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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:02,269 --> 00:00:05,005 [narrator] An uninhabited, muddy little island in England 2 00:00:05,005 --> 00:00:06,807 has a horrifying history. 3 00:00:06,807 --> 00:00:09,142 Authorities believe that there are hundreds of bodies 4 00:00:09,142 --> 00:00:09,810 on the island. 5 00:00:11,545 --> 00:00:14,848 The place is covered in human bones, 6 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:16,516 skulls, and teeth. 7 00:00:17,017 --> 00:00:21,154 [narrator] A shocking spider discovery on an island off 8 00:00:21,154 --> 00:00:23,590 Sri Lanka reignites an age-old mystery. 9 00:00:24,324 --> 00:00:26,827 - Previously, they've not found the spider anywhere else 10 00:00:26,827 --> 00:00:27,594 in the world. 11 00:00:27,594 --> 00:00:28,962 Could it have traveled by air? 12 00:00:30,197 --> 00:00:32,366 [narrator] Animal corpses discovered on the shore 13 00:00:32,366 --> 00:00:35,702 of a small Canadian island baffle researchers. 14 00:00:36,203 --> 00:00:39,573 At first glance, the wounds appear intentional and precise. 15 00:00:40,874 --> 00:00:42,876 What could be ravaging these poor creatures? 16 00:00:50,284 --> 00:00:54,588 [narrator] Isolated, scarce on resources, islands are worlds 17 00:00:54,588 --> 00:00:55,756 unto themselves. 18 00:00:57,891 --> 00:01:01,995 Bizarre creatures, ancient gods, and haunting ruins. 19 00:01:02,930 --> 00:01:05,632 Baffling murders and deadly spirits. 20 00:01:06,066 --> 00:01:10,237 What will be discovered on Earth's mysterious islands? 21 00:01:10,237 --> 00:01:15,776 ♪ ♪ 22 00:01:30,123 --> 00:01:33,293 [narrator] The British Isles, over 6,000 islands 23 00:01:33,293 --> 00:01:35,562 that have been intermittently inhabited 24 00:01:35,562 --> 00:01:39,166 since as far back as 800,000 BCE, 25 00:01:39,166 --> 00:01:42,536 the largest of which are Great Britain and Ireland. 26 00:01:43,003 --> 00:01:45,539 You probably don't know the names of the smaller ones, 27 00:01:45,539 --> 00:01:48,308 the ones that aren't much more than uninhabited stretches 28 00:01:48,308 --> 00:01:50,210 of marsh, mud, and rock. 29 00:01:52,145 --> 00:01:53,880 But if you do find yourself on one 30 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,217 that's barely above sea level, you'll also probably find 31 00:01:57,217 --> 00:02:00,587 lots of stuff in the mud, like old bottles, plastic 32 00:02:00,587 --> 00:02:02,522 containers, rubber boots. 33 00:02:02,889 --> 00:02:05,592 And every once in a while, people have even found 34 00:02:05,592 --> 00:02:07,928 shrapnel from bombs that struck the region 35 00:02:07,928 --> 00:02:08,829 during the Blitz. 36 00:02:10,530 --> 00:02:13,400 [narrator] But on one small island, just about 40 miles 37 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,036 from London, you're likely to see something 38 00:02:16,036 --> 00:02:18,572 far more mysterious than shrapnel. 39 00:02:19,106 --> 00:02:22,576 In 2016, people sneaking onto an off-limits avian 40 00:02:22,576 --> 00:02:26,146 wildlife preserve found themselves surrounded 41 00:02:26,146 --> 00:02:28,482 not by birds, but by bones. 42 00:02:28,482 --> 00:02:31,451 And these were not the bones of wild animals. 43 00:02:33,420 --> 00:02:38,525 The place is covered in human bones, skulls, and teeth. 44 00:02:38,825 --> 00:02:41,128 If you're actually walking on the island, 45 00:02:41,128 --> 00:02:44,131 there's an excellent chance of you literally 46 00:02:44,131 --> 00:02:45,532 tripping over them. 47 00:02:45,799 --> 00:02:46,900 What happened here? 48 00:02:49,770 --> 00:02:52,139 Authorities believe that there are hundreds of bodies 49 00:02:52,139 --> 00:02:54,374 on the island, which isn't really a surprise 50 00:02:54,374 --> 00:02:56,143 when you realize that the name of the island 51 00:02:56,143 --> 00:02:58,678 is a bit of a spoiler, Deadman's Island. 52 00:03:02,883 --> 00:03:05,585 Why are there so many human bones here? 53 00:03:05,886 --> 00:03:07,654 Could this be one of those plague islands 54 00:03:07,654 --> 00:03:09,189 you hear about, like Poveglia? 55 00:03:11,491 --> 00:03:14,661 [narrator] When the bubonic plague arrived in 56 00:03:14,661 --> 00:03:17,998 Europe in 1347, the small Italian island of Poveglia 57 00:03:17,998 --> 00:03:20,200 became a quarantine site for many 58 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,002 dying from the Black Death. 59 00:03:22,502 --> 00:03:24,538 Even hundreds of years after the plague, 60 00:03:24,538 --> 00:03:27,941 the island remains off-limits to visitors. 61 00:03:30,043 --> 00:03:32,679 While both Poveglia and Deadman's Island 62 00:03:32,679 --> 00:03:35,315 are closed to the public, that is sort of where 63 00:03:35,315 --> 00:03:36,516 the similarities end. 64 00:03:36,516 --> 00:03:39,619 Poveglia has a lot of buildings, housing, a bell 65 00:03:39,619 --> 00:03:42,789 tower, a hospital, and it even had a fortress. 66 00:03:43,290 --> 00:03:45,225 Deadman's Island is less than a mile long 67 00:03:45,225 --> 00:03:47,661 and just 650 feet wide. 68 00:03:47,661 --> 00:03:49,296 It has almost no structures. 69 00:03:49,296 --> 00:03:51,698 It's really just mud and marshland. 70 00:03:52,165 --> 00:03:54,801 Where would people live or even die here? 71 00:03:55,035 --> 00:03:57,404 If you walk across the island when the tide is out, 72 00:03:57,404 --> 00:04:00,474 you can see even more bones jutting out of the mud, 73 00:04:00,807 --> 00:04:03,143 some much smaller than others. 74 00:04:03,410 --> 00:04:06,146 They're clearly from children or young adults. 75 00:04:08,949 --> 00:04:12,686 Why would anyone be buried here, let alone children? 76 00:04:16,456 --> 00:04:17,824 Despite the menace of the name, 77 00:04:17,824 --> 00:04:20,193 this uninhabited mud bank is currently a 78 00:04:20,193 --> 00:04:22,462 protected wetland site and a bird breeding 79 00:04:22,462 --> 00:04:23,697 and nesting preserve. 80 00:04:25,198 --> 00:04:27,868 But long before it was an avian love island, 81 00:04:28,135 --> 00:04:30,036 it had a much darker purpose. 82 00:04:30,437 --> 00:04:34,908 [narrator] In the 1700s, the British prison system was 83 00:04:34,908 --> 00:04:37,177 nearing collapse and part thanks to the 84 00:04:37,177 --> 00:04:38,845 Waltham Black Act of 1723, 85 00:04:39,079 --> 00:04:41,748 which we now know as the Bloody Code. 86 00:04:41,982 --> 00:04:44,885 It was an emergency measure to punish crime. 87 00:04:46,186 --> 00:04:49,422 It included serious crimes like arson and murder, 88 00:04:49,422 --> 00:04:51,858 but it also covered a wide range of thefts 89 00:04:51,858 --> 00:04:54,294 we might think of as being pretty minor. 90 00:04:54,594 --> 00:04:57,430 But in that era, there wasn't much of a distinction 91 00:04:57,430 --> 00:04:59,833 between the petty crimes and the serious stuff. 92 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:02,402 ♪ ♪ 93 00:05:02,402 --> 00:05:04,938 Basically, if a 10-year-old stole a chicken 94 00:05:04,938 --> 00:05:07,941 or a loaf of bread to survive, they could find 95 00:05:07,941 --> 00:05:09,442 themselves in jail. 96 00:05:09,876 --> 00:05:12,379 [Anthony Cantor] As a result of all these draconian laws, 97 00:05:12,379 --> 00:05:15,282 prison populations swelled until the prisons couldn't 98 00:05:15,282 --> 00:05:16,750 accommodate any more people. 99 00:05:16,950 --> 00:05:19,119 So the authorities came up with the novel idea 100 00:05:19,119 --> 00:05:22,155 of floating prisons called prison hulks. 101 00:05:22,789 --> 00:05:25,425 [narrator] A hulk, in the language of the British Navy, 102 00:05:25,425 --> 00:05:28,795 was a ship that was no longer capable of full service. 