All language subtitles for remux-M.I.2024.S01E03.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH.eng

may have ties
to a dark past.

-It appears some seriously
horrific research was

going on here.

-This place is
getting really creepy.

[Narrator] A volatile Italian
island conceals mysteries

within its soil.

-It’s actually one of the most
active volcanoes on earth!

-Now things get dramatic.

[Narrator] A bizarre,
abandoned Caribbean site

may have infamous origins.

-This is not a place you can
navigate to with Google Maps,

and it’s no easy journey.

-What is it?

[Narrator] Isolated.

Scarce on resources.

Islands are worlds
unto themselves.

Bizarre creatures.

Ancient gods and haunting ruins.

Baffling murders
and deadly spirits.

What will be discovered on
Earth's mysterious islands?

Straddling the border between

Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan lies what remains

of Vozrozhdeniya Island,

a sliver of water
to its west,

what is left of the Aral Sea.

-The Aral Sea
derives its name from

the Kyrgyz expression,

Aral-denghiz, meaning
“Sea of Islands,” but today,

the Aral Sea boasts
neither water nor islands.

-The environment here
doesn’t look or feel natural.

It's strangely quiet,

the only sound comes
from the wind blowing

across the desert flats.

And like a desert, it
doesn’t seem like anything

actually lives here.

-But it wasn’t always this way.

Littering the landscape are
the rusted-out hulks of ships

and decaying piers,

all pointing to a
remarkably different time

in the region's history.

-This was when
Vozrozhdeniya Island was,

well, an island.

So what happened
between then and now?

[Narrator] To the south of
Vozrozhdeniya Island lies the

Uzbek province of
Karakalpakstan famous for its

cotton, rice, and melon crops,
all three of which play a vital

role in its economy.

-These crops are
highly water intensive,

especially cotton,
it guzzles water.

So it isn’t so surprising that
they focused on these crops,

considering that they
had a bounty of freshwater

right next door.

[Narrator] In the 1960s,

when Uzbekistan was still
part of the Soviet Union,

the decision was made
to divert the two rivers

flowing into the Aral
Sea into irrigation canals

feeding the surrounding desert.

-By the 1980s,

the two rivers were so
depleted that during the summer,

they no longer
flowed into the lake.

Then, as the lake’s water
levels continued to drop,

its salinity rose, making
life unsustainable,

killing off not just
all the aquatic life,

but also the communities
that relied on it.

-Not only did the remaining
water in the Aral Sea become

more salty,

but endless
amounts of pesticides

and chemical
fertilizer ran off into the

lake into the surrounding lands,

further poisoning
the water and the soil,

all of which was gradually
becoming a toxic dust bowl.

It’s so bad now that the
region has one of the highest

rates of infant mortality
anywhere in the world.

[Narrator] The Uzbek and
Kazakh governments took

over the management
of the Aral Sea,

but their policies couldn't
reverse the damage done.

-And so now what we have
left of the Aral Sea are

names like
Vozrozhdeniya Island,

although
it’s now is no longer an island.

It’s connected to the mainland
via an exposed toxic lakebed.

-This area is by
definition a wasteland.

To make it even more certain,

there is a ghost town on the
northeast side of the island.

It's called Kantubek.

[Narrator] In the town of
Kantubek a yellow sign greets

visitors with the National
Anthem of the Soviet Union.

-So, this place was deserted
around the time of the collapse

of the Soviet Union
in late 1991.

If the Kazakhs or
Uzbeks had been using

the island post-collapse,

surely, they would have
brought this sign down.

So this must be a
Soviet era ghost town,

but what were they
actually doing here?

-Kantubek is defined by
large buildings built next to

what you could imagine
were once very orderly,

well-kept streets.

Inside these buildings are
apartments that don't seem as

if they’ve been touched since
the day their occupants left.

-There are street signs
giving parking directions and

marking pedestrian crossings.

There’s a soccer field, all
of which has been completely

unused since the collapse
of the Soviet Union.

