collapse upon them.

-(clamoring)
-(horse neighs)

SHATNER:
Is it possible that
the unassuming wooden rod

displayed in the Topkapi Museum

is the same staff that Moses
used to free the Israelites?

It may come as no surprise

that many experts
doubt its authenticity.

It is simply not possible

to follow the provenance
of the Staff of Moses.

And the staff that is
in the museum in Istanbul,

there's just no way,
there's just no way

of authenticating this
as the Staff of Moses.

All we have is
legend and tradition.

LEWIS:
One real mystery
is that we don't know

what happens to the staff
after the end of Moses.

One story is that
it gets passed down

through the Davidic line.

King David has the staff.

He uses it as a scepter.

At that point,
we kind of lose sight of it.

SHATNER:
If it's true that
the mystical artifact

disappeared from history,
then what happened to it?

Author and relic hunter
Graham Phillips has a theory.

He's been researching
the Staff of Moses for decades,

and according to his research,

there's a wooden rod in
the Birmingham Museum in England

that was said to be found
in the ancient tomb

where Moses was supposedly
laid to rest.

We're told that Moses was buried
at a place called Petra.

So, somewhere in Petra,
in this valley,

there's something there
called the Snake Monument,

and it dates from the
right time, from Moses' period.

And in the middle
of the 19th century,

a couple of archeologists
went there,

excavated a cave beneath it

and believed that they had
found the tomb of Moses.

The problem was,
there was no body in it.

It had been robbed
at some point,

but there was, all covered
in dust and debris, a staff.

Eventually, this staff ended up

in the Birmingham Museum.

And there, in this glass case,
was this staff

exactly as described
by these guys who'd found it.

Dark-colored,
about four feet long

with Egyptian hieroglyphics
in white on them.

I couldn't believe it.

SHATNER:
According to the Bible,

before Moses
became a Hebrew leader,

he was a prince of Egypt.

And the hieroglyphics
on the Birmingham Museum staff

says it belonged to a member
of the royal Egyptian court

named Tuthmosis.

A name that bears
an undeniable similarity

to the legendary prophet Moses.

PHILLIPS:
It says, in Egyptian
hieroglyphics on this staff,

"This belongs to Tuthmosis."

So, you've got a person
whose name

could've been Moses,
who had been a prince in Egypt.

I mean, if that's not Moses'
staff, I don't know what is.

Could the legendary
Staff of Moses

really still exist
and be displayed

in a museum in Istanbul
or in England?

It's an extraordinary
possibility.

But perhaps even more compelling

is a small piece of wood held
in safekeeping at the Vatican,

which, according
to Christian tradition,

was once part of the True Cross.

SHATNER:
On May 6th, 2023,

the Prince of Wales was crowned
King Charles III

in a coronation ceremony
that honored

both the secular and the
spiritual role of the monarch.

Included in the coronation
that day

was a very special object

commissioned specifically
for the ceremony

called the Cross of Wales.

What makes this cross so special

is that it contains
two tiny slivers of wood

that are believed to be
part of the True Cross.

The True Cross refers
to pieces of the cross

on which Jesus was crucified.

So, the idea is that
this is not just any old cross.

And you can imagine the
importance of this, uh, relic

because we have very few relics
associated with Jesus.

LEWIS:
The True Cross is very important
to Christian believers

because it directly had contact
with Jesus's body.

Jesus suffered on that cross.
Jesus bled on that cross.

And believers feel that,
if they can be in the presence

of that cross,
be in the presence of that wood,

that they can feel themselves
connected back

to Jesus Christ himself.

SHATNER:
For the past 2,000 years,
the surviving artifacts

from Jesus's crucifixion

have been deeply revered
by believers.

Relics such as
the bloodstained cloth,

known as the Sudarium, that
was draped over Christ's head

or the Shroud of Turin,
which covered Jesus's body

after his death,

are some of
the most sacred objects

in the Christian religion,

and they are said to be blessed
with incredible power.

HUSSAIN:
With Jesus relics especially,
the idea is that they contain

a power, a sacredness,
a-a holiness.

Sometimes, the object itself
has great power.

For example, the Shroud of Turin

is literally
the burial cloth of Jesus.

It has touched Jesus.

Jesus has been resurrected,
and he leaves the cloth behind.

So there's a power
associated with this.

There are often occurrences,

miraculous healings
that come from this.

So, you can see the importance
of that for Christians.

And so, what more important
relic than the True Cross,

a piece of the cross
on which Jesus was crucified?

SHATNER:
Today, slivers of the True Cross

are present in churches
all around the world,

where they are revered
by hundreds

of millions of worshippers.

But how do we know
that these tiny splinters

were actually once part
of the cross

upon which Jesus was crucified?