103 00:05:29,029 --> 00:05:31,965 Such ships were gutted of all their military gear 104 00:05:31,965 --> 00:05:35,435 and turned into prison quarters for anywhere from 105 00:05:35,435 --> 00:05:36,970 100 to 600 people. 106 00:05:39,005 --> 00:05:41,341 On the prison hulks, some of the prisoners were 107 00:05:41,341 --> 00:05:42,842 to be there indefinitely. 108 00:05:43,143 --> 00:05:45,612 Others were just held until there was a merchant ship 109 00:05:45,612 --> 00:05:48,348 big enough to bring them to colonies like Australia 110 00:05:48,348 --> 00:05:49,316 for forced labor. 111 00:05:51,117 --> 00:05:52,986 Of course, we know prisons don't offer 112 00:05:52,986 --> 00:05:55,088 the most pleasant of accommodations at 113 00:05:55,088 --> 00:05:55,956 the best of times. 114 00:05:57,123 --> 00:05:59,159 If you now imagine all of that crammed 115 00:05:59,159 --> 00:06:03,129 onto a dark, stuffy ship, it's even worse again. 116 00:06:05,565 --> 00:06:08,235 Apparently, the hulks were far worse 117 00:06:08,235 --> 00:06:10,537 than even the Dickensian prisons. 118 00:06:10,537 --> 00:06:13,073 The quarters were crammed and filthy, 119 00:06:13,273 --> 00:06:16,209 and the food and water were often contaminated 120 00:06:16,209 --> 00:06:17,077 with bacteria. 121 00:06:18,345 --> 00:06:21,014 [narrator] Cholera hit Britain in the 1830s, 122 00:06:21,014 --> 00:06:25,385 devastating the country in 1832, and the prison hulks 123 00:06:25,385 --> 00:06:26,519 were no exception. 124 00:06:27,821 --> 00:06:30,323 Cholera is transmitted by fecal matter. 125 00:06:30,624 --> 00:06:33,159 Imagine how quickly that disease would spread 126 00:06:33,159 --> 00:06:36,763 in an enclosed space with no proper sanitation system. 127 00:06:37,264 --> 00:06:38,898 So when prisoners were infected, 128 00:06:38,898 --> 00:06:41,968 they were moved to the island and left there to die, 129 00:06:42,235 --> 00:06:45,071 which explains the bones, but it doesn't explain 130 00:06:45,071 --> 00:06:46,640 everything on the island. 131 00:06:47,173 --> 00:06:49,509 [narrator] One of the many mysterious things about 132 00:06:49,509 --> 00:06:52,112 Deadman's Island is that there are coffins on it. 133 00:06:52,345 --> 00:06:54,948 In fact, the place where most visitors land 134 00:06:54,948 --> 00:06:56,383 is called Coffin Bay. 135 00:06:57,417 --> 00:06:59,452 You can see the rotting coffins 136 00:06:59,452 --> 00:07:01,821 and pieces of wood all over the place. 137 00:07:04,357 --> 00:07:06,960 [narrator] Now with erosion and rising water levels, 138 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,797 these bodies are also rising up, but it's not the first time 139 00:07:10,797 --> 00:07:12,499 their stories are being heard. 140 00:07:12,866 --> 00:07:15,802 Locals have been telling tales of Deadman's Island 141 00:07:15,802 --> 00:07:16,903 for generations. 142 00:07:18,004 --> 00:07:20,907 Legend has it that there is a devil dog out here 143 00:07:20,907 --> 00:07:24,844 with glowing eyes who eats people's brains. 144 00:07:27,414 --> 00:07:30,483 And some locals swear they can hear wailing 145 00:07:30,483 --> 00:07:34,087 coming from the island at night, a wailing that they say 146 00:07:34,087 --> 00:07:36,656 cannot be dismissed as wind. 147 00:07:41,394 --> 00:07:44,531 Of course, if you find an island covered in bones, 148 00:07:44,531 --> 00:07:47,133 there are gonna be lots of creepy stories about it. 149 00:07:47,534 --> 00:07:49,602 But when you consider that many of these people 150 00:07:49,602 --> 00:07:52,539 had been thrown in jail for things as inconsequential 151 00:07:52,539 --> 00:07:55,041 as stealing a loaf of bread, and that many of the 152 00:07:55,041 --> 00:07:56,142 prisoners were children, 153 00:07:57,944 --> 00:08:00,046 it really does make Deadman's Island 154 00:08:00,046 --> 00:08:02,749 seem much more tragic than terrifying. 155 00:08:03,316 --> 00:08:06,252 [narrator] No one knows what the future holds for this island, 156 00:08:06,486 --> 00:08:09,589 but as the climate changes and water levels rise, 157 00:08:09,823 --> 00:08:12,459 Deadman's Island may soon be washed away, 158 00:08:12,692 --> 00:08:15,662 taking the last of its secrets with it. 159 00:08:15,662 --> 00:08:18,398 ♪ ♪ 160 00:08:27,941 --> 00:08:30,944 [narrator] Nestled in the Palk Strait in the Bay of Bengal 161 00:08:30,944 --> 00:08:34,714 between India and Sri Lanka sits Mannar Island, 162 00:08:34,981 --> 00:08:37,150 known for its pristine sandy beaches. 163 00:08:38,485 --> 00:08:40,420 - In addition to being beautiful, 164 00:08:40,887 --> 00:08:43,323 Mannar is a haven for the natural world. 165 00:08:43,323 --> 00:08:47,060 There are 3,600 species of plants and animals here, 166 00:08:47,060 --> 00:08:51,197 flamingos, mangroves, and five species of endangered turtles. 167 00:08:51,197 --> 00:08:52,365 It's actually one of the planet's 168 00:08:52,365 --> 00:08:55,268 most biologically diverse coastal regions. 169 00:08:56,636 --> 00:08:59,639 [narrator] With this in mind, a team of Sri Lankan researchers 170 00:08:59,639 --> 00:09:03,777 head to the island in 2012, intending to survey one of 171 00:09:03,777 --> 00:09:07,514 the facets of its diversity, the spider population. 172 00:09:07,847 --> 00:09:10,517 As they catalog the wide range of arachnids, 173 00:09:10,517 --> 00:09:12,752 they encounter something surprising 174 00:09:12,752 --> 00:09:14,287 in the hollow of a tree. 175 00:09:18,625 --> 00:09:22,562 Inside, they find a Rameswaram ornamental tarantula. 176 00:09:22,562 --> 00:09:24,998 Now, finding a spider in a tree when you're studying arachnids 177 00:09:24,998 --> 00:09:27,467 might not seem like a big deal, but think about that name. 178 00:09:27,467 --> 00:09:32,572 Rameswaram is a town in India on Pamban Island. 179 00:09:32,572 --> 00:09:35,175 That is 30 miles away as the crow flies. 180 00:09:37,110 --> 00:09:38,378 And that spider? 181 00:09:38,878 --> 00:09:41,247 Until 2012, it was thought to be endemic, 182 00:09:41,247 --> 00:09:43,349 meaning exclusive to Rameswaram. 183 00:09:43,783 --> 00:09:45,518 Previously, they've not found the spider 184 00:09:45,518 --> 00:09:47,153 anywhere else in the world. 185 00:09:47,387 --> 00:09:49,522 It couldn't crawl over water to the island, 186 00:09:49,722 --> 00:09:51,224 so how did it end up here? 187 00:09:51,624 --> 00:09:53,059 Could it have traveled by air? 188 00:09:56,729 --> 00:09:57,897 Look at a spider. 189 00:09:58,164 --> 00:10:00,567 It has no wings and it can't fly, 190 00:10:00,834 --> 00:10:03,870 so that should be the end of that story, but it's not. 191 00:10:05,338 --> 00:10:08,708 [narrator] In 1832, Charles Darwin, while at sea, 192 00:10:08,708 --> 00:10:10,643 encountered a surprising sight. 193 00:10:10,643 --> 00:10:14,047 The deck of his ship was covered in tiny spiders. 194 00:10:15,248 --> 00:10:17,383 "I caught some of the aeronauts' spiders, 195 00:10:17,383 --> 00:10:20,353 which must have come at least 60 miles. 196 00:10:20,687 --> 00:10:23,089 How inexplicable is this cause which induces 197 00:10:23,089 --> 00:10:25,859 these small insects to undertake their 198 00:10:25,859 --> 00:10:27,160 aerial excursions?" 199 00:10:29,062 --> 00:10:31,965 We should forgive Darwin for calling spiders insects. 200 00:10:31,965 --> 00:10:33,733 In his day, the spiders were considered 201 00:10:33,733 --> 00:10:35,401 a subgroup of the insects. 202 00:10:35,401 --> 00:10:36,736 We now know that's totally wrong, 203 00:10:36,736 --> 00:10:40,140 but the point is, Darwin did witness spiders 204 00:10:40,140 --> 00:10:42,876 traveling long distances in the air, 205 00:10:42,876 --> 00:10:44,978 and since then, they've been documented 206 00:10:44,978 --> 00:10:46,479 two and a half miles above the earth 207 00:10:46,713 --> 00:10:49,849 and going out as far as 1,000 miles out to sea. 208 00:10:51,284 --> 00:10:53,686 [Amma Wakefield] This achievement is both beautiful 209 00:10:53,686 --> 00:10:56,055 and frankly, a little bit terrifying. 