-There's even a school,

which means people
were really living here,

they weren't
just stationed here,

or forced to
spend time here,

they brought their families.

So Kantubek was a permanent
settlement on this island,

a home for many people.

-Oddly enough, it seems as
though the people living here

had some sort of ties to
or need for the military.

There are two

Soviet-era T-52 tanks
abandoned for years.

[Narrator] During the Cold War,

America’s foreign
intelligence agency,

the CIA, used its spy
satellites to observe

Soviet military installations,

in order to assess
their capabilities.

-These satellites provided
a whole trove of information,

all of it analyzed by the CIA.

And there are a number of
disturbing reports from the

1950s discussing the
possibility that the Soviets

were using
Vozrozhdeniya Island

for bioweapons testing!

-Bioweapons, that’s when
you take some horrific virus

or disease and use a bomb,

or some other delivery
method to infect and kill

an enemy population.

But the CIA reports are
pretty inconclusive.

One from 1953 states that
bioweapons testing was

conducted there
in 1936 and ‘37,

but that they weren’t
able to determine if it was

still going on.

-What appears to
be certain though,

is that some top-secret
stuff was happening here,

and the Soviet government
didn’t want anyone to know who

didn’t need to know!

[Narrator] By 1962 the CIA
concluded that this site had a

military purpose.

And the CIA report also
referred to buildings about

two miles south
of Kantubek.

-Now this area has an
entirely different feel to it.

You know how certain
places just don’t feel right?

Well this is one
of those places.

The first thing you
notice when you approach one

of the buildings is an
off-putting smell,

like that of a corrosive
or toxic chemical just

hanging in the air.

-There are rusted out trucks,
including an ambulance,

all left to the elements.

They’re all in the distinctive
olive drab of the military.

So it definitely corresponds
with the CIA reports

from the Cold War.

-That being said, the personnel
needed to use and maintain all

the infrastructure on this
island appears to be much more

significant than some Soviet
nuclear weapons bases,

where they had on average
140 soldiers on each base.

[Narrator] Close to one of
the blockhouses is a building.

one with stables and
hundreds of metal cages

piled into corners.

-These cages are
for holding animals,

small ones like rabbits,
and guinea pigs.

[Narrator] Inside the
blockhouse are long corridors

with many darkened rooms.

There’s debris and
broken glass everywhere,

and some rooms contain
several dozen cages designed

for holding primates.

-There are big boxes
with a single window.

Several trays are
inside each of them.

These are probably fridges
meant for storing samples like

you would have in a laboratory.

-Another room has fixtures
coming down from the ceiling.

They probably attached
microscopes to the end of them.

And there are also old vials
and small bottles that likely

had some form of solution
or chemical inside them.

-Even though the
CIA’s report from

60 odd years ago
was inconclusive,

this is starting
to look more and more like a

research lab for bioweapons.

[Narrator] One room
has a large chamber,

on it there is a plaque
with the year 1974,

as well as characters written
in the Cyrillic alphabet.

-The Cyrillic letters
listed next to the

chamber type are 5K-NZh.

These indicate that
it’s a very specific model

of protective chamber.

The little holes are meant
to put your hands through,

and you would observe
whatever it is you’re working

on through the
now broken glass.

This chamber would have
been intended for working

with hazardous substances.

-If you look at this
contraption closely,

you’ll see a
universal symbol that

indicates radioactive
substances!

[Narrator] A little
further south from

the research facility,

an otherwise entirely
vacant plot of land is

punctuated by
slabs of concrete with

curved metal posts.

-These are posts you
would use to hitch animals to.

So the animals next to the
research lab were probably led

here and tied to these posts.

-This reminds me of
something similar that

took place on Gruinard Island,

an uninhabited island off
the west coast of Scotland.

[Narrator] During
the Second World War,

the British and Americans
were testing anthrax on

animals to determine
how effective it would be

as a weapon used
against the enemy.

To prevent the animals
from running away,

they would fix
them to post-drilled

into the ground.