The Romans crucified

tens of thousands of people
over a long period of time.

Now, the Bible
never mentions anywhere

what happens to the cross
after Jesus's crucifixion.

It talks about how his body
was taken down from the cross

by Joseph of Arimathea,

but it doesn't say anything
about what happens

to the cross itself.

In Christian tradition,

the True Cross
is discovered by Helena,

the mother of
the Emperor Constantine.

Helena was a convert
to Christianity.

And in the early fourth century,

she embarks on a pilgrimage
in Jerusalem

to walk the steps of Jesus

to visit the site
of his crucifixion.

She's taken to what we now know

as the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre.

And while there,
she seeks out and discovers

three crosses in an area

that is close by the tomb
where Jesus was buried.

Question is:
Which one is the True Cross?

We have a fascinating story

of how she actually
came to find out

which was the True Cross.

What Helena decided to do
was take this woman,

this poor old woman
who was near death,

and they brought her out,

and they laid her
on one of these crosses,

and she let out a groan
and she was in agony.

And they said,
"Well, it's not that one."

And so, they took her and
they put her on the next cross,

and she was screaming and
hollering and just near death.

She goes, "Not that one."

And they put her
on the third cross,

and she was instantly healed.

And she got up and started
walking around, and they said,

"Well, clearly, this is
the cross of Christ."

And from that point on,
that became the cross of Christ.

SHATNER:
According to the story,

Helena had a piece
carved off the True Cross,

which she took to Constantinople
for safekeeping.

Over the next few centuries,

this relic was further
whittled down

by churches seeking to obtain
slivers as relics of their own.

But for the faithful,

each one of these tiny pieces
of the True Cross

possess the full divine power
of the original.

LEWIS:
The interesting thing
about biblical relics

is that no matter how many times
you divide up a biblical relic,

it maintains the same kind
of miraculous power.

Every piece of the True Cross

has equal power
to the entire cross.

HUSSAIN:
This has become the main symbol
now for Christianity.

So, to have a piece
literally of the cross

on which Jesus is crucified
is priceless.

It's incalculable,
the value of this.

It's understandable
why the True Cross

is one of the most revered
holy relics on Earth,

but that's not
the only artifact believed

to have survived
the crucifixion.

Pieces of the crown of thorns
that once adorned

the head of Christ can also
be found around the world,

including one on display
in an Italian Cathedral that,

to this day,
still appears to bleed.

SHATNER:
The world watches in horror

as a massive fire rips through

the historic
Cathedral of Notre-Dame.

As the blaze rages on
for the next 15 hours,

experts fear that many
of the priceless holy relics

kept within the cathedral
will be consumed by the flames.

Including one of the most sacred

in the entire Christian
religion, the holy crown,

or as it is more commonly known,
the crown of thorns.

LEWIS:
The crown of thorns is
an important biblical relic

in the story of Jesus's Passion,
his crucifixion.

At one point, when he's
about to be put on the cross,

the Roman soldiers
are mocking him,

and one of the soldiers
takes a thorny vine

and twists it into a crown,

and they force that down
on Jesus's head.

MULLINS:
The crown of thorns
is described in the Bible

as a circlet
of thorny branches that

probably came from
what's called the jujube,

also known as
the Christ thorn tree

because it's a tree
that puts out very long thorns

on branches that can be
woven into a crown,

so it would've caused
excruciating pain,

and would've also resulted

in a lot of blood
on Jesus's face.

SHATNER:
Despite the devastation caused
by the Notre-Dame fire of 2019,

miraculously, the holy crown
was saved from destruction.

And as images of the sacred
relic began to circulate,

many were surprised to learn
that the crown of thorns

no longer held
any of its piercing barbs.

LEWIS:
The thing about
the crown of thorns is that

these thorns
could be snapped off

and given away
as different sorts of relics

to different places.

And these were
kind of dispatched.

They were sent
all over Christendom.

FISHER:
Anything that touches

a holy person has the potential
to also become a relic.

And so, something
like the thorns,

which would've actually pierced
the flesh of Jesus,

that had been covered
in the blood of Jesus,

it's hard to imagine a relic

more powerful
than something like this.

PHILLIPS:
It is believed that these relics

had amazing power,

that they could
heal people of sickness.

By being close to them,

you could be imbued
with spiritual powers.

So, in other words,
they had divine properties.

SHATNER:
While scholars debate
the number of thorns

that were originally
on the holy crown,

today, there are dozens
of churches all around the world

that claim to possess
one of these sacred relics.

And among them is a thorn
that appears to be

nothing short of miraculous.

HUSSAIN:
There's a church
in Italy, in Andria,

that has a thorn
from the crown of thorns.