210 00:10:58,525 --> 00:11:01,261 Imagine being caught up in a breeze 211 00:11:01,261 --> 00:11:04,731 filled with hundreds or even thousands of spiders. 212 00:11:05,164 --> 00:11:07,200 ♪ ♪ 213 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,370 But then we're back to the whole no wings thing. 214 00:11:10,770 --> 00:11:13,506 So how do they become airborne? 215 00:11:16,709 --> 00:11:19,946 - Spiders shoot out silky strands to make their webs, 216 00:11:19,946 --> 00:11:22,182 but the same filaments can catch the wind, 217 00:11:22,182 --> 00:11:24,217 allowing the spiders to take flight. 218 00:11:24,551 --> 00:11:26,452 It's called kiting or ballooning. 219 00:11:27,754 --> 00:11:30,156 - Ballooning isn't just the result of a spider's 220 00:11:30,156 --> 00:11:31,691 ingenuity or tenacity. 221 00:11:32,091 --> 00:11:33,526 It's a result of electricity. 222 00:11:34,260 --> 00:11:36,362 [thunder rumbling] 223 00:11:36,362 --> 00:11:38,865 [narrator] Every single day, the earth is host to 224 00:11:38,865 --> 00:11:42,735 electrical storms, which get the air crackling with electricity. 225 00:11:44,204 --> 00:11:47,574 It's thought that these forces can create an electrical 226 00:11:47,574 --> 00:11:50,176 charge imbalance between the silk threads 227 00:11:50,176 --> 00:11:51,544 and the surrounding air. 228 00:11:53,346 --> 00:11:56,583 The idea is that the electrostatic interaction 229 00:11:56,583 --> 00:12:00,954 helps lift the silk strands, taking the spider with it, 230 00:12:01,254 --> 00:12:03,423 hence the term kiting. 231 00:12:03,423 --> 00:12:05,992 ♪ ♪ 232 00:12:07,293 --> 00:12:08,995 [Alison Leonard] It's a decent theory until 233 00:12:08,995 --> 00:12:10,396 you start thinking about scale. 234 00:12:10,797 --> 00:12:13,633 Most of the spiders you'll see ballooning are pretty slight, 235 00:12:14,500 --> 00:12:16,402 but have you ever seen a tarantula? 236 00:12:16,669 --> 00:12:19,238 These are not small creatures, so it might be pretty 237 00:12:19,238 --> 00:12:20,573 hard to get them airborne. 238 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,077 Plus tarantulas don't even spin those orb-like webs. 239 00:12:24,077 --> 00:12:26,846 They mostly use their silk to line their burrows. 240 00:12:27,447 --> 00:12:30,416 [narrator] So it seems rather unlikely that these large 241 00:12:30,416 --> 00:12:32,552 spiders balloon to Mannar Island. 242 00:12:32,819 --> 00:12:35,955 However, there is another theory about their presence here, 243 00:12:36,189 --> 00:12:39,359 one that's both historical and mythical. 244 00:12:39,726 --> 00:12:41,494 For ships traveling in the region, 245 00:12:41,494 --> 00:12:45,398 the Palk Strait is a bit of a thorn in their collective side. 246 00:12:45,765 --> 00:12:48,434 If you wanna go from the east coast of India 247 00:12:48,434 --> 00:12:51,204 to Southeast Asia, it would make sense 248 00:12:51,204 --> 00:12:53,172 to round the bottom of the continent 249 00:12:53,172 --> 00:12:55,041 and scoot through the Palk Strait 250 00:12:55,308 --> 00:12:58,544 between Pamban and Mannar Islands. 251 00:12:59,212 --> 00:13:01,714 [Anna Klassen] Otherwise, you have to take a circuitous route 252 00:13:01,714 --> 00:13:05,451 and sail to the end of Sri Lanka, only to come up again. 253 00:13:05,852 --> 00:13:08,988 So going through the strait seems like the obvious choice. 254 00:13:10,723 --> 00:13:12,525 The problem is that going through the strait 255 00:13:12,525 --> 00:13:14,294 isn't possible for most ships. 256 00:13:14,527 --> 00:13:17,697 The first challenge is that it's just too shallow in spots, 257 00:13:17,930 --> 00:13:19,165 but that's not the biggest hurdle. 258 00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:22,535 [narrator] There's a rugged underwater barrier 259 00:13:22,535 --> 00:13:24,437 that limits passage through the strait 260 00:13:24,437 --> 00:13:26,706 between Pamban and Mannar Island. 261 00:13:26,706 --> 00:13:30,310 It's a 30-mile-long chain that emerges during low tide. 262 00:13:30,610 --> 00:13:31,878 It looks like a spine. 263 00:13:32,178 --> 00:13:33,880 Since the beginning of this century, 264 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,949 this formation has been the focus of heated debate 265 00:13:36,949 --> 00:13:40,653 between historians, politicians, and religious Hindus, 266 00:13:40,853 --> 00:13:44,457 all arguing about its history, meaning, and utility. 267 00:13:45,958 --> 00:13:48,828 The formation is known as Ram Setu. 268 00:13:49,095 --> 00:13:51,597 According to documents from the nearby 269 00:13:51,597 --> 00:13:54,267 Ramanathaswamy Temple, there was a causeway-like 270 00:13:54,267 --> 00:13:57,837 bridge between these two islands until 1480, when a hurricane 271 00:13:57,837 --> 00:13:59,205 ravaged the region. 272 00:13:59,472 --> 00:14:01,274 [Alison Leonard] A causeway could explain how the tarantula 273 00:14:01,274 --> 00:14:03,943 came to be hiding out in the trees on Mannar Island, 274 00:14:04,410 --> 00:14:06,779 but that theory prompts another question. 275 00:14:07,180 --> 00:14:10,083 Who or what made this causeway? 276 00:14:11,250 --> 00:14:13,886 [narrator] One theory about how this causeway was made 277 00:14:13,886 --> 00:14:17,256 is found in the name itself, Ram Setu. 278 00:14:17,490 --> 00:14:20,893 Ram, or Rama, is a major Hindu deity 279 00:14:20,893 --> 00:14:23,262 and the hero in the Hindu sacred text. 280 00:14:23,529 --> 00:14:26,132 In the Ramayana, Rama's wife has been kidnapped 281 00:14:26,132 --> 00:14:28,835 by the evil 10-headed monster, Ravana, 282 00:14:28,835 --> 00:14:30,236 and taken to Lanka. 283 00:14:30,536 --> 00:14:32,672 In order to save her, Rama instructs Hanuman, 284 00:14:32,672 --> 00:14:35,241 the monkey god, and his monkey warriors 285 00:14:35,241 --> 00:14:39,011 to build a bridge so Rama can reach Lanka and save his wife. 286 00:14:39,011 --> 00:14:42,949 The Ramayana was written by the Indian poet Valmiki, 287 00:14:42,949 --> 00:14:48,087 who lived somewhere in the ballpark of 500 to 100 BCE, 288 00:14:48,087 --> 00:14:51,257 and devout Hindus believe it represents real events 289 00:14:51,257 --> 00:14:54,660 that happened somewhere between 1.7 million 290 00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:56,996 and 3,500 years ago. 291 00:14:57,396 --> 00:15:00,800 [Sarah Klassan] For the faithful, the answer is also found in the Ramayana. 292 00:15:01,067 --> 00:15:03,970 In that text, the stones used to build the bridge 293 00:15:03,970 --> 00:15:06,072 are inscribed with Lord Rama's name, 294 00:15:06,272 --> 00:15:09,408 which essentially enchants them, thus allowing them to float 295 00:15:09,408 --> 00:15:10,843 and be moved into place. 296 00:15:13,112 --> 00:15:17,183 [Amma Wakefield] The reality is there actually is one rock that 297 00:15:17,450 --> 00:15:21,420 floats, and it might be in your bathroom right now, pumice. 298 00:15:23,156 --> 00:15:25,291 [narrator] Pumice is created when volcanic magma 299 00:15:25,291 --> 00:15:29,061 with high gas content rapidly cools and solidifies, 300 00:15:29,295 --> 00:15:31,130 trapping gas bubbles inside. 301 00:15:31,130 --> 00:15:34,333 That results in its porous and lightweight structure 302 00:15:34,534 --> 00:15:36,669 that has a lighter density than water. 303 00:15:37,770 --> 00:15:40,606 Translation - pumice stones can float, 304 00:15:40,606 --> 00:15:43,075 but after a while they take on water and they sink. 305 00:15:43,075 --> 00:15:47,180 So could the magic floating stones of the Ramayana 306 00:15:47,180 --> 00:15:49,782 just be large pumice stones? 