-Anthrax is a particularly
nasty infectious disease that's

caused by the bacteria
Bacillus Anthracis.

It exists naturally
in soil, however,

when harnessed for
such malicious purposes it

can be extremely deadly.

If anthrax spores are
inhaled and left untreated,

they can lead to death in
85 to 90% of human cases.

Needless to say,

the animals on Gruinard
also met the same fate.

-That use of animal
testing is remarkably similar

to the evidence
we have seen here on

Vozrozhdeniya Island.

During the Cold War,

the West and the
Soviets indulged in

this collective madness of
striving to create the most

efficient and
destructive weapon.

So was this island
the ground zero

for this effort?

[Narrator] In the
research building,

down the eerie,
darkened halls is a thick,

metal door that greets all
those who dare to enter.

Although now it stands ajar
allowing anyone curious enough

to step into the room beyond.

It bears a warning that
whatever is inside is something

dangerous and meant to
be kept from getting out!

-Just being here is bad enough,

but that symbol you
see on the front of the door,

in dark yellow.

That's the symbol for
biological weapons.

In a way it's similar
to the radioactive symbol

we saw earlier,

but its shape
is quite distinct.

-It appears some
seriously horrific research

was going on here,

and that the Soviets
were testing whatever horrible

biological agents they came
up with on these animals.

The cruelty and suffering
is impossible to quantify.

-The abandoned tank at the
research site was likely used

during these tests to
simulate the effect on troops

inside the tank when a
bomb containing one of

these pathogens went off.

Considering its
location as well as what

was being done here,

there is only one thing
this place could be, Aralsk-7.

[Narrator] Aralsk-7 was the
Soviet Union’s preeminent

biological weapons
testing site,

where final tests
were conducted before

the weapons were greenlit.

-It was here where they
genetically modify some of

these diseases so that they
were resistant to antibiotics,

making them, of course,
even more deadly.

The goal was to see
how effective they would

be in times of war.

[Narrator] Vozrozhdeniya Island
was initially chosen

as a test site
because it was considered

isolated enough
from the mainland to protect

the civilian population.

The Soviets were successful
in their research so much

so that they managed
to put a price on murder.

-In their experiments,

they calculated
how much it would cost

to kill half the
population residing in about

a half-square mile area,

they concluded
that it would cost

$2,000 to do so
with normal bombs,

$800 with a nuke,

and only $1 with a
biological weapon.

So in the event of war,

you can guess which
option governments and

militaries might choose.

-After the collapse
of the Soviet Union,

Vozrozhdeniya was abandoned
by the scientists and soldiers

who presided over
these nightmare trials.

They went home,

but a poisoned
legacy remained.

-Essentially one
toxic wasteland appeared

within another,

and it had disastrous
long-term consequences for the

animals and people who
call this region home.

[Narrator] The destruction
of the Aral Sea is a testament

to the folly of human ambition.

While Vozrozhdeniya Island
represents the levels of

cruelty and short-sightedness
that characterizes

the human thirst for power.

Off the coast of
mainland Italy lies the

Aeolian Archipelago,
a chain of seven,

main volcanic islands that
stretch out in a large Y shape.

An hour from Sicily, the
islands run north through the

deep crystal blue waters
of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

-This archipelago has
been formed by consistent

underwater volcanic activity.

It’s what’s called
a volcanic arch.

Over the course of hundreds
of thousands of years,

lava bubbling up from the
bottom of the sea piles up

enough to eventually form these
beautiful, cone shaped islands.

-So for this reason the
region is a hotbed of volcanic

activity and no more
so than on Stromboli,

the easternmost of
the Aeolian islands.

Stromboli is famous for
its temperamental volcano,

which is consistently erupting.

-So, the island has
been given a nickname,

“the Lighthouse of the
Mediterranean.”

This is because you can see the

3,000-foot volcano
illuminating the night

sky on a regular basis.

[Susan Leonard] Stromboli is an
exceptionally beautiful place.

The Tyrrhenian Sea
is warm and blue,

and the volcanic soil
is fertile,

the climate is mild.