And on March 25th, 2016,

in this church in Andria,
the thorn begins to bleed.

LEWIS:
The church maintains
that it is an authentic relic,

and they claim that,
every time that Good Friday

falls on a March 25th,

the thorn itself bleeds.

And this has been widely seen

and was shown around
as a great miracle.

SHATNER:
What could explain
the miraculous powers

of the bleeding thorn
at Andria Cathedral?

Its mere existence
is an undeniable confirmation

of the mysteries of faith.

CARGILL:
The Christian faith
had its central figure, Jesus,

ascend into heaven.

There are no remains
of Jesus from his tomb.

And so, if you could say,

"I believe in him,
but how do I prove this faith?"

Well, here, these are the thorns
of this crown of thorns,

and then that gives a little
tangibility to that faith.

SHATNER:
But not all relics are
so easily accepted as authentic.

Like an ancient limestone box

that is claimed to have once
held the remains

of the brother of Jesus Christ.

SHATNER:
On the third floor
of the Royal Ontario Museum,

a remarkable artifact
is put on display.

At the time, patrons don't know

this humble object
will soon become

one of the most controversial
holy relics in history.

It is an empty limestone box
dating to the first century AD,

known as the James Ossuary.

JAMES TABOR:
Ossuary literally means
"bone box."

So, in Judaism, in the time
of Jesus particularly,

ossuaries were very common
for Jewish burial.

CRAIG EVANS:
The Jewish practice was,
when a person died,

the skeletal remains
would be gathered up

and placed in a niche
or in an ossuary.

And there were thousands
of these made.

But what was valuable
about these ossuaries

is people's names
would be written on them.

SHATNER:
In the case
of the James Ossuary,

the name of the person
whose bones it holds

is inscribed in Aramaic.

Which, when translated
to English,

reveals something astonishing.

The story of
the James Ossuary itself

first came to attention in 2002

when an Israeli
antiquities dealer

by the name of Oded Golan
announced its discovery.

Now, he claimed
to have bought it

on the antiquities market
in the 1970s.

And most certainly,
this ossuary would attract

worldwide attention and fame

and perhaps even fortune,
uh, for its discoverer.

HUSSAIN:
If you're a Christian,
if you know the Bible,

you know that James
is one of the key figures

in early Christianity.

James the Just, as-as he's known
within the church,

the brother of Jesus.

And so, if this ossuary

literally is
the bone box of James,

then you've got direct
archeological evidence

for Jesus.

Now, of course,
there's controversy around this.

SHATNER:
Of the thousands
of bone boxes recovered

from the time of Jesus,
could the James Ossuary

have once held the remains
of his actual brother?

It's an extraordinary notion.

So extraordinary, in fact,
that not everyone was convinced

of the James Ossuary's
authenticity.

In a case that would
become known as

the forgery trial
of the century,

the Israeli government
charged Oded Golan

in December of 2004
with 44 counts

of fraud related
to the James Ossuary.

The trial lasted seven years.

There was hundreds of thousands
of pages of testimony,

and one of the main pieces
of evidence

was the patina in the letters.

Patina is this
sort of surface coating

that gets on stone,

and when it was
examined microscopically

by several
very major authorities,

they found
these fossilized microbes.

And so, there was
original patina

on the surface and inside
the inscription.

That can't be forged.

When the verdict came through,
the judge ruled

there's no evidence
that Oded Golan forged it.

SHATNER:
To date, the James Ossuary

is one of the few relics
associated with Jesus

that has been tested
both scientifically

and in a court of law.

And if the James Ossuary
is authentic,

as many now believe,

it would be
one of the most valuable

biblical artifacts
ever discovered.

But like so many other objects,
we may never know the truth.

CARGILL:
Remember that people of faith
are using these objects

as a means by which
to connect to the divine.

And then the question is:
Is there a credible provenance

of all of these articles, all
of these objects, these relics?

And therein lies the mystery.

HUSSAIN:
The Bible is not meant
to be a history book.

It's a mythological book.

But today, we've got 3D imaging.

We've got
artificial intelligence.

We've got all kinds
of spectrographical analysis.

And there's certain things
that we can point to and say,

"Oh, we actually have
historical evidence.

This actually is
a miraculous object."

It's intriguing to think
that artifacts

from more than 2,000 years ago
might still be uncovered

and added to the collection
of revered objects

we know as holy relics.

Regardless if one thinks
they are real or not,

these artifacts hold
both historical importance

and profound
spiritual connection

for those who believe.

And in any case,

whether they are charged
with divine energy

or operate on the power
of faith itself,

the mystery of
ancient biblical relics

remains unexplained.

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