307 00:15:51,517 --> 00:15:53,719 [Alison Leonard] The problem with this theory is that there 308 00:15:53,719 --> 00:15:56,122 are no volcanoes in this region, so there's no source 309 00:15:56,122 --> 00:15:57,256 for pumice stone. 310 00:15:57,757 --> 00:15:59,959 What else could have created this causeway? 311 00:16:00,393 --> 00:16:02,662 [narrator] The researchers who found the spiders on 312 00:16:02,662 --> 00:16:05,965 Mannar Island also suspect that there was once a bridge 313 00:16:05,965 --> 00:16:08,100 that connected Sri Lanka and India, 314 00:16:08,367 --> 00:16:11,070 only they believe it was a natural one. 315 00:16:11,537 --> 00:16:14,607 India and Sri Lanka were once connected 316 00:16:14,607 --> 00:16:17,810 and part of the supercontinent of Gondwana. 317 00:16:18,444 --> 00:16:21,848 [narrator] Around 180 million years ago, Gondwana came apart 318 00:16:21,848 --> 00:16:26,185 as a result of shifting tectonic plates, creating continents and 319 00:16:26,185 --> 00:16:29,322 leaving behind land fragments like Ram Setu. 320 00:16:31,257 --> 00:16:33,926 Much of the bridge is determined to be built out of limestone, 321 00:16:33,926 --> 00:16:36,162 which is also called calcium carbonate. 322 00:16:36,429 --> 00:16:38,264 That's the stuff that the exoskeletons 323 00:16:38,264 --> 00:16:40,399 of coral reefs are made out of. 324 00:16:40,633 --> 00:16:43,669 So that's some solid evidence that Ram Setu was 325 00:16:43,669 --> 00:16:45,204 naturally formed. 326 00:16:46,405 --> 00:16:48,608 The debate over how the bridge was made 327 00:16:48,608 --> 00:16:50,343 might seem like an esoteric argument 328 00:16:50,343 --> 00:16:52,612 that only academics and the devout care about, 329 00:16:52,845 --> 00:16:55,514 but it's actually a hot button issue in the country. 330 00:16:57,950 --> 00:17:00,319 [narrator] There have been many proposals to create a shipping 331 00:17:00,319 --> 00:17:02,755 lane canal through the strait, so they would no 332 00:17:02,755 --> 00:17:05,858 longer need to navigate around the bottom of Sri Lanka, 333 00:17:06,225 --> 00:17:09,729 dramatically reducing shipping distances and transit times. 334 00:17:09,729 --> 00:17:13,866 - For Hindus, this is a catastrophic idea. 335 00:17:13,866 --> 00:17:17,203 They believe that this bridge is a tangible part 336 00:17:17,203 --> 00:17:19,639 of their history and their connection 337 00:17:19,639 --> 00:17:20,273 to the gods. 338 00:17:21,574 --> 00:17:24,243 - And it's not just the faithful who are against this plan. 339 00:17:24,243 --> 00:17:27,947 Ram Setu is part of the fragile ecosystem in this region. 340 00:17:27,947 --> 00:17:30,783 It's home to a diverse array of marine life, 341 00:17:31,083 --> 00:17:35,554 and it protects the coastline from strong currents and storms. 342 00:17:35,788 --> 00:17:38,424 - Some scientists fear that the removal of the bridge 343 00:17:38,424 --> 00:17:41,327 could have serious environmental effects on the region, 344 00:17:41,594 --> 00:17:43,930 something especially dangerous in this era 345 00:17:43,930 --> 00:17:46,465 of ever-increasing climate change events, 346 00:17:46,465 --> 00:17:48,634 like hurricanes or cyclones. 347 00:17:49,135 --> 00:17:51,771 [narrator] It's clear that the debate over Ram Setu 348 00:17:51,771 --> 00:17:54,307 isn't likely to be resolved anytime soon. 349 00:17:54,574 --> 00:17:57,443 Thankfully, however the Rameswaram tarantulas 350 00:17:57,443 --> 00:18:00,513 arrived on Mannar Island, they've already made 351 00:18:00,513 --> 00:18:01,881 themselves at home. 352 00:18:15,027 --> 00:18:17,330 The Outer Banks form a thin land barrier 353 00:18:17,330 --> 00:18:20,733 between the Atlantic Ocean and America's eastern seaboard, 354 00:18:20,733 --> 00:18:23,469 formed as the last ice age came to an end. 355 00:18:23,469 --> 00:18:25,671 They have since protected the mainland 356 00:18:25,671 --> 00:18:27,873 from the worst the ocean has to offer. 357 00:18:29,375 --> 00:18:32,111 - The Outer Banks are composed of a number of islands. 358 00:18:32,111 --> 00:18:34,246 One of them is actually among the longest 359 00:18:34,246 --> 00:18:35,815 in the continental US. 360 00:18:35,815 --> 00:18:38,484 This is Hatteras Island, located just off the 361 00:18:38,484 --> 00:18:39,719 coast of North Carolina. 362 00:18:41,721 --> 00:18:44,190 - This relatively flat, sandy spit of land 363 00:18:44,190 --> 00:18:46,459 used to go by another name, Croatoan, 364 00:18:46,692 --> 00:18:48,461 named after the indigenous people that lived here 365 00:18:48,461 --> 00:18:51,163 when the English first arrived back in the 16th century. 366 00:18:54,533 --> 00:18:56,669 [narrator] Archaeologists are looking into the 367 00:18:56,669 --> 00:19:00,039 country's origins, searching for clues as to what became 368 00:19:00,039 --> 00:19:02,942 of the first English colony in America. 369 00:19:03,342 --> 00:19:05,778 This is interesting because as we know, 370 00:19:05,778 --> 00:19:09,315 the first permanent English settlement in North America 371 00:19:09,315 --> 00:19:12,084 was Jamestown, settled in 1607. 372 00:19:12,418 --> 00:19:14,186 But there was another settlement that 373 00:19:14,186 --> 00:19:16,856 predated Jamestown, and that was the vanished 374 00:19:16,856 --> 00:19:18,024 colony of Roanoke. 375 00:19:19,959 --> 00:19:23,963 [narrator] In July, 1587, 118 settlers under the command of 376 00:19:23,963 --> 00:19:28,100 John White landed on the shores of Roanoke, roughly 50 miles 377 00:19:28,100 --> 00:19:29,468 north of Hatteras. 378 00:19:29,468 --> 00:19:31,237 They were making a second attempt 379 00:19:31,237 --> 00:19:33,305 to establish a colony on the island 380 00:19:33,305 --> 00:19:35,808 after a previous colony of the same site 381 00:19:35,808 --> 00:19:37,510 was unable to last a year. 382 00:19:39,311 --> 00:19:41,614 Relations with the local indigenous people 383 00:19:41,614 --> 00:19:43,049 broke down as well. 384 00:19:43,449 --> 00:19:45,918 They had actually killed one of their leaders, 385 00:19:45,918 --> 00:19:47,486 a man named Wingina. 386 00:19:47,486 --> 00:19:50,089 So needless to say, it would have imperiled their colony 387 00:19:50,089 --> 00:19:52,491 as the English were few, vulnerable, 388 00:19:52,491 --> 00:19:54,460 and surrounded by freshly made enemies. 389 00:19:56,696 --> 00:19:58,664 This didn't deter the second group though. 390 00:19:58,898 --> 00:20:01,500 For some time, things must have gone somewhat smoothly 391 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:03,469 because John White's granddaughter was 392 00:20:03,469 --> 00:20:04,704 born in Roanoke. 393 00:20:04,704 --> 00:20:07,339 She was the first English child born in North America, 394 00:20:07,339 --> 00:20:09,375 and her name was Virginia Dare. 395 00:20:10,009 --> 00:20:12,678 But not too long after they had set up shop in Roanoke, 396 00:20:12,678 --> 00:20:15,848 they realized it was too late in the season to grow crops, 397 00:20:15,848 --> 00:20:17,817 leaving them desperate for supplies. 398 00:20:19,885 --> 00:20:22,922 So John White decided to head back to England to get them. 399 00:20:23,155 --> 00:20:26,559 Problem was, when he got there, the country was in a 400 00:20:26,559 --> 00:20:30,062 full-fledged war with Spain, causing a three-year 401 00:20:30,062 --> 00:20:31,363 delay in his return. 402 00:20:33,299 --> 00:20:36,569 When he finally did come back, all that was left of the 403 00:20:36,569 --> 00:20:39,939 colony were two cryptic clues inscribed into a tree 404 00:20:39,939 --> 00:20:41,307 and a fence post. 405 00:20:41,307 --> 00:20:44,009 The letter CRO and the word Croatoan. 