But despite the
idyllic setting,

the few hundred people
who do live here do so

under the permission
of the volcano.

[Narrator] At the
northeast end of the island,

where the steep
volcanic terrain gives way

to relatively flat ground,

lives a small population
of around 500 people.

It’s here where a
volcanologist is digging a

few feet into the earth.

-Almost 500 feet inland from
the shore and about

three feet below the surface

he finds highly
rounded pebbles mixed with

dark loose sand.

-They are found directly
above a layer of volcanic ash.

So could it be that
the volcano’s eruption

triggered a tsunami?

The pebbles and sand this
far from the shore certainly

indicate that this
could be the case.

-This volcano
erupts all the time.

In fact, it
erupted in August 2023,

and that was a small one,

because in 2019 there
was this sudden explosion

that sent burning rock and
ash flying all across Stromboli.

It killed one person and
it injured several others.

[Narrator] A few weeks after
this initial eruption in 2019,

the volcano erupted again.

This time lava was sent
flowing down what is known as

the Sciara del Fuoco,
meaning the Stream of Fire.

It’s a trough gouged
out of the northwest side

of the island,

where lava has
been flowing into the

sea for centuries.

-This second eruption
created a tsunami that luckily

didn't cause any harm.

But the volcano is obviously
causing some serious changes to

the island’s topography
and the geological makeup

of the landscape.

[Narrator] To solve the
historical mystery posed

by the layers of
sand and rounded pebbles,

a team of experts continues
to excavate the site.

-Starting at around four and
a half feet below the surface,

they find this pink layer
that’s totally different from

everything above it.

This first pink layer
is actually fine ash,

probably from a
volcanic eruption,

and near the bottom
of the trough,

there is another layer
of ash that’s grey.

-Above this layer is a bed
of black sand, beach pebbles,

and even the remains
of ceramic tiles.

But considering that
the excavation is a

few hundred feet from the sea,

it makes little
sense that you'd have

beach pebbles lying here,
unless of course,

they were carried here by water.

-If a tsunami were to
have hit the island,

it would have been
way bigger than the

little one from 2019,

which didn’t really
cause any damage.

[Narrator] The beach pebbles
and black sand are a sign that

a significant tsunami
event occurred on the

island of Stromboli.

But it wasn’t just one.

Above the deepest layer
of ash and beach pebbles

lies several other
layers of the same materials,

meaning that several
tsunami events would have

also occurred many
years after the first one.

-Beneath the deepest
layers of ash,

and amongst the shallower
layers, are charcoal deposits.

Now this is a really
important find because charcoal

can be dated.

[Narrator] Using
radiocarbon dating,

the volcanologists are able
to place the first eruption

in the mid to late 13th century,

whereas the
subsequent eruptions,

represented by the
shallower layers of ash and

volcanic debris,

are placed in
the 15th to mid-17th century.

-So we do know
roughly when these eruptions

and tsunamis occurred.

But what we don’t know
is what happened to all the

people who lived here and
experienced those events.

-Despite having
experienced hundreds of years

of human activity,

and the fact that the
geological record shows that a

tsunami hit the island,

there is nothing in the
historical record indicating

that a tsunami devastated
the island of Stromboli.

[Narrator] Roughly 150 miles
to the north of Stromboli

lies an ancient city
that has witnessed many

of the defining
historical events of the

last two millennia.

-The port city of Naples is
kind of like Stromboli in the

sense that it sits
directly beneath a volcano,

this one is Vesuvius,

and you’ve heard of
Vesuvius because that’s the

one that blew
its lid in 79 AD,

instantly burying the
nearby town of Pompeii.

Pompeii didn’t see the
light of day again for almost

2,000 years when
excavations finally began

around the mid -18th century.

-Petrarch, an Italian poet
and the Pope’s ambassador

to Naples wrote of
an interesting event

in November 1343.

-He wrote that between
November 24 and 25th,

an unprecedented storm
devastated large parts of the

city’s port infrastructure.