406 00:20:44,577 --> 00:20:47,413 [narrator] Prior to leaving for England, John White had decided that 407 00:20:47,413 --> 00:20:50,916 if Roanoke had to be abandoned for reasons of hardship or war, 408 00:20:50,916 --> 00:20:54,286 the Maltese cross would be carved into a tree. 409 00:20:54,653 --> 00:20:57,156 Thinking that the settlers had simply relocated 410 00:20:57,156 --> 00:21:00,626 to Croatoan, he remarked, "I greatly joy that I 411 00:21:00,626 --> 00:21:04,063 have found a certain token of their being at Croatoan." 412 00:21:04,497 --> 00:21:07,733 Croatoan is the Algonquin name for the island of Hatteras. 413 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,969 So John White figured he would find the remainder 414 00:21:09,969 --> 00:21:11,070 of the colony there. 415 00:21:11,470 --> 00:21:14,507 But terrible weather and a near-mutinous crew intervened, 416 00:21:14,507 --> 00:21:16,175 and he was forced back to England, 417 00:21:16,375 --> 00:21:17,843 never to return to the New World. 418 00:21:19,078 --> 00:21:22,248 The lost colony of Roanoke has become part of the lore 419 00:21:22,248 --> 00:21:23,749 of America's origins. 420 00:21:24,049 --> 00:21:25,885 But what actually happened to it? 421 00:21:26,118 --> 00:21:28,854 [narrator] Under the surface, archaeologists discover 422 00:21:28,854 --> 00:21:32,491 a number of artifacts that speak to Hatteras' rich history. 423 00:21:33,526 --> 00:21:36,462 Artifacts likely made by the Croatoans 424 00:21:36,796 --> 00:21:40,466 are found alongside the firing mechanism of a musket. 425 00:21:40,466 --> 00:21:43,669 They all date to the time of the Roanoke colony. 426 00:21:43,669 --> 00:21:46,539 [Anthea Nardi] There's also a signet ring, a very personal 427 00:21:46,539 --> 00:21:49,208 possession that without a doubt must have belonged 428 00:21:49,208 --> 00:21:50,543 to an English gentleman. 429 00:21:50,943 --> 00:21:52,545 Could these artifacts have belonged 430 00:21:52,545 --> 00:21:53,979 to settlers of Roanoke? 431 00:21:55,614 --> 00:21:57,449 [Alison Leonard] While the ring has been dated to the 432 00:21:57,449 --> 00:21:59,985 17th century, it's very difficult to specifically date 433 00:21:59,985 --> 00:22:01,587 many of the other artifacts. 434 00:22:01,587 --> 00:22:03,656 They may represent a large span of time 435 00:22:03,656 --> 00:22:05,257 or entire different periods. 436 00:22:05,457 --> 00:22:07,259 So we can't say for sure that these artifacts 437 00:22:07,259 --> 00:22:08,727 belong to the Roanoke settlers. 438 00:22:10,196 --> 00:22:13,132 Considering how close Hatteras is to Roanoke, 439 00:22:13,332 --> 00:22:15,334 perhaps the settlers ended up here. 440 00:22:15,734 --> 00:22:18,304 Though given its small size, it's unlikely that the 441 00:22:18,304 --> 00:22:21,040 island could have supported another 100 plus people. 442 00:22:22,107 --> 00:22:23,809 There simply isn't enough evidence 443 00:22:23,809 --> 00:22:25,511 to say for sure either way. 444 00:22:25,778 --> 00:22:27,780 Although a while ago, some rather strange 445 00:22:27,780 --> 00:22:28,714 evidence showed up. 446 00:22:31,717 --> 00:22:34,587 [narrator] In 1937, a man brought a stone to 447 00:22:34,587 --> 00:22:37,923 the history department at George's Emory University. 448 00:22:38,190 --> 00:22:40,092 He said that he found it in the woods 449 00:22:40,092 --> 00:22:41,927 and that inscribed on its surface 450 00:22:42,161 --> 00:22:45,798 was a message from the lost colony of Roanoke. 451 00:22:46,599 --> 00:22:48,734 This is known as the Dare Stone, 452 00:22:48,734 --> 00:22:51,237 so called because the message on the rock 453 00:22:51,237 --> 00:22:55,474 is from Eleanor White Dare, the daughter of John White. 454 00:22:55,908 --> 00:22:58,010 The stone is engraved on both sides 455 00:22:58,010 --> 00:23:01,247 and basically states that both her husband and daughter 456 00:23:01,247 --> 00:23:02,948 were killed in 1591. 457 00:23:03,349 --> 00:23:05,150 And that most of the colony had died 458 00:23:05,150 --> 00:23:06,852 as a result of sickness and war. 459 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:09,755 - There are several reasons to question 460 00:23:09,755 --> 00:23:12,258 whether or not it truly was written by Eleanor Dare 461 00:23:12,258 --> 00:23:13,826 in the late 16th century. 462 00:23:14,260 --> 00:23:17,029 The message is signed with her initials, EWD. 463 00:23:18,030 --> 00:23:19,999 And for us, this is completely normal. 464 00:23:20,232 --> 00:23:23,335 But for the English in the 16th century, it wouldn't be. 465 00:23:23,669 --> 00:23:25,304 As this wasn't a typical way of signing your 466 00:23:25,304 --> 00:23:26,272 name at the time. 467 00:23:26,639 --> 00:23:30,576 Also, the year 1591 is written using modern numbers. 468 00:23:30,776 --> 00:23:32,711 The practice of using these numerals 469 00:23:32,711 --> 00:23:35,514 didn't really become common until a little later. 470 00:23:36,081 --> 00:23:38,083 [narrator] Geologists have also taken a look 471 00:23:38,083 --> 00:23:41,120 at the stone's properties to see what they can learn. 472 00:23:41,387 --> 00:23:43,822 By cutting off one end, they saw that it was a 473 00:23:43,822 --> 00:23:47,293 bright white on the inside, while the actual words 474 00:23:47,293 --> 00:23:48,494 were much darker. 475 00:23:50,162 --> 00:23:52,665 It would take a long time for that brilliant 476 00:23:52,665 --> 00:23:54,833 white color to fade once the letters had been 477 00:23:54,833 --> 00:23:56,568 etched into the rock's surface. 478 00:23:56,568 --> 00:24:00,472 So this means that when the stone was found in 1937, 479 00:24:00,472 --> 00:24:03,208 it had been lying in the woods for a good while already. 480 00:24:03,475 --> 00:24:06,879 Though a skilled forger could have used chemical stain 481 00:24:06,879 --> 00:24:08,681 to make it a convincing fake. 482 00:24:10,082 --> 00:24:12,251 Regardless of whether or not this message from 483 00:24:12,251 --> 00:24:14,620 the past is a hoax, the explanation offered 484 00:24:14,620 --> 00:24:17,189 by the Dare Stone really isn't that far-fetched. 485 00:24:17,523 --> 00:24:20,926 War, death, and disease would have been a daily reality 486 00:24:20,926 --> 00:24:22,227 for these early colonizers. 487 00:24:25,097 --> 00:24:26,532 There are many different theories 488 00:24:26,532 --> 00:24:28,133 as to what became of the colony. 489 00:24:28,367 --> 00:24:30,970 Some think that it was attacked by the Spaniards, 490 00:24:31,236 --> 00:24:33,505 or that the settlers were either killed 491 00:24:33,505 --> 00:24:35,974 or absorbed into indigenous communities. 492 00:24:37,276 --> 00:24:39,178 If they did abandon the English settlement 493 00:24:39,178 --> 00:24:41,613 and integrate into indigenous communities, 494 00:24:41,613 --> 00:24:43,882 it wouldn't be the first or last time 495 00:24:43,882 --> 00:24:45,551 that European settlers did so. 496 00:24:47,019 --> 00:24:48,988 [narrator] Following the settlement's disappearance, 497 00:24:48,988 --> 00:24:51,924 John White delivered a letter to Richard Hakluyt, 498 00:24:51,924 --> 00:24:54,159 saying that the settlers intended to de-camp 499 00:24:54,159 --> 00:24:58,530 to another location, roughly 50 miles inland from Roanoke. 500 00:24:59,798 --> 00:25:02,768 Exactly where this supposed destination was 501 00:25:02,768 --> 00:25:04,136 has been lost to history. 502 00:25:04,403 --> 00:25:06,572 For unknown reasons, White didn't really 503 00:25:06,572 --> 00:25:08,040 expand on the location. 504 00:25:08,374 --> 00:25:10,609 Maybe he didn't even know himself. 505 00:25:11,076 --> 00:25:13,145 [Alison Leonard] He did draw a map of Roanoke and the 506 00:25:13,145 --> 00:25:15,714 surrounding areas of Chesapeake Bay and Croatoan Island. 507 00:25:16,915 --> 00:25:19,885 But again, on this map, there isn't any reference to 508 00:25:19,885 --> 00:25:21,353 this mysterious destination. 509 00:25:23,589 --> 00:25:25,357 But if you look closely at the map, 510 00:25:25,357 --> 00:25:27,659 you can see that there are faint outlines 511 00:25:27,659 --> 00:25:29,595 that are drawn on top of the original. 512 00:25:30,829 --> 00:25:32,731 These are what we call patches. 513 00:25:33,198 --> 00:25:35,567 They were a common way for map makers at the time 514 00:25:35,567 --> 00:25:36,702 to correct mistakes. 515 00:25:36,702 --> 00:25:39,738 They would simply layer a piece of new paper 516 00:25:39,738 --> 00:25:41,373 on top of the old. 517 00:25:42,007 --> 00:25:45,010 [narrator] Curious about what mistakes White had corrected, 518 00:25:45,010 --> 00:25:48,180 the First Colony Foundation asked the British Museum 519 00:25:48,180 --> 00:25:51,517 to further analyze the map using spectroscopy 520 00:25:51,517 --> 00:25:53,218 and other imaging techniques. 521 00:25:53,452 --> 00:25:56,188 Multi-spectrum spectroscopy essentially allows us 522 00:25:56,188 --> 00:25:58,791 to understand the properties of any given object. 523 00:25:59,058 --> 00:26:01,760 By applying this new technology to this old map, 524 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:03,328 you can see more than what meets the eye. 525 00:26:05,164 --> 00:26:07,666 [Anthea Nardi] You can actually see beneath the patches. 526 00:26:07,666 --> 00:26:10,803 The bigger of the two revealed a correction 527 00:26:10,803 --> 00:26:14,273 to the coast's topography, but the smaller was 528 00:26:14,273 --> 00:26:15,841 hiding an incredible clue. 529 00:26:18,076 --> 00:26:20,112 [Anthony Cantor] Beneath the little patch at the end of the 530 00:26:20,112 --> 00:26:23,415 peninsula is a four-pointed star, outlined in blue and 531 00:26:23,415 --> 00:26:24,650 filled in with red. 532 00:26:26,285 --> 00:26:29,021 It's located where the Chowan River and Salmon Creek 533 00:26:29,021 --> 00:26:31,023 flow into Albemarle Sound. 534 00:26:31,290 --> 00:26:34,993 It's not much more than 50 nautical miles west of Roanoke. 535 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:37,196 [narrator] Thinking that there may have been a settlement 536 00:26:37,196 --> 00:26:39,565 on the shores of Albemarle Sound, 537 00:26:39,565 --> 00:26:43,936 between 2012 and 2019, archeological digs were 538 00:26:43,936 --> 00:26:46,939 conducted in the area, indicated by the star 539 00:26:46,939 --> 00:26:48,273 on John White's map. 540 00:26:48,273 --> 00:26:51,710 The area received the name Site X. 541 00:26:52,010 --> 00:26:55,481 What's needed is evidence that could be definitively dated 542 00:26:55,481 --> 00:26:57,349 to the late 16th century. 543 00:26:57,649 --> 00:26:59,585 But this is complicated by the fact 544 00:26:59,585 --> 00:27:01,453 that the first English settlement 545 00:27:01,453 --> 00:27:05,190 in this part of North Carolina was in 1655, 546 00:27:05,190 --> 00:27:09,128 almost 70 years after John White sailed to Roanoke. 547 00:27:09,361 --> 00:27:12,064 So there could be deposits left by someone 548 00:27:12,064 --> 00:27:16,068 other than the Roanoke settlers, if they'd even been here at all. 549 00:27:16,702 --> 00:27:18,971 [narrator] Excavations revealed many artifacts 550 00:27:18,971 --> 00:27:21,707 were made by indigenous people, as well as those 551 00:27:21,707 --> 00:27:22,975 of English origin. 552 00:27:23,375 --> 00:27:26,044 Most importantly, however, a relatively high 553 00:27:26,044 --> 00:27:28,914 concentration of pottery was also discovered, 554 00:27:29,214 --> 00:27:32,351 items that were used by families and regular people, 555 00:27:32,584 --> 00:27:34,019 not the military. 556 00:27:34,486 --> 00:27:37,689 European pottery in itself is not that exciting a find, 557 00:27:37,956 --> 00:27:41,160 but these ceramics do provide something special in this case. 558 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:44,796 Their production dates can help to establish a timeline. 559 00:27:46,098 --> 00:27:48,634 [Anthea Nardi] The ceramics found at Site X correspond to 560 00:27:48,634 --> 00:27:52,070 the possessions of less than 10 people and were used for food 561 00:27:52,070 --> 00:27:53,472 storage and preparation. 562 00:27:53,805 --> 00:27:56,575 They have the very distinct color that is associated 563 00:27:56,575 --> 00:27:58,977 with what we know to be Surrey Hampshire borderware. 564 00:28:00,178 --> 00:28:01,947 We know that this type of ceramic 565 00:28:01,947 --> 00:28:05,450 was not imported into the New World after 1624, 566 00:28:05,717 --> 00:28:08,086 which means that they were probably brought to America 567 00:28:08,086 --> 00:28:09,555 by Roanoke settlers. 568 00:28:09,888 --> 00:28:13,125 [narrator] The excavations at Site X also revealed another 569 00:28:13,125 --> 00:28:14,526 essential artifact. 570 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:17,496 Archeologists found a small copper tube 571 00:28:17,496 --> 00:28:20,265 that would have been used to secure wool fibers. 572 00:28:21,733 --> 00:28:25,037 These all amount to small, but very significant finds. 573 00:28:25,270 --> 00:28:27,606 This piece of metal is what's called an aglet. 574 00:28:27,606 --> 00:28:28,707 It's kind of like what you would have 575 00:28:28,707 --> 00:28:30,108 at the end of your shoelace. 576 00:28:30,576 --> 00:28:33,679 This little thing is important because it went out of fashion 577 00:28:33,679 --> 00:28:35,781 in the first half of the 17th century, 578 00:28:36,014 --> 00:28:37,683 meaning that it could definitely have belonged 579 00:28:37,683 --> 00:28:38,817 to a Roanoke colonist. 580 00:28:43,555 --> 00:28:45,924 - What appears to have happened is that something 581 00:28:45,924 --> 00:28:49,127 caused the settlers at Roanoke to disperse across the region. 582 00:28:49,494 --> 00:28:51,930 It's impossible to say what the trigger was, 583 00:28:51,930 --> 00:28:55,033 but life definitely wouldn't have been easy on that island. 584 00:28:55,634 --> 00:28:58,236 - Life would have been easier if and when they integrated 585 00:28:58,236 --> 00:29:00,606 with those indigenous communities that accepted them. 586 00:29:01,073 --> 00:29:03,075 But because no single one would have been able 587 00:29:03,075 --> 00:29:05,177 to absorb dozens of people at once, 588 00:29:05,410 --> 00:29:06,745 the English of Roanoke would have had 589 00:29:06,745 --> 00:29:09,581 to join various communities, those at Site X and 590 00:29:09,581 --> 00:29:12,084 on Hatteras Island, likely being two of them. 591 00:29:13,518 --> 00:29:15,721 And as for that patch on John White's map 592 00:29:15,721 --> 00:29:17,856 that revealed the possible location 593 00:29:17,856 --> 00:29:20,726 of the Roanoke settlers, why was that made secret 594 00:29:20,726 --> 00:29:21,593 in the first place? 595 00:29:23,528 --> 00:29:25,864 While the map was drawn by White, 596 00:29:25,864 --> 00:29:29,501 it was done at the behest of his employer, Sir Walter Raleigh. 597 00:29:29,501 --> 00:29:32,871 And remember, White also had his daughter 598 00:29:32,871 --> 00:29:35,974 and grandchild there, so he may have had some 599 00:29:35,974 --> 00:29:37,743 personal stakes as well. 600 00:29:38,010 --> 00:29:41,580 [narrator] Today, the National Park Service Fort Raleigh Historic Site 601 00:29:41,813 --> 00:29:44,683 has an exhibition dedicated to the vanished colony, 602 00:29:45,017 --> 00:29:47,686 with the exception of the known few at Site X 603 00:29:47,686 --> 00:29:51,056 and perhaps Hatteras, what's become of all the others? 604 00:29:51,356 --> 00:29:53,625 A conclusive answer is unsure. 605 00:29:53,625 --> 00:29:57,996 The settlers of Roanoke seem to have vanished into history. 606 00:29:58,897 --> 00:30:01,633 ♪ ♪ 607 00:30:11,176 --> 00:30:14,312 In the heart of the wild and unforgiving North Atlantic, 608 00:30:14,579 --> 00:30:17,249 just a few miles off the eastern coast of Canada, 609 00:30:17,749 --> 00:30:21,019 lies Sable Island, a 26-mile-long strip 610 00:30:21,019 --> 00:30:22,688 of sand and grass. 