Not only was its
harbor destroyed,

but several others
along the Amalfi coast were

laid to waste, hundreds,
were killed.

-This places us around
the timeline provided

by the charcoal deposits.

And Petrarch
refers to a storm,

not a massive tsunami.

There’s a big difference there.

But with that being said,

it would take quite the storm to
destroy that much infrastructure

and kill that many people.

[Narrator] Hoping to
find more evidence indicating

what may have happened
to the people of Stromboli,

the team excavates an area
known as San Vincenzo,

not too far from
the initial trench.

-Around 10 feet beneath the
surface are stone blocks

arranged in a semicircle.

And inside this semi-circle
are big flat stones.

-These flat stones have
obviously been placed here with

intent and are the remains
of what formed a floor.

And this stone semicircle,
this is what we call an apse.

-An apse is usually
built as a semicircular

extension to a building,

with a dome
constructed on top.

The apse is often where
you would place an altar.

So what we’re looking at here
is actually an old church!

[Narrator] Scattered on
the floor of the apse are

tiles that would have
covered the church’s roof.

And both inside the
apse and surrounding area

there appear to be
pits dug into the earth.

-Now things get dramatic.

In these pits are
three skeletons!

They’re buried with their
heads oriented west and their

legs to the east.

And there’s a collapsed
gravestone marks that they’re

lying exactly where they
were originally buried.

-But what's important to note
here is that the skeletons have

been buried through the tiles.

Meaning that the church roof
must have collapsed first,

then the graves were
dug and the bodies were

buried immediately after.

-The fact that the tiles
were never cleaned up,

also indicates that this was a
job that was done with speed in

mind, whoever did it didn't
want to be hanging around.

-So it appears that the church
suffered a sudden collapse.

People who were killed
during the event,

whether they were inside
or outside of the building,

were then hastily buried in
what remained of the church.

-Radiocarbon dating of
the skeletons reveals that

they are from the late
13th to 15th centuries,

also placing them in the
timeline of the tsunami that

hit Naples in 1343.

-We don’t have direct
evidence indicating that

these people died in
the exact year that

Petrarch is talking
about when he mentions

that huge storm,
but it seems pretty plausible

that these events are connected.

-It’s entirely possible that
the volcanic eruption led

immediately to a
landslide, which in turn

triggered a tsunami.

So the current theory is that
an absolutely massive eruption

on Stromboli in the
late 13th century led to the

eventual breaking off
of a big section of the

Sciara del Fuoco,

that large trough that
we can see today on the

northwest section
of the volcano.

-When all this
rock hit the water,

it created an enormous tsunami,
which very well may have been

what Petrarch described as
being a storm that destroyed

the port of Naples.

-The eruption and the tsunami
also led to the destruction of

the church and to the
deaths of the people who

were buried there.

So you can understand why
this probably resulted in most,

if not all, of the
island’s residents leaving

for safer places.

-It seems possible that
the answer to the mystery

of what devastated
the port of Naples and

the Amalfi Coast
on that fateful day

in 1343 can now be
said to reside in the bowels of

the volcano on Stromboli!

[Narrator] Although much time
has passed since this disaster,

the volcano on
Stromboli remains as

temperamental as ever,

meaning that not just
the residents on the island,

but those of the entire
region remain vulnerable to

another large tsunami event.

When that might happen,

only the island
of Stromboli knows.

[Narrator] Yonaguni Island, at
the southwestern tip of Japan’s

700-mile-long archipelago
known as the Ryukyu Islands,

is around 70 miles from Taiwan.

-Yonaguni Island
is quite small,

just six miles long.

-It’s also the site of one of
the earth’s most intriguing

underwater mysteries.

[Narrator] In 1986,
the owner and operator

of a local dive center,
Kihachiro Aratake,

is diving around 325 feet off
the island’s southern coast,

looking for new places to take

his clients to view
hammerhead sharks.

-He can’t believe what he sees.

About 16 feet
deep, there’s a massive

underwater rock formation.

It’s so huge that it
reminds him of Machu Picchu,

the lost city of
the Incas in Peru.

-Moving around the
mammoth rock structure,

and swimming along its sides,
flat platform-like surfaces and

sharp right-angled corners
are clearly visible.

Could they be
ancient stone steps?

[Narrator]
Photographs are taken,

but the encrusted coral makes
it impossible to further

identify the
mysterious discovery.

-The story and its
accompanying photos make waves

in the Japanese media.

-Some people refer to it as the
“Japanese Atlantis.”

But is the structure
truly the remains of a

long-lost underwater city or

is it simply a natural
rock formation?

[Narrator]
The myth of
the city of Atlantis,

originating in Plato’s
Timaeus in 360 BCE,

tells the legend of a once
powerful empire that runs afoul

of the Gods and is cast
into the Atlantic Ocean

around 9600 BCE.

-The Pacific counterpart
to Atlantis is the mythical

ancient civilization of Mu.

“The Land of Mu” was said to
be a thriving continent in the

midst of the Pacific Ocean
until a cataclysm broke it into

pieces, sending them
crashing into the sea.

-While many academics scoff at
the notion of Mu and Atlantis,

new discoveries like the
structure off Yonaguni Island

reignite speculation that a
remnant of these societies

has come to light.

[Narrator] Professor
Masaaki Kimura,

a marine geologist
from Ryukyu University

on Okinawa Island,

is inspired by
images of the site,

something he presumes to
be a natural formation,

and decides to go investigate.

-It’s immense, like this
mammoth rectangular pyramid,

an estimated 85 feet
tall, 130 yards wide,

and nearly 300 yards long.

-The investigation confirms
what appear to be giant steps,

and while some portions are
rounded and smooth like you

would expect natural
rock formations to be,

there’s also other features
that look like flat terraces,

retaining walls,
and drainage canals.

-These are
fascinating features,

but the biggest observations
are scrapes, indentations,

and scuffs on the rock surfaces
that look like tool marks.

-If they are tool marks,

it’s evidence of
the presence of humans.

Is it possible this was built
by an ancient civilization?

If so, could it be a
remnant of Mu itself?

[Narrator] Collecting data from
dozens of dive expeditions,

Kimura maps out the
phenomenal structure and

builds a realistic scale model.

But not everyone believes
it’s conclusive evidence

of an ancient civilization.

Robert Schoch,

a professor of Natural
Sciences at Boston University,

conducts his
own dives at the underwater

structure to draw
his own conclusions.

-The thing is that all of the
marks that have been cited are

easily classified as scratches
made by the erosion process.

There is also no signs that
massive rock blocks have been

fitted into position.

-It’s usually pretty obvious.

At the Mayan ruins,

you can see the lines and
seams between the huge bricks

and blocks of stone.

But what about its giant
steps and the flat terraces?

-If they were steps
created by humans,

they’d be at intervals that
would allow for easy navigation.

-It’s true.
Most of them are feet apart.

You just can’t do it.

So could something natural
have formed these features?

[Narrator] Searching
for more answers,

rock samples from the formation
are collected for study.

They show that its primary
composition is sandstone,

dated to 20 million years ago.

-This is a big clue because
sandstone of this age breaks

naturally along
“horizontal bedding planes.”

Straight edges and angles
that look like the flat terraces

present at the formation.

-These same sandstone
step-like shapes and terraces

have also been seen on
land on Yonaguni Island.

The resemblance is remarkable.

There are also features similar
to the supposed retaining walls

and drainage canals
on the formation.

[Narrator] After his analysis,

Schoch’s conclusion
that the structure is a

natural formation fractures
the scientific community

into two camps.

-The natural formation
camp claims that there are

simply no verifiable signs
that it has been constructed.

So, is the structure now
known as the Yonaguni Monument

made by humans or is it
a natural formation?

-Now this debate might
seem academic, but it matters!

Because of the
contradicting evidence,

the Japanese government refuses
to recognize this monument

as a cultural property of Japan.