611 00:30:23,322 --> 00:30:26,024 It's called the Graveyard of the North Atlantic, 612 00:30:26,658 --> 00:30:30,495 as 350 ships have been dashed against the island's 613 00:30:30,495 --> 00:30:31,863 ragged coasts. 614 00:30:32,464 --> 00:30:35,300 With that kind of history, it's no surprise that 615 00:30:35,300 --> 00:30:37,002 there are boatloads of ghost stories 616 00:30:37,002 --> 00:30:37,536 about this place, 617 00:30:39,271 --> 00:30:41,440 including one about a shipwrecked woman 618 00:30:41,740 --> 00:30:42,641 who wanders the beaches. 619 00:30:45,043 --> 00:30:47,446 Legend has it that thieves cut off her finger 620 00:30:47,813 --> 00:30:50,849 to steal a valuable ring, and that she's spending eternity 621 00:30:51,216 --> 00:30:53,452 searching for both the ring and the thieves. 622 00:30:57,422 --> 00:31:00,092 - Despite how grim and eerie that all sounds, 623 00:31:00,425 --> 00:31:02,327 the island is also quite beautiful. 624 00:31:02,661 --> 00:31:04,696 Even the name is pretty, Sable. 625 00:31:05,063 --> 00:31:07,265 Derived from the French 'sable', it means sand. 626 00:31:10,802 --> 00:31:12,504 - There's certainly a lot of sand here, 627 00:31:12,838 --> 00:31:13,839 and not much else. 628 00:31:14,139 --> 00:31:16,608 There's actually only a single tree on the island. 629 00:31:17,242 --> 00:31:19,111 You can't even visit it without a permit. 630 00:31:22,013 --> 00:31:23,281 Most of the people on the mainland 631 00:31:23,615 --> 00:31:25,717 have not set foot here, and likely never will. 632 00:31:25,717 --> 00:31:28,086 A 90-minute charter flight to the island 633 00:31:28,553 --> 00:31:31,757 costs $1,500 US, and visitors aren't even 634 00:31:31,757 --> 00:31:32,824 allowed to stay overnight. 635 00:31:34,159 --> 00:31:37,295 [narrator] Sable Island's remoteness makes a bizarre 636 00:31:37,295 --> 00:31:39,998 discovery here in 1993 even stranger. 637 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,069 A local researcher who spends a good part of the year 638 00:31:44,069 --> 00:31:46,638 on the island is out on the beach doing her usual patrol 639 00:31:46,938 --> 00:31:49,007 when she crosses paths with a seal. 640 00:31:49,408 --> 00:31:50,175 Actually, a few of them. 641 00:31:51,610 --> 00:31:54,913 [narrator] Between December and February, up to 400,000 gray 642 00:31:54,913 --> 00:31:58,850 seals come to the island to mate and give birth. 643 00:31:59,184 --> 00:32:02,420 It's the largest gray seal breeding colony in the world. 644 00:32:03,722 --> 00:32:06,224 Okay, finding a seal, or even several seals, 645 00:32:06,491 --> 00:32:07,993 on the coast of a Nova Scotian island 646 00:32:08,293 --> 00:32:09,728 is like finding hay in a barn. 647 00:32:09,995 --> 00:32:12,397 This is the North Atlantic. This is their playground. 648 00:32:12,798 --> 00:32:14,266 But these seals aren't playing. 649 00:32:14,966 --> 00:32:15,400 They're dead. 650 00:32:18,837 --> 00:32:21,706 Now, around here, one dead seal, even 10 dead seals, 651 00:32:21,706 --> 00:32:23,675 is not exactly a case for the CSI. 652 00:32:23,975 --> 00:32:25,410 The ocean's a brutal place. 653 00:32:25,677 --> 00:32:29,147 But what's startling here is how these seals died. 654 00:32:29,481 --> 00:32:32,150 They have been sliced open. 655 00:32:35,454 --> 00:32:37,856 The bodies have peculiar corkscrew cuts 656 00:32:37,856 --> 00:32:41,059 that start at the head and spiral around the body. 657 00:32:41,059 --> 00:32:43,528 The wound goes right through their skin and blubber. 658 00:32:43,862 --> 00:32:46,298 In some cases, a chunk of the skin and blubber is gone, 659 00:32:46,598 --> 00:32:48,600 but the tissue and muscle remain intact. 660 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,737 [narrator] By 1996, 400 such carcasses had washed up 661 00:32:53,104 --> 00:32:55,774 on the windswept beaches of Sable Island. 662 00:32:56,041 --> 00:33:00,412 And by 2001, the number is over 4,000. 663 00:33:01,379 --> 00:33:02,914 And it's not just one kind of seal. 664 00:33:03,281 --> 00:33:04,549 It's five. 665 00:33:04,549 --> 00:33:09,488 They find gray, harp, harbor, hooded, and ringed seals. 666 00:33:09,688 --> 00:33:11,890 What could be ravaging these poor creatures? 667 00:33:13,258 --> 00:33:16,194 [Anthea Nardi] At first glance, this looks like the handiwork 668 00:33:16,194 --> 00:33:19,397 of humans, as the wounds appear intentional and precise. 669 00:33:21,967 --> 00:33:23,602 [Anthony Cantor] But if you follow that logic, 670 00:33:23,602 --> 00:33:24,636 there are a few problems. 671 00:33:24,903 --> 00:33:26,404 First, how? 672 00:33:26,638 --> 00:33:28,640 This is an extremely remote place 673 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,675 with seriously restricted access. 674 00:33:30,942 --> 00:33:33,144 For someone to regularly come to the island, 675 00:33:33,144 --> 00:33:35,614 unnoticed, and kill thousands of seals, 676 00:33:35,614 --> 00:33:37,516 that seems very unlikely. 677 00:33:38,450 --> 00:33:40,852 The second thing to ask is, why? 678 00:33:40,852 --> 00:33:43,321 What would be the point of killing these seals 679 00:33:43,321 --> 00:33:45,190 and not taking their meat or their skin? 680 00:33:45,590 --> 00:33:48,660 No, they were probably not killed by humans. 681 00:33:49,027 --> 00:33:51,363 [narrator] Some believe these seals were attacked 682 00:33:51,363 --> 00:33:53,031 by natural predators. 683 00:33:53,265 --> 00:33:56,101 That would be a reasonable theory in some locations, 684 00:33:56,101 --> 00:33:58,236 but what's on this island to hurt them? 685 00:33:58,536 --> 00:34:01,806 There's nothing except for some birds and horses, 686 00:34:01,806 --> 00:34:03,208 lots and lots of them. 687 00:34:04,676 --> 00:34:08,280 If you fly over the island, you'll see something truly wild. 688 00:34:08,513 --> 00:34:12,017 More than 500 horses running free. 689 00:34:12,017 --> 00:34:13,985 It's just breathtaking. 690 00:34:14,552 --> 00:34:16,254 [narrator] It was once thought the horses were from 691 00:34:16,254 --> 00:34:18,089 the many shipwrecks around the island. 692 00:34:19,724 --> 00:34:21,826 But they were likely placed here for breeding 693 00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:24,062 after being taken from the French settlers 694 00:34:24,062 --> 00:34:26,097 in the mid-1700s. 695 00:34:26,765 --> 00:34:29,100 Regardless of how the horses ended up here, 696 00:34:29,100 --> 00:34:30,902 could a horse be a predator? 697 00:34:30,902 --> 00:34:31,803 They're herbivores. 698 00:34:31,803 --> 00:34:33,138 There's no way they did it. 699 00:34:33,705 --> 00:34:34,439 So what did? 700 00:34:37,909 --> 00:34:40,245 - So if it's not a natural phenomenon 701 00:34:40,245 --> 00:34:43,181 or the handiwork of humankind, could it be something 702 00:34:43,181 --> 00:34:44,649 in the middle, like a boat or 703 00:34:44,649 --> 00:34:46,484 specifically a propeller? 704 00:34:48,219 --> 00:34:50,689 Generally, a ship's propeller spins 705 00:34:50,689 --> 00:34:53,658 and has a smooth edge that would likely leave the seal 706 00:34:53,658 --> 00:34:56,428 with a simple cut before pushing it away. 707 00:34:56,428 --> 00:34:59,364 It would need to be held in place for a spiral cut. 708 00:34:59,864 --> 00:35:02,067 Beyond those mechanics, if you look at the 709 00:35:02,067 --> 00:35:04,703 wounds from propellers on animals like manatees, 710 00:35:04,703 --> 00:35:06,438 they look nothing like that. 711 00:35:06,438 --> 00:35:09,474 So this is likely not due to propellers. 712 00:35:09,975 --> 00:35:11,743 [narrator] Another clue surfaces. 713 00:35:11,977 --> 00:35:15,380 As the amount of bodies rises, a small number of 714 00:35:15,380 --> 00:35:19,017 seals are found with crescent-shaped bite marks. 