That means no research
and no preservation.

Meanwhile the debate rages on.

[Narrator] Professor Kimura
continues his mission to prove

the monument was created
by an ancient civilization.

-Further study at the monument
reveals a smooth area at its

base over six yards
wide which nearly surrounds

the entire formation.

Labeled the “Loop Road,” the
ocean floor looks like it has

been swept clear here.

-This is important because if
the Loop Road had been formed

naturally by erosion, you’d
see rock fragments as heavy as

ten tons all over the place.

And the current definitely
wouldn’t be powerful enough to

carry all that rubble away.

-There are also similarly wide
and long cleared pathways on

the ocean floor between the
main structure and the other

smaller structures nearby.

These are labeled streets.

-Then, geologists find what
look like post holes in the

monument plus a suspected gate,

a tunnel opening
about three feet wide

and six and a half feet high

leading out
to the Loop Road.

[Narrator] Excited by these new
developments and discoveries,

the team looks to other known
megalithic sites for answers.

In Okinawa, stone
structures dating back to

between 10,000
and 20,000 years ago,

may offer clues as to the
Yonaguni Monument’s time period.

-When compared to the
monument’s terraces and walls,

there are structural
similarities and nearly

identical surface weathering.

So does it mean the monument is
also at least 10,000 years old

and if so, how was it submerged?

-Archaeological studies cite
glacial periods as a source for

much of the change in
the land masses on Earth.

The last glacial period was,
significantly, 10,000 years ago.

As the climate around
the world warmed,

it resulted in melting
ice and rising oceans.

Of course, this would
have happened in the seas

surrounding Yonaguni
Island as well.

[Narrator] Kimura now believes
he has the evidence to conclude

that the Yonaguni Monument was
a ceremonial structure built by

an ancient civilization
around 10,000 years ago.

However, once again, his
theory is hotly debated.

-Monumental architecture
is typically only found in

agricultural societies.

Farming didn’t even begin in
Japan until the latter stages

of the Jomon Period,
3000 years ago,

when Japan started
cultivating rice.

-Another possible factor
here is a phenomena called

pareidolia, where the human
eye sees shapes in otherwise

everyday objects, things
like clouds, and yes,

rock formations.

-It’s worth noting, however,
that Kimura’s critics haven’t

dedicated their life to the
monument’s study like he has.

They review the data for a few
weeks, days, or even hours.

He has studied the
monument for decades.

-Kimura now believes the
Yonaguni Monument and its

related structures were
catapulted into the sea by a

massive earthquake
2000 years ago,

with their origin dating
back around 5000 years.

Could this finally be enough
evidence to put the human-made

or natural formation
debate to rest?

[Narrator] Nearly 40
years after its discovery,

the Yonaguni monument continues
to fascinate divers and

scientists from
all over the world.

Perhaps one day someone will
actually solve the murky

mystery of its origin,
until then, happy diving.

Wrapped in the blue-green
waters of the Caribbean Sea is

the archipelago
of Islas Rosario,

27 small islands just southwest
of the coastal city of

Cartagena, Colombia.

-Given its location, it's to be
expected that these islands are

gorgeous, filled
with sandy beaches,

crystalline waters and
beautiful coral reefs.

[Narrator] Isla Grande
is the jewel of this

cluster of islands.

As the name suggests,
it’s the largest of them and

one of the most beautiful.

One of its biggest draws
is Laguna Encantada,

the enchanted lagoon

-If you go to the
lagoon during the day,

it’s a magical place to
swim or just hang out.

But if you go at night,

it has a completely
different vibe,

it’s both
beautiful and unnerving,

the water, it glows.

-While the blue-green
light that fills the lagoon

may feel mystical, it’s actually
luminescent plankton or algae

that has molecules
called luciferins that help

it light up.

[Narrator] The glowing algae
makes this place feel magical.

but it’s definitely not
the only mysterious thing

about this island.

-Because it’s known as
a snorkeler's paradise,

many visitors head out to the
water with masks and fins,

but once they get
under the surface,

they might see a
lot more than coral.

-Just off the island about 20
feet down is something that you

just won't find in
most tourist locales.

It’s hard to see what
it is from the surface.

But it’s large and
seemingly made of metal.

What is it?

-When you get close you can
see that it’s a small plane.

There’s not even
an airport here.

You have to take a boat
or ferry from the mainland

to get here.

[Narrator] The answer may
lie several miles away on

the west side of the island,

through dense and
sweltering jungle.

-This is not a place you can
navigate to with Google Maps,

and it’s no easy journey.

You have to hike
through the jungle,

then take a canoe
through swamps,

then hike again to get a
glimpse of the thing that might

explain the plane at
the bottom of the sea.

-As you get closer to what
appears to be some kind of

complex, you'll find
yourself on a tiled pathway.

It's oddly beautiful
and kind of eerie.

[Narrator] The buildings
themselves aren’t unusual.

The island does have
about 800 residents.

But this is no ordinary home.

-The interior is decorated with
beautiful tile and marble with

faded pastel walls.

-Beyond the lobby is a large
courtyard with an abandoned

pool and a series
of decaying chalets.

The area is filled
with animal droppings,

specifically pig droppings.

It’s a jarring juxtaposition,
a grand and extravagant cluster

of buildings with giant wild
pigs as the only residents.

-But who would have
built and abandoned a

huge mansion complex,

and how does it
connect to the sunken plane?

The answer could possibly
be traced back to the ‘80s,

and the power of a plant.

[Narrator] Colombia has faced
many challenges over the years,

from colonization and
civil war to cocaine.

-It’s the world's
leading producer of coca,

the plant from which
cocaine is made.

While this country has a
rich and vibrant culture,

most of the world knows
it for its drug cartels,

and how they essentially
ruled the country in the late

‘70s and ‘80s.

[Narrator] For five decades,
Colombia was known for

assassinations, kidnappings,
and widespread violence.

Between the drug trade
and the civil war,

hundreds of thousands of
people lost their lives.

-Back in the day, small planes
were the lifeblood of cocaine

operations in the country,
allowing the cartels to move

drugs by literally
flying under the radar.

-So this downed plane off of
Isla Grande might be a drug

plane that the Colombian
government seized from

imprisoned dealers,

planes that were then used
to create artificial reefs.

-Some People believe that the
plane crashed after taking off

from the mysterious complex.

It makes sense if the place
was owned by a drug lord,

maybe even the
most famous of all,

Pablo Escobar.

[Narrator] Escobar wasn’t
just the richest drug lord in

Colombia, he was one of the
richest men in the world!

He was actually on Forbes’
Billionaires list for seven

years in a row.

-It’s said that at its peak
his empire was bringing in $420

million US a week and that they
spent $2500 a month on rubber

bands just to hold
their money together.

-It’s not just his
bank account that boasted

staggering numbers,
it’s also his body count.

Escobar is said to have
been involved directly or

indirectly, in the deaths
of up to 10,000 people.

That’s a dozen times the
population of the entire island!

[James Ellis] Surprisingly,
this violent and ruthless narco

was also a canny businessman.

One of the ways Pablo hid
the proceeds from his illicit

empire was to invest in art
and high-end properties,

just like this one.

[Narrator] The complex was
Pablo’s prized party mansion

and in its prime featured
about 300 guest rooms,

a massive swimming
pool and party deck,

and even a private
helicopter landing pad.

-With a building like this,

you can imagine that
the insides would be as

excessive as the outside.

According to lore, some of
the bathrooms were tricked out

with gold shower heads,
not golden, solid gold.

Escobar was not a man
known for restraint.

[Narrator] The remains of
Escobar’s secret getaway serve

as a sobering emblem of what
happened to the man himself.

After members of his own
operation betrayed him,

he was gunned down in 1993,
and after his death,

the government of Colombia
expropriated his wealth.

The mysteries held within this
island mansion will continue to

attract the attention
of those near and far.