715 00:35:19,250 --> 00:35:22,354 The North Atlantic is home to great white sharks. 716 00:35:22,587 --> 00:35:24,656 So maybe they are making a meal of the seals. 717 00:35:27,592 --> 00:35:29,461 Although there are lots of great white sharks 718 00:35:29,461 --> 00:35:31,196 in this region in the warmer months, 719 00:35:31,196 --> 00:35:33,131 the dead seals were generally appearing 720 00:35:33,131 --> 00:35:35,533 in January and February, when the great whites 721 00:35:35,533 --> 00:35:37,836 had already sailed off to warmer waters. 722 00:35:38,036 --> 00:35:40,238 So it's unlikely that great white sharks 723 00:35:40,238 --> 00:35:41,940 are the mass murderers here. 724 00:35:41,940 --> 00:35:44,909 So what other shark species might be responsible? 725 00:35:44,909 --> 00:35:45,977 Black dogfish? 726 00:35:46,244 --> 00:35:48,980 Too small, and the seals would have made short work of them. 727 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:52,017 Orca? The tooth pattern just doesn't fit. 728 00:35:54,152 --> 00:35:55,687 The Bluntnose Sixgill shark, 729 00:35:55,687 --> 00:35:57,989 the Blue Shark, and the Tiger Shark 730 00:35:57,989 --> 00:36:00,959 have only been found in this area as juveniles, 731 00:36:00,959 --> 00:36:02,727 and juveniles would be too small to inflict 732 00:36:02,727 --> 00:36:04,629 that kind of damage on an adult seal. 733 00:36:06,865 --> 00:36:08,800 [Anthony Cantor] Even though some have dismissed the idea 734 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:11,236 that these wounds are the work of marine predators, 735 00:36:11,236 --> 00:36:14,973 there is one more candidate, the Greenland shark. 736 00:36:17,375 --> 00:36:19,244 [narrator] The Greenland shark can reach up 737 00:36:19,244 --> 00:36:23,815 to a staggering 23 feet long and weigh over 2,000 pounds. 738 00:36:25,350 --> 00:36:28,653 They're not just huge. They have incredible longevity. 739 00:36:28,653 --> 00:36:30,588 Some are 500 years old. 740 00:36:30,588 --> 00:36:33,625 Think about it, that's twice as old as the United States. 741 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:37,328 [James Ellis] While their sluggish nature doesn't make 742 00:36:37,328 --> 00:36:40,598 them the most likely candidates, there's still some damning 743 00:36:40,598 --> 00:36:44,335 evidence against them, specifically their teeth. 744 00:36:44,669 --> 00:36:47,238 The upper and lower teeth of the Greenland shark 745 00:36:47,238 --> 00:36:48,339 are very different. 746 00:36:48,339 --> 00:36:51,242 The upper teeth are pointed and sharp for clamping. 747 00:36:51,242 --> 00:36:53,411 The lower are more blade-like. 748 00:36:53,678 --> 00:36:56,014 [Anthony Cantor] And the corkscrew tearing might be the 749 00:36:56,014 --> 00:36:59,751 result of the seal's natural impulse to escape by twisting, 750 00:37:00,085 --> 00:37:03,655 a reflex which tragically compounds the damage. 751 00:37:03,988 --> 00:37:06,057 [narrator] But as experts settle on their verdict, 752 00:37:06,057 --> 00:37:09,794 similar corpses begin appearing on the other side of the ocean, 753 00:37:10,295 --> 00:37:13,331 on the coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 754 00:37:13,598 --> 00:37:16,868 and what they find calls the Greenland shark theory 755 00:37:17,068 --> 00:37:17,969 into question. 756 00:37:19,370 --> 00:37:21,406 And a bunch of the seal carcasses in the UK 757 00:37:21,406 --> 00:37:24,642 are found in July, when the temperatures are way warmer 758 00:37:24,642 --> 00:37:26,511 than the Greenland sharks prefer. 759 00:37:27,078 --> 00:37:29,314 The propeller theory had been initially discarded 760 00:37:29,547 --> 00:37:32,083 because it seemed propellers would just totally gash 761 00:37:32,083 --> 00:37:35,186 the seal rather than produce the corkscrew pattern. 762 00:37:35,487 --> 00:37:39,524 But what if the culprit was a specific kind of propeller? 763 00:37:39,958 --> 00:37:42,227 [narrator] Ducted propellers are propellers 764 00:37:42,227 --> 00:37:44,863 encased in short tubes that could possibly 765 00:37:44,863 --> 00:37:47,532 keep the seal in place, allowing for the 766 00:37:47,532 --> 00:37:49,200 corkscrew tearing pattern. 767 00:37:49,467 --> 00:37:52,270 It's the kind of propeller often seen in tugboats 768 00:37:52,270 --> 00:37:55,406 that service oil rigs or offshore wind farms. 769 00:37:56,541 --> 00:37:58,643 When UK researchers cross-referenced 770 00:37:58,643 --> 00:38:01,312 the discovery dates of the corkscrew-injured seals 771 00:38:01,312 --> 00:38:03,815 with local shipping records, they discover that 772 00:38:03,815 --> 00:38:07,051 there were vessels with ducted propellers nearby. 773 00:38:07,852 --> 00:38:11,256 [narrator] To further test their theory, researchers make small 774 00:38:11,256 --> 00:38:13,725 wax models of seals and put them into 775 00:38:13,725 --> 00:38:15,393 model duct propellers. 776 00:38:15,393 --> 00:38:18,396 The result, the same corkscrew injuries 777 00:38:18,396 --> 00:38:22,467 that were found on the seals in the UK and on Sable Island. 778 00:38:22,767 --> 00:38:25,904 Pretty convincing stuff, but many of the seals 779 00:38:25,904 --> 00:38:28,773 found dead on Sable Island were still warm. 780 00:38:29,073 --> 00:38:32,043 So it was most likely they were killed close to shore, 781 00:38:32,043 --> 00:38:35,246 not by an invisible or distant boat. 782 00:38:35,613 --> 00:38:38,149 So with the propeller dismissed, 783 00:38:38,149 --> 00:38:40,618 the Greenland sharks kind of are leading suspect. 784 00:38:40,952 --> 00:38:42,654 But before we throw the book at them, 785 00:38:42,654 --> 00:38:45,757 let's just explore one more possibility. 786 00:38:45,757 --> 00:38:50,895 What if, plot twist, the killers are the seals themselves? 787 00:39:00,271 --> 00:39:02,640 Some people call seals 'sea doggos' 788 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:05,009 due to their whiskers and general cuteness, 789 00:39:05,276 --> 00:39:07,712 but I wouldn't be quick to cuddle one anytime soon. 790 00:39:08,446 --> 00:39:09,647 Look at their mouths. 791 00:39:09,647 --> 00:39:12,250 They have the fangs and teeth of a dangerous predator. 792 00:39:13,685 --> 00:39:16,821 [narrator] The seal's predatory power is very clear 793 00:39:16,821 --> 00:39:20,758 when a shocking photo bomb blows the case wide open. 794 00:39:21,226 --> 00:39:23,161 A marine biologist is documenting a 795 00:39:23,161 --> 00:39:26,397 seal breeding colony on the Isle of May in the UK 796 00:39:26,664 --> 00:39:29,634 when an adult male seal appears in the background. 797 00:39:30,001 --> 00:39:33,037 He attacks a seal pup, his claws causing that 798 00:39:33,037 --> 00:39:35,073 distinctive corkscrew cut. 799 00:39:35,373 --> 00:39:38,509 He then basically pushes his jaw into the wound 800 00:39:38,509 --> 00:39:42,213 and manages to swallow some of the pup's blubber and skin. 801 00:39:43,081 --> 00:39:45,116 This is not a one-time thing. 802 00:39:45,617 --> 00:39:48,086 Once the video is seen, the seal is tracked 803 00:39:48,086 --> 00:39:50,588 and he's seen doing it again and again. 804 00:39:50,922 --> 00:39:52,090 He's not the only one. 805 00:39:55,493 --> 00:39:57,562 This is not normal behavior for seals 806 00:39:57,562 --> 00:39:58,896 and it's unclear why it's happening, 807 00:39:58,896 --> 00:40:01,666 but whatever the reason, British experts 808 00:40:01,666 --> 00:40:05,670 are now confident that these bizarre seal deaths 809 00:40:05,904 --> 00:40:08,006 are the result of cannibalism. 810 00:40:12,910 --> 00:40:15,146 [narrator] While the case of these killings is 811 00:40:15,146 --> 00:40:17,849 closed for most, others are unconvinced. 812 00:40:18,116 --> 00:40:28,126 For them, the murder mystery of Sable Island remains unsolved. 66792

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